Tonight I directed video at Lakewood for the "Veggie Tales Spectacular". There were over 8,000 people that attended. We ran four cameras, powerpoint and video playbacks. Thank fully I had a powerpoint person and a video playback person. I really do love doing live events. It's crazy how you're sitting there preparing they just start! Before you know it you're flying through the program. I also met Mike Nawroki, the founder of "Big Idea". Big Idea is the name of the company that created the Veggie Tales videos. I talked with Mike for a while during a video and came to find out he's a great guy. I've watched Veggie Tales since I was a kid and I love 'em :). Overall the night was a huge success. Everything went really smoothly and Jon told me I did "A great job". I'm going to go look at the last apartment complex tomorrow. I visitied one on Thursday and was pretty happy with the apartment itself, but not with the area. If the others ones are in a better area I'll pay the extra money to go there. After that I'm going to figure out the honeymoon and finalize details with my best man and other groomsmen. I just can't wait to be with Danielle. As I was laying in bed the other night thinking I realized that I'm ready to be married to her. It's not like I wasn't ready before, I just mean that I know that I know it's right and the she's right. I know that whatever we go through she'll be by my side.

I lived in Los Angeles for a total for two years. Nothing ever happened to me or any of my stuff. Monday at 12:30 am we (the Berks and I) pulled up to the house to see my car being broken in to. They didn't get anything of mine but they did get a laptop that belonged to the church. I put it in the car so I wouldn't forget it the next morning. They didn't break into the car for the laptop in the first place, they were going for the stereo. Thankfully we go their license plate #. I haven't heard anything so far about the investigation but hopefully I'll know soon. The wedding is in on month and eight days. I have to figure out honeymoon stuff asap. I hope I can find something nice for Danielle and I. I just want to be with her. I was asked to direct the big Veggie Tales night coming up at the church. I'll be the "Director of Video" for the evening. That means I'll be switching and running all video stuff. It sounds like the sanctuary will be packed out. I think it holds around 3,000 people. I could be wrong. It might be more. I haven't heard anything about going on more tours with the Joel Osteen Ministries tour. I do know that I don't want to get up at 5 am again after working all night. That was lame. I'm pretty close to finishing an animation for the Kids ministry at the church. I'm also getting a good idea for the LSM opener video. I'm just frustrated that I don't get things done faster or better (in my opinon). I know years down the road it'll look alot different but for now it's frustrating. I hope I don't have to pay for the laptop that got stolen. They guys at Lakewood told me today that it costs around $2,500. We'll see what happens. Until then, I'm going to call my insurance agency and up the coverage on my car. I wish Danielle was here. I just know that things would be easier if she was around while I was going through all this crap. She's going through crap of her own right now, though. She has to find a way to transport her stuff into Latecias house. It sounds like Action House is going to help out, but we'll see. I also have to think about how we're going to get her stuff out here once we move in to the apartment. Gah!

I don't know why but sometimes I don't think that I'm a very good person. Actually, when I think about it I'm just not living a simple life. I was just watching Forest Gump and it's the picture of a simple man who lives a simple life. For some strange reason because he's so simple and so singular in his purpouses this makes him seem like a good man living a simple life. I think I feel this way sometimes because my life seems complicated to me. My life is probbably complicated because I make it that way. What I need is more singularity and less complication. No, that's wrong. I need more focus. Life isn't complicated. It's like a those little glass balls with facets all over it. When a single shaft of light hits the ball it shoots out all over the place. Not only that, but it's intensity is broken down. I need to loose the ball. Part of the reason I'm losing focus is because the things that are important in my life aren't always the things that are the most "fun" for me. But that's not the reason either. Self control and discipline. I'm struggling with these two things right now. I also recognize that I'm struggling with these things which means I'm not going to stay the way I am. That's just how I am. At the same time God is in the midst of it all. He sees me wake up, flop about my day and finally lay my head down to sleep. I can't do it all on my own. I can't change as much as I want to just by me wanting to. There's the element in my life that requires divine intervention. I'll see where I am a year from now. Danielle left on Wednesday. When she was here it was the best two weeks of my life. I love that girl. There are so many things about her that I love. I know that when I get sick she'll take care of me. When I'm weak she'll make me feel strong. When I'm tired she'll help my lie my head down. She treats me better than anyone I know. When she was here we cooked together, went to work together, we had a good 'ol time. The next time I see her we'll be getting married. I'll be coming out to California around April 13 and we'll get married on the 16th. We'll move into an apartment for a little while then look for a condo.

