Favorite People to Visit

Category: Favorite People to Visit

Tease on Tiles and ‘doing what you love’

My very favorite thing about being an artist is just playing!! When i first began selling my art 4 years ago, I totally didn’t get that…to play. I was trying to create a product and forgot that i was suppose to put my heart in the work i was doing. It really showed in my art, the lack of passion, and I quickly had to let go and learn to play again. i was suppose to just be me and let the art create itself.

That is why i love mixed media so much…it allows me to express myself in ways i can’t find using just one medium or technique. That’s pretty much how i am in life…gotta have 10 balls in the air, 6 lines and the water, and 4 pots on the stove. I’m just crazy like that:)

So i love this new technique i have been working with using alcohol inks and ceramic tiles.

I simply couldn’t take a picture that would do these tiles justice! The colors and shine are just stunning. If you have worked with alcohol inks you know how rich and vibrant the colors are, that’s why i love using them!

These tiles were so much fun and they very much had a life of there own. I’m offering a workshop on this process next Thursday (you can find more information in my workshop page). Friday, the 23rd i’m gonna come back and share the tutorial on how you can make these at home. Sorry to be such a tease but

I’d love you to stop back by and experience this super duper fun process with me.

Until then…

I’m excited to share “my walk” on a truly inspiring blog called Do What you Love for Life hosted by Beth Nicholls. Here is her facebook page too. Beth has a way of supporting women in who they are while inspiring others through her own walk.

Here’s a little sample …
“In 2007 I was happy. But not the kind of happy that fills you up. I was satisfied but still hungry. I think that was the first step for me in doing what I love, realizing I wasn’t filled up and feeling like I did deserved to be filled up.”

Please stop over and visit Beth and read more on the journey’s of people who are doing what they love for life!

Floods and Fires…

Through floods and fires…He has you right where you need to be.
Through sickness and abandonment…He’s got that too.
Loss, pain, and sacrifice…Jesus knows every bit of how that feels.
It is the test of the true witness that can stand the trials of life and still love our Father…still praise and trust Him.

Thank you to all the Godly women who have been sharing their trials with such great love and gratitude.
You are a reflection of Jesus to the world. May God use this trial to bring you closer to His Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

Happiness

I really want to like this quote, in fact i want to love it, maybe even live it! But, as I really let it sink in, it falls in the same place as “ignorance is bliss” and “what you don’t know won’t hurt you” and i’m not sure i like where that path is going.

Some things, i feel i need to go deep with. I need to set boundaries in my life and have the integrity and self control to live within these boundaries. I think that takes wisdom and maturity. I think that takes time.

I can have knowledge and still not be wise.

Wisdom is different than knowledge.

According to our dear friend WEBSTER wisdom means….

1.The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise

2.The soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of such

experience, knowledge, and good judgment

3.The body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period

I like number two. I like the word soundness which could also mean faith or peace.

I can’t help but think about Galatians 5:22-23 in the bible…. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Where is the word HAPPINESS? Actually the Bible doesn’t use the word HAPPINESS often and when it does it usually refers to serving others to give them happiness, not gain it for ourself.

So back to the question? Is it better to be HAPPY or WISE? Can we both both??

I would love to know your thoughts on this.

As usual, i didn’t intend to get so deep!

Linking up with the sisters today…

I made this for you!!!

Julian just cracks me up…

I wish you all love, laughter, and joy.

Linking up with Sara over at YES, TEACHER. Stop on over to visit her Tickle Me Tuesdays post.

My Yesterday…A Day in the Life

I am linking up today with an amazing lady named Tiffini. Her blog is beautiful and her heart is beautiful. Tiff invited me to participate over the weekend and I thought it sounded fun, but honestly I thought ” who cares what a day in my life would look like?” I’m a mom of two and most of my days consist of doing the mom things…making lunches, cleaning the house, carpooling, homework, cooking dinner and lots of prayer that God will give me the strength to do it all and still have some time for Him and me. And if you read my last post I was in the midst of “climbing down the mountain of God’s Glory” and I was feeling pretty chilly.

BUT….let me tell you…God’s Glory did show up yesterday! I guess He wanted you all to see Him:) Bare with me as this is the longest post ever and probably has a lot of spelling and grammar errors!

-Wake at 7:30 as usual, not a morning person so I was the last one up. Talk to God in prayer before I open my eyes and offer Him my day…I have few rules but this is one of them and it has helped transform my life.

-Let my posse outside to do their business ( 3 black dogs who follow me around and wait for me to look their way or possibly drop some food)

-Make the kids lunches, brush my sons hair, and kiss them on their way out the door.

-Let dogs out 3 more times!

– Read a little of the paper, answer a few emails, drink coffee.

– My sweet friend calls and we talk about God and how great he is for 45 min! We agree on meeting for adoration (prayer in God’s Holy presence through the Eucharist) on Friday am and to do a nine day prayer (novena) for her prayer intentions.

-Meanwhile my alarm is going off up stairs for 2 hours…chirping birds and I kinda like it so I leave it.

