Sunday's Art Reflection - doves

Hello Friends,

I have another art reflection for you today. These are two doves I painted, the first in 2008 (my first year of painting) and the second in 2009.

This first painting (2008) was done in acrylics with some Island dirt thrown in for texture. I was struggling with how to show light and shadow so there are many layers as I worked and re-worked this painting.

The second is a mixed media of Prisma pencils, colour sticks, black pen and (very little) acrylic paint. The orientation seems rather awkward to me and it is rather flat. I remember putting the planting lady in as an after thought. But this is part of my art journey. I want to reflect on my mistakes as well as what I got right.

Thanks for stopping by. I am so glad you did. What do you find to be problem areas in your art? Are you afraid to show anyone your mistakes, past or present? Dear One, mistakes are important parts of your learning process and do not define who you are. According to your Creator you are: 

BEAUTIFUL & LOVED

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Sunday's Art Reflection - Weird Fish

Hello Friends,

I have another art reflection for you today. This one is an oil pastel from August 2008, seven years ago. That was the year I began doing art.

Thanks for visiting.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

You are beautiful and you are loved.

Sweet Fragrance

Hello Friends,

My meditation was on 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 this morning. I love how it is worded in the Amplified Bible, a translation I found at Bible Gateway.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere,

¹⁵ For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:

¹⁶ To the latter it is an aroma [wafted] from death to death [a fatal odor, the smell of doom]; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is qualified (fit and sufficient) for these things? [Who is able for such a ministry? We?]

Water colour pencils and paint

As it states in verse 16 - Who could ever qualify for such a ministry? Certainly not me. Yet, it is what he has ordained. As I take in Christ, I breathe him out and he becomes the fragrance that I carry. I weep as I think of it. Like Mary, I want to take that precious ointment and pour it over Jesus. I want to "exhale onto God" that sweet fragrance of Christ that I have been given.

I loved the Amplified version of verse 15 so much I made it into a word art file so I could share it with you.

Thank you for visiting me today. I hope you have found some inspiration here. I would like to leave you with a message that I know is from the heart of God.

You are beautiful and you are loved.

Blessing hugs,

Teresa

An Inspiring Video

Hello friends,

I would like to share this video about PERSPECTIVE - the word I have been mulling over in the last few weeks.

Enjoy and be inspired.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Send Me

Hello Friends,

Yesterday I did a meditation* on Isaiah 6, where the prophet has a vision of the Almighty on the throne in his temple. The key words I highlighted and focused my thoughts on were "the whole earth is full of his glory".

Mixture of water colour media

There are many terrible things in our world, but that does not change the truth of "the whole earth is full of his glory". I asked the Lord to show me his PERSPECTIVE (my new word lately) as I look upon my world.

That is how my meditation* began, but it changed course partway through.

I use a devotional bible, which means there are non-scripture pages throughout on which I can do art without worries of covering up the text. The facing page of Isaiah 6 is one of those so I started by preparing my page with white Gesso. I only added one coat so much of the text is visible. I started by highlighting, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

As I continued with my art, while thinking about the verse, the words "SEND ME" kept drawing my attention and stayed with me for the rest of the day. They are with me now.

Mixed water colour media

Send me. Two simple words with powerful meaning. How much trust does it take to say that, not knowing where God will send me? I have said it before and he sent me to this beautiful island that I love. So why am I hesitant to say it again?

I don't like to travel. Actually traveling is not a problem. I don't mind driving long distances as long as there are frequent stops; a rocking train chugging along its tracks can lull me to sleep; and I love the being-fired-out-of-a-slingshot feeling of flying in a jet. What I don't like is being away from home. I enjoy having my familiar things around me - my favourite chair, my favourite mug, my art supplies and my pets.  So... SEND ME is hard to say.

But I said it, as I went for a walk last night. We both knew that I said it half-heartedly. But I trust him. I do. I trust him enough to say "send me" even though I want to stay right where I am. I trust him enough to say it, even though I don't want him to do it.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I am so glad you are here. I hope you will know that there is a God whom you can trust. He understands your fears, your struggles and your misgivings. And he says to you, "You are beautiful and you are loved."

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

*Meditation: For me, this simply means to focus on, think about and pray about a thing. Doing art in my bible helps me to meditate on certain scriptures and search out their meanings. It begins a dialogue with God where I am in a listening mode as I do the art.

