Easter: The Resurrection

"And when she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou has laid him, and I will take him away.

"Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

"Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."

Happy Easter!

 

Saturday

"The man went unto Pilate and begged the body of Jesus.

"And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein man never before was laid.

"And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on."

 

Trial, Crucifixion and Burial

"And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

"And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.

"And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into they hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." 

 

Suffering in the Garden

"Then said he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

"And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."

 

Teaching His Disciples

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

"For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me doing; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;

"Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

"Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

"When was we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

 

Teaching Tuesday

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

 

Cleansing Monday

"And Jesus went in to the temple of God, and cast our all of them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

"And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."

 

Sketchbook: Holy Week

 I love the renewed emphasis on focusing on the Savior in the week leading up to Easter!

Palm Sunday

"And a great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from trees, and strawed them in the way.

"And the multitudes that went before, and the followed, cried, saying, Hossana to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord' Hosanna in the highest."

 

The Force is tepid with this one

We haven't checked in on Disney for a while — and the fact that it's Star Wars-related doesn't hurt any.

It's that time of year when we start getting ready for General Conference! It comes the week after Easter, so you might want to be ready to share the ever popular and awe-inspiring Ward Cartoonist's General Conference Activity Pack! Perfect for sharing with your classes, family, or for your own personal use!

It's also the start of spring break here, and at work we've put together a Spring Break Activity Pack of our own! If you want to learn more about Transportation in Oregon — or if you need to keep the kiddos occupied — check it out. It's kind of fun, if I do say so myself!
 

We've got the spirit, yes we do!

There are times when I think it would be awesome to have spirit days in church like they do in school: pajama day, twin day, crazy hair day. Then there are times when I realize how irreverent and disrespectful that would be (at least for Sunday worship services).  

There's a reason why I'm not in charge of things. Could be fun, though.

The tie's the thing

Neckwear has a certain cachet amongst missionaries. Some ties have great meaning and hold a lot of sentimental (or sartorial) value. I have ties from my mission that I would never want to part with. Yet there are other ties that are practically disposable. I've got a few of those, too. That's why it's so sad to lose the ones you love.
 

Let no one shirk

A few years ago I drove the missionaries back to their apartment after a dinner appointment. It was a short drive, maybe ten minutes at the most. But that was enough for one of them to have dozed off, and his companion was drooping. 

Being exhausted — in a good way — is just part of missionary life!
 

Sketchbook: Improvement Era

A few decades ago, Hank Ketchum had a gag in the original Dennis the Menace. Dennis and his family were sitting in church. Alice, his mom, was looking at him in a mix of shock and embarrassment, while the people in the pews round about were chuckling. Dennis said, "Because I know 'Yankee Doodle' better, that's why!"

That cartoon has always stuck with me as an example of a cartoon coming in at the perfect moment in the middle of the story. We know what happened moments before, and that makes it all the more amusing.

This sketch is, yeah, a blatant ripoff of that cartoon. But with the pervasiveness of Taylor Swift and her influence with teen/tween culture, I thought it might be fun to explore. At least in the sketchbook.
 

A slip of the slips

Since it is the Ides, and since I continue to have production issues, I thought I'd reshare this one from a few years ago. 

Although it's less of an issue these days due to online donations, it's still important to be careful out there!
 

All the better to see you with

I tried a little experiment with this one. Remember the old, old pre-Photoshop days? Cartoonists used to use a film called zipatone or screentone to give their comics texture and shading. Charles Schulz, for example, used it for Franklin's skin tone. It occurred to me that I could get a similar effect using some of the features in Illustrator and Photoshop, so I thought I'd give it a try.

As for the cartoon, there are benefits to paying attention to your ministering families. You could save a life.
 

A cry in the wilderness

We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

Fun fact: I debated whether I should give nostrils to the crying kids. Then I realized that if they were crying, their noses would all be snotty. That always makes things better!
 

For the duration

Kind of a bold move, but I like the idea! It might be more effective toward the start of happy hour, though…
 

Sketchbook: Snack time!

This happened in our ward yesterday. One of the kids in a family sitting a couple of rows in front of us was trying to get a snack. The container popped when he opened it, and Cheerios went flying everywhere! It was awesome!
 

Changing seasons

Ah, spring! Going through all the good stuff from RootsTech!
 

Faith in almost every footstep

I've known a few moms like that. How about you?
 

A prayer for the children

It's that most wonderful time of the year, when classmates share colds with classmates, co-workers share colds with co-workers, and family members share colds with everyone! But the good news is, as soon as cold season is over, allergy season begins!
 

When ye are in the service of your fellow teenager

Due to a series of unfortunate events, I'm running a week of reruns. 

I went to my senior prom with my leg in a cast. I didn't do a lot of dancing, but I had fun. My date, Linda, was kind and understanding. But I don't think she ever went out with me again!

Sketchbook: Editing

It’s tough work compiling a history! I’ll bet they would have loved to have had some of our modern editing tools.
 

Players

We had a family game night the other evening, and then we remembered why we seldom have family game nights anymore.