Song of Solomon 8:6-7 “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.”

This is one of the pieces I made for my final project in my Song of Solomon class.  The Song of Solomon is an allegory, a symbolic narrative to tell a greater truth, of how the Lord relates to the Church, but also the individual believer.  I’ll share with you some of my thoughts as I meditated on these verses as well:

 

Song of Solomon 8:6-7 “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.”

            At various times, I’ve thought both the Lover and alternatively the Beloved were speaking this verse, declaring their determination to continue in love.  Joshua made a similar statement in his closing address to the nation of Israel; “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15.  She has decided now, even before the cold winds of testing come, she’s set her heart to remain in love.  I think it’s interesting that “jealousy” could be referring to the Lover’s dedication to her, but the Lord also identifies Himself as embodied jealousy several times throughout the scriptures: Exodus 20:4-6, Exodus 34:14, Deuteronomy 4:24, Hebrews 12:29, and Psalm 27:4 because He is not emotionally distant from those He loves.  I also see this reality as similar to an iceberg, the majority of it exists under the water, where it is hidden from view.   When tests and trials come in life, and our “yes” feels so weak, those are the times when deeper foundations are being laid in love.  Even when we are not fully convinced of our love for the Lord, He sees it perfectly and celebrates it extravagantly.

Song of Solomon 4:16 “Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow.”

This is one of the pieces I made for my final project in my Song of Solomon class.  The Song of Solomon is an allegory, a symbolic narrative to tell a greater truth, of how the Lord relates to the Church, but also the individual believer.  I’ll share with you some of my thoughts as I meditated on these verses as well:

Song of Solomon 4:16 “Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow.”

            This verse is similar to the desire to catch all of the little foxes, it’s the desire of “Whatever it takes, just let me love you more.”  She has become less concerned with her own identity, and more interested in pursuing her Lover/Jesus.  In this we must die to ourselves and live for Him.  The fragrant incense from the garden of her heart rises up, obscuring her old identity as she finds her new identity in Christ. Paul was having the same revelation when he wrote Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” and also Galatians 2:19-20 “For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” The north winds describes times of trial and testing.  By now, the Beloved truly trusts her lover's leadership, just as we can the Lord's leadership in ours.  She is able to acknowledge that even when it's uncomfortable, His leadership will produce more love in her heart.  The south winds refer to times of ease and refreshing.  It's the food-good warm fuzzies we feel when we are enjoying the Lord enjoying us.

Song of Solomon 2:15 “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”

This is one of the pieces I made for my final project in my Song of Solomon class.  The Song of Solomon is an allegory, a symbolic narrative to tell a greater truth, of how the Lord relates to the Church, but also the individual believer.  I’ll share with you some of my thoughts as I meditated on these verses as well:

 

Song of Solomon 2:15 “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”

            This verse comes when the Beloved is in a season of resting in the Lover’s presence and being fed by him, then he invites her to come away with him to the mountaintops.  She is appealing to his strength to catch the foxes, which represent compromises that prevent her from receiving and enjoying the full possibility of the results of her relationship with the Lover.  Foxes are little, clever animals that are difficult to catch.  The way this applies to the life of a believer is when we ask for the Lord’s leadership and help in overcoming these areas of compromise and sin.  The need to remove even these small compromises is the same message as Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, …”  We cannot afford to be passive about resisting sin, as Matthew 11:12 tells us “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. Just like everything in the life of a believer, it’s not something we can do on our own.  The Beloved is asking for help, and we must as the Lord for help too to partner with Him in sanctification.

Song of Solomon 2:2 “As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women.”

This is one of the pieces I made for my final project in my Song of Solomon class.  The Song of Solomon is an allegory, a symbolic narrative to tell a greater truth, of how the Lord relates to the Church, but also the individual believer.  I’ll share with you some of my thoughts as I meditated on these verses as well:

Song of Solomon 2:2 “As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women.”