PERSPECTIVE

Hello Friends,

At the beginning of 2015 I signed up for two groups at His Kingdom Come - "Take Me Deeper" and "Logos 365".

Take Me Deeper is a weekly art devotional study, designed to take its participants into a deeper experience of God's written word, the bible. The premise of Logos 365 is that each participant prays and asks God to give her a private word for the year, something he speaks directly to her heart and that she will explore throughout the year.

The thing is my word keeps changing every 2-3 months. For the last few weeks the word the Lord keeps speaking to my heart, and one that keeps coming to my attention through various means, is "PERSPECTIVE". This week's scripture study at Take Me Deeper fell right into that realm, so I did my art pages on both Philippians 4:8 and "Perspective".

I used The Passion Translation for my verse.

"So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always." (Philippians 4:8 TPT)

For my previous art page in this book I had cut out a circle to reveal a clock, which is on the opposing page. I drew another circle around it and wrote the word PERSPECTIVE clockwise, literally.

I used calendar and magazine cut-outs, letter stamps and word stencils on the opposite page, which also contains the aforementioned clock.

I cut this bird and heart from an old calendar. I enhanced them a bit with markers.

This pigeon I drew, painted and cut out. The butterfly behind it is from the same old calendar as my other bird and the clock is a magazine cut-out.

Some of you know the saga of my two rescued pigeons - Grace and Love. Grace hurt her wing during the first night in their shelter when an unexpected storm broke out. She is not able to fly because of it, but Love can fly very well. Whenever she is out, Love stays close by. I opened the cage to give him some free time before yesterday morning and closed it again until I was able to come outside for my daily Pigeon Patrol. He didn't come back - all day. We left the shelter open last night, hoping he would return early in the morning. Morning came and went. Grace came down on her own and spent the day on the ground. Over the weekend Terry built her a ladder of sorts so she could get back to the shelter on her own. Today she actually used it. I was thrilled.

And about a half hour after Grace found her way back into the shelter, guess who showed up? Love never fails. :)

Thanks for visiting my blog today. I hope you were inspired or even a little entertained. And, as always, I hope you know that you are beautiful and you are loved.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Link-ups:
Art Journal Journey - Time
Paint Party Friday - art
Word Art Wednesday - anything goes
His Kingdom Come - Philippians 4:8

Sunday's Art Reflection - Haiti Earthquake

Hello Friends,

I am back for another Sunday's Art Reflection - a walk through some of my first art pages.

On January 12, 2010 there was a devastating earthquake in Haiti. I did this page in chalk pastels in response.

The small hand reaching out was inspired by the children in my church who sincerely, some with tears, prayed for the people and brought offerings to help send aid to them. Along the fingers I wrote:

"Love reaches those who suffer."

Thank you for joining me today for Sunday's Art Reflection.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Link-ups:
Paint Party Friday - art

Four Little Words

Hello Friends,

The Take Me Deeper theme at His Kingdom Come for August is thankfulness. I did a little art in my bible with water colour pencils and Gelatos to highlight Week One's scripture portion. This kind of art is not really about the art. It is about me remembering how the Lord spoke to me through his word.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)

It's interesting to me that just before Paul talks about not being anxious he says, "The Lord is near".

Why are those four little words so easy to miss? It reminds me of when my son made macaroni and cheese for the first time and it turned out a soupy mess.

I asked him, "Didn't you drain it?"

"Drain it?" he said, "It didn't say to drain it."

"Go and read the box." He left and then returned with the yellow and blue box in hand.

"One little word," he complained. "Just one little word."

One little word: Drain. Four little words: The Lord is near. Yet they are so easy to skip over.

I can easily become a soupy mess, a watered-down version of the victorious Jesus-follower I was designed to be, when I forget those four little words: The Lord is near.

At present we are without a vehicle and have been for over a month. Where we live, having our own transportation is very important. But I am thankful for the wonderful neighbours the Lord has given to us - four different ones who allow us to borrow their cars or give us rides. I rejoice that our need has caused us to connect with people on our street in deeper friendship than previously. None of these people are church attenders, yet they are lending us their vehicles so we can get to church.

"Let your gentleness be evident to all."


