Just Thinking: 95 doodles to noodle over by Jason Bouwman (Grimsby, ON: Jason Bouwman Illustration, 2017). Available from www.justthinkingbook.com for $14.95 CDN.
Reviewed by Peter H. Holtvlüwer
I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Jason Bouwman shows why his company is called Compass Creative because in this little volume he has creatively come up with a new concept: to blend the art of journaling, sketching, and whiteboard presentation together with devotional thoughts. The result is a book of “word doodles” which transforms common worldly sayings into uncommon heavenly wisdom.
Visual Appeal
Right from the front cover through to the last page, what strikes you is the eye-catching illustrations, Bouwman’s bread and butter. He is passionate about art but even more passionate about serving Christ. He has served as an elder in his local church (Covenant Canadian Reformed Church of Grassie, ON) and by God’s grace he loves to help people serve the Lord. All of these passions come together in the striking diagrams, sketches and word arrangements in Just Thinking.
The effect of the doodles is hard to explain – you really need to see the book to grasp the concept and message. They are carefully thought out and present a gospel message you can ponder throughout the day. Let me try to offer one example: On one white page is a single word in bold, black typed letters: “Imperfect.” Then, scrawled by hand in red ink above the word is the expression, “In Christ,”. Next you see a red vertical dashed line appearing between the “Im” and the “perfect” along with a tiny red apostrophe to make the first two letters the new contraction “I’m”. The result is arresting: what began as a sober statement about oneself as being “Imperfect” (which is true but only half the story for Christians) becomes a joyful confession of faith “In Christ I’m perfect” (which is the complete and wonderful truth for believers!). All of this is accomplished by Bouwman’s thoughtful creative play with everyday words and expressions.
Journaling
In combination with these doodles, the author offers a running commentary that threads the 95 illustrations together. The journaling (as he calls it) is a mixture of Bouwman’s own thoughts on the issues of life and quotations from a variety of people – Christians, non-Christians, famous and unknown, and even an imaginary character (Yoda)! Plenty of Scripture is also quoted and put to good use.
Bouwman’s basic purpose is to hold a magnifying glass to everyday sayings, to weigh them carefully on the scales of biblical teaching. He is concerned that our words, axioms and idioms – often used carelessly – become in effect our practical theology. Many times we don’t even realize what’s happening. We may confess one thing in church but by our daily expressions we show that we live out a different confession at work, home and school. Jason works hard in this book to have us analyze our every-day talk and do better at lining up our thoughts, words and deeds with what God teaches so that we more and more live out the reality of the grace-filled gospel of Jesus Christ.
Devotional
This book is designed to work as a devotional too. On the bottom of every other page (on average) can be found references to the Bible (and sometimes the Reformed confessions) for further reading. These are intended to lead the reader to deeper reflections on the truths Bouwman writes about on the page above. In checking several of these, the chosen texts seemed quite appropriate. I did notice some unevenness in the selections: sometimes only one single verse is cited and other times whole chapters and psalms. Psalm 119 is even mentioned twice. That kind of lengthy recommendation may be a bridge too far for some.
Jason Bouwman is to be commended for offering us a very thoughtful, grace-filled book. Teenagers, young adults and every thinking Christian would benefit from reading and pondering Just Thinking. Couples or families might look at a doodle or two together and discuss its meaning. It’s something to take along for campfire conversation this summer. There’s a fun aspect to this book but the fun leads us to serious, edifying reflection on how we speak and live the gospel in real life. Very worthwhile and warmly recommended!
[This review of Just Thinking first appeared in Clarion magazine]