SURRENDER THAT...

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.  {Winston Churchill}

  God is the God of promise.  Faith could be described as trust in the promises of God.  God makes a promise; faith believes it, hope anticipates it, patience quietly awaits it.   Highest Privilege: child of God Intimacy: No longer a slave to fear can be close Deepest experience: Sanctification Greatest security for the future: speaking with authority Obey   Bray was a miner from Cornwall, born in 1794.  He was an alcoholic and was always getting involved with fights and arguments at home.  At the age of twenty-nine he became a Christian.  He went home and told his wife, ‘You will never see me drunk again, by the help of the Lord.’  She never did.  His words, his tone of voice, and his looks all had magnetic power.  He was charged with divine electricity.  Crowds of miners would come and hear him preach.  Many were converted and there were some remarkable healings.  He was...

I had booked an art exhibit at St. John the Divine that would open in 15 months. I had no idea that I would be five months pregnant with Jacob. I could not have planned this. It was during this pregnancy and this out pouring of creativity that I considered this thought for the first time: I AM MOST CREATIVE WHEN I AM WITH CHILD. This made sense, God is the ultimate artisian and He created me in His image therefore I was created to create. This is the vision that I would base all of my work on in the following years. When I got started on the exhibit it was Fall 2002. I prayed that the Lord would reveal the number of paintings and the scipture that I would dive into. We had been at Gateway for one year and I was sitting in the auditorium soaking up John Burke's words of experience and wisdom. He said, "if you are ready to get close to Jesus reading His word is the best way. Read either the Gospel of Mark or John." That was it. After church I opened up my Life Applic...

It has been one month and a few days since my last entry. I have been obedient to the vision, but first dealing with the obstacles. Removing the obstacles has happened beautifully with a three fold action, incredible Bible Study at Hill Country Bible Church, Calm Heart in a Crazy World. My precious friend Katie Copland is leading it and I have made dear friends who are walking with me as I grasp the understanding of looking at my past and stepping forward as a new creation that God has created me to be every day. This can all be made possible through daily prayer and soaking in the Word of God. Second Step: Attending  Shine  at Shoreline Christian Center. This was a three day womens retreat. The message here was to unearth the deeply hidden secrets of our life, bring them to the open so that we can let go, receive healing and shine with the light of Christ. Finally, my friend, mentor, and spiritual director Kathryn Bonner. She also attended Shine. She has walked wi...

The art pieces showcased on the blog entry below, I painted while pregnant with Jonah. The meditation that inspired this work was that God's presence is not bound by time. He is all knowing, all present and all powerful. The scripture that was inspired at the beginning of creation can be seen throughout the old and new testament . His message of grace, love and mercy is seen in the intimate moments of creation and in the Holy Spirit filled words of Paul to Ephesus. I took each day of creation and rendered what I saw in reading the word. I then took a chapter of Ephesians and married it with each day. I was looking for similar ideas. The ideas that manifest through the Holy Spirit, Christ proclaims, or that Paul taught to the people of Ephesus, are the same throughout the ages. Day One: Ephesians 1:11-12 It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up,  he had his eye on us , had designs on us ...

It Began with the Table Covers @ the SJD Women’s Retreat 2007 I painted the word Joy over (16) 3x3 ft. pieces of butcher block paper. We used these as centerpieces for the Saturday morning session. The ladies were asked to use markers to add color and reflect on the message shared that day to the black and white design. Each paper was a sketch book for the women at that table. They did not know that each table cover came together to spell the word joy. That evening I hung the pieces together and the women were surprised to see the work they had done that day assembled to make a bigger picture. A picture of Joy. I took each 3x3 ft. design and created a 1x1 in rendering as seen in the sketch above. I cataloged the symbols and thoughts of each table. Table One= Painting One. Each painting reflects the thoughts and inspirations of the small group of women that sat there that day. Painting One Table One : Trading in My Shame, Regaining Joy, Dove , White Lily, Sorrow Depart P...

Lets go back to September 25th. During my healing experiences this month I have been obedient to get the vision on paper. Sometimes that is the hardest part. The first thing I did was take each 3x3ft piece of paper from the women's retreat and create a 1inx1in representation. This gave me the big picture. What the exhibit would look like as a whole. This is the first time I have really understood what it feels like to desire time spent with the Lord. I cleared my schedule, kids in school, baby Jude fast asleep...now is the time. Turn on Joy Williams, Sara Groves, Nicole Nordman Jars of Clay, Gateway Remember Me and the vision poured out of me like water...living water. During this sweet time with Jesus I set the color palate for the paintings. The sun rise and the sunset are my inspiration. The top eight will be reds and oranges and yellows the bottom eight purples and blues. The word Joy would be green representing my growth, the vines, the branches that are thriving i...

The desire to produce an outpouring of my heart on canvas has been there for several years. Many obstacles prevent me from creating anything. It is all there, I just cannot do it. It is like my prayers. They are there desperate to come forth but I cannot utter the words. The prayers are on my heart...is that good enough? Do you hear me Lord. "I hear you dear, but you have to say them, I want to hear you praise me, thank me and ask me. I see your masterpiece but I want to see you create it. I want you to draw near to me in obedience and be a vessel for my words and my vision. I see your masterpiece but I want others to see it. I want others to hear the message of my grace." When I think about the gift of creativity, I go quickly to the image of my grandmother, Mary Leah Lawrence. I think of the paintings she has created, the homes she has designed, her favorite color and her love for the monochromatic. I think of her beauty inside and out and how through her devotion t...

My most creative time has been when I was pregnant with my sons. My first art exhibit was created when I was five months pregnant with Jonah, early 2001. This is when the Lord prompted me to study the word, reflect, then produce my interpretation of scripture through watercolor and canvas. The first study was Seven Days of Creation and the six chapters of Ephesian. I pondered the divine thought, "in the beginning was the Word, the Word was God and the Word was with God". I thought about the infinite power of God, his omnipresence which enabled him to be present in the old testament and new testament at the same time. God inspiring Moses to articulate creation and Paul to write the book of Ephesians. This stoked my interest. I began to study. I took a cross section of each day of creation and compared it to each book of Ephesians. Day One: Chapter One, Day Two: Chapter Two and so on. SEE LATER POST FOR ARTWORK. So I am pregnant with Jude, I am five months pregnant, but ...