"I try to answer our objections to the human condition by creatively framing God's heart within the same art."
Salt and Light
May we be salt to give flavor to this world, and may we be light to illuminate truth and draw people to us.
Matthew 5:13-16
Matthew 5:13-16
Oh Death, Where is Thy Sting
Death is swallowed up by life. And like the dead wasp shows, the sting of pain and loss has been swallowed up with it.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57
1 Corinthians 15:55-57
Create in Me a Clean Heart
When our heart feels dry and dirty, being washed in the spirit brings back life, our color and even if our whole life isn't brought back to full color right away, we will start to bear fruit, even from the dry branches.
Behold I make All Things New
Even when it seems all has been destroyed, from that place can God start again. Like a sprout in an old tree foreshadows a new and greater kingdom, so are our hearts in God's sights.
Isaiah 43:18, Isaiah 43:19, Revelation 21:5, Isaiah 65:17, Ephesians 2:15, Ephesians 4:24, Hebrews 8:13
Isaiah 43:18, Isaiah 43:19, Revelation 21:5, Isaiah 65:17, Ephesians 2:15, Ephesians 4:24, Hebrews 8:13
Even Darkness is as Light to You
Even when we feel so alone, like in the emptiness of space, perhaps we are at the very center of God's eye. And even if we feel full of darkness, God sees us as his lights. And when it feels like our candle has been burned down, and we are exhausted, it is his hands that will catch us. It is in our darkness, that perhaps God is closest to us.
Psalm 139:12
Psalm 139:12
Mount up on Wings as Eagles
A beaten up running shoe is lifted by the spirit within.
Isaiah 40:31
Isaiah 40:31
Tame the Tongue
There are at least three metaphors for the tongue in James 3:8.
Fruit Descended Like Fire
There are three symbols for the Holy Spirit represented in this piece. Can you see the piece of fruit, the flame, and the dove?
Acts 2:3, Luke 3:22, Matthew 3:16, John 1:32, Mark 1:10
Acts 2:3, Luke 3:22, Matthew 3:16, John 1:32, Mark 1:10
Presence of My Enemies
He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Even my cup overflows with good wine. Even when the violence and danger in the world surrounds us, we can take solace in the protection of our souls by the precious blood of the lamb.
Psalm 23, Psalm 23:5
Psalm 23, Psalm 23:5
Do Not Awaken Love until It So Desires
When the powerful talons of love are awoken at the wrong time, it can tear a heart apart. But if it is awoken when the timing is right, it can take that same heart and soar.
Song of Solomon 8:4, Song of Songs 2:7, Song of Songs 3:5, Song of Songs 8:4
Song of Solomon 8:4, Song of Songs 2:7, Song of Songs 3:5, Song of Songs 8:4
Bind up The Brokenhearted
This was made after I went to a man's funeral. His life was characterized by deep pain, but he reached into that pain to bind up the broken hearts of others. RIP Tom Fitts. You were loved.
An old and scarred heart is using its own bandages to bind up one that is more freshely wounded.
Psalm 147:3, Isaiah 61:1
An old and scarred heart is using its own bandages to bind up one that is more freshely wounded.
Psalm 147:3, Isaiah 61:1
Modern Last Supper
Would these perhaps be some of the disciples Jesus would choose because he could see their heart, not their appearance?
Anchor Holds True
Even in the storm when it seems like all will be lost. We can trust our souls are safe with God, even the cleft holding our unseen anchor.
Isaiah 28:16, Isaiah 33:6, Proverbs 23:18, Psalm 31:24, Psalm 61:2
Isaiah 28:16, Isaiah 33:6, Proverbs 23:18, Psalm 31:24, Psalm 61:2
Courage and Calling
Love and Reverence
Perhaps we forget that this God, whom we treat like a harmless tea buddy, is really far bigger and more powerful than we can imagine.
Isaiah 55, Job 26, Psalm 147:5
Isaiah 55, Job 26, Psalm 147:5
There is a Good Type of Fear
We think of fear as a bad thing in this culture, but perhaps there is a proper type of fear, a fear of something holding such beauty, that only it has enough power to set us free.
Psalm 31:19, Psalm 112:1, Proverbs 10:27, Psalm 33
Psalm 31:19, Psalm 112:1, Proverbs 10:27, Psalm 33
Closer than You Think
After working so hard for what we long for, perhaps we do not realize how close it really is. We fashion wings to reach something in the sky, and despite our best efforts, we fail. But maybe what or who we longed to reach the whole time, is here with us, where we cannot see.
Psalm 34:18, James 4:8,
Psalm 34:18, James 4:8,
The Longing is Real
Even though we do everything in our power to fashion wings, some things we long for are still out of our reach, at least in this world.
Hebrews 11:16, Hebrews 13:14
Hebrews 11:16, Hebrews 13:14
I Want to Believe
Sometimes, even though we try so hard, we feel just so hopeless to believe what is good.
