I was digging through some other sketches and I thought this lawn gnome deserved to see the light of day. I had an idea to put it on a t shirt or something but that never panned out, much like most of my other ideas. Oh well. Enjoy the doodles.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Three doodles
I had two more doodles I needed to take out of my bible before I lost them. I know I have a ton more stashed somewhere but I have yet to find them.
I was digging through some other sketches and I thought this lawn gnome deserved to see the light of day. I had an idea to put it on a t shirt or something but that never panned out, much like most of my other ideas. Oh well. Enjoy the doodles.
I was digging through some other sketches and I thought this lawn gnome deserved to see the light of day. I had an idea to put it on a t shirt or something but that never panned out, much like most of my other ideas. Oh well. Enjoy the doodles.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Vanity of Vanities
Quite recently I've been clued in on a very awesome book of the bible that I seem to have neglected some how. Considering it's one of many books within the Old Testament it comes as no big surprise. This book, however, has done me a ton of good and has put a lot of stuff in perspective for me. It is by no means the easiest book of the bible to swallow, but I could easily rank this one among my top 5. Easily.
As some of you may already know, I just completed my 20th year of life on this awesome planet God put me on. I've learned a great many things these 2 decades of O2 inhalations and I thought a blog post summation of some of these important lessons would be just plain nifty. Reading through the book of Ecclesiastes again (the book mentioned above), I found that it pretty much addressed most of them pretty well. So why not kill 2 birds with one blog post and talk about the bible and life? This is such a strange concept; I know. Bear with me on this one folks. Also bear in mind that I am not an expert scholar or interpreter of scripture. This is just what I've pulled from it. I'm not going to go through all of the verses that I love in this book, but just a few. I'll save those other good ones for another day.
So much of my life has been spent on searching for understanding. "Why do we live? Who is God? Did he really make us?" are all questions I've asked myself in the past plus many more. It's not been the easiest of journeys. These are things that every human being struggles with in some form or another. It's tough stuff that isn't exactly easy to answer. Sometimes we are lucky enough to catch a break by being able to wrap our heads around one of these questions sufficiently enough to be "content". It's easy to assume that things will be just plain peachy once we have all the answers. To be wise and have understanding is going to make things a breeze. I've become very fond of verse 4:7 in Proverbs that says: "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Thought it cost all you have, get understanding." So much so that part of the verse is proudly displayed on my blog. In the past I've naively assumed becoming wise would solve all my problems. I would understand the workings of things right? What could be go wrong? "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." Ecclesiastes 1:18. That one is an eye opener. Who would think things would get harder the more we know? In these past 20 years, wisdom has been bestowed on me from various experiences in my life. None of them have been what you would call a cake walk. Had someone asked me if I wanted to forgo the lesson I would learn after surviving such a trial at the time, I would most certainly have accepted their offer to skip the whole thing and go on with the easy life. Asking to be wise has caused all sorts of things to happen to me that I've never considered. It's been a torturous but also fulfilling journey. Knowing what I know now though, I would definitely not skip a thing.
Relationships have become such an important part of my life these past couple years. I used to take for granted my friendship and other sorts of relationships I had with people around me. I was really just in it for me, and if that relationship didn't benefit me then I'd scrap it and move on. Often, if things were tough in my life, I would disconnect from these relationships of mine and just go it alone. I would turn away from my friends and hide in some dark corner somewhere to marinate in all of the muck and bile that was consuming my life. It's a very destructive way of living, and it's been rather tough to get over. I have come to cherish some of the relationships I now have. They have gotten me through so much. Without them, I would not be as strong a person as I am today. Making myself vulnerable to people has to be one of the hardest things I have ever dealt with in my life. Confessing to another human being that I am imperfect and I need some help bad has scared me out of my witness more times than I care to recall. It still does. Being able to hear from someone that things will be OK, to hear that they understand, and to see the kindness in their eyes has just blown the lid off of all of those fears of mine though. It's irreplaceable. Without my friends I would be no where. They've gotten me through so much and have helped me to become the man that I am today. When satan has come stomping down my door, it's been such a relief to have a friend of mine standing there ready to punch him in the face and push him away. It's awesome. "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. a cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 3:9-12
"Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand." Ecclesiastes 5:15. Everything that I own, everything that I earn, everything that I win is going to pass away. I can't take it with me. So often do we put value in material possessions. We can't hold onto this stuff forever. It doesn't belong to us anyway! What use do we have of it when we're dead. Storing up my treasures in Heaven instead of in my room has been a much tougher thing to do than I thought. Parting with a few bucks to give to a homeless man or dropping a few coins into the can of the person in front of the grocery store is a battle when you are thinking every cent counts towards that new ipod or game system or what have you. It's come down to saving money to feed our brains nonsense rather than feed an empty stomach on the street or somewhere else in the world. It's been a hard lesson for me to understand, but I think I'm getting it.
