Our First…

I`m a little behind in posting this announcement, but better late than never. Here is the awesome product of two people who never thought it possible:

Our daughter Mia was born on May 25, 2009 (Memorial Day) @ 11:59am (6lbs 7oz) at Holy Cross hospital in Fort Lauderdale, FL , and since that first day our lives upgraded from just a married couple to now…parents! Yes, those people in our lives that, when we were kids, would drive us nuts and try to dictate our lives because they claimed “they knew better”. And as time passed, would throw that “I hope your kids act just like you did!” curse on us. Of course we laughed at such a notion, because our response typically was…”Pfft!…what kids??…who says I am even getting married?”.

 But, once again, they were actually right.

Kelly and I spent three days in the hospital, which went by in  blur, and completely threw off any sense of time and space. From the time my wife`s water broke @ 2:30am that monday morning until the delivery at 11:59a, I may have blinked once. Thankfully, the hospital staff was extremely helpful and listened to our myriad of questions that every new parent asks, and answered them without hesitation. I certainly didn`t turn into the hysterical dad that I always see TV portraying, where it ends in the dad-to-be fainting on the cold tile floor of the delivery room. That wasn`t me in the least. In fact, I got a front row seat to the event and even got to help! Wow…talk about labor.

If having a live human being pop out of your nether regions isn`t a weird enough experience, when we were finally discharged from the hospital that wednesday afternoon and walked through the door into our home, the first question on both our minds was “Okay, now what?”.  What were we supposed to do with this new person we`ve brought home? Just a few days prior, we were going on with our lives as usual and now suddenly BAM! we have a beautiful healthy baby girl that will need our care and attention. That is quite a bit to take in all at once.

But after seeing her eyes open up for the first time after the delivery, I knew any challenges that came our way would be well worth it.

We were a wreck the first week, and several sleepless nights were in our immediate future. Mia had jaundice for the first week and a half, but we were able to take care of it utilizing a machine that could be described as “sunlight in a box”. My wife was also breastfeeding, and it was tough to get Mia to eat anything since the jaundice kept her very lethargic, and she was gradually losing weight as a result.  Of course, no matter how many people told us that “it`s normal”, we as new parents allowed uncertainly to cloud our better judgment. Although, that was only part of the problem.

Mia also had trouble breastfeeding and would become frustrated all the time, which caused my wife to be stressed and lose a lot of self-confidence in what she was doing. We decided to look to a “lactation consultant” who, unfortunately, steered us the wrong way (also charging us like $150.00 for 2 hours of her time) and caused more confusion for us both in the end. I tried my best to be as supportive as I could, but even that was difficult because I had no answers and had no idea as to what I was doing. It was tough seeing both my girls going through so much and not being able to do anything about.

Well, as the Holy Spirit is our guide in all that we do, we prayed, and prayed hard. We prayed for an answer for days, until it finally did come in the form of our neighbor, Tamara. She had referred us to a lactation consultant who she trusted and knew would not steer us the wrong way. So, my wife called up the consultant (Jackie) to make an appointment and also mentioned to her the struggles we went though trying to things the way the other consultant showed her. Well, needless to say, Jackie was not too happy to hear that another consultant would give such bad advice, and told us to come by immediately because she knew we needed help (I later found out that Jackie sacrificed a dinner with her family so she could accommodate us that evening).

We went to visit her at her home, and to our surprise (although, not really so surprising) she opened us up in prayer before she started her assessment. We were like “Wow, a Christian!…praise God!”. And the rest was definitely a Spirit-lead experience. Jackie was able to diagnose one of the major problems as to why Mia wasn`t able to latch on while breastfeeding…she was “tongue tied”.  Apparently, the little tissue that connects the tongue to the bottom of the mouth was so far up to the front of her tongue that she couldn`t stick her tongue out as normal, which kept her from being able to latch on to the nipple. Aside from that, Jackie was able to give some real good advice to my wife which helped her cope and feel much more at ease. We were also referred to a local plastic surgeon who has been able to easily fix the “tongue-tied” issue in infants, which thankfully was a simple ten second, non-invasive procedure. Although, Kelly decided to not be in the room when they did the procedure, but dear ol` dad sucked it up!

In any case, Mia will be going on one month in just a few days, and I am happy to say that she is doing very well. Maybe a little too well sometimes because she seems to be growing stronger at a supernatural rate. She eats a lot and lets it go through her little processing factory just as fast, only to turn around and want to eat more.

Praise God for beautiful babies, poopy diapers, and every single moment that your child looks into your eyes and sees you as a superhero.

Happy (belated) Father`s Day to all you Dads who know just what I`m talking about. And to you Moms…I don`t know how you do it, but don`t ever give up.

