Freedom of the will...

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Does man have a freedom of his will to make choices outside of the will of God? This question and the debate that happens around it has be the source of distruction between many many people throughout history and continues to do so today. So this is just my babbling journey trying to answer that question myself. I did this piece "Depravity" to represent mans continued attempt to make himself look good before God. The viewer might notice that this person has even tried to cover his wound brought on by his own nature/physical makeup, with a band-aid. Very simmular to Adam and Eve covering themselves with fig leaves.
Does man have a free will? I am not sure I even understand what that means, but I know this... The nature of man is to hate God, mans will is tied to his nature. If I put a freshly cooked chicken in one corner of the room and freshly washed head of lettuce in the other corner, what is my hungry dog going to go after? The cooked chicken! Why? It is in his nature to go after that chicken... Does he have freedom to choose the lettuce? Yes, but his nature desires the chicken every day at every meal. It is not freedom of the will where our conversation should lie, but what is the nature of man? For the will of man always follows his nature.

The "Nucleon" Lives!

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OK... you must take my word on this one. I don’t care about what car I drive. There are a lot of people and I mean a lot of people who love cars. I don’t. Just make it clean, safe, and efficient. I am not a big gaget person, in fact I have owned a VW Passat since 2004 and still don’t know everything it does. Anyhow, this all has changed since I saw this car. This is the car that I want. In the 1950s, Ford produced a concept car called the Nucleon, intended to run on nuclear power, but the vehicle was never produced. Can you say "Thermonuclear", I knew you could.

John 3:14... the prequel of John 3:16

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John 3:16 must be one of the most memorized scriptures in the world, but personally I love John 3:14 and the story behind it. John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. Here is the backdrop... Moses is leading the Jewish people through the desert over a 40 year period. They like any of us would do... start bitching and complaining (yes, I said bitching). God gets wind of this and spanks them in a sense. He causes snakes to come out from the desert and the snakes start to bite the Jews. When they get tired of being bitten they turn to God and ask for help. Thus He tells Moses to take a brass serpent, put it on staff, and place the staff in the middle of the camp. The people are told, if you get bitten then simply look up to the snake on the pole and you will be healed. To think that this act of complaining would end up being a metaphor for the greatest death ant hope that the world has, is beyond any illustration that I might create.

Growing Faith

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January 2007 was a... what do they call it?... was a benchmark date for me. I was having lunch with a close friend and sharing with him how business had taken a down turn and how this was making me depressed. He looked at me square in the eye and said that my happiness should not be tied into the secure feelings I get from money in the bank. Instead my happiness should be tied up in the Lord. This is not what I wanted to hear, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. For that was the start of one of many– monumental changes in my life. Yes, I already knew the bible verses in my mind, (Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.) but not in my heart. . My treasure for so long was the secure (if there is such a thing) feeling I would get from a sweet looking checking account. So where are things today? Worse than they were a year and a half ago, yet I have never experienced more peace of mind, joy of life, excitement of things to come–all because the Lord had moved my treasure into heaven and thus my heart has followed. It all came down to a lack of faith in the Lord. Stronger faith comes by reading His word. Not books about His word, or books about people who read His word or even bloggers who write about reading His word. The journey for strengthening ones faith starts by quietly reading Gods Word.

Sunday Delight

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Fear Not.
Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Have you ever imagined what you could accomplish if you had no fear. Now, what could you accomplish if you did not even fear death? For a life that fears God, and not man, nor death anything is possible.

Starting Fresh

A nights rest always gives me hope. My aim is to blog more often, so with that being said much had happened over the past 6 months. I might get into that later. Anyhow I recently won a contest in which the Maryland and Pennsylvania Trail (better known as the Ma & Pa Trail) wanted to have a new logo, so on the urging of my son, I designed a logo and won, thanks be to the Lord. Here is the winning logo. PS. I even animated this logo for fun... Check it out.

Filled with Disappointment and Anger

My mind this morning was filled with feelings of disappointment, anger, frustration, toward myself and others.

Last night my son and I were reading the Chronicals of Narnia. We were in Book 1. This book tells the story of the creation of Narnia. The point is that people of the story are so captivated with the creation that they stand in awe and almost forget of their past circumstances.

Why do I linger, and let my mind dwell upon the wrongs that I have done and the wrongs that other have done to me?

The one thing that I hope for is the day that these thoughts are a distant past, a vapor of a memory–all replaced with the awe of God himself.

While I dwell on earth–I would love God, Love others and feel a great debt to both God and man.

Phil 1:9-11

So much better to dwell in the fruit of the spirit (Gal 5:22; Love, Joy, Peace, Long Suffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control) and apply these things as to how God acts toward me and how I should act toward God and man.

What is the meaning of Joy?

James 1:2
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,...

In the various trials that I have gone through this year it made me ponder the word Joy. The word can be defined as "a calm delight." For the most part happiness is like glee it is for the moment and most people can recognized that one is happy. Joy, on the other hand is a gift from God, it is internal. It is what comes from the knowledge of knowing that God will provide, God will direct, God will remain faithful even when I am unfaithful. To Him I owe everthing.

Empty dreams and unanswered prayer

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I have been dreaming and praying that this might be the year that I get published in Communication Arts Magazine. The dreamer just woke up to some disappointing news. I have been passed up again. It is moments like this that the critic will say... “prayer doesn't work, and dreams don't get anything done.” Well, this is what I know– I went into the woods in our back yard and made a giant swing for my kids and the neighborhood (how many people get to do that after a bad day?). It was in that moment that the Lord reminded me of a time six years ago when I lost an opportunity with a major client. This event was a terrible down turn in my design business which ultimately sent us packing up our belongings in California and move to Maryland. I prayed for that client just as much as I prayed for CA magazine. Little did I know—God had other things in mind when He did not answer my prayer in the way that I had hoped six years ago. The funny thing is—I have always dreamed of living in a place where streams run free and trees grow tall and lush–all this in my very own backyard (not to mention making tree swings with my kids). Losing that client six years ago brought us to Maryland, Not getting published this year in CA means...

Stay true to your heart

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I have a style of illustration that I enjoy. Stay true even if you do not have the popularity. I am starting a new mailing campaign that will use silkscreen. I am looking forward to getting started.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

This is a great book about staying true to what you are passionate about.

Faith vs Feelings

The days where your heart is cold and lacks feeling toward the things that your minds says is right–are very long days.

Why should I do good?

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This morning I was reading from the book of Titius. This book reminds me to continue doing good works for all of those around me.

This caused me to think. What is the motivation to go out and do good works? It is very different for the Christian. If a friend were to give me $50 out of the blue, I would feel indebted to them. I might return the favor by baking them a cake or cutting their grass out of thankfulness. In the process of baking or cutting I would expect nothing in return because these acts were out of thankfulness. When a christian comes to a greater understanding of what God has done for them in salvation, we would feel most indebted to God and want to do all the good works we could get our hands on out of thankfulness to Him. Doing good things for others or giving of our money should spring from a heart of indebtedness, not out of some hope of a future blessing that we might gain.

Illustration Conference?

I have attended a couple of design conferences over the years. They were very helpful. Does anyone know of some good illustration conferences?

Illustration: Getting Back To Basics

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It has been over a year since my last drawing session with a live model—way too long. Next saturday I am looking forward to starting the practice of life drawing once again. For the illustrator this must be the foundation of everything we do. Understanding how God has made the human body (old, young, fat, thin, male, female, short or tall) and how it moves in space is the pinnacle of drawing itself. Mastering this form makes everything else a piece of cake.