Jim's Story
One thing I love about how the tattoo culture has grown is that people of all walks of life now proudly wear their ink. It is no longer a form of expression confined to a particular group of people. We tattoo lovers are everywhere!

But even with seeing tattoos on all sorts of people, you can’t help but be at least a little surprised when some people tell you they have a tattoo.

And I had one of these surprises a few weeks ago when I met with my school’s sports information director about an internship I have with the department this semester. In that casual, preliminary meeting, my boss, who had learned just days before that I was into tattoos, told me that the assistant sports information director — Jim — had one.

Jim, who will be 60 in June, says he never had a bad impression of tattoos, in general, though he realized that some people let things “get out of hand” with them. But, with that said, he admits he never thought he would get one.

But that all changed as he neared his 50th birthday.

“When I was turning 50, I wanted to do something different,” he says, “and I tried to think of something unique that I have never done before, so I started thinking about a tattoo.”

After much thought, he came up with the idea for a tattoo of a Christian fish (an “Ichthys”) with a cross and the initials “JC.” With his wife coaching my university’s volleyball team at the time, Jim says he took this idea to one of the players who was artistic, and she drew up the design for his tattoo.

Then, on the evening of his 50th birthday, he went to a tattoo shop in Springfield, Ohio. Jim recalls pulling up to the “interesting place” where a “unique looking guy” was out front on his cell phone. Jim says he went into the shop, and the person at the desk said his tattoo artist should be in soon. Yes, that big guy covered in tattoos who was outside on the phone was Jim’s tattoo artist, who went by the nickname “Inky.” Jim says the tattoo (on his left ankle) hurt, and, at times, he squeezed the arms of the chair he was in, all while his daughter enjoyed taking pictures of the adventure.

Then, sometime after this experience, Jim says he figured he should tell his dad how he celebrated his birthday.

“I wanted to call my dad. Here, he’s a pastor, he’s in his early-seventies, and I had the hardest time calling my dad on the phone,” he says with a bit of a laugh. “It already happened, so it’s not like he could have talked me out of it, but just in a conversation I said, ‘I’ve got something else to tell you: I got a tattoo.’ Dead silence!”

His dad was not mad, just shocked. Jim points out how his large family was accepting of his tattoo, to the point that some others followed in his footsteps, at least he likes to think.

“I would venture to say that I was the first one in our family to get a tattoo,” Jim says, “and there has got to be at least a dozen people that have tattoos in our group of 30 or 35 in our family. I like to think I broke the ice.”

Though Jim says he realizes now his tattoo artist may not have been the best, he has never regretted the tattoo. In addition to having deep significance in terms of his upbringing and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Jim says the tattoo also has family-oriented roots.

He points out that the initials “JC” not only stand for “Jesus Christ” but also for Jim’s initials. Then, his son’s first initial is “J,” and Jim’s daughter’s name starts with a “C.” In addition, his wife, whose name starts with “T,” is represented in the cross. And one day Jim says it struck him that when he covered up part of his tattoo, there was an “A” in the design, which is the first initial of his daughter-in-law and three granddaughters. The only one missing is his son-in-law, whose name starts with “S.”

Jim says he has been thinking about another tattoo, something that would more specifically represent his granddaughters, but he is not sure yet if he will do that or not. But, for now, Jim says he is satisfied being able to share with people about the faith and the family that his ink represents.

I hope you all have enjoyed this story behind the ink. Wherever you are, I hope that you are blessed and that you’ll join me back here next week!

Heidi's Story
Though I have known Heidi for years, we never spent much time together until just recently when she, my sister and I took my year-and-a-half-old niece on a “girls’ night out” to Chuck E. Cheese’s. It was such a great time!

Along with enjoying awesome pizza and playing games, the three of us also spent time talking about tattoos. I have my two, which I have posted about before, and I was happy to feature my sister (Stephanie’s) tattoo a few posts ago, but now it is time to tell you all about Heidi’s.

 

Heidi says that when she was growing up, she never pictured herself getting a tattoo, mainly because she didn’t know many people with tattoos and she was afraid people wouldn’t take her seriously if she had them. Well, one way or either—Heidi wasn’t even sure how to explain what made her take the leap and get her first one—she did get into tattoos, to the point where she now has five along with ideas for future ones.

