Tongue Tied… Serving Others and IllustrationFriday.com

Well IllustrationFriday.com‘s challenge of the week is the word “entangled” and it reminded me of a piece I just finished for my local Toastmasters club. One of the greatest fears people have is public speaking, but it is an important skill many people need. Toastmasters helps people master it while developing their leadership skills. By doing a project like this, I get to help people who help people. It’s a win win situation.

Remember Each one should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others.
1 Peter 4:10
How can you use your gift to serve someone else?

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Moustache

I just wanted to remind you all about IllustrationFriday.com. It’s a great way to challenge yourself every week. They give a one-word challenge each Friday and you create whatever the word brings to mind. Then just post it to their site and see what everyone else comes up with. What a fantastic way to break creative block.

IllustrationFriday.com: Onomatopoeia

Okay this was a first. I got the challenge of the week and I had to look up the word. I remembered it from seventh grade english but seventh grade a a LONG time ago so here’s what it means.

on·o·mat·o·poe·ia

ˌänəˌmatəˈpēə,-ˌmätə-/

noun

 1. the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle ).

Here’s how I designed it. Please forgive me I was in a strange mood.

Is there any spiritual significance to this? Not really. I just find the idea of words made out of sound effects amusing.

Here’s another example of onomatopoeia…

and another

and another.

Hope you like ’em.

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Rescue

The word of the week on illustrationfriday.com was rescue. There was only one thing I could think of because this is what rescue means to me…

I was drowning in a sea of sin, when I cried out to God and a mighty nail pierced hand reached down to rescue me.

What’s your rescue story? How would you express it in your art?
Click the image or here to get this on a shirt.

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: POWER

The IllustrationFriday.com challenge this week was the word POWER and there was only one thing that came to mind. The ultimate power move… when Christ, love incarnate and God incarnate, laid aside His awesome power to sacrifice Himself to overpower that which we were powerless against. In that move when Christ looked thoroughly powerless, He overpowered death, hell and the grace for all who will believe. Trust in His POWER, submit to His POWER and live in His love.
This is a sketch of a hopefully upcoming painting with a stylistic nod to pop artist, Keith Haring. Click the image to see this and other pop art images I’ve been working on lately.

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Jungle

Maybe it’s because of the era I’m from, but I can’t hear the word “jungle” (this week’s challenge) without hearing “Welcome to the Jungle.” Because of this, my first thought ws to do a cartoon of Axl Rose facing down an actual lion and shaking in his kilt. It would have been funny, but then I thought of something more important.

He had his day in the sun, 2000 years ago, give or take, as he watched the Son of God gasping for every breath, hanging on the cross. He had managed to convince the very people Jesus came to save to scream for his execution. You know he was elated when he heard the words, “It is finished.” Ah sweet victory, but sometimes victory is short lived, especially when you mess with God.

Oh, make no mistake about it, there was victory that day, but it was not as it appeared. Not many days before, Jesus reminded His disciples that He would die for their sins and that no one takes His life away but that He lays it down freely. He has the power to lay down His life and the power to take it up again. What looked like victory was really a crushing defeat for death, hell, the grave and the devil as Jesus paid the price for our sins and bought eternal life for all who would believe. Jesus won the victory. In His human form, he looked easy to defeat for the mighty fallen angel, but the fatal flaw was forgetting that the suffering servant was also the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

Welcome to the Jungle.

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Robot

The latest IllustrationFriday.com challenge was the word, ROBOT. It got me thinking about one of the charges I hear against God. Why would God allow sin to enter the world? It’s a deep question but part of the reason is because we’re not robots. We’re not pre-programed. God loves us and wants us to love Him, but love requires a choice. To have a choice, there has to be an alternative. There is an option, we can choose God or choose sin and because they are at opposite ends of the continuum to choose one is to choose against the other.

Moses set a choice to the Israelites, they could choose God or they could choose the gods of the people God drove out before them. He set before them blessings and curses and then he said choose live that you might live.

You have a choice, you’re not a ROBOT… Choose life… Choose Jesus.

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Travel

The challenge this week was the word “travel.” Since traveling is one of the things I really want to do with this ministry, I decided to do this little piece. Have Paint Will Travel. I speed paint, tell stories and use it all to introduce people to Jesus and help them to find and use their gifts to serve the Lord. I love to use this gift to serve the Lord, it’s been an awesome adventure.

If you like to use art to serve the Lord, the design is available on a shirt, proceeds benefit fulfilling the mission of this ministry.

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Protest

Okay, I’ll just admit it, I was born in the 60s to a dad who was in the military. As a result, his reaction to protests was visceral and, largely, so is mine. I know there are exceptions to the rule, like the civil rights movement, but for the most part, I don’t see a lot of value in carrying a sign and you know it is a sign of the apocalypse if you ever see me carrying one.

I am a strong proponent of the power of words, you have no doubt sensed that if you are a regular reader of this blog, but I don’t believe mere talk is enough. To me if words are not backed with positive action, protesting is pretty useless.

Next time something bugs you, don’t take to the streets, take positive action. Don’t just talk about it, do something, and make sure it’s something God honoring.

= < love, love > =

The IllusrationFriday.com challenge word this week was equality. It’s a good word, an awesome word, something we should strive for… but there’s something better.

I miss tolerance. You see I believe tolerance has been redefined. Tolerance used to mean you and I could disagree, maybe even vehemently, on issues and still be friends, still respect each other, still hold each other in high esteem, dare I say, still love each other? Somehow tolerance has come to mean total compliance, essentially I have to agree with everything you say, think, believe and do. That is essentially the opposite of tolerance and I can’t believe no one sees the hypocrisy. Tolerance has become a one way street, resistance is futile.

Tolerance is seen as the greatest of virtues in our society and that’s a shame because tolerance is a bare minimum. If I would say I tolerate my wife, you would think my marriage is in deep trouble and you would be right. We haven’t stayed together for 25 years because we tolerate each other. Oh I have behaviors she tolerates no doubt and no doubt there are a few she can’t tolerate. We haven’t stayed married because we tolerate each other, we tolerate each other because of something greater.

Jesus commanded his followers to love their friends, their neighbors, their families and even their enemies (the people they can’t tolerate at all). In other words “love everybody.” He said, “A new command I give you, love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” You and I will not always agree. You may have beliefs, thoughts and actions I have a hard time tolerating and vice versa, I’m called to love you anyway. Love is greater than tolerance and equality and pretty much everything else. My faith demands love. My scripture says “God is love.” To me, being tolerated is nowhere near enough.

I want to be loved and so I strive to love.