Something New

It is interesting how the majority of the paintings I like start out something entirely different. I think in part, it is all the layers that I end of with. Also, I like to just begin the painting and letting it just evolve on it's own.

Added word

I like the added word.

Words??

Still trying to decide if I want to add a word or two.

When I first glimpsed this on my picture file it reminded me of Mary Jane candies.
Anyone remember those??? :)

Still playing

This is on a little 6x6 inch canvas. I was thinking of eventually opening an etsy site. Do you think these are worth doing a few more, maybe personalizing them with favorite scriptures?

Just playing

I try to do lighter color paintings and just can't seem to.

Abiding

Abiding -
await
remain in
lodge in
dwell in
sojourn
continue in

As I ponder my word for the year it is becoming clear God has a lot to say to me.
He is giving me clues and meaning to this word in ways I did not expect. I should not be surprised at this, but I am. I am stubborn and hard headed - hearted at times and sometimes it take me too long to see. I sometimes wonder if it is like God's people wandering in the wilderness. They were his, I am his, but because I choose my way so much of the time I don't see the blessings or the life he has for me.

Today's reading in "Listening to Your Life" by Frederick Buechner.

Shattering Revelation

"My mother's apartment by candlelight was haven and home and shelter from everything in the world that seemed dangerous and a threat to my peace. And my friend's broken voice on the phone was a voice calling me out into the dangerous world not simply for his sake, as I suddenly saw it, but also for my sake. The shattering revelation of that moment was that true peace, the high and bidding peace that passeth all understanding, is to be had not in retreat from the battle, but only in the thick of the battle. To journey for the sake of saving our own lives is little by little to cease to live in any sense that really matters, even to ourselves, because it is only by journeying for the world's sake - even when the world bores and sickens and scares you half to death - that little by little we start to come alive. It was not a conclusion that I came to in time. It was a conclusion from beyond time that came to me. God knows I have never been any good at following the road it pointed me to, but at least, by grace, I glimpsed the road and saw that it is the only one worth traveling."


The reason this spoke to me is that I have a tendency to cocoon myself. I love my home, I have made my home a sanctuary for myself - I thought I was making one for my family, but in truth it was more for myself. I did not have a very warm and inviting home as a child. I was not physically abused, but I was neglected. I was left alone, really to fend for myself from an early age. When I married I was determined to make a warm home for my husband and children. My regret is that for a big part of my life I focused more on the home than it's occupants. Like we all sometimes focus more on the outside than the inside of ourselves. Erecting this facade about us to the world, when we are dying on the inside.

For the past several years God has been tearing that facade down. He has been showing me my heart, showing me his heart. So I see that my "abiding" is going to include some stepping out, reaching out as well as up!

He is taking me on an adventure!

Painting from Main Street Gallery

Here is the painting I mentioned in my last post. The artist is Chris Clark, more about him here.

And the gallery link is here.

If you are in the area of Clayton, GA stop in for a visual treat!

Day Trip

Greg and I took a short trip yesterday to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
We had lunch at the Dillard House in Mountain City. They serve country home cooking, family style. I must say I was in shock at the amount of food they brought out for just the two of us, and felt bad leaving more than half on the table - till we saw the biggest sow in their "zoo." It must get fed the leftovers!! Above are photos of from some of the animals there. (look at the color of my hair and the goat's) lol

We visited The Main Street Gallery in Clayton. I had been there once before and loved it. Can you guess what road it was on??? I came home with a great folk art painting. I'll post it tomorrow as well as their link. For those of you who like folk art it is worth a visit.

Off to make dinner.

Worried?????

Is this a picture of a worried cat, worried about her housemate in the tree??

Not!!

It is a picture of a cat enjoying the thought that all the birds in the yard are hers!!!! I have a feeling she could have lured Jack up the tree!!! Flirt, affectionately known as PITA - pain in a.. cat has never really liked Jackie.

But, I loved the picture!!! Please ignore the terrible dirty windows, I will get to them - eventually.

