just for fun...

christmas (and charlie brown)-inspired artwork... =)

grief, love, and mercy...

my dad

my little sister, my brother, and me...

i've really been missing my dad and my brother lately. i always miss them, but when the holidays come, the ache in my heart for them becomes more intense.

if i'm honest, the last few weeks i've been frustrated with God. even though i love Jesus with all of my heart, i was telling a friend how i go from not wanting to talk to Him at all, to longing for His presence - like a child who is angry at her father, but then, a moment later, happily asks him to spend some time with her.

sometimes things seem so bleak, the world around us so dark, that i find myself questioning things in my heart, even though my mind knows them to be true.

today i read an entry from the advent devotional i've been using for many years. it's called, "the Lord is near," and it has scripture along with excerpts from the writings of one of my favorite authors, henri j.m. nouwen. i'm always surprised (though, i shouldn't be by now), at how God meets me head-on in the midst of my grief, anger, and frustration, with His love and mercy.

the following is what i read today:

Called Back

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

Matthew 9:27

O LORD, all you ask of me is a simple "yes," a simple act of trust so that your choices for me can bear fruit in my life. I do not want you to pass me by. I do not want to be so busy with my way of living, my plans and projects, my relatives, friends and acquaintances, that I do not even notice that you are with me, closer to me than anyone else. I do not want to be blind to the loving gestures that come from your hands, nor deaf to the caring words that come from your mouth. I want to see you as you walk with me and hear you as you speak to me.

Your heart is so full of the desire to love me, so aflame with a fire to warm me. You so much want to give me a home, a sense of belonging, a place to dwell, a shelter where I feel protected and a refuge in which I feel safe. You stand at so many squares and corners of my life and say with so much tenderness, "Come and see, come and stay with me..."

I trust in you, Lord, but keep helping me in my many moments of distrust and doubt. They are there and will be every time I turn my eyes, ears or hands away from you. Please, Lord, keep calling me back to you, by day and by night, in joy and in sadness, during moments of success and moments of failure. Never let me leave you. I know you walk with me. Help me walk with you today, tomorrow and always.

i pray that this speaks Truth to you, as it did to me.

praying for all those wrestling with grief, as well as joy, this christmas season... blessings to you, dear ones...

happy belated thanksgiving!

hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving! wanted to update you on the latest... got the test prints back last week, and i think they look AMAZING! it was SO exciting to walk out of the printers with them in hand, knowing that i'd accomplished one more step towards selling my artwork.

i was sick last week, having caught what my husband was sick with the week before. i'm still recovering, therefore, my productivity has been down regarding photographing my artwork, pricing it, etc. hoping to get this all done SOON! i'll keep you all posted along the way...

thanking God for all of his blessings... which include all of you. =)

don't give up.

a few of my very close friends are going through really difficult things right now... my heart has been burdened for them and their situations... this piece was another way for me to express my love and support to them.

and, once again, God used my art to speak some Truth to me, as well.

much love, dear ones. you will get through this.

choose love.

when i made this piece, i was thinking about two of my great loves... my love of the sky, and my love of mobiles. random, yes. but i like how the combination of the two turned out.

i'm constantly looking up when i'm outside... my friend, anne, is like this, too. "sky-watchers", is what she says we are. so often i'm overwhelmed by the beauty i see up there... day or night, there are glorious things to behold... i find hope and joy in the clouds and in the stars...

and the mobiles... well, they're just fun.

be present.

each and every moment is unique.

be still. be present. listen. learn. grow. heal.

embrace the process.

each little step, each roadblock, each victory, each detour, even each mistake... they are all a part of the journey... embrace the process.

one step...

SHINE.

i've really been amazed at how God has been speaking Truth to me through my art...

don't be afraid to let the true, hidden part of you shine...

trust that there are safe people out there you can be vulnerable with.

there's beauty and light within you... let it shine!

anchor for my soul...

hello, dear friends!

i'm going to do my best to start updating this blog at least once a week. i've been busy the last few weeks with all things creative. rick and i went to ikea and bought some organizational stuff for my "art studio" - a.k.a. formerly, the kitchen table. michaels had a big sale on art supply stuff, so i spent an afternoon there getting a few supplies - SO great! we went to the home depot yesterday to buy some poplar wood for me to paint on. that was a lot of fun. i really do love the home depot. i told rick that i'd love to work there - if i knew how to do anything handy. =)

i've been spending time with God, seeking His will for my life - and for my art... i'm just really thankful to Him for where rick and i are in our lives right now. it's new and exciting - and scary and overwhelming, at times - but it's soooo good. =)

and on top of all of that - i've been making art! asking God to help me find my "creative voice." i've been trying new things - new techniques... and doing my best to enjoy each new step of this journey. (below is one of the pieces i've made in the last few weeks.)

more soon... much LOVE!

the first signs of fall...

don't be afraid...