Danielle and I have been looking at condos the past couple of days. What we've decided to do is rent a place for six or so months and take our time looking at a place to buy. We don't want to rush into anything and I definitely don't want to make a decision of that scale while she is out in California. I'll be happy just to be with her finally. It's been wonderfully having Danielle out these past (almost) two weeks. The time really has flown by. She really doesn't want to leave and I don't want her to leave either. It's strange that the next time I'll see her is on our wedding day. Crazy. Today we had lunch with Paul and Jennifer Osteen. We talked to them about marriage and other things. Paul and Jen have a wonderful marriage and we wanted to ask them about how they make thing work with church and home life. They provided some really valuable insight. Tomorrow we'll meet up with Scott and his wife after the church volunteer meeting. At the meeting they'll be showing the video Wendell and I have been working on for the past two weeks. I'm pretty darn happy with it. I think it gets the message across well. Danielle is also going shopping with Clayton's wife tomorrow afternoon, so that should be fun for her. Everyone has loved Danielle, of course. I know that we're going to have a great time developing new friendships. I can't wait to cook, hang out, find new restaurants, places to go, and other fun stuff with my best friend. We will get lost of course, but that's just our way.

Danielle arrived a few days ago. I was waiting at the gate exit for her with an orchid in my little hand. I had a bit of a moment when she came through the gate. I haven't seen her in a little more than a month so when she came through the gate she was at such a distance I couldn't tell if it was her. She didn't rush to me, as I expected her to, so I wasn't sure it was her. The cool thing is I was thinking 'Man, I hope that's her because if it isn't I'm going to feel really guilty for checking some random girl out.' I was totally checking her out as she was walking up thinking 'Oh man I hope that's her because that girl is HOT.' What an amazing feeling to see the cutest girl walking out of the gate give you a huge hug and tell you that she loves you. She is truly the most beautiful girl I know. The past couple of days have been so nice. Danielle has gone with me to work and been introduced to my fellow Lakewood staff members. She's sat with me while I was working and has even helped me with a few events. The girl learns fast, too! This Satruday we are hoping to go see some homes with Karen, our Real Estate agent. Tomorrow is Valentines Day and according to weather.com it looks like it'll be really nice in Houston. I'm going to cook Danielle dinner :). It's just been so nice to have her around me again. God continues to confirm that our relationship was meant to be.

Tomorrow Danielle arrives off of her dainty plane in rainy Houston, Texas. I can't wait to see her. I have something planned and I hope I can get it done in time tomorrow. I don't really have much of a plan for when she is visiting, I just want to spend time with her. One thing I'm concerned about is balancing my new job and being with Danielle. This will be a great opprotunity to see how we do. I'm commited to making sure I spend plenty of time with my bride to be no matter what. I'm not going to overwork myself. I'm going to make time for that which is important, my family (or at least my wife :) ). Weird, wife. It's a strange concept for me right now but I like it. Jon suggested a couple of cool things to do while Danielle is in town tonight. We went to Cafe Express then to Amy's ice cream. Jon claims it's the greatest ice cream in the United States. I do have to say it was pretty darn good :). I was going to rent a limo to pick Danielle up at the airport but I realized she would probbably be more upset that I spent the money than happy that I did it :). I like that about her. Thank God she understands how to manage finances well or we'd be in trouble. I am the royal loser of financial planning and responsibility. I just think "Oh boy! My magic card works!" I just hope I don't get lost on the way to the airport.

The past couple of weeks have been busy :). I've got everything setup in my office. I've even completed the first video! Paul Osteen is doing a sermon on "The Love Languages" (if you don't know what these are find out.. it's awesome). He wanted a "man on the street" type interview video asking people about their love languages. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. David and Paul have watched it and I've been told they're very happy with it. A project that is coming up is the volunteers video for the big volunteer push the church is doing. Wendell has put together a really nice script that I think will bring the message about really clearly. I'm really looking forward to doing this video because I'll have a chance to plan it out and do it right. I'm also a little nervous because some things will be new to me, but God is stretching me. I'm beginning to step into more of a producer role in some of the ministries. It looks like my job is becoming more along the lines of "Producer, In House Media Productions". It's more like I'm not only doing video but I'm also directing and supervising the production of events. This is awesome because I have a real heart for doing things like that. I really enjoy producing and directing events. I've come up with some ideas on how to improve the events that a currently going on at the church and I hope to implement them soon. I've met some friends and I'm still impressed at how genuinly kind everyone at the church is. Tomorrow I'll be going to a Superbowl party at Tom's house. Tom does all the lighting for the main service at the church. There is going to be a bunch of media guys there so we should have a good time. Danielle comes to visit in four days! I'm going nuts! I can't wait to see her. I'm thinking of something special for the airport, but I can't say what yet. Her Dad and I are working on getting her a hotel room for the two weeks she'll be out. I can't wait to introduce her to everyone at the church. I know they are going to love her. I also know there are a ton of ways she can get plugged into what is going on at the church. I ran into Dakri tonight at the service and talked with him about how she sings. Dakri is one of the music leaders at the church. He asked me if she is good sing on a Sunday service. I told him I think she is. I totally think she. Danielle is so talented and amazing.. We're going to have a great time when she's out. God has been so good to me.