In this verse the Lover is extolling the virtues of the Beloved because of her uniqueness of her love for him.  Jesus views us this way because in a world where many are in rebellion to His leadership, there are few who are trying, even in our weakness, to follow His leadership and love Him well.  Lilies represent purity and obedience in the song, further emphasizing the virtues He was proclaiming earlier in the song.  The contrast between lilies and thorns is that it was Adam’s disobedience that resulted in the fall, and thorns are part of the curse resulting from the fall of man.  Amidst a world of rebellion and sin, there is one (in the song) who is trying to remain faithful.  This could be related to 2 Chronicles 16:9 “ For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him.”  and King David’s desire to build a dwelling place for the Lord.  A lily amidst a sea of brambles would be somewhat of a resting place tactilely, but also visually, a small bit of beauty amidst so much chaos.

At Jesus’ crucifixion, He was mockingly given a crown of thorns.  ( Matt 27:29, Mark 15:17, John 19:2) In our partnership with the Satan, the pinnacle of our rebellion was here at the cross, killing the One who came to save us from sin and death all for the sake of love.  But what the enemy intended for evil, the Lord intended for good.  Though the enemy thought he had defeated the precious Seed that was promised to defeat him in the garden, the cross was also the crowning achievement of God’s mercy to defeat the power of sin and death.  We, in partnership with the devil, tried to put Him under our rebellion and our own leadership, but He received the crown as a trophy of His victory.

Song of Solomon 1:15 “Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.”

This is one of the pieces I made for my final project in my Song of Solomon class.  The Song of Solomon is an allegory, a symbolic narrative to tell a greater truth, of how the Lord relates to the Church, but also the individual believer.  I’ll share with you some of my thoughts as I meditated on these verses as well:

Song of Solomon 1:15 “Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.”

            This verse is early in the song.  I would imagine that the Beloved still sees herself in the tension of her confession of verse 5, that she is dark, but lovely to her Lover.  The Lover begins with praising her beauty and emotions and the “budding virtues” even though he knows that her dedication is weak.  Doves are a perfect natural reference to her eyes because their eyes cannot see to the left or the right; they are only fixed on what is before them.  Doves also mate for life, they will not find another mate if tragedy takes their mate from them.  Doves are also a symbol of purity in the Old Testament because of their use as a purifying sacrifice in Leviticus 12.  I think it’s interesting that the Lord prescribes doves as the sacrifice for those who cannot afford to sacrifice a lamb.  Perhaps this is because the Lord wanted to make a way for anyone to be able to worship Him, that anyone can be pleasing to Him, even when their strength (of faith, experience, or even finances) are weak.  Doves are also able to fly which I think even speaks to the same concept presented in 2Corinthians 4:17-18 “ For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” and also 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” And Hebrews 12:2 “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfected of our faith…” It’s also interesting to note that when Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at His Baptism, He was seen “like a dove”.  (Firstly, I have fun imagining, how much like a dove did He appear like.  Would we recognize Him as something special, or did He take the form of some bizzaro-doveish thing?  It’s fun to think about.) It’s interesting to consider how even as believers, we need Holy Spirit’s help to fix the eyes of our faith on Jesus and as described Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” The Lord as portrayed as the Lover in Song of Solomon is literally praising her for His work in her. By comparing her eyes to doves, the Lover is describing their natural abilities and dedication, to her internal reality and dedication to Him.

His eyes

I don't care what anyone says

I know that when He looked at me

there was kindness in His eyes.

His leadership is perfect, even when I have no idea where I'm going.

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to a talk given by Corey Russell as he was reminding the underclassmen of IHOPU about the history of the International House of Prayer and how this whole thing got started.  ( Here is a link if you're curious to hear it too. http://mikebickle.org/resources/series/38  It will blow your mind. I promise!)  It was really good for my heart because I so often have to remind myself why I'm here.  Why do I keep going back to sit in that grey chair and pray again?  Remembering the story and all the the pieces that God divinely orchestrated reminds me, that it really does matter.  Having these stories in my heart when I'm feeling, tired, grumpy, disillusioned, or overwhelmed has caused me to "re-sign up" in my heart over and over again.

