A newbie looking for help in customizing Lincoln's Revenge for Family Genealogy website

I am trying to use CivicSpace 08.5 with Lincoln's Revenge theme. I have been trying to figure this stuff out on my own for quite a while now, but it seems that as I try to make changes I eventually break it and either can't figure out the correct syntax or I can't log back in so have to start all over... if that makes any sense. Anyway, I am at a point that I need to move forward and recognize the need for outside assistance.

I chose CivicSpace because of the many different modules available for it. I'm not looking to totally re-write Lincoln's Revenge either... mostly the frontpage node where I want to create my own look and feel and possibly some menu help if necessary.

Thank you for any consideration of my request. My email is charles@carterville.com.

Kind regards,
-charles