It is easy to be cranky and irritable when I am feeling anxious, but sincere thankfulness is excellent soil from which gentleness can spring forth. It is all about the Peace that transcends human understanding. That is Gods part. When we rejoice, thank and trust, he guards our hearts and minds with supernatural peace.

"Do not be anxious about anything".

Our Father knows we need a vehicle. He is not anxious about it. But I believe he is enjoying this time and wants us to enjoy it too.

He is walking with us through our neighbourhood. He is sitting with us as we chat with our neighbours or as they help Terry with his home projects. Since he cant take impromtu trips into town, Terry is finding more things to do at home, out working in our garage. Two neighbours helped him to make a stand for our church which will hold our worship flags and scarves. Of course they asked him to explain what it is for.

Cars are important and God hasnt forgotten that we are in need of one, but people are more important. We have a need. The Lord is near and he will meet it. Our neighbours have needs. The Lord is near and he longs to meet their needs too. Receiving so many kindnesses from them has put that longing in our hearts as well. For that we are thankful. To see their needs met - for that, we will rejoice.

Four little words. Remember them.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. I pray you know that the Lord is near to you. You are beautiful and you are loved.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Paint Party Friday - art
Word Art Wednesday - anything goes
His Kingdom Come - TMD August Week One

The Voice of the Lord

Hello Friends,

Recently an online friend suggested that I try to paint a lion. I did this drawing in my bible with water colour pencils as a practice. I actually traced the basic outline into my bible with carbon paper. Then I went over my traced lines and also added detail with my water colour pencils. The photo I used was shot by Glennis Weston and submitted to Paint My Photo for artist members to use. If you are a member, you can see the photo here. If you want to become a member, you can sign up here.

This morning I came back to meditate on the scriptures which were my focus when I did my drawing, the verses I had originally highlighted in blue. (Ps.28:6;29:11) This morning I dove in a little deeper and what struck me was the repeated, "the voice of the Lord" in Psalm 29.

"The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.

The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.

The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare.

And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"

(Psalm 29:3-10)

Psalm 30 goes on to talk about the Lord bringing restoration, strength and healing to his people and "turning their mourning into dancing".

It wasn't until I read Psalm 30 that I remembered the person who suggested I should paint a lion told me that the Lion was roaring. Now, when he first told me that I wasn't too keen on the idea. Several times over the last year I have seen a lion, in my mind's eye, as I have been praying or worshiping. The Lion has always been friendly to me; at times I could almost feel his fur caressing my face. Now I realize that they are not two different lions.

The Lion that shows me his face is all gentleness, comfort and love toward me. But when that same Lion faces my enemies, when he gets between me and the things that beat me down, that is when HE ROARS. And HIS ROAR is mighty because he is defending his beloved child - me.

Jesus has been referred to in scripture as "the Lion of Judah" who breaks every chain. He is mighty and fierce because He is driven by love. His love is for you for you ARE beautiful and you ARE loved.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Sunday's Art Reflection - Ministers of Reconciliation

Hello Friends,

A while back I discovered an old art journal - my first - and a few weeks ago I started sharing pages from it on a weekly post I call "Sunday's Art Reflection".

Today's reflection brings me to a difficult but also beautiful time. On February 24, 2009 my sister passed from this life into the next. I got to spend the last few hours with her.

Cathy had been battling cancer for quite some time. One day my niece's boyfriend called to tell us that she had taken a turn for the worst. I arranged a flight and set out almost immediately for Ontario. Because of geographical distance, I hadn't seen Cathy for several years. I was shocked to see the emaciated little woman who lay in the hospital bed.

But she obviously recognized me. Her eyes widened in pleased surprise. I asked if we could have one of our old-time non-sleeping sleepovers and she smiled - she actually smiled - and said "yes". My niece said it was the first word she had uttered in days.

My niece and nephews left the hospital for some much-needed respite and I settled in to spend the night with my dear sister.

At one point I said, "I know you have been mad at Jesus for a long time Cathy, but he wants you to know that he loves you and he forgives you." Tears flowed from her eyes as she nodded.

I sang "Amazing Grace" and she tried to sing along, tears streaming down her face. Peace smoothed the furrows in her face and soon she slept. Within a few short hours she slipped peacefully away.

