Pieces of art

Meet one of my favorite artists, Melissa Jane. Here are just a few of her pieces of work... I think they're so beautiful! And she just happens to be one of my best friends, too, which makes it extra nice.

"Let Me Tell You a Story"

"Red-Haired Lass"

"Rediscovery"

"Snowflakes That Stay on My Nose and Eyelashes"

If you're interested in more, check out her Facebook or Deviant Art pages. Enjoy!

Advent Calendar - Day 16

More design-ish stuff: 5 Christmasey fonts for you to enjoy (for personal use). :)

Ornamental

Candy Cane

Christmas on Crack (font names are often rather weird)

Snow for Santa

Snowinter

An example of the "Snowinter" font that I used on one of my English 10 worksheets:

8 days till Christmas!!

Advent Calendar - Day 8

I just couldn't post a bunch of things about Christmas without including something that's design-ish. For those of you who use Adobe InDesign, here's a cool "Easter egg" (as they call it) with a Christmas flair. :)

1. Choose Stroke Styles from the Stroke panel menu (the little drop-down menu in the top right corner).

2. Click New.

3. Make sure the stroke type is set to "Dash," then rename the stroke as "Lights."

4. Click OK.

5. Make a line and apply the Lights stroke on whatever you like!

16 days till Christmas!

Day Ten: I Blessings

Better late than never, right? :-) And since technically every day of the year should be a day of thanksgiving, I'm not too far off target. I start and never finish too many things, but this shall be a project I finish!

Today's theme is blessings that start with the letter I:

Inspiration. There's the inspired Word, yes. And that's such a big blessing. But the kind of inspiration I am really thankful for is the kind that displays itself in my day-to-day work. As a graphic designer, I depend on inspiration for creative ideas. And it is when I am really stuck that I can see just where my inspiration comes from! Though I do have an "inspiration" binder full of pages and brochures and logos and letterhead, no amount of flipping through can give me the idea I need. It's only a fresh idea from God's very hand that is what actually turns out to be the very best! I'm so glad I don't have to depend on my own brain for ideas. :-)

Images. Images are what I do. They're what I play with, work with. Even more than that, they're around me every day. My mind thinks in images. God gives us lessons in images (parables, object lessons). Imagine if life had no images... wow. They're definitely one of the beautiful things in life!

Investments. When you invest your money and/or time in something, you link your life with it. What are you investing in? I'm thankful to have the privilege to invest in the lives of young people here at work. Also, in the life of a little orphan girl in Myanmar, and a missionary in the Philippines. I carry each of these blessings on my heart every day!

Infinite One. He never began, He never ends. He is the word forever, embodied. What a blessing to have an opportunity to be connected personally with such a loving Being!

Purpose

I wave my little blue keychain across the keypad to deactivate the alarm. Beep! I step inside the office. A stream of sunshine greets me through the window. Setting my bags on the cabinet next to my desk, I slide my notebook out of its case and snap it into the dock. Power on…

So begins my day.

Every so often, I shiver with excitement as I realize a simple fact: I love my job.

It's an amazing combination of creative graphic design and spiritual encouragement for young people. To the casual observer, it might seem like a regular job, but it's not. Not at all. My work has purpose. I don't work for the sake of climbing any corporate ladder, or enticing people through design to buy needless products. I work for a much higher goal:

Inspiring young people to follow Jesus.

Suddenly, I’m no longer sitting in my chair. I’m kneeling by my bed, agonizing—a frustrated 15-year-old at the end of her rope. A longing inside me burns for something that will satisfy my heart, and change me. Nothing is working. I don’t know what to do.

Then I remember. I reach into my bedside drawer, underneath my Bible, and pull out a purple-tinted magazine. I open it to the middle, the Bible lesson. The title: Conversion and Righteousness by Faith. Could this possibly hold what I’m looking for?

And so began my study of the Young Disciple Bible lessons. Each one encouraged me to dig deeper in the Word, and strengthen my connection with Jesus. On the days I spent time studying in the morning, I actually had peace throughout my day.

The memory fades. I lean back in my chair and smile at the sunshine. I smile at the ways God reached me, and I long to be the means to reach other young people who are searching in the same way. The work I do, the work I love, is this means. God not only fills my desire for purpose, but inspires young people to serve Him. Isn't He amazing?

Safeway musings

It feels odd not to be at work this morning, but here I sit. I'm at a little round table in the coffee shop/bakery section of Safeway, enjoying the array of colors and smells, and watching customers walk by. My car is at the doctor, getting fixed, and I get to wait for awhile. I've already wandered up Main Street, and after I write this I may head back to some of the stores that are probably open now.

With this extra time, I find myself with a release to take the morning a little slower than I probably would have otherwise. I've got time to enjoy the little things...

Time to notice how small Colville really is.

Time to notice the great design inspiration a grocery market offers.

Time to observe people at work.

Time to organize my internet bookmarks.

Time to listen to the words of songs.

Time to enjoy color.

Time to, well, write a blog....

And I've even got time to think.

It's a luxury these days to find more than just a snippet of quality time where I can sit outside or on the couch and do nothing but think. It's great to be busy, but I've realized the need for time to simply think about the immense and marvelous topics of life, and of the amazing character and salvation of Christ. If I don't take time to train my mind in this direction, my thoughts wander off to other things... and I'd much rather learn to discipline it the right way.

So yeah. I've enjoyed the last hour and a half of time.

I'm now off to explore the town more...