I've always been one who is quick to anger. I have a reputation for sometimes being a hot-head at home. So often does my temper get the best of me and hurt the people that I love. It causes me to become impatient and short with people and cause sometimes Irreparable damage to relationships. Relationships that mean a lot to me. I can't begin to describe how man times I have regretted saying something so hurtful that it cuts too deep to stitch closed out of anger. Never a fine moment. It's really quite stupid, especially when you blow up on someone who cares for you and is trying to help you. Being called out for being wrong has always been something that has bothered me. In the past it has caused me to take juvenile little disagreements and make them personal. It's retarded. Sometimes I wouldn't be able to let them go. I would find myself mulling over a stupid disagreement that meant nothing. I would be totally pissed off beyond all reason about it too! It's funny because when I see this in other people, I get totally pissed off and annoyed at them! It's totally ridiculous. Putting my pride to the side and being patient with some people has been a tough thing to do. It's something I always have to remind myself to do. With some people more than others. "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." Ecclesiastes 7:8-9.
Earlier this year I was going through quite a rough patch in my life. Things were just not the way I wanted them to be. I was completely miserable. My relationship with God was on the rocks. I had neglected all interaction with my creator. My bible sat neglected on my desk collecting dust for the longest time. I was depressed all the time and just plain angry with myself. I used to dwell on the past and how great I used to be when I would eagerly read my bible during school and highlight away passage after passage. I thought they were the greatest moments of my life and when I was strongest. I thought I would never be that great again. I was wrong. "Do not say, :why were the old days better than these?" for it is not wise to ask such questions." Ecclesiastes 7:10. What I failed to realize was I was not so perfect back then. I was just remembering all of the good things and forgetting the bad. And on top of all of that, I was totally disregarding the fact that I still did not completely understand what I was doing back then. Things have gotten better since then because I've allowed myself to move on and to learn instead of focusing on the "greatness" of the past and not go any where and just mope.
My life has been no where near perfect. I have often found myself crying out and asking God why these terrible things are happening to me, or why they are happening to other people. So often to we cry out in our anguish and wonder why we have to endure such torment. What purpose do they serve? "Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future." Ecclesiastes 7:13-14. Much like the things that may happen to us, this verse is kind of hard to understand. Basically put, who can say what purpose these things serve? Who says they are just for us to suffer? So often have I found that the experience that I have drawn from some earth-shaking conflict of the past has given hope to someone in desperate need of help. My suffering has produced not only strength in myself, but also in others. It's crazy to see that happen sometimes. When your realize that braving that crap storm of the past has toughened you up to pull someone else out of their own crap storm. It's nuts! Knowing that you cried out then to find some understanding, when it is standing in front of you now, plain as day and critically important to boot. This world may be crappy sometimes, but I believe things happen for a reason. And when that crap storm looms on the horizon, consider what strength you may gain from it when you are on the other side of the catastrophe rebuilding yourself much stronger to possibly withstand the bazillion mile per hour, debris-flying-through-the-air craziness to come.
This next one I have learned the hard way. It slapped me in the face one night when I was trying to figure out when and how to speak to a person who is very dear to me. I'm an impatient son of a gun. I like to go in and get things done when I feel like it. It's gotten me into some trouble sometimes because I didn't think it through before hand. Things still don't go the way I plan, but it sure does help to think of it this way and know that there's a right way to do things sometimes. "Whoever obeys his commands will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him." Ecclesiastes 8:5-6. Sometimes you have to slow down, bring your racing thoughts to a halt and let God show you the way. Sometimes he even writes down a time and a place! Heck, X marks the spot!
I'd just like to close with this: "Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you Joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. so then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless." Ecclesiastes 11:9-10. Pretty good verse to put me in my place and put things in perspective. It's been an awesome 20 years of life so far. I'm excited to see what God has in storm for me in the future!
Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly Meaningless! Everything is Meaningless!
As some of you may already know, I just completed my 20th year of life on this awesome planet God put me on. I've learned a great many things these 2 decades of O2 inhalations and I thought a blog post summation of some of these important lessons would be just plain nifty. Reading through the book of Ecclesiastes again (the book mentioned above), I found that it pretty much addressed most of them pretty well. So why not kill 2 birds with one blog post and talk about the bible and life? This is such a strange concept; I know. Bear with me on this one folks. Also bear in mind that I am not an expert scholar or interpreter of scripture. This is just what I've pulled from it. I'm not going to go through all of the verses that I love in this book, but just a few. I'll save those other good ones for another day.
