joshbyers

The Colorado Project

I was recently inspired by Aaron Draplin to create a poster of logos, places, and names from my native state of Colorado. Aaron has done this for a variety of states that have resulted in some really cool posters.

While I could could just copy what he's done I wanted it to mean more.

So many places, and names have memories etched into my brain and evoke a strong feeling of nostalgia and longing. For example, at the Westminster Mall there were these large balloons in the middle of a water feature that would go up and down almost magically. I remember sitting or laying on the carpeted steps in front of them and being transfixed as they would float up by some unseen force and then squish back down again. I must not have been the only one because there is a nine minute video on YouTube of just these balloons...

So every logo, place, and name I'm working on has a special place in my memory growing up. I plan on sharing all of these as I work my way through this project.

And its not just about nostalgia, I want to hone my illustrative skills, and also bring back or create new logos that have been long forgotten.

Right now my goal is post at least one logo a day. I've compiled a list of nearly 100 different things and I may add to it so I've obviously got my work cut out for me. 

I anticipate this being a really fun journey to look back on the things that made my childhood special in Colorado. I invite any of you to post your memories as well.

See and follow the project in progress.

The List:

• Putt-Putt
• IMAX
• DIA
• Santa's Workshop
• Westminster Mall (the balloons!)
• Grand Lake
• 9News
• Biggs
• Time Out on the Court
• McNichols Arena
• Denver Gold
• Denver Dynamite
• Denver Zephyrs
• Stella's Coffee Shop
• Chautauqua Park in Boulder
• The Flatirons
• Roller City
• Skate City
• Cinderella City
• Cinder Alley
• Graystone Castle
• North Star Drive Ins
• American Furniture Warehouse (Jake Jabbs!)
• Elitch Gardens
• Lakeside Amusement Park (The Fun House!)
• Celebrity Sports Center
• Northglenn Mall
• Larimar Square
• Lo-Do
• Heritage Square
• Cave of the Winds
• Glenwood Springs
• Hanging Lake
• Mile High Stadium
• Coors Field
• Webster Lake
• Winter Park
• Cooper's Square
• Beau Joes Pizza
• Copper Mountain
• Loveland Ski Area
• Berthod Pass
• Eisenhower Tunnel
• Boulder Falls
• Karls Dairy
• Northglenn High School
• Huron Middle School
• Casa Bonita
• Denver Zoo
• Stock Show and Rodeo
• Georgetown
• Broadmoor Hotel
• Camping
• Blinky the Clown
• Channel 2
• Show Biz Pizza
• Nathan's Funtastic
• King Soopers
• The Ranch
• Parade of Lights
• 16th St Mall
• RTD
• Broncos
• Rockies
• Nuggets
• Avalanche
• Water World
• Pikes Peak
• Stapleton International Airport
• Jim's Burger Haven
• Troccodaro
• Denver Post
• Rocky Mountain News
• Union Station

by joshbyers

Broncos Valentine Box

For Valentine's Day my son needed a box to take home his cards and candy. Of course in the age of Pinterest just sending him with any old box just won't do. So with the Super Bowl victory fresh on our minds we re-created the Broncos football field.

Originally I tried to use green tissue paper to cover the box but that was a complete and utter failure.

Duct tape came to the rescue. Not only was using duct tape a lot easier it strengthened the box for the mountains of candy and love it would bring home.

Supplies Needed:

• Orange and blue duct tape
• One piece of green construction paper (for the field)
• Black sharpie marker
• Cake pop sticks (for the goal posts)
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Computer, printer and internet (for the graphics) or download the pdf containing all the graphics.

