Planning for Papahood: Part One

As you may or may not know, my wife and I are expecting our first little Steedling.

I have heard it said that a woman becomes a mother the moment she finds out she is pregnant, and a man becomes a father the moment he holds his child for the first time. I feel inclined to believe that's true at this point in time. Everything seems so surreal right now. I don't think I can fully wrap my head and heart around what it will be like to see my child for the first time. Joy, Peace and Fear are a few of the emotions I feel right now.

Joy

Getting to watch them take their first bite of chocolate cake. Watching as they learn to take their first steps. The first time they ride a bike. Bath time. Story time. Doodle days with Dad. Walks in the park. Attempting to explain the mysteries of the world to a child who probably grasps them better than I do. Watching them as they sleep. Listening to them talk. Letting them know they are loved. Encouraging them to try again. Telling them about God... these are just a few of the things that bring my heart joy.

Peace

In the midst of all thing that could go wrong, I still have peace. Just as Jesus spoke to the storm on the sea of Galilee, so too he speaks to the storms that arise in my soul, "peace, be still." As I've been meditating on the fact that there is a miracle going on just beneath the skin of my wife's belly, I keep coming back to the words David wrote in Psalm 139:

"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

This is where my peace comes from. While I sit here and wonder what sex our baby is, or what kind of things they will experience in their life, their Creator knows them full well.

Fear

I believe there are two kinds of fear in this world; the 5 o' clock news kind of fear and the reverent fear of the One who made everything. I'm not sure how the two relate to having a baby, but I do know I've already begun to experience a hint of fear when I think about the great responsibility it is to raise up a child in this world. I know it's not healthy to get ahead of myself, and I fully trust to learn by making mistakes and the wisdom and guidance of those around us, but I don't want to discredit any emotion through this process. I believe fear, just like joy or peace, can be a healthy part of planning for papahood.

The Psalms

I enjoy the Psalms probably more than any other book in the Bible. It holds both sentimental and practical value for me. It's so easy to flip through the pages and find yourself in common with someone thousands of years older than you. It says something about our humanity doesn't it? That even in the midst of all our technological advances, we are still only human. And along with our humanity comes the most basic of needs, to be loved. David, unapologetically, shares his doubts and fears, victories and shouts of joy all throughout the 150 chapters. At once it is both a book of encouragement and a book screaming out for mercy and salvation. So why is it in the midst of all this pain and darkness we experience on earth, we are quick to lose hope. And not the kind of hope that comes in a bottle, a message, or a Sunday morning service. But a living breathing person. Hope that never forgets us. Hope that can't be tarnished. Hope that lasts. I know because I've fought with my own doubts and come out the other side seeing hope for who He really is.

The following passage has been a continual source of strength and hope for me in dark times. I pray that it does the same for you today.

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you." Psalm 139:7-12

Creative Direction Part Two

I guess it's been a couple weeks since I wrote my last post on the transition to working with Over. Well the good thing about writing your own blog is that you don't really have any specific deadlines to meet. I prefer to wait until I have something of value to share, before I sit down and attempt to arrange my thoughts in nice, neat little sentences. Enjoy!

Communication is key

If you work in a space where you sit across the room, the desk or the toilet from your co-workers, consider yourself lucky. The greatest challenge of working remote is also its greatest reward, learning how to communicate more effectively. When you work three states away from your other teammates it can be easy to lose sight of what's going on day-to-day. Even as good as the tools we use are (i.e. Basecamp, Skype, etc.) it doesn't replace the real magic of being face-to-face. It takes a certain caliber of person to be able to handle the responsibility of working remotely as well as continuing to communicate what you're working on.

Spare no feelings

You should know I am a big believer in grace. Grace, to me, is the ability to see your own flaws in those around you and then cutting them all some slack. But, I'm also a big believer in high standards, especially when it comes to doing work. I don't mind sparing your feelings to tell you how I feel for the betterment of the design. I prefer to challenge your design decisions and figure out how you arrived there, instead of just telling you it's not good enough and leaving you to figure it out on your own.

However, we humans are susceptible to finding our identity in our work. That can lead to some really heated conversations when you start challenging the very core of someones design. But that's exactly where I wish to get to, the very heart of the matter. I would much rather help someone see that their identity isn't found in their work, than just simply pat them on the back and say nice job. Our souls don't really need anymore of an ego boost, in fact just the opposite is true. We would all do ourselves a favor if we learned how to better rule our souls and not be lead by emotion.

Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

I've been stuck on this post by Regina Brett for the past two weeks it seems: 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on. Most of the one-liners she gives sounds like something I would say. But this one in particular, "Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful" really speaks truth on multiple levels. It isn't about the things you have in your design/life so much as it is the things you decided to leave out. That's what separates the good from the great. It isn't enough to just call your design/life "minimal" anymore. You really have to sweat and struggle with the details. You have to be willing to be wrong. You have to be willing to be honest. You have to dare to be great.

Part of my struggle recently has been waking up every morning with the notion that the greatest way I can lead my family is to serve. Doesn't matter if I feel like I'm winning or losing, because in marriage it's never a competition. This simple truth has really begun to ooze its way in to the way I work. One of my favorite passages of scripture says it best:

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty." Zechariah 4:6

This is great news. It takes the pressure off. It frees us up to seek first the Kingdom. When the eyes and ears of our spirit understand the truth here, we our free to bring all of who we are in to whatever we do without fear of being rejected. We know who we are and where we are going. So whether we're designing apps, or taking out the trash, we can have total peace about where we are.