So much of my life has been spent on searching for understanding. "Why do we live? Who is God? Did he really make us?" are all questions I've asked myself in the past plus many more. It's not been the easiest of journeys. These are things that every human being struggles with in some form or another. It's tough stuff that isn't exactly easy to answer. Sometimes we are lucky enough to catch a break by being able to wrap our heads around one of these questions sufficiently enough to be "content". It's easy to assume that things will be just plain peachy once we have all the answers. To be wise and have understanding is going to make things a breeze. I've become very fond of verse 4:7 in Proverbs that says: "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Thought it cost all you have, get understanding." So much so that part of the verse is proudly displayed on my blog. In the past I've naively assumed becoming wise would solve all my problems. I would understand the workings of things right? What could be go wrong? "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." Ecclesiastes 1:18. That one is an eye opener. Who would think things would get harder the more we know? In these past 20 years, wisdom has been bestowed on me from various experiences in my life. None of them have been what you would call a cake walk. Had someone asked me if I wanted to forgo the lesson I would learn after surviving such a trial at the time, I would most certainly have accepted their offer to skip the whole thing and go on with the easy life. Asking to be wise has caused all sorts of things to happen to me that I've never considered. It's been a torturous but also fulfilling journey. Knowing what I know now though, I would definitely not skip a thing.
Relationships have become such an important part of my life these past couple years. I used to take for granted my friendship and other sorts of relationships I had with people around me. I was really just in it for me, and if that relationship didn't benefit me then I'd scrap it and move on. Often, if things were tough in my life, I would disconnect from these relationships of mine and just go it alone. I would turn away from my friends and hide in some dark corner somewhere to marinate in all of the muck and bile that was consuming my life. It's a very destructive way of living, and it's been rather tough to get over. I have come to cherish some of the relationships I now have. They have gotten me through so much. Without them, I would not be as strong a person as I am today. Making myself vulnerable to people has to be one of the hardest things I have ever dealt with in my life. Confessing to another human being that I am imperfect and I need some help bad has scared me out of my witness more times than I care to recall. It still does. Being able to hear from someone that things will be OK, to hear that they understand, and to see the kindness in their eyes has just blown the lid off of all of those fears of mine though. It's irreplaceable. Without my friends I would be no where. They've gotten me through so much and have helped me to become the man that I am today. When satan has come stomping down my door, it's been such a relief to have a friend of mine standing there ready to punch him in the face and push him away. It's awesome. "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. a cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 3:9-12
"Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand." Ecclesiastes 5:15. Everything that I own, everything that I earn, everything that I win is going to pass away. I can't take it with me. So often do we put value in material possessions. We can't hold onto this stuff forever. It doesn't belong to us anyway! What use do we have of it when we're dead. Storing up my treasures in Heaven instead of in my room has been a much tougher thing to do than I thought. Parting with a few bucks to give to a homeless man or dropping a few coins into the can of the person in front of the grocery store is a battle when you are thinking every cent counts towards that new ipod or game system or what have you. It's come down to saving money to feed our brains nonsense rather than feed an empty stomach on the street or somewhere else in the world. It's been a hard lesson for me to understand, but I think I'm getting it.
I've always been one who is quick to anger. I have a reputation for sometimes being a hot-head at home. So often does my temper get the best of me and hurt the people that I love. It causes me to become impatient and short with people and cause sometimes Irreparable damage to relationships. Relationships that mean a lot to me. I can't begin to describe how man times I have regretted saying something so hurtful that it cuts too deep to stitch closed out of anger. Never a fine moment. It's really quite stupid, especially when you blow up on someone who cares for you and is trying to help you. Being called out for being wrong has always been something that has bothered me. In the past it has caused me to take juvenile little disagreements and make them personal. It's retarded. Sometimes I wouldn't be able to let them go. I would find myself mulling over a stupid disagreement that meant nothing. I would be totally pissed off beyond all reason about it too! It's funny because when I see this in other people, I get totally pissed off and annoyed at them! It's totally ridiculous. Putting my pride to the side and being patient with some people has been a tough thing to do. It's something I always have to remind myself to do. With some people more than others. "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." Ecclesiastes 7:8-9.
