Cartoonist/Illustrator - Jeff Larson
Minnesota
 PAIN IS EVERYWHERE.. and our God alone is the answer. There is pain in our bodies, minds, and even our souls. Pain is found inside our own families, with our friends, and if you turn on the news it is filled with angry, hurting, and often hateful people wanting relief and/or revenge. For me in 2021 physical pain has become my companion. About three weeks ago I had surgery to relieve nerve pain in my lower back. This surgery went well, BUT just as I was feeling better about my back I went to the ER suffering with very bad headaches. The ER doctor did a CT scan suggesting I may need surgery to repair another disc issue this time in my neck. I will know more over the next few days as an MRI is scheduled. So this recent bout with pain has inspired the following 'deep thoughts' regarding pain...
 Of course PAIN IS a relative experience prone to hyperbole. For example right now I have headache that is killing me and my head feels like it will explode. but.. truth be told I am sure I will live and my wife will not likely be cleaning up 'brain guts' this evening from any explosion. * note * don't try this at home -> But seriously, it is true many of the important lessons I have learned are the product of pain. It may be dealing with physical pain, or often lessons learned on the other side of (painful) blunders, stumbles, and/or bad choices. Or even deeper yet are the lessons I found in the death of a friend or family member.  I also believe this problem of PAIN & SUFFERING is the source for that age old question. If there is a God why does he allow bad things to happen to good people? This is a valid question. Here is where I see a 'Dangerous Beauty' where God the Creator allows his creation (you & me) the opportunity to persevere and succeed despite this world's pain and constant state of brokenness. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4  This Dangerous Beauty is found as we are allowed to choose right over wrong in big & small ways, and even good instead of evil. There is DANGER in choosing poorly, and if we do not persevere.. and danger when we choose well in the face of a world that chooses poorly, BUT... There is BEAUTY in choosing well, supporting others, and when we persevere while trusting God when it would be easier to quit when bad things happen to good people. To summarize.. Faith, Family, and Friends (in that order) are how God comforts and heals this world of hurt. So I seek God today as my compass and my only worship, and I thank Him for the blessing of faith, family and friends where we can love and support each other as God intends.. even in times of pain.  May God bless and provide for each of you this day with love and grace when you are hurting physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually. While pain can be discouraging may we as believers (His Church) be God's comfort and healing for others in this broken/hurting world while always leaning on His Spirit. Jeff (ibuprofen & Spirit infused) Larson 8/27/2021 Freaky FastSupersized and drive through meals ... delivered freaky fast your way that are finger lickin' good. These are a few fast food 'conveniences' for our fast paced lives in the fast lane. I am guilty of participating in both ordering my share of supersized McArtery Clogger Value Meals, and using the drive through for lunch, lattes, and my banking needs. Life is busy and there is a time and a place for fast food, and fast service but there is a time and a place to SLOW DOWN. Now as I segue 'deftly' to my faith journey.. I find awkward parallels to our fast food society. 1. I want the blessings on my life supersized now please, 2. I sometimes pray like I am using a drive thru window. I don't even slow down to say hello to God but place my order/prayer list with the angel stationed at my drive thru prayer window. And.. 3. my patience for His answers rivals my belief that microwave popcorn still takes waaay too long.
Moral of this blurb is.. God does listen to and answer our freaky fast faith moments (sometimes that is all we have), BUT how much better my perspective is when ..