Invite Jesus Christ into the workplace

My buddy Chuck Reich sent this really interesting video clip of an interview he conducted for a company called At Work on Purpose, where they essentially teach and provide the tools necessary to introduce Christ`s values into their work environment. Working in a mostly secular environment myself, I can definitely see the real need for Christian values within all aspects of business and customer relations.
As Christians, it is our task (appointed by Jesus) to not only “go and make disciples”, but also to be the mouth piece of our Lord. To be a great example of true faith, integrity, purity, love, respects, ethics, and overall work values. Your co-workers will see the changes and hopefully become curious enough to ask the question “So why are you so different?”.

a servant`s heart

I can`t believe it`s already been a year since I attended my Via De Cristo weekend #76 (here`s the post from that experience: http://inknform.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/a-new-creation ) and just this past weekend (April 3-5) I had the opportunity to SERVE as a “Cha” at the GCVDC Men`s #78. Of course now that I`ve experienced both weekends, it is certainly going to be a toss-up as to which was the better of the two! But seriously, both weekends had a special place of their own.

As a candidate, your experience is likened to a newborn opening their eyes for the first time to look upon the world. They don`t know whats going to happen next, nor should they even worry about that. However, when your position is thrown into that of a servant (aka “CHA”) then anticipation is the name of the game. Team members (as opposed to candidates) have already done their weekend and so typically know whats going to happen, thereby allowing them to concentrate their focus on serving the new candidates.

But, God always has surprises in store for all his children.

It was truly a blessing to be on the serving end of the spectrum, and see the smiling faces as you open doors, serve meals, escort & guide, and embrace each candidate as one brother-in-Christ to another. Even the attitude changes from the first day all the way to the last was just phenomenal, and the camaraderie between all the candidates, team members, and pastors grew as the hours passed. It was truly the epitome of the family of God.

It was awesome to have spent those three days in the company of, not only brothers from my weekend and reunion group, but also meeting new faces and creating common bonds in the name of Jesus Christ.  There was plenty of fun, laughter, tears, sharing, singing, learning, but most of all fellowship between God & his children. Your heart essentially becomes recharged and reinforced with the Word of God, a tool of which can conquer anything that the enemy dare throw our way.

So, needless to say, it was definitely a special weekend which I can carry with me for the rest of my life. But, of course, the journey of servanthood doesn`t end there…

browser-based ORPG

(This is more of an updated & fresh perspective of my original DT post from months ago…)

Since my mid-teens, I`d been involved with role playing games (RPGs) of just about all types: pc games (OMMORPG), pen & paper (D&D), and since September of 2008, Dragon Tavern. The latter is considered an online “browser-based” (or “text-based”) RPG adventure game. However, one of the more obvious differences is that there are no virtual 3D avatars to control…of course that isn`t, by any means, a bad thing.  Just means you get to be that much MORE creative with your character, which is what RPG is all about.

Dragon Tavern is FREE browser-based, meaning that there is zero to install onto your computer and no monthly subscriptions. It`s text-based, meaning that all the characters you meet and locations you journey through are laid out in a read-only manner (okay, yes, reading is a requirement). All of the aspects of an RPG are there though: choosing your faction/realm, character creation, purchasing/upgrading weapons and armor, skill advancement, combat, healing (your wounds), and of course…adventuring! DT also gives you the opportunity to better your chances through what they call “advantages”, which you would purchase from creditsthat you earn throughout the game. DT also uses a system called “action points”, which is what allows you to move through the world. You are given a certain amount each day, and you can also purchase additional APs (via real money) if you feel the need to. However, that is strictly up to the player and wouldn`t change your game experience a whole lot other than the fact that you get more turns.

Once you`ve created a character, then the adventure starts out in the reknown Dragon Tavern, where you can shop, upgrade, heal, gamble your gold away (if you dare), or just head out into the vast expanse of the DT world to combat the evils of the land, collect treasure, and hone your fighting skills to fight another day! The best part about it all? There is a very small learning curve. The game mechanics might take a few times to figure out, but it`s basically calculating your enemies skill points to your characters and seeing who will win the fight. (essentially, when upgrading weapons, armor, and skills, it`s raises your chance of success)

Personally, I`ve enjoyed the Dragon Tavern game because its just simple fun, yet the monsters, territories, and overall story keeps you locked into it. Aside from the game itself, there is also a nicely put together forum, which players can sign into (separate registration, but freenonetheless) and interact with other players. I`ve been involved in the RP threads within the forums, writing storylines and also participating in other player`s storylines. Its just good fun with like-minded people. 