Earlier this year I was going through quite a rough patch in my life. Things were just not the way I wanted them to be. I was completely miserable. My relationship with God was on the rocks. I had neglected all interaction with my creator. My bible sat neglected on my desk collecting dust for the longest time. I was depressed all the time and just plain angry with myself. I used to dwell on the past and how great I used to be when I would eagerly read my bible during school and highlight away passage after passage. I thought they were the greatest moments of my life and when I was strongest. I thought I would never be that great again. I was wrong. "Do not say, :why were the old days better than these?" for it is not wise to ask such questions." Ecclesiastes 7:10. What I failed to realize was I was not so perfect back then. I was just remembering all of the good things and forgetting the bad. And on top of all of that, I was totally disregarding the fact that I still did not completely understand what I was doing back then. Things have gotten better since then because I've allowed myself to move on and to learn instead of focusing on the "greatness" of the past and not go any where and just mope.
My life has been no where near perfect. I have often found myself crying out and asking God why these terrible things are happening to me, or why they are happening to other people. So often to we cry out in our anguish and wonder why we have to endure such torment. What purpose do they serve? "Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future." Ecclesiastes 7:13-14. Much like the things that may happen to us, this verse is kind of hard to understand. Basically put, who can say what purpose these things serve? Who says they are just for us to suffer? So often have I found that the experience that I have drawn from some earth-shaking conflict of the past has given hope to someone in desperate need of help. My suffering has produced not only strength in myself, but also in others. It's crazy to see that happen sometimes. When your realize that braving that crap storm of the past has toughened you up to pull someone else out of their own crap storm. It's nuts! Knowing that you cried out then to find some understanding, when it is standing in front of you now, plain as day and critically important to boot. This world may be crappy sometimes, but I believe things happen for a reason. And when that crap storm looms on the horizon, consider what strength you may gain from it when you are on the other side of the catastrophe rebuilding yourself much stronger to possibly withstand the bazillion mile per hour, debris-flying-through-the-air craziness to come.
This next one I have learned the hard way. It slapped me in the face one night when I was trying to figure out when and how to speak to a person who is very dear to me. I'm an impatient son of a gun. I like to go in and get things done when I feel like it. It's gotten me into some trouble sometimes because I didn't think it through before hand. Things still don't go the way I plan, but it sure does help to think of it this way and know that there's a right way to do things sometimes. "Whoever obeys his commands will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him." Ecclesiastes 8:5-6. Sometimes you have to slow down, bring your racing thoughts to a halt and let God show you the way. Sometimes he even writes down a time and a place! Heck, X marks the spot!
I'd just like to close with this: "Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you Joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. so then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless." Ecclesiastes 11:9-10. Pretty good verse to put me in my place and put things in perspective. It's been an awesome 20 years of life so far. I'm excited to see what God has in storm for me in the future!
Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly Meaningless! Everything is Meaningless!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Well, shoot...
What's this???
Proof of purchase baby! I thought what Amy did was awesome, so I followed suit. I think everyone in the blogosphere who owns a copy should have a picture of them with the book. I've got 1 and a half books to read before I get to it but it will be read! Kudos to Nathan for writing a book!
I guess this has become a personal update blog. I really don't like these, but most of my blog posts turn into these. Oi vey. Here's a big update: I have to use crutches to get around now! What happened, do you say? I'll tell you! It was Wednesday. I'm one of those staffers/adult leaders or whatever you want to call them, at the burn. Tradition has us set a game up for the students before service gets started. We just so happened to be playing Soccer: my favoritest sport ever! I wasn't wearing shoes at the time, but when has that ever stopped me!? So, it was going good. The other team had gotten the ball to our side of the field, and being the awesome Italian soccer player that I am, stole the ball, turned around, and maneuvered it to my right. Everything was going good until a rogue student comes screeching in on the ground feet first towards my unprotected foot! That's totally illegal by the way. I made sure I reprimanded him and instructed him in the rules of soccer. He adamantly disagreed, stating: "I was going after the ball!" I limped off the field in disgust.
By the time I got to the fence I knew something was wrong. It caused me a great deal of pain just to make it to the kitchen. By that time I couldn't even stand on it. Realizing I had wrecked my foot, I quickly hopped to the bathroom and threw up. That was not fun. I quickly dialed my mommy and had her pick me up and take me to the E.R. I pretty much hopped around on one foot, laughing like a hysterical idiot as I went. Long story short, I find out I fractured my foot. Not pretty at all. So now I have to crutch around until my foot stops hurting enough for me to walk on it. They gave me 4-6 weeks till it's fully healed. My foot is good enough to walk on right now even without worrying about causing any problems, it just still hurts a lot. So the moral of this story is you damn well better play soccer right or I might just cleat your face off!