2 Corinthians 5 states that we are ministers of reconciliation. Christ Jesus came to show us the love of the Father, to offer himself as the final sacrifice for all the sins of the world, rose from the dead and was seen by more than 500 people, ascended to the Father in Heaven, and sent his Holy Spirit to remain on the earth until he returns, all for one ultimate purpose -- to reconcile his children, his most  precious creation unto himself. The bible (2 Peter 3:9) says that he is not willing that anyone should perish but that everyone would come to know him.

It was difficult to see my dear sister suffering and dying from a terrible disease, but it was a joy to reconcile her to God and to see peace overtake the fear that had ravaged her face. I know I will see her again and we will have an eternity of non-sleeping sleepovers.

I drew this picture on the plane and while in Ontario, using Prisma colour pencils. I added acrylic paint later at home. This page was separate from my art journal, but since it was around the same time period, I wanted to add it in.

 I cut around the portrait...

...created a background in my journal, and pasted it in. Then I added my wording around the image --  including Psalm 34:18. "The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." and the date of my sister's death at the bottom.

Going through my old art pages was sometimes difficult, but very healing. Thank you for sharing this intimate moment in my life with me.

Are you living far from God as my sister was for many years, are you living closely to him, or are you somewhere in between. No matter where you are at in your faith journey, no matter what you have or have not done, Father God wants you to know that you are beautiful and you are loved.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Thankfulness

Hello Friends,

The Take Me Deeper theme for August at His Kingdom Come is Thankfulness. His Kingdom Come is a faith-art community of people who love Jesus and want to express their faith in creative ways - painting, writing, fiber arts and more. All art skill levels are welcome.

Here is my page for Week One of August, in progressive stages:

Green ink spray through stencils; hole cut on right side, gold acrylic paint on page beneath.

Gold paint on honeycomb stamp; bees stamped; cherry cobbler ink sponged

Stamped, punched bird (SU); clock digi (Anji's Antics); tag with bird made

Completed layout

And the details:

Scripture in stenciled shapes; Tombow & Sharpie markers

Front of tag; SU stamped, punched bird & branches; fiber tie taped to page

Back of tag with verse Matthew 6:33; tie is mounted to page by fabric button

Digis (l-r): Little Birdie Blessings, Anji's Antics, Sweetly Scrapped

God promised the Israelites a "land flowing with milk and honey". I already had the bees and honeycomb background stamps so I drew a little jug. I coloured it with Tombow markers and painted white liquid pouring from it to represent the milk.

Thanks for dropping by today. I hope you are well and happy. Most of all, I hope you know that you are beautiful and you are loved.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Link-ups:
Art Journal Journey - Time
Paint Party Friday - paint
Try It On Tuesday - stencils
Inspiration Destination - anything goes
Simon Says Wednesday - tie it up

August Creativity Challenge

Hello Friends,

Angela and I are doing another challenge for August. This one is simple - do something creative each day. It can be drawing, painting, gardening, baking or anything in-between. Won't you join us?

You can find Angela's latest creative post on her blog, Crafting with Jack. She also is sharing a free vintage image there. Please leave her some love as your comments really motivate us to keep creating, sharing and blogging.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Honour

Hello Friends,

The Take Me Deeper theme for July at His Kingdom Come was Honour. I did a bible art page in response.

The portion of scripture I chose to illustrate is 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body."

I Gesso-ed over the devotional article on the facing page and used acrylic gold paint, a blue Gelato and Sharpie markers for my art. I also used a "Praise Him" stencil, available from the His Kingdom Come store.

As I meditated on the verses I thought about what it means to have God's Holy Spirit taking up residence within me and to know that this piece of real estate (temple) that is my body was bought with the highest price - the blood of Christ.

At present I rent the property where I live, but I have been a home owner in the past. In a rental I can't make major changes, like tearing down walls. But as a home owner I was able to renovate the whole attic into usable living space. I tore out my old kitchen and put in a new, more functional layout.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own."

God is not a renter that he should ask my permission to make changes in me. Who am I to question if he starts tearing down walls of protection and identity that I thought were good, or breaking up foundations of belief that I thought were stable? A home owner would never tear apart unless he were planning to rebuild much better than what was before.

