Tim Jarosz has some incredible photo/artwork. I particularly love the colours and collage feel from the last two, part of his cityscapes collection. His prints are very affordable over at Society6.

3:51 pm  •  25 November 2011  •  2 notes

Looking through old designs that I’ve saved to my computer, I find Mark Weaver one of the best of the artists willing to make-something-cool-every-day. I love discovering an artist of this style and feel, easily one of my favourites.

3:31 pm  •  25 November 2011  •  1 note

Read the slightly longer version here.

Some stats on Facebook:

• Facebook recently became the #1 most visited website, surpassing Google last year, with 16% of people’s time on the Internet spent on Facebook.
• There are more than 800 million active users—more than 50% of whom log on in any given day.
• More than 250 million photos are uploaded each day.
• The average user has 130 friends.
• The top three things people do on Facebook: view photos, comment on content, and see what their friends are up to.

Evidently, Facebook has a very large presence in our world, and because it consumes so much of our time + attention, it can affect us drastically.

What does the Bible have to say about Facebook?

“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (Luke 16:9)

Facebook, like Money, can be redeemed by God, meaning although it is often a terrible thing, it can be used for good. It can even be a gift from God to help us do His work.

This verse (Luke 16:9) is telling us a few things:

• to use what we’re given (something worldly and rarely good, like money or Facebook) to make friends. Making friends in this sense means creating genuine relationships, real human connections.
• so that, when it fails, because things of this world inevitably fail—only God can fill us (see these posts for more)…
• they will welcome us —> They will have a true friend who knows about eternal things, someone who can guide them and point them to Jesus.

Finally, be aware of how Facebook is affecting you? Is it filling or draining? Is it stirring up jealousy, anger, lust, hate, etc? Or is it encouraging and filling us in a positive, spiritual way? (Only God can fill us, but if we are doing His will with what we are given, true connecting can fill us!)

3:58 pm  •  24 November 2011  •  2 notes

John Hendrix takes sermon notes like nobody else. These doodles are done in church with charcoal and pencil and then coloured later, taken from his sketchbook based on actual sermons. If you’re anything like me with a sketchpad in church, you will enjoy this article on the benefits of doodling a sermon.

2:16 pm  •  18 November 2011  •  1 note

When we perform or create an art piece or play a sport, we want to hear: “You did well!” or “That looks awesome!” We want to know that someone important to us—a friend or family member—values what we have done, because that means they think highly of us.

While compliments like this are fleeting, we often seek and desire the affection and appreciation of others (this in itself is a good desire), but we can’t depend on these things for our identity and value. Then when we hear over and over, “You’re stupid,” it will have the same effect: we believe it.

And this will almost never happen so directly. For example, it could take the form of a dad who doesn’t show his daughter she is lovely—and out of this she develops self-destructive dating habits, seeking her identity in boys, when a relationship will never have the power to complete someone—only God can do that. The truth here is that God thinks she is lovely, and therefore she is!

Growing closer to God means knowing Him and knowing what He thinks about us. This is an opinion that is truer than all others and will always hold strong! Knowing the truth about ourselves will free us to do incredible things in Him!

Here are some more verses about God’s opinion of us:

• Colossians 3:12
• Galatians 3:26-27
• Psalm 138:8
• 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6
• Zephaniah 3:17
• Jeremiah 29:11

When we hear things like “I am a bad son/daughter” or “I won’t amount to anything”—in our own heads, from ourselves or from others or from our spiritual enemies—we need to claim what is true! Remind yourself the things you know to be true of yourself in Christ. Say aloud (or in your head): “I am a child of God. I am cherished by Him and I have a future and a hope in Him” (or any of the truths from this list or last week’s!) We can fight the enemy with truth! And the more we claim these things, the more we will embody this role and become like Jesus!

Really good news.

10:53 am  •  17 November 2011  •  67 notes

Jim LePage has some pretty excellent books-of-the-Bible artwork. I have yet to see some art this good around a theme as important as the Bible—which also makes this the first crossover of #design and #bible.