Heidi’s first tattoo was the Bible reference of Jeremiah 29:11. The verse reads, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” She says that her mom showed her the verse when she was in middle school, and it has been her favorite passage ever since. She got the tattoo when she was a senior in high school, but she says this verse holds even more meaning in her life now that she is out of college and not sure where to go from here. She is trusting God to fulfill this verse in her life.

Later, Heidi added another tattoo on her left ankle, one that represents her love and admiration for her mom. The tattoo is of an “L” for her mom, Lisa (who I featured on my blog back in July), along with an intricate peacock feather. In addition to representing her mom, this tattoo holds special meaning to Heidi because one of her sorority sisters did the tattoo during her apprenticeship.
 

 

Another tattoo that connects Heidi to her sorority sisters is a quatrefoil on her wrist. She says that her sorority was often known as the “tattoo sorority” around campus, because the sisters were so interested in tattoos. She says that many of her sorority sisters now have tattoos that connect them to the sorority as well, whether it be a quatrefoil like Heidi’s or script of the group’s ideals of “love, honor, truth.” Though some think of sororities as being something to do as part of the “college experience”, Heidi said her connection to her “sisters” is much more than that, hence why she would put it on her skin for life.
 

“This just kind of represents my bond with my sisters and how it’s like a lifetime thing and not just four years in college, so I kind of just carry my sisters everywhere,” she said.

Heidi’s tattoo artist friend also did the substantial tattoo on her side. The tattoo is of a quote from Oscar Wilde: “Every saint has a past; every sinner has a future.” She says she got this tattoo because Oscar Wilde is one of her favorite authors, and this quote is especially impactful, speaking to the fact that you don’t always know someone’s story.
 

Heidi’s fifth tattoo is another quote that serves as a good reminder to her. The text is “I will fear no evil” in Latin, which translates to “non timebo mala,” and it is on her back, underneath a shoulder blade. Heidi says she was especially drawn to this quote because of her favorite television show, Supernatural. But, even more than the connection to her favorite show, Heidi said she knows she really has nothing to fear because she has God in her life. She also chose to get the tattoo done in brown ink because it reminds her of henna tattoos, which she is also drawn to.

Like most of the people I have had on this site, Heidi will admit that tattoos are addicting.

“I would be covered in tattoos if it was more socially acceptable,” she said with a laugh. “I’m trying to not go crazy with tattoos, but it’s really hard to stop once you have them. Once you get that first one, you just want to keep on going; you keep getting ideas. I’m going to run out of places to put them soon.”

[Those of you who have tattoos and are reading this are probably sitting there shaking your heads in agreement, while those who still haven’t taken the plunge to get inked probably don’t get the addicting nature of them…not yet, anyway! I know I was content with one tattoo for a handful of months, but then I started thinking of quotes I liked, which led to me considering getting it tattooed, and once you’ve thought about it long enough you can’t help but go and get it done. And, I will admit, I am in that process again, brainstorming what my next one could be.]

Up to this point, Heidi has put all her tattoos in places that can be easily covered for the workplace. Even her likely next tattoo—some design of a gun with flowers around it, to show the strength/empowerment she has received from recently learning how to shoot guns (safely) while remaining effortlessly feminine—will probably be easily hidden on her thigh.

Heidi says that if she finds a job where tattoos are accepted, she may get a sleeve someday. But, as for now, tattoos are not looked upon so favorably in the mainstream professional world. And this negative perception is something that doesn’t make sense; tattoos don’t change people, or, as Heidi says, “They’re part of a person. They tell a story.”

I hope you have enjoyed reading Heidi’s stories, and I plan to be back here next week with another new tattoo story (as it is now required by a class that I update my blog every week!) I can’t wait until next time, and I hope you all come back.

Brittany's Story

I cannot believe how long I have been away from here. Things have just become so crazy hectic off at school, but at least the semester is almost over. It’s unbelievable, though!

Anyway, enough about me. You all came here for a story behind a tattoo, and I have been brainstorming what I would write about this tattoo for a while now. Consider yourselves “warned”: this simple tattoo holds some great deep truths and implications, and I am so excited to delve into it with you all!

