Pandora

Pandora is incredible- I've stopped eating sliced bread since discovering this service. You know why? Because its better than sliced bread- thats why (you knew it was coming, don't pretend you didn't)! Check it out and thank me later.

Alrighty... I promise I'll stop my shameless service plugs here for at least a few days... I think...

Invitations Arrive Tomorrow!

The wedding invitations are coming in tomorrow! I feel so very blessed- O'Neil printing is comping our order completely as a wedding gift to us (Conny and Tony- you are truly blessed friends- THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart). For the designers of you out there who are actively looking to pick up a friend in the printing business, I would suggest, no scratch that... I would BEG that you get in contact with O'Neil Printing. There is no finer, classier, nobler printing company out there. They truly do break the mold with their customer service and self interest in their clients. The company itself is employee-owned so everyone that works there has a vested interest in doing the best possible job for all their clients. Now they most certainly won't comp your order but they'll give you a very competitive price and will guarantee the best quality product available on the market. I love this company... can you tell?

Due to O'Neil Printing, I was given the rare opportunity to dream up an invitation from scratch. The finished product is an oddly sized 5.5"x5.5" shell which contains a pocket flap with stepped inserts containing information about the ceremony, reception, registry, and directions. It is printed on a beautiful pearlescent-type paper and aqueous coated for durability. It has turned out to be a really gorgeous print piece! I'm really jazzed about all of this and am thinking of investing into the wedding preparation design market. I'd like to specifically focus on those couples who want nonstandard print materials which distinguish them from design norms that abound in the current market. This all of course will be after my own wedding, but still- it's exciting to see a potential design niche to grab onto and explore.

Holiday Recap

Hello friends- I hope that you all were able to enjoy a very restful Christmas with friends and family! The Christmas season is an awesome reminder of what Christ, our Savior, has done for us. Its not only a time to remember his birth, but a time to remember that He was born for a reason. Indeed, He was born to die for our sins. I admit that I often lose sight of this and regret my self-centered actions. As a sinful man it seems that it is all too easy to lose focus on Christ in favor for my own worries and stresses. Friends, I pray that you and I may run to the cross always. Let us never forget that the problems of this life are fleeting, but our God is forever.

I would appreciate prayers in the upcoming month. My fiance and I are approaching the final month of wedding preparations which has its unique, yet often blessed, stresses attached to it. Please pray that God would continue to draw us closer together through our love and service to Him alone. I am also looking at quite a rigorous schedule of design work coming up which should definitely prove to be challenging. It seems that I have often been reminded of my inability to control circumstances of late. However, I take courage in the fact that God is control of all things. There is a great couple of verses in Psalm 127 that I find particularly encouraging (1,2):

Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to [a] those he loves.

What a great reminder for me personally! I try to control things so often. In vain I stay up late. I lose sleep while trying to accomplish impossible tasks. Though its hard to do so, I've found that it is often better to let go of some of these 'impossible' stresses and just sleep on it at times (I am definitely preaching to myself first and foremost on this... see my "Sleep- I Defy Thee..." post for confirmation on that!). After a good night's sleep I find that I am refreshed and empowered in the morning. In this way I am much more able to rely on God to fully give me the strength to persevere through any trial. How often do we forget that God created rest for a reason? God delights in the rest of his people and designed us as human beings to operate this way. May we never forget the value of a commitment to restfulness in our Lord.

JJ Abrams is My Hero

Between JJ Abram's highly anticipated movie 'Cloverfield' and Lost Season 4... man... that's just creative talent coming out the ears...

Heck yes.

Excellent Sermon

My pastor spoke on the parable of the treasures today. He did an excellent job using scripture to illustrate how God does the choosing of His people; not the other way around. I love Pastor John's straightforward style and felt like this was some much needed spiritual food for the soul. How blessed am I that God sought me out and made me His child? You can check out this sermon and more from Grace Covenant at our broadcasting site hosted at Sermon Audio.