Corey made a comment about how the Lord didn't reveal everything all at once, that if He had told us what would be happening 5, 10, 15 years down the road, we'd either try to do it ourselves, or get scared and quit.  I know that's true!  Every time we try to "help God out"  it just turns into a big mess.  (I just read in Genesis when Sarah hands off her maid, Hagar, to Abraham to try and fulfill Gods promise for an heir because they were both anxious for waiting.  This happens also with Isaac and his wives.  Yikes.)  

Sitting in my chair I was thinking about how some people seem to have a very clear direction and vision for their lives.  I'm not one of those people.  I think I have several of the pieces, But I have no idea how they fit together.  And I KNOW that it wont come to pass unless the Lord steps in and does the work.  I'm very excited about them, sharing them rarely, but pondering and praying on them often.  These are sometimes passions of my heart, things that gets me really excited, or themes that seem to keep cropping up, and comments that complete strangers make to me too often to just be a random coincidence.  I don't even really know what being enrolled in IHOPU is really unto, I just know that this is where I need to be right now.  I don't know what kind of job/ministry I'll be doing afterwards, but I have some goals for it.  Remembering that I know I'm supposed to be here, even if I don't know where I'm going, makes it so much easier to do it again and again, even when I'm tired, I wont quit.  Anyway, I was thinking about these puzzle pieces and thought about those dreaded first days of class, when the teacher goes over the syllabus.  I can't really explain it, but the phrase "The student will learn to..."  sends shivers down my back.  I feel overwhelmed by the expectations when it's not in small bite sized chunks.  Sometimes I really only want to know what's due next and when.  Shooting the wolf that's closest seems to be how I manage to whittle down my semesters.  This syllabu-phobia (new word) is no different in Bible school.

Then it clicked!  This is exactly how the Lord leads me.  He didn't tell me that I would go to school when He talked me into doing the internship a year ago.  I was so sure that I was going home after the six months.  But He told me what I needed to do right then, and talked to me about IHOPU later on.  I thank Him for "tricking" me into it.  If He had told me years ago, the things I would have walked out the last several years, I would have quit.  No doubt in my mind.  But in His kindness, and because His leadership over my heart is perfect, He leads me just as I need to be led.  I am re-awed by the Creator of the universe who stoops down, studies me heart, and leads me into loving Him more.  

Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

John 1:4-5

This is a reboot of a postcard I had made a while ago. I decided I wanted to do it over again in oil paint, and incorporate the text more with the image. The first go around I had done the whole thing on the computer because of the text, and still I just wasn't very satisfied with how it came out. But who can hand letter type anymore? Turns out, maybe I can... a little. I think that in the version the text isn't punching you in the face, but takes more of a backseat to be seen as part of the image adding a supportive role and another layer of meaning. I enjoyed making it, I hope you enjoy perceiving it.

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John1:1-5

This has been one of my favorite passages to think about.

Jesus would be a much kinder sales associate than I am.

Today was one of the more frustrating days I’ve had in a long time. I was at work and sales were just not happening, not for me at least. I mean what gives? It was like customers knew which shoes we didn’t have in the store and asked for those specific ones! Indecision was rampant, so that people were taking much more time then really should have been necessary. On the drive home I realized, that the reason I was getting frustrated was because I’m the one with the problem. I don’t look a lot like Jesus. He would have been a much kinder, gentler, compassionate sales associate. He wouldn’t be angry about people’s indecision, and He wouldn’t have any frustration to voice in the back. He also wouldn’t feel frantic or pressured to sell more to pay the bills because He would trust that the Father, who is the seer of all His needs and provider to fill them, has everything under control. Jesus would have been more concerned with serving the masses than He would have been with His numbers, because the only person He tries to impress or perform for is His Father.

My heavenly Father is a good God, and is the source of every good thing. His budget is never blown. All the money in the world is His. Daddy I thank you for the 40-some-odd dollars you gave me today. Thank you for the rest of the money you will provide for me. Thank you that whether it’s through this job or another means, you will continue to provide everything I need. You are not shocked that I need money. My bills do not shock you. Holy Spirit, please make me look more like Jesus. Amen.

…Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions…

I’ve been thinking about this for a couple months now; In Psalm 45, David is prophesying about Jesus and His present and coming reign over the earth after His crucifixion and resurrection to redeem us and cleanse us of our sinfulness.