Proof of purchase baby! I thought what Amy did was awesome, so I followed suit. I think everyone in the blogosphere who owns a copy should have a picture of them with the book. I've got 1 and a half books to read before I get to it but it will be read! Kudos to Nathan for writing a book!I guess this has become a personal update blog. I really don't like these, but most of my blog posts turn into these. Oi vey. Here's a big update: I have to use crutches to get around now! What happened, do you say? I'll tell you! It was Wednesday. I'm one of those staffers/adult leaders or whatever you want to call them, at the burn. Tradition has us set a game up for the students before service gets started. We just so happened to be playing Soccer: my favoritest sport ever! I wasn't wearing shoes at the time, but when has that ever stopped me!? So, it was going good. The other team had gotten the ball to our side of the field, and being the awesome Italian soccer player that I am, stole the ball, turned around, and maneuvered it to my right. Everything was going good until a rogue student comes screeching in on the ground feet first towards my unprotected foot! That's totally illegal by the way. I made sure I reprimanded him and instructed him in the rules of soccer. He adamantly disagreed, stating: "I was going after the ball!" I limped off the field in disgust.
By the time I got to the fence I knew something was wrong. It caused me a great deal of pain just to make it to the kitchen. By that time I couldn't even stand on it. Realizing I had wrecked my foot, I quickly hopped to the bathroom and threw up. That was not fun. I quickly dialed my mommy and had her pick me up and take me to the E.R. I pretty much hopped around on one foot, laughing like a hysterical idiot as I went. Long story short, I find out I fractured my foot. Not pretty at all. So now I have to crutch around until my foot stops hurting enough for me to walk on it. They gave me 4-6 weeks till it's fully healed. My foot is good enough to walk on right now even without worrying about causing any problems, it just still hurts a lot. So the moral of this story is you damn well better play soccer right or I might just cleat your face off!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Good Friday art
This year, our church decided to do something a little different with our Good Friday service. It was a pretty nifty idea actually. They got together a bunch of the artists that float around the church on a regular basis and commissioned them to make 6 different art pieces ranging from Christ in the garden up to his entombment. It turned out really cool in the end. Tom and I were 2 of many who stepped up to get things done this year. Here's what we came up with:
We were in charge of doing Christ's trial before the Sanhedrin. It took us a good amount of time to figure out what to put, but this is what we ended up going with. The over all theme of the whole service was supposed to be gloomy. I think we did a good enough job of capturing it. Our piece was second up on the guided tour. They ended up lighting the flame with a red light and spot lighting Jesus, which cast everything around him in shadows which was kind of what we were going for. It turned out quite good. 
This should provide a good size reference for what we were working with. I believe the canvas was 8x4 ft so it really wasn't anything tiny. Over all, it was a ton of fun. I don't think I've ever painted anything that big before. Good times.
We were in charge of doing Christ's trial before the Sanhedrin. It took us a good amount of time to figure out what to put, but this is what we ended up going with. The over all theme of the whole service was supposed to be gloomy. I think we did a good enough job of capturing it. Our piece was second up on the guided tour. They ended up lighting the flame with a red light and spot lighting Jesus, which cast everything around him in shadows which was kind of what we were going for. It turned out quite good. 
This should provide a good size reference for what we were working with. I believe the canvas was 8x4 ft so it really wasn't anything tiny. Over all, it was a ton of fun. I don't think I've ever painted anything that big before. Good times.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Avoid the grave!
Alright, I don't want to be a dead friend so this is me crawling out of the blogger grave! I was actually making a deeper blog post last night, but I was too worn out from the high school all nighter (doggone kids) to think straight. Right now I'm just lazy.
I go back to school next week! No fun, but there's no getting around it. I had my week of fun and good times, now it's back to prison! Oh well. I'm really looking forward to summer. There are so many projects I have stacked up it's not funny! I've had to put off my really time consuming ones till the summer because of school. My schedule isn't that bad, but I still don't really have time to work on all of it. Curse these crazy hobbies of mine!
Speaking of which, I've been meaning to do a totally nerf related post just because people have been giving me flack about it. I'd like to give you all some insight into how the big boys play with kid's toys. If you would like to be a test subject in regards to darts coming out of a modified gun and into contact with human flesh, please let me know. It's for science.....and so I can inflict pain on you. Like you guys would be able to stop me anyway...
I go back to school next week! No fun, but there's no getting around it. I had my week of fun and good times, now it's back to prison! Oh well. I'm really looking forward to summer. There are so many projects I have stacked up it's not funny! I've had to put off my really time consuming ones till the summer because of school. My schedule isn't that bad, but I still don't really have time to work on all of it. Curse these crazy hobbies of mine!
