Lincoln's Inaguration

NPR posted photographs and a story today that are enough to make us marvel.

How far we've come as a nation since 1865 when Abraham Lincoln swore to uphold the Constitution a second time. In 143 years, we've paved Pennsylvania Avenue (which was muddy in these photographs). We've integrated schools and then segregated them again by "white flight." We traded in the Mason-Dixon line for a civil war of values that rages out of control. 680,000 fathers, brothers, and sons were killed during the War Between the States. More than 28 million babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade.

We were a divided nation then. We are a divided nation now with TV analysts finding a visual cue (red and blue states) to make better video and to pigeon-hole and label us.

On President's Day, as we celebrate Lincoln and others, can we look at ourselves? I'm asking myself, "In what areas do I need to take personal responsibility to make my home, my street, my community, my metropolitan area, my state, my nation, and my world better?"

Will you ask yourself the same question? And will you take action on the answer?

No President--not even Lincoln, no cabinet, no legislature, no Roosevelt era organization can solve our problems. We must rely upon God to help us bring about change.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19094867

Hold Onto Your Hat

A Powerful Quote

Angela Hunt blogs today about a powerful quote. Check it out.

Dry Erase Wall

When I worked for FamilyLife, I had a great office. Windows to the outside. Windows to the inside hallway. And, the best blessing of all: a door.

We used bathroom wallboard from Home Depot to create an entire wall for my brainstorming. They made a near perfect dry erase board. There were plastic caps over some screws and stripping to cover the gap between the boards.

The wall was hard to clean well and I went through many bottles of Windex and other cleaners to keep a sheen on the wall and keep a good surface for markers.

What I really wanted was this: Markee Paint.

I can't wait to cover a wall with this stuff.

Have You Voted Today?

VOTE TODAY.

Please exercise your Constitutional Right.

If you're undecided, vote for this candidate.

Super Bowl Commercials

"I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials." It's true. I tune in to the biggest night of television to be sold. My guess is: you enjoy the commercials, too. I've created this survey for a little fun. Not all of us are a part of USA TODAY's panel for AdMeter. So I figured we'd create our own.

Rate the commercials throughout the game according to four criteria: creativity, humor/heartstrings, memorability, and branding.

Creativity:
How much thought went into the commercial? How was the acting? How was the use of color, light, special effects? Did they say more with less?

Impact of Humor or Tug on Heartstrings:
Did the commercial pack an emotional punch or fall flat? Did you laugh out loud or shed a tear? Or did you cringe?

Memorable Message:
Too many commercials do a great job of making you laugh, but we can't remember the product or the brand. Was there a call to action? Can you remember without being prompted?

Branding:
Did the commercial support the distinctive of the brand or was it a disconnect?

Most of the commercials are scheduled during a particular quarter. Others are "wildcards". As you watch the game, if you see a commercial not on the list, make sure to check the wildcard question at the bottom of the survey.

Join us.