– My amazing bible study group arrives at 9:15 and because I have been yackin on the phone I answer the door in my pj’s and haven’t brushed my hair or teeth. Luckily they love me and luckily I don’t care…I just got off the phone with a godly women and I was high as a kite.

-Bible study lasts for 2 1/2 hours as one of my sisters was going through some hard things and she needed lots of prayer and council. After the convo. we were all pumped up because we had some hope in her struggle which had not been there for a very long time. Around that time an Eastern Blue Bird shows up right outside the window, a few feet from where we were sitting. Well the Holy Spirit knows I love birds and they all stand for different things in my heart when i see them…hope, love, peace, danger, God’s presence etc…so He sends them to me all the time.

The Eastern Blue Bird just happens to stand for HOPE and the girls had never even seen one! We were in awe of that little bird as we knew He heard our cries. Big hugs and they leave.

– Brush hair and teeth…at 11:30, YUCK!

– Work-out to Jackie Warner on-demand video for 35 minutes and she kicks my fat butt. Thanks Jackie, needed it!

-Shower, and get ready.

– Answer a few more emails and make a few calls.

– Pick up the kids at 3:00. Listen about there day and always enjoy hearing it. Unless they are at each others throats and I then tell them to stop talking.

– Run over to get groceries at ALDI, my favorite place, besides TRADER JOES, for food shopping.

-Spend 25 minutes getting groceries and get up to check-out line to pay. The cash I thought i put in my purse is not there and my atm card is not working. ALDI’s doesn’t take credit so I ask the cashier to put a hold on my receipt and let others go through the line while I call my hubby (who says ” what do you want me to do” I don’t know, wave your magic wand?) and frantically search my purse. As I’m looking through my purse, a women comes over, hands me my receipt, and says ” here, I’ve taken care of it”. I say in shock ” What? Oh please no”. And she turns and heads right out the door with me yelling ‘THANK YOU!” I immediately start crying like a baby because of her generosity, but mostly because of the experience I had shopping the week prior.

Week prior-My son and I were at Aldi’s , doing my weekly food shopping. We start talking with a elderly man in a wheelchair while grabbing a carton of milk. He was poor in appearance and had a strong odor and he started to tell me where I could get free groceries and free meals. We chatted for awhile and I went on with my shopping, helping him here in there, put food in his bag whenever i saw him needing assistance. While I was in the last aisle of the store, getting ready to check out, the Holy Spirit says ” Buy that man’s food”. So I tell the Holy Spirit ” OK, I will if he gets behind me in line” I know, pretty stubborn, huh? So of course the old man gets behind me in the line and I purchase his food. Really it was no big deal and more a Blessing to me then the old man I’m sure. Plus my son was all jazzed and it was a great opportunity to witness to him as well that sweet old man.

Back to yesterday…weeping in Aldi’s. People are staring of course and all I could hear the Holy Spirit say was ” I will never be out done in generosity”. WOW, what a moment! I will be donating $83.12 to my church, the exact amount the kind women paid for my groceries.

– Run home, unload the food and get on homework with the kids.

-Go out at 5:oo to my sisters boutique for a open house she has been working very hard to plan. Drink champagne and get treated like “Pretty Women” as i buy the cutest hat and purse for $40 with %50 off, bill equals my exact budget! Yeah! I usually hate shopping but had a blast and felt really cute and very frugal leaving her cute little shop .

– 7:00, go and visit my girlfriend and her new baby who arrived almost 2 month premature. While holding the 4 1/2 lbs. baby boy, looking over his tiny hands, I feel the presence of God’s might and perfection.

-Get home at 8:30 and at 8:45 a dear girlfriend calls, crying over a really sad issue she has been dealing with. We talk for 45 minutes and we both feel better, hopeful that God has this all under control.

– Kids asleep, disappointment because i didn’t kiss them goodnight. Bad Mommy!!

-Husband waiting in our prayer room to do 2 Novenas and Holy Rosary.

– End prayer at 9:57 and kiss hubby goodnight. He goes to bed at 10:00 every night…he’s so good!

– Answer a few more emails and watch TV for an hour, flipping through the stations because it is all trash. Give up and go to bed.

– Prayers of gratitude as I’m in awe of God’s Glory and that He would allow me, a lowly housewife, be a witness to His Kingdom! Fall fast asleep.

I KNOW!!!! Crazy good stuff huh?! What a week I’m having as one of my bff’s is picking me up in an hour to do portrait drawing with a live model for 3 hours!

I love this crazy roller-coaster ride God has me on! So why was I in the valley last week? I guess so that the mountain would be even higher. Like my Priest always reminds me, this is not Heaven. But boy, I felt like i was there yesterday.

I pray that you too yearn for His Glory. He is faithful, never outdone.

