andrew dodson

I found this on Justin Taylor’s blog and it really hits home with me. Sort of shapes how I should view my work as a graphic artist.

1. Christian artists should view their talent as a gift from God and see its use ultimately as worship to God.
2. A Christian artist should have a sober assessment of his gift and neither
   over-estimate the opportunities it should given him or undervalue the
   contribution he can make with it.
3. The most authentic Christian art results from our joy in Christ overflowing
   into Christian art, not our strategies to do art that is Christian.
4. Creating art is an expression of faith and obedience, not of compulsion or identity.
5. The Christian artist should see his art as a way to love God, his people, and the world.
6. The Christian Artist sees the sovereign hand of God in both his opportunities and his obstacles.
7. The Christian artist is committed to truth in the way he lives and what he creates.
8. While the Christian artist is under no burden to make all of his art
   explicitly Christian, it would be an unbiblical use of his gift to
   intentionally create a body of work without reference to Christ.
9. The Christian artist rejects the worldly concept of artist as an outsider
   and embraces his place among God’s people in the local church as
   essential to his life and gifting.
10. The Christian artist should not ignore his personal responsibility to evaluate the theological soundness of his work.
11. Because the Christian artist trusts God, he will battle selfish ambition,
    competition, and any pretense of entitlement in regard to his art.
12. The Christian artist will see the evaluation of others as an essential help
    in both growing in their art and assessing its fruitfulness.
13. The Christian artist will resist elitism and care about the accessibility
    of his art to the average Christian in the congregation
14. The Christian artist must never confuse the joy of creativity with the joy of knowing and pleasing God.

More and more, we’re being bombarded with the idea of “going green.”  Eco-friendly products are becoming more and more available.  The process of making products is becoming more and more eco-friendly, as well.  With all of the fuss about going green, I wonder where God comes into play?

First, I must admit, I’m not an environmentalist.  But, I’m also not an anti-environmentalist.  I sit on the fence.  I don’t litter, and to my knowledge, my vehicle is the only not-so-environmentally-friendly product I use.  I don’t recycle, personally, but we do recycle cans at CLS (for a person we know - not an employee - that uses them to help pay her bills).  I’m supportive of our city’s recycling program (which I don’t participate in, only because I don’t own a home).  My guess is, if I researched my lifestyle in relation to environmentalism, I’m not doing all that I could to help the environment.

The story of Genesis tells of how God created the earth.  We also see in Scripture that God reveals himself through creation.  Scripture also tells of God’s sovereignty over the earth.

Part of me hears all of this fuss over going green and thinks it’s a futile human attempt to prolong the life of the earth.  Since God is sovereign, it’s up to Him, not us.  Another part of me thinks that since God did create the earth, we need to be good stewards of it, just like we are to be good stewards of our money.  All good things come from Him.  Another part of me is excited about the growing use of organic products to create things we use every day.  It’s like we’ve finally realized that what God created is sufficient for our every day needs.

Where do you sit?  Is Earth Day like Christmas for you?  Or, do you not care?

I’m happy to recommend a new blog by a somewhat new friend - John Martin (not to be confused with Josh, and no relation).  John and I go back to February of 2006 when I was considering buying an electronic drum set.  My boss recommended I speak with a guy who used to rent a house from him.  So, I called and met up with John at Memorial Baptist Church and he sold me on the Yamaha DTXpress III Special.  Since then, I’ve had occasional contact with him through CLS and church activities.  Recently, he joined us (some guys from The Point and me) on a trip to Seattle, so I’ve gotten to know him better in the last few months.  I learned about his blog earlier this week, but I’m just getting around to linking to it.

John is a great guy in this order - He loves the Lord, he loves his family, is a great husband and father, he faithfully serves his church as a pastor, and he is a great drummer & musician.  Go read his blog.

It’s that time of week… time to randomly blog:

• CLS has picked up steam over the last couple of weeks.  I’m going to try my best to keep up with blogging, but I am prepared to be working some overtime over the next several weeks.  Along with other projects, the blog might get forgotten about some days!
• NCAA Final Four this weekend - my pick in North Carolina, as much as I don’t like that.  I just think they’re too powerful.  With the way they’ve beaten people in the tourney so far, they remind me a lot of another extremely talented team that won it all by pounding teams in the tournament - the 1996 Kentucky Wildcats.
• Baseball season is now in full swing.  UK got off to an amazing start, but they’re now into SEC play, and have lost a handful of games over the last couple of weeks.  The Reds kicked off their season yesterday with a 4-2 loss to the Diamondbacks.  The staff gave up three homers, and the Reds only mustered three hits.  Fortunately, they have 161 games left to turn things around.
• Seriously - the Drop Trio is good.  Check them out.  The Leap album is a completely improvised album, which I’d normally love, but judging from some 30-second sound clips, it’s not as groove oriented as their other two releases.
• I’m enjoying Wordpress 2.5 so far.  If you haven’t upgraded yet, you should!