I unpacked a bunch of equipment that has arrived yesterday. The camera is here, which is good. It was bitter sweet because I had gone paintballing on Saturday and my legs feel like firey death! I'm SOO sore. I unpacked the camera, tripod, light kit (SWEET), monitor, dv deck, speaker, keyboard/mouse, and other stuff not so crucial. It's amazing that I have my own area to edit in. By the end of this week I should be all setup and ready to fully go. I'm amazed. It's funny how I've forgotten little things to purchase like tape stock and batteries. It's all good, though. Those are just small startup items. Now I'm going to focus on the projects ahead and putting teams together. I've gotten a few inquiries about working with me in the In House Media Services dept. I'm thinking of putting together some kind of meeting once I have enough people who are interested around. I plan on doing quite a bit for Portico, the college age group. They need some work on their media and production side of things. We'll see how that goes. In the mean time it'll be great to get some projects going. I'm excited to see what God is going to use me for. Danielle visits in a little under two weeks. I can't wait to rush to the airport to pick her up. I'm going to be just crazy happy. I ordered a book the my old youth pastor Chris suggested we go through together for some pre-maritial counseling. I'm really excited about doing that with Danielle. I have to figure out what to do for Valentines day. It's the first big one and I know it's got to be special. I'd be happy just doing anything with her, but I want to make it special. I can't wait to go paintballing with Danielle :).

What an awesome day today! The Ikegami monitor and XLR cables came in. Jon also called me over to his office. At first I was nervous because I got that feeling of "Oh God, I know I haven't done anything wrong.. but... did I do anything wrong?!" Thankfully it was a very good thing. He asked me if I could go on a a shoot with them tomorrow. I thought about it for a little while.. threw the idea around and said yes before he finished asking :). Not really, but I jumped at the chance. We'll be conducting an interview with some professional sports guy. I'll be running the second camera while Schwa will be running the main camera. At least, that's what it looks like. We'll be leaving in the early afternoon, grabbing lunch then shooting the interview. I'm really really looking forward to it. At the same time I'm sad. My office will be ready on Friday but that means I'll be moving out of my little cubicle. I'll be moving away from the friends I've made in the "Rome" room on the second floor. It's cool because I'm around the staff and ministry leaders. They're good people. When I'm over in the other room I'll be pretty much alone. I'm thinking now I could still use the cubicle and only use the other room for my editing and such. That would be awesome. I know I'll be spending a majority of time editing, but not all of my time. We'll see what happens. On another note, I got my first check from Lakewood today. The budgeting begins. I have to find car insurance and set money aside for the future. I bought groceries tonight, which was cool. I'm going to do my best to save as much money as I can. Chris suggested a book for Danielle and I to go through with him for pre marital counseling. I'm really looking forward to discovering new things about our relationship. I just found out that she likes to play paintball! Freakin' sweeeeeet! I talk with Danielle almost every night and I really enjoy hearing her voice. Just listening to her helps calm me down at the end of the day. There's time when we're talking about tough stuff and I get frustrated or bugged, but the great thing is that when we talk about tough subjects we talk respectfully with eachother. We don't yell or try to heart eachother. We just talk and listen as much as we can. It's pretty cool :). I'm going paintballing this Saturday. I haven't gone in a long time and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm probbably going to only rent equipment this time. I'll probbably buy some later on. I think paintball is a pretty good sport to take up. Good times.

This is my girl: I love 'er. I miss 'er. I wish she was with me right here right now. I'm still looking at condos, but my Dad has got me thinking about renting, too. The thing about renting for me is that I just see it as throwing money away. It's not really going anywhere, or doing anything. I do understand the wisdom in not buying until I'm sure it's where I want to be for a long time. Descions like this also freak the crap outta me. I get nervous just thinking about buying a new pair of shoes. I mean, to me it seems like a descion that is suppoused to last me a while. It's not like buying Coke or... well, let's face it there's nothing that really tops Coke. Regardless, it's something to think about. I've come across one or two really good condos and it's definatley a little hard wondering if they'll stay on the market or not. Thankfully I'm working with a great real estate agent. Danielle visits in February, which isn't coming fast enough. I've been spending the past few weekends at Steve and Gracie Berk's house. This weekend I'm going to buy some food and cook dinner for everyone. The Berks are really great people. They both work for airline companies. Steve said he could help Danielle and I out with plane tickets for the wedding. Wendell and I met with David about media needs for the "Married Life" ministry. February 11th they have an event and they'd like some video for it. So, we'll do some "man on the street" interviews at the church and cut the thing together for the event. I'm still waiting for all of my equipment to come in, so we'll see what happens when everything comes together. We also recieved a video request from the Children's ministry for video of Childrens lessons. They want video for March, April and May. So, we'll meet with Craig and see what that's all about.

