cupcakes or...bread and water

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

philippians 4: 12-13

i am pretty sure paul wasn't talking about missing cupcakes when he wrote this...so whether you are having cupcakes...or struggling and having bread and water...god will see you through my friend...

he loves you so very much...

visit here for some of god's love on this word-filled wednesday...

perspective

before i start, thank you to all of you who left comments last week when i was so weary...such encouragement and goodness. thank you so, so much. i left here last thursday to head up to the mountains...amazing what 4 days of rest will do. god is so good. i spent alot of quiet time with him, walking through some beautiful wooded canyons, sitting by the campfire, by the lake. i feel so renewed...and have a better understanding and perspective of where he is taking me on my art journey. sometimes things get all jumbled up inside my head, and i run too far ahead of him....he very lovingly brings me back where i belong.

i also love the talks my husband and i have when we are away like that. talks about your life in the here and now, and your future. where it's headed, where you want to go. we talked more about our dream of selling the house and hitting the road in our trailer full time...to see this beautiful country we live in...it's becoming more of a reality when we retire.

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i sat at my art table this morning to continue working on a collage i started last week. nothing came together. i left the table, ok with the fact that it just wasn't happening. while i was in the bathroom drying my hair, god gave me a verse and a design idea. i stopped drying my hair, went to the table, laid down the embellishments and there it was. i love it when that happens...

where does your inspiration come from?

come to me

this has been a tough week for me. how easy it is to get caught up in the passion of making art for god, of doing this blog, of having an etsy shop. juggling a full time job, all the responsibilities of running a household, the stuff of life. how easy to get away from the real heart of it all. i find myself getting so consumed by the number of hits on my shop, the number of hits on my blog, did i sell anything today, why didn't i sell anything today. my art sucks!! why am i bothering!!! i hear myself encouraging others, then i do this to myself!! my inner critic is showing up every time i try to paint the last few days. this morning as i sat on the couch, i came across something in my bible that i printed quite a while ago. the basic content was about being with god. and where god meets you, where you meet him. i hear god best in the stillness. in the quiet. and as of late, when i have been there, my head is clamoring, clanging ....work. kids. finances. future. just the stuff. it's like i have been meeting him in my spot i go to every morning, but my heart hasn't been there. i haven't connected with him. i have been coming physically, but not mentally or spiritually. and not intentionally. just distracted. this morning i heard his whispers..."come to me"...i realized then how weary i really am. just from life. and how life stuff can break my connection with him. sometimes i resent it!!
we leave this afternoon for the high lakes, returning sunday. i can hardly wait. our first camp trip of the summer. i know while we are there i will get some clarity, some renewing. i need to unplug(electronically)and recharge(spiritually).
my prayer is this: if you are feeling some of this in your life, take some time and recharge...be good to yourself.
love and hugs to you...
the photo: in may, we visited the canyon in our hometown in southern california. parts of where we lived(when we were first married)had burned last fall, including the house we lived in(so sad). while we were driving, we came around a bend, and this cross was on the hill...

word-filled wednesday....comfort

i love quilts. i love to buy them and make them. i cuddle up with them. they comfort me. that's what god's love does for me. it brings me comfort, and wraps me up....

may your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. let your compassion come to me that i may live, for your law is my delight...

psalm 119: 76-77

visit here for encouragement on this word-filled wednesday

sweet love

i have an 8 year old grandson...just turned 8. he is an artist. he was here on sunday and saw something i have on my art table. the words are from artist mati rose. he asked me why i have this on my table. i explained to him that i am really hard on myself sometimes in life and in art. he said to me, very matter of factly..."i know, i do that with my art. isn't it exhausting"?!! out of the mouths of babes.

the demons start early don't they?

he then made this...painstakingly following the lines with his 8-year old cursive...tracing some metal embellishments he found laying around on the table. a gift...to me.

big sigh....

hugs to you dear friends...

goodness and a giveaway

Internet Cafe Devotions

today i want to share about this inspirational website. i stumbled upon it(translate: god brought me to it)just several weeks ago, and i have teamed up with these wonderful ladies to bring forward all the lord has for you! there is a ton of goodness goin' on...new look to the website, wonderful devotionals, women with a strong love for the lord...right now they are having a giveaway and one of my canvases is part of the magic...there are some lovelies to be had, so take a look...grab a cup of coffee and soak in all god has for you over here

liberated

for sale in my etsy shop

i am astounded at what god is doing in my life. when we really just let go and ask him, with pure motives to lead us....everything changes...the blessings come. the soul blessings. the abilities that we have buried erupt. the conciousness of him becomes even greater. ever-present. i am truly humbled.

he is really rocking my world right now.

