I am a psalmist and a music minister. A psalmist is defined as a writer or composer of sacred songs, a minister who leads or sings the music in a public worship.

A minister is defined as a servant, one who ministers to another. To minister is defined as to do things needful or helpful, to render aid.

As a psalmist I write sacred songs, sometimes putting music to scriptures and Psalms, sometimes writing the words and the music myself.

 

As a minister, I am a servant of God, representing Him through serving others with the most authenticity possible. God has given me a beautiful gift of creativity, both through music and graphic art. He has also given me the gift of a great deal of compassion and acceptance, particularly for people who are often not accepted.

I've used my gift of music to lead others in worship in a variety of settings, both large and small. I also express my musical gift in a more individual format, such as by sharing songs I've written in a concert format. My main instrument is guitar, so I am portable and can play anywhere. I am also a pianist and percussionist.

I share my gift of graphic art through web design. I have a web design business, WebNGraphicDesign, from home, but it is much more than a business, it is a way of bringing to life the personality of an individual or organization through graphic art. I am known for my artistry through graphic design.

My gift of compassion and acceptance has always been a part of who I am, but is something that has evolved over the years, especially as I've experienced so many people being damaged and pushed away from God by those of us who represent Him. One such area where I minister is to those with mental illness. This is a group of people who are particularly damaged by Christians who do not understand mental illness, and guide sometimes very vulnerable people in very wrong directions. I am not called nor qualified as a counselor, but I am someone with personal experience so I have established a clearinghouse of helpful information on my Freedom page for those of us who have struggled in this area.

In general, I have had personal relationships with many people who are considered "outcasts" or "unacceptable" by the majority of Christians. Some of these people consider themselves Christians, others do not. A common mindset I've experienced with Christians is an "us and them" attitude. This is 100% against the example Jesus gives us through His life on earth as recorded in the New Testament. Jesus hung out with the outcasts and those unacceptable to the religious persons of His day...not only did He hang out with them, He loved them...not once did He say (you'll not find it in the bible) "I won't love you until you change __________" (fill in the blank), but that's exactly what we (Christians) as a group expect from people. So my ministry in this area is to accept and love people, both Christians and non, simply as they are. I do this through personal relationship because that is what Jesus did. More...