Designing Easter – Jesus, a Serpent, and a Missing Body

If you’ve followed this blog in the last few months, you probably know that I’ve become obsessed with designing. It could be a pickleball theme, a Mahjong-inspired design, or something just for the sake of designing. And then there’s Easter. For Christians like me, this holiday… if Christmas is the Super Bowl, this one would be… the Pro Bowl? Not to cheapen it or make light of either of those holidays. Just a comparison on the level of importance. Easter really does mean everything. I guess that eliminates the Pro Bowl as a comparison, doesn’t it? Oops. OK, Christmas and Easter are both the Super Bowl. I’d even call Easter the cornerstone of the Christian faith because without it, we’d either still be doing things in Old Testament fashion, or simply have no way at all of righting what’s wrong. Jesus. A lot of people say a lot of things about him but what’s been pressing on my mind this Easter season is this:

Either he never existed or he’s always existed.

Some people say he’s just a story and was never a real person. On the flip side, if he WAS a real person, then he’s always existed (because he was with God in the beginning and came back to life and went back to Heaven where he lives now). Only one of those can be true. As I reflect and consider and research, I’m more convinced than ever that he’s always existed. With that in mind, I wanted to design something for Easter. I came up with this.

In the distance is the cross, the only thing on the entire landscape because if it’s true, what else could be added to make the message stronger, you know? The design of the sky background– the small repeating squares– consists of small text. Part of my favorite chapter in the Old Testament. Isaiah 53…

You also might have noticed the serpent a little more disguised in the sky. I wanted something out of the ordinary to help my design stand out. A serpent wasn’t really my first choice… for obvious reasons **ahem–the devil in the Garden of Eden** I thought about a lion, or a lamb, or some other animal that represents Jesus. But I know my limits. How am I going to design a lion? A lamb? I’m not THAT good. Then I found a few references of a snake in the book of Numbers. Moses made a bronze snake as a way to save Israelites who had been bitten by poisonous snakes after they’d complained. All they had to do was look up to the bronze snake and they were made well. It’s a foreshadowing of Jesus, anyone who looks to him for salvation will be saved. Boom. For my design, a bronze snake it is. See, that’s not so sinister!

In contrast to Good Friday, Easter Sunday is much more of a celebratory day because of the resurrection. My design for this is a lot more simple but still holds a ton of meaning. No body. There’s a double meaning with that word/phrase. For one thing, in the tomb that morning there was literally no body. Jesus came back to life and exited the tomb. The second meaning– nobody– is about all the people that knew his resurrection was coming shortly. Nobody. That’s an exaggeration, actually. Many, many people had hoped he was the Messiah and with hindsight now, it’s a lot more clear. But in the moment, hearts were broken and his followers and disciples were discouraged. They must’ve thought everything they were hoping for and everything they believed was a bust.

But then the “no body” thing comes back into play.

In 2026, there is still no body. I can tell you where Muhammed is buried. I can tell you where Buddha is buried. But I have yet to hear anyone discover the dead body of Jesus. And that really does mean everything.

-Out of the Wilderness

And the winner of American Idol is…

OK, I realize this is not any sort of official voting metric the producers use to determine the winner of the show, but if YouTube views convey anything about the direction voters are going, and I think they do, Hannah is alone at the top at this point in the season (which is right after the first live voting episode). There are currently 14 contestants and the top YouTube clips from the most recent airing are:

Hannah: 295,000

Keyla 185,000

Brooks 147,000

Kyndal 113,000

Hannah and Keyla have been separating themselves from the rest in the last few episodes, and then comes Brooks, then everyone else. It’ll be interesting to see who goes home in the upcoming episode. They originally said they were eliminating 2 and then at the end of Monday’s episode, they said they’d go down to 11. Of course, that supports my theory that American Idol just does whatever they want without really explaining (first it was 2 going home, now it’s 3?) but personal pet peeves aside, I’m a big fan of Brooks winning it all. His voice is mesmerizing no matter what song he sings. Reminds me of how the audience just stopped in its tracks every time Iam Tongi performed on his season.

It might be easier to pick the bottom few singers. Based on performances, YouTube views, and overall vibe… My guess is the following 2 (or 3) to be eliminated are: Julian, Lucas Leon, and Daniel Stallworth.

Who’s your favorite? Comment below!

-Out of the Wilderness

What is American Idol doing??

It’s 2026. A moment in the history of mankind where all of the world’s information is available with a few taps on the phone or computer. Events unfold as people watch in real-time. In fact, with artificial intelligence, FAKE events happen in real-time and look as legitimate as the bird chirping outside my camper this very second. What I’m saying is that in media, nearly anything is possible because of the advancement of technology. So what does American Idol do?

They make viewers wait two weeks to find out the voting results of contestants on the show. Two weeks. That’s 14 days. That’s 336 hours. It takes less time to pick a President (barely). You could travel around the world and be back home in your comfy clothes in that amount of time.

I just don’t get how or why they reverted to an by-gone era this season. There are a few other things I don’t like about the show but the silver lining is Brooks. Remember when he performed a whopping 8 days ago and when Idol airs again, it’ll be 14 days since we’ve seen him? He’s got my vote for #1 because his voice is simply unexplainable. Using YouTube views as a barometer, Hannah is in front, then Brooks and Braden. From the most recent episode, Keyla is standing out from the crowd with her fun performance.

It’s a fine season with a few stars. Not like seasons past but with Brooks, Hannah, Braden, and Keyla, it’s entertaining enough if we ever get to find out the voting results. 🥴

-Out of the Wilderness

American Idol – 10 Perform in Hawaii

I’m not afraid to say that this season of American Idol is not nearly as good as the last couple of seasons. Last night’s episode was… how do I say this… BORING. It’s not that the contestants aren’t talented. They can all sing really well. But none of them stand out. That is, until the last 3 singers of the night took the stage. Hannah then Braden then Brooks. Those were the only the three worth listening to and even Hannah was not super great. I kept wanting her to really let go. Make us believe what you’re singing. She was good but I just didn’t feel moved like I wanted to. Braden, on the other hand, is unassuming but belts out lyrics like it’s the last day on earth. He may surprise us all and make it really far. Brooks, on the OTHER other hand, wouldn’t surprise me at all if he were to become the next American Idol. His voice is so unique, even the judges couldn’t find the perfect words to convey their feelings, although they did a pretty good job of encouraging him and sharing their disbelief in what they were hearing.

Ten more contestants perform some time later– I have no idea if it’s tonight or next week because Idol is not great at communicating to the viewers what the heck is going on– and I have my fingers crossed that the episode won’t be so boring. There’s Philmon, and that gives me hope.

-Out of the Wilderness

McArthur – A Nod To Great Country Music Storytelling

I absolutely love this new song from Hardy (and friends). It features Tim McGraw, Eric Church, and Morgan Wallen. Take a listen then scroll down for more…

As someone on YouTube comments, this is 20/10 storytelling. I’ll admit I didn’t listen to the lyrics the first time I heard the track. But on a recent car ride, I had time and attention for it. And yes, I listened to the song about 5 times in a row. It’s THAT good. Vintage McGraw sound, classic Eric Church, and relatively new (compared to the others), Hardy and Wallen sounded great. Hardy wrote/co-wrote the song while he was at his beach house in Florida. I wonder if that house is on The Forgotten Coast? Hardy, if you’re reading this, pick up some of my one-of-a-kind designs representing the best coast in Florida!

My cool and beachy designs aside, what do you think about the song? Where does it rank in order of best country songs to hit the airwaves in the last few year?

-Out of the Wilderness