The great kitchen towels in the picture are made by Anna Maria Horner. Her blog is lovely as are her creations.

Still in the tree

The cat! The tree!

My daughter and I were leaving for the yarn store yesterday afternoon when we heard our kitty Jackie meowing. We thought at first she was under the house, but as we looked up we saw her in our huge poplar tree next to the house. As far as I know this was her first time climbing a tree, probably after a bird or one of our many squirrels that live in our yard. Well coaxing her to come down did not work. So we went to the yarn store thinking surely she will be down when we come home.

She was still in the tree.......

We tried to coax her down again. She would get to the trunk and then turn around and go towards the end of the branch. So I went in to make dinner.

She was still in the tree.......

My husband Greg came home and we tried once more to coax her. We could not find our extension ladder so we pulled our pick-up truck up close and put the regular ladder in the bed, but it was not high enough. Things look closer than they really are. We called a guy from our church who is a fireman. He said, "cats always come down." (years ago when we lived in Connecticut, we had a kitten in a tree, the fire department came out and got her down) So we ate dinner, expecting her to come down.

She was still in the tree.......

So, we went to bed with the pitiful sound of Jack meowing in the tree. Megan got up around 3am and looked out her window, and

She was still in the tree.......

My son Brian came over around 10am. today. He made a bridge for her from the end of the branch to our roof. The problem was Jack had to walk nearly to the end of the branch and it was pretty small at that point. Now she is a cat, and we knew she could do it even if she did not. He then found the extension ladder. When he finally got it up Jack decided to try to walk the plank! She got to it and could not maneuver turning on that small branch to get on it. Then she went past it, further along the thinnest portion of the branch. She slipped and was hanging onto the little shoots, first with two paws, then one........

She was no longer in the tree.........

I wish I had thought to get a picture, but I was too frightened for her. So down she fell. She landed on her feet, and I swear she bounced!!! She took off running for the door to the house, where she proceeded to scarf down the cat food!!!!

I wonder if she will be climbing more trees in the near future?? Probably so, but at least we now know where our extension ladder is just in case we find her

Still in the tree!!!

Abiding

I think each Monday I will post something that has to do with my "word" for the year.
What I am learning, a quote, or scripture. Having to do so, will help me keep my eyes open, my heart a little more focused. And maybe there is someone out there that is on a similar adventure. I know of one sweet woman who is, Diane Marra. Give her a visit, you will find wonderful ideas and inspiration from her journey. When I first posted my word for the year I had no idea she had chosen, or should I say, been given the same word. I had not heard of the "one little word" idea till I visited her. I had just noticed several bloggers choosing a word to focus on for the year. I love it when "coincidences" like that happen!!

In my reading today I came across this from A.W. Tozer

"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Blessings!

Humanly Best

I read this today in "Listening to Your Life" by Frederick Buechner. I have read it before, I might have even mentioned it in a previous post, but it spoke to me again.

After Buechner's father's death, the family moved to Bermuda, rather to Grandma Buechner's disapproval:

"You should stay and face reality, she wrote, and in terms of what was perhaps the soundest advice she could have given us: that we should stay and, through sheer Scharmann endurance, will, courage, put our lives back together by becoming as strong as she was herself. But when it comes to putting broken lives back together - when it comes, in religious terms, to the saving of souls - the human best tends to be at odds with the holy best. To do for yourself the best that you have it in you to do - to grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst - is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed by the holy power that life itself comes from. You can survive on your own. You can grow strong on your own. But you cannot become human on your own. Surely that is why, in Jesus' sad joke, the rich man has as hard a time getting into Paradise as that camel through the needle's eye because with his credit card in his pocket, the rich man is so effective at getting for himself everything he needs that he does not see that what he needs more than anything else in the world can be had only as a gift. He does not see that the one thing a clenched fist cannot do is accept, even from le bon Dieu himself, a helping hand."

It reminds me of a child saying, "me do, me do." But there are some things we cannot do on our own, and in our own strength. Sometimes we have to just give God permission to do the work he longs to do in our hearts, and souls.

