THE ONE YEAR ILLUSTRATIONS CLUB

Florence Chadwick loved to swim. She was born in San Diego, California on November 9, 1918. She grew up on the beach and began competing as a swimmer at the age of six. After four years of defeats, her uncle entered her in a contest at the age of ten in a two and one half mile “rough water” night swim where she came in fourth. For the next 19 years she continued as a competitive swimmer. She was the first woman to swim across the English Channel...both ways. She even swam across the Straits of Gibraltar. Chadwick was 34 years old on July 4, 1952, when she attempted to become the first woman to swim the 21 miles across the Catalina Channel from Catalina Island to Palos Verde on the California coast. The weather that day was challenging because the ocean was ice-cold, and the fog was so thick she could barely see the support boats that followed her. The tides and current were against her. And, to make matters worse, sharks were in the area. But at daybreak she decided to go forwar...

"Texts from Jesus" -  a new app you can get for Smart Phone! You can now receive texts from Jesus! It must have seemed like a good idea in theory – design a religious App aimed at the iPhone generation and get more young people connecting with Christianity by making it look like Jesus is texting them, only, it didn’t quite turn out like that.  It would seem their efforts have been foiled with a muddling case of mixed messages. Instead of illustrating how young people don’t have time for Jesus, the ‘texts’ appear to reveal a hilarious show of indifference coming from the Saviour himself. We know you young millennials are busy; we’ll get Jesus to text you, after all, you got a whole lot more on your plate, than He does, how does that sound? End result, is those that sign up for that app then need to either remove the App from their phone, or…yes, I know, “don’t say it” but add Jesus to their contracts and then block Him .   Why? Because they are...

A story of a young, handsome, Eastern king who was seated in a garden, and one of his counselors was speaking of the wonderful works of God. "Show me a sign," said the king, "and I will believe." "Here are four acorns," said the counselor," will you, Majesty, plant them in the ground, and then stoop down for a moment and look into this clear pool of water?" The king did so, and saw the reflection of his young handsome face. "Now," said the counselor, "look up." The king looked up and saw four full grown oak-trees where he had planted the acorns. How could that be? It would take 80 years for those to grow? "This is Wonderful!" the King exclaimed, "This is indeed a true Miracle of God! "How long were you looking into the water?" asked the counselor? "Only a second," said the king. Correct said his counselor, God has made for you, as a sign "Eighty years have passed as a...

     There's one World War II veteran whose story is the focus of Mel Gibson’s movie, "Hacksaw Ridge."   The story is a true story of the life of Desmond Doss, a soldier who didn't believe in using guns.  He was a Christian conscientious objector and ended up saving 75 of his fellow soldiers.  He was awarded the Medal of Honor.  Desmond Doss Jr. said for years that producers tried to turn his father's story into a film, but it never worked out until director Mel Gibson came along. "I’m glad Mel did it.  He did a spectacular job.  I don't think anyone other than Mel could've done it," Doss Jr. said. "I feel very gratified that Desmond Jr. liked the film so much and that he loved Andrew Garfield, who plays doss.  He told me that Andrew nailed his dad," Gibson said. a war medic, Doss ended up saving over 75 fellow soldiers in Okinawa , Japan during world war ii. "What he did in his life was so amazing and an inspiration," Gib...

     Lighthouses have been an object of adoration and fascination for many poets and storytellers for hundreds of years. This should come as no surprise, as these tall, forlorn structures of the sea have been guiding ships and sailors for generations, not only in peaceful waters, but also in the most difficult and challenging situations.      A strong beam emitted by a lighthouse is an astounding navigational aid to many ships and boats at sea. Have you ever wondered what allows the light emitted by a lighthouse to be seen by sailors who are many miles away? Is that a magic light or is there some kind of science acting behind it? The function of a lighthouse all comes down to the intensity of the light. a French inventor, Augustine Fresnel, had deduced that light was actually a kind of energy that travels in the form of waves.       Given that light travelled in waves, it was possible to make...

WHEN A DAY BECAME A DAY By: Richard P Swift Genesis 1:3-5  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.             All the angels whoooed and marveled at the change in lighting or better yet , no lighting, that they had never experienced before, being in their celestial surroundings…..  "Did you see that?”, said michael, the great Arch Angel   “absence of light”, replied the other angel.  “It’s called night”,  Michael responded Then magnificent stars lit up the night, along with a reflection of the brightest star, the sun, caused what looked like another planet to glow and light up the earth.  “Whats that bright star?” the angel asked the Arch Angel?”  “We will call it The Sun, per our Lord ...