Jim LePage » Word http://jimlepage.com Portfolio for Jim LePage, a graphic/web designer and creator of the Word Bible design project. Wed, 09 May 2012 13:30:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Word: Revelation http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-revelation/ http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-revelation/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:06:34 +0000 Jim LePage http://jimlepage.com/?p=4284 Revelation_988

  Welcome to the last official Word design, folks. Whether it's your first time here or you've been with me since Genesis, Thanks for stopping by! It's been a pretty busy week around Word headquarters...
  1. Free Prints! I just launched the final week of free print giveaways. This time I'm giving away 3 free Word prints. You should probably enter that contest right now.
  2. 22% off prints! In addition to giving away free prints, I've also got a sale going on. Christmas is coming up soon and if you're thinking of giving the gift of a Word print this year, you can get 22% off your entire order at my ImageKind store with the code DECORATE22 through Sunday at midnight.
  3. I'm a pretty big deal in Canada. CONVERGE Magazine is based in Vancouver and they recently featured my "Word: James" design on the cover of their Nov/Dec issue and also did an interview with me. You can check out an online version of the issue on their site (my interview is on page 20-21 and you can even see a picture of my ugly face). Big thanks to Shara Lee at CONVERGE for getting in touch with me and doing the interview. I babbled endlessly and she somehow put together a really cool piece out of that. If you're interested in an interview about Word, drop me a message.
  4. I'm a Modern Reject. Nicole Cottrall is the person behind ModernReject.com and to celebrate the launch of her new site design she had a giveaway which included a Word print from yours truly. The giveaway ended yesterday, but head on over and check out ModernReject anyways. Nicole does some great writing and is super active with the folks that follow the site. There may be more Word stuff on her site down the road too, so stay tuned for that.
  5. Don't worry. There's awesomer Bible design coming down the road. I know you may be bummed that Word is now over, but I've got something else up my sleeve. I don't want to give away too much, but me and my bud Troy DeShano over at StrongOdors are working up a new project that will involve the Bible and a crapload of awesome designers. (You may remember Troy from the inspiration post I did about him.) It's still a few months out, but I wanted to give all you loyal Wordies a heads up about it. Make sure you're following me on Facebook and Twitter for to get future updates on that.

You want awesome Revelation design? You may want to leave my site.

I was dreading Revelation for one big reason: Chris Koelle. Some of you may remember Chris from the inspiration post I did on him earlier this year. Well, since then Chris has taken on this tiny little project where he ILLUSTRATES THE ENTIRE BOOK OF REVELATION. And it is awesome. You can check out some of his Revelation designs and read an interview with him about the project on Tim Challies' site.

I'm Dumb

Revelation has been the subject of a lot of controversy (and some awful bumper stickers) over the years. Mostly having to do with all the end times stuff in ther. A lot of folks have gotten REALLY into that stuff and have very strong opinions about what the end of this chapter of humanity will be like. By now, I think you all know that being a theonerd is not my strong point, so I'm gonna tell you up front that I'm not tackling any of the deep controversial end times stuff here. I'm just to dumb for that. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's chat about what I did do with this design.

Visual Feast

For the past few weeks, I've been dealing with some pretty short and, in my opinion, visually dry books which makes things difficult. Revelation seems to come out of nowhere with battles, mythical creatures, readings of scrolls.... It's kinda like the Lord of the Rings of the Bible. With Revelation, the difficult thing was trying to narrow down on one thing. Revelation seems like it comes straight from the Old Testament based on how much violence there is. However, there's some incredibly beautiful stuff in there too. There are several spots amidst all the violence where creatures (sometimes angels, sometimes mythical animals with eyes all over their bodies) sing beautiful songs of worship. Here's a few: Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb In the end, I went in a direction based on things I've heard the pastor at my church, Greg Boyd, talk about. (As a quick aside, I want to give a huge thanks to Greg. There have been many times throughout this series where his take on an passage or verse has really fueled and ignited my writing and design. If what I said has ever made sense or resonated with you, it was probably something I got from Greg. You should really check out his site.)

Violent Beauty

With all the death and violence going on, it's easy to think that Jesus is going around slitting the throats of the bad guys and laughing hysterically as the blood spews out and splatters all over his face. Here is where I love getting Greg's perspective. In short, Greg calls attention to the fact that when the lamb makes it's entrance to the climactic battle in chapter 19, it's covered in blood. But it's not the blood of his enemies, it's the lamb's own shed blood. There's also another beautiful reference in chapter 7 where it says that people have had their robes washed clean by the blood of the lamb. Shedding his own blood. This is how the lamb fights. This is how the lamb redeems. This is how the lamb wins. It's this kind of thing that I've seen over and over throughout this project. Jesus just does things differently. There's a love in him that makes his every action a surprising, creative and rebellious shock to our conventional fallen way of thinking. And at the same time, there's an invitation to actually become one of these creative, surprising rebellers. If you want a theonerd version of this take on Revelation, check Greg Boyd's site. (Warning: His post is in direct response to a well-known American pastor who has a slightly different view of Jesus. For this post, I'm not at all interested in that aspect. I just appreciate Greg's take on Revelation.)

So will we ever see each other again?

While I'd like to say a few more words to wrap this whole project up, I've kinda already done that with my post, "An Idiot's Guide to Reading the Bible." But look out for a couple wrap up posts down the road. In fact, I need your help to write those posts. If you check out my last free print giveaway, you'll see I'm asking folks to write in and ask me any questions they have about the project. I plan to take a bunch of those and use them to put together some Q&A posts. I couldn't have done it without your support this far, so it only makes sense to have you help me end this thing, right?

How can I give show my appreciation for your 91 designs of awesomeness?

I'm glad you asked! If you have enjoyed this project and are wondering how you can continue to participate or give back, here are two things that I'd really appreciate:
  1. Buy some prints. Right now, prints are pretty much the only way my Word designs are available. From early on, my goal was to make these as high-quality and affordable as possible because I wanted them to be accessible for everyone from churches with large budgets all the way down to working stiffs like me. I'm obviously a little biased, but I think they make great gifts. Who needs another piece of junk from Target or Wal Mart? Why not give someone some unique art instead? In fact, even if you don't get a Word print as gift for someone, look for some local artist in your area and support them by purchasing their art.
  2. Start buzzing. I've always thought it would be cool to put all the designs together in a book someday. I'm realizing that the only way that will happen is if this project generates enough buzz where the publisher head honchos start hearing about it. Honestly, if that doesn't happen, I'm totally fine with it. But if you'd like to see that happen, consider sharing this project. I'm not asking you to spam everyone you know, but just sharing it with people you think may like it. You share, they share, the people they shared it with share and maybe someday a publisher head honcho hears about it. Again, if this doesn't happen, oh well. But I appreciate any sharing you've done and any you continue to do.
It's been fun sharing this with you. The future holds more awesomeness, so stay tuned.]]> Revelation_988

  Welcome to the last official Word design, folks. Whether it's your first time here or you've been with me since Genesis, Thanks for stopping by! It's been a pretty busy week around Word headquarters...
  1. Free Prints! I just launched the final week of free print giveaways. This time I'm giving away 3 free Word prints. You should probably enter that contest right now.
  2. 22% off prints! In addition to giving away free prints, I've also got a sale going on. Christmas is coming up soon and if you're thinking of giving the gift of a Word print this year, you can get 22% off your entire order at my ImageKind store with the code DECORATE22 through Sunday at midnight.
  3. I'm a pretty big deal in Canada. CONVERGE Magazine is based in Vancouver and they recently featured my "Word: James" design on the cover of their Nov/Dec issue and also did an interview with me. You can check out an online version of the issue on their site (my interview is on page 20-21 and you can even see a picture of my ugly face). Big thanks to Shara Lee at CONVERGE for getting in touch with me and doing the interview. I babbled endlessly and she somehow put together a really cool piece out of that. If you're interested in an interview about Word, drop me a message.
  4. I'm a Modern Reject. Nicole Cottrall is the person behind ModernReject.com and to celebrate the launch of her new site design she had a giveaway which included a Word print from yours truly. The giveaway ended yesterday, but head on over and check out ModernReject anyways. Nicole does some great writing and is super active with the folks that follow the site. There may be more Word stuff on her site down the road too, so stay tuned for that.
  5. Don't worry. There's awesomer Bible design coming down the road. I know you may be bummed that Word is now over, but I've got something else up my sleeve. I don't want to give away too much, but me and my bud Troy DeShano over at StrongOdors are working up a new project that will involve the Bible and a crapload of awesome designers. (You may remember Troy from the inspiration post I did about him.) It's still a few months out, but I wanted to give all you loyal Wordies a heads up about it. Make sure you're following me on Facebook and Twitter for to get future updates on that.