Abide painting

I think this is my favorite one so far!
Notice the signature. Mina, my "grandmother" name!!
It's better than what my son calls me, "Mother F".
All in good fun - remember my last name is Freeman. :)

Which Kingdom?

I have noticed several bloggers selecting a "word" for the year. Something to accomplish, or a way of being. I was not going to pick one, but a word or concept kept coming up. I decided to choose one.

ABIDE - This is why.

This is taken from Desiring God's Will", by David Benner
Kingdom of Self
Ruled by self-interest
Grasping
Achievement
Effort
Independence
Holding
Willful
Clenched fists and closed heart
Hard and brittle
Determination

Kingdom of God
Ruled by love
Releasing
Gift
Consent
Interdependence
Releasing
Willing
Open hands and heart
Soft and malleable
Transformation

"Given the sharpness of the contrast, one might wonder how these two kingdoms can coexist. But they do. Many of us – perhaps even most of us – have one foot uncomfortably but firmly planted in each. Jesus warned about the dangers of trying to do this (Matthew 6:24). But fear, laziness, greed, mistrust and an illusory sense that ultimately we are in the best position to know how to achieve our own fulfillment keep us from an unequivocal surrender of the keys to the kingdom of self. Perhaps like Ananias and Sapphire (Acts 5:1-3) we foolishly make a pretense of turning over the keys but keep back an extra set just in case we need to take control again at some point in the future. In one way or another we try to keep our options open. If I am honest, I have to admit that much of the time I find myself moving back and forth between the two kingdoms. I open my hands and heart to God and others, and then I find myself grasping and controlling life with clench-fisted-willfulness. I catch sight of the grandeur of God's kingdom vision and feel the paltry worthlessness of my own, and then I find I have again turned from God and am busy protecting my petty self-interests and controlling my life to maximize what I think will be my fulfillment.

But after four decades of Christ-following, one thing above all has become supremely clear to me. I can't make the spiritual changes that I want to make on my own. I cannot will myself into surrender. I cannot simply screw up my determination and chose God's will over mine once and for all.

What I can do, however, is talk with God honestly about the realities of my soul. And I can turn back toward God and once again hear Jesus' gentle words of invitation.
Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)

Hearing this invitation, everything within me wants to draw near and receive the gift of love that Jesus represents – not out of obligation but out of a soul-aching desire. And each time I do, my heart is slowly but progressively more aligned with the heart of God – God's desires becoming my desires and God's will becoming my will.

Take some time to prayerfully reflect on the ways you continue to live in the kingdom of self and resist surrender to the reign of Perfect Love. Think about how you spend your money, and use your time. Reflect on your dreams for yourself and others. What do these things tell you about which kingdom has your heart and primary allegiance?

As you do this, don't allow yourself to be distracted by feelings of guilt. They simply point you back toward yourself, typically leaving you still stuck by now more miserable. Guilt is not enough to motivate surrender.

Instead, ask for God's desires and priorities to become yours. Listen to the invitation of Jesus to join him in the reign of love that is life in the kingdom of God. Hear his call to come to him for the rest that results from taking up his cross and his cause. Ask him for fresh appreciation and renewed (or first-time) excitement about the possibility of working with him on the advancement of God's plan to displace all kingdoms of this world and replace them with his glorious reign. As Willard put it: "Review your plans for living and base your life on this remarkable new opportunity."


I want to be ruled by love not by self-interest.
I want to be releasing, not grasping.
I want to experience and live from the gift that has been given, and not seek my worth from my achievements.
I want to give God permission to do the changing, because striving in my own strength does not last.
I want to be sharing this journey with authentic community, not trying to go it alone.
I want to be releasing,not holding.
I want to be willing, not willful.
I want to have open hands and a open heart, not clenched and closed.
I want to be soft and malleable, not hard and brittle.
I want to be transformed, not with just determination that is not capable of lasting change.

The way these changes will take place is abiding. Sitting at God's feet, allowing his ways, his will, his heart to become mine.