In Psalm 45 David writes;

“Your Throne , O God, is forever and ever.

The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions…”

And just in case anyone is unsure about who David is talking about, he clears that up in verse one:

“ My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;

I address my verses to the king;

My tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.”

So Jesus was the most-glad person within His circle of friends. Even if you don’t count the hundreds of followers He had during His lifetime, even of the 12 disciples and the few women on His inner circle, He was the happiest one of them all. He was actually happy. I also don’t think it’s unfair to extrapolate “companions” beyond his group of friend to mean that He’s the happiest person to ever live. This seems bizarre that the good, holy, eternal and uncreated God would even for a moment be happy to be a man living on the earth, all the while knowing that He would bear the entire weight of wrath of the Father for the sins that He took no part in. What could drive a man to do such a thing? Let alone be happy to do it. He must have considered the price worth paying for the prize He would receive afterwards; a pure and spotless bride, wooed to love Him.

Pondering this question has brought other questions to my mind:

If the Father anointed Jesus with gladness for loving righteousness and hating wickedness, then what is going on with me? What do I love that I shouldn’t? What do I hate that I shouldn’t? (Please no one offer me an answer over the internet for all the world to see. It was a rhetorical question.) Why am I not known as that ridiculously happy guy? Neither my current nor my past circumstances are any excuse, because Jesus had His own too. Isaiah 53 describes Him as a “man of sorrows” so He’s not ignorant of the subject. He wasn’t some cartoon character too dumb or oblivious to not be happy. Especially when you consider the drastic method in which He humbled Himself from creator to interact with His creation and live among us. Where should my focused attentions be, if not my circumstances? What am I loving that isn’t leading me further into loving God and finding my joy in Him? I think all of these questions could be posed to the larger church body in general, but because at the moment the only heart I’m responsible for is my own, and leading myself well is the most beneficial way I can lead the church in righteousness at the moment, I want to keep this line of questioning inward focused. (Could I possibly have found a single instance where selfishness is actually less harmful then being outwardly focused?!?)

It’s an interesting subject to ponder and would encourage other to do the same.

What a fantastic cause and effect that is! In His perfect leadership our good Father rewards us with gladness when we agree with Him. What kindness! In His wisdom He decided the best and most efficient way to gain our cooperation is to give us gladness for agreeing with His leadership. He could have given us a list of rules and motivated us with a “Because I said so…” and He’s certainly within His right to do so, but He wanted to make the process enjoyable. He really is kind and gentle.

He is my Shepherd and Light

Yesterday, I was having a rough day at work. We weren't very busy, so my sales weren't very high and I got hit with some pretty big returns, so my net sales were pretty dismal. At one point I figured that I would probably spend about as much on gas getting to and from work as I had made that day. It was frustrating, kinda confusing, and I could feel my heart getting frustrated and agitated. Instead of wallowing in anger and self pity, I decided to get proactive and focus my mind on the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. He's the only one who can pay all my bills and provide for all my needs anyway, so why try to handle all that pressure myself in an unhealthy way?

I began meditating on Psalm 23, the Lord as my shepherd, and it helped my heart immensely! I didn't even really get beyond the second verse, I just kept repeating the same lines over and over (but here is the whole thing.)

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters. ..."

I hadn't even thought this far into the psalm earlier, but for the first time in my mind I saw a connection between the good shepherd who can lead me through the valley of the shadow, and the light that the darkness cannot overcome. I don't really have a whole lot more to say about about this, but it seems so obvious, I don't know why I never saw it before. How else could He lead me through the valley of the shadow of death unless He was light, and if His light I find life, even when I'm surrounded by death.

