Abiding Monday

We are such complex beings.  We can appear to be one thing, and that thing can be partially true about us, or it can all be an act.  We are good at appearing to be one thing on the outside and something entirely different on the inside.  Often we try hard to hide what's really true because we fear we will not be liked for who we really are, how could they we think, we do not even like who we are on the inside.  I was at that place four years ago.

I am finding it a hard thing to give up old ways of doing life.  Patterns can be hard to break when you have lived in them for years and years.  God can break patterns and bring healing in an instant, but I am finding for me it is more of a process. It's usually a few steps forward, and one back. I am also learning that that is okay.  God does not expect perfection.  I have learned that I am not "punished" when I don't live up to some requirement.  I have learned that I can be honest about what is true and not hide it...he knows it anyway for goodness sake.  It's more about being honest with myself. Agreeing with God about what is true about me and knowing his love is not dependent on my behavior at a given time.  His love does not diminish when I screw up!  

This is so freeing...to be able to peer under the waterline safely.  To be able to begin addressing the junk that causes us to feel or act, or react in certain ways.  

Hey you all, check out the shape of this iceberg...looks a bit heart shaped to me.  

Grace, Love and Peace.

storms of life

Human experience includes those dangerous and difficult times of dislocation and disorientation when the sky does fall and the world does come to an end. We are not meant for situations of disorientation. We are mostly inclined to look back, to grasp for old equilibria, to wish for them and to deny that they are gone… The countermovement of reorientation comes, says Paul Ricoeur, through a representation of reality which is genuinely new and has the mark of gift. The reorientation has both continuities with and discontinuities from what has been. But the accent is on the new. It is a surprise. In our resistance, we do not expect to be surprised. The new situation is not an achievement or a working out of the dislocation, but it is a newness that comes to one. It comes as miracle wrought from outside the situation.  
~ Walter Brueggemann, Psalms and the Life of Faith 

I seem to be painting hearts lately.  In all sizes, shapes, and colors. My daughter saw this one and said it looked like a heart tornado.  Interestingly last Sunday's message was on storms. Luke 8:22-25.  Here are just a few bullet points.

Storms come to teach us and change us

Only God can calm a raging torrent 

A storm is to bring something new in our life

Walk through the very heart of the storm - emerging a different person

Storms are a gift 

They usually do not feel like gifts in the middle them, but I can trust God is in the storm with me.

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

Is 43:1-2

Grace and Peace

what a journey....

It began as this...the Lenten painting...waves of self flowing down,

churning, mixing it's own selfishness with the "self-ish" ness of the multitudes. 

It became this...Good Friday painting...the placing of guilty hands on the one

that was sinless...God, redeeming what was lost.  

Morphing into this...offered gift accepted...learning to live out this

new life that has been given...learning to die to self...learning to

love. 

Then this...all because of love...

I added this last view because I wanted you to see that

the cross shows up ever so faintly in the final painting.  

This was not an easy journey...it surfaced some things I need

to look a bit deeper into.  

Grace and Peace

seeds and soil

journal page

I love when I hear messages like I did last Sunday. When I see another little piece of how God works in hearts.  Because that is where real change takes place.  And I cannot change my heart on my own.  Sometimes I read God's Word and wonder how I can accomplish what he has called me to, how do I live this life that is now his?  And what I am learning is that it is at the same time, easier and harder than I thought. It's more of an organic relationship, than a striving to live rightly. It's not a checking off of the list of do's and don'ts. It a process of God changing my heart...from one that is self-ish and self-centered to one that looks and acts more like his.  But he does the changing. I still struggle (greatly), working out one's salvation is not an easy journey, but we do it together.

When one hears a talk on the "Parable of the Soil" found in both Luke and Matthew, the focus is usually on the soil.  What kind of soil (heart) will the seeds (The Gospel) find?  Hard soil, shallow soil, a heart overgrown with distractions, or a prepared heart, one that will yield a harvest.  Okay, I want a prepared soil...but what if my heart is not there yet? Can I make my heart "prepared" on my own??

Just like I can change some things in my life out of sheer grit, hard work and my own strength (for a time). Just like when I try to not do something I know I should not do, or do something I know I should do, if there is not change at the heart level there is usually not lasting change.

So how do I achieve good soil?

The message our pastor gave last Sunday was on this parable. But his focus was on the seed, not the soil. Yes, the soil is important. But the seed (The Word of God - Luke 8:11) is more so.

The Gospel is the Power that changes me. God must be working the soil of my heart as he changes me. As I spend the time with Jesus, savoring, taking in, hearing, learning, memorizing, meditating, and obeying my heart changes. My roots grow deep in Jesus. Then those seeds can sprout and grow and produce fruit.

