Anti-itch Meditation

I have been reading a preacher's blog for a few years and I have only shared him with a very few close friends. His name is Jeff Weddle. He is funny, smart and mixed with a splash of sarcasm. I can only take sarcasm in very small doses but this is the correct amount. He is not right on every thing but he freely admits that and I find that very refreshing.

This is an excerpt from a great post he put up a couple of weeks ago. You can read the whole thing HERE.

Kids are dumb and this cannot be changed. All a dad can hope for is that their dumb is released in better ways than the dumb that kids will come up with. It is my contention that if you do not show kids how to be properly dumb they will be in jail very soon.

At the same time a dad gets on a kid’s level, dads are also supposed to raise kids to a higher level. Again, God is my example. God knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust, so what did He do? He became dust like us.

But His purpose for getting on our level was to raise us to His level–the heavenly took on an earthly body so we in the earthly body might be made heavenly. Kids need to see how an adult acts and handles consequences of dumb.

But please, please, please adults, understand that the Kingdom of God is filled with those with childlike faith. Being mature and an adult does not mean we don’t do crazy stuff–it means we do totally awesome crazy stuff.

Isn't that great?

I read a whole lot of good stuff that I would like to link to but ultimately I do not because I do not want to lead millions of readers with impressionable minds to blogs and stories on sites that also contain lots of incredibly rotten doctrine. That's not the reason I have not shared this guy. I kept him to myself because even I have selfish moments.

I hope you enjoy Anti-itch Meditation.

Davy

CD Cover Design

Yesterday I posted about our pictures for the CD from Imprints Photography by dee. She did a super job with the subjects she had to deal with and we appreciate it so much. We had to have good pictures in a short  amount of time and Dee came through.

But that is only the first very important crucial step in the process.

The second step is to translate those pictures into some kind of workable design. The cover needs to look sharp, catch the eye, contain the right information without being crowded, sell a million CDs and hopefully have a little fun in the process! (Selling a million CDs would probably be pretty fun.)

All of that is way above our pay grade. So what to do? The only thing a person could do is turn to the resident expert in all things photography and design, Julie Stephens from Calotype Photography in Neosho, Missouri.

For all the reasons I explained yesterday, we were working against an impossibly tight schedule but thankfully Julie waved her wand and made it all work some how and some way. In just a little while she was sending us amazing creations and we were staring in wonder at what she had done.

Folks, I am not exaggerating when I say that Julie Stephens is one of the most gifted and talented persons I know. She has applied herself to learning her craft and she has learned it well. I am sure she might object to all of this praise but I am trying to convey much more that mere flattery. She really is that good.

It is true that we consider Julie and her husband John as very good friends. They are dear to us and we love and appreciate them so much. We love preaching revivals in their home church and love getting to spend time with them in and out of church.

But these compliments are more than blind friendship. Julie really is awesome. Thank you, Julie, for putting your heart into what you do. It really comes through in your work and we get to benefit from it. 

I am going to post a few examples of ideas that Julie came up with. None of these are a completed project but they offer ideas of what can be done. To my eye every one of them would work perfectly on our new CD. Like I said, Julie is awesome. Visit the website of Calotype Photography and see for yourself.

One of these below is the design that we chose for the CD cover. It has some slight changes but it is very, very close to the one we sent to the printer. Can you guess which one we chose? What is your favorite? I feel a contest coming on. You ready for a contest?

If you choose the correct design for our new CD cover I will put your name into a hat, have Odie draw out a winner and send you one of the very first new CDs we receive. (We should have them by August 1st at the latest.) You must make your selection in the comments below this blog in the next 3-4 days to be eligible to win.

Now, a few of our regular readers have already seen the design we chose. Sorry, you can not win but you will probably end up with a free CD anyway.

Well, what are you waiting for? Start guessing. 

Davy

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Pictures For Our New CD

We really let this picture thing get right down to the wire. We should have taken these a few months ago but we could not seem to pull all the elements together. One of those elements was finding the right photographer that was located in the area we happened to be in that week and that actually had time available to us. That was a challenge.

Odie and Kelly Jo searched high and low until we were right down to the wire. I mean they literally found the right person and made the appointment 48 hours before the shoot. The day of the shoot was the absolute final day that pictures could be taken and that was only if the photographer was willing to process the pictures in 24 hours. No pressure, right?

They finally found Dee at Imprints Photography by dee. She was willing to squeeze us in and work with our crazy schedule. She is located in the country between Lebanon and Mason, Ohio and has a beautiful place for pictures. She has a studio and awesome outdoor "Mini Locations" at her home and at an old farm right down the street.

An iPhone picture of the old barns nearby Imprints Photography by dee.

Dee was a pleasure to work with and made us feel completely comfortable. She takes her time and customizes each shoot to the customer's needs. The only limit we had that day was the storm that was brewing in the west. We had to scrap the last location when the wind picked up and we gathered all of our things and her equipment just in time to escape the deluge.

She already had enough material and in less than 24 hours we were viewing and choosing pictures. Thanks Dee for pulling it off right on time. We appreciate your extra effort very much.

Below are a few samples of Dee's work. It can not be easy trying to make the fat guy look natural with these two beautiful women, but Dee did pretty good!

I hope you enjoy.

Davy