Speaking of which, I've been meaning to do a totally nerf related post just because people have been giving me flack about it. I'd like to give you all some insight into how the big boys play with kid's toys. If you would like to be a test subject in regards to darts coming out of a modified gun and into contact with human flesh, please let me know. It's for science.....and so I can inflict pain on you. Like you guys would be able to stop me anyway...
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Doodles
So I was recently reminded by a close friend of mine about doodling and how much I do it in class and stuff. I usually have a collection of doodles stuffed in my bible that I carry around so I figured I would start a blog doodle series. This series is called the Church Doodles series. All of these were done somewhere within DFCC. Enjoy. I thought some of these were actually kind of funny.
This is the oldest version of the Church tank still in existence. The first version was submitted into the offering plate during that little series where the pastor was putting up doodles that were submitted on the screen. It must've been too sacrilegious/controversial or something. It was shown cresting a small hill with a tree and a happy little sun in the back. It was awesome. Version two was also submitted for good measure. So I'd say this one is version 3
Another Church tank. I believe this was during the church sermon series "the unstoppable force" So this was around the same time as the Norma Coss Juggernaut picture frame joke
That is a crude drawing of a Megazord just in case you guys were wondering. I couldn't resist
This one is kind of funny. Make sure you read some of the stuff I've written. And then on the flip side of the notes there is....
Make sure you read the notes!
I really liked this one...
So Tom and I decided to start some kind of ridiculous battle series. We did some collaborations. If you are the Wallaces then you have one on your fridge. Notable warriors in this picture are as follows from left to right: GW Bush, Monkey with a flamethrower smoking a cigar, Super Lincoln, Super Mario, Zombie Steve Irwin, Captain Planet
This one is kinda bad. It was done during xmas time too. What Jews have to do with aliens is beyond me. I have no idea what I was thinking. Mark Shoch does that to you sometimes...
This one is kind of weird too. They started giving us some lines for our church notes instead of bullet points. On top of that they added that dude with the light bulb. It was begging to be destroyed. Notable fighters include: Super Lincoln, The Brave Little Toaster, Charizard, (not pictured) Super Mario. (who do you think tossed the Bomb-omb?), Monkey with a flamethrower smoking a cigar, robotic knight, The Avenging Unicorn.
This one rocks a little harder. It's infamous Herbert the Lawngnome who adorns the remains of an old church trip to frantones flyer.
This is the last one that I've got. I drew this on the outline sheet from our last staff meeting during the meeting. Except for the rocket, they're all some sort of beast. Mostly mythical. Mythical beasts rule.
Next doodle series will be about my school doodles! good times.
This is the oldest version of the Church tank still in existence. The first version was submitted into the offering plate during that little series where the pastor was putting up doodles that were submitted on the screen. It must've been too sacrilegious/controversial or something. It was shown cresting a small hill with a tree and a happy little sun in the back. It was awesome. Version two was also submitted for good measure. So I'd say this one is version 3
Another Church tank. I believe this was during the church sermon series "the unstoppable force" So this was around the same time as the Norma Coss Juggernaut picture frame joke
That is a crude drawing of a Megazord just in case you guys were wondering. I couldn't resist
This one is kind of funny. Make sure you read some of the stuff I've written. And then on the flip side of the notes there is....
Make sure you read the notes!
I really liked this one...
So Tom and I decided to start some kind of ridiculous battle series. We did some collaborations. If you are the Wallaces then you have one on your fridge. Notable warriors in this picture are as follows from left to right: GW Bush, Monkey with a flamethrower smoking a cigar, Super Lincoln, Super Mario, Zombie Steve Irwin, Captain Planet
This one is kinda bad. It was done during xmas time too. What Jews have to do with aliens is beyond me. I have no idea what I was thinking. Mark Shoch does that to you sometimes...
This one is kind of weird too. They started giving us some lines for our church notes instead of bullet points. On top of that they added that dude with the light bulb. It was begging to be destroyed. Notable fighters include: Super Lincoln, The Brave Little Toaster, Charizard, (not pictured) Super Mario. (who do you think tossed the Bomb-omb?), Monkey with a flamethrower smoking a cigar, robotic knight, The Avenging Unicorn.
This one rocks a little harder. It's infamous Herbert the Lawngnome who adorns the remains of an old church trip to frantones flyer.
This is the last one that I've got. I drew this on the outline sheet from our last staff meeting during the meeting. Except for the rocket, they're all some sort of beast. Mostly mythical. Mythical beasts rule. Next doodle series will be about my school doodles! good times.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
But you untied me. Didn't you untie me, Lord?
