by Rich Mullins

And as I lay me down one evening,
I thought of Jesus on the hill
And how for men He was weeping,
When it was Him they were going to kill
And I know He would have saved them
Had they only just allowed
None are stronger than the humble
And few are weaker than the proud

And then my thoughts, they turned to David,
And how he watched his father’s flocks
How the music that he was playing
Could calm the demons in a mighty man’s heart
And when the prophet came round looking for a king,
He sought young David out,
‘Cause none are stronger than the humble
And few are weaker than the proud

And I know that you know about Moses,
And how he left the Pharaoh’s courts
When he saw the injustice
Done to the people, the people of the Lord
And though his fears drove him to hiding,
The Lord his heart with courage soon endowed
‘Cause none are stronger than the humble
And few are weaker than the proud

And none are stronger than the humble
And few are weaker than the proud

The Fall weather always puts me into “Rich” mode for some reason.  And I cannot believe that it has already been 10 years since his death.  It seems like only yesterday that I saw him in concert for the last time.  But the time has indeed passed which is quite evident by my house full of children running around and the big three-oh lurking just around the corner.

Looking back at 2006 I’d have to say that it was an excellent year, though as always, it went by way too fast.

I’m sure that a certain thought is running through people’s heads right now, so I’ll address the whole unemployment/self-employment situation first…

Getting “RIFed” (“Reduction in Force”, a.k.a. “Layoffs”) was a blessing and what I was praying for AND what I instinctively knew was coming. In relation to my former employer, it is becoming more apparent as I stay in touch with my former peers that if it hadn’t been last year, it would almost certainly have been this year. But I feel the timing was just right in my case.

By now everyone has heard me mention that the job market, especially in my specialty, in Indiana is horrible at best. And in order to land a decent “day job” it may come down to knowing someone who knows someone. But I’m at ease with that as I know that I’m not the one in control. Bottom line, I’ll do what I have to do to support my family. Times may get tough and sacrifices may have to be made, but we’ll make it through God willing.

With that said, my heart is sold on pursuing Watershed Studio as long as God keeps the green light on. While I had the idea in my head years ago, it had to die for some time as I became more knowledgeable in the field. Once it was resurrected close to two years ago with a slower and steadier course charted, things really began to fall into place. And during the past six months (once the layoff kicked in) the pace began to pick up and God has truly been blessing me with business opportunities from all over the world.

Also, I must mention that the unemployment checks have been a tremendous help, as you are allowed to make money being self-employed AND are still considered unemployed in weeks that you don’t have any revenue since you don’t have a formal full-time employer. That surprised me a bit since that does actually make sense in regards to allowing people to be productive and not penalizing them for it.

So in a nutshell, that is the whole “job” situation. Once my unemployment balance is drained in about a month or so, we’ll definitely be stepping out in faith that God will continue to provide what is needed. While that part of being self-employed is a little nerve wracking at times, it is a great reminder that we are not in control and that there will be peaks and valleys in life.

Beyond all of the job specific stuff (which truly is the main event of 2006), it has been amazing to be able to be at home with my children during the day. Ole’ dad can be a little boring at times, especially when he’s trying to answer work related e-mails and phone calls (as you can imagine it is a little hard to work while watching toddlers…so many late nights are spent actually working on the programming projects that I have going on), but I hope the kids enjoy the time spent together as well (and I think that they do). If I had to make a resolution this year (I hate resolutions since they’re really something you should be doing anyway) it would be to do more fun stuff with my children during the day. While I’m loving the fact that my snow shovel has sat in the garage all year, I’m really looking forward to a good snow storm to take the kids out in and then to come back inside and throw on some sweat pants and warm back up.

Other than that, the other item that might be of interest would be in the church realm. Our “house church” gets together quite frequently for various activities (and more than just on Sunday). The community aspect is great and it’s been nice being able to help others out in major ways (by our standards anyway). I would say that we still have plenty of room to grow as a group and as individuals (I’m no exception), but we’re slowly moving along and are seeking after God. My prayer is that 2007 will usher us father down the path in pursuit of Him.

After a bit of a hiatus (OK, a long hiatus), eC zine is gearing up for version number three and is the latest addition to the Surge Bucket Media blog and podcast network (see sidebar).

Version one was good, but is a bit outdated (small scale print ‘zine). Version two was lame and had an awful “sophomore slump” (we won’t even go there). And version three will pull things together and into the blog and podcasting realms. At the moment we’re seeking submissions and will start cranking out new (and recycled) content over the next few weeks.

It’s good to be back!