Welcome!
I extend a warm welcome to you! This is the study of my large and spacious plantation home. The walls are lined with classic and well read books of the ages, while antique weapons and curios sprinkle the various display boxes and tables. Sunlight cascades through the tall windows in soft, luminous shafts, and the oak trees outside shade the house and drive with their honorable trunks, keeping guard over the well groomed landscape.
You doubtless want to know more about me, and my background, or you would not have clicked on the Biography button. That is the nice thing about controlling all aspects of a website. You know exactly where everything is, and what everyone is doing there. Perhaps you shall regret asking me about my life so far, who knows? If you begin to feel anxious about this room, or you are frightened by my sense of storytelling, have no fear. You may leave at any time. Leaving when you wish, even when I am in midsentence, is another nice commodity the graces the ever versatile website.
I shall sit on the edge of my oak and rosewood desk, as it is my favorite perch for relating narrations. However, before I begin my narrative, please do make your self comfortable in any of these chairs. Would you care for some refreshment? Here, have a cool lemon squash, and help yourself to that plate of cherry tarts. My housekeeper, Mrs. Dawson, does make outstanding cherry tarts. My compliments.
For History's Sake.
To begin with, I was born in the southern district of Austin, Texas , in 1984. This area is more commonly known as South Austin to the locals, but for reference sake, and for my international visitors, I try to keep the term down to Austin . In 1984, Austin was still a great place to live, with great shopping and living conditions. My father held many different jobs during his life, but for the most part of my life in Austin , he held a steady job at the Austin Jet Corporation, and was highly respected in that institution. My mother was a graphic artist, and stayed at home to raise me and my sister Tara, while pursuing freelance art jobs out of the convenience of her home. Our family was a happy one, including my father Robert, my mother Marilyn, older brothers Lance and BJ, and little sister Tara.
I was raised, beginning at a very early age, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. My mother worked hard to instill the Gospel into my young heart, and I accepted the Lord into my heart at the age of six years old, and was baptized very shortly thereafter by Dr. Thomas Ice, who was then the pastor of the Oak Hill Bible Church parish in the Oak Hill district of Austin. We attended Oak Hill Bible church for the majority of my life in Austin , and made many lifelong friends. Spending so much time in my younger years under the excellent, Godly teaching of Thomas Ice was a blessing I will never forget, and an experience that shaped the course of my life forever. Looking back, I can see that the years at Oak Hill Bible Church were the best years in church attendance of my life. It was not merely a church, but a body of brothers and sisters who served God with their whole heart, and where true fellowship in the Word reigned. Thomas Ice remains one of my most dearly trusted spiritual mentors to this very day, as does my precious mother, whose Godly example and guidance helped me find the fire that was kindled by Thomas Ice and the Holy Spirit in my heart. Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace that allowed me to grow up in such a spiritually rich environment!
In the early 1990s, oppressed by rising costs of living in Austin, as well as crime, and the yearning for a home in the country with ample space for their children, my parents decided to move into the rural area northeast of Austin , in the Central Texas rural community. First moving to a trailer home until we could find a real home of our own, we spent happy years getting acquainted with country life and the freedom of space and exploring. In the mid-1990s we found our home in the country, only a mile down the country road our trailer home was. This is the home that I enjoy today, and bless the Lord for providing, with all my heart.
The hard year was 1996. The year was riddled with such an extraordinary amount of tragedy that it still seems to be to this day, a distant dream. I do not wish to describe each of those painful events, but I will share the most tragic. On September the 18th, my dear father, after a long and hard battle with pornography and severe alcoholism, died of a massive heart attack in conjunction with complete liver failure. Although he had accepted the Lord, and struggled valiantly against the bondage he was trapped in, he could not break out, and the Lord took him home rather than have him become an even worse testimony than he had become. In that, the Lord was merciful.
After my father's death, my mother struggled to learn how to be both a mother and a father to her two children. Two children that could barely comprehend what had happened, and who had never known hardship. Our family had been through hardship before, but our parents never let us know that there was any trouble, and we grew up in a happy, innocent world. When our father died, we soon learned that we needed to be the best help to our mother that we could. This was a time of learning for our whole family, and well as grieving and forgiving. The Lord lifted us up in His mighty wings, and took care of us. Through the prayers, physical help, and financial aid of our dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we never knew hardship, or hunger. The Lord sustained us, and provided for each and every one of our needs. Never did a time go by when He did not provide, and His mercy and grace have helped us through the darkness and back into the sunny plains. Mother sacrificed so much time, energy and love to replace father and still be our angel mother that I can never thank her in my lifetime, for all she has done for us. May God bless her in her years remaining on this earth, and may I be all that I can for her.