If simple, family-friendly, yet addicting browser-based RPG game play is your cup o` joe…just click on either of the banners to check out Dragon Tavern for yourself. Read through the storyline they have on the main pages, and also check out all the different character classes and factions to see which one you would be interested in. Then, start the adventure!

oldies but goodies

Being a lover of the 90`s alternative/grunge music scene (and even some of the movies that came out in that era), I had come across two items that piqued my interest: The Crow and Stabbing Westward. I don`t even remember how I actually fell upon it since I think I was looking up something about Smashing Pumpkins and somehow this landed in my lap. In anycase, apparently some video editing dude put together this really good “music video” using clips from The Crow with the song “Why” from Stabbing Westward.  Before even watching it, I was like “but, Why???” (no pun intended), however this guy did a great job. Check it out:

For those of you who were Stabbing Westward fans from the “old days” (hah!)…Christopher Hall (frontman for SW) started a band called The Dreaming in 2004 after the breakup of SW in 2002. Their music is similiar, but I think their look is way more emo. Eh. Who isn`t these days?

Must be something about Hollywood

it`s hard to be a Christian on I-95

I`d say if I could ever write a book with regard to my testimony, then it would probably mimic the title of this post. Now, you can call yourself a “believer”, all you want, but there is no excuse for hypocrisy…unless, of course, you are driving on one of the many interstates highways like a maniac. I`ve certainly had my share of being cut off, honked at, and told I was “# 1″ (via hand gestures) by many people out on the road…unfortunately, a good number of them had a “fish” or some other indication that they were followers of Jesus Christ. Trouble is, I don`t remember Christ ever giving a Roman soldier the bird! And so this is where we Christians begin to compromise our beliefs and trust.

All of us, no matter what our walk of life is, experiences stress to the point that we are ready to drop an atom bomb on the next person who crosses us. I use driving as an example because, more than not, this is where you truly see some people acting out of their normal character. You see human value going to the wayside because the person behind you is in too much of a hurry to care what you think. Next thing you know, road rage kicks into gear and you`ve got people putting other`s lives in danger. And for what? Too many other people like YOU on the road.

I`ve gotta hand it to God though, he knows our human nature so well that His Word, the Bible, seems to have all the answers to every issue we face in the modern society…especially RAGE. But, God chooses to take this responsibility upon himself, and not allow his children to go about judging one another. For instance:

Romans 12:19 - Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God`s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge, I will repay”,(Deu 32:35) so says the Lord.

Psalm 37:5 & 6 - Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, and the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Leviticus 19:18 - Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

There are a ton of verses with regard to anger against another, but the fact of the matter is that God would rather use us all for a greater good than to watch each of us tear the other down. So, in conclusion, let go and let God!

a farewell to zombies…

Alrighty…so I`m pretty much done with the “zombie guitarist” craze that seemed to sweep along my mind for the past week. I`ll probably do more another day, but I feel its time to move on to something…well, NOT so macabre for once. Yea, it`s all fun and games until body parts start falling off…then you know its time to take a break…

guitar “zombie” hero (part 2)

As promised, here is one of my favorite guitarists in the rock world. This piece was a lot of fun to do, mainly because he has so many interesting characteristics…and you can`t forget about the crazy hair!

Slash…you`ve been ZOMBIFIED!

Thanks Dana for picking a good one!

guitar “zombie” hero

Okay, so I asked a musician friend of mine the other day which guitarists he would like to see “zombified”.  Among the several he listed, the 80`s, spandex-wearing, big-haired, Eddie Van Halen was one of them. However, I wasn`t going so much for facial recognition (obviously) as I was a certain trademark pose.  I figured, what the heck…

 I`ve decided to do a series of “zombie guitarists”, just for fun and to see how interesting the outcome will be. I believe Slash, or “Dimebag” Darrell will be next. I`d also love to do one of Billy Corgan because he already looks like “Lurch” from the Adam`s Family anyway. I`ve found that doing well-known characters can be difficult because of trying to match facial likenesses and whatnot, but its also good when the person in question has certain recognizable qualities to them as well.  (i.e. Slash and his top hat, long shaggy/curly hair, and round sunglasses). 

Besides, they are zombies…who cares what their face looked like at one time

digging…

So I came across an old sketch I did in ink from I don`t know when, threw it in the scanner, and then imported into Photoshop to go buck wild. I really do enjoy my WACOM tablet, especially for coloring. Not sure I`ve gotten to the point where I want to actually sketch using the tablet, but who knows. For now, it`s purpose is being fulfilled. The drawing itself was cleaned up quite a bit since the sketch was…well…sketchy. I sure do love layers.