A splendid adventure.

to warm your tummies

Follow the directions for cooking the oatmeal on the container. I like to use old fashioned Quaker Oats - not the quick cooking one. Remove from heat and add the following ingredients. Recipe is for four servings.


2 cups oatmeal
2 cups low-fat milk
1/2 cup golden raisins, I use dried cranberries instead.
2T honey
1/2t salt
1/2t vanilla extract
1/2t ground cinnamon

Top with a little cream or milk, sliced almonds, and a touch of brown sugar.

Please Pray

Not all of you may know Denise. Please take a moment to visit her blog if you do not. Below is written by Marsha, she has been keeping us updated on their situation. There is a button on my sidebar that will take you to Denise's blog.

From Marsha:
As you all know, Shortybear's (Denise) Lovebug (Eddie) has some serious health issues that started on December 23rd. Check her blog if you need more info, and also my post here.

Denise will fill you in on Eddie and her love for him and the Lord. If you haven't read her post from today, it's beautiful! What she won't tell you is about their great financial need right now. That's where I come in. She and Eddie have given me permission to share their need with you.

Denise has been there for all of us, the pray and encourage. Now we are blessed to be able to help them during this extremely difficult time.

Here's what's going on right now:

• Because of her own health issues, Denise is unable to work or drive. She has never collected disability because Eddie's income was always more than the maximum allowed by Social Security.
• Right now they have no income. Eddie is on short term disability until January 14, then he will be re-evaluated.That's only approximately $230. The doctors have already said he would not be able to go back to his previous job because they say he will not regain filling in his legs and left arm. So, more than likely they will declare him permanently disabled.
• Eddie can not drive a car in his present condition. So, his mother takes them to all of his physical therapy appointments, which are 5 days a week. Each appointment has a $25 co-pay - that's $125 a week.
• Eddie desires to work, but he will need to finish his physical rehab and then go on to vocational rehab.
• They have no money! They were able to pay their rent and utilities for the month, but they have nothing else left. They have a car payment of $343.75 due January 14th, after that, they will be late.

Here's the plan to help them financially:

• Some have already sent me money and I've forwarded it on to them this week (a total of $200). Thank you so much!
• Denise Walden (Samaritan Women) and I will be hosting a blog that will contain a PayPal Donate Now button. When we have the bank account and paypal account open next week sometime, we will be able to say under all of our buttons, "To Donate Now click here" and it will take everyone right to the page.
• In the meantime, they need money NOW! If you can send a gift of any amount, contact me and I will give you their mailing address so you can send a financial gift of any size and/or card. Even $10 will make a difference.
• Think of creative ways to promote this on your blog. I'm asking our blog community to sustain them for several months until they get on their feet with various sources of income.

Remember, they need:

• Car payment for this month
• Rent for February
• Utilities for February
• Phone for this month
• Food
• Medication
• $125 a week (minimum) for co-pay for Physical Therapy and doctor visits.

I will be going to see them next week. I'm 3 hours away. During that time, I'll help her with whatever she needs, take her to Department of Human Services to see what kinds of assistance are out there to help them right now (if she hasn't been there by then).

If any of you all live within an hour or two of Chattanooga, TN and can give her a hand, please let her know. When this happened, they were in the process of looking for a new church, so there's not the local support there for them like they need.

How to pray:

• Complete healing for Eddie. He's suffering from a cord compression.
• Denise's health. She's so focused on him, I'm afraid she's not taking proper care of herself.
• Emotional well being. They are pretty discouraged.
• Wisdom for the doctors
• Peace and acceptance of His will for their lives.

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:13-15

just a dusting

Well, a blizzard it was not! But it is pretty, and enough if you can believe it to close schools here in Georgia!! If you live in the North that is hard to understand, but the roads are icy and most people that have lived here for a long time don't get enough experience to know how to drive on snowy, icy roads. We especially don't want school buses out on them. Or my daughter driving on them!! :) So, we enjoy the break, the warmth of our home, even if it is very drafty, and the blazing fire.

