Skills & Gifts
I'm a person with a very well-rounded skillset, ranging from song, dance, & music, to computer programming & web development, to game development, to digital art & pencil drawing, to video editing & production. I also have the spiritual gifts of Encouragement, Mercy, Teaching, Healings, Prophecy, and Tongues.
Gift of Exhortation
Encouragers have an ability to call forth the best in people through encouragement and motivation. Naturally, they feel comfortable around people and tend to have extraverted personalities. Encouragers want to see people improve and succeed and often prescribe practical advice. They have an ability to bring new life to people who have lost their determination and feel burnt out. Encouragers usually have a large circle of friends and are natural networkers.
Gift of Mercy
Those with the gift of Mercy are the first to listen and sympathize when someone is suffering. Concerned with the physical and emotional condition of people, they often have a strong desire to relieve the pain of others and are effective in roles that require compassion. When people repeatedly come to them with problems or pain, they pour out mercy versus frustration and are patient with those around them.
Gift of Teaching
Teachers make difficult concepts easy to understand. Their motivation is to help others learn and grow by presenting truth in a logical way. They tend to be gifted intellectually and often seek to become experts in their fields. Teachers are usually comfortable speaking and teaching to large groups. Some are consummate debaters as it is how they can convince and help others to learn. At times, teachers can appear argumentative while they are simply trying to gain clarification.
Gifts of Healings
The spiritual gift of healing found in 1 Corinthians 12:9 is actually plural in the Greek. Charismata iamaton is literally translated “gifts of healings.” This spiritual gift is closely related to the gifts of faith and miracles. All spiritual gifts are to be exercised in faith, but gifts of healings involve a special measure of it. This gift is interesting in that there is no guarantee that a person will always be able to heal anyone he or she desires. It is subject to the sovereign will of God, as all spiritual gifts are. The Disciples were given authority to heal and cast out demons, but they were not always successful. The Apostle Paul was not able to heal himself and was told that God’s grace was sufficient to carry him through his infirmity without removing it from him (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
Gift of Prophecy
The spiritual gift of prophecy is an extraordinary and unique gift. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:1 to “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” This gift is a blessing to the church and should not be quenched or despised (1 Thessalonians 5:20). Those who have the gift of prophecy differ from the Old Testament Prophets who spoke the authoritative Word of God directly. Their words were recorded as Scripture as they proclaimed, “Thus says The Lord,” whereas the messages from those with the spiritual gift of prophecy must be tested (1 Corinthians 14:29-33; 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21; 1 John 4:1-3).
Gift of Tongues
The spiritual gift of tongues is more accurately called the gift of languages. The Greek word for tongues is glossa, or glossolalia, which literally means “tongue.” When it is used in the New Testament addressing the subject of spiritual gifts it carries the contextual meaning of “languages.” Speaking in tongues is the utterance of prayer or of a message glorifying God, typically spoken to God (1 Corinthians 14:2), in a language that is unknown to the one speaking it.
Singer/Dancer
I have been singing since the 1st Grade, I was the lead soloist in my high school show choir - "Encore" - and dance lead in my high school concert choir. I took ballet and tap as a child. I studied voice with Mrs. Amy Nelson for many years. I took the gold medal several years in a row at the WSMA State Music Festival, and recieved the Exemplary Solo Performance Award my Senior Year. I served as a worship leader at Bethel Lutheran Church - both in a worship band and as a Cantor. I currently sing in the worship band at Door Creek Church North Side. I performed in two musicals during my college years - "All Shook Up" with Sun Prairie Civic Theater, and "Fiddler On The Roof" with Stoughton Village Players.
Choreography
I had a one-time, paid stint as a choreographer for Madison East High School's Mad City Swing show choir, and assisted with choreography in the musical "All Shook Up" with Sun Prairie Civic Theater.
Electronic Music
I can create original soundtracks for video games, including a game called "Angry Cloud" which I helped to create in one of my Game Development classes at Herzing University, and EDM as well.
Microcontrollers
I have a hobby of programming microcontrollers for robotics and other applications, like a GPS system, for example. In particular, I'm a fan of Arduino and adafruit - especially the Circuit Playground Express!
Acting
I'm an accomplished actor, having had ensemble, supporting, and leading roles in productions varying from stage musicals to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. I also played a leading role in a video for Campus Crusade for Christ promoting a special event called "Big Break."
Video Editing & Production
I have been making video productions since the 3rd Grade, usually involving improvised comedy, interviews, and commercial breaks. Also created some more professional videos for Campus Crusade for Christ, including a farewell video for a small group leader, three "Don't Fake It, Big Break It!" videos, and a "Fall Getaway" video.
Writing
I've always been a writer - whether it be poetry in the shape of a snowman, or a 71-page TAG Physics paper, or a blog, or books on ministry topics, like My Gifts and Anointings from God. Please note: this book is not entirely accurate! I have learned much since its publishing and will be putting out a revised edition soon.
Artwork & Photography
I'm a well established pencil sketch artist, Adobe Photoshop artist, and photographer. Click to see my portfolio.
Python Development
I've completed the Kreativstorm Course on Python Development. I got straight-A's (100%)!
Command Line
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on Command Line. I am well-versed in shell scripting, especially bash & zsh, and oh-my-zsh themes - I currently use my own custom shell prompt that shows me how much RAM & Processor Power I'm currently using and shows git status (full git integration)!
Text Editor
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on Text Editor. I am currently a fan of the text editor for the Mac called Atom, which I used to create this site.
Git
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on Git. And I love github!
HTML
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on HTML. I've been coding in HTML since the 6th grade - that's 25 years!
CSS & Layout
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on CSS & Layout. I used the Bootstrap CSS Framework to create this site.
JavaScript
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on JavaScript, and I have experience writing JavaScript code from my employment as a Student Programmer at the Space Science & Engineering Center at UW-Madison!
Ruby
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on Ruby. I love Ruby! It's all about optimizing for programmer happiness!
Action Cable
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on Action Cable. I learned how to use Ruby on Rails and persistent, full-duplex connections as provided by Action Cable.
Python
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on Python. This included an entire chapter on data science & machine learning.
Development Environment
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on Development Environment, and have successfully set up several of my own development environments on my MacBook Pro!
Custom Domains
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on Custom Domains, and have successfully set up my own custom domain for this site, lifemanagement.site, celestialexodus.com, and crossprayer.org!
Ruby on Rails
I've completed the "Learn Enough to be Dangerous" Course on Ruby on Rails, and created two dynamic, database-driven websites called crossprayer.org and madeinamericainc.com! (note: madeinamericainc.com is no longer active)
Swift
I created a game engine from scratch using the Swift programming language, in a Game Development class at Herzing University. I also created my own iOS app - Life Management - using Swift and Xcode
Go
I completed a programming challenge in the Go language after 2 days of crash-course learning.