'Tis the Season

'Tis the season of much design work! Working at Food for the Hungry has proven to be a major delight and joy. My job continually challenges me to put my best foot forward and embrace new projects. I've been hard at work developing departmental brandings (see image for a mock example of what I've been working on), creating team shirts, producing training manuals, magazine ads, brochures, and plenty of web-based graphics. Its been a busy few weeks, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I am nearly done with a lot of the wedding collateral thats been weighing on me for the last month and am excited to have that printed up and out the door soon! Thank you all for being so receptive to this new format and encouraging me to keep up documenting the oddities of my life via this web interface.

Dependent on the Rock

I am reminded of my utter dependence upon Christ today. A short passage of scripture that I encountered today during my devotional:

^"17 Unless the LORD had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

¹⁸ When I said, "My foot is slipping,"
your love, O LORD, supported me.

¹⁹ When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul. "

-Psalm 94:17-19

May we give thanks to a God who hears us when we cry out to Him! I am so thankful for a God who has compassion on me when my foot is slipping and my body gives way. Thank you God for stressful times and trying situations; in these trials do I find strength in you. I am utterly dependent on Your grace and strength holy Father- teach me to rest completely in Your arms alone.

My friends- if you do not know this security and comfort, run to the cross! Throw off everything- every relationship, every comfort, every novelty, every expectation, every cultural norm and run to Christ's saving arms.

Ammunition of a Creative Blogger

The tools available to the creative professional who blogs keep getting more and more amazing- I'm psyched to be back and blogging again; what a perfect time to jump back in! I recently stumbled across www.vimeo.com a 'you-tube-esque' site (albeit a MUCH prettier, sleeked out one) that lets you broadcast your videos in HD. Yep, that's right- HD! Okay... so granted its not the physical, full-fledged HD package, but its pretty darn close and streams high-rez video extremely well.

The reason for my excitment about this? Just last week I was able to purchase a Canon HV-20 DV camcorder. God miraculously provided us the unexpected means to purchase this camera for which He gets all the glory! Celeste and I thought this to be a wise purchase as we approach our wedding and wanted to start documenting our new life together. Yes, documenting life is grand, but I'd be lying if I denied the fact that I'm really pumped to be able to use this camera for more artistic things as well. My love of cinema and short films was spawned back at Mesa Community College when I took a course with a very talented instructor whom inspired me to create several short films. Unfortunately life, work and school in general squashed any free time that I had available to continue making these films.

However- now with the HV-20 in my possession, I see a bright future for cinematography (heck- if a return to blogging is in order, then why not film making as well). For those of you haven't seen what the Canon HV-20 can do, you've gotta check it out. This is a consumer camera that records in full 16:9 HD and also has the ability to film in 24p (the frame rate that most movies are rendered in). Essentially, this is a 'big-boy' camera wrapped in a consumer package. Don't let the size fool you- this thing packs a punch. While I haven't had a chance to shoot any footage to write home about yet, here is some sample footage that I dug up on Vimeo for you to check out. The best way to do this is to visit the actual site and view it rather then watching it within this blogging structure.

I'll be sure to post some test footage when I have it shot, rendered and ready to go. Invaluable resources that I've stumbled upon so far regarding the HV-20 have some from www.hv20.com- check it out.

A Christmas Story - Trailer

Nothing puts me in the Christmas mood like this movie... what a classic...

God Sustains...

God is amazing my friends! I am constantly refreshed and reminded of his awesomeness during my own personal times of stress. Moving both my fiance and myself to new, separate residences whilst planning a wedding and working full-time has definitely added a bit more stress recently (though it is hardly something to complain about in the grand scheme of things!). Its amazing how he places individuals in my life who direct me down the proper path. This week, that encouragement took the form of several people in my life: my fiance reminding me that God is in control, stumbling across an encouraging letter that was written by a friend, spending time with my brother and just enjoying his company and casual conversation. These were all simple things that people did to point me towards the excellent example of Christ.

Friends, I am so very thankful and indebted to my Lord for consistently and willfully bearing my load of sin. He holds me close in the toughest of times and blesses me beyond what I deserve. Thank you God for being far greater, grander, and magnificent than any problem or tribulation on this planet. You are so very good!

Sleep- I Defy Thee...

Perhaps its the newness of this blog, perhaps its the fact that I just chugged a Rock Star Guava energy drink (quite good actually!), or maybe its just the fact that I have a ton of stuff to do between now and the weekend, BUT I am definitely choosing not to sleep tonight. The itty-bitty camera on my phone provides the wonderful imagery that accompanies such a post (ahem, ahem).

