Holy Doodles, Cartoons to Contemplate is a fun ongoing section of the MICAH website. The pictures you find here are images that came to mind from meditating on scripture passages, books, past events, conversations with friends and family, and from simply trying to be attentive to God in my everyday life. Following each drawing is a short paragraph about the drawing itself along with a few questions to ponder and discuss. The cartoons are copyrighted, however you are very welcome to use them as long as you credit where they came from. My hope is that these pictures will stretch your mind just enough to cause you to think more deeply about your life with God.
This Week's Holy Doodle
Holy Doodles Cartoons to Contemplate
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I got my first gold fish at a ping pong ball toss at our county fair. I remember waking up the next morning to admire my new pet and found it floating belly up. "Too much bread," my mom said. I thought, How could something be so dumb that it would eat till it croaks. Thirty years later I now see that we humans have the same problem, we never think we have enough.
No matter how nice our house is we want a better one. No matter how much money we make we think we need a little more. If we have two weeks vacation we think we need three. If we spend fifteen minutes a day in prayer we
think we need to spend twenty. Cars, success, dark chocolate, Bible
reading, knowledge, savings accounts, you name it we what more of it. This continual desire for more is destroying us spiritually, mentally, and physically.
- Why do you think it is so hard for us to be satisfied with what we have?
- How do you think the desire for more affects us spiritually, mentally, and physically?
- What do you think you need more of? Why?
- What would happen if you started saying, "I have enough?"
To view "Fish Wisdom" [PDF] click here > >
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Contemplating "The Jesus Outlet"
All of us have an image of Jesus. For some of us it's a kind and loving Jesus, for others it's a Jesus who swiftly deals out retribution. Some see Jesus as the protector of their particular denomination while he sadly shakes his head at the rest who don't hold the same doctrines. I realized that my image of Jesus has evolved over the years. I used to think he was all about making my life more comfortable but now I'm thinking he's here to turn it upside down. What will my image of Jesus look like in ten years? I wonder if the real Jesus is anything like my current image of him?
- What is your current image of Jesus?
- How has your image of Jesus changed through the years?
- What is it that has caused your image of Jesus to change the most? (Bible study, life experiences, opinions of others, etc.)
- How do you think you would recognize the read Jesus?
To view "The Outlet Jesus" image 1 [PDF] click here > >
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To view"The Outlet Jesus" image 2 [PDF] click here > >
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Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) is an ancient form of Scripture prayer that has been practiced by Christians for hundreds of years. We often come to the Bible with our minds somewhat closed because our own ideas and theologies are firmly in place. We memorize and gravitate toward verses
that support our beliefs while we twist or ignore verses that contradict our theology. Lectio Divina is a way of listening with an open mind and heart to what God has to say to us. I've heard it explained that Bible study is a way for us to work on the Bible, Lectio is when we let the Bible work on us.
How do you listen to God as you read/study Scripture?
- Is it difficult to acknowledge that there are verses in the Bible that don't support your belief system? How do you deal with these verses?
- What are the dangers of reading the Bible with a closed mind?
- What are the dangers of reading the Bible with an open mind?
- The second drawing shows the Bible smashing us and our beliefs. What does that mean to you?
To view "Lectio Divina" [PDF] click here > >
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Contemplating "And What Don't You Understand?"
This doodle reminds me of a question from The Book of Tea, "What would be left if the church were robbed of it's assets?" I have thought about that question a lot. It seems we get so wrapped up with programs, money, numbers. I wonder what Jesus thinks of our nice churches.
- What is the church?
- What would be left if suddenly your church had no programs, pews, instruments, vehicles, books, building, money, etc?
- If Jesus started a church in your town what do you think it would be like?
To view "And What Don't You Understand?" top image [PDF] click here > >
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To view "And What Don't You Understand?" bottom image [PDF] click here > >
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Contemplating Silent Prayer
My mind wanders. Here I am trying to pay attention to the person on the other end of the phone and the next thing I know I'm a star in a movie I just saw or I'm a ten-year-old swimming at Brush Creek or I'm wondering what kind of tombstone will be placed on my grave. The mind is always on the move and it constantly distracts us from the present, from what is real. Most of the time we aren't even aware of this false world our mind creates.