You want awesome Revelation design? You may want to leave my site.

I was dreading Revelation for one big reason: Chris Koelle. Some of you may remember Chris from the inspiration post I did on him earlier this year. Well, since then Chris has taken on this tiny little project where he ILLUSTRATES THE ENTIRE BOOK OF REVELATION. And it is awesome. You can check out some of his Revelation designs and read an interview with him about the project on Tim Challies' site.

I'm Dumb

Revelation has been the subject of a lot of controversy (and some awful bumper stickers) over the years. Mostly having to do with all the end times stuff in ther. A lot of folks have gotten REALLY into that stuff and have very strong opinions about what the end of this chapter of humanity will be like. By now, I think you all know that being a theonerd is not my strong point, so I'm gonna tell you up front that I'm not tackling any of the deep controversial end times stuff here. I'm just to dumb for that. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's chat about what I did do with this design.

Visual Feast

For the past few weeks, I've been dealing with some pretty short and, in my opinion, visually dry books which makes things difficult. Revelation seems to come out of nowhere with battles, mythical creatures, readings of scrolls.... It's kinda like the Lord of the Rings of the Bible. With Revelation, the difficult thing was trying to narrow down on one thing. Revelation seems like it comes straight from the Old Testament based on how much violence there is. However, there's some incredibly beautiful stuff in there too. There are several spots amidst all the violence where creatures (sometimes angels, sometimes mythical animals with eyes all over their bodies) sing beautiful songs of worship. Here's a few: Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb In the end, I went in a direction based on things I've heard the pastor at my church, Greg Boyd, talk about. (As a quick aside, I want to give a huge thanks to Greg. There have been many times throughout this series where his take on an passage or verse has really fueled and ignited my writing and design. If what I said has ever made sense or resonated with you, it was probably something I got from Greg. You should really check out his site.)

Violent Beauty

With all the death and violence going on, it's easy to think that Jesus is going around slitting the throats of the bad guys and laughing hysterically as the blood spews out and splatters all over his face. Here is where I love getting Greg's perspective. In short, Greg calls attention to the fact that when the lamb makes it's entrance to the climactic battle in chapter 19, it's covered in blood. But it's not the blood of his enemies, it's the lamb's own shed blood. There's also another beautiful reference in chapter 7 where it says that people have had their robes washed clean by the blood of the lamb. Shedding his own blood. This is how the lamb fights. This is how the lamb redeems. This is how the lamb wins. It's this kind of thing that I've seen over and over throughout this project. Jesus just does things differently. There's a love in him that makes his every action a surprising, creative and rebellious shock to our conventional fallen way of thinking. And at the same time, there's an invitation to actually become one of these creative, surprising rebellers. If you want a theonerd version of this take on Revelation, check Greg Boyd's site. (Warning: His post is in direct response to a well-known American pastor who has a slightly different view of Jesus. For this post, I'm not at all interested in that aspect. I just appreciate Greg's take on Revelation.)

So will we ever see each other again?

While I'd like to say a few more words to wrap this whole project up, I've kinda already done that with my post, "An Idiot's Guide to Reading the Bible." But look out for a couple wrap up posts down the road. In fact, I need your help to write those posts. If you check out my last free print giveaway, you'll see I'm asking folks to write in and ask me any questions they have about the project. I plan to take a bunch of those and use them to put together some Q&A posts. I couldn't have done it without your support this far, so it only makes sense to have you help me end this thing, right?

How can I give show my appreciation for your 91 designs of awesomeness?

I'm glad you asked! If you have enjoyed this project and are wondering how you can continue to participate or give back, here are two things that I'd really appreciate:
  1. Buy some prints. Right now, prints are pretty much the only way my Word designs are available. From early on, my goal was to make these as high-quality and affordable as possible because I wanted them to be accessible for everyone from churches with large budgets all the way down to working stiffs like me. I'm obviously a little biased, but I think they make great gifts. Who needs another piece of junk from Target or Wal Mart? Why not give someone some unique art instead? In fact, even if you don't get a Word print as gift for someone, look for some local artist in your area and support them by purchasing their art.
  2. Start buzzing. I've always thought it would be cool to put all the designs together in a book someday. I'm realizing that the only way that will happen is if this project generates enough buzz where the publisher head honchos start hearing about it. Honestly, if that doesn't happen, I'm totally fine with it. But if you'd like to see that happen, consider sharing this project. I'm not asking you to spam everyone you know, but just sharing it with people you think may like it. You share, they share, the people they shared it with share and maybe someday a publisher head honcho hears about it. Again, if this doesn't happen, oh well. But I appreciate any sharing you've done and any you continue to do.
It's been fun sharing this with you. The future holds more awesomeness, so stay tuned.]]> 7 Word: Jude http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-jude/ http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-jude/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:30:40 +0000 Jim LePage http://jimlepage.com/?p=4251 Jude_988

  First off, a big congrats to Brandon Cox, the winner of last week's free Word print giveaway! Brandon's winning entry was a blog post on his site about my Word project. Brandon went all the way back to 1 Samuel and picked up the David vs. Goliath print. Remember, that was just the first of three giveaways. The second giveaway has already started and this time your chances double since I'm giving away 2 prints!

Celebrate baby Jesus with 25% off Word Prints!

For those of you who don't like getting stuff for free, I've got something special for you too. Through Saturday at midnight, you can get 25% off your entire order from my ImageKind store. Just use the code ORNAMENT25 when you checkout. Keep in mind, it's never too early to start thinking about Christmas gifts. Maybe a Daniel for your dad, a 2 John for your significant other or a Nahum for that co-worker that somehow thinks your official job title is "The Person Who Fetches Me My Coffee." Or maybe you're wondering what gift to get for that person who seems to have everything. They don't have prints of mediocre Biblical designs, do they? Well maybe it's time you changed that this Christmas.

Hey Jude

Another week, another single chapter book at the end of the New Testament. This time it's Jude. I just checked and Revelation has 22 glorious chapters which should make things a lot easier next week. Until then, it's another week of trying to squeeze a design out of just a few verses.

Excuse me while I admire myself.

In situations like this, I look for any sort of visual nugget in a book and try to build off of that. In the case of Jude, that nugget was verse 19:

These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

These "people" Jude is referring to are folks who are in the church community and receive, but don't give. Sorta like the mooches Paul talked about in 2 Thessalonians. You know, those people who never bring anything to the potluck and always skip choir practice because they are "too busy." Their internal soundtrack is "me, me, me, me, me...." I think we all know someone like that. The co-worker who will let you pay for his lunch, but never offers to pick up the tab on yours. The family member who is always busy when you ask for help with something, but when she needs help you better be there or else there's a heavy dose of guilt. Or that friend who, every time you invite him to hang out,  tells you he's too busy making Bible designs. Bunch of jerks.

Don't be "That Guy"

I guess I hear Jude saying a couple things here. First, he's warning folks in the church to watch out for mooches. They can be more than just an annoyance, they can divide the church and that's not good. Second, I'm also hearing him say "don't be that guy." Don't be the one who is selfish and can never think outside of himself. It's bad for you, it's bad for the people around you and it's bad for the church.

Yeah, every once in a while I rewrite the Bible.