Mother continued to home school us, and home schooling even helped us forget our pain in a way, and focus on our studies. Mother kept us busy with fun and engaging lessons, as well as fun field trips and research projects. Living in the country lifted many burdens, as the cost of living is just a fraction of living in Austin , or any other big city. We were able to continue school, and pay our taxes and bills, without Mother ever having to leave home to work. In this I can see that the Lord was smiling on us with His abundant grace, enabling us to stay together. Our family is very closely knit, more so than most other families. We are best friends, and share a bond forged in hardship that will remain with us until our last days on earth, or until the meeting in the air.
In 2001, I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Spring Branch Christian High school, which is the name of our home school. My paternal grandfather, "Grandpa Hack", then offered to pay for my college studies, in whichever field I was interested. I chose the online college courses, so I would be able to stay close to home, and avoid the hefty expenses associated with major universities. I chose Pennsylvania State's World Campus, and enrolled in their Web Professional Foundations Certificate, intending to go into web design for my career. I successfully completed the first year of the Certificate Program, and then Pennsylvania State University dropped the second year of the course. This made further study in the area of web design pain, to say the least. After looking for another college that might be able to offer courses that would pick up where Pennsylvania State University left off, I decided that web design would not be the career of my choice. I love web design as a hobby, but the pressure of keeping up with new technologies and customers would make it too stressful. It was then that I decided it would be a side business. I already have contracts to do work on demand for several web design businesses, as well as being a member of the Home School Web Guild. I really enjoy web design this way, because it generates pocket money, while being extremely relaxing and rewarding work. While web design, for me, would not be a good enough career to stand on its own, as a hobby and a side business it is one of my most favorite pastimes.
Beyond The Facts : A Deeper Look.
First and foremost, I am a Christian. The Lord is the most important piece of my life, as without Him, there is no life. Fundamental until the last, I can't find any denomination to fit into. I have therefore categorized myself as a Fundamental Evangelical Christian. I balance my firm stand on the doctrines of the Bible and fundamental truths with the Evangelical ideals of love to others, witnessing to the lost, and being a bright, warm testimony for the Lord. So far, the balance has been my whole life, and it works very well. I don't hide in a shell of fundamental isolationism, but neither do I hang out with ecumenism and compromise. I walk the straight and narrow, in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Holy Spirit is my guide, and I have found that if you follow Him, your path will appear before you, and as long as you continue in the Lord's way, it won't be hard to make decisions or believe what the Bible says. I believe the Bible, as revealed in the Textus Receptus and King James Bible. I am a Book man. I believe that every word is put in there for a reason, and that every word left out is left out for a reason. Deviate from the Book, and you're going to lose me faster than a buttered fish. I proclaim Jesus Christ and the Bible alone, standing on nothing but the Rock. Other Christians follow men, but I will follow the Lord, and the Lord only will I serve.
Although my personality may appear to be straightforward and even plain, I am actually a very complex person. Yes, indeed, I have been called a "literalist in the literal sense of the word", and in some cases, it is true. I am analytical, and am dedicated to proving things by geometric logic and reasoning. The Lord gave us brains to use, but they are no use if you don't approach doctrines and life's situations without planning, logic, and wise stewardship. This may come off as being stuck in the rut, but it pays to be careful. When you have lived the kind of life I have lived, you learn that better safe than sorry is indeed a true maxim. It's better to spend more time planning and stay on the road than to try and cut off a few costs or minutes, and wind up in the ditch.
I'm a cautious person by nature, but this in no way impedes my judgment. I have very fast reflexes, and a sharp, almost photographic memory. I remember and heed previous experiences and lessons learned, and catalog them for further reference. Thus, when the time presents itself that I can use what I have learned, I will be ready to do it the right way, and in a way that uses the most efficiency. I love efficiency. Nothing is more exciting to me than getting the most out of something by careful planning and amateur engineering. Getting something done efficiently not only saves time, but also resources and other things. Good stewardship is my strongpoint, as well as money and resource management.
When someone gives me a task or a job, I focus on expedition and efficiency, as well as diligence. When I work, I work almost non-stop without a break, and can seldom enjoy recreational time or activities if I have unfinished tasks for that day. When I do a job, I do it the best way I possibly can. I am a detail man. Details and organization are top priority for me. I want my worldly substance to be clean as a tack, organized, and kept in good condition by good and careful use. I am one of those dreadful little souls that organizes store shelves while I am waiting for my party to finish visiting with someone, and if there is a crooked shade on a mini-blind, it drives me up the wall, across the roof, and down the other side. An Obsessive Compulsive Perfectionist is what my sister calls me, due to the fact that I vacuum my room twice a week.