Yay! Excitment! Today I did my first "project". Granted, it only took two minutes, but I did it! Dr. Paul needed the chorus of a song burned to a CD for the intro to his message. So, Wendell and I did it. On another note I got the Lectrosonics wireless kit and SM87A mic today. The Arri kit is on backorder, so I'm waiting for that still. Everything else should arrive later this week or next week. It was great to get on a project and get it done. I know it was small but I was suprised at how excited I got. I can't wait to get my hands on other stuff.

The hunt for car insurance begins. I have until February 25th to find a new insurance company or find out if I can afford to stay with Geico. On another note my equipment should be arriving next week. When all of my equipment arrives I'll be moving into my office in the Children's Ministry building. I was given my Lakewood Laptop today. The supplied me with at Dell Latitude D800. It works well for my office work. I can't wait for my equipment to arrive so I can get going! At the same time I'm trying to plan ahead for the work I'll be doing. It's a tough process since I haven't done much work that requires pre-planning like this. I'll be learning alot of new things with this job. I'm going to try and develop a five year plan. I'll also have to learn to deal with a budget. All new and exciting stuff. I'm hoping to meet up with the real estate agent I'm working with on Saturday to talk about homes and look at a few if possible. It hit me the other day that I might actually buy a home. I'm also still open to the idea of renting and saving up for a home. Waiting for my paycheck is driving me nuts. I am so pissed that I wasn't able to put much if any money away while I was working in LA. It's made things kind of tough, but I'm not broke, so that's good. God has always been faithful to provide me with everything I need.

I have been in Houston for one week. Everyone asks me "how do you like it so far" and so far, I like it :). I've enjoyed getting lost going various places and finding my way back around. I've met some wonderful people and had some good food. Yesterday I went to the Sunday service for the second time. I was really moved when Joel invited the ambassador of Malaysia and the Texas senator up to the front. He talked about how many people died and he began to weep. He prayed for the people that were effected by the Tsunami then everyone sat down. I enjoyed the service and was really encouraged by the message. After the service I met up with John to watch him do a shoot for Joel's book "Your Best Life Now". He was interviewing people about what they thought of the book. It was a good shoot. They had an Arri HMI as well as a few scrims and bounce cards. They were shooting on Digi Beta, too. After the shoot I followed John up to the switching room to watch him direct the video for the service. I learn so much each time I go up there. Earlier in the the week I met up with John, Dakri, Brian, and Schwa to see "The Polar Express" at the 3d IMax. If you haven't had a chance to see this, you must leave your seat now and go find the nearest one. What an awesome experience. After that John took Brian and I to Red Robin for a "bite to eat". What the heck does that mean, anyway? Now it's Monday and I start the week all over again! I've allready got a few projects to work on so I'll see how that goes. Danielle is coming in February and I can't wait to see her. It seems like these few months are going to creep by. I can't wait to marry her.

Yesterday was my first semi-day off. By that I mean, I spent some of the day out and out about then the other part of the day working at home. As is my tradtion, I determined to find a destination and got lost very quickly. I asked the nice ladies at the apartment information desk how to find a J.C. Pennys, they told me and I messed everything up. I ended up at Memorial Park with my new "Key Book" from Steve Berk. I flipped through the pages and found out where it was I needed to go. After I finished shopping I tried to find my way to an Express Men. After much turning around I ended up at "The Galleria" in downtown Houston. This place is HUGE. There are hundreds and hundreds of stores. They even have stores like Tiffanys jewlery and Saks 5th ave. After my shopping adventure I arrived back at my little apartment. My first project is a series of videos to illustrate points during a volunteer leaders training confrence. I worked on a few ideas last night and had a nice chat with Danielle before I headed off to bed. After work today I have to head back to JC Pennys to return the shirts and a pair of pants I bought. The shirts were way too big and the pants are pleated in front (not flat.. I like the flat fronts). I miss Danielle, seriously. We talked about how we should have just gotten married earlier then we are. I understand what she means, and I'm glad that our engagement is short. I can't wait for her to visit in Feburary. Until then, we'll just have to talk on the phone and miss eachother. So sad.

This is the living room/dining room/kitchen of my Apartment. I'll upload more pictures as I get them. 

This is the living room/dining room/kitchen of my Apartment. I'll upload more pictures as I get them. 

Dad in front of the Alamo 

The Alamo 

Dad and I in front of the Alamo 

Here I am in front of the Alamo!