Category: Reviews

The Father’s Heart & allthings828

by Dawn Fung

Romans 8:28 

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. Amplified Bible (AMP)

When Michael Yap, one of the friends of CLV, came to speak at The Group in 2010, his topic was ‘The Father’s Heart’. He reminded us a few things : that the Word of God opened up from the perspective of fatherhood; the DNA of the Father lives through His children; there is total restoration for all who have fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23).

As I look through my notes which I’ve often wanted to archive, I think it is wonderfully fresh to recap the elaborating principles that ensue from the talk. When we meditate on the Word through fatherhood, we see that the Father is exuberant over us (Zeph 3:17), He watches protectively over us even while we sleep (Ps 121:3), He knows us each by name (Isa 43:6-7) and values us above all creation (see genealogy; Matt 10:30-31). Now, these principles are known to most, if not all Christians, in principle. For me, the reality of it sinks in when I see my husband in action as a father. He does all those things for our children. For example, George is very proud when Deborah was born. He simply is – she could not prove her worth as a newborn but she got all the love he could offer, simple because she is his daughter. He still is proud of her – you can see it in the gaze when she sings to herself in front of the mirror, crooning as a toddler does. And then Hope, whom he just went in to cover with a blanket, because her year old feet may be cold. You don’t know the Father until you know the Father. There is a natural response that comes from this intimacy, one which is exuberant and free, not staid and solemn, because I cannot fathom a solemn child who is loved so much and deeply.

One of the things that Michael said, was that “the life with the Father is not complicated. Crankiness doesn’t stop the children from approaching Him whom they do not fear. As a father myself, I can’t have it any other way… Remember how we began, and how heaven rejoiced over one sinner who repented.” I think so too. It is always healthy to remember how we began on this journey home to heaven, and how we are going to end up – totally restored, in a new body promised us, even as we are new creation already (2 Cor 5:17). With such a promise, why shouldn’t we have fun with Father God, unless we have not been meditating on who He is! Then He remains a figure who awaits us eagerly, like the prodigal son’s father, who loved both sons dearly, including the elder one who is near but looks elsewhere for affirmation. With this in mind, I look at Romans 8:28 anew. Not only is God partnering us in labour, but He’s doing it as a Father – watching over us with care and meticulous concern, fitting us into a plan for good. That plan, the gospel, is hell-fire-proof. It is for those who love God (the Father), and are called according to His design and purpose, meaning that who believe and follow Jesus Christ. This also means, working backwards in order, that when we believe and follow Jesus Christ, we are called according to His design and purpose, and are able to love God the Father, because we are able to know Him intimately, and see His fitted plan for us according to the Word, according to fatherhood. Wow! I’m dancing.

allthings828 "Ring with winged cross"

Is it any easier than, to look at another believer’s work and think through carefully, how the Father would view it? A product line from allthings828 I received some time ago, didn’t quite cut it because I viewed it from my aesthetic boundaries – folk art, careful texture and layering, and artful narrative. So I could not place the surgical steel bracelets within a kind commentary, which defeats a purpose of publishing it online, because Ephesians 4:29 says so. I want to be true, and I like Ranji David (founder of allthings828) whom I met over tea. She is incredibly real and she deserves a space to be heard. What should we hear then?

Revelations 19:16

And on His garment (robe) and on His thigh He has a name (title) inscribed, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Amplified Bible (AMP)

Hear these : the story behind allthings828 is Ranji’s favourite verse, tattooed on her wrist three years ago. She was uninspired by the ‘poorly made’ range of products when looking out for Christian-based motifs in design. She gave up her marketing job to create her own range of products, “What got me started was a belief that creatively, well designed and well made Christian products didn’t have to be mutually exclusive concepts. I do genuinely believe that we can change the world one thing at a time. What’s drives all that and me motivated is my Faith. Faith that stems from God’s Word and His Promises and His Love. It all sounds really hokey and esoteric but at every turn, at every hurdle/trial, every step of the way, it’s been great verses, messages, chapters, stories from The Bible that have really illuminated my path and fired me up.”

Ranji’s not shy about the Word as inspiration, “So far we’ve looked to design as a means of bringing the scripture to life, like putting the words into visual context, and with a fresh, contemporary take on it. So it’s not about tiny pastel hearts for 1 Cor 13 (merchandise series)– it’s the definitive Bible verse on Love, absolutely impassioned and worthy of great, compelling art, so we went with strong, bold, winged hearts inspired by Sailor Tattoos…At the end of the day, we want to stay faith-inspired and fresh, so it’s maintaining the integrity of the verses, and keeping it contemporary.” 