After work I went to a friends house for a hang out which turned into a time of worshiping the Lord with music and singing. Since I had been spending a good amount of time meditating on Psalm 23 earlier, it continued into my time of sitting during the worship and "mixed" in my mind with another passage I've been thinking a lot about recently for a commissioned painting I'm working on, John 1:4-5

"In Him was life,and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

So I see the paraphrasing kinda like this:

' The Lord is my guardian, I will not lack anything.
He makes me rest, because I couldn't earn it anyway.
He makes me lie down in abundant provision.
And He brings it to me gently so that I can take all I need.
Even when I don't know where we're going, He knows the way.
He knows where to take me, because He knows all of my needs, all of my wants.
Even when I can't see the provision coming, everything looks bleak,
I can look to Him and I see Him.
I see Him. He sees me. I know His voice. He knows my heart.
It's in looking at Him that I can find what it means to be alive.
Nothing else that I was or was not seeing before and beat what I see in Him.
Of whom should I be afraid?"

Home is where your heart is.

I've been missing Virginia recently, and the people I left there. I guess this is what happens when a visual person processes things?


There's not really a whole lot more for me to say on the matter. This may end up on a shirt though if I ever get a printing press built so I can run two colors.

Send Another Wave

This is another piece I was inspired by Holy Spirit to do while in the prayer room. We were asking for God to send another wave of His Spirit to Kansas City and this is the image that popped in my head. What does another wave look like? It might look like the revivals that happened in the past, but I don't honestly know. I do know that He is really really good and really really kind, and that where He is, is where I want to be!


There were a couple things I was thinking about with this one, namely that I want Him to come, but also about how all of creation is wanting God to return to the earth. I've also considered the description John gives when he sees Holy Spirit descend on Jesus at His baptism "like a dove". I have fun wondering exactly how much like a dove was He? The uncreated God, who created everything clearly has a pretty creative mind. Was John describing His form; 'He was a dove.' He looked like a dove; 'He was similar in shape to a dove like bird.' He moved like a dove; 'The movements He made remind me of how a dove moves.' I dunno, I think it's a fun thing to ponder. The scriptures also describes the Lord as an all consuming fire so I played with that a little as well. The Lord is the source of all glory, light and power in all of creation. I could go on, but I'll spare you. I hope you enjoy and that the viewing and pondering blesses you as much as the painting did me.

It looks like I was thrown off track in keeping up with this thing. It happened right around the time that I began working nearly full time while going to school and the prayer room full time as an IHOPU student. But the semester ended well, and I was actually a little bummed when classes were over. Though I am enjoying that I have a little bit more free time now that I'm "only" working full time.

I've wrapped up three paintings, and a design-doodle to keep me busy and in the groove of mediating on what God was teaching me during the semester. I'm a little backlogged on paintings I want to get done, so I need to put these ones to the side so I physically have room to get some more done!

Here is the redo of a piece I did during my internship:

This is only the second time I've tried painting in thin layers with oil paint to allow the wood grain to show through and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I think the natural wood grain adds good interest and variation in the colors. It's a daunting 2'x4' but I really like the scale and impact of it. there were several close calls when I thought I had ruined it, but I really like it now.

And here is a close up detail of the piece. I was so stoked when my camera recognized his profile as a human face!

Jesus is our Mega-hope

During my internship, Robert perscribed that I should spend some time focusing on our hope in the resurrection to combat some things that were coming up in my heart. Well let me tell you, it's everywhere in the Bible! I had never noticed it before, but God really wanted to make sure we knew about how much hope we have in Him. God is a "man" of His word, He never lies, and He is always kind. Jesus didn't come to earth, pay our penalty of death, just so we can "get through" or "survive" or be a little bit happier. He came to give us a hope that will withstand every pressure of life, and all the rage of the devil who has come to steal kill and destroy all life in us. So what is that life? It's our hope in Jesus. Our hope is not in just holding on long enough till we die. Our hope is that Jesus is real, and He is really coming back for us. Getting to heaven isn't our hope, our hope is that we get to spend eternity with Jesus. That will be heavenly.

Well I've finally been able to get all the verses typed up. I've found 84 so far, and I suspect there are a whole lot more. They're in no particular order, just the order I found them in. These are mostly from the New Testament, but several are from the Old Testament as well. I found that in nearly every New Testament letter, our hope is a main point the author makes, and I suspect that as I gain greater understanding of the hope that Jesus has brought into, I'll see it played out even in the other letters I didn't see at first.