Anyway... I just wanted to say that I am totally jazzed about the promo materials I've been working on for the upcoming wedding. Celeste has been so great about letting me run with this and develop a unique style for our wedding. We completed the final edits on the invitation tonight and I have been wrapping up all of the rough draft, prelim work for our hosting website as well this week. I'll be sure to post the finalized versions of both the website and the print invitations as soon as they are completed here. We're taking a bold jump as far as RSVPing goes- we've totally ditched the traditional mail-in response in favor for online registration via the website (I'm using aa logiforms platform for the RSVP- really quite a neat web-app for those who loathe coding their response pages by hand). I also set up a phone message line for RSVPing just in case some of our invitees don't have access to a computer.

Into the Blogosphere: Part II

Well friends, here I am, back in the blogosphere. The original incarnation of this started almost six years ago when I began freelance design business called Vigilant Studios. I did alright keeping up with it at first, but as the years progressed I began to become more and more lax in my blogging duties. Long story short- life crept in and pushed my creative writing juices out the back door. Recent events especially (read here as graduating from college, starting a new job, planning a wedding) have also contributed to the eventual death of the Vigilant Studios blog.

At first, I was okay with this. It gave me more time to focus on some very important things. However, as time has gone on I find that I crave this outlet. My attempts at keeping a physical, hand-written journal have failed miserably, so I once again turn to the web-enabled version we call a 'blog'.

What's different this time around? Well, for one thing- look at it! I finally got the hint that having a business site and a blog all rolled into one was not a good idea (of course the business site has pretty much become stagnant, but thats another tale for another day). So, I ported over posts that I deemed relevant to the subject matter of this blog for future viewing.

I also decided to do all my bloggin on the Blogger platform. For years I despised using mainstream blogging platforms. Blogger and LiveJournal always struck an unsettling chord in my creative body. However, I've come to realize the error of my elitist ways. By circumventing a mainstream blogging platform I was missing out on a huge community with which to interact. In addition to this, Blogger is now fairly robust in what it offers to the design and creative professional (no doubt due mainly to the highly-profiled acquisition by Google). There is quite a bit of customization and ability of change built into the platform (albeit the pesky little leading bar that is always looming at the top of the page) and I'm quite happy with the overall interface. Blogger also has some wonderful photo, video, and widget uploading abilities that I'm really going to enjoy taking advantage of.

All this to say- I'm back (you can imagine a vintage, terminator-like swarzchenegger voice if you so desire here). I vow to to keep most of my posts following this one less business-like, but I felt an introduction was appropriate. I apologize in advance for the ramblings that may ensue regarding wedding plans and the like... as it just so happens, it's where God has me in life at the moment.

Weasel Memories

I couldn't help but laugh today as I stumbled across a video I completed for one of my film classes in college (which I created roughly 3 years ago). "Weasel & Associates" was a mock commercial that parodies low-budget, local law firms and their attempts to gain the consumer's 'trust'. Without further adieu- the video...

One might wonder what slick hair, smooth talking, and shady client reviews would have to do with that... Interestingly enough, all of these 'characters' will be part of my upcoming wedding in some form or another. Do I know how to pick'em or what?

Dirty Feet

“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

-John 13:12-1

The mirror before me reflects a tired, wearied man; a man who knows his shortcomings and failures only all to well. Beneath the fleshy exterior lies a sinful soul that houses a hardened heart. The reflection grimaces as he realizes that he has failed yet again, he has done that which he promised he would not. He finds that his feet are thick with dirt; he has walked in places he shouldn’t. No matter how hard he scrubs, the filth remains securely fastened to his feet. He begins to find himself tripping more and more as the mud continues to build. His walk has been hindered, his movement is sluggish. The immense weight of a marred past begins to press heavily upon his face- memories of past failures, wrong choices, and frivolous fancies. As his brow furrows he parts his lips as if to speak. In the end I’m startled to find that it is my own voice that softly utters the word, “Why?”