You'll notice that in the design I made a slight addition and added the word "ungodly." I've change things like that every once in a while for the sake of a design. Without "ungodly," the verse felt like it lacked some context. While I may change words, I try to never change the meaning. In this case, the word "ungodly" is used to refer to these people or their actions 7 times in Jude, so it didn't seem like a huge leap to throw that in there.

Design Nerdery

I often like to point out designers that are better than me and this week is no exception. Like the collage style of this design? Make sure you check out these 2 dudes. They make me look like a hack:
  1. 2nysis: Don't know much about him and his Flickr account has been inactive for over a year, but he's got some great work.
  2. DeviantMonk (AKA Jason Watson): Jason is an online bud of mine and lives in Kansas City. He does some great collage style work and you can see a lot of it in this Flikr set and his blog. (Make sure to check out his Psalms series.)
Remember, enter to win a free print!]]> Jude_988

  First off, a big congrats to Brandon Cox, the winner of last week's free Word print giveaway! Brandon's winning entry was a blog post on his site about my Word project. Brandon went all the way back to 1 Samuel and picked up the David vs. Goliath print. Remember, that was just the first of three giveaways. The second giveaway has already started and this time your chances double since I'm giving away 2 prints!

Celebrate baby Jesus with 25% off Word Prints!

For those of you who don't like getting stuff for free, I've got something special for you too. Through Saturday at midnight, you can get 25% off your entire order from my ImageKind store. Just use the code ORNAMENT25 when you checkout. Keep in mind, it's never too early to start thinking about Christmas gifts. Maybe a Daniel for your dad, a 2 John for your significant other or a Nahum for that co-worker that somehow thinks your official job title is "The Person Who Fetches Me My Coffee." Or maybe you're wondering what gift to get for that person who seems to have everything. They don't have prints of mediocre Biblical designs, do they? Well maybe it's time you changed that this Christmas.

Hey Jude

Another week, another single chapter book at the end of the New Testament. This time it's Jude. I just checked and Revelation has 22 glorious chapters which should make things a lot easier next week. Until then, it's another week of trying to squeeze a design out of just a few verses.

Excuse me while I admire myself.

In situations like this, I look for any sort of visual nugget in a book and try to build off of that. In the case of Jude, that nugget was verse 19:

These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

These "people" Jude is referring to are folks who are in the church community and receive, but don't give. Sorta like the mooches Paul talked about in 2 Thessalonians. You know, those people who never bring anything to the potluck and always skip choir practice because they are "too busy." Their internal soundtrack is "me, me, me, me, me...." I think we all know someone like that. The co-worker who will let you pay for his lunch, but never offers to pick up the tab on yours. The family member who is always busy when you ask for help with something, but when she needs help you better be there or else there's a heavy dose of guilt. Or that friend who, every time you invite him to hang out,  tells you he's too busy making Bible designs. Bunch of jerks.

Don't be "That Guy"

I guess I hear Jude saying a couple things here. First, he's warning folks in the church to watch out for mooches. They can be more than just an annoyance, they can divide the church and that's not good. Second, I'm also hearing him say "don't be that guy." Don't be the one who is selfish and can never think outside of himself. It's bad for you, it's bad for the people around you and it's bad for the church.

Yeah, every once in a while I rewrite the Bible.

You'll notice that in the design I made a slight addition and added the word "ungodly." I've change things like that every once in a while for the sake of a design. Without "ungodly," the verse felt like it lacked some context. While I may change words, I try to never change the meaning. In this case, the word "ungodly" is used to refer to these people or their actions 7 times in Jude, so it didn't seem like a huge leap to throw that in there.

Design Nerdery

I often like to point out designers that are better than me and this week is no exception. Like the collage style of this design? Make sure you check out these 2 dudes. They make me look like a hack:
  1. 2nysis: Don't know much about him and his Flickr account has been inactive for over a year, but he's got some great work.
  2. DeviantMonk (AKA Jason Watson): Jason is an online bud of mine and lives in Kansas City. He does some great collage style work and you can see a lot of it in this Flikr set and his blog. (Make sure to check out his Psalms series.)
Remember, enter to win a free print!]]> 5 Word: 3 John http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-3-john/ http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-3-john/#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:12:29 +0000 Jim LePage http://jimlepage.com/?p=4215 3-John_988

  3 John has the fewest words of any book in the Bible, clocking in at 299, all in one chapter. I know John had other things on his mind back then, but would it really have been that hard to do a couple more chapters? I mean, give me a little more to work with, huh? Before getting our Word on, I just wanted to let you know about a couple other things.
  1. Free Word Prints! Including 3 John, there's only 3 designs/weeks left in this crazy Bible design project. I'd like to celebrate that by giving away 6 free Word design prints over the next 3 weeks. Find out how you can enter to win.
  2. Gettin' Biblical is my new inspiration post series for cool Biblical design.
Let's Word!

Inspiration for the Uninspired

This week is yet another time where no verse or passage jumped out at me with visuals and I just wasn't feeling visually inspired, so just like last week, I dug into my inspiration folder. Ever since starting my Gettin' Biblical series, I've been coming across a lot of cool older book covers from the mid-1900s and have kinda fallen in love with that style. A lot of those older book covers were for some pretty heady books having to do with a very specific area of theology, psychology, math, etc. I love how the cover designers would take an incredibly complex subject matter and communicate it through a minimal and beautiful design, most times just using simple shapes and colors. I decided to take that same route on this design while at the same time trying to make it my own. As I look at some of the vintage designs that I admire, I realize mine is a far cry from their brilliance, but it was fun to dig into that style a bit and I hope to try it again. Below are a few of my favorite vintage cover designs followed by some links where you can check out more. Find more great vintage book cover inspiration at these sites:  ]]> 3-John_988

  3 John has the fewest words of any book in the Bible, clocking in at 299, all in one chapter. I know John had other things on his mind back then, but would it really have been that hard to do a couple more chapters? I mean, give me a little more to work with, huh? Before getting our Word on, I just wanted to let you know about a couple other things.
  1. Free Word Prints! Including 3 John, there's only 3 designs/weeks left in this crazy Bible design project. I'd like to celebrate that by giving away 6 free Word design prints over the next 3 weeks. Find out how you can enter to win.
  2. Gettin' Biblical is my new inspiration post series for cool Biblical design.
Let's Word!

Inspiration for the Uninspired

This week is yet another time where no verse or passage jumped out at me with visuals and I just wasn't feeling visually inspired, so just like last week, I dug into my inspiration folder. Ever since starting my Gettin' Biblical series, I've been coming across a lot of cool older book covers from the mid-1900s and have kinda fallen in love with that style. A lot of those older book covers were for some pretty heady books having to do with a very specific area of theology, psychology, math, etc. I love how the cover designers would take an incredibly complex subject matter and communicate it through a minimal and beautiful design, most times just using simple shapes and colors. I decided to take that same route on this design while at the same time trying to make it my own. As I look at some of the vintage designs that I admire, I realize mine is a far cry from their brilliance, but it was fun to dig into that style a bit and I hope to try it again. Below are a few of my favorite vintage cover designs followed by some links where you can check out more. Find more great vintage book cover inspiration at these sites:  ]]> 1 Word: 2 John http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-2-john/ http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-2-john/#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:17:03 +0000 Jim LePage http://jimlepage.com/?p=4171 2-John_988

  Like the Israelites wandering and waiting 40 years in the wilderness, you too have had to wait an extra week for a new Word design since I didn't post one last week. And just like Yahweh had mercy on the Israelites and let them enter the Promised Land, so too will I have mercy on you and give you a new Word design this week, even posting it a day early. (See how I subtly implied that you are like the impatient Israelites and I am like God Almighty? That's a little trick I like to call "spiritual abuse" and now I've just taught you how to do it too. Watch and learn, kids. Watch and learn.)

Hi, it's John. Sincerely, John.

If you measure the length of books of the Bible by the amount words they have, 2 John is the second shortest book at 303 words. Two weeks from now, we'll be on Jude which is the fourth shortest book (613 words) and next week's book, 3 John, takes the crown for shortest book in the Bible, coming in at 299 words. Why am I mentioning this? I'm glad you asked...