It has been amazing for me to feel God’s guidance in my life, bringing class lectures, chapel messages, personal reflections on tough situations and this tattoo of a friend all into my life to grow me as a person. Though I love tattoos, I love people a ton more, so if God could use what I write to encourage someone or change someone for the better, I would be overjoyed.

So, this tattoo belongs to my friend Brittany. I met her just a few months ago when school started because we have a class together. We clicked early in the semester because she and I are very similar in that we both have strong desires to be stay-at-home moms and we both are captivated by tattoos!

 

A little background on her: She grew up in a pretty conservative household where tattoos were often associated with “bad people,” with the exception of her uncle who had some. But as she grew up and started interacting with Christian peers at school who wanted tattoos as well as listening to some pastors who had them, she said she realized tattoos could be a positive thing. So senior year of high school, she and some of her guy friends decided that they would all get tattoos after they graduated. Brittany said the guys all chickened out, but she didn’t; she got a tattoo that she had been thinking and praying about for a while, one she knew would be “timeless” in its relevance and truth.

Her tattoo is the transliteration of the Hebrew word for “jealous,” which is “qanna” (spelled “קַנָּא” in Hebrew and pronounced “kan-naw”). In Exodus 34:14 this word is used as a name for God in a commandment to the Israelites (and it stands true for believers today), reading, “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

For those reading this verse apart from the context of the entire Bible, it may be awkward or confusing. For those who read the Bible—Old and New Testaments—in context of the whole, they can see that the Bible is a redemptive love story. It begins with man (and woman) in a beautiful fellowship with God (Genesis 1-2) before Adam and Eve act out of selfish ambition and disobey God (Genesis 3); but even amid this bad decision, which led to a break in man’s relationship with God, God made a promise of restoration (Genesis 3:15), and the rest of Scripture follows that path toward God bringing humanity back to Himself, chronicling the failures of man in light of the great love, grace and mercy of God. Therefore, for Brittany, I and (hopefully) all other Christ-followers the declaration that God is a jealous God—an infinite, relational being who, in His love, is jealous of us giving more love and honor to anyone but Him—is awe-inspiring.

If you are still struggling to see how jealousy could be a positive thing, I totally understand it’s a concept that is not seen much in society. But think about it: emotions, in themselves, are neither good nor bad; rather, emotions carry the potential for either a good or a bad response. But it is our choice how we respond. For an example, something could make me extremely happy, but is that always a good thing? Couldn’t I do something selfish, harmful and/or inconsiderate due to my happiness?

(Are you still following me?...just checking! I know I’m getting deep here, but I believe this concept is so important to consider, because it could impact all our relationships with all the people we care about.)

So—with all that said—though jealousy often precedes horribly selfish acts in human society, the jealousy that God exhibits is not like that at all. His jealousy is a perfect, righteous jealousy that leads Him to selfless, sacrificial responses. This truth is seen all throughout Scripture, and one of my favorite representations of it is in the book of Hosea.

Basically, in that book of the Bible, God calls one of his prophets, Hosea, to establish a marriage that would mimic God’s marriage-like commitment to and love for His “bride,” the people of Israel. Though Hosea’s wife is unfaithful (just as the Israelites had been to God at that time, worshipping other gods), God tells Hosea to pursue his wife and legitimately buy her back out of the prostitution she had sold herself into. Hosea did all this, not out of his own desire, but out of God working in a mysterious way to show His love for His people. God lays out His own plan to bring His people (referred to as “her” and “you” in the passage) back to Himself in the second half of Chapter 2, saying:

“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. … In that day…you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’… I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord. … I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’” (Hosea 2:14, 16, 19-20, 23)

So God, who created each and every one of us, is jealous for us; and, with that, He is pursuing us constantly. I love how Brittany summarized what having the word “qanna” on her wrist means to her. She said:

“For me, it’s a personal reminder that I’m always loved and I’m always being pursued because He is jealous of me. God is not just flippant like, ‘oh, yeah, I kind of like you, so I’m going to save you;’ no, it’s like ‘if you give anyone else more attention than you give me, then I’m coming after you,’ not in a wrathful way, but in an ‘I love you,’ ‘I’m not letting you get off this easy’ type of thing.”