It's been awhile since I've thrown down anything too deep on here. I'm pretty much overdue or something like that. May be that's something I shouldn't want to have to type up on my blog? I don't know, but I'm going through with it anyway.
I've been having a real difficult time just operating this past couple of weeks. I've been irritated, sad, lonely, confused, etc. Altogether it hasn't been too fun to be me. I've just been going through the process of re-evaluating myself and that's never fun. I've basically been cleaning house. Had to lift up some couches and stare some mutated, snaggle-toothed dusty bunnies in the face which is terrifying! Tangling with monsters ain't easy! It's pretty stressful, and it's something I don't like and enjoy shying away from, but regardless of how much I detest it, it's got to be done if I care about it at all at least.
Soul-searching's been a long and difficult process for me. I don't know about you guys, but realizing my own short comings just never makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Finding you land far from the person you want yourself to be is pretty crushing. It's like: "ok, so where did I turn off and how the heck did I get here!?" And sometimes, you feel so far away that it seems like you'll never get back. So it feels like I'm stuck in Egypt. So far away from where I should be just getting beaten down by my personal failure and short comings that it feels like it's impossible to get up. There's nothing I can do but cry out in agony because I'm facing a machine that's bigger than me.
Praise be to God, the God of the broken and wretched, who's ears hear the cry of the oppressed. The old school Sunday school story has never meant so much more to me than it does now. God heard the cry of his people being oppressed and beaten down in Egypt, and just like that God hears my cries when I'm getting beaten down too. He rose up against Egypt and rescued his people just as he rescues me now. It's awesome.
God hears my cries of pain and anguish. Sometimes it doesn't seem like he's listening, but he is. He's moving, we just don't see it. It's always hard to wait out for that shining light to guide you back when you're waist deep in darkness. Personally, I tend to forget what kind of a track record he's got when it comes to him rescuing his people.
It's been so easy for me to just get wrapped up in thinking about my own short comings and failures. Just getting tied up by hopelessness. Honestly, sometimes it seems like I'm completely wrapped, and on top of that, tied "neatly" together with some kind of Gordian knot. It feels like it's impossible for me to get out of this; it's never going to happen. Pack it in Cory, you're done. Finito, capice? But God never fails to pull me out. Sometimes it's subtle, very very subtle. Like a thief in the night, or just like a whisper on the wind. You'd miss it if you weren't looking for it. And sometimes he comes in like a pillar of fire. There's no way you can miss that. It's obvious, it's awesome! He comes along and chops the knot and frees me. "But you untied me. Didn't you untie me Lord?" the lyrics have never felt so true before.
Ya I sowed the wind, but I wasn't prepared to reap the whirlwind. I never expected to be beat down this bad. But God has always been there to give me relief. And when I'm standing there surveying the aftermath, he's been there to reset my foundations and help me rebuild. It's a painful process of course, but it happens. When it happens, Christ's got the hammer and nails.
While I've been thinking, I've realized I honestly don't give myself enough credit. Now follow me on this one, I'm not being full of myself here. I've always just been so focused on how much I mess up and not on how much I've grown and changed for the better. Now I've got an example from a certain situation I found myself in today. I'm sure if you asked other people involved about it, they may give you a different perspective on the situation, probably/especially a certain individual who was the other party in the little discussion I found myself in after class this morning. I assure you that I'm being completely sincere when I speak about this. Honest.
Now I've found my way into some very ugly discussions that went south real fast. A couple of my friends can testify to that actually. Point is, I've been in enough to know now the difference between having a discussion and an argument. You're either doing one or the other. Today, even if the other person was a little stubborn and young, I felt I was discussing. I was not angry. Confused, maybe a little flustered, but not angry. I most certainly was not even thinking about trying to "win" the discussion as if it was so important to win. I was honestly interested in discussing the subject and explaining why it didn't make much sense to me and why it didn't. I don't think it would be wrong for me to be proud of the way I conducted myself today. I've done far worse in the past, and Lord knows there was the possibility of complete disaster today, but I think I handled it pretty well. The moral of this story is this is one place God has taught me to better and it has happened. I've seen the growth that he's encouraged and I'm pretty happy for that.
The thought of loving myself is so bizarre and new. It's tough, which you think would be a weird thing to say right? I mean who doesn't think they're worth anything at all and doesn't appreciate their own personal strengths. Honestly, I know alot of people, myself included, who do. So I don't know about you all, but I think I'm going to take a walk on the wild side and appreciate myself a little more. After all, I was tied up and he freed me. I've got to be worth something to him if he would do such a thing. Are we "too good" to love ourselves even if God does enough to send his Son down to die for us? We were made in his image. That's got to mean something right?