Biblical Design 101

When I arrive at a longer book like Genesis, Psalms or Matthew, it's fairly easy to find a passage to design. Often times the most difficult part about those books is narrowing down on which passage to choose, because there are so many good ones. However, doing a design for a short book can be pretty interesting challenge, especially when the book doesn't have a ton of strong visual language. What passage do I design when I can't find any passages to design? But when the Bible gives you water, you do your best to turn it into wine, right? 2 John really didn't have much that jumped out to me visually, so I went with what seemed to be John's central theme. Love. I'm not a Biblical scholar, but I think he picked up that whole "love" thing from some carpenter guy. In the absence of any huge inspiration, I usually just try to make a design look as cool as possible, taking the chance to try out a certain design style I like. For this design, I went back to a style that many designers have done, but Mark Weaver may be best known for it. One of my Micah designs also drew on Mark's style. (Make sure you check out Mark's amazing work if you haven't already.)

Hey, It's me and I'm begging.

This nearly 2 year long design project is nearing it's end and there are only 3 books left! Thanks again to all of you who have followed along, whether you started at Genesis or 1 John. I'd love to generate some buzz for the end of this project, so if you've enjoyed this series of designs, the free print giveaways and the great advice I dish out on things like spiritual abuse, please consider blabbing about my Word Designs on any and every social sharing channel you have. If you do, I guarantee that your mansion in heaven will double in size.*
* Guarantee is not guaranteed.]]> 2-John_988

  Like the Israelites wandering and waiting 40 years in the wilderness, you too have had to wait an extra week for a new Word design since I didn't post one last week. And just like Yahweh had mercy on the Israelites and let them enter the Promised Land, so too will I have mercy on you and give you a new Word design this week, even posting it a day early. (See how I subtly implied that you are like the impatient Israelites and I am like God Almighty? That's a little trick I like to call "spiritual abuse" and now I've just taught you how to do it too. Watch and learn, kids. Watch and learn.)

Hi, it's John. Sincerely, John.

If you measure the length of books of the Bible by the amount words they have, 2 John is the second shortest book at 303 words. Two weeks from now, we'll be on Jude which is the fourth shortest book (613 words) and next week's book, 3 John, takes the crown for shortest book in the Bible, coming in at 299 words. Why am I mentioning this? I'm glad you asked...

Biblical Design 101

When I arrive at a longer book like Genesis, Psalms or Matthew, it's fairly easy to find a passage to design. Often times the most difficult part about those books is narrowing down on which passage to choose, because there are so many good ones. However, doing a design for a short book can be pretty interesting challenge, especially when the book doesn't have a ton of strong visual language. What passage do I design when I can't find any passages to design? But when the Bible gives you water, you do your best to turn it into wine, right? 2 John really didn't have much that jumped out to me visually, so I went with what seemed to be John's central theme. Love. I'm not a Biblical scholar, but I think he picked up that whole "love" thing from some carpenter guy. In the absence of any huge inspiration, I usually just try to make a design look as cool as possible, taking the chance to try out a certain design style I like. For this design, I went back to a style that many designers have done, but Mark Weaver may be best known for it. One of my Micah designs also drew on Mark's style. (Make sure you check out Mark's amazing work if you haven't already.)

Hey, It's me and I'm begging.

This nearly 2 year long design project is nearing it's end and there are only 3 books left! Thanks again to all of you who have followed along, whether you started at Genesis or 1 John. I'd love to generate some buzz for the end of this project, so if you've enjoyed this series of designs, the free print giveaways and the great advice I dish out on things like spiritual abuse, please consider blabbing about my Word Designs on any and every social sharing channel you have. If you do, I guarantee that your mansion in heaven will double in size.*
* Guarantee is not guaranteed.]]> 4 Word: 1 John http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-1-john/ http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-1-john/#comments Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:31:05 +0000 Jim LePage http://jimlepage.com/?p=4161 1-John_988

  A little pre-Word announcement...

Gettin' Biblical

During my Word project I've seen many folks share on Facebook or Twitter saying something like "I didn't think Bible design could look so cool." I love hearing that, but the truth is that there are a LOT of dudes and dudettes out there making cool Biblical art and design. Their stuff just tends to get lost in the sea of crap that is the current state of Christian art. (Oh, that reminds me, I'll be on a soapbox for the next few paragraphs.) To fight against the crap, a couple days ago I launched a new series called "Gettin' Biblical." As I find cool Biblical art and design on the interwebs, I'll post it there. I have a few goals for this site:
  1. I want to lift that good stuff out of the crap.
  2. I hope the site helps people (Jesus followers, atheists, heck, even people who use PC computers) realize that there's more to Christian art than photos of landscapes and sunsets with a Bible verse slapped on it set up in Times New Roman.
  3. I hope that this site creates more exposure for those artists (both current and past) who have worked hard to create something different and unique in the midst of all the crap.
To that end, I ask 2 things of you:
  1. Share: Let other folks know about the site. Friends, enemies, casual acquaintances, whatever. Creatives following the ultimate Creator should produce great work. Let's make that great work more public.
  2. Submit: I am a pretty amazing person, but even I can't scour the entire interwebs to find all the cool Biblical art and design. I'd love your help. If you find something that you think could work on the site, submit it.
Before we Word, I just want to mention that this post has a naughty word in it (even naughtier than "crap"), so if you're reading this as a bedtime story for the kids, you may want to reconsider.

It's not all about me?

I'm not sure about you, but most of my life I've assumed that Jesus came to earth and died so I could enjoy a "Get out of Hell" free card. Maybe he came to show people how to be nice and everything, but it was mainly to get me into heaven. This week's passage seems to imply that there was at least one other (maybe even more important?) purpose Jesus had in mind. To kick some devil ass.

Is the devil really horny?

First off, we're talking about the devil and let's just admit up front that that is pretty weird. The Bible seems to be pretty clear that this devil guy is pretty mean and scary, but the way I sometimes see or think about him is more like a comical stereotype. Pointy ears, horns, a cape and a big pitchfork? Pretty scary, huh? (Yes, I realize I'm reinforcing that stereotype with the fork, but you're not the boss of me). Many times he seems more like a funny character on a cartoon versus an evil deity who wants nothing more than to see me live a life of hopelessness and pain.

Spiritual Math

But the Bible seems to take this devil dude pretty seriously. In fact, it sounds like he's the one who in some sense rules, or is in charge of, this world. And the devil is not a nice ruler. In fact, it sounds like his main goal is to keep people in bondage. That bondage can come in many forms too. It may be obvious stuff like violence or messed up relationships, but I'd suggest that more often than not, the bondage is subtle. Maybe it's a bondage to wealth, greed or power. Maybe it's a bondage to gossip, judgement or pride. Maybe it's a bondage to craft beers, popcorn and iPhones. (Whoa. Little too close to home. Let's move along.) So let's do a little math, shall we? The devil rules the world and wants to cause as much destruction as possible – plus – all humanity lives in this world – equals – we're screwed. Right?

Wrong!

Jesus knew we were screwed and that was part of the reason he died. To kick some devil ass and free us from our bondage. But why aren't we all walking around free, whole and happy? From what I've heard from people smarter than me, it's because Jesus' death on the cross was the turning point. That is what made it so God wins and the devil loses. But the devil ain't going without a fight. He's got no chance of making a comeback, but he's still trying to do as much damage as possible. Only now, since Jesus has already begun that destruction of the devil's work, we can tap into that and help further God's kingdom which in turn, further destroys the devil's kingdom.

Please remember, I am stupid.

Honestly, I'm not even sure I understand what I wrote in that last paragraph. If you've got questions about the God, the devil and how that whole battle is playing out, PLEASE DO NOT LOOK TO THIS POST FOR ACCURATE INFORMATION. Find yourself a theonerd and pick their brain. They love talking about that stuff. In fact, if any theonerds want to jump in and share their thoughts on the whole God vs. the devil thing, feel free to leave a comment! Remember, check out Gettin' Biblical!]]> 1-John_988

  A little pre-Word announcement...

