My church has been putting me to work recently. I like getting involved and there’s nothing I like more than being able to contribute some great stuff whether it be graphics, video editing, helping with the projector every once in awhile, you name it.

My first major task was creating a series of designs for badges staff members at Camp Wa-Ri-Ki will be wearing. The winning design, picked by a panel of church leadership, is pictured to the left (click on it to get a larger view). What we’re gonna do is get luggage ID holders, print out these ID badges on cardstock and save a bit of money while looking every bit professional. Thank God for Photoshop…seriously. I’m by no means a Photoshop guru but I do like to get my hands dirty every now and then.

With that project out of the way, I’m now editing a video that many of us have collaborated on. It’s called Soul Seekers and it directly coincides with the theme Rainier came up with for Winter Retreat. I can’t tell you much about it because it’s going to premiere at Wa-Ri-Ki, but I will gladly say it is one of the first productions in a Church of God of Prophecy-affiliated church to boast true high definition (1080i at 24 frames per second). Because it’s HD instead of standard video, it’s going to take me awhile to edit, even on my high-end computer system. But I’ll have it done before Wa-Ri-Ki, and you can bet I’ll put the video and a nice outtake reel on my site.

Hope you all are doing great out there…I’m enjoying my time off relaxing and shooting the breeze. God bless!

Tonight Aftan and I attended Porn Nation at the LaSells Stewart Center here at OSU. The title sounded interesting, and the discussion definitely was. Michael Leahy, a former sex addict now turned Christian and public speaker, used his public forum to not so much inform a packed house about the evils of pornography in today’s culture, but rather to make people aware of how their actions (in this case, exposing themselves and others to pornography) affect their future.

What was so great about the presentation was the fact he didn’t even talk about how pornography should be banned, limited or censored in any form. By directly telling the crowd that it’s a conscious direct choice whether to entertain their sexual thoughts or not, and not making excuses for himself as to why he was a sex addict, he addressed the problem with pornography as the consumers that support the industry rather than the industry itself. Without anyone to partake in it, pornography would not have as big a stranglehold on popular culture that it does now.

Equally, if not more, impressive was how Leahy offered to share his faith with the students in a non-judgmental way, and offered a four-minute break for those who needed to use the restroom, stand up and stretch or just wanted to leave. Few left and most stayed, and it was great to see how responsive the audience was when he shared his faith in Jesus Christ and how he is now free from the hold porn had on his life. He offered everyone a chance to pray with him and encouraged them to read the Word and give Christianity a chance. I was personally impressed by the students, who listened intently to his every word.

Great speaker, great event and it was refreshing to hear a Christian perspective on a popular subject such as porn that was non-judgmental, personal and very entertaining.

Check out Porn Nation online at www.pornnation.org.

The bad news first. The apartment deal fell through. Oh well…turns out the place was an affordable housing community and I’m overqualified. Even though it sucks to not have housing yet, it’s pretty cool to be stable enough financially to where I am considered overqualified for something.

Already I’ve found some good alternatives. There’s one that offers free cable and high speed internet. I’m sold on it already, and I’m going there tomorrow to check it out. It’s about 15 minutes the other way from work, still in Hillsboro, right by the Intel and Nike campuses.

Okay, for the good news now. I get to visit Aftan tomorrow night into Thursday. Pray for a safe trip. I’ll see her this week and then head back down there for Valentine’s Day next week. It’s gonna be great.

That’s all for now. I’m headed into Portland to chill with Michael P. after the Blazer game.