I've been having a real difficult time just operating this past couple of weeks. I've been irritated, sad, lonely, confused, etc. Altogether it hasn't been too fun to be me. I've just been going through the process of re-evaluating myself and that's never fun. I've basically been cleaning house. Had to lift up some couches and stare some mutated, snaggle-toothed dusty bunnies in the face which is terrifying! Tangling with monsters ain't easy! It's pretty stressful, and it's something I don't like and enjoy shying away from, but regardless of how much I detest it, it's got to be done if I care about it at all at least.
Soul-searching's been a long and difficult process for me. I don't know about you guys, but realizing my own short comings just never makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Finding you land far from the person you want yourself to be is pretty crushing. It's like: "ok, so where did I turn off and how the heck did I get here!?" And sometimes, you feel so far away that it seems like you'll never get back. So it feels like I'm stuck in Egypt. So far away from where I should be just getting beaten down by my personal failure and short comings that it feels like it's impossible to get up. There's nothing I can do but cry out in agony because I'm facing a machine that's bigger than me.
Praise be to God, the God of the broken and wretched, who's ears hear the cry of the oppressed. The old school Sunday school story has never meant so much more to me than it does now. God heard the cry of his people being oppressed and beaten down in Egypt, and just like that God hears my cries when I'm getting beaten down too. He rose up against Egypt and rescued his people just as he rescues me now. It's awesome.
God hears my cries of pain and anguish. Sometimes it doesn't seem like he's listening, but he is. He's moving, we just don't see it. It's always hard to wait out for that shining light to guide you back when you're waist deep in darkness. Personally, I tend to forget what kind of a track record he's got when it comes to him rescuing his people.
It's been so easy for me to just get wrapped up in thinking about my own short comings and failures. Just getting tied up by hopelessness. Honestly, sometimes it seems like I'm completely wrapped, and on top of that, tied "neatly" together with some kind of Gordian knot. It feels like it's impossible for me to get out of this; it's never going to happen. Pack it in Cory, you're done. Finito, capice? But God never fails to pull me out. Sometimes it's subtle, very very subtle. Like a thief in the night, or just like a whisper on the wind. You'd miss it if you weren't looking for it. And sometimes he comes in like a pillar of fire. There's no way you can miss that. It's obvious, it's awesome! He comes along and chops the knot and frees me. "But you untied me. Didn't you untie me Lord?" the lyrics have never felt so true before.
Ya I sowed the wind, but I wasn't prepared to reap the whirlwind. I never expected to be beat down this bad. But God has always been there to give me relief. And when I'm standing there surveying the aftermath, he's been there to reset my foundations and help me rebuild. It's a painful process of course, but it happens. When it happens, Christ's got the hammer and nails.
While I've been thinking, I've realized I honestly don't give myself enough credit. Now follow me on this one, I'm not being full of myself here. I've always just been so focused on how much I mess up and not on how much I've grown and changed for the better. Now I've got an example from a certain situation I found myself in today. I'm sure if you asked other people involved about it, they may give you a different perspective on the situation, probably/especially a certain individual who was the other party in the little discussion I found myself in after class this morning. I assure you that I'm being completely sincere when I speak about this. Honest.
Now I've found my way into some very ugly discussions that went south real fast. A couple of my friends can testify to that actually. Point is, I've been in enough to know now the difference between having a discussion and an argument. You're either doing one or the other. Today, even if the other person was a little stubborn and young, I felt I was discussing. I was not angry. Confused, maybe a little flustered, but not angry. I most certainly was not even thinking about trying to "win" the discussion as if it was so important to win. I was honestly interested in discussing the subject and explaining why it didn't make much sense to me and why it didn't. I don't think it would be wrong for me to be proud of the way I conducted myself today. I've done far worse in the past, and Lord knows there was the possibility of complete disaster today, but I think I handled it pretty well. The moral of this story is this is one place God has taught me to better and it has happened. I've seen the growth that he's encouraged and I'm pretty happy for that.
The thought of loving myself is so bizarre and new. It's tough, which you think would be a weird thing to say right? I mean who doesn't think they're worth anything at all and doesn't appreciate their own personal strengths. Honestly, I know alot of people, myself included, who do. So I don't know about you all, but I think I'm going to take a walk on the wild side and appreciate myself a little more. After all, I was tied up and he freed me. I've got to be worth something to him if he would do such a thing. Are we "too good" to love ourselves even if God does enough to send his Son down to die for us? We were made in his image. That's got to mean something right?
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