Without going into great detail silent prayer is about the continual practice of bringing our thoughts back to God. Although it is impossible
to stop our thoughts it is possible to hold our thoughts lightly and to let them float away when we become aware of them.
This cartoon is my attempt to show how, over time, one begins to leave his unreal world of thought. The picture where the person says "Whoa" looks like he no longer has any thoughts. But actually I was trying to show that the person is beginning to see the world around him for what it really is without the biased filter of the mind interpreting everything. It was fun drawing all the thoughts because I could just draw anything that popped into my own mind.
- How often do you notice your mind wondering? What do you often think about?
- Why do you think our thoughts keep us from living in reality? How does living in unreality keep us from being present to God?
- What do you think would happen if you were able to observe and notice life (your emotions throughout the day, the words and actions of others, objects on the wall in the room you're in) without your mind interpreting everything?
- Try silent prayer. Choose a quiet place to pray. Pick a word that reminds you of God's presence. When you notice you have become distracted by your thoughts, silently repeat your word to bring yourself back to the present. After a period of time give gratitude to God.
To view "Silent Prayer 1" top image [PDF] click here > >
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To view "Silent Prayer 2" bottom image [PDF] click here > >
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Contemplating How Our Kids Get Screwed Up #2
A few years ago I began trying to consistently follow all the commands in the New Testament. I had just come to the shocking realization that I, along with my denomination, had been selective in following Scripture. There seemed to be no convincing logic to why certain commands were valued and obeyed while others were completely ignored, so it became my goal to be faithful with every command. It wasn’t long before I drove myself insane by trying to follow every rule. I was carrying around a vile of oil to anoint the sick, refusing to marry people who had been divorced, and praying for the gift of speaking in tongues. I believed women should wear head coverings, that Sunday evening services were not mandatory, and while working in a denomination that taught that alcohol was of the devil I became convicted that there was nothing wrong with drinking. I looked like a rigid ultra fundamentalist in some areas and like a hell bound liberal in others. It became apparent to me that not only was it impossible to follow all the commands of the New Testament but more importantly, I was replacing the fruits of the Spirit with a rigid and controlling legalism.
- What New Testament passages are especially important in your faith tradition?
- Why do you think some passages become the mark of being a faithful Christian while other passages are completely ignored?
- If churches focused on loving God and others rather than on following rules what do you think would happen?
- How can one be faithful to God without focusing on rules?
To view "How Our Kids Get Screwed Up #2" top image [PDF] click here > >
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To view "How Our Kids Get Screwed Up #2 bottom image [PDF] click here > >
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Contemplating “The Spiritual Journey”
The images in this series came to me after reading An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land by William Stringfellow and after some conversations Dan and I had about the spiritual life. Room One has all the “answers” but at the same time it is the most unhealthy and confining place to exist. The last picture titled “The Possibilities” gives us an idea of what Christ wants to offer. Moving from one room to the next represents our continuous and wonderful journey with God. One milestone along the spiritual journey is when we are no longer afraid of entering the next room and we actually start looking for doors. It is interesting to note that when we are separated from someone by two or more rooms it is almost impossible to describe to them our spiritual experience. There are really no common points of reference.
- What room do you currently see yourself in?
- Christ has come to set us free, what does that mean to you?
- How do you think God leads us from one room to the next?
Do you find yourself afraid of the next room or do you find yourself looking for doorways? Why?
To view "The Spiritual Journey " Room 1 [PDF] click here > >
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To view "The Spiritual Journey" Room 2 [PDF] click here > >
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To view "The Spiritual Journey" Room 3 [PDF] click here > >
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To view "The Spiritual Journey" Possibilities [PDF] click here > >
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One day as I was thinking about pirates (I’m not really sure why I was thinking about pirates) Matthew 5:27-30 popped into my mind. The passage just seemed to fit so well with the pirate image. Of course, Jesus wouldn’t actually have the eye patch and hook since he never sinned, but I thought it made a neat drawing anyway.