There will be those times where freaky fast faith is all we have time for, but let's purposefully slow down and make time with God that is more than a microwaved/reheated moment of spiritual nourishment. Hmm.. I am getting hungry. May God bless and use each of you for His glory in SUPERSIZED ways Jeff (McBack Pew) Larson 8/2/2021 I wish I was CHRISTIAN again! A strange title indeed based on one of my all time favorite commercials from back in 2013. It was a commercial for AT&T wireless where a man in a suit is sitting at a table asking a group of little kids what is better FASTER or SLOWER? They all agree faster is better. One little girl explains faster is better or else you might be bitten by a werewolf and then you will say.. wawawawawawa.. which means I wish I was human again! The man in the suit stammers.. "what?" note: If you don't remember this commercial, it is a must watch. click here-> wawawawawawa I have similar state of mind with this world's challenges, distractions, and 'nonsense logic'. Our society claims gender is a social construct, men (called birthing persons) can have babies, and white baby boys are born racist. To all this nonsense and more like the guy in the AT&T commercial I stammer .. "What?" My other response to this world gone wrong is to become caught (being too slow) frustrated, discouraged, brooding with a dash of anger. It's enough to transform a likeable guy like me into that little girl in the AT&T commercial in exasperation moaning.. "wawawawawawa.. I wish I was CHRISTIAN again." So where should we turn in this world gone mad? The answer is in God's Word.  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Phil 4:8 ..but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 1 Pe 3:15 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Phil 4:13  Finally, Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Eph 6:11-12  These are just four (of countless) scriptures to help us not just endure this world wishing you were/felt Christian again, but become boldly effective for Jesus. May God bless each of you as believers with a the peace that passes all understanding in a world that often rages outside of God's will. Jeff ( feeling both human and Christian today ) Larson 6/17/2021 Bunny Trails 2021A few years back my wife and I lived in Roseville, a suburb of St Paul MN. Nice neighborhood, easy access to highways, shopping, dining, and.. is unofficially the bunny capital of the world. Bunnies were everywhere.  These friends of Bugs (bunny) crisscrossed our yard constantly. We don't have a garden so they are harmless and cute.. I guess... but what goes on in their little minds as they scamper from here to there and back again. All this is done of course as they travel their literal bunny trails. Then I wonder.. are there 'BAD BUNNIES'.. you know, with tattoos hanging out the street corner smoking cigs and.. sorry, I guess my mind just went on its own bunny trail.  Ok, while I am obviously NOT a bunny, but I have traveled my share of bunny trails meanderings. I even have the 'gift' of veering off topic railroading a conversation 'deftly' interjecting my thoughts that have wandered away from the original subject. How did I get here?.. and now how do I find my way back?.. I don't know, maybe I will ask a BUNNY. Even those involved in the conversation may with a bewildered look on their face respond with .. "whaaa.. and If no bunny can be found to help me I will segue back by saying "but I digress" Of course for the most part the literal bunny trails in my yard and the nonsensical bunny trails in my head are harmless. They may be puzzling, possibly frustrating, but seriously no harm no foul. But what about the more serious bunny trails we take? In a world that needs Jesus we are busy with bunny trails... even Pokemon Go trails.. really? Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Js 1:27 and “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Mt 22:37-40 .  There you have it.. all that is important shared economically in just 5 verses, BUT..
All of the above can be definite bunny trails that have nothing to do with Js 1:27 and/or Mt 22:37-40. I am a big fan of the 'My Utmost for His Highest' devotional by Oswald Chambers. His daily readings are amazing bits of truth that return focus to what is important. Oswald's message is that life begins and ends with a devotion to God. What we say and do matters, and stay off the bunny trails that keep us from this truth. Another great read is 'The Pursuit of God' by AW Tozer. In this book Tozer makes clear the pursuit of God is a direct path with focus and purpose and any bunny trails are mostly found in the pursuits of man... and his folly.  My prayer is to live a life that loves God in words and deeds (Js 1:27 and Mt 22:36-40) where I give my utmost for His highest in my daily pursuit of God while keeping my bunny trails to a minimum.
