Pictures Say It All

Here is a collage I made of my family. We are going to send this out as a Christmas card. Enjoy!

Click on image below:

The Hunter Has Returned but without the Bacon

I have returned from my exhibition to the wild. I glumly announce that my hunting trip was unsuccessful. I saw many a hog track but no hogs. But it was not without any value, for as I was sitting concealed by the shrubbery about me, waiting for dinner to come trotting along, I was amazed by the intricate system of nature that God has set in place.

At a particular point as the sun began to emerge from it's slumber, the level of light hit the "time-between-time" as I call it and I was able to see everything around me. It was sudden. At that moment, birds of all kinds suddenly started chattering and singing. It was amazing. All of nature woke up at once.

Creation is a complex mechanism with balance and design. God is amazing and His wonder is all around us.

To Eat Meat or Not to Eat Meat That Is the Question

Today I mentioned to my manager that I was going hunting tonight. He is not a meat eater, which I knew. What I didn't know was that it wasn't simply a health decision it was a conviction. He was very nice about it. He told me that he used to hunt but then became convicted that it was not necessary anymore and hinted to a moral reason for not killing animals.

But, here is my conviction. My beliefs in this matter can be understood by these passages in the Bible:

Romans 14:5-7
5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.

But the Scripture also warns us to not do anything which would cause a fellow man to stumble:

Romans 14:21
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.


1 Corinthians 8:13
Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

The previous Scriptures are very practical. For example, not drinking alcohol in front of someone that struggles with being an alcholic.

But there is another factor in our society that has nothing to do with causing another man to stumble. It is politically correct, new age humanism.

I believe that God made all animals for man to use for man's benefit. I think we are to be wise and not needlessly wasteful and cruel with what we have been given, understanding the laws of nature which God established. But I am sure that some of the politically correct crowd would not be able to see the balance in this.

They try to make man and animals on the same value level. Man is just an animal, they would say, and is no more unique than a dog or a cat. If they admit that man is different than the animals then they have to begin accepting the existence of God. Only a Divine Creator could give man special status. Only something outside of Nature could do that. Otherwise he is simply just a product of evolution and nothing more. It is about making man the focus and removing the conviction of a real God.

I must say, "Bah-humbug!" to that.

Hunting vs. Cubical Life

Tomorrow I am going hunting for the first time. I am going with a friend to hunt wild hogs. I finally get to do something earthy instead of sitting at a desk all day long behind a cubical wall getting white like Neo from the flourescent lights.

Follow the Signs

I am listening to Winamp Radio. I heard some lyrics from "Time Is The Healer" that struck me from a Techno group called Riva. They said something like this, "You have been here way too long. Follow the signs."

My greatest passion is doing art. I have loved art since I was in elementary school. But I am currently working at a job that saps my creativity through it's caotic leadership, boredom of left-brain customer projects and lack of incentive from the employer to excell.

I have been a graphic designer for over 10 years. I am finally tired of it. It is not what I love to do. I feel that I have had a call on my life that I have neglected for over 10 years.

"You have been here way too long."
"Follow the signs."

I need to follow my heart. God has put something in there that I can't seem to get rid of. And no amount of flourescent lighting and cubical existence is able to destroy that. My focus, my energies, my thoughts need to move towards art. Towards my desire. I need to follow the signs that will lead me out of this pit and into a place that has space and air.

I will find that place and I will remove these blinders that have kept me from seeing the signs.

One can be overtaken. Two can defend themselves

This is my response to a conversation I was having with a fellow co-worker and good friend. He was very discourged, as I was too. Our employer has not given good leadership. As a result chaos, low moral and undermining has been an everyday norm. He was feeling especially pointed out and attacked.

Me: I know how you feel. I feel the same way. But our greatest strength is God. He helps us bear our burdens. When we are not able to bear them. He gives us the means to walk through the dark valley. "Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world." I don't mean to sound too spiritual, but I have been trying to recapture my faith and realize that my true Christianity is shown only when it is tested in the fire. I am making an effort to strengthen what remains in my heart. Be encouraged. We will both look back and see God's purposes

He was thanking me for encouraging him and helping to bring God's perspective back to the situation.

Me: You are an encouragement to me many times. Don't worry when one is down the other is there to pick him up. One can be overtaken. Two can defend themselves, but a cord of three strands is not easily broken.