Hier stehe Ich

What are you nailing to the door? What are your convictions? Are you concerned about what is politically correct, or are you grounded in your beliefs? Martin Luther's ideas were contrary to those who could take his life, but he resolved to stand by his convictions, even if it meant his own peril.

Waiting

MadeWhite

Imagine whiteness. Purity. Goodness. In a world where are sick of seeing darkness, there is truly goodness. But it's not self-generated. It's not hammered into us from the outside. It's not just visualized or meditated into existence. It is given freely any gift you would give your own child. It was sacrificially paid for once and for all, for all people, for all time, past, present, and future. And we are declared white, a mystery experienced by those who move to accept it.

My son, the night skater

My son called today to talk about some things going on at college. So great to hear that he's doing well up there. I decided to do a sketch of him before he cut his hair, skating late at night like he loves to do, out there for a couple hours, losing track of time, coming home covered in sweat. We miss that guy. But he's doing well, and loving his classes and new friends. Great to see that. There's no greater joy than seeing your kids walking the right path, living in the light.

Jost Hall

A sketch tonight of Jost Hall, where I work every day, just behind that clump of trees on the right. I'm very happy to be at Fresno Pacific University, and it's hard to believe I'm closing in on five months there.

Truck Stories

Busy days, but those are good. Made sure to take time to sketch this truck. Met with a friend today who lost his wife to cancer a few years back and now one of his young daughters is fighting it. I find his faith a powerful testimony of God's grace. He smiles and tells me that he trusts God, and that every person he gives us is a gift, but we don't know how long we have the gift. It's our role to love them while they are with us. And, there was a conversation with someone in the office today. Last week she flipped her car out on a country road and landed right side up in a reservoir. The water was 20 feet deep and the car began to sink, but she couldn't get the doors to open from the pressure of the water, or the sunroof to open. She was finally able to lower one of the windows just enough to squeeze out and swim to safety before the car went down. She was thankful to God her life was spared. Every day is a God-given gift, and I want to be thankful for each one.

Fulton Street is back

This guy was a patient husband, waiting for his wife to get a haircut. Meanwhile, Fulton Street is back open after many years. I went downtown and sketched the umbrella snack cart to celebrate.

U Street - Mariposa Fresno

Here's a sketch of the Universal Church in Fresno on U Street and Mariposa. My wife is in Hawaii, heading to Canada tonight, then back to Hawaii in a couple days. She'll get a chance to see our son up at college while she's in Canada, so I'm a bit jealous. Our kids are doing well, which makes us happy, but we do miss being all together. God has been good to us these past years, through all of the transitions, and we hang on tight to his consistent love, because everything else in life changes, and will continue to change.

Fresno Philharmonic

Today was the first performance of Rei Hotada as the new Music Director  of the Fresno Philharmonic, and we had front row seats for the event. It was fantastic. She was full of energy, spunky, and I think everyone was excited to have her. The "New Era Dance" was her first piece, and it was funky, but very loud and bold. The piano concerto by Natasha Paremski was outstanding and everyone jumped to their feet after her last note.

Dallas Willard

"You can live opposite of what you profess, but you cannot live opposite of what you believe." Whatever you believe about God or about yourself, or about life after death- your beliefs will determine how you live. And your beliefs are dependent on your knowledge, what you know to be true. Or at least, what you think is true. A person can think something is true and be completely wrong. His actions, then, being results of his beliefs, will be wrong actions because they are not based on reality, but on false thinking. The important thing, then, is to know reality, so that you can live in reality.

TobyMac / Honest Abe

Bean Sprouts

I saw these guys working in Jakarta- it looked like they were working with bean sprouts, barrels and baskets of them, mixing by hand, vigorously, adding clean water, then more water, storing. I really have no idea of the process, but it looked like hard work. The area where they were working was in a dark, cool area, tucked away from the main road. The bean sprouts looked to be ready to add to a salad.

Shipyard

I would say I definitely have a different schedule these days. Both of our kids are out of the house, and although it is sad to not have them with us, we are happy with them for their independence. At the same time, my wife is in her busiest season of the year, traveling for her university, which means it's just me and the dog at home. This gives me extra time to work if I want, draw, play the piano, exercise, read, whatever- even cook, why not... Maybe that's something else I can learn. I put some water in a pot, added a potato, then a beet, some a couple cloves of garlic, some chunks of ginger, some leeks, and a few strips of bacon and squirts of hot sauce. Turned out fantastic. Maybe I've got cook in me after all.

Another Jakarta sketch

Here's a second installment of Jakarta, a view from the river side of the community.

Tangerang - Jakarta, Indonesia

On my last day in Jakarta, I visited this painted section of town, and was quickly enveloped by the people of this neighborhood. We happened upon it by accident, actually, but it turns out it is quite a famous little spot. I was given a tour of the area, introduced to a local artist, had a phone greeting from someone like the mayor, and escorted around to each of the houses and murals. From what I could understand, it sounds like a local mosque donated funds, along with a paint company, and this once very run down part of town was completely revitalized.