- If you take this passage literally what would you look like?
- Since you probably don’t take the Matthew 5 passage literally what do you think the passage means?
- How do you personally determine what passages are literal and what passages are figurative?
- Let’s say the Genesis account of creation was actually figurative not literal, how might the way you look at Scripture change? If the passage about women being silent in church in 1 Corinthians 14 was actually literal how would your view of God change? Are you open to change matey?
To view "If Jesus Had Been A Pirate " [PDF] click here > >
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In her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Annie Dillard mentions the idea that the universe looks more like a great thought than a great machine. She says, “The question of who is thinking the thought is more fruitful than the question of who made the machine, for a machinist can of course wipe his hands and leave, and his simple machine still hums; but if the thinker’s attention strays for a minute, his simplest thought ceases altogether.” This idea of God’s amazing and loving ability to keep the universe in existence by sheer thought really catches my attention. Especially since I can hold an uninterrupted thought for what, 60 seconds?
- What do you think of the idea of God keeping everything together by thought?
- What’s your attention span like? How long do you think you can hold a thought? Try it.
- What tends to distract you? How would you label these distractions (worries, fears, regrets, etc)?
- How might your day be different if you could give complete attention to everyone you met and everything you did?
To view "How the World Ends " [PDF] click here > >
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I've always had this desire to be a monk. What better way for God to transform me, right? Then my wife shows me a quote from a former monk who is now married with children. He says the austere and disciplined life in the monastery doesn't compare to the spiritual development you experience from raising kids. Although I've never been a monk, I do have three kids and so I can appreciate what he's saying. I wonder how much control I really have over my spiritual formation.
- When we think of the ways God develops us spiritually what usually comes to mind?
- How can your ordinary life (raising kids, going to school, budgeting, grocery shopping, working at your job, etc) possibly make you more Christ like than by being a monk?
- What are some ordinary situations God is using (has used) to transform you?
- How much control do you think you have over your own spiritual formation? Why?
To view "The Monastery vs. Your Ordinary Life" [PDF] click here > >
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I'm not sure how I got the idea for this drawing but I think it came from how intrigued I am that we humans are so easily deceived by the powers of evil and by our own selves. It doesn't matter who we vote for or what church we're from, Christians from one end of the spectrum to the other struggle with living in an illusionary world. We all get chummy with at least a few of the Seven Deadly and then we trick ourselves into thinking everything is great (note the smiley faces on the tiny seven deadly sins). Reality is tough but living an illusion will destroy us.
- What catches your attention about this drawing?
- What do you think keeps us from seeing how things really are?
- What does it mean to be a discerning Christian?
- If you had to pick one of the seven deadly sins you were ‘friends’ with which
one would it be? (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride)
To view "The Seven Deadly Sins" Imagination [PDF] click here > >
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To view "The Seven Deadly Sins" Reality [PDF] click here > >
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It seems we often believe and even teach Biblical concepts that we have never really thought through or even agree with. To be brave enough to question doctrine or passages of scripture is a good thing. Right? God doesn’t want us to donate our brains when we walk into a church or when we open our Bibles. This drawing is not so much about hell, it’s about us adults not taking the time (or not being brave enough) to notice seeming discrepancies that even children can see.
- A loving God who throws people into an inferno to be slowly cooked alive for eternity: how would this concept seem confusing to those outside the Christian faith? Does this seem strange to you? Why or why not?
- What causes us to hold onto the doctrines we’ve grown up with?
- Why are we afraid of questioning?
- What is one question you have?
