Home alone 2

First, new art by me for Children of Light:

I used inkwash to do the tones, still experimenting with it. I think it came out OK, and set the mood I wanted. Below is the reference I used.


This is my last day home alone. I enjoyed the peace, and got some things done I wanted to do. I got to be selfish, I guess. Is that OK? I don't get to do that much. Friday I cleaned some for our open house Sunday, and watched Heroes that I missed last Monday. Saturday I cleaned some more, had to go to work for a couple hours, went to a comic shop in Cleveland, Carol & Johns, great shop! Brian Bendis used to go there! Also bought a few used CDs: Elastica, U2 (Atomic Bomb & Rattle & Hum)and Eurithmics greatest hits. Sunday I finished cleaning (yes our house was a mess), took Sushi for a 5-mile walk in the park trail, went to the thrift store and bought a few nice shirts, and finally sat down to do some art.

I made the awesomest dinner on Sunday! We had a pack of cheddar biscuits I made with a whole roll of sausage, and a few eggs. It was messy like something you'd get from a cheap diner (not because I'm a bad cook), and was excellent! I had it again today.

Home alone

My wife & kids are leaving for Indiana for the weekend to visit relatives. I'm not going because I've been having a bad season with allergies, and they're staying in a cat home. Not a cat house, that's something different...um, so I've been told...so yeah, that is a legitimate reason for not going. But it works out that I get a 4-day personal vacation to do what I want.

Any time I'm faced with time alone, I get all these grand plans of what I can do. I could go on a 100-mile hike, I could remodel the basement, I could work out for 10 hours a day and be ripped when they get home, I could watch all the movies I never get to watch, I could draw 40 pages of my comic, I could pray and read my Bible a lot, I could go to the Chinese buffet, and get so many plates I'm there for lunch and dinner, I could go on a road trip to comic stores I've never been to.

Then reality sets in. I do have some obligations while they're gone. I do have to work Friday and Monday. Sunday we have an open house, so I'll be doing the cleaning for that. I think I can manage a mix of all the things I want to do , in moderation. Hopefully I won't spend 75 hours watching TV!

Fasting- epilogue

Please, for the love of God, do not just eat whatever you want after a fast. Keep it light and raw, if possible.

That's all I have to say about that.

Fasting- day 3

Day 3 actually went pretty well. On the evening of day 2, I had a bad sneezing attack, and had to take medicine. I didn't want to, I was trying to keep my body "pure".

I got up feeling kinda weak, but energetic (hard to explain). We had donuts and sandwiches at work, and I managed to stay away. I took more time to pray and worship during the day. And in the afternoon, I had even more energy. I even had more energy into the evening and night, stayed up playing Wii with Sam until 10:30.

It was a good experience. Very hard, but good. It helped me realize I won't die if I don't eat as soon as I want something! I'm not sure if it gave me the desired results for my body. I was breathing better yesterday, but I'm sneezing more. Not sure which is worse.

Denying my flesh what it wants really does enhance my spirit, and brings me closer to God.

Fasting- day 2

Ok, day 2 is a bit harder than day 1. Late last night I wasn't too hungry, but I was longing for food, does that make sense? Had a little less energy today, have felt some lightheadedness, and am more sneezy than usual today. Haven't felt bad enough to stay home or anything. At least I'm not going through caffeine withdrawal again, we've been drinking decaf! I didn't pray or read my Bible as much as I should have. I did lose a couple more pounds in just 1 day! Probably because of no food in my digestive system.

I anticipate a difficult day 3, as we're having a lunch feast at work due to meetings all day. I'll have to hide out and pray or something while lunch is served!

Been enjoying the sounds of the Beach Boys, and you should, too, while it's still summer!

Fasting- day 1

I've never truly fasted before. I've skipped a meal occasionally, or given up a certain thing for a time. There's fasting for medical reasons, and Biblical reasons. I've tried for Biblical reasons before, to sacrifice something for God, to say no to my flesh. The Bible says to keep your fasting private, not to brag about it, showing how spiritual you can be. So why am I telling the whole interweb? Well, never did a proper fast before, and thought I should document the experience. I remain humble that I am the least of spiritual people.

I've been reading about reasons to fast medically (maybe medically is the wrong word, how about health fast), and I felt I could benefit. I've had asthma & allergies for many years, and was reading that a fast could even help allergies. Well, Ok, I'll give it a shot! I could use a fast for Godly reasons, too. Two birds with one stone, right?

So day 1 went much easier than expected. I'm only having water & apple juice (recommended). Before I get into the day, let me say I've been practicing different eating habits. I habitually overeat, always have, and carry a little extra weight, 20, 30 pounds. The only thing that has saved me from being more overweight is I've had pretty active jobs. So i was reading from Setting Captives Free about another course they have, The Lord's Table. It follows the same principles as the Freedom course I took, and is based on the fact that overeating is gluttony, a sin. I've been working hard this year to get as sin-free as possible, and found this to be an area I could use some improvement in. So I've been trying to eat only when I'm hungry, and then only enough to satisfy me. It's been working, I've lost over 10 pounds in a month or so!

So back to day 1. I was only hungry a few times, and when I was, I drank some juice. I had good energy all day long, and still feel pretty good, at 8PM here. At lunch time, I did some Bible reading, substituting spiritual food for physical food.

My top 5

There's a radio show called "Life & Lyrics" on my local indie radio station. L & L features someone of prominence in the community, and they talk about 5 songs that shaped their lives. I had been thinking what mine were for a couple weeks here, and here's my Life & Lyrics show:

Journey: Saparate Ways- This is pretty much the song that introduced me to rock music. I was maybe 11 or 12, my brother had a great stereo system in his room, and when he was gone, I would put on those giant headphones, put the record on (yes, this was a real vinyl record), and play it over & over. That whole album was great, and I still have it, on CD of course.

Guns & Roses: Sweet Child of Mine- I was about 17 & remember working nights at a supermarket when this song first came out, some guy made fun of it, and I thought it was annoying, too. Like a weed, that song grew & grew on me, and I became the rebellious, nice guy rocker, complete with a great big mullet! Like Jon Bon Jovi, but better looking!

dc talk: Jesus Freak- marks the end of my rebellious stage, ha! I became a Christian in 1991, and this song came out a few years later, but makes a good tranformation from sex, drugs & rock & roll to music that reflects my new life in Christ. I almost chose King's X: Faith, Hope, Love album, which was out around a few years earlier, I think, but Jesus Freak reflects where I was at more at the time. I was a new Christian, and hung out with very spiritual people.

Jars of Clay: Flood- Not much later, Jars debued with their groundbreaking album. It introduced me to folk rock, and on later Jars albums, americana, bluegrass and jazz. They remain one of my favorite bands, and I've loved every time I've seen them. they came to my church once, too! I got to prepare their coffee.

Jack Johnson & friends: A Broke Down Melody- This song rocks in the mellowest way possible! Jars helped me appreciate a whole new world of music, folk, blues, jazz, soul, so many new things. Jack's pretty popular now, but this is the kind of music I would have laughed at as a kid! This song is from a lesser-known album with some of jack's friends. My wife loves the beach, and is making me long for relaxing times near the ocean, hearing mellow tunes.