My prayer today is your life's journey has focus and purpose, and that He provides hope, and direction for those of us when we find ourselves off on a bunny trail using His Word and our Prayers as our map. Blessings Jeff 4/6/2021 Mr. B.A.Life is good, and I am blessed. I serve a great God, my wife loves me, and I am content.. most of the time. But then.. like that (loved but not liked) relative showing up unannounced with his unruly kids to visit for the evening OR LONGER.. arrives Mr. B.A. (Bad Attitude). Recently it appear Mr. B.A. stops over with his buddy Mr. B.B. (bad back) when I prefer to be left alone. An everyday example of a visit from Mr. B.A. is arriving at home at the end of the day greeted by our dog Cooper (a rescue dog with issues) barking at me. While Mr. B.A. has not entered my house at this point I cringe to my barking dog and see Mr. B.A. easily as I look out my front window. He is sitting in his car on the curb, he notices me, and smiles giving me a thumbs up. Arghh.  I am tired after a long day and all I want to do is relax for a few moments, so I turn on the TV and flip it to the evening news. Top stories are the border crisis, race riots, LGBTQ is adding another letter, and in North Korea that rogue 'nut job' hopped up on Red Bull is testing Nukes again. Meanwhile Congress is playing partisan politics russian roulette with the American public, and.. there is a 'weather' alert of a pending 'snowflake' blizzard/protest in Berkeley where frightened college students burn flags, tipping monuments, and blocking streets as part of a SJW class project? And OBTW.. everything bad listed above I have learned is still the fault of .. DONALD TRUMP. I thought he was no longer president. GO FIGURE!  So I turn off the news and notice Mr. Bad Attitude is now out of his car walking towards my house grinning big, and pointing to my door to let him in. I cringe but for the moment I look away. Next is dinner, And dinner is always good as my wife Mary takes good care of me. Following dinner we most always watch Wheel of Fortune. Dinner and now Wheel watching is our 1 hour reprieve from this big ol' B.A. world. For a brief moment I pretend Mr. B.A. is gone. I imagine he is not just outside my house. but he is.  THEN.. 'Wheel' is over and so from 7pm CST to bedtime there is rarely anything good to watch on TV but I want to be sure so I waste the next 30 minutes channel surfing and coming up with zip! AFTER.. the channel surfing I browse the web, or then on to Social Media for the whole 'poke the bear' experience. Social Media is a digital glut of cat videos, political judgments, and 'Christian' cries of heresy among the bretheren. This angst found in the world via Social Media is sensed by Mr. B.A. and so he makes his move.  Now it is 7:45pm, and Mr. B.A. responding to the vibe of pointless channel surfing, and web browsing let's himself in and sits in MY chair. From his newly claimed throne he is munching Flaming Hot Cheetos leaving cheeto-orange greasy finger marks on my chair, TV remote, and my computer laptop. B.A. does acknowledges me with a glance and a nod before taking control of the TV remote with his left hand a computer mouse with his right. It is Clickity, clickity, click as Cheeto dust fills the air. I am tired, irritated, my dog growls at me because I spoke to my wife without asking his permission and Mr. B.A. is now in full control of all things electronic for the evening, and in his glory! So I mumble/moan about another evening lost with Mr. B.A., while I sulk (loudly). Yes I sulk 'loudly'. It is not a pretty sight... Sulking loudly is much like when men cry. It is an ugly display of emotions and not an endearing as observed by my wife Mary. Then, there is a LIGHT BULB MOMENT.. Ya know, it does not have to be this way. There could be more to my life than you-tube videos, and Twitter suspensions. Imagine a life bigger than Big-Bang reruns or a Hollywood blockbuster/flopbuster. Even as I type these words a Spirit inside me speaks in a still small voice.. "Well, duh." note: I am not saying this voice was the Holy Spirit as I pretty sure He does not say "Well, duh" unless these are His words after passing through my Jeff filter. So maybe I quiet myself. Yes, I remember being quiet for an evening back in 2017.. and I liked it. Well about 'doing quiet' again tonight? I could turn off the TV, read a book, or listen to good music.. maybe even Worship Music. Yes, I do remember I liked that. This could work! And maybe I calm myself to PRAY.. not asking God for stuff like a child at Christmas, or to help me not be bored, but pray to know God better, to thank Him, and to pray for others. So while I ponder being quiet I notice Mr. B.A. seems distracted, and looking uneasy. He looks at me as if to say, "hey you need to focus, the night is young, let's binge Netflix!"  But I continue to ignore B.A. and quiet myself, I pray and let my mind be amazed by our God the Creator of all things and our perfect Heavenly Father. At this point Mr. B.A. gets up. The TV is off, the computer is in sleep mode and he is feeling ignored. His Flaming Hot Cheetos are gone except for the crumbs his beard and speckled down his Back in Black AC-DC t-shirt. Mr. B.A. looking dejected leaves my home while muttering maybe I will see you tomorrow. I smile, but honestly I am not sure tomorrow is going to work for me. I remember that time in 2017 when I was quiet just like today and I liked it. AND.. my wife likes me better this way as my loud sulking is not one of my endearing qualities. So it's a win win situation.  I would like to say Mr. Bad Attitude will not come to visit again, but I know better. Also my TV and computer are not bad they just symbolize the distractions and wasted times that keep me from God's peace.
