"The Silver Palette" is born!!

I would like to announce some very exciting news!!! As most of you know, I teach ages 2 - 92.  The Seniors that I teach are in a retirement community and are always ready for a new adventure.

Starting with this school year, we will begin a new volunteer program, that will be open to all of my students.  The first Friday of each month, we will host "The Silver Palette", and we will go to an Assisted Living center nearby and share in God's creative joy with these seniors, that require a little more attention, love, encouragement and support!

My prayer is that this experience will teach that art is a powerful vehicle into the heart, that is able to express itself more eloquently than words and that we are called to share our talents with the world and love His sheep well, no matter the age.  To take art away from the narcissistic venue of competition and into the loving hands of the Father, where we get to stake a claim against the darkness with beauty.  Beauty in paints, beauty in relationship, beauty in slowing down and beauty in loving well.  Or focus: to merge, in a beautiful array of colors: the young and the young at heart, and stand in awe of the beauty.

And now in my old age, don't set me aside. Don't abandon me when my strength is failing. Psalm 71:9

A Twist on Gratitude Journaling!

I am a gratitude journaling junkie, confession is good for the soul, right? In Psalm 118, Scripture says that His STEADFAST LOVE endures forever. In looking up this word, I found that hidden within the meaning "Chesed" we find the very character and nature of God - His kindness and faithfulness which serves as the foundations for His character and actions.  His KINDNESS is His foundation!!  As I continued to dig into this word and its meaning, I found that it means "Acts of Kindness".  Lets just sit there a spell and think on this mystery: It is IN HIS NATURE to Perform ACTS OF KINDNESS for you and I!!!!!  Whaaaaat????  
I was recently on Facebook and I saw a post from a mom who busted her tail to make an awesome dinner for her family. Fried chicken and fresh, homemade mashed potatoes, grilled tomato and zucchini - there may have even been a pie thrown in for good measure.  She was so disappointed that her family didn't enjoy it, they picked through what they liked and left the rest.  She was heartbroken at the lack of GRATITUDE.
Imagine our God- looking for ways to bless us with ACTS OF KINDNESS.....and we miss them and shrug them off and miss the heavenly kiss that was intended.  I don't think God gets His feelings hurt - I think that would be putting too much earthly emotion on an omniscient God....but, what do WE MISS, when we MISS THE ACTS OF KINDNESS???  I think we miss a whole lot.  I think we miss those precious moments where you feel so alive and joyful, because YOU MATTER TO AN ETERNAL GOD.  I think we miss the "bigger picture" of how He knits us together and hears the cries of our hearts.  I think we miss relationship.  It's never about God - He isn't the one on the trial seat - maybe it is about us, and making the time to find Him in our everyday, our every moment and appreciating His acts of kindness?  
If we seek Him with ALL OF OUR HEARTS - He will be found by us- Jeremiah 29:11

Scripture Doodles

 

Doodling through the scriptures.....What if you wrote your scriptures down and, simply, doodled around these words with different, defined patterns? 

I have included a few examples of these doodles to get you started.  Let's remember that there is no "wrong" way of doing any of this - and I release you from the power of "It has to look nice".  While I am working through a scripture , in this way, I am engaging my heart and mind, soul and body - in a complete dance with the Lord.  Every sense is firing and concentrating on His presence and what He is saying to me through this scripture----write it all down- all over the page that you are working through!  Who cares what it looks like?????  You are interacting with God- and THAT is the blessing, the visual representation is a testimony to this interaction - NOT the purpose of the dance, but the beauty foretold of the dance. 

I release you from that Critical spirit that stops you from trying.  I release you from that critical spirit that tells you its not good enough.  In the Old Testament, they would pile rocks  in places that they had an interaction with a Lord - to serve as a visual representation.  Do you think, and I wonder, did the prophets of old look at their rock formations and think, "That doesn't look good enough." ? Our enemy will always try to get us to NOT draw attention to a physical representation of a heavenly manifestation....after all, it focuses on God....... Focuses. on . God.

Let your artwork and your dance focus on God - not on what you can, or can not do. Point towards God with all that you do, and be released from the need to "get it right"----you GOT IT RIGHT - You engaged in a heavenly manifestation of God, through the scriptures and through the salt of creativity ---You got it right.   That's the thing that you got right - the artwork is nothing more than a pile of rocks to give Him glory - I release the artist within you to create with Joy and no longer to be a slave to creating for others approval. 

Be blessed, create in joy and rise up, Oh Creative Army- take your stand against the darkness!!!

Psalm 23 Revisited!