A Journey to Robin’s Well

Poppy

10×10” gallery wrapped canvas

I can’t believe how time is flying by lately…in a good way since I am enjoying the ride. Days aren’t dragging, they are flying and it is just amazing how God’s law is freedom. I have taken time to FILL UP as I walk along my journey of Faith. I was never really good at the filling up part before, wasting time and trying to fill the hole with lots of STUFF. Stuff that could never satisfy so I would just add more STUFF. What a amazing joy it is to drink of the Living Water and be quenched! I have been filling up with Him, creating art, getting organized still ( this is a journey in itself and not one I particually enjoy!) and spending lots of quality time with family and friends. You know what I mean by quality time, just being together and letting things happen.

I wonder what fills you up?

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

On one of my last posts I promised you that i would turn you on to some of my favorite bloggers. Women who inspire me, challenge me, and who lift me up in so many ways. True Blessings that I never expected to meet out here in this blogosphere.

Meet Robin !

She is a amazing Godly women who lifts people up and inspires them to be brave. She believes in herself and I just love that. Not in a cocky way, in a way that tells you that she has confidence in her Holy Maker.

Robin has a new e-book out (brave soul) called MY CREATIVE PEACE.

Here is what she says about the course…

THROUGHOUT the e-course, we will:
-explore God’s creativity
-explore the beauty and VALUE of creativity
-explore creativity as an act of worship
-PINPOINT your creative journey
-INTEGRATE CREATIVITY AND SPIRITUAL JOURNEY MORE DEEPLY

Robin was so nice to take the time to answer some questions for me about her journey.

· What inspired you to want to do this creative workbook?
When I was fumbling my way through trying to figure out how to be more creative, I remember looking around book stores and libraries trying to find some guidance. For me Julia Cameron’s books (The Artist Way series) helped me immensely. But as I was going through I felt myself wanting to move into allowing my creative time to be a time of prayer and meditation. I had not come across any material that discussed that aspect and so I began to consider the idea of using my journaling as a means to create something for others to use.

· What are your intentions for this creative workbook?
My initial intention was to create this as an e-course. I was all set to go and even began promoting it on the Internet. But a series of events occurred that got me to reconsider. One very important one was a woman sent me an email saying she found the course and though she couldn’t afford to do the course, she wanted to thank me for creating something along the lines of what the course offers. This along with my desire to get back into serving in the local church caused me to temporarily move the course into this direction. My next step is to approach some local churches about offering the course within their small groups.

· How did you feel as you started to dive into the details and content of this creative workbook?
FEAR AND GRATEFULNESS SIMULTANEOUSLY
Fear because I was second guessing the idea that my experience of wanting to integrate creativity and Christianity is something others are desiring to do.
Gratefulness for how much GOD has answered my prayer to want to take the limited time I Have and let it be a time where I experience GOD and feel incredibly fulfilled.

· How did you feel when you started to promote the creative workbook?
I felt this relief about knowing I had done all I could do as far as putting my words and my art together in a manner that is aesthetically pleasing and in a way that anyone can pick up the workbook and begin. I am so excited because I have seen GOD do unexpected things! When I think I am doing something for one purpose, GOD is FABULOUS about taking it and doing more than we can ever ask or THINK!

· Can you offer any advice to someone who is contemplating doing something they have never done before?

If you really sense GOD is moving you in a new direction, you cannot FAIL! CANNOT! Take the little steps; the little things you KNOW TO DO. The steps may feel like you are bumbling around in the dark. It really did feel that way for me. And then you have this “suddenly” moment where you find yourself in the middle of this thing that is BIGGER than you and yet is THE MOST SATISFYING SPACE. And then rest in it and ENJOY IT.

What an way to fill up! GOD AND ART!

I’m in and can’t wait to get my hands on this book.

Thank you Robin for being brave and encouraging others to FILL UP!

More on Being Real

In keeping with the spirit of my last post, I wanted to share this video from country singer BRAD PAISLEY. If you have never seen it, check it out…totally hysterical! Always makes me laugh. And it is so true!

Here in blogland I often wonder what people are REALLY like?

I have had the pleasure of meeting some of you and can honestly say your blog doesn’t do you justice! I also know a few people who blog and they are nothing like the blogs they write. So sad because it shows in their writing. Don’t get me wrong, I try and put my best foot forward too, as I do in my everyday real life. No one wants to log onto a whiny, bitchy blog everyday (and believe me I can be those things like what I’m kinda doig right now!). But I also try and keep it real. As I’ve posted before, I never expected to blog about my faith journey as often as i do and I thought people that posted their kid’s pictures were asking for trouble. I just thought I would have a cute little art blog that would promote my work and workshops.
I have grown to trust you and myself more through blogging and now post any old thing, when ever the mood hits me. This is not a numbers game for me, it is an extention of who I am.
Not saying I don’t try to encourage or inspire you and I’m not saying I would mind more followers. Just saying I would rather have 10 followers on a similar journey, then 4000 followers who really don’t care to have a connection with me or what I care about or struggle with.
I feel so blessed that this blog is growing and you actually care about reading it!

In the next few week I am going to invite you to check out some of my favorite blogs. These blogs are written by genuine women who have touched my heart.

Jen at FINDING HEAVEN is like that. Stop over and visit her for a glimpse into her authentic life and journey of Faith.

Enjoy the show…