I know that none of us will be able to love others perfectly as God loves people, but what an ideal to strive for! Wouldn’t society be so different if people weren’t so prone to giving up on each other, if people would sacrifice to love others, if people would look more seriously into God’s Word in order to try to emulate His perfectly expressed emotions. Anyway, even though there is more I would love to say, I’ll leave you with that.

I hope you have a blessed week. Please let me know what you think in the comments below. And if what I have said has struck you and you would like to learn more about God’s love and His plan of restoring a personal relationship with you, please visit the link below to read directly from God's Word (made available in several languages):
http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/

Jane's Story
Finally, I am back on here. I cannot even begin to describe how crazy this week has been with schoolwork, assignments for my internship and outside distractions that have left me speechless and really considering what is important in life. And all through this past week, I have thought about the two tattoos that I am going to tell you about, because they are inspirational, impacting the way I look at life in this world.

First off, let me reintroduce you to my friend, Jane, who was the second person that I ever posted about on this blog. She is now up to 14 tattoos (I believe), and I just can’t get over the beauty and the importance that each tattoo holds.

But her two latest tattoos are probably some of my favorite, the one because it is inspiring with its boldness (in look and in message) and the other because of the humility it represents.

One of the tattoos Jane added is a branch of steel magnolias, which stands out with crazy detail (including some hints of white ink). Then to accompany the flowers, Jane added the text “Live boldly and bloom.” She said that, at first, when she was conceptualizing her tattoo, she was hesitant to add text because she already has a lot of script (so some people were joking that she could become a walking quote). But Jane loves texts (as do I), so she finally decided on “Live boldly and bloom,” which she sees as embodying who she is.

She said this aspect of the tattoo representing who she is as a whole sets her new tattoo apart from others, which have been inspired by other people or particular points in Jane’s life. However, the idea for having steel magnolias be a part of the tattoo came about from Jane reading the book “Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild” by Mary Kassian. While reading through this book with our friend, Amy, Jane was struck by a quote about steel magnolias. Kassian wrote: “The steel magnolia melds beauty with perseverance, softness with backbone, delicacy with durability, sweetness with stamina.” What a great representation of the women God calls His “daughters” to be!

The other tattoo, that so perfectly represents appropriate meekness, is a “greater than” symbol on Jane’s wrist, with the open end by her palm. Underneath the symbol are the Bible references for John 3:30 and Philippians 2:3. To paraphrase, these verses say “Christ must increase and I must decrease” and “consider others greater than yourself,” respectively.

Jane said that these passages are such great reminders in her life because she is studying to go into social work. With that, she will help many people that are considered to be in low places in general society’s eyes. Nonetheless, Jane knows that as a believer in the redemptive work of Christ her Lord and Savior, she is to consider those people better than herself and show them the love of Christ, if not explicitly then implicitly in her love for them. And with that, in order to have the sensitivity and wisdom to love people appropriately, Jesus Christ and all the qualities He embodies must grow in Jane’s life and any selfish desires or misconceptions of people must fade away.

Now for the story behind her tattoo experience itself:

Over the summer, before coming back to school, Jane made an appointment to get these two tattoos. She went to a shop she had not been to before, one that was recommended to her when she commented on the tattoo of someone she ran into at her workplace (and she said that it is rare for her to comment on someone else’s tattoo!...I bet she’s glad she did on this occasion, though). When she initially called the shop, she learned that the tattoo artist she had been referred to was booked up for the month; but this artist had an apprentice who was available. What struck Jane (and me…and others, I’m sure): this apprentice is a girl!

Jane said that she went in and looked at numerous portfolios of the apprentice, Laci, and decided to go ahead with it. This experience was different because with Laci being an apprentice, Jane had to sign off on paperwork, saying that she was aware Laci was an apprentice, which Jane said was kind of nerve-wrecking.