I may not agree with the finished design and how it was processed. Why stop at the symbols you associate with today? Why not trace back to the original stories? A divinely inspired pattern should reflect a divine narrative.

Sailor's Tattoo

For Love, and tattoo imagery, I would do up a story board. Begin with something historical, and if a winged heart from a sailor tattoo, then return to the narrative from records, where key words like ‘hieroglyph’, ‘adventures’, ‘vengeance’ appear to stand out as reasons for branding, among criminals, sailors and ‘primitive men’. It’s interesting to note that history is merely documentation of time, in which case, I would attempt to trace back to the theory of Cambrian explosion and fossil records, probably the earliest tattoos, if you like, of the earth. Pick out really interesting ones, faked or real, that inspire the imagination for the series. How about shells? And then trace back to the origin before earth began, as in the Word, when the Word is God, and He hovered. Who is He? And how does He look like? Revelations form the missing puzzle, because you would find that He has a tattoo (Rev 19:16). Now we’re getting hotter in our search for a divinely inspired design. Wouldn’t it be interesting then, to see the full force of 1 Cor 13′s love as Love, as in God is love = Jesus, the person who embodies love. Therefore, doesn’t it make sense to try to embody Jesus, and not his emblems like the cross (which allthings828 is also trying to get away from), but He himself, in all His glory, such that the wearer or the viewer cannot help but feel very shocked looking at the design? And what if the tattoo inspiration from Rev 19:16 goes into a literal Hebraic translation for king of kings = melech ha-melachim lord of lords = adon ha-adonim? It may end up looking like this : “it would be something like-משרתו של ישו הקדוש, מלך המלכים, אדון האדונים.” (Of course, I don’t have the adequate translation though Google is handy.) And if you somehow, do something to it again, with the associations and design implications of fossil-record-vengeance-adventures-hieroglyph, the final product could be much, much stronger.

Have fun with fossils

You know what I am trying to say, and I am not putting Ranji’s merchandise down. I think design has to be well thought through, because good, no, great, design lasts through time; I think of those timepieces put up at the exhibition of Vacheron Constantin – exquisite. This is what I would like to see Christian designers and entrepreneurs dream up of – fantastical pieces of design, brilliantly inspired and worked through the divine narrative, layered up by the narratives spiritual kairos and earthly chronos, and then distributed discerning to those who seek its value.

1 Corinthians 12:25

So that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation [of the parts of the body to each other], but the members all alike should have a mutual interest in and care for one another. Amplified Bible (AMP)

allthings828 postcards

Well, what about allthings828? Remember viewing scripture and one another from fatherhood? It would be foolish to aid something poorly done, but not praise something exuberantly created. And this is Ranji David herself. Sure, there’s the facebook and blogshop, but the growth factor is always in the creator. The potential lure is the blog, because it is where she wears her heart. And if you identify love as the deciding factor for understanding why we do what we do, you can see her love for allthings828. I am a bit more taken with the packaging than the crosses, because she explains packaging so well. It’s her writing, and how she puts them together that gets me thinking more on the items currently on my desk. Why are some things more metallic? Why aren’t the designs more intricate with mystery hidden inside? Why cannot the bracelet be another material? Ranji has too many stories -design wise – that she needs to unravel, and time to think through for each piece.

It is my pleasure to introduce allthings828, in the light of Romans 8:28, because God our Father, works all things out for good, if we trace everything back to Him, and why He does what He does, very, very fascinatingly. Here’s to growth for all of us as Christians in the arts, because we need one another, and we care for how each person matures as a child of God.

Check out allthings828 here.

 

So You Want To Be A Writer

Review of “So You Want To be a Writer?”

A talk by Chua Hong Koon @ Crest Christian Bookstore Corner

Tuesday, 25 January 2011, 7:15–9:15pm

By Tienny Teh, with inputs from Wang Chu Qiao and Annabelle Ang-Bok

Chua Hong Koon, Publishing Director of Armour Publishing, has been in the publishing industry for over 30 years. However, it was just three and a half years ago that he started publishing Christian books. He began and ended his talk with prayer, and at the end of it I had a much better understanding of what writing is about, how a writing career is possible even without outstanding talent, and my own desires to write. I really found the workshop portion of the evening very helpful. This article summarises the talk and the things I found most helpful about it.

