legacy

I visited my local Barnes & Noble this weekend.  Honestly, I need more books like my girls need more stuffed animals… NO!

I am learning to say no to frivolous spending, but then I saw it. A new book from Robert Jordan.  This is quite a feat because Mr. Jordan died a few years ago.

When he died, I was on his 10th book of his ‘Wheel of Time’ series, I decided to set them aside… and in my mourning I purchased the last one without ever reading it.

Another dude co-authored it. Probably a fantasy lover and ‘Wheel of Time’ series nerd like me. So anyway, I am excited, but I am definitely reading them again from the beginning.

I love his stories, but there are just too many characters to keep track of in my opinion. A dude that was just a cardboard character in the first few books, just referred to in conversation by the 3 main characters turns out to be more of a secondary if not primary character later on.  That drives me nuts. Yeah, i know, I’m just jealous.

So, that got me thinking. What do I have left to do before I die?  I’m sure Robert Jordan wanted to complete his series before he kicked the proverbial bucket, but he never got to. How sad.

I used to have a big list that I would stress out about, but I gave that list over to the Lord. Now, I have asked Him to guide me in what is really important.  People are more important than any personal expression of creativity.

I still have the burden to write and draw, I now have a peace in terms of time. I’m not here to build my kingdom, but His.

 

zombies

People love zombie movies.  Ever since the black and white ‘Dawn of the Dead’ debuted back in the ’60’s, this genre has just spread.  I will confess that I have watched my share of these movies over the years. One of the most chilling in my opinion was 28 Days Later. I actually loved the direct tie to a government lab that was testing a bioweapon called ‘rage’ on some animals. These well-intentioned tree-huggers release the animals, unleashing this plague on England.

Well, it’s a good thing that these are just movies right?  No zombies walking around that we have to avoid being infected by?

The horrid truth is that it is too late for you.  You were born infected. So was I.  We walk around dying everyday. Our spirit is a gaping black hole, and we wander about for things to fill it. We choose drugs, booze, music, sex, movies, work… you name it.  And usually we avoid the one thing that can cure us… The Cross.

For those of us who have been given spiritual life, we walk around, day after day, surrounded by the living dead.  What are you going to do about it?  You look just like them, you could just blend in and be safe.  Or you might try to spread the cure that they so desperately need.

You should speak up. They may thank you for your courage someday.

flip it

And now for more doodles that are poorly oriented to our gravity.

This is the kind of art that I would show the kids in the psych hospitals and say “how many animals can you find in this picture?” And their answers were astounding.

heavenly man

I finished a really good book today. It is a biography called ‘Heavenly Man’. It is an account about one man’s experiences as a witness of Christ in Communist China.  He spent years in prison, mistreated. The book convicted me beyond belief.

It pointed out the disconnect between the posh ‘western’ churches, and those churches where persecution is present.  We here in America better wake up.  Before we know it, it will be against the law to speak out and have a conservative or Biblically oriented opinion about anything.

Hence the green ink doodle of my chameleon alien guy.  He blends in with his environment to keep himself safe.  He will be in trouble when his environs change and suddenly aren’t worth hiding in anymore. 

Much like our churches.  Let’s hide in our churches and just pray everything changes… or, we can actually step out – fulfill the great commission and make a difference, empowered by the Holy Spirit Himself.

 

outrage

So I get the priviledge to read about an Army psychiatrist who gunned down his own brothers in arms today.  I don’t understand why or even how this could happen.

Who did the psych evaluation on this psychiatrist?  Was he upset about his upcoming deployment to Iraq?

Listen up loser.  You shot the wrong people.  How bloody selfish.  How despicable.  Your calling was to help people. What a stupid shame.

Our country was founded on the backs and blood of those who fought for the freedoms that we enjoy, and then something like this happens. 