Gettin' Biblical

During my Word project I've seen many folks share on Facebook or Twitter saying something like "I didn't think Bible design could look so cool." I love hearing that, but the truth is that there are a LOT of dudes and dudettes out there making cool Biblical art and design. Their stuff just tends to get lost in the sea of crap that is the current state of Christian art. (Oh, that reminds me, I'll be on a soapbox for the next few paragraphs.) To fight against the crap, a couple days ago I launched a new series called "Gettin' Biblical." As I find cool Biblical art and design on the interwebs, I'll post it there. I have a few goals for this site:
  1. I want to lift that good stuff out of the crap.
  2. I hope the site helps people (Jesus followers, atheists, heck, even people who use PC computers) realize that there's more to Christian art than photos of landscapes and sunsets with a Bible verse slapped on it set up in Times New Roman.
  3. I hope that this site creates more exposure for those artists (both current and past) who have worked hard to create something different and unique in the midst of all the crap.
To that end, I ask 2 things of you:
  1. Share: Let other folks know about the site. Friends, enemies, casual acquaintances, whatever. Creatives following the ultimate Creator should produce great work. Let's make that great work more public.
  2. Submit: I am a pretty amazing person, but even I can't scour the entire interwebs to find all the cool Biblical art and design. I'd love your help. If you find something that you think could work on the site, submit it.
Before we Word, I just want to mention that this post has a naughty word in it (even naughtier than "crap"), so if you're reading this as a bedtime story for the kids, you may want to reconsider.

It's not all about me?

I'm not sure about you, but most of my life I've assumed that Jesus came to earth and died so I could enjoy a "Get out of Hell" free card. Maybe he came to show people how to be nice and everything, but it was mainly to get me into heaven. This week's passage seems to imply that there was at least one other (maybe even more important?) purpose Jesus had in mind. To kick some devil ass.

Is the devil really horny?

First off, we're talking about the devil and let's just admit up front that that is pretty weird. The Bible seems to be pretty clear that this devil guy is pretty mean and scary, but the way I sometimes see or think about him is more like a comical stereotype. Pointy ears, horns, a cape and a big pitchfork? Pretty scary, huh? (Yes, I realize I'm reinforcing that stereotype with the fork, but you're not the boss of me). Many times he seems more like a funny character on a cartoon versus an evil deity who wants nothing more than to see me live a life of hopelessness and pain.

Spiritual Math

But the Bible seems to take this devil dude pretty seriously. In fact, it sounds like he's the one who in some sense rules, or is in charge of, this world. And the devil is not a nice ruler. In fact, it sounds like his main goal is to keep people in bondage. That bondage can come in many forms too. It may be obvious stuff like violence or messed up relationships, but I'd suggest that more often than not, the bondage is subtle. Maybe it's a bondage to wealth, greed or power. Maybe it's a bondage to gossip, judgement or pride. Maybe it's a bondage to craft beers, popcorn and iPhones. (Whoa. Little too close to home. Let's move along.) So let's do a little math, shall we? The devil rules the world and wants to cause as much destruction as possible – plus – all humanity lives in this world – equals – we're screwed. Right?

Wrong!

Jesus knew we were screwed and that was part of the reason he died. To kick some devil ass and free us from our bondage. But why aren't we all walking around free, whole and happy? From what I've heard from people smarter than me, it's because Jesus' death on the cross was the turning point. That is what made it so God wins and the devil loses. But the devil ain't going without a fight. He's got no chance of making a comeback, but he's still trying to do as much damage as possible. Only now, since Jesus has already begun that destruction of the devil's work, we can tap into that and help further God's kingdom which in turn, further destroys the devil's kingdom.

Please remember, I am stupid.

Honestly, I'm not even sure I understand what I wrote in that last paragraph. If you've got questions about the God, the devil and how that whole battle is playing out, PLEASE DO NOT LOOK TO THIS POST FOR ACCURATE INFORMATION. Find yourself a theonerd and pick their brain. They love talking about that stuff. In fact, if any theonerds want to jump in and share their thoughts on the whole God vs. the devil thing, feel free to leave a comment! Remember, check out Gettin' Biblical!]]> 1 Word: 2 Peter http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-2-peter/ http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-2-peter/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:31:14 +0000 Jim LePage http://jimlepage.com/?p=4148 2-Peter_988

  First off, thanks to the over 100 people who participated in yesterday's free Word print giveaway on my Facebook page. Yesterday morning I said I'd give away one print plus an extra one if I got up to 750 "likes" by 5:00pm (I was at around 705). My Facebook peeps took on the challenge and got me up to 761 "likes" so two folks ended up with free prints! If you want to take part in future giveaways, make sure you "like" my Facebook page and/or follow me on Twitter.

Peter is not feeling very rosey

Last week we saw Peter's peaceful and tender side. He encouraged Jesus followers to respond to evil with blessing. But just as you think Peter is walking around dishing out flowers, Sweet Tarts and hugs to everyone he meets, we get to Peter's thoughts on false teachers within the church. Let's just say they he won't be sending them a bouquet of roses.

Peter, why you gots to be such a hater?

If you read 2 Peter, you'll realize quickly that Peter is pretty upset with false teachers in the church. I first noticed it when he he said they would perish just like the dumb animals they are. Not too many ways to interpret that. At first I wondered what the big deal was. I mean, so a few people are telling the rest of the church folks that the square root of 1463897 is 1209.916112794603 when it's actually 1209.916112794602. C'mon, Peter. How 'bout you count to 10 and just let that one go, huh? But here's the thing... these false teachers were not teaching math. Apparently, there were some people in the church who were teaching not out of love, but out of greed and selfishness. The text doen't get into specific details, but I'm guessing these were the folks who pulled up to church in a brand new 100 A.D. Ferrari and wore Armani suits with imported camel hair.

This sections mentions homosexuality and politics!

Again, Peter has softened a bit towards his enemies and instead of getting bent out of shape when he's persecuted, he's now a blessing machine. But if someone within the church starts perverting the beauty of Jesus for your own personal gain, he turns into the Incredible Hulk. As I thought about this, I feel like it says something about what kinds of things should turn us Jesus followers into the Incredible Hulk. What kinds of things should make us irate? There are a lot of things we do Hulk up about (politics, laws, homosexuality, etc.), but should we? And who sets the criteria? Who determines that homosexuality is something we Hulk up about but gluttony is not, even though it's mentioned way more often in the Bible?

Un-Hulk and let it go

What's interesting about Peter's transformation is that he used to Hulk up to everyone about everything. If his fish was overcooked, he probably went off on the person who cooked it on the fire and then yelled at the fish for allowing itself to be overcooked. But now he says to bless your enemies. What he does Hulk up about is when someone is distorting the beauty of Jesus. Actually, that's not even entirely true. He doesn't seem to hold folks outside the church accountable to that. He gets irate when it's someone within the church doing that – someone who claims to be a Jesus follower. He'll get in the face of people within his community. After all, they signed up for this Jesus thing and being corrected and called out is gonna be how you grow, right? But for everyone else who hasn't joined the Jesus camp? Seems like you do your best to show them the beauty of Jesus, but then you let it go. No need to get huffy and cover yourself with green body paint. Just let it go.

But what if someone hurts Jesus' feelings and makes him cry?

There are a lot of non-Christians who rail at God. (More than a few Christians too, but not my point here.) If I'm striving to be like Jesus, my response must always be loving and that means I have to give folks space to do that. I try to show the beauty of Jesus for sure, but all those times where I feel my fallen nature get all Hulked up, defensive and needing to be correct as though it's some kind of school test, I have to let it go. In fact, I think there's even a verse in the Bible that says the world will know that I'm a Jesus follower because the see me do that very thing. Jesus doesn't need me to protect him from having his feelings hurt by things people say about him. He's got some pretty thick skin, knows his true identity and has a bottomless well of love and forgiveness. So what is my job then? Bless 'em all and let God sort 'em out.]]> 2-Peter_988

  First off, thanks to the over 100 people who participated in yesterday's free Word print giveaway on my Facebook page. Yesterday morning I said I'd give away one print plus an extra one if I got up to 750 "likes" by 5:00pm (I was at around 705). My Facebook peeps took on the challenge and got me up to 761 "likes" so two folks ended up with free prints! If you want to take part in future giveaways, make sure you "like" my Facebook page and/or follow me on Twitter.