unleashed

i have chosen the way of truth; i have set my heart on your laws. i hold fast to your statutes, o lord; do not let me be put to shame.

i run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free...

psalm 119: 30-32

god has helped me loose the chains that bind...i am so very grateful today.

visit here to be encouraged on this word-filled wednesday...

let's party

my grandson is turning 8 on june 15, sunday was his birthday party. it was such a fun day...i am posting more pictures than i normally would, i am totally in nammie(what my grandsons so lovingly call me) mode right now! it was quite warm yesterday(hit 98) and we were at the perfect spot...on the lawn, by the water area, with a breeze that brought some of the water mist over...

birthday boy...8 years old...

youngest grandson...he's 4...ice cream on a stick had blue food coloring...

sat under this...

so being boys...

these were torn into in typical boy fashion...

opening the card i made him...he loved it...he is an artist too and appreciates handmade things...lusciousness...

oh yeah baby...controlled chaos...this seriously made me wish i had had a suit on...contemplating his next move... gotta love boys... all in all, i would say it was a great day...in my book, summer is officially here!!!

if you would like to leave a comment, scroll down a little further...not sure what i did, but there is lots of empty page!!!

best part of my day

i took this photo this morning. the moment was lovelier for me than this photo conveys. i absolutely love early morning. everything is renewed. i have energy. lots of it. i love it when i am home and i just start gettin' in to what needs to be done around the house. i am more "artfully" productive during the day as well...i pretty much start going down hill around 4-ish...i am not a high energy person, never have been. so if something needs to be done, it will get done the first part of the day. when i was a young mom, it was the opposite!!! i so remember the nights of staying up late to work on projects while the boys slept so peacefully(or not!).

on a work day...after i get home from work...productive??? not so much. yes, i will cook a meal, start a load of laundry...but hard labor is out of the question. no cleaning the bathroom, scrubbing floors. no, no. none of that.

i am curious to know when your most productive time is...when do you swing the highest??

word-filled wednesday

if you haven't discovered this website, you must visit! very inspirational posts going on over there...and today is "word-filled wednesday"...and i would like to share this verse with you...

your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great work in god's sight...

1 peter 3:3-4

share with me some of your beauty...what is god doing with your inner self?

keep making art

10 x 10 canvas...in my etsy shop

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shelby and i had a great time with our grandsons on saturday. we took them to a BMX track, they rode their bikes there for about an hour. we then went to the show to see "shrek forever after". it was cute, had a good message. but holy cow!!!...we spent more on snacks then on the admission!

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today was a beautiful day...although by the time i was ready to do art it had warmed up too much, and the air was so still, not a breeze whatsoever. i decided to stay indoors at my art table. with a fan. it was much more comfortable than being outside on the deck. the verse god gave me for this piece really spoke to my heart as i am on this journey of making art to * glorify him * and * encourage * others. at times i jump ahead of him and have these ideas which i think are so great. but they are my ideas. not his. i know without a doubt that he wants me to do this creative biz, i just need to do it his way, not mine. his timing, not mine. sometimes i get carried away and forget...

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judging by the comments i got with regard to your art area, sounds like some of us are, or have had to make do. in the past, i did art at the dining room table, which was a pain, which seems what some of you are dealing with. we have a very large living room, so i put the dining room table in there, put a large folding table in the dining room, and that is where i do art now. the room has 3 large windows which i just love(i understand what you mean about lots of light leslie, gotta have it). i have a tall bookcase, some storage bins and my stereo. i'm good to go!

...i do know how you feel about having to make do...

just keep making your art, don't ever give up on that. you need it, and so does the world...

friday rocks

oh happy day...friday is here and for me that means the end of the work week. saturday will be spent with our sweet grandsons while our son and daughter-in-law do their thing. sunday is not planned, which is just the way i like it. that leaves the door open for doing art. i think i will move some art supplies on to the deck table and do art outside... doesn't that sound delicious!! nice glass of iced tea, good music to inspire. hard to be inside when the weather is going to be so gorgeous.
ok. i do think i just planned my sunday...!

so...let me ask you...where do you create, what does your space look like?? do you love it, hate it, wanna change it, clean it up?
share with me...

feelin' groovy

i have had the best morning.

*while drinking my morning coffee all i could hear were bird songs

*put in some great tunes and painted for 2 hours

*i painted intuitively with no planning of any kind. i am learning to do that.

have you had time to be creative today? if you haven't, make the time. seriously. it's great mental health therapy (you probably already know that).
i am diggin' kelly rae's creative business class, yes i am!! there is so much wisdom and depth to what she is sharing. if you haven't signed up for this e-course, there is still time. it is already changing me and my art-life.

you gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. you must do the thing which you think you cannot do...
-eleanor roosevelt

be good to yourself today......oh, and be sure to check this out...