"Oh afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires; I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels and all your wall of precious stones."     (Isaiah 54:11-12)

So how do I honour Christ with my body? Is it by keeping myself pure from sexual immorality, from harmful substances or by exercising and eating right? Surely these are all good things, but my first responsibility is in recognizing that I am owned by God, bought by the blood of his Son and inhabited by his Holy Spirit.

"You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body."

Should I start each day by asking, "Holy Spirit, what do you want to do with this body today?" Some people live that way and they lead powerful, Spirit-led lives that impact the world around them. But can I live like that? And why does the thought of being so completely committed to the Lordship of Jesus frighten me?

I think it is a slave mentality that causes me to cringe from embracing the reality of being owned by God. If God were a cold monarch, bent on ownership and control, then I should rightfully be afraid. But he is a loving Father who bought a derelict property, ruled by a tyrant (Satan) and overrun by gnawing rats. He left his glorious home for the express purpose of living in this dump, just to be close to me. Even though he has the right to do whatever he wants to bring this crumbling property into the beauty it was designed to be, without ever consulting me, he most often puts his arm around me and discusses his plans. He is even open to my suggestions, at times.


Rather than demanding that my every moment is spent serving him, he calls me to sit and rest with him. He even comes alongside of me as I cook or write or paint or watch a movie or spend time with a friend. In every situation he is teaching me, communing with me and, most of all, loving me.

"Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:29)

I am not my own. But I never was. Neither are you. Whose do you want to be?

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today. I hope I have inspired you a little. Do you see the picture of the derelict house above? Can you imagine it as the architect designed it, all in its full glory? Imagine it. Picture it. That is the picture God sees when he looks at you. You are beautiful and you are loved.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Challenges:
Word Art Wednesday - anything family friendly goes
Paint Party Friday - paint

Family Faith Building

Hello Friends,

This summer my household started having weekly worship and sharing times together. It usually looks like this: Singing with my son's iTunes Playlist (about 35 minutes), my husband playing his hand drums and me making art.We also keep our bibles handy and pray spontaneously. At the end we share whatever the Lord has been showing us lately from our private times with Him. The whole session takes about 45 minutes to an hour (the same length of time we might have spent watching a TV show together) and we always come away strengthened and encouraged.

During one of these times I opened to Isaiah 65-66, where the Lord is telling Israel about the blessings he desires to pour out upon her. I painted a tree in water colours across both pages.

And added a verse of prayer for her to a blank spot at the bottom of my bible page.

While my husband and I practised private devotions and we took our children to church, we did not have regular times of worship and bible study with our children when they were growing up. Sadly, our three sons walked away from God during their teens. We are still waiting for two of them to come back. Regret is a destructive emotion. I will not live there another moment of my life, and I know that God can redeem all things, but I wonder if our children could have been spared the pain of living apart from God if we had lived out our faith with them through family times of worship, prayer and bible study.

A big part of the problem was not knowing how to go deeper in our faith as a family. We tried going through devotional books together and daily bible reading times as a family. It was about as enjoyable as dry toast most of the time. It was very easy to let it slide.

But God is gracious and it is never too late to start. Now that we have brought creative expression worship into our family devotional time it has become really alive. A weekly family worship time works much better for us than a daily time ever did, too. We just needed to find the right fit for us

Do you have regular faith-building times with your family? If so, what does your time look like? Do you find it dry and hard to maintain, as we did for many years? Or have you found ways to make it enjoyable and interesting for everyone?

Here is something I plan to teach my SS class this week about prayer:

Creative Prayer:

• Draw (or paste) a picture of someone or something you want to pray about.
• As you draw and colour ask God to show you how to pray.
• Listen for his answer. Look in your bible to see if he speaks to you from there. God often speaks to us through his Word.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope I have inspired you in some way. Above all, I hope you will know how Father God truly sees you: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND YOU ARE LOVED.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Challenges:
Word Art Wednesday - anything family friendly goes

Let Jesus in the boat

Hello Friends,

Recently I had a dream which reaffirmed to me the importance of encouraging others.

THE DREAM:

I was with a group of people on a ship. We were given an ultimatum. Either we would submit to the corrupt authorities on board; to do and say things that would deny God and bring harm to others; or we would be forced overboard into a vast body of water with no land in sight anywhere.

We did not have to be forced. We all jumped into the water voluntarily. We knew that we would drown before we could ever reach land, but we kept swimming anyway.