Peter is not feeling very rosey

Last week we saw Peter's peaceful and tender side. He encouraged Jesus followers to respond to evil with blessing. But just as you think Peter is walking around dishing out flowers, Sweet Tarts and hugs to everyone he meets, we get to Peter's thoughts on false teachers within the church. Let's just say they he won't be sending them a bouquet of roses.

Peter, why you gots to be such a hater?

If you read 2 Peter, you'll realize quickly that Peter is pretty upset with false teachers in the church. I first noticed it when he he said they would perish just like the dumb animals they are. Not too many ways to interpret that. At first I wondered what the big deal was. I mean, so a few people are telling the rest of the church folks that the square root of 1463897 is 1209.916112794603 when it's actually 1209.916112794602. C'mon, Peter. How 'bout you count to 10 and just let that one go, huh? But here's the thing... these false teachers were not teaching math. Apparently, there were some people in the church who were teaching not out of love, but out of greed and selfishness. The text doen't get into specific details, but I'm guessing these were the folks who pulled up to church in a brand new 100 A.D. Ferrari and wore Armani suits with imported camel hair.

This sections mentions homosexuality and politics!

Again, Peter has softened a bit towards his enemies and instead of getting bent out of shape when he's persecuted, he's now a blessing machine. But if someone within the church starts perverting the beauty of Jesus for your own personal gain, he turns into the Incredible Hulk. As I thought about this, I feel like it says something about what kinds of things should turn us Jesus followers into the Incredible Hulk. What kinds of things should make us irate? There are a lot of things we do Hulk up about (politics, laws, homosexuality, etc.), but should we? And who sets the criteria? Who determines that homosexuality is something we Hulk up about but gluttony is not, even though it's mentioned way more often in the Bible?

Un-Hulk and let it go

What's interesting about Peter's transformation is that he used to Hulk up to everyone about everything. If his fish was overcooked, he probably went off on the person who cooked it on the fire and then yelled at the fish for allowing itself to be overcooked. But now he says to bless your enemies. What he does Hulk up about is when someone is distorting the beauty of Jesus. Actually, that's not even entirely true. He doesn't seem to hold folks outside the church accountable to that. He gets irate when it's someone within the church doing that – someone who claims to be a Jesus follower. He'll get in the face of people within his community. After all, they signed up for this Jesus thing and being corrected and called out is gonna be how you grow, right? But for everyone else who hasn't joined the Jesus camp? Seems like you do your best to show them the beauty of Jesus, but then you let it go. No need to get huffy and cover yourself with green body paint. Just let it go.

But what if someone hurts Jesus' feelings and makes him cry?

There are a lot of non-Christians who rail at God. (More than a few Christians too, but not my point here.) If I'm striving to be like Jesus, my response must always be loving and that means I have to give folks space to do that. I try to show the beauty of Jesus for sure, but all those times where I feel my fallen nature get all Hulked up, defensive and needing to be correct as though it's some kind of school test, I have to let it go. In fact, I think there's even a verse in the Bible that says the world will know that I'm a Jesus follower because the see me do that very thing. Jesus doesn't need me to protect him from having his feelings hurt by things people say about him. He's got some pretty thick skin, knows his true identity and has a bottomless well of love and forgiveness. So what is my job then? Bless 'em all and let God sort 'em out.]]> 2 Word: 1 Peter http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-1-peter/ http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-1-peter/#comments Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:14:08 +0000 Jim LePage http://jimlepage.com/?p=4072 1-Peter_988

  A couple quick things before we get our Word on...

Penta-what?

I've done a lot of Word designs (85 including the one above!). I'm proud to have all those on my site, but I was realizing that the Word section of my site was feeling a bit... bloated. I still wanted to allow folks to see all the designs on one page, but I wanted a way to break them down into smaller sections. You may now view my Word designs by Biblical section. To come up with the sections, I went with the most reliable Biblical resource out there—Wikipedia. The sections are: The section links are also at the top of each section page and listed in the right column of every post. Hope you enjoy the new sections! Feel free to share your favorite sections with all your friends and enemies!

Printalicious

One other site tweak I made was to add individual prints links to every Word post. This means that if you're on a Word post and you want the print of it, all it takes is one simple click and you're on the ordering page. I've heard from a lot of folks who said they're putting Word prints on their Christmas lists. Now you could send your potential gift-giver a link to the post and they can see the design, read about it and easily click a link to order it. Check it out in action on last week's James design. Let's get our Word on...

Thanks for the Help!

Thanks to my Facebook and Twitter folks who threw out suggestions for 1 Peter. A couple of the suggestions were for a passage at the end of chapter 2 that had to do with enduring unjust suffering. I didn't end up using that passage, but it led me to select a very similar one that was only a few verses away in chapter 3.

Peter, you kill me! You're the blessed!

So Peter is the guy who violently defended Jesus by cutting a guard's ear off in the Garden of Gethsemane. Yet here we find him telling folks in the early church to "repay evil with blessing." It seems like when Peter saw the way Jesus died (forgiving his murderers) it had an impact on him. Such an impact that he does a complete 180 and is telling folks that it is commendable to endure unjust suffering. What I'm hearing from Peter here is that when faced with unjust suffering or violence, there are many ways we could respond, but one thing we must never do is repay evil for evil. Whatever evil is being done, our response is to stand out by the fact that it is not a reflection back of that evil, but is instead a blessing. That's the kind of crazy only Jesus can bring.

How can I bless you? Let me count the ways...

There has been a lot of people who have written really good stuff about how we should follow Jesus' example of loving/blessing your enemies, but I'd like to touch on part of that conversation that I haven't heard much about, and it has to do with creativity. In my opinion, responding to evil with evil is one of the least creative things we humans can do. In a very literal sense, it is dumb. If someone is abusive towards me in some way (that could be physical violence, like the guns in the design, or it could be verbal, psychological, even religious abuse), my instinct is to do the same thing to them. You hurt me, I hurt you. It's a repeating pattern. That instinct and pattern are so strong that it doesn't even occur to me that there could be any other options. But if I think of Jesus hanging on the cross, forgiving the people who put him there, I start to realize that there are other options and that I don't have to follow the same repeating pattern. How many times were people abusive towards Jesus? A lot, right? How many times did he respond by being abusive back? Never. NEVER. That means that the Gospels are full of examples of Jesus being creative and coming up with different, and loving, ways of responding to abuse, hate, violence, etc. I think the reason I often think there's only one response to evil (more evil) is because I don't allow the creativity of Jesus in on my situations.

Get Strong. Get Creative.

There are examples in history where large groups of people have actually done this to some extent and, in my opinion, the results have been some of the clearest reflections of Jesus ever seen. The early church grew because Christians, while they and their families were being fed to lions, blessed the people persecuting them and people were attracted to that kind of crazy love. During the U.S. civil rights movement, seeing folks responding to ugly hate and violence with love was so shockingly beautiful, it changed people's hearts. We're talking about a power stronger and more creative than violence and abuse.

Sounds good. What's the formula?

There's no specific formula I can follow for this since every situation is different, but I do know that in every situation I have the ability to ask myself, "What kind of creative, loving, Jesus type of response I can bring to this?" Jesus people, let's start fighting evil with our God-given creativity.]]> 1-Peter_988

  A couple quick things before we get our Word on...

Penta-what?

I've done a lot of Word designs (85 including the one above!). I'm proud to have all those on my site, but I was realizing that the Word section of my site was feeling a bit... bloated. I still wanted to allow folks to see all the designs on one page, but I wanted a way to break them down into smaller sections. You may now view my Word designs by Biblical section. To come up with the sections, I went with the most reliable Biblical resource out there—Wikipedia. The sections are: The section links are also at the top of each section page and listed in the right column of every post. Hope you enjoy the new sections! Feel free to share your favorite sections with all your friends and enemies!

