my prodigal

today
old grief
rushes in...

sadness grips my mother soul.

he must come back
to grace
to love

*
to hope
to home
to Him.

sadness grips my messy soul
i know the empty place.
sadness gripped His father soul
when i turned

from His beautiful face.

i returned home
i know hope lives for him.
god is there waiting

when
his grief
rushes
in.

******************

god layed these words on my heart earlier this week,

after another cry for help

from my youngest son.

when you reach the end

of what is healthy to do as a parent,

you must keep pointing them back to jesus.

god knows his heart, and he belongs to Him.

sometimes, it is just difficult...

just keeping it real, my friends...

linking up with emily for imperfect prose

xo

life is good

*****these are for you*****

hello friends...i have been preoccupied it seems.

working.

resting.

making art.

spending much needed time alone with my husband.

over labor day weekend, very shortly after the kids and grandkids moved out, we had a houseful staying with us when we had the 50th party for our parents...whew!

things are finally settling down

into our normal day to day routine,

**********

we

are

lovin'

it!

**********

thursday-sunday of next week is my retreat at lake tahoe. i am so very excited!! 4 women are attending, all from out of state. i pick them up early thursday morning in sacramento, then we head up to the lake...it will be 4 days of

art

girl time

great food and wine

music

and the best scenery one could ask for...i'm thinking there will be some walks on the beach, in the mountains, i can hardly wait...and the weather is going to be perfect. between the 5 of us, we make jewelry, create collage, paint, do photography, and illustration. i say god is bringing together a talented group of women who are excited to share all we have with each other...

for that i am feeling very grateful...

xo

nothing compares

i was on my way to work this morning, thinking about what i wanted to post about, and listening to third day...many of you have probably heard their music. i discovered them probably 0ver 10 years ago, and i still to this day, listen to their music over and over. mac powell writes lyrics that speak my heart. they have a song called "nothing compares". the lyrics talk about "people wasting their time, building up riches for a life that's fine"...why do we do that? we fill our life with people, places, and things trying to fill that hole. even after many years in a personal relationship with god i did that. but nothing can fill that hole. i know that now. i really, truly know that. in my soul.

"i find myself just living for today,

'cause i don't know what tomorrow's gonna bring...

so no matter if i rise or fall,

i'll never be alone..."

nothing compares

to the greatness of knowing god

linking with emily today...

xo

some art...at last!

this is a wedding gift i have been working on for a bit, an 11x14 canvas. the wedding was in july and i just finished this today. oops!! anyway, the bride and groom grew up and went to school together in lake tahoe, have a dog named tyson, and love adventure. click on the image and you can get a better look at the text. i got this idea from another artist/blogger, erin carver...you can see the canvas that she did here. i thought it was such a great idea, such a personalized gift for a couple naming important pieces of their life. so here is my finished canvas. just have to seal it, then mail it off to them...
today i am linking up with jennifer from studio JRU...just catching a sneak peek of what others are doing in their art space...

star thistle is pretty prickly stuff. and that's where i am right now. in a prickly place. i am not liking it too much. but it gets me on my knees and that's precisely why it is happening. god knows me better than i know myself. he is taking me through a place of backing away...of letting go...reinforcing trust. and it's not easy. it seems i can talk a big talk, but walking the walk is where he wants me to be. i have much to learn, even after all these years of being his girl. so take heart my friends, if god has you in a learning place, it's because

you are important to him

he wants his best for you

that he loves you...

xo

it's thursday...link with emily

inspiration

truth is here

i signed up for jodi shaw's e-course a few weeks ago. little did i know that when i went to read the first post for the course, which was this morning, that i would have been so overwhelmed with comfort and tenderness to my soul. the scripture was just the reinforcement my heart needed, and a story that jodi tells about her own journey, was just what god wanted me to hear.

check out the info on her blog, and if you want to be truly blessed, sign up for the course...

xo