To listen to the radio version, click here.
To search archives, click here.
Apples of Gold
Radio Script for August 17, 2009
“Graphic Design – How Hard Could It Be?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
The man had had enough.
He packed up all the equipment, brought it in and dropped it on a table.
He was out of there.
I remember standing there, looking at all that technology. I didn’t know how to use it, but how hard could it be?
He was our resident computer expert, and I was a novice. Most of what I knew about computers I learned by looking over his shoulder.
And now he was gone. He quit suddenly, and he didn’t want to hear from us again.
But the work had to go on.
So the time came when we needed a brochure. Could I do it? Of course I could do it.
Had I ever done graphic design before?
No, but I’d seen it done. You just drag the mouse and type and move pictures and there it is.
Plus we had the latest technology, Windows 3.1, and the vector graphics program CorelDRAW.
Now remember, the internet was nothing like it is today. There weren’t a million websites with advice on everything under the sun. Yes, we had CompuServe, but they charged by the hour, so the meter was running every time you dialed in.
For me, that meant I just had to dive in and learn CorelDRAW on my own.
But I had a great idea. I would simply open one of the other guy’s files and rework it.
That went well enough to start with. I tinkered around with it all afternoon and into the evening. Things go amazingly slow when you don’t know what you are doing.
But I kept running into one problem. Some of the graphics were just stuck together. I would grab one and drag it, but the others would move along with it.
It didn’t make any sense to me, and it was maddening.
Midnight became 2 a.m. and I was ready to pull my hair out. “These are separate graphics. Why are they together? They must…come…apart.”
Finally – finally – I learned about “grouping.” You can simply group and ungroup objects.
Now if you know about graphic design at all, you know about grouping, and you are probably rolling your eyes at my stupidity. But look – I didn’t know. How are you supposed to know things you don’t know?
I’ve learned many computer programs since then, and it seems like they are all maddening at some point. Oh sure, they are easy enough to start with – until they just won’t do what you want them to.
Then what?
When you run into a wall, and you don’t know what to do, then what?
Then you persevere, that’s what.
Yes, it might be easier to throw your hands up and quit. But how is quitting going to get you where you want to go?
Second Peter 1 says we should “make every effort” to add perseverance to our life.
Verse 9 indicates that if we don’t have perseverance, we are “nearsighted and blind.”
Perseverance means you’re not a quitter. It means you sink your teeth into things and don’t let go.
Albert Einstein said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
“But Doug, you don’t know what I’m going through.”
I don’t doubt it’s a tough situation. You are suffering.
But you know what Paul said in Romans 5? He said, “…we…rejoice in our sufferings…”
Why would they rejoice?
“…because we know that suffering produces perseverance…” he said.
Perseverance is an important character trait, and you get it by going through trials. You hit a wall, but you don’t give up. You keep pressing on and in the end you end up with the character trait called perseverance.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
I know it’s Monday. I know you might be going through a terrific challenge.
But don’t give up. Press on!
And when you come out on the other side you will be a better person – a person of perseverance.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here: http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one: douglas_apple@msn.com
(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-
No comments:
Post a Comment