Printalicious

One other site tweak I made was to add individual prints links to every Word post. This means that if you're on a Word post and you want the print of it, all it takes is one simple click and you're on the ordering page. I've heard from a lot of folks who said they're putting Word prints on their Christmas lists. Now you could send your potential gift-giver a link to the post and they can see the design, read about it and easily click a link to order it. Check it out in action on last week's James design. Let's get our Word on...

Thanks for the Help!

Thanks to my Facebook and Twitter folks who threw out suggestions for 1 Peter. A couple of the suggestions were for a passage at the end of chapter 2 that had to do with enduring unjust suffering. I didn't end up using that passage, but it led me to select a very similar one that was only a few verses away in chapter 3.

Peter, you kill me! You're the blessed!

So Peter is the guy who violently defended Jesus by cutting a guard's ear off in the Garden of Gethsemane. Yet here we find him telling folks in the early church to "repay evil with blessing." It seems like when Peter saw the way Jesus died (forgiving his murderers) it had an impact on him. Such an impact that he does a complete 180 and is telling folks that it is commendable to endure unjust suffering. What I'm hearing from Peter here is that when faced with unjust suffering or violence, there are many ways we could respond, but one thing we must never do is repay evil for evil. Whatever evil is being done, our response is to stand out by the fact that it is not a reflection back of that evil, but is instead a blessing. That's the kind of crazy only Jesus can bring.

How can I bless you? Let me count the ways...

There has been a lot of people who have written really good stuff about how we should follow Jesus' example of loving/blessing your enemies, but I'd like to touch on part of that conversation that I haven't heard much about, and it has to do with creativity. In my opinion, responding to evil with evil is one of the least creative things we humans can do. In a very literal sense, it is dumb. If someone is abusive towards me in some way (that could be physical violence, like the guns in the design, or it could be verbal, psychological, even religious abuse), my instinct is to do the same thing to them. You hurt me, I hurt you. It's a repeating pattern. That instinct and pattern are so strong that it doesn't even occur to me that there could be any other options. But if I think of Jesus hanging on the cross, forgiving the people who put him there, I start to realize that there are other options and that I don't have to follow the same repeating pattern. How many times were people abusive towards Jesus? A lot, right? How many times did he respond by being abusive back? Never. NEVER. That means that the Gospels are full of examples of Jesus being creative and coming up with different, and loving, ways of responding to abuse, hate, violence, etc. I think the reason I often think there's only one response to evil (more evil) is because I don't allow the creativity of Jesus in on my situations.

Get Strong. Get Creative.

There are examples in history where large groups of people have actually done this to some extent and, in my opinion, the results have been some of the clearest reflections of Jesus ever seen. The early church grew because Christians, while they and their families were being fed to lions, blessed the people persecuting them and people were attracted to that kind of crazy love. During the U.S. civil rights movement, seeing folks responding to ugly hate and violence with love was so shockingly beautiful, it changed people's hearts. We're talking about a power stronger and more creative than violence and abuse.

Sounds good. What's the formula?

There's no specific formula I can follow for this since every situation is different, but I do know that in every situation I have the ability to ask myself, "What kind of creative, loving, Jesus type of response I can bring to this?" Jesus people, let's start fighting evil with our God-given creativity.]]> 1 Word: James http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-james/ http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-james/#comments Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:19:26 +0000 Jim LePage http://jimlepage.com/?p=3863 James_988

  Thanks to all the folks on my Facebook page who threw out suggestions for my James design. The tongue passage in chapter 3 was by far the most requested so I went with that. At first, I thought this design might get a little racy, but after checking it out the verses, I found out it did NOT have to do with French kissing or instructions on how to tie a knot in a cherry stem with your tongue.

Word Down

Here's what James has to say about the tongue:

... take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Before we get our "God Hates Tongues" sign out and start marching, let's spend a little more time looking at this. It seems obvious that when James is talking about the tongue, he's referring to how you use your words. Basically, he's saying "They may not draw blood or break bones, but your words can still be violent. Be careful with that." We can all probably think of times where we've been on both the receiving and delivering end of some nasty verbal communication. Each is damaging in it's own way.

Word Up

Fortunately, there's an upside to words. While words have the potential to be violent, they can also be kind, generous and encouraging. I realize this is pretty complicated so below you'll find a couple "violent" phrases and ways they could be turned into something more kind.
  1. You're nose is huge and your pores are the size of moon craters. Instead, try something like "The size of your nose reminds me of the huge amount of grace God shows us and your pores remind me of the depth of his love for us."
  2. You are so dumb your brain must be the size of a peanut. Instead, try something like "The size of your brain reminds me the Bible hero, Samson."
I should mention that I've been working at "reframing" violent phrases like this for quite a while so I'm pretty good at it (obviously). Since you are just starting out, you probably won't be as awesome as me. One newbie mistake is that you'll likely come up with things that may sound less violent, but are actually just condescending. You'll want to keep an eye out for that.

Design Nerdery

My Word project has been a great opportunity for me to try out different visual styles from some of my favorite designers. Recently, I've really been digging the work of Victor Huckabee (AKA Pope Saint Victor) and the James design is inspired by his work. He's got a really fun and retro style and currently is the Brand Design Architect for a non-profit organization called Blood:Water Mission. Make sure you check out his web site or follow him on Flickr, Twitter and Dribbble.]]> James_988

  Thanks to all the folks on my Facebook page who threw out suggestions for my James design. The tongue passage in chapter 3 was by far the most requested so I went with that. At first, I thought this design might get a little racy, but after checking it out the verses, I found out it did NOT have to do with French kissing or instructions on how to tie a knot in a cherry stem with your tongue.

Word Down

Here's what James has to say about the tongue:

... take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Before we get our "God Hates Tongues" sign out and start marching, let's spend a little more time looking at this. It seems obvious that when James is talking about the tongue, he's referring to how you use your words. Basically, he's saying "They may not draw blood or break bones, but your words can still be violent. Be careful with that." We can all probably think of times where we've been on both the receiving and delivering end of some nasty verbal communication. Each is damaging in it's own way.

Word Up

Fortunately, there's an upside to words. While words have the potential to be violent, they can also be kind, generous and encouraging. I realize this is pretty complicated so below you'll find a couple "violent" phrases and ways they could be turned into something more kind.
  1. You're nose is huge and your pores are the size of moon craters. Instead, try something like "The size of your nose reminds me of the huge amount of grace God shows us and your pores remind me of the depth of his love for us."
  2. You are so dumb your brain must be the size of a peanut. Instead, try something like "The size of your brain reminds me the Bible hero, Samson."
I should mention that I've been working at "reframing" violent phrases like this for quite a while so I'm pretty good at it (obviously). Since you are just starting out, you probably won't be as awesome as me. One newbie mistake is that you'll likely come up with things that may sound less violent, but are actually just condescending. You'll want to keep an eye out for that.

Design Nerdery

My Word project has been a great opportunity for me to try out different visual styles from some of my favorite designers. Recently, I've really been digging the work of Victor Huckabee (AKA Pope Saint Victor) and the James design is inspired by his work. He's got a really fun and retro style and currently is the Brand Design Architect for a non-profit organization called Blood:Water Mission. Make sure you check out his web site or follow him on Flickr, Twitter and Dribbble.]]> 2 Word: Hebrews http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-hebrews/ http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-hebrews/#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:39:40 +0000 Jim LePage http://jimlepage.com/?p=3681 Hebrews_988

  First off, last week I made a shameless plea for folks to share my Word project via Twitter, Facebook and whatever other social devices you use (that includes talking to a live person using your mouth to form words). Thanks to all of you who did some social sharing! I'm really hoping to build some momentum as we hit our Biblical home stretch, so please consider sharing my Word design page with your friends, enemies and everyone in between. Enough with that, let's Word....