Psalm 102:17, Mark 9:24
Psalm 102:17, Mark 9:24
God's Pause
Even though God is unlikely a white old male, this images reminds us in a creative way that he could encompass all the world and universe in just his beard.
Desert Mandala
My soul feels like a spiritual desert. To pray seems pointless and dry. But there is rumor that He puts flesh on dry bones again.
Sword and Spear
A reference to the story of David and Goliath, to remind us where our power really lies. The pebbles on the book are meant to remind us it is real.
1 Samuel 17
1 Samuel 17
Waves
I drew this to be a bed spread so I could feel the peace of sleeping in the deep ocean.
Let Your Light Shine
We are called to meet together, where we are filled up with God's light. And then we go out into the world to share that light. What better symbol then lightning bugs, which I love.
Matthew 5:16
Matthew 5:16
Sad Sunday Mandala
On one difficult and lonely Sunday, I wanted to let my heart speak through art, and what it made was full of sadness, brightness and beauty.
Oaks of Righteousness
A beautiful tree in which thousands of little creatures find refuge is grown by increments smaller than we can see at a time. Like this a human life is grown righteous by all the invisible thoughts fostered to nourish and grow the soul.
His Love Is Fierce
The love of God longs to surround us when we are barraged by a world that tries to tear us apart.
Tame Me (collab)
When a falcon is expertly tamed from its carnal and wild instincts, it can be trained to bring bread to the hungry, notes of hope to the hopeless, and can catch and break arrows shot at others in hate. What could I do if I were to let God tame me?
Lettering by @thejairu
Lettering by @thejairu
Tame Me
When a falcon is expertly tamed from its carnal and wild instincts, it can be trained to bring bread to the hungry, notes of hope to the hopeless, and can catch and break arrows shot at others in hate. What could I do if I were to let God tame me?
Shooting Grows Love from Bullet Holes
Dayton. El Paso. Aurora. Charleston. Columbine. So many more.
In the first few centuries when plagues broke out and people were fleeing cities, Christians headed into the cities, toward the carnage to rescue the dying.
When ancient Rome threw their unwanted babies out to die, the Christians rescued them.
Archibishop Desmond Tutu stopped the bloodbath of revenge by leading South Africa in mass forgiveness after one tribe massacred another.
It takes something different.
And I know many people feel a lot of anger, shock, fear, sadness, and horror. And justifiably so. It’s a very dark and heavy blanket on us. This is an epidemic, like the plague. So how do we respond?
This piece of art is NOT a statement about gun rights or politics.
It’s about something different.
This art piece is about mass shootings in general and the Christian command to rise above our instincts of hate, fear, and revenge. We must mourn fully and justice must be rightly fought for, but may it be motivated by something different than revenge. It takes something different to break these cycles.
What can I do? May I first talk and act kindly to crack the ice suffocating souls who seem to be angry at the world.
But may I also seek ways to grow sprouts of love where bullet holes have pierced a land. By bringing my caring hands and words to them. By my presence. By vulnerably empathizing from my own losses. By not being afraid of their great pain.
This art was inspired by pastor Patrick Faulhaber who preached this weekend about faith, which gives hope, which motivates us to do things that are different than this world would do. He told that the purple bloom of a Crocus can sometimes be seen popping up while snow is still on the ground. It is a symbol of hope in a time that still seems heavy with cold and darkness.
May this epidemic of mass shootings be cracked by our unlikely blooms of hope pushing through this dark, heavy blanket of cold.
In the first few centuries when plagues broke out and people were fleeing cities, Christians headed into the cities, toward the carnage to rescue the dying.
When ancient Rome threw their unwanted babies out to die, the Christians rescued them.
Archibishop Desmond Tutu stopped the bloodbath of revenge by leading South Africa in mass forgiveness after one tribe massacred another.
It takes something different.
And I know many people feel a lot of anger, shock, fear, sadness, and horror. And justifiably so. It’s a very dark and heavy blanket on us. This is an epidemic, like the plague. So how do we respond?
This piece of art is NOT a statement about gun rights or politics.
It’s about something different.
This art piece is about mass shootings in general and the Christian command to rise above our instincts of hate, fear, and revenge. We must mourn fully and justice must be rightly fought for, but may it be motivated by something different than revenge. It takes something different to break these cycles.
What can I do? May I first talk and act kindly to crack the ice suffocating souls who seem to be angry at the world.
But may I also seek ways to grow sprouts of love where bullet holes have pierced a land. By bringing my caring hands and words to them. By my presence. By vulnerably empathizing from my own losses. By not being afraid of their great pain.
This art was inspired by pastor Patrick Faulhaber who preached this weekend about faith, which gives hope, which motivates us to do things that are different than this world would do. He told that the purple bloom of a Crocus can sometimes be seen popping up while snow is still on the ground. It is a symbol of hope in a time that still seems heavy with cold and darkness.
May this epidemic of mass shootings be cracked by our unlikely blooms of hope pushing through this dark, heavy blanket of cold.