1. We started by cutting the green construction paper to the shape of the top of the box and taping down the edges. FYI, the included endzone graphics are approx 6.5" wide. That would be the ideal width for your field.
2. We then wrapped the entire box with blue and orange tape. The design is completely up to how you wrap the tape around the box.
3. Print out the graphics from the included PDF or download from internet. If you're looking for a different team, google "[your team name] logo" and then "[your team name] end zone."
4. Cut out all graphics and glue down end zones.
5. Using a a ruler, mark and draw all the yard lines you want on the field.
6. Glue down mid-field logo, first down line (yellow) and scrimmage line (blue).
7. Wrap cake pop sticks or whatever you are using in colored tape.
8. Admittedly this was a quick and dirty process, but tape together the cake pop sticks in the shape of goal posts.
9. Tape goal posts to side of box. We needed to cut the bottom of the post so it wouldn't stick over the edge of the top of the box.
10. Glue Super Bowl logo wherever you want because the champs are here!
11. Enjoy the excitement with your child!

by joshbyers

13 Hours The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Review

13 Hours The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a great film. In fact I’ll go so far as to say I liked it much more than Star Wars. What??!! Sacrilege you say!

Now I love Star Wars, but I walked out of the theater after seeing 13 Hours more satisfied, more emotionally impacted, and more mentally engaged than I have been in long time by a film. 

I thought it was an amazing depiction of modern warfare–some have said the best. It really reminded me a lot of Black Hawk Down (which I also loved). Being a war film there were a number of things I looked for and it checked most of my boxes for a good war movie including lots of guns, fighting, male ego, blood, heroism, and sacrifice. I thought they forced the family man angle a little too much so that it didn't feel quite as genuine, but it still had an emotional pull.

However, the biggest takeaway for me was that the film clearly depicts the competing philosophies that we have in foreign relations with the Middle East in general and predominantly Muslim culture in particular.

One ideology says that we can stop terrorism, violence, and dictators by being winsome, having a conversation and working with local rebels to bring in democracy. A simplified version thinks that we should all be able to rise above our differences and just get along.

The opposite ideology says that this way of thinking is the definition of futile. The worldview of Islamic culture does not allow for freedom and democracy. The worldview of Islam has no intention, or desire of getting along.

Whether its ISIS trying to bring in the Caliphate now or Iran playing the long game, this is a religion (Apocalyptic Islam) that does not want peace, hates liberty, and would destroy all infidels, and the entirety of the West if they could, yesterday.

The leaders of our country for the past several administrations have failed to recognize this and have had the goal to impart American values and democracy in the Middle East. And from the Iraq war to the fiasco in Libya, all have failed spectacularly.

Why is this film important? It proves in a very visceral way that this strategy is a failure. It didn’t work when Bush invaded Iraq to depose one dictator. It didn’t work when Obama and Clinton aided the Libyan rebels to depose another dictator. 

You had maybe one of the best Ambassadors in terms of getting to know the people and getting the locals to love him and talk with him as was shown in the outpouring after Chris Stevens death. Yet it still failed.

This film is also important because it shows the lengths our leaders will go to prove their point. It has been stated that Ambassador Chris Stevens sent over 600 requests for additional security to the State Department. Why weren’t these requests for additional security recognized? Because it would have forced them to concede their philosophy doesn’t work.

Additionally, after the attack America was led to believe that a YouTube video was responsible. The leadership wanted to prove the point that when differences are pointed out people get mad and kill each other. They also wanted to say that those who would point out differences are to blame, not the ones who try and work together.

This film blows all that up literally.

There is no way that those attacks were a spontaneous response. First the attacks happened on September 11th, a holy day now for any jihadist. There were well-coordinated waves of attacks in two different locations. The local police and security disappeared at just the right time, and mortars were used effectively, which require advance planning.

I would love for the people of the Middle East to experience individual freedoms and democracy but what so many fail to recognize is that freedom and the rights of the individual are largely a Christian construct.

Western Civilization and America in particular exist because of the foundations given to them by Christianity. Christianity championed the rights of free speech. Free speech didn’t just happen all by itself. The liberty of conscience exists because America’s founders (while not all professing Christians) had a Christian worldview and understood that the tenets of Christianity were very good for society at large.