Spoiler alert! It's not about beer.

I was pretty excited when I got to the book of Hebrews, because I though it was gonna be a mini-bio of a guy who makes his own craft beer. Alas, that is not what Hebrews is about. There's a famous part in Hebrews 11 where the author gives a roll call of a bunch of faith superheroes and that is what caught my design eye this week.

Just wanted to remind you how much you suck by dropping this list of awesome people.

I remember feeling frustrated by this passage when I was younger. I always read it as "Here's a bunch of people with superfaith. They are awesome. Much more awesome than you will ever be, so don't even think about it. Aim low. You might, might, be able to be the one that gets the privilege of washing their capes in heaven." But here's the thing, if I really look back to all these "heroes of faith," I find out that they didn't always act like superheroes. Noah got drunk and naked before passing out. Abraham lied and said his wife was actually his sister and let her be taken into the Pharaoh's house (probably a harem!). David murdered a guy so he could take his wife. And Samson? We've already covered the fact that he is a complete moron.

Crazy Belief

In the first verse of the chapter, we're given the clearest definition of faith found in the Bible.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

That is what sets the stage for the hero roll call. As I look through the passage again with that first verse in mind, it seems like the thing that made all those peeps heroes were that, at some point, they believed what God said even though it didn't make sense. God told Noah to build a gigantic ark because he was going to cover the entire earth with water. God told timid Moses to go up against a powerful nation and demand that his people be freed. God told young, teenage, acne-faced David to go up against warrior giant. Despite the odds against them, they all said "that sounds crazy, but if God said do it, I'll do it." Let's recap... Heroes are not flawless. Sometimes they act like idiots. But sometimes believe God when it doesn't make sense. Sounds like there's a chance for us to be heros too.]]> Hebrews_988

  First off, last week I made a shameless plea for folks to share my Word project via Twitter, Facebook and whatever other social devices you use (that includes talking to a live person using your mouth to form words). Thanks to all of you who did some social sharing! I'm really hoping to build some momentum as we hit our Biblical home stretch, so please consider sharing my Word design page with your friends, enemies and everyone in between. Enough with that, let's Word....

Spoiler alert! It's not about beer.

I was pretty excited when I got to the book of Hebrews, because I though it was gonna be a mini-bio of a guy who makes his own craft beer. Alas, that is not what Hebrews is about. There's a famous part in Hebrews 11 where the author gives a roll call of a bunch of faith superheroes and that is what caught my design eye this week.

Just wanted to remind you how much you suck by dropping this list of awesome people.

I remember feeling frustrated by this passage when I was younger. I always read it as "Here's a bunch of people with superfaith. They are awesome. Much more awesome than you will ever be, so don't even think about it. Aim low. You might, might, be able to be the one that gets the privilege of washing their capes in heaven." But here's the thing, if I really look back to all these "heroes of faith," I find out that they didn't always act like superheroes. Noah got drunk and naked before passing out. Abraham lied and said his wife was actually his sister and let her be taken into the Pharaoh's house (probably a harem!). David murdered a guy so he could take his wife. And Samson? We've already covered the fact that he is a complete moron.

Crazy Belief

In the first verse of the chapter, we're given the clearest definition of faith found in the Bible.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

That is what sets the stage for the hero roll call. As I look through the passage again with that first verse in mind, it seems like the thing that made all those peeps heroes were that, at some point, they believed what God said even though it didn't make sense. God told Noah to build a gigantic ark because he was going to cover the entire earth with water. God told timid Moses to go up against a powerful nation and demand that his people be freed. God told young, teenage, acne-faced David to go up against warrior giant. Despite the odds against them, they all said "that sounds crazy, but if God said do it, I'll do it." Let's recap... Heroes are not flawless. Sometimes they act like idiots. But sometimes believe God when it doesn't make sense. Sounds like there's a chance for us to be heros too.]]> 4 Word: Philemon http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-philemon/ http://jimlepage.com/blog/word-philemon/#comments Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:41:43 +0000 Jim LePage http://jimlepage.com/?p=3670 Philemon_988

  Philemon is the second shortest book in the Bible (Obadiah has 4 fewer verses), but it was the topic of debate a few hundred years ago in the United States. People on both sides of the slavery issue used the book of Philemon to prove that they were in the right. Just another example of how you can twist the Bible to pretty much back up anything. In fact I know some moron who thinks there will be promises popcorn trees in heaven based on how he reads the Bible.

Philemon: The CliffsNotes

In case you haven't read Philemon and don't want to take 2 minutes to read all 25 verses, here's the gist of it. Paul is in prison. He has become buds with a guy named Onesimus who used to be a slave under Philemon. It's not clear in the book, but it seems like most people think that Onesimus was a runaway slave, having escaped from Philemon. Paul writes to Philemon and says that he's sending Onesimus back to him. As I read it, it's weird to me that anyone could arrive at any definitive conclusion about Paul's thoughts on slavery based solely on this book. That just doesn't seem to be the point. If you want to know what the Bible says about slavery (or anything) it seems like the starting point should always be Jesus. He said that the two greatest commandements are to 1) love God and 2) love your neighbor as yourself and then he personified that love by dying for his enemies. With some things, like how to deal with hypocrisy in the church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit or whether or not there are popcorn trees in heaven, we may have to dig around and find more specific teachings and principles from Paul and the other apostles. However, if we're talking about things like slavery or violence, I really don't think we need to dig any deeper than Jesus' life and words.

84.84%

Word began over a year and a half ago and we're now on the home stretch. Philemon is book 56 out of 66 total (that's where the 84.84% came from). Thanks to all of you who have followed along, whether you jumped on board in the Old Testament or are a recent Word convert. I REALLY appreciate all the sharing people have done on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc. As we close in on the end of this, I'd love to generate some momentum, partly to end this project with some buzz, but also to hopefully generate some interest in a new collaborative design project I'd like to start up this fall/winter. (More on that down the road.) I don't ask for tweets and shares that often, but if you dig this project, please consider sharing it. Let's finish this thing with a bang!  ]]> Philemon_988

  Philemon is the second shortest book in the Bible (Obadiah has 4 fewer verses), but it was the topic of debate a few hundred years ago in the United States. People on both sides of the slavery issue used the book of Philemon to prove that they were in the right. Just another example of how you can twist the Bible to pretty much back up anything. In fact I know some moron who thinks there will be promises popcorn trees in heaven based on how he reads the Bible.

Philemon: The CliffsNotes

In case you haven't read Philemon and don't want to take 2 minutes to read all 25 verses, here's the gist of it. Paul is in prison. He has become buds with a guy named Onesimus who used to be a slave under Philemon. It's not clear in the book, but it seems like most people think that Onesimus was a runaway slave, having escaped from Philemon. Paul writes to Philemon and says that he's sending Onesimus back to him. As I read it, it's weird to me that anyone could arrive at any definitive conclusion about Paul's thoughts on slavery based solely on this book. That just doesn't seem to be the point. If you want to know what the Bible says about slavery (or anything) it seems like the starting point should always be Jesus. He said that the two greatest commandements are to 1) love God and 2) love your neighbor as yourself and then he personified that love by dying for his enemies. With some things, like how to deal with hypocrisy in the church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit or whether or not there are popcorn trees in heaven, we may have to dig around and find more specific teachings and principles from Paul and the other apostles. However, if we're talking about things like slavery or violence, I really don't think we need to dig any deeper than Jesus' life and words.

84.84%

Word began over a year and a half ago and we're now on the home stretch. Philemon is book 56 out of 66 total (that's where the 84.84% came from). Thanks to all of you who have followed along, whether you jumped on board in the Old Testament or are a recent Word convert. I REALLY appreciate all the sharing people have done on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc. As we close in on the end of this, I'd love to generate some momentum, partly to end this project with some buzz, but also to hopefully generate some interest in a new collaborative design project I'd like to start up this fall/winter. (More on that down the road.) I don't ask for tweets and shares that often, but if you dig this project, please consider sharing it. Let's finish this thing with a bang!  ]]> 1