My tattoo story

What possess' a person to have needles intentionally pressed into their skin to create scarred tissue that is marked with color??!!!

Well I guess someone that wants to illustrate the beauty of art on their skin!

Ok, let me just preface this. I am speaking ONLY for myself. I am not preaching to the masses nor trying to change any ones mind on the appropriateness of getting "skin art." That being said, let me tell you the story of how I came to want and get a tattoo.

I have always liked the way certain tattoos look and how I view the individual that got them.

I love symbolism. It was seen back in Jesus' time with the Ictus. Where you saw the symbol, you could find Christians worshiping. So what does the bible say about Tattoos?

27 “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
28 “‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
29 “‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness." (Leviticus 19:27-29) New International Version © 2010

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates," (Deuteronomy 11:18-20)
New International Version © 2010 (NIV)

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;" (1 Corinthians 6:19)

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27)

I won't go into exegesis of these verses unless specifically asked, these are the verses that people often bring up when discussing this topic. I encourage everyone that has this conversation to do their own research and context to these verses to be knowledgeable prior to forming an opinion. My heart is unconvicted by my choice.

There were a couple of criteria that must be met before I got a tattoo.

• First, I must be certain for over a year or more that I want a tattoo and the location of it.
• Secondly, I must be able to see it. I did not want to get something that only others could see. I felt that was pointless.
• And thirdly, the art has to be symbolic to my life and struggles, not something picked out of a random tat book that just looked cool.

My heart was set and I was ready.

I decided on getting "There is Hope" in the Hebrew writing

I choose this phrase and the language from my Christian perspective.

My "Hope" comes from Jesus Christ. And the discussion of Hope that Christ would have had

with others while here on earth would have been in the Hebrew language.

Therefore I wanted the reference of Hope that also correlated with my faith in Christ to be "tied on my hand" as stated in Deuteronomy 11:18.

The second image that I desired is a Cherry Blossom.

This image has significance in the Japanese and Chinese culture.

For the Chinese it is a symbol of power, feminine beauty, and Love.
The Japanese Cherry Blossom is a very delicate flower that blooms for a very short time. It emphasizes that life is short and we need to not take ourselves so seriously, to enjoy the moments, and to focus on our eternal life instead of our earthly one. Both cultures see this flower as being symbolic of renewal and Spring. Which again translates to HOPE!

So there is why I got what I got. Now let me tell you how it happened!

Ryan one day a couple of weeks ago told me we were going to spend time alone without the kids. He started driving to Columbia city, I honestly didn't have a clue what was going on. We arrive at a tattoo parlor, but it's closed. Turns out this is the place that Ryan got his tattoos 17 years ago. At that point I was so excited to get it done that he looked up a random tattoo place and set up an appointment that night. When I called my friend Cortney to tell her what we were doing, she explained that was the same place she got hers done at, so it was confirmed that this place was good. I invited her and her husband to come with us later that night.

I was nervous of course, the idea of having needles pressed into my skin did not seem appealing.

Once Kris (the tattoo artist) got started on my foot, I told Ryan and Cortney to hold my leg down, because every time Kris hit a nerve my foot would twitch. Pretty funny if I wasn't in so much pain.

Well it took an hour to finish my foot.

Then he started on my wrist.

I have to say that the foot hurt worse than the wrist, but

both was not pleasant.

So that's my story of a life changing choice!