Doing What I Love
I've had the rare or seemingly rare privilege the last few years to be able to work at what I enjoy and support my family. Its a privilege and grace I've not taken lightly and one that I've thanked God for many times. This quote rings true:
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
I've experienced that first hand. It happens when I think about my job constantly because I'm excited to solve the next problem. Its when I look forward to Monday because another week of possibility and discovery lie ahead and its being totally satisfied to roll out another project and start on the next.
So why would I change what I do?
In short because a better opportunity has presented itself.
Starting today I become a full time employee of Copyblogger Media specifically working with StudioPress. To say this is an incredible opportunity is an understatement. StudioPress in my opinion is the leading company when it comes to WordPress themes. Other companies may put out more themes or boast of a bigger community but nobody combines a rock solid framework, the quality of themes, and incredible support like StudioPress does.
Through a series of circumstances I had the opportunity to form a relationship with Brian Gardner the founder of StudioPress a couple years ago which led to us collaborating on WordCamp Chicago and several WordPress theme development projects.
I respect Brian immensely as does the WordPress community at large. If you know Brian at all you know what a genuine and good guy he is. To have the opportunity to work with him on a day to day basis is awesome. I owe a lot of my success as a freelance developer and designer to him these past couple of years and I can't wait to see what we are going to be build in the future.
The team that Copyblogger and StudioPress has put together is incredible as well. To be able to work with talented folks like Nathan Rice and Rafal Tomal and a number of others will not only be a ton of fun but a great learning experience as well.
Thanks to Brian Clark and the other partners at Copyblogger for giving me this opportunity!
What is changing?
I'll no longer be freelancing and taking on personal projects through my company Red Letters Studio. The blog and portfolio will stay online but for posterity only at this point.
I'll no longer be selling themes individually but rather making them for StudioPress.
As I posted about yesterday - I'll be writing more on this blog and looking to share my story and thoughts on a consistent basis.
I'm super excited to finally be able to announce this and I can't wait to see what the future has in store!
New Beginnings
The season of life that I find myself in is one that is ever changing and bringing new things. For one, its my birthday so its the start of a new year of life. As a family we just made had our first major Vacation and first trip to Disney World.
As I’ll write about Monday I’m starting a new season of work in which I leave behind what I’ve done for the past ten plus years and start down a familiar, but new path.
I’ve also entered a new season in which I’ve decided to make a concentrated effort to write more. For the past few years I’ve written very sporadically on this blog and mostly about family. While that will continue I’ll be purposefully writing more about the books I read, the ministry I participate in, WordPress development, design and about other items which catch my fancy.
I’ll be shutting down my blog at redlettersstudio.com to any new entries and while the content I’ve written in the past will stay there, any new content I write about WordPress or design will live here.
I’m commemorating the occasion with a new design and as I looked back at the previous iterations of this particular blog the design changes have always been met with some sort of major life change.
Lastly, I am a follower of Jesus and my entire life and worldview revolve around that and are seen through the lens of Christianity. I make no apology for that.
I will hold nothing back. What you’ll find here you may not like or agree with but it will always be honest.
I hope you’ll enjoy the new content and join on the conversation as I write.
The Help
A couple weeks ago I had the privilege to go with my wife on a date and see the movie The Help. I didn’t think it would be a privilege at the time and in my mind this would be one of those “take one for the team” movies.
I couldn’t have been more wrong though. Now, I’ll admit I’m somewhat emotional when it comes to two things - movies done well and my kids. This was a very well done movie that had me laughing, tearing up (no gushing...) and angry.
While the movie is based on a fictional work, the subject matter is historical and based in fact. The story follows a Southern white women who finds injustice being done to black maids who work for white families and being an author she decides to write about their plight to try and help the situation.
I think the reason this movie stirred my emotions so much is because I am a lover of justice and when total injustice is done to any human being the natural reaction is that something needs to be done. The other reason it resonated so much with me is that these things didn’t happen 100 years ago in some foreign country but rather less then 50 years ago and only a few states away.
While I can’t imagine ever participating in something like that I was challenged that racism is a product of our pride which is rooted down deep in our hearts and manifests itself in various ways.
Its so important to realize that every person is made in the image of God, loved by God, and therefore has infinite value in His eyes. Knowing that I want to work to stamp out racism in all facets of life and to call others out when I see it or hear it.
This movie gets a 5 Star rating and is an "Own It" movie.
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆
Why it gets 5 stars. Its very entertaining and moved me more emotionally that any movie I can remember in recent history and its a movie I want my kids to see for the historical context.
If you’re not familiar with my ratings they are as follows:
1 Star ⋆- Horrible - don’t see it, don’t speak of it, try not to even think about it. Movies with one star make me throw up in my mouth a little. Examples include: The Talented Mr Ripley
2 Stars ⋆ ⋆ - Blah. Skip it. There is no reason why you should see this movie unless the only thing left to do is watch paint dry. On second thought, that would probably be more interesting.
3 Stars ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ - Decent. Rent it or stream it.
4 Stars ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ - Very Good. See it in the theater if possible. Tell your friends about it. Post about it on Facebook. Gush a little.
5 Stars ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ - Excellent, Incredible, Three thumbs up. Own it. In todays world, I like most people don’t buy many movies any more. Its a rare occasion for me and only those movies that move me in a major way or are incredibly cool make the cut.
Books I'm Currently Reading
I tend to go on book binges and start multiple books at a time. Its a terrible way to read and comprehend but it happens. I will finish all of these at some point and get a review of each up on the site but until then here is what I'm currently reading.
- Humility by CJ Mahaney - In a word - humbling. This is the second time I've read through it and its just as challenging.
- Forgotten God by Francis Chan - Just about a chapter in but already challenged by the lack of attention I give the Holy Spirit.
- Erasing Hell by Francis Chan - A few pages in and I'm sure it will be good but this is one I'll probably finish last.
- The Reason for God by Tim Keller - This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is the best apologetics book from a philosophical and practical point of view. I will be giving this book to every graduating senior in our youth ministry from now on.
- Give them Grace - by Elise Fitzpatrick - A tremendous book on parenting which is a subject I need a tremendous amount of help in.
- Ministry by Teenagers by Jonathan McKee - I want to see our teens serving more and taking on more on their own. This looks to be a great resource.
- Candid Confessions of an Imperfect Parent by Jonathan McKee - Not only am I reading this for myself but I'm hoping it will be a good resource for the parents of the teens in our student ministry.
Minimal Posters
I love minimalism.
That was going to be the only sentence in the post because I thought it was funny but then came to my senses.
Much like reading I go on creative binges and when I get an idea it tends to run wild. A while back I started creating minimal posters of my favorite movies and tv shows using just basic icons. You can see the first few on Dribbble (or if you're reading this soon after it was posted take a look at the bottom of the page as they are currently my last shots).
I'll be sure to post the rest of them here when they are done.