Press EN 01.01.09-The Empty Page Revisited

Press EN: 01.01.09
Richard Beattie
Empty Page
Every New Years Day we have an opportunity to hit the restart button. Not so much resolutions that will be broken, but we have the chance to get back into God's Word, we have the choice to rejuvenate our thought and heart life, and we enter into a new adventure. Our Creator started with nothing and began to form the world we live in. He had design in mind that included you and me, and He understood our needs, and that is an active thing. He engineers are starts and finishes, our conflicts and He brings to us the concept of "an empty page." We don't rely on our own power to write our lives, yet He wants us to start relying on the first family, the foundation of community, the mind of the Father brings us design and becomes our motivation, the approach of the Son, takes us to a hill where our self-centered journey ends, and the work of the Spirit brings us into full communication with God. This design begins to fill the page with words and pictures that are based on being made in His image (Genesis 1).

Pro Formula 1-31
In the "Dictionary of Biblical Imagery," author Leland Ryken describes the book of Proverbs as "a gallery of images about life." When I lay out the gifts and talents that make up my creative DNA I realize the purpose- that on that now empty page, I have a choice to fill it with God shaped wisdom, or a poor imitation of a journalist, artist, songwriter, or producer. The images that God gave Solomon in all his splendor, had a purpose to instruct, guide, and give a snapshot of wisdom to people about how to live, relate with one another, and to communicate with God. If every journalist I know used this as a backbone to the stories, profiles and interviews, we would have great insight into our purpose on earth, and life in general. Pro Formula 1-31 are the nuggets that have withstood the test of time, and relate to the concept of the foundation of journalism, which is to get to the truth and reveal the truth.

Proverbs 13:17
The mainstream loves to give titles: Managing Editor, Executive Producer, Senior Correspondent, and Master Writer, Creative Director. While these titles describe what many of us do, it is Solomon that gives us the two titles of how God sees our profession. It is a matter of choice- "The foolish messenger causes trouble." How so? This is the mainstream reporter who gets information by badgering, by reporting and editing in such a way that their "findings" cause trouble. They are the story, and it is based on ego. The other title the one that we are shooting for is a choice to become "The Trusted Envoy," one who brings healing! The counselor, the truth presenter, the Biblical Mindset, and the person who brings the right perspective of motive, approach and prayer that fill the empty page. It doesn't mean it is a "fluff" story, or that the interviews are "slow pitch" softball questions. They go deeper than that. They bring truth to the forefront, and provide a way to redemption to the story.

Filling the Empty Page
Proverbs are memorable with the goal to make "insight" permanently etched in our brains! They cut through the clutter and detail the storyline, without fanfare. And so let's walk through the gallery as we begin this year, not so much as journalists, designers, musicians, broad-cast-and stream casters. Lets fill the empty pages of newspapers, websites, compact discs, DVD's, the airwaves and the book shelves with truth laced wisdom! Colorful images on walls, on bridges, throughout galleries, on big screens and the small screens, and may those images fill the screens in our minds and our hearts. I pray that in 2009 that our bookshelves will be full of new works of earthy, quintessential, heavenly images that bring out the best in us. The simile and the metaphor are to the poet what the human experience is to the artist. Some images are clear, others blurry and then sometimes the main focus is not in the center of the shot!

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." (Proverbs 2:1-2,5)