Jane said that Laci did really well, but she took a little longer than a more experienced tattoo artist. However, Jane said that in comparison with other tattoo artists she has had, Laci had a more gentle touch. (And at the bottom of the post I put a link to an article I found about female tattoo artists and how their typically gentle touch could be an advantage to them in the field!) Also, Jane said how she appreciated how talkative Laci was. Along with having a female artist for the first time, Jane experienced another first: getting color (white). Lastly, Jane said that pricewise this tattoo experience was “phenomenal,” because tattoo apprentices cannot charge full price for tattoos. There are some things to consider if you ever plan on getting a tattoo!

I hope you all appreciated these tattoos and stories as much as I did, and let me know what you think about Jane’s tattoos or female tattoo artists. If things don’t get too crazy around here, I hope to be back blogging next week. Thank you all for reading. Have a great week!

[Here is the link to the article I mentioned: http://columbianewsservice.com/2010/04/as-tattoo-artists-do-women-have-the-upper-hand/ ]

Stephanie's Story


I am so excited to share this story behind the ink with you, because it revolves around two of the people I am closest to — my sister, Stephanie, and her daughter, Addison.

As I’ve shared before, my sister, two of our friends and I all grew up drawing temporary tattoos on each other, and that time in our life must have been influential because now we all have tattoos.

Stephanie (or Steph, as a lot of people call her) was the last in this group to get a tattoo; she got hers this past weekend for her birthday, and I was happy to be home on Labor Day break so I could share the experience with her.

She says that she first knew she wanted to get a tattoo when she was 13, but it was only about a year and a half ago that she started laying the framework for what she really wanted; she knew she wanted it to pertain to love, because, at that time, she was expecting my beautiful niece Addison (or Addi).

What Steph finally decided on getting was an infinity symbol with the word “love” written in the bottom right quadrant of it, which I think has a pretty self-explanatory meaning. Then she personalized the tattoo by adding Addison’s name and birthday above the left side of the symbol.

Because the story of Steph’s tattoo basically tells itself, I would like to tell you all about her tattoo experience (which I got to experience right beside her).

The one thing that stood out about Steph’s experience in both of our minds was the fact that she had a female tattoo artist. Steph’s tattoo artist pointed out that though the industry has been notoriously dominated by men, girls today may have more opportunities than she initially did because women have earned their ranks in the business. This is seen in one of the most famous female tattoo artists (in America, anyway), Kat Von D, being seen on the reality television shows Miami Ink and, more recently, LA Ink. (If you are interested in checking out her highly acclaimed work, here is the link to her site: http://www.katvond.net/ …and I would definitely recommend reading her bio; it’s super interesting!)

A picture of Steph's tattoo artist hard at work.

Aside from being able to relate with her tattoo artist on the level of being a woman as well as a mom, Steph had an overall good experience. She says the first prick of the needle was less painful than she had expected, but as the needle moved more toward her stomach (and other little spots that are more sensitive) it got pretty painful, but she handled it like a champ. In fact, it oddly enough made me think back to her 34-hour long labor that she handled with grace just a little over a year ago.

And with that in mind, Steph says that her favorite part of her tattoo experience was being able to show the tattoo to the little expressive, loving bundle of joy it is for — Addi. Addi is such a smart baby that I don’t think it will take her long to learn that the tattoo is going to be there forever.

Side note: little kids blow my mind with the things they can pick up on both cognitively and socially. I know that may sound really random to some of you, but for those of you who don’t know me personally you have to understand that I absolutely love children, and I have especially loved watching how both of my nieces and my nephew have interacted with my tattoos...that and I'm taking a course in Child and Adolescent Development right now and we talked about the incredible capabilities of newborns in class today. It all just makes me so excited for the day when I will have kids of my own to get inked for!

Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed this story behind the ink and will join me next week as I talk about my friend, Jane, who recently added to her impressive “resume” of tattoos, with what I believe are her 13th and 14th tattoos. Thanks for reading; I’d love to know what you think, so feel free to leave a comment below!

Heather's Story
A couple weeks ago I blogged about Lisa, the mother of three who now has three tattoos. And after I got her story up, her daughters especially were interested in telling me the stories behind their ink. So now things have finally settled down with heading back to college and stuff that I get to tell you all Heather's tattoo stories.

Heather says that when she was younger she was not a huge fan of tattoos. But after seeing her friends and both siblings get them, she decided it was her turn.