Matthew (our pastor) said, "If our life does not reflect the Gospel our roots have not gone deep enough."

I read this on my sweet friend Katie's blog. I don't think she will mind that I am sharing this, and I would encourage you to read her full post.  "So, after a good watering in the Word, I feel my roots being built in him and my faith strengthened and I am overflowing with thankfulness."

Also, if you would like to listen to the whole message Matthew gave please visit our website. Click on Teaching and Worship, then download sermons and then click on seeds message.

May our roots grow deep in Jesus, the lover of our souls, the one that desires for us and gives abundant life, the one that knows us better than we know ourselves, the one that saves and changes hearts and souls.  

Grace and Peace to you.

new etsy listings

etsy shop

morphing

I am painting over the Good Friday painting.  It always surprises me how I can be working on something, really not liking it very much and then all of a sudden it clicks.  I like that the texture of the cross is still visible at certain angles.  It reminds me that the cross, that Christ is the foundation of everything.  

I have been thinking about life, and my family of origin.  How we are shaped by it.  How we carry it with us.  How we bring it all, the good and the bad into our adult life and our relationships. Because of the way we are individually wired and because of our life experiences we can see the same thing and hear the same words so differently. I have to keep reminding myself that. Reminding myself that there's usually always another side to see. And to extend more grace to the ones I love...because it's usually the ones I love that I have the hardest time giving grace to.  

a mix of things

Lots going on in the Studio yesterday. 

 Some of the Saturday Journal Group girls were here. We were all working on various projects.  The beautiful painting below was painted by Wendy.  Her first BIG painting.  This summer will mark her one year anniversary of journaling and painting. One Year! This painting holds deep meaning for her.

Wendy, it is beautiful!

Carrie is making wonderful coasters.  She is going to put alphabet letters in the corners and seal them. She also did some designs on the sided of them.  She made one for me that had the word paint, and it's various forms.  Seeing the word "Splendid" on the left side was an unexpected find.  

This painting is a baby gift for a friend.  She wanted more earth tone colors, and it will be hung on a sage green wall. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.  

And last, a better photo of my Good Friday painting.

Wishing all you Mom's a blessed day!!

I gonna go take a nap!!

what we did today

Sean and I have been playing this week. Yesterday, Sean, Uncle Brian and I went to the Chattahoochee Nature Center.  We saw Owls, Hawks, Bald Eagles, Vultures, and a sleepy Beaver. Snakes and Turtles were in the mix too. Then we were off to Stevie B's for pizza and ice cream. When Sean got home he told his Dad he was tired and needed a nap.  Mina needed one too. 

Today we painted and played with play dough.  I let him mix the play dough colors (his Mom does not) Grandma can do things like that.  lol

Tomorrow we are going to the Atlanta Aquarium.  Dade (Grampa) is joining us for this excursion, should be lots of fun.  I can't wait to see Sean's face when he sees it all.   

Abiding Monday

More Spoken Worship by Gerard Kelly

GOD SPELL

Arrest me, oh God, until I am free.

Blind me until the scales fall from my eyes.

Cajole me, corral me, confront what's soft in me,

God of comfort, who will never compromise.

Divorce me, my God, from all that harms my heart.

Extend me beyond my feeble dreams.

Fix me, firm and fast, to your unfolding future,

God of visions, who is not what he may seem.

Glue me, great God, in the grip of your goodness.

Hold me in the harbor of your hand.

Infuse me, inspire me, invest in my perfection,

God of grace I will not always understand.

Jump-start me, jolting God, when my ignition fails me.

Kick me into life when life is waiting.

Leapfrog my reluctance, lead me in your dance,

God of sacrifice, on whose thin ice I am skating.

Mark me, wounded God, with the subtle bruise of love.

Needle me with needs that crave compassion.

Outrage my inhibitions, overrule my cold inaction.

God of giving, who will not grant me isolation.

Provoke me, powerful God, to a panoramic vision.

Question me when I excuse my small ambitions,

Reason with me, read intentions, renew my once-strong dreams,

God of instincts far beyond imagination.

Scorch me, searing God, when my temperature is falling,

Traumatize me when my spirit is sedated.

Upset my dull routines, undermine my oversleeping,

God of wildfire, who will not be domesticated.

Vaccinate me, holy God, against the selfish gene's encroachment.

Wash the self-inflicted wounds of my false feelings.

X-ray my heart until every motive shows,

God of hygiene, holding out for my full healing.

Yearn for me, God of love, whose very life is longing.

Zero in on every fault line I've befriended,

Zoom in on my mind-maps,

Zone out my danger zones,

God of endings, who will leave no song unended.

Life has been full to the brim for me these last couple of weeks.  I want you all to know I have missed my friends here, and will be back visiting and commenting shortly.  

Grace and Peace