May God bless those moments of quiet and purpose found in His word, prayer that are rarely found in front of a HD big screen TV. May He bless each of you with joy and purpose found in a life long pursuit of Him in the quiet. May your attitudes be good, your hearts always thankful, and no loud-sulking please. Jeff ( attitude adjusted ) Larson 3/31/2021 My Nice TryTo sum up 2021 (IMO) our tumultuous society seems to disagree (often passionately) on most everything from politics, gender identity, LGBTQ, race issues, diets, and sports. At the core of much of this turmoil is a spiritual angst of global proportions.  BUT even if IF if we could agree there is a spiritual component, society does not agree on what we mean by spiritual. Islam, Christianity, New Age, or seek deeper meaning as a Buddhist, or a Hindu? AND even as Christians I need to ask what 'faith flavor' are you? Could be Catholic, Southern Baptist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Prosperity Gospel believer, the ever popular 'non-denominational', OR maybe your faith is motivated by a Progressive / SJW focus. AND let's not forget that fella who likes to handle snakes. Yikes!
 So this is what I believe which is important to ME. What do you believe? What is God teaching you about truth? Does what I believe and/or what you believe fall in line with God's Truth? and.. I believe it is important for everyone to pursue their own serious 'NICE TRY' understanding and appreciation of God. This is not an issue anyone should put on the back burner of life. We owe God at the very least to make a NICE TRY... and for eternity's sake we owe ourselves.  May God bless each of you today with peace, and the Holy Spirit's leading us to truth and answers for all of life's questions, and to a place where we feel God's love and peace like never before.
We should not expect to get it all right, but there still is no greater pursuit for mankind than to know Him. My heart says of you, “Seek His face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Psalms 27:8 Jeff (Trying to be Nice) Larson 3/26/2021 10 Commandments & 5 Suggestions Of course we all know the Ten Commandments Moses brought down from the mountain. These Commandments if obeyed would solve most if not ALL of societies Ills. Paraphrased loosely 1. worship only God, 2. no idols, 3. don't take God's name in vain, 4. honor the Lord's day, 5.respect mom & dad, and.. 6-10. don't kill, commit adultery, steal, curse, tell lies, or covet.  These 10 Commandments are simple but profound directions from God to honor our creator and play well with others. Why would anyone disagree the 10 Commandments?.. unless of course you are the ACLU. Now while I would never command anyone except my dog (though he does not always listen) I have opinions on everything and so I would like to add a few suggestions. These suggestions are not delivered on stone tablets, but instead on this one digital blog via the web.. cuz stone tablets would cost too much in shipping charges. But I digress..  BEHOLD... The Five Suggestions -
 There you have it.. Five Suggestions that while they pale in comparison to the Ten Commandments you must admit.. but hey I'm Jeff not Moses so it's the best I can do.
May God bless your day with God's Truth, and obedience of His loving commandments.. and while you may not listen to my 5 suggestions.. at least you guys listen to your wife when she says you are not going out in public looking like that. Jeff (out of suggestions) Larson 3/8/2021 Figures of Faith-Speech The teachings especially in the New Testament are full of figures of speech that if taken literally would be reason for a great deal of angst in our lives. Here are just a few.
But thankfully these are much more than figures of speech for those who place their hope in God. These are words holding important life changing/saving truths.
 Finally let me leave you with a phrase I don't think can be found in our Bibles. This phrase is maybe not a figure of speech, but words that also have a double meaning when they are wielded together.
