Not Just for the Refrigerator Anymore

In 2005, Korean artist, Yeondoo Jung, did a delicious photographic series called, Wonderland, which interpreted children's drawings.

In this case, it is life which mimics art.

Cinderella


The Magician Turned the Whale into a Flower

Little Red Riding Hood

Miss Sparkle Sprinkles the Magic

Take a look at these other fascinating series by Yeondoo Jung:
Documentary Nostalgia
Bewitched

Colossians Resources

Perhaps you've joined the SPS Yahoo group that's been going through Colossians--and making some cool creations, as you can see. Or maybe you're doing a study on your own. Either way, here are some Colossians resources:

Bible.org has wonderful audio messages, articles, and textual notes on Colossians.

Dr. Tom Constable, a professor at Dallas Seminary, has compiled extensive notes on the Book of Colossians. He makes his notes available online for free. You can access the .pdf file by following this link: Constable notes

Go here for Matthew Henry's complete commentary on Colossians

For online searches of biblical art relating to Colossians, follow this link to biblical art

After the NET Bible notes, my favorite commentary on Colossians is by Kent Hughes.

Why do things happen?

On Sunday, I was struggling with the age-old question of "Why?" Why do things happen? I'm a logical person and process things based on what I can know. I become afraid of the things I don't or can't know. I avoid them and only play the games where I know the rules.

The process of merging my logic with faith has been an exercise in accepting that there are things I cannot know. There are many, many things that I will never have the answers to. It reminds me that I am the child and not the Adult. It reminds me that I am the created and not the Creator.

Sunday my logic and faith collided with such force my why question went to a dark place. What if there is no reason why? What if the bad things that happen mean nothing? In a moment of deep darkness, you lose your grip on everything – even hope and purpose.

Much later I recalled a podcast I listened to this year of Rob Bell's Easter sermon. I encourage you to listen to the whole thing (select number 9, March 23, “Boasting Will Abound”, 49:10 minutes), but if you want to get to the why part of it all, skip forward to about minute 34:40. In it he uses a monologue from the movie Elizabeth: The Golden Age where Sir Walter Raleigh is describing to Queen Elizabeth what it's like to sail a vast, unpredictable ocean looking for a land that you've only been told exists. And then Bell says,

Resurrection is the belief that no matter how bad it gets, no matter how dark it is, no matter how long it's been since you haven't seen anything on the horizon, resurrection is the belief that at some point you will see land. You will see land. Others will see land. All of creation will see land. Resurrection is belief that God hasn't given up on this world despite all evidence to the contrary. This world is loved. This world has been rescued and this world will not be abandoned.

You have not been abandoned.
I have not been abandoned.
And, one day, it will all come beautifully into view for everyone.

Rising Numbers- Giveaway Results

Congratulations to Lela, winner of the Prang watercolor pencils.

With the long summer nights in Moscow, you will have plenty of light by which to watercolor. :) E-mail me your snail mail address and I'll ship these off to you ASAP.

Thanks to all of you who participated and made me feel not so alone in my gas-poverty and sweatiness.

For Your Reading List

If you're into faith and art, you should know about Rock and Sling. Check it out here.

Rising Numbers- A Free Giveaway

The heat out here in the DC area has been blistering this week! We've had temps in the high 90's all weekend, with a heat index in the 100's. I never thought I would be asking Texas this, but... can we have some of YOUR summer weather?

I saw on the local news today that gas prices are also reaching skyward. In the Washington DC vicinity prices are hovering right around $4.25 a gallon. It's enough to make a body just want to turn off the car, eat out of the pantry stash, and stay and sweat in the "comfort" of their own home.

This week I'm giving away another set of those ever-popular watercolor pencils. (The numbers are rising with these too- but in a way I hope you'll find more pleasurable than summer temperatures and petrol prices.) Last time I gave away a four pack, but I'm upping it to a set of 10 Prang Gallery watercolor pencils and a brush.

This way, you'll be prepared for the next round of SoulPerSuit. Or at least have something to do with yourself while you're sitting at home, sweating and not driving your car.

Want to enter your name in the drawing? Answer two questions in the comment section to be eligible, I'll draw a name at random:

1) What is today's temperature where you live?
2) What is the price of fuel in your area?

I'll draw and post the winning name next Monday, June 16th.
Stay cool and stay home.

Men and Women as Co-Creators

My friends Sue, Kelley, and Henry have recently coauthored a new book that tackles an important subject. It's called Mixed Ministry: Working as Brothers and Sisters in an Oversexed Society. The title says it all. Whether co-writing or partnering to find creative solutions to social problems or running a drama ministry, women and men in Christ's Body need to think of and treat each other as siblings.

You can read an excerpt (pdf) by going here:

Mixed Ministry: Working as Brothers and Sisters in an Oversexed Society

LetterJames.com

AlphaPicture patented a technology called Widescope that allows two pictures to seamlessly fade into each other as if they were one photo to begin with. To promote their technology and their products they created the LetterJames web site. Here, up to 25,000 visitors a day create free pictures with customized text that you can e-mail to friends so they can e-mail two friends, and so on, and so on, ...

For the free feature, click here or look for the E-cards link on the home page. Images created are 72 dpi and about 4"x4" (please respect copyright). You can also test out the feature in the right side bar by typing the text you want and selecting one of the pictures.

They also have a product line for sale but I think it's only setup for the UK. But the free E-cards are cool.

Have fun!