Job 39:13-18 - The joyfully silly ostrich

I'm claiming 'Joy' as my word for 2018, so I'm going through my bible periodically to look at verses which talk about being joyful. Today's joyfully silly ostrich is inspired by a passage in Job.

The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labour was in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense. Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.

 -  Job 39:13-18

I loved the image of the ostrich laughing as it runs away, not worrying about anyone else and just enjoying what it can do. I think it's a good reminder that we should find joy in our own circumstances and not compare ourselves to other people.
 
I found an ostrich image on Google and altered the pose a little when I copied it into my bible. I used watercolour pencils for most of the image, and a black Micron and white gel pen to highlight and write.

Zechariah 9:9 - Palm Sunday prophesied

Happy new year! As we move past the Christmas season and head towards lent, here is a prophecy for Palm Sunday in Zechariah 9:9:

The coming of Zion’s king
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The King of Kings stickers on this page are from the Illustrated Faith advent kit - they're actually one card piece that I cut to fit my bible page. On the back of the card was this verse, and when I read it I had an image jump into my head of a small donkey looking out of the page at me.

I always think Palm Sunday is a perfect continuation of Christmas. Jesus had a humble beginning on Earth in the manger, and when He came as king He chose to use not just a regular donkey, but a young donkey. The humblest of the humble.

I found the image on Google and drew him in in watercolour/Inktense pencils, then used a black Micron pen and white gel pen to add details.