Two For the Road

Today is my last day at work until the new year.  I don't have access to software from home right now, so these may be the last graphics you see from me this year.  I'll do my best to do some regular posting between now and then.

Shalom and Happy Holidays!

Miscellany 2

Rounding out the year with another assortment of miscellany.  My 365 Project will officially be one year old in March, but I'm considering wrapping it up early (i.e. around the first of the year) and starting on another project.  The 365 Challenge has served it's purpose in helping me find new sources of inspiration and avenues of creativity.  If I do decide to move on, I plan on leaving this blog up as a chapter in my growth as a designer.

Stay tuned for an announcement of future plans.

For My Wife

Just to let her know how much I love her (and you blog-friends get to get in on the love too). 

Not in any way intending to be cheesy or chauvinistic with the retro images, just trying to capture the essence of honesty and innocence that the 1950's is remembered by.

Epic Love Story

Took me a long time to do this up in Illustrator.  It's amazing how difficult it is to make something look easy.  I plan to post some of my studies regarding the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 (more accurately, the new sacrifice), but I don't have time today.  I'll try to get it up on my hebraicbydesign blog soon.

Here are two versions...not sure which I like best.  Tell me which is your favorite and why in the comments section.
Shalom!

Border courtesy of 7ulio.com

The Sabbath Beckons

Okay, maybe the title is a bit melodramatic, but it does stand as a testimony to Yahveh's blessing since Creation.  The Sabbath was the first of Yahveh's commandments that man entered into (being created on the sixth day, man's first day was God's Sabbath, in which He rested.)

There are many places in Scripture where we are admonished to enter in to Yahveh's Sabbath:

Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Truly keep my sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am Yahveh who sanctifies you. (Exodus 31:13)

I really like what the author of Hebrews said about it:

Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest [the Sabbath], lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief [as those who refused to observe it] (Hebrews 4:10)
- emphasis & clarification added

 The Sabbath is God's way of telling us, "You need a day of rest.  I know, because I created you that way.  Stop running about and dedicate one day to kick back and spend some time with Me."

It reminds me of Psalm 46:10 which begins, "Be still and know that I am God!"  It's awful easy to reply, "Yeah, I know You, God." and keep running around doing what we do.  The phrase "be still" was taken from the Hebrew root, raphah which means: to cast down, to let [your hands] fall. It conveys the picture of hay in the fire, sinking down as the heat devours it. It is to cease, desist, lay off from doing anything.

In other words, God is telling us, "Hey, be still.  I really mean it.  Unplug yourself from all the things that keep you occupied.  Stop your hands from working, focus on me and face-to-face, intimately get to know Me", which was His intention in establishing the Sabbath in the first place.

Here are a few images based on Psalm 46:10 and another free wallpaper to remind us to labor to enter into God's Sabbath.  You can read my in-depth study on the 46th Chapter of Psalms here

This first image is based on the "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters that originated in the United Kingdom in the 30's and made a comeback lately.  You can see the original here

I've been seeing a lot of witty and humorous reproductions, so I thought I'd put my own spin on it.

As I was thinking about Psalm 46:10, I ran across this image and thought it was fitting.  It's pretty common to hear the phrase, "I wish God would just give me a sign..."  So I decided to help Him out and do just that.

Photo Credit

 

And here is the Sabbath wallpaper.  The first three are Full Screen versions, followed by Widescreen versions.  Enjoy the freebies!

Full Screen Versions

1024x768

Click on the Image for full size, then Right-Click and "Save As"

 

1280x960

Click on the Image for full size, then Right-Click and "Save As"

 

 

  1600x1200

Click on the Image for full size, then Right-Click and "Save As"

Wide Screen Versions

1440x920

Click on the Image for full size, then Right-Click and "Save As"

 

1920x1188

Click on the Image for full size, then Right-Click and "Save As"

 

2560x1600

Click on the Image for full size, then Right-Click and "Save As"

Chanukkah Wrapup

I wasn't sure whether I was going to meet my goal of averaging one image for each night of Chanukkah, but it looks like I made it. Here are the last few images in the series with some things I learned from celebrating Chanukkah for the first time.

1. Lighting the menorah and watching the candles burn is a very relaxing experience, and a great reminder to slow down from our busy lives for awhile.

2. I was quite surprised at how much brighter the light became each night simply by adding one more candle. There's an awesome spritual application in realizing that the further along you are in the process of rededication, the brighter your light shines.

3. Another wonderful realization is that when you reach the end of the rededication process, although the candles go out, your temple is set apart and ready for service for the Creator. In other words, the whole purpose of the Dedication process is to equip and enable us to operate as ministers for the King in our everyday lives.

And finally, a funny lesson learned: Make sure you buy enough candles to light your menorah for all 8 nights!  When we purchased our candles, I did a mental calculation to ensure that we had enough (You  need a total of 44 if you're counting).  What I failed to realize was that the package we bought only had 20 candles per box, rather than the 24 that I assumed.  As a result, we were scrambling to find enough "stand-in" candles to make it through the last night of the festival.  I guess you could say that we had a modern-day miracle of lights, because we were able to locate just enough spare tea-lights and votives around the house to fill and balance the empty holders of our menorah.  My wife snapped this picture and I thought it was a fitting way to end this series.