Development and strategy fascinate me. I love studying diagrams, maps, historical battle plans, theories, treatises, and new scientific studies. I once considered going into architectural school, and I love blueprints and floor plans with a passion. I love problem solving, finding new solutions for difficult situations, puzzles, and logic games. Of course, along with this fascination with details and puzzles comes a love of detective stories and technology, crime solving, and other things that bring warmth to the heart of Sherlock Holmes. Observation, mind games, and people watching top the list. I even have my own favorite pastime of amateur social profiling. To round all this up, I spend a lot of time in study, research, and thought. To put it simply, I love to think. I am a thinker.
Given these facets of my personality, you would doubtless draw the conclusion that I am an automated, Phileas Fogg, who doesn't know how to have any fun. However, the more careful, analytical side of my character balances out and holds in check the more ardent and passionate side of my character. I have a vivid imagination that has been honed by hundreds of hours in play with Tara . We have built massive empires totally on imagination, complete with complex plots and characters that would make a movie production company blush. My imagination isn't inclined towards fantasy. I'm not into Lord of The Rings, special swords, dragons, or strange creatures. My imagination would be classified more as dramatic acting. Role playing, talking in strange voices, making up story lines when people watching, and more or less writing novels in my head and acting in them. Such things as pretending to be a general, or doctor, and the like are common. My imagination is a very crucial part of my being. Can't you tell, from looking through this site? I have a healthy and fun sense of humor, and I simply love to make people laugh. I do that the best of anything, and nothing can reward me more than to see you laugh hysterically, laugh, giggle, or even crack a simple smile! I love to talk, although I am slow to warm up. Once I have warmed up, I am hard to keep quiet. I don't monopolize conversations, but if you want to ask me a question, make sure you want to know what I think, because I will go on and on.
I don't tend to show much outward emotion, but I am loyal to the point of death. When I do love, it's unconditional, and fanatical. I love with every fiber in my body, and will fight to the death for those I love. I keep my passion for what I believe deep inside me, and only visible to those I love. My commitment to duty, honesty, chivalry, and respect are cherished filaments of my reputation, and I zealously guard and practice them. I have the tendency to speak my mind, honestly and without sugar coating. I am a diplomat, but I won't flatter you. Any compliment you get from me, I have taken the time to analyze and confirm, and when I say it, I mean it. I love to tease, but I shun practical jokes and pranks. In work I love to lead, but in social circles, I would rather follow. When I participate in anything, I throw every ounce of zeal, vision, time and commitment that I can into it, and am consistent.
As far as fashion, I am not into fads. I keep myself well groomed, neatly and comfortably dressed, and keep a tasteful and economical wardrobe. I don't mind uniforms, but I despise suits, tuxedos, and formal clothes in the extreme. Short, easy to maintain hair is my creed, and clean shaven at all times. I love baseball hats as well as wide brim hats such a fedoras, slouch hats, berets, and wrangler hats. Trench coats are the coolest article of clothing ever!
Politics are also a strong part of my character. If you could not tell already by the dozens of Confederate flags flying from their staffs all over my website, I am a Confederate, and anti-slavery at that. My Southern heritage is very important to me, and I cherish is proudly. I am a partisan Southerner, and a Texan. In my mind, Texas is the greatest state in the Union ! I am a Constitutionalist, states rights aficionado, right wing, ultra-conservative Christian. The Second Amendment is my soapbox, and I preach it vigorously whenever you give me the chance.
So that's me in a nutshell. However, that's just a nutshell, if you can believe it.
The Here and Now.
Currently I live in Central Texas on 56 acres of beautiful Texas land that includes a wet weather creek and two stock tanks, with my dearest Mother and sister Tara. My oldest brothers Lance and BJ live in Austin with their families. We have 14 cats, 2 dogs, 2 cows, 1 cockatiel, and hoards of guineas, chickens, and baby chicks. We spend our time in comfort and the Lord's care on our beautiful land, and a close group of friends.
Our family is at a busy junction in our lives. Mother is busy planning and getting a home business started, and Tara is becoming an affluent artist and will start her senior year this fall. I am praying that the Lord will continue to guide me, and keep me in His ways. Currently I am planning on getting my driver's license, a job this summer, and enrolling in a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Science, after which I plan on joining the Texas Department of Public Safety, and becoming a Texas State Police highway patrol officer.
You wanted to know more about me, I trust, or you would not have gotten to the end of this epistle. I myself am ready for some fresh air, and exercise. Would you care to ride around the plantation with me, for a tour of the estate? I have an excellent hunter in the stables that would suit you very well.
Stevens, saddle El Capitan and the chestnut hunter.
We shall ride.
Deo Vindice Resurgam
