Support indie artists

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while but haven’t taken the time to do it until now. I want to be sure and let you know about several great projects my friends have recently been a part of.

Least of These

Kevin’s recently published his NaNoWriMo work from 2008 (same month I wrote my novel), Least of These. I read it in a few hours one evening and thought it was great read. Lots of great ideas built around a captivating story.

Kara, Brick and James form a trio of survivors, the last of a now-dead community. They wander a post-apocalyptic world where humanity’s savagery has already ruined civilization and now threatens survival as well. James is always looking to the east and the hope of the promised land, Brick is quiet but strong and Kara yearns for simple hope. This young, world-weary trio encounters a man full of hope and promise—he’s either a wise guru to lead them forward or a foolish old man.

As mentioned on Facebook recently, I love how Kevin spent a lot of time referring back to Isaiah 2:4 and giving a vivid illustration of how this “prophecy” can really play out.

They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

I’ll be chatting with Kevin a little later on about the book — but don’t wait till then to get your own copy. You can download a free PDF from Kevin’s site or order your copy from Amazon.

Headphonaught’s photography

Thomas, my brother from another country and one of my co-hosts on the podcast, has really been stepping up his photography more and more recently.

His photography has been featured in a local journal as well as on the cover of Cousin Silas’ latest indie album, The Snow Imposed Silence.

Plus one of his photos was chosen for the February wallpaper on We Live Simply :-).

Be sure and check out Cousin Silas’ album (it’s good indie music as well) along with more of Thomas’ photography on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/headphonaught.

green church

My good friend Lindsay Cofield has written a new e-book, green church, telling the story of green/organic churches. It’s a brief book (roughly 25 pages in length) that shares some of the practical “how-to’s” of starting a green church, as well as some stories from those who are actively building communities of faith this way.

Christ-followers of ONE who acts in love & power!!!
+ The most life-changing ministry we can humanly provide a group of overlooked friends is a simple Body of Christ, a Church, planted among them, to be His Hands, His Heart, His Voice, His Compassion in their circle of relationships +

I’d love to tell you to buy 5 copies of the book and keep one and give 4 away, but Lindsay won’t let you. He’s giving the book away — for FREE. You can read the entire thing on his website, download the FREE PDF, or if you really want to pay something for it, you can purchase a copy for your Amazon Kindle.

(as a disclaimer, I built the website for Lindsay and helped format the Kindle version)

I’m sure I’m missing some other great projects my friends have been a part of but wanted to be sure and give props to these great projects.

Support what really matters to you.

As Everett Bogue writes:

I’d like to argue that there are artists all around us creating many fine things. An artist is someone who is creating something that they are passionate about.

You vote with every dollar you spend. Do you vote mega-corporation or independant artist?…

I realize this makes the decision to purchase anything infinitely harder, but that’s the decision we need to make if we’re going to support what really matters.

Artists give something that matters. That art might be a muffin that the lady at the coffee shop woke up early that morning to bake. That art might be the blog post that you read this morning that you know the writer put some thought into—so that he was creating art that made a difference.

I hope each of these artists continue on and keep up the great work and create wonderful, passionate art.