Writing out each verse took over 8 pages in a word document, so I'll spare you that, but I'll list out the address of all the verses I've found so far. If there's one that you particularly like, and you don't see it on the list, post it in a comment on the bottom! I trust that this will be as encouraging to you as it has been to me. I'll leave you with one that could maybe be considered the banner over this whole project;

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

1. Acts 24:15

2. Daniel 12:2-3

3. Isaiah 26:19

4. Proverbs 24:14

5. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

6. 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

7. Isaiah 33:24

8. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

9. Isaiah 35:10

10. Isaiah 51:6

11. Isaiah 54:10

12. Isaiah 55:3

13. Isaiah 63:7

14. 1 Corinthians 15:12-58

15. Hebrews 6:1-2

16. Titus 1:1-3

17. 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

18. 1 John 3:2-3

19. 2 John 1:2-3

20. Colossians 3:2-4

21. 2 Timothy 1:1

22. Titus 1:2

23. 2 Timothy 1:12

24. 1 Peter 1:13

25. Ephesians 1:13-14

26. Colossians 1:13-14

27. 1 Timothy 1:16

28. Colossians 1:18-20

29. Jude 1 :20-21

30. 1 Peter 1:21

31. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

32. Philippians 1:21-23

33. Colossians 1:22-23

34. Colossians 1:27

35. 1 John 2:7

36. Hebrews 2:14-15

37. Hebrews 2:14-15

38. 2 Thessalonians 2:16

39. 1 John 2:24-25

40. Hebrews 3:6

41. 2 Peter 3:13

42. Philippians 3:20-21

43. 2 Timothy 4:8

44. 1 Timothy 4:10

45. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

46. 2 Corinthians 4:14

47. 2 Timothy 4:18

48. Matthew 5:4

49. 1 Peter 5:10

50. Hebrews 6:17-20

51. John 6: 22-71

52. John 6:39-40

53. Hebrews 7:18-19

54. Romans 8:11

55. Romans 8:23-25

56. John 8:51

57. Isaiah 9:7

58. Hebrews 9:15

59. 1 Corinthians 9:25

60. Hebrews 9:27-28

61. Hebrews 10:23

62. Hebrews 11:1

63. Hebrews 11:39-40

64. Proverbs 14:32

65. Romans 15:13

66. Acts 17:31

67. Revelation 21:4

68. Psalm 23:6

69. Proverbs 23:17-18

70. 1 Peter 1:3-5

71. Colossians 1:4-5

72. Ephesians 2:4-7

73. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7

74. Isaiah 56:6-7,

75. Galatians 6:7-8,

76. 1 Timothy 4:7-8

77. Isaiah 25:8-9

78. 1 Thessalonians 5:8-10

79. 2 Timothy 1:8-10

80. Hebrews 5:9-10

81. Psalm 16:9-11,

82. Philippians 3:9-11,

83. 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13

84. Titus 2:11-14

Be blessed!

pb

playing with my camera

It's been an exciting afternoon. I've been trying to get an interview at the Nordstrom here in Kansas City since I worked then for several months just before moving last summer. I think this job has the best potential to make me the most amount of money in the least amount of time throughout my week, so I can keep pouring my time and energy into school at IHOPU. I've already got the training, I know the company, and i know the money's good. Today I finally got a call from the nice lady who's been helping me out in Human resources to schedule and interview for this Friday. YAY!

I also applied today for a position as a graphic designer within the marketing department of the International House of Prayer. It's a missionary position, 24 hours a week in the prayer room, and 24 hours a week doing graphic work, with a missionary stipend. I have no idea what that means numerically but a job I could work around school, and get paid to love Jesus and spread information about Him in an aesthetically pleasing manner could be awesome on multiple levels. So with a quick polish up of my resume, and a few newer uploads to my website, www.patrickbenbow.com and my resume was off!

Please pray for the Lord's leading in my, and others' decisions. From the very begining of the job search this time around, I was telling God "I only want your best. I don't want to settle." Please be praying that I follow His leading, and that I don't get frustrated and try to "solve" this thing by myself. That turned out horribly for king Saul. (yipe!) He always has the best plans.

