The Writing’s on the Sign

May 7, 2009 //

While coming back from a great day at the beach (is it too late for a new year’s resolution? I’m determined to learn to surf, so that I can teach my daughter to surf!) earlier this week, we saw a very curious sight: a man at an intersection with a sign asking for money, but talking on his cell phone. Kind of like this photo, I guess, but minus the “honesty” in his sign.

Now, I’m sure some people would be extremely offended by this (“Well if he can afford a phone then he shouldn’t be out begging!”) but it just struck me as being really surreal. Only in La Jolla, I guess.

Just for fun, while we’re on the topic of signs, how about this one [h/t: Guy Kawaskai]:

The nerd in me might actually give this Cylon a dollar.

Categories communication

Living Our Hope

May 6, 2009 //

I designed this graphic for our church’s web site last week:

welcome-god-has-not-given-up-3

As Brian McLaren writes in Everything Must Change, “Eschatology always wins.” That is, what we believe about the future distinctly shapes how we live today. Believing that we’re just hanging on until we can escape this sin-soaked mess will lead to a profoundly different way of life than believing God continues to be very much in love with the world and the people He created. One leads to despair; the other, hope. The church I want to be a part of is not a monument; it is a movement of hope & redemption.

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On a side note, I am currently in the midst of a web design project with my friend Richard. If you, or someone you know, needs some graphic and/or web design work, drop me a line. We offer great work at reasonable prices!

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And, speaking of movements, I encourage you to support Eugene Cho’s organization dedicated to fighting global poverty. Let’s get the Facebook group to one million people (it’s already at over 690,000 people) — join the cause today.

Categories church, communication, design, hope, Kingdom of God

Finding the Groove, Free!

May 4, 2009 //

Win a free copy of Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith by Robert Gelinas.

I highly recommend this book (you can read my review of Finding the Groove here). Even if you are not a fan of jazz, Groove’s stories, quotes, and insights about life and the Kingdom of God are engaging and helpful. Groove encourages all of us to compose a more creative, jazz-shaped faith.

As Scot McKnight said in his recent review:

There are very few books like this one — in fact, there is none. I really liked this book, and I will return to it over and over as the image shapes my own thinking.

Let’s have this contest run through this Friday, May 8th at 3:00 PST. [Our winners of the free copies of Finding the Groove are Daniel Li and Dave Ingland. Congrats!] Leave a comment here or send me a message on Twitter (twitter.com/headsparks) describing why music is meaningful to you — could be a favorite song and why you love it, a formative experience, etc. — and how it connects you to the life and Kingdom of God. I’d love to hear your stories and the soundtrack of your life — I’ll choose a winner from one of the responses!

Categories books, church, community, freebies, Kingdom of God, missional, reviews

Friday Freebies: Comics!

May 1, 2009 //

I’ve never been particularly into comics. Surprising, I know, given my nerdiness, but I could never bring myself to cross over into Comic Book Guy territory (yikes!). Growing up, my wife’s older brother, in his collector-obsessive way, would make the siblings use tweezers to turn the pages of his comic books if they ever wanted to read them.

However, I was intrigued by the idea of Free Comic Book Day:

Free Comic Book Day is a single day – the first Saturday in May – when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE* to anyone who comes into their stores. *Check with your local shop for their participation and rules.

One day at a Barnes & Noble, I did find myself reading — and being thoroughly confused by — the Marvel Civil War comic books. I wonder if I can score one of those, or maybe a Watchmen book tomorrow?

Categories freebies

So This Is Where That Swine Flu Started

April 28, 2009 //

Via the Seoul Eats blog, I just couldn’t resist re-posting this photo. So funny. So icky.

I know Swine Flu is pretty serious, but this quote is just too funny:

Plus I heard they feed the Korean pigs Kimchi. Kimchi is the cure all for everything. Apparently that’s what kept the Avian Flu away, so I don’t think the swine flu has any chance.

If we’re going to have to start wearing masks around town, forget those fancy-pants designer masks, I’m totally going to wear this one.

In the meantime, a visual to help keep us Swine Flu-free [via Joon Mo Kang]:

Categories health, just grinning