 {[A song to sing at the dedication of the house of David.]}
I will extol raise up and lift up Yahveh
Who has lifted me up and set me free,
and my enemies have not rejoiced over me.
{[Psalm 30:1]} 

Chanukkah - Day 2

Hanukkah, or the 8-day process of dedicating God's temple has been around since Moses first set up the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Exodus 40).

There is evidence of the process throughout Scripture, from Deuteronomy 20:5 where God commanded men to dedicate their homes to the dedication of the altar in Numbers 7, to Solomon's dedication of the First temple in 2 Chronicles 5-7, through the captivity to the dedication of the Second Temple in Ezra 6.

Yeshua even took part in the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22-42) which by the time of His minstry had become an annual celebration since the time of the Maccabees.

There is a of legend surrounding the story of the Maccabees and their exploits, but aside from the exaggeration, the account of their faithfulness to Yahveh and everything He did on their behalf is truly amazing.

You can read both books of the Maccabees translated into English here:
///1 Maccabees KJV  /// 1 Maccabees New American Bible

///2 Maccabees KJV  /// 2 Maccabees New American Bible

The basic element of the story is about assimilation.  Antiochus Epiphanes (which  means "Manifested God")
attempted to hellenize the Jewish people.  Those who held to Torah were severely persecuted.  The Jewish people called him Antiochus Epimanes (which means "crazy man"), although I'm sure not to his face.

The Maccabees finally decided enough was enough and started a war against Antiochus' armies.  Although they were not trained to fight, they declared their trust in Yahveh and went to battle, not knowing whether they would die valiantly or if Yahveh would deliver them.  Miraculously, they soundly defeated Antiochus' trained armies in more than one battle, and once they had driven them out of their land, they focused their efforts toward purifying the temple which had been defiled.

Part of the story of Hanukkah is the legend of the oil, where one vat of oil (enough for a single night) miraculously lasted for eight days (the necessary time for cleaning the temple.)  This account doesn't appear anywhere in the writings of the Maccabbees; in fact, it first appeared in writings several hundred years after the time of the Maccabees.

The most inspiring aspect of the story of the Maccabees is their unwavering trust in Yahveh and the fact that He gave them a great deliverance from an enemy they had no chance against.  They realized that victory was because Yahveh fought in their stead and thus established the purification of the temple as an annual feast to commemorate God's deliverance to those who remain faithful to Him and His Torah.

My first image is in honor of those who stood unwavering in the face of adversity:

"Sing this song at the dedication of the Temple.

I will extol, raise up, lift up Yahveh,

who has lifted me up and set me free

and my enemies have not rejoiced over me."

[Psalm 30:1]

My second image is encouragement for those who live to shine Yahveh's Light (Torah) to the world today:

Chag Sameach! (Joyous Holiday!)

Chanukkah - Day 1

Chanukkah is the Celebration of Lights surrounding the dedication of the Temple.  From it's earliest mention in Exodus, when the Tabernacle in the wilderness was first dedicated, it has always been an eight day festival of preparation and consecration, after which the Spirit of God fills the place that has been made ready for Him.

It reminds me of the passage in Hebrews referring to the Messiah:

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: [Hebrews 10:5]

The Light of the World was prepared for the time when the Spirit of God would fill it. 



In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God.  (3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  (4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. [John 1:1-5]

~ Chag Sameach! (Joyous Holiday!) ~

Channukah Eve

It's almost time to light the candles for the feast of Dedication.  It doesn't technically begin until sundown (a couple of hours from now), but I wanted to share the promised pics of the Menorah I made to celebrate the feast.  I had initially planned on purchasing one online, but the ones I really liked were too expensive.  Somewhere along the way, I had a passing thought about carving my own, which sprung up into a plan and eventually blossomed into fruition.  I tossed around several ideas, but none of them proved cost effective or were way above my skill level (as I am not a woodworker by any means.)  I finally decided on making a low profile menorah from a solid piece of wood, figuring that I'd be better off using the subtractive process of woodworking (i.e. take away everything that doesn't look like a menorah, and you end up with your beautiful menorah.)

For two days, I braved the cold along with my father-in-law in his garage/woodshop trying to make it happen.  He doesn't observe Channukah, but was just excited to help me bring the plan in my head to the real world.  Our first attempt failed about halfway through, and immediately afterward, we figured out the solution that would have worked.  The next morning, I went back to it bright and early and made up for lost time.  It was much easier to figure out the cuts the second time around, and together, we finally got it roughed out, then I spent another hour sanding and refining it.  Last night, I did the staining to have it ready to go for sundown tonight.  I can hardly wait to put it to use.

Here are some pictures of the carved and refined menorah and after it was stained. 
Click on them to see it in higher-resolution.

And here is the first image of the Channukah series.  The wallpaper from yesterday was based on this design.  The lyrics are from "King Without A Crown" by Matisyahu.  I thought they complimented the theme of re-dedicating the temple (our temples) to God.  (Click on to view larger)

Chag Sameach! (Joyous Festival!)