this is a piece that i made on friday. i used some of the new techniques i recently learned about, and i'm really happy with the way it turned out. the computer cut off part of the right edge where i had the words "trust your love" in the upper right corner, but the rest of the piece scanned pretty well.

when i began working on this on friday morning, i wasn't sure what the final result would be. i smile every time i look at it, because i really think that God was speaking words of Truth and encouragement to me as i made this.

i pray that this brings a little bit of Truth, love, and encouragement into your day. much LOVE!

rise and shine!

my mom was collecting roosters for a while, so i painted her this picture for christmas this past december... i'm thinking i might paint a picture of a cow - since i love them so very much - in this same style some day...



today i'm having a lot of fun trying out some new techniques i read about... i'll post the finished project up here when i'm done. i'm truly overwhelmed by God's goodness to me (and rick's!). i love art so much, and that's what i'm able to do for hours at a time right now. all while drinking coffee and painting in my pajamas. this is the life! much love, my friends!

Truth and grace for today...

i saw this on anne's facebook, and my heart keeps coming back to it...

Each person is given something to do that shows who God is.
1 Corinthians 12:7 MSG

this is Truth. what is that thing for each of us that shows others who God is? or is it not so much the thing itself, but rather us honoring who God has created us to be? our true self?

i haven't worked on any art in a while... my dear friend, rick's aunt, michaella asked me why i thought that was... i told her probably fear and my insecurities. what if people don't like it? what if they don't buy it? mainly - what if people reject what i've created - the expression of my heart?

i talked to anne this morning, and i felt like the Spirit was giving me Truth to speak to her - about how her gift of writing, her heart for prayer are from God, and how the broken people in her life who hurt her and let her down (or are just apathetic to her gifts), should not keep her from doing the things God had put in her heart to do - from being the person God has created her to be.

but, like most times when God gives me Truth to speak to my friends, i think it was Truth for me, too.

when michaella and i were talking the other day, and i expressed my fears to her, she told me that she thinks i should create, and do my art, regardless of whether people will buy it or not... to me, someone buying something i've created is validation. if they don't buy it (or don't respond kindly to it), it's rejection. on the surface, they are rejecting the product. but for anyone who creates from the heart, whether it be music, writing, artwork - it feels like rejection of our true selves.

michaella's point was that if God has put this desire to create in my heart, i need to honor that desire. whether people - whether the world - accepts or approves or validates it is irrelevant. i'm not doing it for them anyways, right? i'm doing it for me - and for Jesus. or at least i was when i first began...

Lord, thank you for speaking your Truth to me today. thank you for your patience, your mercy, and your grace. thank you for dear friends who encourage me. please help me - help all of us - to stay anchored in your love and Truth, in who you have created me and called me to be. protect my heart from false fears and insecurities... guide me always back to You.

a few unexpected visitors...

yesterday was a lovely rainy, stormy day... and a few feathered friends stopped by my little tree outside our apt.

the geese only stayed long enough to let me take a couple pictures and to poop on the sidewalk...

then, i noticed a little green friend on the sidewalk leading up to our apt.

i was amazed at how close he let me get to him to take these pictures...









isn't he gorgeous? i love his gold eyes!
he stayed on my front walk for quite a while... i think he liked the attention i was giving him. he definitely needs a name... something regal and sophisticated... i think i shall call him giovanni. perhaps he's of italian descent. ciao!

a small glimpse of spring in michigan...

i took a few pictures of the tree right outside of our apt. last week. all winter it was bare, and then a few weeks ago, almost over-night, it had the most beautiful pink blooms on it. this past week, the blooms turned into delicate white flowers.

the past few days the wind has blown most of the flowers off the branches... i felt like i was in a fairy-land every time i walked by the tree, white petals swirling around me, landing gracefully in my hair.

sad to say, i didn't get any pictures of it with the white flowers, thinking i still had some time before they would all fall off. last night we had a storm come through, and the wind blew all of the beautiful white blossoms to the ground. my mom said that the blossoms fall off, and then the tree will get berries and new growth. isn't nature amazing? God's creativity constantly overwhelms and inspires me.

the tree with the pink buds on it:

all the white on the ground is petals from the tree:

the tree this morning (with a few white flowers still holding on to the branches after last night's storm):

"dirty dancing" strikes again...

rick's aunt gave us a painting of jesus she bought in poland when she visited there last month. it's about 5 inches wide by 7 inches tall, and it came with little wood pegs (like a stand, so that you can display it).

in our dining room, in the corner between two of the benches at our kitchen table, we have our nativity scene still set up (we kept it up all year in our apt. in austin).

the following conversation took place a few nights ago while discussing where we should put the picture...

michele: well, we could take down our nativity scene - it doesn't HAVE to stay out all year - and we could put the painting in the corner.

rick (in a voice, that i'm guessing was intended to sound like patrick swayze's): nobody puts jesus in the corner!