And thank the Lord that’s what Jennifer and I did. Trusting in the midst of a down economy, I got to work building a new website and assembling a new portfolio to shop around.

It was slow at first, but sometimes a step of faith is what it takes… gradually the work started trickling in, and now I’m at a comfortable level. I could use more, but again it’s all in God’s timing.

I’ve had web design jobs thanks to a great developer I worked with at my last job, I recently did a fun magazine masthead logo design project for my denomination’s publishing house, and now I’m finally getting the opportunity to illustrate and design a children’s book – something I’ve wanted to do for years!

So I guess I write all this to just thank God for taking care of me and my family, but also to encourage others who might be thinking of stepping out during this trying time, and making a go of their own business. Put God first, and if it’s in His will, there’s no stopping it from happening. =)

“10 stunning web designs to inspire your style in 2009″ from woork.blogspot.com

“Textures in Modern Web Design” from Smashing Magazine

“1000+ Hi Res Photoshop Brush Sets” from Noupe.com

more to come…

On the other hand, maybe I’ll stay caught up on laundry now that I’ll be working from home.

I will miss the day to day banter with my coworkers though. I’ll miss having spontaneous lunches together, I’ll miss going to movies during the day, I’ll miss saying Hi to everyone as they go by my workspace. I won’t miss always making the new pot of coffee. I will miss Jim’s smiling face each morning, I’ll miss hearing Bob’s contagious laugh echo down the halls. I’ll miss Maureen and her song bombs and Elvis mornings. I already miss Nathan and our lunchtime rounds of Wii Golf or baseball – I still don’t think I ever beat him.

I’ll miss Susan and Paul and Ghazal and Sion and Nat and Phil and Amy and Gail and Sharon and Michael and Kristie and Kevin and Donna and Sue and Laurie… but it’s all good, because I have my first customer already. I’ll still do work WITH Media Partners, just not FOR Media Partners – so I’ll be in now and then, and now that Google has video chat, I could even see them from home!

It’s sad but I’m happy and it’s exciting but it’s scary but I have faith that God will be in this and will lead me day by day. I need to remember that Media Partners or freelance clients or Jennifer’s job are not my provider. God is. Those jobs are just the pipes he uses to send his blessings down… and they get here one way or another, regardless of where the paycheck comes from. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

So thanks MPC for teaching me video and animation and allowing me to design DVD menus and illustrate a book and to concept and design full systems of DVD packaging, labels, booklets, etc. I’ve grown in my career so much since coming to work with you, but I’ve grown even more as a person. Thanks again, and I’ll see ya on the other side!

And here was a page layout for a deeper level of the site:

This was an ad that Jen and I did for… I think the local newspaper… ? Anyways, it highlights some of our current work, and had to be black and white. Came out fun though!

Client: HighPoint Solutions/Focus on Your Child