To view "How Our Kids Get Screwed Up #1" [PDF] click here > >
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I am so amazed with our obsession with cell phones. I just read an article that called cell phones the “new cigarettes.” We immediately pull them out when we walk out of a building, we’re constantly fiddling with them, we’re never without them, and we even take cell phone breaks on the job and between classes. There’s even a phenomenon called “phantom ringing” when your brain tricks you into thinking your cell is ringing when it really isn’t. We let this little object interrupt our dinner, time with family, worship services, concerts, and so on. Are we with anything else (let alone anyone else) more in life than our cell phones?
- It’s been reported that people have high levels of anxiety, stress, and insecurity when they don’t have their cell phones. Why is that?
- What other devices in our lives seem to take over and control us?
- What would happen if you turned off your cell phone for 24 hours?
- Which would you consider a harder saying of Jesus, to turn the other cheek or to get rid of your cell phone?
To view "Hard Sayings of Jesus" [PDF] click here > >
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It seems churches say a lot of wonderful things. Love, peace, service, transformation, worship, and faith are nice words, but talk is cheap. I wonder how much love, and peace, and transformation people actually experience in church. It seems to me that people often find the opposite of what a church claims to offer. Rather than peace there is stress for people running ministries. Rather than forgiveness there is guilt for those who don¹t look like everyone else in the pew. People feel a sense of confinement rather than freedom. I'm not saying we should quit church I'm just asking how often real transformation or real community takes place? I like the look on the faces of the new family. They can obviously see what the minister can¹t, that this church is built on empty words.
- What are some of the wonderful things churches say?
- Do you think the people outside of our churches can see through our hot air?
- What would a church that displays love or faith or joy really look like?
- How does real transformation take place?
To view "Talk is Cheap " [PDF] click here > >
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This image came to mind at a prayer practice retreat. As we were preparing to enter into silent prayer a friend of mine who was leading the retreat said, "The outer noise may be annoying but the inner noise is what truly keeps us from hearing God." I think it is comical that we search for a quit place free of distractions to pray and be alone with God only to find that we're completely distracted by our thoughts. Our minds are practically shouting nonstop but it's only in the silence that we notice the endless
stream of thoughts. It is also in the silence where we meet our true self. This can be very painful not only because it is hard to let go of ourselves but also because we don't like what we find.
- Are you comfortable with silence? Why or why not?
- Why do you think silence is necessary to listen for God?
- How do we "begin to hear God over the chattering of our own internal dialogue?"
- What is going on in your mind and heart right now? Do you feel peace, anger, pain?
- Do you notice any desires God has placed on your heart?
To view "Inner Noise " [PDF] click here > >
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This image came to me as I was reflecting on my own spiritual journey. When I think back on some of the beliefs I’ve had over the years (God is an old man with a big white beard who sits on a throne in the clouds, for example) I just have to laugh. Since I’m not attached to those ideas anymore they’re especially funny to me. But then I realize that I’m still on this journey toward God and therefore it makes sense that many of my current beliefs that I’m attached to are just as false. I image that someday I’ll look back and find much of what I believe today hilarious. This process never ends. That thought sort of blows my mind. I love the last scene of God throwing the guy over the edge. It’s that last thing in the world he expected, but it is what he truly wanted, to be united with God. This is our journey.
- As you look back on your spiritual journey, what beliefs or ideas have you let go of?
- Do you have a sense of what current spiritual concepts or notions God is getting ready to toss over the edge?
- What would happen if we all held our ideas of God lightly?
- The last two sentences say, “I disappear into the waves. I’m engulfed by God.” What does that mean to you?
To view "Over the Edge " [PDF] click here > >
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This image came to me as I meditated on Mark 7:1-8. In verse 8 Jesus says, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” I kept thinking about all the rules and traditions that weigh down and complicate our lives. It seems that for many Christians rule following has replaced being in relation with Christ. It is much easier to focus on the outward actions than it is to focus on the heart.
- What are some of the sacred cows of churches or denominations?
- What man-made rules do you value?
- Why do rules hold so much power in our lives?
- What might happen if we dropped the pack?
To view "Take Off the Pack" [PDF] click here > >
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by Trey Everett