things are just trucking along, and seeing as how i'm not sure how fast that truck is supposed to be going, it seems pretty good to me.  i am delving into some crazy legal documents to learn about becoming an unincorporated non-profit association. and honing in on a real schedule and curriculum for a camp this summer.  there are a lot of loose ends, and lots of things that will take a long time to complete (like applying for 501(c)3 status, which they say could take up to 12 months or longer!) but, God is so good.  please pray that i would be able to continually yield control of the journey to Him, because i know that He will get it done in the time it needs to be completed.  i'm just trusting in His timing right now.

in the mean time, if anyone knows a nice lawyer who wants to do some pro bono work for a guy in west virginia (namely, me...) let me know!

i'll be trying to send out a newsletter at the beginning of october, so keep an eye out for it.

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(the trees are starting to change colors and i am so excited that it's fall!)

Study: Vessels: Salt (2008)

this piece is part of a new series i am working on in conjunction with the "light" series from the same section in matthew. for a long time i was never really sure what "you are the salt of the earth" [matthew 5:13] meant. and i'd be egotistical to say that i understand it all now, but I am slowly starting to understand. this series, along with the light series, are to explore the implications of these two important "you are" statements that Jesus makes about His people.

this piece was also accepted to be shown at the 2008 CCDA conference in miami (october 22-26) as part of a show surrounding the conference theme of "shalom." it will be displayed with the works of many other artists from around the country (and maybe even the continent!)

things got really crazy toward the end of the summer and i feel like i'm just now catching up (finally!) at the beginning of august, john came for a visit! it was so good (and relaxing) to have him here for the weekend. the youthworks staff left to go back to their normal lives, but i followed them up to pittsburgh to help with the end of summer retreat and hang out with jess and belinda (area and regional directors over west virginia) before they went off on their new adventures as well. right after that, i drove over to canton to visit for a day and came back home to logan. i wasn't even here for a week before i got a late-night phone call from alissa that hayden carter (one of the boys from the small group i co-led in murfreesboro, and a friend as close as a little brother) had died suddenly in a car wreck. the next morning i drove down there to spend the week with friends and family. after the weekend of the funeral, alissa came up to visit for a few days. this last week was the first in a while i might describe as "normal" (maybe... if there is such a thing!)
in the midst of all of this chaos (including many hard days and hard nights) God has been so faithful. one night last week i felt like i should give up on just about everything, maybe move somewhere else and not tell anybody where. it was awful. but from every broken seed, God brings beautiful growth; and the next day, He blew new breath into me and showed me part of His vision for logan.
so, right now, i'm working on the details of an arts-based summer camp/workshop (or to avoid the community-center fiasco, lets just call it a "thing"!) to provide under-served students in logan with an outlet for all the awful things our society has thrown onto them. i believe that the arts are healing (they have been for me, and many others i know); and that, as God is the Creator, we also, being made in His image, are to be creators and not destroyers. (it's good for you, try it!) as usual, i really don't know what this is going to look like. but, i'm trying to get in contact with some people who are doing similar things around the country to get some basics down. please pray that God would continue to speak about His desires for logan and the students here. please pray that He would send workers when the time is right (and, of course, funds...). and PLEASE keep praying for hayden's family and friends.

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