Travis Seitler: Web Designer

This is another of rediscovered writings from 1999. I actually read this over the air during one of WJTL’s Youth Group Nights. “Radio Friend” Phil Smith let me read it on-air without looking over it first… and he seemed a bit unnerved when I was through.

A chilling darkness fills the sky,
a cold and sinister screen.
Grotesque, demonic shapes fly ’round
with eyes of glowing green.

You feel them breathing down your neck,
but frozen there, you lie.
While blazing, white hot lightning
all around you fills the sky.

Slowly you perceive their forms
with bloodlust in their eyes,
And at that very moment you
know they have found their prize.

They laugh at, mock and taunt you.
They take pleasure from your pain.
And even though you try to flee,
your struggle is in vain.

But then you find your Holy weapon,
just before they pounce;
A sword of shining silver with
which they will be renounced.

You strike ten, nay, a hundred beasts,
with thousands left to slay.
The nearest standing makes it clear
he’ll not be chased away.

“I’ve known you your entire life,
I’ve made you what you are.
Although, I am surprised that you
have gotten quite this far.”

The words that pass ‘tween slimy lips,
they fill your heart with dread:
“The game is over now my child,
in other words, you’re dead.”

The battle rages quite some time,
good swordsmanship you show.
But then he brings you to your knees
with a near-fatal blow.

“I said that you would never win,
and very soon, you’ll die.
For you have passed up every chance
to join the Prince of Lies.”

With every bit of energy
still flowing in your blood,
You raise the sword above your head
and stick it in the mud.

You close your eyes and bow your head,
you pray to God on high,
To send His mighty warriors,
swords lighting up the nigh.

The clouds recede into the sky,
a beam of light streaks down.
Ten thousand Holy warriors step
onto the battleground.

You suddenly wake up with a start
and scan your dim-lit room.
You sense an evil presence,
makes the dark feel like a tomb.

You’re out of bed and on your knees,
you pray with all your might,
That from this day until the last
you’ll carry on the fight.

And as you climb back into bed
this thought you start to feel:
“Was this all just in my head,
or was that battle real?”

Yes, Nicole has finally pushed me over the edge: I now arrange my shirts in rainbow order.

(This is the first in a series of rediscovered writings from one of my first web sites back in 1999. Some may have aged well, others… not so much. I’ll let you decide.)

This morning at the kitchen sink, I was hit with a revelation. Jesus is kind of like a dish rag. Hey, don’t give me that look. Let me explain before you flame me, okay?

A dish rag washes dishes that are caked with all sorts of nasty stuff like dried ketchup and crusty eggs. Likewise, when we ask for forgiveness, Jesus removes the sin from our lives and makes us sparkle like new.

Another parallel is in the cleaning method. The way a dish rag cleans dishes is by taking the food (if you want to call it that) and getting it stuck to itself. It’s common knowledge that the dish rag is the dirtiest, most germ-ridden item in the sink. The Bible says “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) In other words, Jesus got dirty to make us clean. In his death on the cross, all of our sin was placed on Jesus. Matthew 27:46 says “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’–which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” If you’ve ever cleaned out a refrigerator and had to toss out things like chunky milk and something with fuzzy green stuff growing on it, you get the picture. We ain’t talkin’ ’bout no rotten egg. The stench of the sin placed on Jesus was so strong, God had to turn his face to keep from barfing.

Yet another similarity is in what is washed. Have you ever washed a plate, and think you have déja vu, until you realize you really DID wash that plate before? That’s right. Even though you’ve cleaned the plate, it got dirty again. “Well, duh, Travis! You really WERE born yesterday, weren’t you!” Gimme a break. Jesus is like that, too. No, he doesn’t get déja vu. What I mean is that even when he’s forgiven all of our sin, we still mess up. That’s why 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

There is one difference, though. (Okay, maybe more than one, but it’s all you’re getting out of me.) After a while, a dish rag gets so worn from continuous cleaning that it has to be tossed out and replaced, but Romans 6:10 states that “The death he died, he died to sin once for all”. Jesus’ act of mercy covered the sins of every single human who ever lived and ever will live, and will never run out. There’s no ’sin limit’, and there’s no sin so big that he can’t forgive. All that is needed is to ask. According to Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Y’know, I think I’ve had my head in the suds too long.

I’ve got a fresh design for the blog (I liked the last one, but this simple, ultra-clean look is more my style), but that’s not the only change around here!

• I’m stepping down as Art Director for Gemstone Publishing’s line of Disney Comics. My last day will be Wednesday, November 26th.
• Two days later, we’re loading up a truck and moving to Columbus, Ohio! (Thanks in advance to Rae Whitlock, who’s already agreed to round up some strapping young church men to help us unload the truck over the weekend.)
• I’m looking to take on some additional freelance web design and optimization clients. If you know anybody who’s looking for that, you can get yourself a 10% referral bonus (because I’m cool like that—also because I hate cold-calling). Just go on over to the “Feedback” page and pick your favorite way to get in touch with me.

UPDATE: According to Google Maps, this might be where we’re moving:

I wanted to give you a sneak peek at something we’re really excited about! Over the coming months we (primarily Nicole) are going to be hard at work on this great new project, codenamed “Number Three.”

We intend to largely keep it under wraps until launch, but we’ll nevertheless try and keep you updated on our progress. For now, you’ll have to content yourselves with this conceptual art. (It’s been magnified 4x so you can better appreciate the many details already in place.)

We don’t have a launch date finalized, but marks your calendars for a June ‘09 release!