Christianity espouses that everyone has been created in image of God and has value. Everyone has eternal dignity. If I believe my neighbor (and everyone else in the world) was created in the image of God than certain behaviors will follow. I want them to be free. I want them to speak freely; I want them to have liberty of conscience. These liberties didn’t just happen. They were established, protected, and guarded by Christian societies.

The film 13 Hours The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi shows that we will never effect change or control the ideologies in the Middle East until we understand the foundation that drives their actions.

I give it 4/5 stars.

by joshbyers

Advent Family Guide

This year at The Creek we produced a guide for families to follow during the Advent Season.

Each week you can follow along with selected scriptures, prayers, carols and fun family activities to help guide you and your family during the month of December.

You can download the Advent Family Guide here or preview it in the photos below.

by joshbyers

Three Ways To Avoid Being An Awkward Church Greeter

You've all been there.

A person you don't recognize is walking towards you and your mind is racing furiously trying to place their face. Do you know them? Have they been here before? All of these thoughts are registering on your face as your brow furrows and you frown trying to search the recesses of your memory.

Its the moment of no return. Do you make eye contact and risk saying hi and the awkward conversation to follow, or do the safe thing and look away? 

As someone who cares about new people being comfortable in our church I want to know who these new people are. Unfortunately, like the majority of people I have to work at it...hard.

In a larger church one of the biggest obstacles to meeting new people is not being confident that they are actually new. I'm sure all of you reading this have greeted someone you thought was new only to find out they've been attending for the past 4 years and is a deacon.

That embarrassment factor alone keeps us from really greeting people as we should and in the process many new people slip through the cracks unnoticed or they feel a cold shoulder.

Its not that people in churches are unfriendly, in fact they want to be so friendly and polite they don't want to risk offending a guest by asking if they are new in case they're not.

So what can your greeting team and regular attenders of your church do to combat this?

1. Get over yourself.

Yes, its embarrassing to meet a new person that has been attending for 6 months but more than likely they didn't recognize you either. But really if you care for people and don't want them to fall through the cracks you've got to put your own feelings on hold and take the plunge. Care about that person more than you care how you look.

2. Smile and Be Genuinely Warm

The single most disarming and warm thing a person can do to another person is to simply look them in the eye and smile. Without any words exchanged the smile communicates instantly that I'm not threatening, I'm interested in you, I'm happy, I'm happy to see you, I'm approachable, I'm trustworthy, I'm pleasant, I'm opening myself up to you and many many other things.

If a greeter or regular church goer does nothing else then to smile at all guests who come through the doors, the experience of those guests will exponentially be better.

3. Use a Strategic Greeting

If you suspect that a person or family is new start off with a smile and ask them:

"Have we met before?"

There are a variety of ways you can intonate the question that communicate your intent. Its flexible enough to convey a sincere recognition of the person if you're pretty sure you've met but can't remember the details. You can also ask it in a way where you only have a vague recollection of a meeting.

Greeting someone in this fashion shows that if they have been attending you care enough to recognize them while admitting you don't remember everything. It is a self-depreciating way to ask, "Are you new here?"

I've found that most guests will answer with a form of "I'm not sure." The reason for that is they think you may have met, maybe even somewhere outside the church. Even if they're sure you've never met they will normally answer something like "I don't think so."

Either answer gives you an open door to ask for their name without the awkwardness of not having remembered it.

Even if they give a confident "yes" that you have met before or "no" you haven't, you've already shown that you recognize them and care.

You now have the open door to ask for their name without the awkwardness.

"Okay, I'm Josh (obviously insert your own name cause that would be weird to use mine), will you remind me of your name?"

Again, this puts the onus on you as the party that didn't remember, not the guest, and they are free to share with you.

Be sure to share your name without them having to ask. We have ridiculously huge name lanyards so I often will use that as a joke to point out my own name.

The big idea is that we want guests to feel comfortable and by caring more about them than yourself, smiling and using self-depricating language you can accomplish that.

by joshbyers