The first tattoo she got was an Italian flag on her foot, because she is half Italian (on her dad's side). And when her maternal grandmother saw this tattoo she insisted Heather get something for the other side of her family, so she added the shamrock for her Irish roots. Not only is Heather's love for her biological family represented in her ink, but also her love for and acceptance of members of her distant family. She added the Slovakian flag into her foot tattoo for her mom's boyfriend's roots, because he has been a significant figure in her life for years. And after that, she added the Puerto Rican flag for her cousin's wife who is not accepted by some members of Heather's extended family.

 

After she finished her foot tattoo she got the Scripture reference for Isaiah 40:31 because she says she has been through a lot. This verse talks about how when believers in God are burdened they can go to the Lord, and He will renew their strength, so they may "run and not grow weary...walk and not faint" (in especially the spiritual sense). Heather says that this verse is so relevant to her life because she is very involved in sports, so she can definitely relate with  feeling worn down. So with that feeling in mind, she (and many others) find great encouragement in the analogy the author of the Scripture passage puts forth when he says that with our Lord we can carry on, even when this world's "logic" says we should be defeated; we can believe in something greater than ourselves, something more! (And is there any better expression of belief in that hope than getting it put in permanent ink on your body?!)

I hope you all have enjoyed hearing those stories behind the ink, and maybe this blog has worked to even challenge or encourage some of you out there. I would love to hear from you in the comments below! Thanks for reading. I'll be back here next week with some more edifying tattoos that have really impacted my way of looking at life. Have a great week, everyone!

Sara's Story
Sara, her sister Lindsey, my sister Stephanie, and I all grew up loving tattoos—and that is obvious with Sara having four, Lindsey (featured in my post on March 11) and I each having two, and Stephanie planning to get her first in a few months. So since I have already shared my and Lindsey’s stories, I figured it is now time to tell you Sara’s!

Though the four of us girls started drawing temporary tattoos on one another from an early age, Sara really knew she wanted a tattoo when she was in high school. She says a lot of this decision came from her exposure to tattoos with her brother and guys in the fire department she served in. But she knew she had to wait until she was out of the house and able to pay for her tattoos on her own.

So, while down in Pensacola, Florida, for training, she got her first tattoo, an extensive piece on her side with flowers representing each one of her family members. The first sitting for the tattoo took two and a half hours, then she went back the next day for color and shading which took another two and a half hours—hardcore for a first tattoo! She says that this tattoo means everything to her because it represents her family, so it is her favorite by far.

Her next tattoo was also related to her family, in that she got it with Lindsey when Lindsey visited Sara in Japan. The tattoo is of a cherry blossom, an 18 (because they are 18 months apart in age), and the Japanese symbols for “older sister” (whereas Lindsey’s says “younger sister”) on her hip.

Sara's hip tattoo...



...Lindsey's hip tattoo!

Likewise, her third tattoo is for another family member that had a significant influence on her—her grandmother. Sara’s grandmother gave her a cross necklace when she was younger. And after breaking the chain six or seven times, Sara decided to put the pendant on her dog tags. Then about a year ago, she put the replica of that cross in permanent ink! Along with the tattoo being special, Sara says that she also really enjoyed the experience of getting this tattoo; first, it was in her/our hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, and, second, because the artist she went to had also served in the U.S. Navy in Japan, so they had lots to talk about.

Lastly, her fourth tattoo is also for someone—her fiancé, James. They decided that though they wanted tattoos together, they wanted to get something silly, not so serious yet. So, because they were stationed in Japan together at the time, they got Digimon characters, with Sara’s character being the mate of the one James has on his arm.

Along with the four she already has, Sara says she does have at least two tattoos in the works! One tattoo she is thinking of is a scorpion with swirled lines in the background, because James’ sign is Scorpio and Sara’s is Aquarius. Secondly, she is hoping to get her rate in the Navy—a pair of wings with a parachute coming up from it. As of now, all her tattoos have come from different tattoo shops, and she is thinking about continuing that trend because she says it is pretty cool.

I hope you all enjoyed those stories behind the ink. I would love to hear what you think in the comments below. Thanks for reading!