Instead of a YouTube video this weekend, I’m posting an interactive tour of Sweetwater’s new facility. They are a musical instrument and audio equipment dealer, based out of Fort Wayne, IN. I actually applied for a graphic design position with this company a long time ago, but didn’t get it. Part of me is glad because I’m not sure I would’ve liked moving to northern Indiana. But, after seeing this facility, it might be worth it!

> Tour the new Sweetwater facility

(p.s. - this is my first post using Wordpress 2.5 - I really like it!)

The remainder of my week will be fairly jam-packed.  I have a lot to get done before I leave for Seattle at the break of dawn on Saturday.  Just to fill you in (since I know you’re on the edge of your seat), and to wrap my head around what I have to do, here’s a breakdown:

Life at CLS

After a slow January, work is picking up at CLS.  A couple of days last week were fairly busy, and today got a little more hectic as the day went on.  I’m hoping to have a really productive day tomorrow to stay on top of things.  Not only do I need to stay on top of things, but I also need to get ahead, since I’ll be gone all of next week.  To top it off, I need to post over thirty new t-shirts designs to our Got The Shirt site, as we try to finally get that project off the ground.

Life at The Point

I’ll be missing the Sunday service at TPCC for the first time in a very long while.  I really don’t remember the last time I missed.  Tomorrow night, I’ll go to the Habakkuk bible study, but then I get to go home.  I won’t have to stay for praise band rehearsal since I won’t be there on Sunday.  This actually helps, even though I hate to miss.  Not having to go to rehearsal will give me an extra couple of hours to get some things done.  One of those things being preparing for my PCG on Thursday night (and cleaning my apartment!).

Life at BADmedia

My goal by the end of this week is to have completely finished rough mixes for the Polston recording I did a couple of months ago.  I still need to get with a couple of groups to do overdubs, but I hope to have the project completed in the next few weeks.  With moving and everything else, it’s taken me longer than usual to get around to mixing, but I’ve finally found the time.  I hope to use my free time tomorrow evening to mix down a couple of the group’s performances.

On the website side of the business, I did a quick site update tonight.  My only real issue is The Point’s media site, which has been down for two weeks.  iPower is working on the issue, but it’s out of my hands - very frustrating!  I hope the issue is solved by the time I return from Seattle - hopefully sooner!

Other

I’m really excited about the Seattle trip.  It’s funny - a few weeks ago, we were all wishing it would hurry up and get here.  Now, it’s finally here and I wish I had another week!  A lot to do in very little time, it seems.

I finally got my internet up-and-running at my apartment tonight.  Since I have a wireless network, I went into my router settings and restricted access to only my computers.  This is my first time living in an apartment building, so I haven’t had the need to do this before.  But, I also don’t want people leeching off my connection.

In my quest to blog more often, I’m considering a schedule of some kind.  Like, Saturday would be YouTube video day, Sunday would be blog link day (linking to stories on other blogs - some people call this a blog carnival), Friday would be PCG Notes day…you get the idea.  I’m also considering have guest bloggers from time to time.  Anyone got any other ideas?

I’ve just received word that on February 17th, the Extreme Makeover Home Edition in which CLS was a part of will be airing.  The show will be a two-hour special, starting at 7 p.m.  Be sure to watch and keep an eye out for the black and white curtains we printed.

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It’s almost that time of year!  The time of year I look forward to the most - The CLS shut down.  Judging by the fact that I’m blogging about it two weeks ahead of time, can you tell I’m looking forward to it?

The shut down is one of my favorite perks at CLS.  This year, because of the way Christmas and New Year’s fall, it’s a little longer than usual.  Instead of a week off, we’ll actually get seven work days off, and in total, I won’t have to work for eleven days (including two weekends).  Last year, I spent three days of my vacation sick and laid up in bed.  Hopefully, I can avoid that this year.

The only plans I have as of right now:

• I have a live recording on the December 30th.  Setup will be on the 28th.
• Family Christmas gathering on the 29th.
• Revamp a few things on The Point’s media site.
• Complete work on a new website for BADmedia.
• Read a book (or two?).

Most of my plans could be null and void if something else I’m working on pans out.  I can’t spare any details right now, but I might know something more by the end of this week.  Stay tuned!

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Yesterday, I read an entry from John Piper’s A Godward Life dealing with the trials we face day to day.  One Scripture that he used was:

1 Corinthians 10:13 (Listen)

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

This week has been a trying week at work.  This is our busiest time of the year.  Aside from the usual stress of my job, many other things have come up this week that have tested my faith.  Not the kind of testing that makes me wonder if God is going to show up and save the day.  But, the type of testing that affects my attitude.  I start to think, “What’s my limit?  How much more can I handle?”

It was refreshing to once again be reminded of this passage.  After all, my trials on a daily basis are extremely minimal to what other people may be dealing with.  Small potatoes.  And the answer to these questions are made easier - I can handle as much as God puts on my plate.  If he wants to pile on a little more, so be it.  If he wants to take a little away, that’s fine too.

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