My pastor was there and way out in front of everyone was an Olympic swimmer. Somehow (I am a weak swimmer) I was able to come alongside of her. I reminded her, and everyone that could hear me, of how the disciples immediately reached the shore as soon as Jesus stepped into the boat, after he had walked on the water to get to them. (John 6:21)

By this time some of the others had caught up to us. I asked them, "What is impossible for God?" A few weary answers of "Nothing" came back.


Feeling faith rise up inside of me, I laughed and shouted, "Is anything impossible for God?"

This time everyone responded with shouts and laughter: "NO! Nothing is impossible for God!"

Immediately we were at dry land and there was a store which held all of the provisions we would need for the next leg of our journey, including a vehicle to hold us all.

In the morning, as I pondered this dream, I looked up the story in John 6. I thought of how the disciples were in the midst of a storm, more than three miles from the shore. They probably thought they would not make it to the other side. Then Jesus showed up in a very unexpected way (walking on the water) which frightened them at first. But as soon as they invited him into the boat, they were immediately where they wanted to be.

Using the article page in my NIV devotional bible, I did some art. I painted a layer of Gesso over the article, all except for the title - "A Shining Light".  I used Gelatos and water colour crayons for my design. I also wrote this little verse:

In the midst of the storm

in the crumbling ship of my human frailty

I let you in

and you take me

to where I need to be.

 A day or two after this dream, I was contacted by His Kingdom Come (an online faith art community) to be an official encourager on the site. Because of this dream I felt pretty confident, and honoured, to accept this invitation.

In the dream, even though I was a weak swimmer, I was able to encourage my pastor and the Olympic swimmer. This affirms to me that even though I have many weaknesses, my words and attitudes can have profound effects upon the lives of others, even those much stronger and more talented than me.

The same is true of you. You may be just one drop in the sea of humanity, but your drop counts every bit as much as the most powerful human being you can think of.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you will know today that you are beautiful and you are loved.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Bible Art - John 14

Hello Friends,

I was unable to sit up at my computer for a couple of weeks, so I am a bit behind in my posts. I will try to get caught up this week.

For the last month or so I keep reflecting on John 14. Today's art focuses on verses 4-6:

"You know the way to the place where I am going."

Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Lately I've been hearing people talking about Heavenly encounters and being caught up into the Heavenly realms, the place where Jesus ascended after his resurrection. I always took these verses to mean that when I die, I will go to Heaven. But what about those visits to Heaven I have been hearing about? Did Jesus' invitation include that too? There is certainly biblical and historical evidence for this sort of thing. So I have been pondering this... wondering...

How wonderful it would be to actually see Jesus face-to-face. My whole life longs for that moment. Yet... when John (in Revelation) and Isaiah saw the Lord, they both fell down "as though dead". I love God as much as my frail human heart can love and I would gladly die just for a glimpse of his beautiful face, but I have to admit that the thought of such an encounter is also rather scary.

I know that he loves me. In fact I am confident that he loves me so very much that he would deny me such an encounter if it would be too much for me to handle or if I would be so homesick for heaven afterward that I would always be sad here on earth.

Yet... I also know that if he ever chooses to allow me such an experience while I remain in my earthly form, he will give me the grace to stand in his glory. Because he loves me THAT much too.

I have a devotional bible so I used the devotional article page for my art. First I put two layers of Gesso. Then I used water colour media (pencils and paint) for most of the page and a black Sharpie for the words. My vines and flowers were from a stencil, which I detailed with water colour pencils and markers.

Thank you for visiting my blog. My message to you from God today is this: You are beautiful and you are loved.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Sunday's Art Reflection - Oil Pastels

Hello Friends,

For those of you who are new here, I found an old art journal a few months ago. I started it before I had ever heard the term art journal and it was when I had just started playing with making art.

Today's page was done shortly after picking up a set of oil pastels at a yard sale. With no knowledge of how to properly use them, I decided to try them out. I drew this picture straight from the sticks, with no brushes or blending solution. I didn't like them at all and I'm not fond of the resulting picture, but it was part of my learning to do art process.

Every step we take in learning to do art, or anything else, is important. Even if we don't like the results, it is teaching us how to improve and do it better the next time. So everything is valuable, maybe even especially our mistakes.

You are valuable too, mistakes and all. You are beautiful and you are loved.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa