With the launch of my new company, Firepruf, LLC. ,I felt a new blog needed to be created to give me a space to talk only about company related topics.  Also, I wanted to keep the blog very simple and straight forward as well as easy to maintain. So, with these ideas in mind I setup a blog for Firepruf at Blogger.  If you are interested in following the happenings at Firepruf you can find the blog at http://firepruf.blogspot.com.

Firepruf on Facebook

To take advantage of social networking and to spread the word about Firepruf I have created a business space for the company on Facebook.  The company page can be located at http://tinyurl.com/5wpfaf.  If you are on Facebook, I would greatly appreciate your support by you becoming a fan.

Again, you can follow more news about Firepruf at http://firepruf.blogspot.com.

Thanks for support!

Full news article on the Keystone RV layoffs

Firepruf, LLC is now open for business! Firepruf, LLC. is doing business as Firepruf Website Design and Marketing. Firepruf will specialize in website design and development, hosting, domain registration, search engine optimization, flash animation, email and newsletter marketing as well as some print design. A new website is currently in the works for Firepruf and the company web address is http://www.firepruf.com.

For more information feel free to contact Dwight at dcarter@firepruf.com or info@firepruf.com. We are currently seeking new clients.

Wow, where should I begin? In the last week a lot has happened. Due to the current economical conditions I was laid off at KIB Technology. I know what your thinking, “That sucks!” Well, it does but I was not the only one. Unfortunately, there were at least twenty of us that I know of and probably counting. The RV Industry is really being hit hard by current gas prices and there is not much these companies can do other than make adjustments to the market. So, there is absolutely no animosity what so ever. In fact, the guys at KIB have been really good to me even with the layoff. I appreciate all that they have done for me and the last two years have been a nice ride.

On to new developments

The great news is that I am now venturing back into freelance work and starting a new company. So, this is a somewhat unofficial announcement of my new company called “Firepruf”. If you are an existing client of mine and are reading this post, no worries, I will still be taking care of you.

So, what is “Firepruf” about? Firepruf will be a web design and print company. Services that I am offering is as follows:

• Web design/development
• Logo design & branding solutions
• Domain registration and web hosting
• Flash Animation
• Email and Newsletter Marketing
• Print Design (brochures, catalogs, business cards, CDs, etc…)

So, of course I am very excited about this new venture and I am using the recent layoff as fuel for my fire to start a new chapter in my life. I want to thank my wife Angela for being such a big support and believer in me and what I do. Also, I want to thank mom for helping Angela and I with trying to accomplish our career goals and all that she does for us around the house as well as taking care of the kiddies.

Oh yeah, here is the new company logo (color scheme may change, not sure yet??):

By the way, the new company url will be http://firepruf.com

Note: The website is not up and running yet but, if you want to check some work you can still go to KIB Technology.

The question that I have to ask is where will all the people that are getting laid off from local manufacturers find other jobs especially if all sectors of business are being affected by the current state of the U.S. economy and devaluation of the U.S. dollar? There are only so many pizza delivery jobs and McDonald’s positions to be had.

Read the full story on the Channel 16 WNDU website.

Link to site: KIB Technology

What makes church a church?

Nowadays, congregations meet in some unusual places whether it is a school, old barn, someone’s basement, a theater, coffee house or even outside in a field somewhere.  The question I pose is does it really matter where we meet as believers to worship God and to fellowship? The reason I pose this question is because lately I have been running across people who seem to be hung up on things that to me are seemingly unimportant.

For instance, if a church switches from pews to chairs does it make the sanctuary any less Holy?  How about the color of the carpet?  Or better yet, if the church has a steeple is it more holy to the Lord than the missionaries meeting with a tribal people of some sort in a mud hut in some far off distant land?

Scripture

Jesus speaks in Matthew 18:20 the following message:
20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

My Thoughts

Maybe I am just simple minded, but this really speaks volumes to me.  See for me this says it does not matter where you are meeting but, how you are meeting.  If you are meeting with another person and you are talking about God whether it is praise, prayer, devotion, etc… essentially you have church.  This is how the early churches we formed.  Basically, believers came together and spent time with one another in prayer, singing, praising, learning and even eating.

We as men have placed the importance on the material things of this world.  This is not what God intended.  There is nothing wrong with having a nice facility to meet at but, it should not be the focus of God’s people.  In the most unlikely places God can be found.  As long as the church is divided by such petty things the power of what the church could be will never be fully witnessed and it is my prayer that we start focusing our attention outside the church to the lost rather than the relics inside the church wherever that maybe.

This post is coming to you late but, last week was a hectic one and mother’s day being on Sunday and all caused the delay.

Change

This past week one key thing that stood out to me more than anything else was the idea of change and I do not mean the stuff jingling in your pockets. I mean real honest to God change in people. During my bible study this past week I was reminded of how the Apostle Paul, who became one of the most prolific writers in the bible, had a life altering event that changed him forever. His change was so drastic that he went from being a feared persecutor of Christian believer’s to being one greatest defenders and missionaries of the Christian faith. Now Paul’s situation was very unusual because he was directly visited by the spirit of the Lord and spoken to by Jesus. The following are the passages from Acts 26 in the bible that tell of this event:

Acts 26

1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense: 2 “In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today;

3 especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. 4 “So then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem; 5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion. 6 “And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; 7 the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews.

8 “Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead? 9 “So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 “And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them.

11 “And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities. 12 “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 “And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you,

18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ 19 “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. 21 “For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. 22 “So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place;

23 that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” 24 While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.” 25 But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth. 26 “For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner. 27 “King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do.” 28 Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.”

29 And Paul said, “I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.” 30 The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, 31 and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Making sense of this

Paul was a man of conviction and initially believed he was doing the right thing. Until he was exposed to the power of God and shown the true light he did not see the folly in his ways. I can relate to this story. Back in 1993 I was living a life apart from God. I had grown up in a home that did not attend church or have any type of understanding of what Christianity was all about. It was not until I went away to college and started reading the bible for myself till I realized that the current way I was living was not the life God intended for us.  I soon realized he wanted so much more for me and my future. Ultimately, I meet a guy on campus that was a deacon at his church. We had long conversations about who Jesus was and what living a life of faith meant. Soon after this I decided to dedicate my life to Christ. I became a Christian.

Slowly, God has molded and shaped me into the man he has wanted me to be. I am always learning and growing and willing to change in his hands.

Conclusion

Paul is an example of a life changed by the power of God. It is hard to express the magnitude of it all in a blog post. Ever since I committed my life to God and started a personal relationship with Jesus Christ it has been a great journey that I have never regretted. And God wants the same for you. If you are interested in learning more about having a personal relationship with your Creator please follow this link.

Scripture

John 3:16-17

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Thanks to YourVersion.com for the great website! It’s a great site to use for bible study.