Media Projects:

Skylands of Darmanis (game project):  This has taken most of my project-focus lately.  My brother (“Jacob” to me, “Arden” to many others) and I are really making the push to turn it into a part time job over these next months so that we can raise funding to make it, sell it, and hopefully pave the way through it to invest back into lifestyles with parables to share through video games.

Next month we’re gong to launch a Kickstarter Campaign (online fund raising) to be able to make the switch to part-time (or more).  To prepare for the campaign, we’ll soon create a showcase of the project, giving potential backers a reason to be excited in what is going to be a great game!   Since we want to show as many potential aweseomnesses as possible, I’ve put in about 45 hours in June so far and probably need to do another 40 or so before we have something to show that can substantially support our campaign.

Just recently my bro (Arden/Jacob) has finished his year internship at New Life and started talking about the possibility of moving to Georgia so that we can have a solid focus and really give this project our best!

*Update, Jacob’s adventurous transition is a go!  Starting Mid-July, we’ll be hitting this project with the sting of a thousand vipers!

 

Ananias Album:  I’ll admit that with the SoD project becoming larger, it’s pulled some time away from recording.  Simultaneously, it’s been healthy to back off enough to gain some fresh perspective on the songs that are going into it.  I’ve been doing lots of tweaks, remixes and minor instrumentation changes on the half of the album that was supposedly “finished”, but I’ve also been doing some writing.  I’m thankful to have the time to really let the project breathe and develop.  It is taking longer than I expected, but I have come to find peace in the fact that the songs will actually sound much better if I we take the production phase nice and easy.

The plan at this point is to focus on a pre-order demo.  The demo will have 3-4 of the songs we’ve finished recording (but still need to mix and have mastered) and listeners who pre-order the album will instantly get the demo as a little bonus.  More on this once it’s closer to reality….

 

House Projects:

Jess has been having fun with a growing garden:
  

We’ve been cleaning up the yard and house a little bit… mowing, raking up leaves, pulling weeds, trimming plants and Jess’ parents even came up with a power washer and washed our house!

Jess has been changing and improving the decor of some of the rooms of the house:

  

  

I’ve been working on making the studio a better work environment, trying to make it less of a “Man Cave” and a better place for creativity to flourish (++Alpha Waves).  I wish I had taken a before picture when the desk was still a mess, or cleaned up the desk more for my after picture.  It’s much better now, I swear:

 

Summer Life:

Instead of the mindset I became accustomed to growing up, this summer has so far been filled with working hard on all the components we feel necessary to shape our lives over the next year.  Relief, rest and an opportunity to enjoy life, people and blessings have all been somewhat infrequent.  We expect more of that later, but  for now, we have more of a a Proverbs 24:27 approach: “Prepare your work outside and make it ready for yourself in the field; Afterwards, then, build your house.”  I see the “work outside”, in this context, as what brings provision and (more importantly) spiritual harvest.  Meanwhile, I see the “build your house” portion as what makes life more comfortable.  The way I see this proverb is that they can both happen, if we do the one first, then the other.

Our “field” work has been growing and growing into what now seems to be swollen with both activity and potential.  I’ve been working more hours at Ken’s Bargain Outlet, with summer shoppers on the loose.  My role there has been slowly shifting from furniture assembly, to running the store for portions of the week, and eventually doing the warehouse runs and heading up the deliveries.  As mentioned, I’ve been slowly increasing my hours on the production of SoD and even managing to keep one hand in the tracking and writing of Ananias’ debut Album.  It’s important and fitting that I’ve also been able to serve at SHCC about twice a month too.

We’ve just gotta “keep our hands to the plow” for now and know we’re working towards something worthwhile.  Although I can’t see anything sprouting out of the soil just yet, the seeds are taking root and will begin to yield something more than just struggling to get by, someday soon.  Some month soon we won’t have to borrow money, as usual.  Soon the bank will stop calling about the mortgage we had to stop paying.  Soon I’ll have enough time off each week to feel rested.  Soon we’ll be able to visit friends and family in Arizona and even consider raising one of our own!

 

Strategy and Discipline

The “field” has had to come first, but I’m making the most of it.  I know that God has a plan, as He says, “to prosper [us] and not to harm [us], plans to give [us] hope and a future”.  There is no harvest without our effort (obedience) and God’s miracle of growth.  I’ve been investing in some resources I feel like He’s led me to on this road to creativity, productivity and their fruit.  Those are:

• “Principle of the Path” by Andy Stanley (Book)
• “Ultimate Productivity” by Jim Stovall (Book)
• “High-Performance Achievement” by Dave Ramsey (CD of Lectures)
• “Imagine: How Creativity Works” by Jonah Leher. (Audio Book)

All four have really been shaping, encouraging, and even inspiring me.

 

More Discipline, Mario Kart Style:

As I’ve been receiving this internal training (to work my “field”), I’ve also been continuing to keep myself physically able to give my all, to “discipline my body and make it my slave”.  My goal is to start doing 5k runs in the near future, and stay in good enough shape to keep doing them.  To this end, I’ve been running (and often taking Jess along on) these two different courses (with Mario Kart track themes!):

• “DK Jungle” is the best place to run:  a little over a mile loop through the dense woods, up and down hills, over bridges and past a tranquil pond.  I usually only run it twice, with a break between the two, since the incline at the end is so intense!  I also run the first lap a little bit slower and really push myself the second lap.  It PWNS!  I feel like I get a naturally-progressing and more-effective workout if I do it this way.  It’s also fun to me because Donkey Kong (from Mario Kart and the character for which the “DK Jungle” course was created and named) has slow starting speed, but can go really fast once he accelerates.  Hehe.