Let’s pray: 

“Dear Lord, please comfort the families of these people, even the family of the shooter. Father, I ask that you would heal their hurts, that you would hold them in your arms, that you would provide answers where there are none. I want to lift up the units that have been touched by this tragedy, and I pray for the system and that you would aid the Army to raise up solutions so that this kind of thing could not happen again.  I pray for your perfect and sovereign will in this situation Lord. Please heal our land, and we pray for Iraq as well, and for your healing word to go forth and bring that nation unto Yourself. In Jesus name. Amen”

staring match with truth

Playing with my gray markers, and a bit of soft erasing on photoshop, making the glowy effect.

We made it thru another October, filled with too many birthdays (cha-ching) and one worthless holiday.

I recently met Seggy. A man from Uganda, who told us of the great need of his ministry in that country. A ministry that is attempting to meet the needs of the orphans in his area. He told us of the malnourished and the abandoned. Kids who have lost both parents to Aids, kids rejected by their parents, or having to fend for themselves while their only living parent is in prison.  I can’t wait to get involved somehow.

Here is the link to their website:  Remembering the Poor

Here is the video I was shown on Friday.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7QXoFUdS0U&feature=player_embedded

Jesus said that what we do unto the least of these, it’s like we’re doing it for Him.  I like that.

graphite flowers

 

Ok, I met my goal for drawing more foo-foo oriented stuff. I really enjoyed the feel of pencil, even if it doesn’t convey the control of ink.  I am SO not used to being able to erase … lol.  Yeah, and I had to throw a venus flytrap on there.

red leaves

Welcome fall.  Blah !  I am not liking the slight change in weather.

Not to be a grump, but I like my hundred degree heat 95% of the year.   Well, ok.  The fall here in Arizona is not bad. Not by a longshot. I do hate the colds and viruses that seem to travel with it. 

Pestilence is something that we have all of the time now. There is no “cold and flu season” anymore, it’s every day.  People with those hospital masks freak me out, it’s like being in a biohazard movie.

Speaking of movies, we went and saw ‘Astroboy’ recently. Very cute, great 3D animation. Some of the scenes did make me say “wow…” audibly, and that doesn’t come easy.

Freehand leaves and thorns with red ink.

just a few sketches…

I have way too much sketch paper.  Check this out. I have at least 5 blank sketchbooks that I bought because they were a ‘great deal’.  Arrrggghhhh!  It’s the hoarder in me, I musn’t buy paper.  I now have a contracted with my wife to not buy any more sketchbooks.  She doesn’t care, but now she is supposed to prompt me by saying: “Do you really need another sketchbook?”  Nuff said.

I am just as bad with pens. Zebra brand ballpoints has a set of 6 colored ink pens that are pretty awesome. I have been using them to highlight by NKJV Scofield Bible, and i drew a few doodles pre and post bible study the other night.

My little psychic space slug above was penned solidly in the ‘yellow’ pen.  It looks more like a tan color, but i ain’t complaining. He doesnt need arms because he can just use his mind control on lesser species like us to do his bidding, like open his cough drops and drive him around town. 

The below picture was laid out first with a random prismacolor pencil I had rolling around in my bag o’tricks, and then followed up with multicolored pen lashes… so to speak.

 

phone doodles

Yep, whether it’s waiting on the phone for a customer to track down their Accounts Payable department or while waiting on the phone for tech support, I tend to doodle.  We’ve established this here. The top pic is actually something that jumped out at me while i was moving down my ‘to-do’ lists.

I see the vague image of this little creature in there, so I had to pull him out. Weird huh?

The bottom image is of skulls of course.  I lapsed into some death worship there and I do apologize. My flesh could draw skulls all day long, but I choose not to.  There’s plenty of other unsavory crap that I’m pretty good at drawing too, but I choose not to entertain those things.

My next mission is to get some of my flowers or other foo-foo art up on here, especially for the ladies.   I am also on a mission to work on some sweet cartoons for kids too. There you go, now hold me accountable.