Joyfull Creations

I had a cramp in my right hip and we’d only been hiking 20 minutes. This wasn’t a good sign considering we still had about 7 miles to go and more than 4,500 vertical feet yet to climb.

I was in Colorado last week for a few days. On the spur-of-the-moment some friends and I decided to hike Long’s Peak. We’d scrounged around to find the needed gear and then dropped into bed to get four hours of sleep before getting up to start our hike at 2:30 AM. (In order to climb Long’s Peak, you have to start before 4 AM so you can be off the summit before noon when thunderstorms start rolling in.)

We were on the trail by 3:30 AM. Using head lamps and flashlights we made our way up the mountain in the dark through the alpine forest, then on up above tree line.

Each step brought new sensations. At first my hip hurt, then as that pain receded, my neck and shoulders began to ache. I kept climbing, one step at a time.

As I hiked I thought of the parallels to the Christian walk. At times we are faced with hardships and trials. Just as I kept my eyes fixed on the rocky path in front of me on that dark mountainside, we as Christians must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Also, as I climbed, the pain eventually subsided and the sun finally came up, lighting my path. With our eyes on Jesus, our trials will pass and one day we will see the Son coming for us.

Charlie, Chris, and Kent made it all the way to 14,259 ft, the highest spot in the Rocky Mountain National Park (I was forced to stop just a little lower at 13,748). The sights we saw and the lessons learned won’t soon be forgotten.

Hey, I just found a really cool site that maps out the countries you’ve been to.

I tried it out and this is what I came up with. It told me that so far i’ve visited 7% of the world’s countries. Pretty cool.

My map.

Create your own visited countries map.

We think of our country’s freedom at this time and I am moved by the freedom that Christ’s victory over sin has given each of us.

I serve as a worship leader for my church and so yesterday during the service I invited people to share verses that relate to freedom.

The subsequent response was nothing short of a God moment. People all through the congregation shared their favorite freedom texts.
One that stands out in my mind is from Psalm 107. The entire chapter talks about God’s deliverance, however verse 14 is especially descriptive. “He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces.”

When we turn to God for freedom from sin, the chains we’ve been bound by hold no power. They will drop away because of the price that Jesus paid on Calvary. No longer do we have to be captives. As long as we choose to follow God and live by His power and strength, we are free.

From my own experience, i know this is true. It is only when I turn my life over to Christ and allow Him to fight my battles that I find peace and victory. Praise God!

In addition to writing about project specifics, I like to comment on various coding methods I’ve come across that have proven useful.

While working on a recent project that involved organizing a large amount of information into an easily navigable structure, I came across the CSS sliding door technique.

This lightweight styling for tabs allows the designer to easily categorize information. Unlike  rollover images where you have to rely on JavaScript and a separate image for each state, this approach uses four images that load only once and are used for each tab regardless of size.

If you’re looking for a way to create a tabbed navigation using CSS, I encourage you to check this method out.

We’re pleased to announce that we are working with Adventist Church Connect to produce a new promo video as part of their marketing campaign for this new web initiative for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

This project is shaping up to be fun and interesting. Staty tuned for more details and a sneak preview soon.