Yes, this is the question that we, as sinners, ask ourselves when the weighty realization of our utterly decrepit nature takes on very real meaning. Why, as a Christian, do we fall when we have already been given directions to our final destination? Why do we wander when the path has been so clearly marked with the crimson blood of a murdered Savior? Why do we continue to allow sin to run rampant in our lives without checks and balances? Why do we preach one thing and live another? Why do we entertain sinful thoughts for even a fleeting moment?

The reflection in the mirror stirs and my vision begins to blur. I can see that he is crying; I am crying. Tears give way to wet paths that run down the tattered cheeks of a sinful man. He smiles weekly as yet another realization completely overcomes him. The room feels as if it has been turned upside down and a cooling calm begins to spread over me. I look down to see a Savior washing my dirty feet. My protests are met with calm rebukes as all my misgivings, screw ups, and failures vanish without a trace. I find a humbled man in the mirror before me; a man who realizes that there is no human rhyme or reason to the action that just took place. It is a concept greater than humanity- God’s mercy and love to a people who no longer remember the definition of perfection.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ- we serve such a wonderful Lord! Though we fail time and time again, God is always there for us. We must always realize that his death and resurrection is a finished work. He has already washed our feet- our sins are forgiven. We should not become entranced by our sinful reflection or the lives we have left behind. Let us always run to Christ in our dark times and embrace the forgiveness that he has so graciously provided us with. Our sin is a very REAL thing my friends, it is not a vague concept. We are sinners, we do mess things up, but God is also real. He is perfect, and he has chosen to provide a means of sanctification to his children that he loves! May others see Christ’s love and forgiveness in our own lives this day and as we live genuine, thankful lives to and for him. Praise God for a Savior who is not above washing our dirty feet.

Love’s as Warm as Tears

I love poetry. I especially love poetry that touches on and fleshes out a human emotion that is seemingly indescribable. I was going through a book of compiled poetry yesterday by C.S. Lewis and came across a piece that did just that. How does one seek to describe love to another? It is so many things- romantic, brotherly, compassionate, intimate, external, prideful, sorrowful… where do you even start?

After reading this, I honestly feel that I could do no more justice to the definition of Love than Lewis does here. The fourth verse is truely beautiful. Enjoy.

LOVE’S AS WARM AS TEARS
by C.S. Lewis

Love’s as warm as tears,
Love is tears;
Pressure within the brain,
Tension at the throat,
Deluge, weeks of rain,
Haystacks afloat,
Featurless seas between
Hedges, where once was green.

Love’s as fierce as fire,
Love is fire:
All sorts- infernal heat
Clinkered with greed and pride,
Lyric desire, sharp-sweet,
Laughing, even when denied,
Whence all loves came.

Love’s as fresh as spring,
Love is spring:
Bird-song hung in the air,
Cool smells in a wood,
Whispering ‘Dare! Dare!’
To sap, to blood,
Telling ‘Ease, safety, rest,
Are good; not best.’

Love’s as hard as nails,
Love is nails:
Blunt, thick hammered through
The medial nerves of One
Who, having made us, knew
The thing He had done,
Seeing (with all that is)
Our cross, and His.

The Bigger Picture

Sometimes I just don’t get it
Bogged down with day to day monotony

I can’t find the strength or clarity of mind
To step outside my self-created prison
Life is bigger and the scheme is grander
There is no need to quantify in small terms
My state of mind, so often subjective,
Hinges on what I see and feel in the moment,
But isn’t it interesting how things change,
Those things called ‘the norm’ aren’t normal at all,
I become accustomed to the burden I bear,
Putting up boundaries reinforced with meaningless thoughts,
God is not a term, rather a being,
He is not small nor something to flee,
Within the confines of his loving arms,
I can push the boundaries of my very being,
Nothing is impossible; no mountain too high,
The constraints of humanity are stripped away,
Perfection can be grasped through the blood of another.
So then take a step outside of the present,
View life for what it is,
It’s much simpler than I once thought,
The trials and troubles I found insurmountable,
Are now seen for what they really are-
A product of sinful eyes losing their focus,
A shifting of priorities from perfection to abomination.
Thus, I take confidence in these brief times of realization,
Vowing to remember moments of clarity,
Renewing my strength to fight on another day,
Becoming vigilant to guard my thoughts and actions,
Giving it all to my God; the maker of a straight and narrow path.