Brain Drain

It has been a very, very long time since I have updated this blog and my Spirits Among Us blog. It isn't that there haven't been things to talk about or share, I've just had 100% of my time and creativity absorbed lately. I am grateful that I have not been traveling abroad lately, because it has given me time to work on two very important projects; my next film and a Christian media event.
It might appear to some that I have too much on "my plate" and I question that myself sometimes. But it always boils down to this, I am doing what I believe God is leading me to do, so I can't ignore any one of them, I have to pursue them. I used to use an analogy concerning my work in secular business (engineering) and my work in ministry business (Christian movie production). I likened it to having one foot on the dock (secular) and one foot on the boat (ministry). That was easy until the boat began moving from the dock. Eventually was going to have to either jump onto the boat or onto the dock, because my legs were getting stretched far apart.
I prayed about this often. It has been my desire for quite awhile to have a full-time ministry career. Yet I am still straining with one foot on the dock and one foot on the boat. God revealed to me three truths.
1. It is not a dock and a boat, but two boats, that I have my feet on
2. God is steering both boats
3. God is helping me to grow longer legs

Here is what this means in the real, non-analogy world:
1. I am doing what God wants me to do
2. I am moving in the right direction, His direction
3. He is helping me to manage people and multiple tasks better, without becoming overwhelmed
4. He is helping me to form teams that help me in achieving the goals He has set before me
5. By getting other people (teams) involved, God is able to use these activities to help them grow in their discipleship.

That is it for now. Please visit www.pottersreel.net to learn what we are doing with this conference. Please visit www.spiritsamongusmovie.blogspot.com in a few days to learn about the next movie we are working on.

Have a blessed day, thanks for reading.

Heaven and Hell

I came back from a nice weekend retreat with the church men's group to find out that we had a severe storm while I was gone. Lightning struck near our home and disabled a vcr/dvd player, the x-box, our vonage phone module, and my main computer. So, the mess you see in the first photo is of my office, messier than normal. My old computer is in computer heaven, which left me in computer hell for a couple days.

Our dog Sandy was little distressed. She normally lies on the office floor while I work. She takes little naps, snores, and barks in her sleep. The room was so cluttered she barely had enough room. It is great that she hangs out in the office while I work, it reminds me that life is not all about work. Naps, snoring and barking are important too.

Say "Cheese"

There is not much to this post, I just wanted to share a couple photos I took at the Wildlife Ranch while we were on Spring break. I am dissapointed that this was the best smile these two could muster after I clearly instructed them to say "cheese."

Christian Movies

Today's post is just a question, two actually. I would like feedback from everyone with an opinion relating to these:

Question 1:
"What would motivate Christians to watch more Christian films, maybe one per month?"

Question 2:
"What would motivate non-Christians to watch films that have a Christian message?"

Recreation

We are about half-way through our spring break vacation. It has been very fun so far. We have seen and experienced quite a bit over the last few days. We have seen dinosaur footprints, Bible manuscripts, fish, turtles and animals. It is actually more fun than it sounds. I think just being able to have an adventure with my family is what makes it fun. I am glad that the kids still like interacting with each other and us parents. I don't take that for granted, well, maybe I do sometimes but I don't mean to. Well, we are off to Sea World now!

Oh, the first photo is of my family looking down through the bottom of a glass bottom boat at Aquarena Springs.

Big Feet, Good Timing

We went to the Dinosaur Valley State Park today and saw some dinosaur footprints up close and personal. It was great fun. It was amazing to stand next to a place, several places actually, that a dinosaur walked. I'm glad we waited a several thousand years (or billion if one believe in the general theory of evolution)to visit here, otherwise we might have gotten stepped upon!


Below is a photo of a dinosaur footprint on a human footprint. This and other similar findings are controversial among believers of the general theory of evolution. I was glad to get to see this up close.

Scrolls, Fossils, Celebrities

We visited the Creation Evidence Museum on the day that Professor Gary Zimmeran conducted a seminar on writing and preservation of Hebrew manuscripts. He had numerous scrolls of the various old testament books. He had an original manuscript of the Torah. I don’t study the history of the Bible, so I know that me and my family did not appreciate the significance of being able to see real hand written scrolls retrieved from the Holy land, that form the content of the Old Testament. My wife and I were able to hold the Torah (with the mantle on it). Amazing.

Dr. Carl Baugh gave a presentation about dinosaur and human footprint fossils discovered in the same archaeological layer, and in some cases, together. This evidence supports the idea that man and dinosaurs lived on earth at the same time.

In addition to the significance of the scrolls, and the fossil findings, I am impressed by the devotion that these two men have to using their lives to serve God. They each are living their lives serving God in the manner that they understand He has called them. Most people probably have not heard of these men, but by my definition, they are true celebrities.