Psalm 23 is a well loved, classic scripture that we all seen to be familiar with, regardless of our spiritual walk. It seems that ithas become embedded into our hearts, and our society.  What a beautiful scripture to find such widespread acceptance in the world.  This is the scripture that I am referring to:
1The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
----when the Lord is our Shepherd - we can have faith, trust and hope in our tomorrow.  Hope is the expectation of good.  Through Jesus- we get HOPE for tomorrow

2He makes me lie down in green pastures,  ----We are called to seasons of rest- in His will, He provides green, fertile places to rest our head

he leads me beside quiet waters, - --bubbling brooks scare sheep, He leads us to quiet waters.  He knows our fears and our anxieties - when we follow Him, He leads us away from these things.

3he refreshes my soul.  ----There is peace in having a good shepherd

He guides me along the right paths ----He guides us in truth and love and out of the situations and circumstances we get ourselves into.

for his name’s sake. ----To always be more like Him, to glorify His name

4Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death  -----A shadow is cast,only when there is light.  He is with us through the valleys that we walk through - the valleys that want to kill us, destroy us, hold us hostage...His light is with us, when we ask  Him to be the lord of our lives, giving our will and our hearts over to Him.  In this place,w ith Him as our Shepherd, the darkness is merely a shadow.  A shadow can not hurt us or harm us.  His light negates the powers of darkness.

I will fear no evil,  -----Every knee will bow to Jesus Christ - with Him leading- there is nothing to fear.  Your greatest fears,addictions, bondages -are negated to mere shadows in His presence.

for you are with me; -----He is always with us - before we even know His name He pursues us. HE dies for us before we took our first breath.  He loved us while we were sinning.  He loves you now - and wants to be your good Shepherd

your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. -----The rod is meant to protect you from the predators that circle you, taunt you and mock you and the staff is meant to redirect you and guide you - what a comfort these re - that we dont have to defend ourselves anymore - He will do that - and He will always be with us, through the Holy Spirit, guiding us and gently correcting us.

5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.  ------In the presence of your enemies- He sets a table for you.  the enemy has kept you on your knees, begging for scraps.  That is no position for a child of God---He sets a table for you - a banquet - and sits you down in the presence of your enemies to eat with Him.  The shadows cant hurt you anymore.  You can dine, at peace, with predators all around.

You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. ------Annointing oil was saved to designate kings- to designate God's chosen one.  Before there was time - you were chosen by God as His child.  There is no need to beg for scraps anymore - you are a child of the King - declare your inheritance and your birth right!!

6Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life, ------Yes, through the Good Shepherd there is goodness and love.  You are never too bad, too far gone, too much of a sinenr - goodness and love are your birthright

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.   ------We will all spend eternity somewhere.  Jesus brings us heavenly access - to dwell with Him forever.

Want to know more about becoming a Christian and declaring your birthright? Drop me an email - I would love to pray through that with you!!!  

A Journal Bible and a few supplies = Worship!!!!

I have gotten an ESV journaling Bible- it has large margins that allow me to draw in it.  I was having a "problem" with this form as worship - as I didn't want to cover over any of His living Word - to highlight the "Spirit Speed Bumps" that I was getting. You know, when the Spirit slows you down and deposits a great revelation through His Word?  These are Rhema moments that I want to remember always.  But - WHAT if??  What if- once I cover that page over with mediums and pictures - He chooses to give me another Rhema word in that very passage???  I was paralyzed - for. months- over this dilemma and the Bible sat and waited to be loved.

Enter ......<GRACE>

This week I realized, that this Bible is for THIS Season - if I were to fill all of its lovely pages with verse, picture and the outpouring of my love for our Savior - well now, isnt that a GOOD thing??  Couldn't I get another journaling Bible for a new season?  Wouldn't this be a beautiful legacy and heritage of faith for my children and my children's children?

So, my little Bible came off its shelf and it has gotten loved up on this week...and i have enjoyed the process!!!  These are not materpieces - these are "Cha-Cha's" with the Lord.  I will leave the canvas for His masterpieces, for His slow waltz.  This is a quick sketch of the pictures that cement HIs Word squarely in my heart.

Thank God for Grace and Wisdom.  Thank God for this new fun way of interacting with the Scriptures!!!!   This is the journaling bible I like -- http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Bible-Standard-Journaling-Original/dp/158134838X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436968111&sr=8-1&keywords=ESV+Journaling+Bible

Jeremiah 33:3  Ask me and I will tell of remarkable secrets, you do not know, of things to come.

Psalm 23: He is THIS generous, so I must be THIS generous as a response to His loving me.

I AM: 365 Names of God

Journaling the Bible: Meditating on the Names of God

There are a lot of places to search out all of the names of God. For me, each of these names holds a promise that we can hold onto.  This is a powerful excercise that needs to be repeated often, for me, to remind myself of all of His character traits and attributes.