Creative Direction Part 1

As you may or may not know, I have recently joined the team at Over as the Creative Director. Now, personally, titles don't mean much. A title is a title is a title. But it's what you do with that title that really makes a difference. I think this is why I've never tried to brand myself under a different name. I've always felt a greater sense of freedom by branding myself and being able to change at will. So I feel like one of the greatest lessons I'm going to learn this year is how to inject that same sense of freedom and liberty I've had on my own into a different brand/company. On one hand I feel a great amount of pressure and on the other I feel total freedom. Whether or not I like the title "Creative Director" it comes packed with responsibility. But the great part is that I can trust myself to lead by my past experiences. I'm not pretending to know it all, or that I'll always make the right decisions, but that I will learn from my mistakes and celebrate my victories.

One of the reasons I decided to take this position with Over is I started thinking more about my future than just the here and now. While I experienced some great success last year on my own, I am really excited by the leaps and bounds I will make this year with my new team. It may sound weird, but I am not the smartest person on our team, and I think that's the perfect place to be. Otherwise, what's the point? However, more than knowledge and skill, my team is full of grace and hearts of gold. That right there makes all the difference in the world.

How much is too much

What if we dared to believe that what we have right now is enough? I know contentment isn't generally associated with us who are creative. My friends even run a great blog about discontentment. It's like somewhere along the way we all agreed that this uneasy feeling inside, this need for something greater, was going to be our fuel. But when your fuel is only really an emotion then what happens when that emotion is gone? You can't run on fumes for long. So there has to be a better way, a more sustainable way. Contentment is key. Yes, Contentment. I think there's a greater place to live and work from. A place of fulfillment and firm foundations. Being content (or discontent) isn't dependent on our outer circumstances, it's an internal issue. You can't fix a problem by only addressing the symptoms, you have to find the root cause. But the struggle and the pain to get to the root is all worth it. Getting your heart in line first and allowing your emotions to follow is a better place to live life from.

Do it Again

This morning as I braved the cold morning air on a dog walk my thoughts went back to this beautiful G.K. Chesterton quote I read yesterday:

Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.

Specifically my attention was turned to the way the clouds were drawn in the sky. And the way the sun rises every morning and we take it for granted. But I take great comfort in believing that God doesn't take these things for granted. I have to believe He loves waking us up every day with the same thing, but in a completely new way. It's almost as if He is trying to teach us something.

Then I thought about my own work. What I do day in and day out. What I get tired of doing over and over again. What I wish I could be doing instead. Focusing on the future instead of the here and now. But the truth is that there is joy in the monotony of the everyday life. In my own experience, God has been found more times in the mundane rather than the extraordinary. Not saying He isn't there in the magical things, because He is, but I think He loves to hide himself in the ordinary in hopes that we may go searching for Him.

So what things are you growing tired of doing over and over again? How do you think God might be speaking to you through the mundane tasks of life? Hopefully this helps stir up some questions and thoughts and dreams in your own journey. I know it sure did for me.

Thoughts on Instagram

Ever since waking up Tuesday morning in central California all I've heard from friends, both online and off, is smack talk about the new terms of service from Instagram. I posted a question that same day on Zerply asking, "What do you think about the new IG ToS? Instead of just complaining about it, what do you propose as a better alternative?" I've read through all the comments and agree with most, but I've been slow to offer my own opinion on the matter. For one, who am I but another clang against the cymbal when I speak negatively about not just a company, but the people who actually make up that company. So instead I want to offer my opinion from a different perspective. Are we so naive to believe that a free app could, and would, continue to serve us forever without asking anything in return. How's that old saying go, "nothing is really free". Yeah, that still remains true today. Nothing that's happening here should surprise us. The problem isn't so much that companies like Facebook, and now Instagram, want to use our information to sell it online for their profit. The problem is that we don't care because we have become too dependent on these social networks to fill the voids in our lives. Sure, we have good excuses like it helps us stay connected with family and friends, both far and near. But what ever happened to sitting down and writing a letter? Or what about the telephone? You know, that thing you use to connect to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc..

So what's the solution? Do we band together and form the "Instascram club" and delete our accounts? Do we post photos on Instagram with comments about waiting until the new Terms go in to effect and then we will be leaving for good if they don't do what we want? Do we just stand by and do nothing? No, no and definitely not. To be honest it's kind of hard to say if there is a solution. I mean, it feels good to see that Kevin Systrom has already taken note of the outcry from the IG community and begun to rethink the verbiage of the terms, but to me that just feels like putting a bandaid on a giant flesh wound. They might as well just post a photo of a giant sucker if we're to believe that is the solution. Honestly, the damage has already been done, Instagram is now under the giant thumb of Facebook. I'm not judging them for the acquisition, heck I don't know who wouldn't take a billion dollars. But what happens from here on out is directed by their end goal, making money.

I think what we have to ask ourselves is do the benefits, of using Instagram, outweigh the consequences? Only then can you make a decision for yourself. Don't be just another angry member of the mob. Think for yourself. I have a friend that has already deleted their account, with good reasons, and I respect that. I have other friends that are looking at other alternatives to share their photos. I too have been thinking about other avenues of sharing my photos. Flickr has a new app that is pretty nice, but I still yearn for the ease of use that has made Instagram such a success. But my soul is old and it twists and turns with all the choices that technology offers, so I'm considering reverting back to analogue (for a time) and get my hands on some prints. That tradition of loading the film, adjusting the aperture and actually pressing the shutter never gets old.