Chua began with a question: “What is the best job in the world?” He directed the question to his ten-year-old son, who replied that he thought it would be to be a doctor or lawyer because they earn a lot of money. To which Chua responded, “The best job is when you do something one time, and get paid many times. …you may be having a holiday, enjoying playing golf, be visiting another country or doing missionary work somewhere, and you are still being paid. Somebody is working for you while you are doing some other things. …do it one time, do it well.”

The best example, Chua explained, is God Himself. God allowed the Bible to be written once. Till today, it is still among the top best-sellers of all time, in its various languages and versions. It is a similar story with the Classics and Shakespeare. If God (or those other writers) took a 10 percent royalty on each sale, that would amount to a staggering amount of money! And the best way to learn how to write a good book, Chua said, is to write one.

But how does one know if one is a writer? According to Chua, if you are called to write, you will be able to do it. The Apostle John was called to write, as mentioned in Revelation 1:17-19. So were Moses (Exodus 34:27) and Jeremiah (36:2). Consider that we wouldn’t expect a fisherman like Peter to be able to write, much less write as well as he did. Alternatively, you might have enjoyed writing since childhood and have turned out to be good at it.

What happens if you enjoy writing, but are not a good writer? You can be a writer, Chua believes. You can work with a publisher and the publisher will help you.

Chua then pointed out that pastors, teachers and lecturers are potential writers. When they teach in person, they can only benefit a certain number of listeners at a time. But if they write, they can reach a much wider audience. Chua wants us all to rise up and write more god books. No matter what kind of writing style you have, you are sure to have potential readers somewhere. The world is so diverse. It is filled with so many types of people. You can not please all of them. Some will find your material good, and some will criticise. You just have to accept it, he said.

So, what about topics? If you are passionate about a certain topic, leadership for example, you can write about leadership. If someone is very passionate about collecting stamps and travels to many places to collect stamps, his or her knowledge might turn into books after a number of years. You need to write about something you are passionate about, Chua said.

Chua also went on to talk about personal stories. Each person has a story to tell, something he or she has gone through that is unique. A book will share experiences and lessons that others can learn from.

And if you are considering types of books, Chua shared, there are all types of (Christian) books that you can write: non-fiction and fiction, topics that are useful to the general public, collections of articles written over some time, collections of essays or articles written by various writers, collections of journals or diaries, etc.

Writing a good book, Chua said, is like running a marathon. Discipline and determination are needed to finish a book. Many people want to run marathons, but few complete the course. Chua referred to Robert M, Solomon’s The Race to drive his point that we need to have the right focus to write, but that many are sidetracked from it due to family, work, and other hobbies. Normally a runner preparing for a marathon has a coach with him. Similarly, a writer needs someone to go along with her. So find a publisher and an editor to help you to commit to writing the book and meeting the deadline. Chua then recommended another book: Why Procrastinate? by Teo Aik Cher.

If you are not a good writer, Chua said, you can employ a writer to help you put in writing what you want to say. You can share your royalties with the writer or just pay him or her a salary. Work out a framework from your idea and use that framework as you work, but if you’re not too sure about where you’re going, just keep writing.

Chua used the workshop segment of the evening to share guidance on how to write a good book. He talked about publishing choices and their advantages and disadvantages. He also talked about how to approach and work with a publisher, and he even taught the basics of how to write a publishing proposal and prove your credibility. Chua also talked about copyright issues regarding book titles. Finally, he reminded all of us who are interested in writing to focus on writing a very good book. We should not be afraid to spend the time needed to write a good script and find the right publisher.

I found Chua’s talk very interesting. It was very helpful because he gave a lot of real life examples. I like that he would refer a writer to another publisher if the writer had written about something not related to his publishing scope. As I’m currently working as a freelance illustrator for children’s books, and concurrently working on an illustrated children’s book of my own, it is essential for me to have the right focus and to be able to meet my deadlines. I feel excited after this talk even though I’m definitely more of an illustrator than a writer. Even though my imagination works better with pictures than with words and my passion is more for comic books, this talk was very practical and gave me an understanding of the industry, and will help me in working towards my goals.