Finding selfie significance
In September 2017, a Santa Clarita resident found a deeper meaning to the selfie and the signs around the community. “The message behind it is hope, and if I do happen to inspire someone by my words, that is just icing on the cake,” said resident Bryce Morrow, the director of youth ministries at First Presbyterian Church of Newhall.
Morrow has been taking “Selfies with Signs” to share devotionals that are on display every day.
“I was looking at people taking selfies, and people often think selfies are about themselves,” Morrow said. “I wanted to do something where selfies could be viewed at something positive instead of narcissistic. It’s more spirit-led than anything.”
He prayed about it and found what God was calling him to do, he said. “We all pass by signs on a daily basis. I started looking at them in a different light and just started writing devotionals on what inspired me.”
One afternoon while with his sons Reed and Seely, Morrow saw the yellow signs that are found before approaching a stoplight. He thought “Our lives are often like a stoplight. How many times has God given me a green light and I wasn’t obedient to it. Or a red light to stop, and I was acting in my own selfishness.”
Approach yellow lights cautiously and allow God to provide the knowledge to proceed in the direction he wants to lead our lives, Morrow said.
Morrow grew up in Warsaw, a small town in Missouri, where he was known as a jokester and a comedian in his church community.
“The ones who have really supported me are people who saw me grow up as a kid in church,” he said. “I think it kind of surprised some people in my hometown, but I’ve gotten some really great feedback, and that’s why I do it.”
He moved to California, where he met Emily, his wife of seven years. They now have two boys, Reed and Seely.
“For any parent, you want to leave a legacy behind,” Morrow said. “What a better legacy to leave than to know Jesus loves you and he has plans for your lives.”
His oldest son asks him if he can go look for signs, Morrow said. “He says, ‘I know you look for signs and you write about how God loves us.’ It puts the biggest smile on my face.”
He recently ordered “Selfie with Signs” shirts for his family, and now they can all represent his blog around town.
“I wanted my family to know none of this wouldn’t be possible without their support,” Morrow said. “We are a team in this family, we support each other’s dreams and goals.”
Morrow tries to post at least one devotional a week, and hopes to create a book from his writings.
“My goal is to have about 52 devotionals, one a week for a year,” he said. “I’m excited about it.”
Morrow does all his devotionals on his phone because of the mobility, he said. ”Just when I think Santa Clarita is out of signs, I find 3 more in a day.”
His devotionals are spirit-led and often come out of the blue.
“There are sometimes I read something I wrote and I don’t remember it,” Morrow said. “It’s (God) using my body and mind as an instrument to write.”
“The best when people ask me for prayer request,” Morrow said. “If it just touches one person, I’ve done my job.”
To read Morrow’s Selfies with Signs devotionals, visit his blog at daddysdevotional.wordpress.com.