4:31 pm  •  12 November 2011

In order to do God’s work best, we need to understand how God views us. We often look to friends, family, television, media, etc. for our definition, and because of this many of us have a misunderstanding of ourselves. We cannot be defined by what others say about us, but by how God sees us. Which leads us to ask, “What is His opinion of us?”—this opinion is going to be the truth that can accurately define us.

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32)

Free from what? In this case: self-loathing, depression, feelings of insecurity, a lack of faith to do God’s work, bondage and death in sin, and more.

Free to do what? To do God’s work, to love others, to live abundantly!

Look at these verses, and at what they say about who we are and how God views us:

• Psalm 139:13-18
• 1 Peter 2:9
• Ephesians 1:4-5
• Ephesians 2:6
• Ephesians 2:10
• Galatians 4:6-7
• John 15:15

This is exciting stuff! This wave of verses is probably enough to think about for now. I will post more soon in Part II.

12:31 pm  •  10 November 2011  •  85 notes

“Some Children” - Holy Ghost!

For fun.

11:13 am  •  4 November 2011

Living in an Instagram era, where anyone can be a master retro photographer, photography this unbelievable can be hard to come by. These are taken by Anton Jankovoy, all in Nepal. The top picture is apparently the Milky Way as seen above the Himalayans. I love seeing the movement of the stars captured in photography (also see this post).

2:45 pm  •  1 November 2011

A couple recent posters I’ve made for events at Pulse Youth.

2:34 pm  •  1 November 2011

…for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

The fourth and final reason why Jesus died—as we explored very briefly at Logos a few weeks ago—is so that we might have joy! The Bible says we can experience the fullness of God’s joy in us (John 17:13)! That means that this is available to us at any given moment.

The Greek word for joy (chara) is closely related to the word grace (charis), and this is because we experience joy out of response to God’s graciousness. However, joy ≠ happiness. Happiness happens to us based on the things that happen around us or to us, and for this reason it is fleeting and superficial. Joy—especially God’s joy—is a state that is restful and peaceful, and God is always willing to provide us with His joy.

Happiness is still a good thing, and it is a gift from God and often a result of joy, but we need to remember that we already have His joy in us—we simply look to Him to receive it.

10:01 am  •  28 October 2011  •  1 note

At first these paintings seem like mundane photographs taken of lackluster Canadian cities in the 90s (not that the pictures are boring—I love the look and feel, especially of the houses). But remember, these are paintings. Have a look through Mike Bayne’s portfolio and be sure to click through each year.

11:09 am  •  27 October 2011

“Cruel” - St. Vincent

I love the crunchy guitar that is one of the defining sounds of St. Vincent. I’ve been hooked on this song lately—one of those occasions where I want the entire album out of need. But I’m not convinced yet that the album is worth purchasing in full. I’ll post a link to an album preview if I find one.

12:12 pm  •  26 October 2011

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Sometimes when Christians and non-Christians argue the existence of God, it goes something like this:

—“Everything on earth has a cause—this lamp has a cause, someone created it; that dog has a cause—everything has a creator. Therefore, there must be a First Cause (God).”
—“Well, if that’s the case, then who created God?”
—“Uhhh….” 

Oh yeah, he went there.

In reality, if God exists, He is the Creator of time, and must exist outside of time. God is God, and He is eternal. Our understanding of time is not the same as God’s. He is not locked down by time like we humans are.

Because He is outside of time, He sees all time. Remember 2 Peter 3:8? This is hard for us to understand because everything we do is so governed and limited by time. God sees today and yesterday and tomorrow as one. And God knows the future. And He can testify that it ends well.

It ends very well for all who love and trust in Him (Romans 8:28)! He knows our future and if we love Him, we can be very optimistic about it, because we have an optimistic God.

2:37 pm  •  25 October 2011  •  5 notes

Some incredible time-lapse videos that bring to mind 2 Peter 3:8: “…with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (And maybe a few hours are as one second.) Some incredible cinematography. I especially love Volume Two.

12:42 pm  •  14 October 2011