Old and New

I started pulling out old artwork from long ago and dusting it off.  It's not as bad as I remember and the sentimental feelings still linger towards my pieces. 

Here is a sneak peek at a painting I am currently working on.  I must admit that I am excited about starting a new series.  It has been wonderful to spend more focused time on my art lately.  Ideas are tumbling out of my finger tips faster than I can keep up with.  God has been blessing me with time to work and think.

In the Lately.... A Peek Inside

                                                   

So much has been going on lately.... 

let's take a peek and see

we've been enjoying fresh vegetables and herbs from our garden 

there have been birthdays to celebrate

brief quiet moments to take in

I Love Life: Preparing for Mother's Day

Looking at Mother Teresa, and a mission she was passionate about.

Apparently my love for life makes me a domestic terrorist according to the new Homeland Security Report. And if Mother Teresa were alive today and a citizen of the U.S. she would be too. How can loving life do that? Because I am Pro-Life, which means that I am for the rights of those who can't speak for themselves. I am also very unpopular for that belief, and there are people out there that vehemently hate me for that belief. It's amazing when you see pictures of an aborted baby, it's so cruel and evil, and yet it seems the majority of the country is all for it. All the little girls and boys that are murdered every year. It seems that when people reflect on Mother Teresa they think very highly of her, considering her to be an exceptional person. But they don't seem to think of her stance on abortion. She was Pro-Life. She wasn't quiet about it either. She spoke out and defended the unborn.

In fact, here is an excerpt from one of her speeches on abortion. "The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts--a child--as a competitor, an intrusion and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the dependent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners."

Read the rest of the article here.

Mother Teresa was a passionate woman. She was passionate for the Lord and passionate for Human Rights. She didn't just do her work quietly, but she used her voice to speak out.

I love life. I love those precious and innocent lives that...are murdered every year.

'The unborn child is entitled to its right to life independently of its acceptance by its mother; this is an elementary and inalienable right which emanates from the dignity of the human being.' -The Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany

Prophesy Being Fulfilled

A friend was showing my family their pictures from a recent trip to Israel when I learned something pretty incredible. Did you know that the Dead Sea is sinking? And with it's sinking Fresh Water is gurgling up from the ground. Apparently this is a very recent development, within the last 2 years is what I heard. Wow.

So what is the big deal about that? Pull out your Bible and turn to Ezekiel 47 and you will read about the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea will become Fresh and the fish will swarm there. "These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down in the Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh. It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live." Ezekiel 47:8-9.

As you probably know the Dead Sea is incredibly salty... so salty that when fish are swimming down the Jordan river, they sense the salt and turn around and swim back. However, as the Dead Sea becomes fresh, one day the fish will swim down the river and live in the Dead Sea. Just as Ezekiel 47 says.

Easter Evening in the quiet

The day ended peacefully and simply.... and with a reminder of God's promise,
a beautiful rainbow.

Real Power

One of the most powerful things a Christian has is.... their testimony.  I hear my husband say that a lot.  I also hear him say that nobody else has his testimony, or mine, or anyone else's... each testimony is unique and a gift.  A very powerful gift.  When I think of my testimony I feel amazed and loved.  God was passionate for me, patient with me, and offered me unconditional love.  Sharing my testimony and hearing someone else's is a very powerful thing.  

When I surrendered my life to Christ my entire world changed.  I can't think of a single thing in my life that didn't change.  Every outlook, every relationship, every hope and dream... it all changed.  

I came across a great testimony today by Laura Gunn over at Decor to Adore.  Here is her testimony. 

Our testimony is not just shared by the telling of the moment we gave our life to Christ and how we got to that moment, but in how we live our life from that moment forward.  We still sin after we give our lives to Christ, the difference is that we try our best to live our lives for Him and no longer for ourselves.  

If you have a testimony, share it.  If you don't have one, get one.  It will save your life.

Happy Easter. 

May you draw close to the true meaning of this Incredible Holiday.

Inspiration: Window Mistreatments

My guest room has been lacking, quite a bit, so last week my mother came up to help me put some life in the room.  Among the many things on my to do list, was some kind of curtain treatment.  It's amazing how adding fabric to the windows can instantly change a room! We headed over to Walmart and picked up some pillow ticking, for just a few dollars a yard, and having been inspired by the Nester we decided to do some window mistreatments.  Someday it would be nice to have a curtain rod, but I think the upholstery tacks worked great for now.  You walk in the room and it feels so much cozier.  

My next guests are arriving tomorrow and I am excited to have a lovelier space for them to stay!