While I was looking around my computer for my most recent work, I found these: these are some photos I took while I was back home before school started. I was playing around with my camera settings to take photos at night and I think these turned out better then I could have hoped.

This is a path by a lake near my parent's house.


This is NOT my house, but it looked so beautiful with the Christmas tree lighting up the whole place and the soft reflection on the water.


This is on the campus of Virginia commonwealth University, where I went to school. The building on the left is the dinning hall, and the Church on the right is the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. I never went there for a service, but I've admired the building and the Man it represents for years while living in that city.

pb

Koi pond: check

I just discovered the "gadget" that I added on the right hand side of the screen.  The fish will follow the cursor, and if you click your mouse/track pad button you can feed them.  It's completely pointless, but I have a "slight" fascination with Koi  and it's one of my goals in life is to have a Koi pond.  I just couldn't resist adding this to the blog.  I don't think this qualifies to get it marked off my bucket list, but it did bring a small measure of joy to my heart. :D  Enjoy!

pb

Money making scheme... I mean idea.

I'm so excited right now!

Well as I wrote before, I started attending the International House of Prayer University. When I started trying to figure out how to bank roll this whole operation, I spoke with my friend Robert about a couple of ideas, and he really encouraged me to try designing, printing, and selling my own t-shirts. I've wanted to learn how to screen print for a long time so this was a great time to give it a go. Well, that just happened. Over the Christmas break while I was home before school started, I was doing the research and preparing to get started on this. At the same time Micheal's Crafts Store came out with an outstanding coupon! Any one item 40% off. I was looking at about $100 worth of stuff that I would need to make the screens and ink, not even including the shirts, so we gathered several more of the coupons from neighbors, and I bought my materials one at a time. Sometimes I would go to multiple stores in the same day, or bring my mom with me so she could use one coupon too. It took longer, but I saved a good deal of money, 58 bucks  (!!! Do you even know how much Chipotle that could buy me? ), because the first week, each receipt also came with a 50% off any one item for the next week. Awesome! God provides in so many ways, He's really good at it!

All that to say; last night I printed them all up. It went a lot faster then I expected, but it was also a lot harder then I expected too. (I dunno if I've ever come across that combination before.)

Thursday afternoon, I came home to a surprise! I was so excited to get started!












So I gathered up all my supplies and I was ready to go! Note: the 2 liter because I was expecting this whole process to take a lot more time then it actually did. I got the actual printing done in under three hours, but the ironing to set the ink permanent today took several more than that. The after math of destruction and paper towels was pretty amazing too, but I'll spare you that image and let your imagination runamuck with it.

Each one is a little different since I did a method called a "split fountain" where I placed both the white and the blue ink together to create the transition of color. The fact that I'm a total newbie helped in that area too. It's a little unpredictable, and I like that. Each one has more of a "hand made" feel then most the the machine produced in mass quantity things that are all around us now. I'm not hating on machine production, but I really enjoy the uniqueness that comes when things are created individually by hand. The little quirks and differences are so neat to see when all together. Trying to trouble shoot on the fly kept me on my toes too: Is the ink drying too fast on my screen? How can I get ride of water that's dripped on the screen and smearing the ink? Do I have enough ink to do another run? Dear God, I need your help! I distinctly remembering praying "Jesus, you're the best screen printer in the world. You know all about it, please help."

There were several that got messed up along the way, but I had ordered a couple extras of each size to take that into account. I still managed to have enough successes to fill the orders I've gotten for each size, and a I have a few mediums left over too in case anyone wanted to jump on the bandwagon. It was so cool seeing them laid out on literally almost every horizontal surface in me room. It reminded me again how much I enjoy making things, and looking at the end product afterwards.










I wonder if that even a fraction of what God feels when He looks at the Earth and all of us. He's definitely got an edge on me. I mean, He's been doing it a lot longer, has made a lot more stuff, and everything comes out just like He wanted it to. But if I can get so excited over several t-shirts, surely He gets much more excited over me. Life is so much more fun, and enjoyable when the fact that God enjoys me starts to become a reality to me. I love being an artist, in relationship with the most creative person ever!

pb