We just recently watched "Julie and Julia." On the menu today is "Boeuf Bourguignon", a good day for a stew!

And to warm your hearts, a devotional I read today from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

God's Unfathomable Love

"Behold God become human, the unfathomable mystery of the love of God for the world. God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world. What we find repulsive in their opposition to God, what we shrink back from with pain and hostility, namely, real human beings, the real world, this is for God the ground of unfathomable love. God establishes a most intimate unity with this. God becomes human, a real human being. While we exert ourselves to grow beyond our humanity, to leave the human behind us, God becomes human; and we must recognize that God wills that we that we be human, real human beings. While we distinguish between pious and godless, good and evil, noble and base, God loves real people without distinction. God has no patience with our dividing the world and humanity according to our standards and imposing ourselves as judges over them. God leads us into absurdity by becoming a real human being and a companion of sinners, thereby forcing us to become the judges of God. God stands beside the real human being and the real world against all their accusers. So God becomes accused along with human beings and the world, and thus the judges become the accused."

We are all in this together. God loves me, God loves you just the way you are. We do not have to be, or become something different for him to love us. When we accept that, then our journey with God really begins. He slowly awakens our hearts to what is really in them. He begins to show us truth about ourselves and him. But we do not have to be afraid to look deep into the depths of our hearts with the maker of them by our side.

Blessings!!

for my daughter

I created this one for my daughter. Actually the previous one I posted was originally for her, but it came out in different colors than I intended for her, which I am now happy it did. I like the two previous ones hung together. So, today I did this one for her. She likes it a lot, I like the others better, they seem a little edgy-er or something. She did not want as much black on hers, and wanted it blended a little more.

Okay, enough for today. I really need to wash my hands!!!!

Oh, it's snowing!!!!!! YEA!!!!!!

Another

Could not resist doing another!!!
I want to thank all of you for your comments. You all encourage and bless my heart more than you can know!

New Ideas

Okay, I am so excited!!!! I think I have finally found "me" in my painting!!! I have struggled these past two years to really find my style, my niche in painting. I love bold, bright color, I love words, I love graffiti looking, messy looking things. I am really liking the direction I am going in this. Do I dare risk asking your opinion?? Yes, and please be honest!! Gentle, but honest!

What I want, what I need

This is what I want to do today. Just stretch out and be lazy!!!! But I will be doing another kind of stretching. I ate way too much over the holidays!!!!!!

After the tree

The Christmas tree came down on Friday.
I love decorating for Christmas, but really dislike taking everything down and putting it away.
Especially this year.
We store the stuff in a portion of the attic which is now our bedroom. When the house was renovated about 20 years ago the attic was made into a bedroom suite. It's a nice cozy getaway, usually. But of late it has been a mess. We had a small leak in our shower. Well, we thought it was a small leak, and maybe the leak itself was, but in searching for the leak it was discovered that the whole darn thing needed to be replaced!! So for the past several weeks we have had construction going on and I have not cleaned. We have just piled all the Christmas stuff on the floor to be put away. I am thankful I can walk out of there and close the door for now.
I'll deal with it when the shower is finished, hopefully this week.

Here a a couple of pictures of the living room after Christmas, of course I had to re-arrange it a bit. :)

Have a wonderful Sunday.

a little something

After viewing the top of the bookcases in the previous photo I knew it needed some work.

I think I like the way it turned out.

Some changes

The above photo is the little sitting area in the kitchen. It faces a fireplace. So far we are using it and it is working nicely.
This center room is too narrow to put something on the side of table, so I filled the wall with color.
This shows the rest of the library - dining room.

It is interesting to see the rooms in a photo. In them I can see the overall look better, and see where I need to add, subtract or change things. In the above photo I can see I need to work on the top of the bookcases, and the wall above it. It also looks a little awkward to me because of the window and door. But this room is really a huge walkway from the front of the house to the back, but because of the size of the house I need to use all the space. Well, nothing in my house stays in the same place for too long. This works for now!! :)