When the dreaded 'Fine, Whatever' combination is muttered by a wife.. well it is anything but FINE, and WHATEVER is the last thing you should consider. May God bless your day with clarity, with purpose, a strong understanding of God's word, and nary a FINE, WHATEVER mentioned to you husbands. Jeff 3/2/2021 Faithful in Life's Moments I was 'praying anxiously' the other day. Of course praying anxiously is an oxymoron bigger than a skinny baptist preacher.. BUT God reminded me I am called to be FAITHFUL IN the moments that make up my day not FAITHFUL FOR a moment in my day. I guess this is obvious to everyone else, BUT for me it was an epiphany.. and my calling. I should not longer worry about being recognized as the Farside of Christian cartoonists (lol, in my dreams).. but instead focus on being Faithful in Word and Deed in what every day presents to me.  Faithful when...
 Faithful is not just when everyone is watching. We are called to be faithful to God in words, emotions, deeds, and our thoughts.
May the Lord find us all faithful in big and small ways including every nook and cranny of that makes up our days. Jeff (work in progress) Larson 2/24/2021 NOBODYS Wanted - See God How does my resume look? Am I qualified? Can God really use a NOBODY with nothing to offer? What if my self-esteem is in the DIRT of my Monday - Friday RUT where my abilities and influence never seem to make a difference for God. Oh sure I attend church most every Sunday, and my wife and I even host a Small Group bible study every other Sunday night.. but what difference does any of that make? Who am I? Hi, my name is Jeff and I am NOBODY.  Then I reflect back over my years in the work place. I have traveled on a seemingly random career path. As a young man I worked as a logger in rural Wisconsin, then moved to the big city where I was a computer programmer/analyst, and not so many years ago I was the owner/manager of a sports officials management business. After selling my sports officiating biz overal several years I coasted into early retirement while driving school bus part time on the side. I find officiating sports and officiating school kids on a big yellow bus are very similar.  Side note: There was one summer while between jobs I was a PAPER BOY (for God?) delivering the daily newspaper. All while through my years in the work force I have continued my hobby/passion of cartooning..finding out it is not a successful 'get rich quick' scheme or a cash cow though I better known for my cartoons than I am for any of my proffessional accomplishments.  Then to further feed this 'I AM NOBODY' theme there was a time when I received an actual letter in my mailbox declaring my 'nobodyness'. Well, actually worse than nobody.. the letter said I was DEAD. This letter was from my bank addressed to Jeffrey DEAD Larson instead of Jeffrey DEAN Larson. I am not sure if that was a typo or a snarky comment on my personal credit so I did quick check my pulse, and good news.. I was not dead. Good News? I am not dead. Bad News? I am nobody! So I turn to God's word for encouragement and inspiration in hopes to find a glimmer of hope that I am not a NOBODY, but rather a somebody. I was quickly reminded of great Bible nobodys turned to somebodys
 By God using these very flawed men to serve him in great ways it demonstrates it has always about God's message and not the messenger.... so maybe there is hope for a NOBODY like me. NOBODY(s) for JESUS.. sounds more like a label for a Christian support group than a battle cry to serve God. Can't you hear our Battle Cry? Who are we? nobody. louder.. NOBODY! The mighty mighty.. Nobodys?  Who am I without God anyways? BUT an equally good question is.. WHO AM I WITH GOD? What is possible? This is not to say God will use me to part any Red Seas, raise any dead, or become the Billy Graham of Christian cartoons, .. but I believe if I am willing, God will bless and use me in ways that are beyond what I could dream.  The one thing I am daily reminded is.. this life is not about me. It is about loving God with all my heart soul and mind and caring for others. To be faithful in the moments presented to me each day and then God can and will use me in little subtle ways for sure, and who knows maybe in big ways. I am sure there is a sea that needs parting somewhere. May God bless and use each of you as you are faithful to HIm in ways that are always beyond our dreams and all that God intends. Have a great day. Smile lots.. and enjoy life! Jeff (NOBODY) Larson |
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Back Pew - Draw Close to God
116 pages of cartoons of 'Clean Humor & God's Truth' CRITICS ARE SAYING..
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©2019 Jeff Larson - All Rights Reserved
9/15/2021
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