Shadow Play

This watercolor brings back a lot of memories...living on Isabelle in the little yellow house, as we used to call it. Chris was small and I was a new art instructor at the Memphis College of Art. I loved my life as a mommy and as an artist/teacher and a wife to a loving husband. Life was one of contentment and bliss most of the time. Four years in that house brought about many changes. We decided that we wanted to move east to the Smokies. We longed to be closer to nature and away from the city where our fears were growing every day. Traffic in our neighborhood meant an unsafe yard for our littlest one. Strangers, too, made us unsure of his safety. Oh, how he loved the outdoors: swinging in the tire swing, playing with the dogs and puppies, playing under his private fountain (the waterhose). Piling leaves all on top of him, I can still hear him giggling! We loved to go camping together as a family then. The photo that was a reference for this painting was taken on one of our trips to Fall Creek Falls in those days...now we live just down the road!

As I think about all of these wonderful memories, I think about shadows, too. In the scripture, "shadow" is used in some special ways. The psalmist says, "In the shadow of His wings, I will sing for joy." The psalmist speaks of abiding and dwelling in the shadow of the Most High, as well as walking in the valley of the shadow of death.

Shadows can be either lovely and consoling, or they can be horrifying. Shadows of things past can haunt us, or they can bring us great joy in remembering. If you abide in a shadow, the source of that shadow is very close to you. Drawing near to God as James speaks of, is that kind of shadow we want to dwell within. Abiding in Christ, dwelling in His Shadow, we have shade from the heat of this world, we have comfort. and we are refreshed so we can keep on walking here. Life is full of things that drain us and discourage us and pull us down, but if we abide in the Shadow of the Most High, we have everything we need to make it. The psalmist said in His presence are pleasures forever more and everlasting joy. Mary, who sat at His precious feet, knew a secret that many in that day missed, and many are still missing it: sitting in His Shadow is the place to reside, for it is there that we drink from the Fountain of Life and find hope and courage to keep on keeping on.

Shalom!

The Guitar Lesson

This pencil drawing was done just before we moved away from my hometown 17 years ago. I drew it for a very special person whom I still love and admire today. I first met him in youth choir when I was only a babe in Christ. He was one of the leaders of the youth...we all looked up to him as a spiritual mentor for us. I am so grateful that God placed him in my life.

At the age of 14, I came to know Christ as my personal Savior. I was a heavy-set, extremely shy girl and very lonely...very unsure of why I was here on this planet. I
will never ever forget coming to that saving knowledge
of Christ; it was literally as if I had walked out of the darkness into the light! And THAT is exactly what I did!

Suddenly, I had purpose and meaning. Suddenly, the world became such a lovely place to me. I would find myself humming a tune or singing outloud...He really did put a melody within my heart.

I had loved music for as long as I could remember. I had always loved beautiful, sweet sounding and calming music. At the age of 12, I became a John Denver fanatic, first hearing his "Leaving on a Jet Plane" on the radio late one night as I fell asleep (Peter, Paul and Mary singing it.) There came a point though that those songs became empty...they just weren't enough to "fix" me anymore. Can anyone relate?

At the age of 15, I had asked my dad for a guitar at least a billion times. I guess that he just wasn't sure I meant business, since he had already invested in my previous musical whims: one year of flute in the band (never could hold my mouth just right!), one year playing the bass clarinet (very expensive mouthpiece and reeds), and he just had to wonder if he was going to throw some more of his hard-earned money down the drain when I started telling him I wanted a guitar. Finally, he purchased a guitar for me, but I guess that I hadn't specified the type of music I was interested in well enough because he bought an electric guitar and amp...I tried hard not to act disappointed on Christmas morning. There came a time though that I finally had to break the news to him that I needed an accoustic guitar. He finally gave in again...he sure must have loved me! This time he bought a "box guitar" and 9 months of lessons from a university student who came to the house each week...ahh, my first real crush as a teenager! He taught me all kinds of songs off of the radio and lots of John Denver's songs.

There came a point that those songs just weren't getting it for me though. As I grew in Christ and gained more and more friends who were also Christians, I began to desire to learn every song I possibly could that had something to do with my Lord and His Word. As I became more and more involved in the youth at my new church, I was learning songs and then going home and trying to figure them out on the guitar. I remember the joy of realizing that I was able to "play by ear". About the same time, I was blessed to take a few lessons from that dear brother in Christ that I mentioned earlier. He taught me lots of really neat picking patterns and runs and a lot of it I still remember today.

Looking back on my life, I see God's hand, God's fingerprint everywhere I look...

That same brother in Christ that had a hand in teaching me guitar, and mentoring me spiritually, sang at our wedding and then at our daughter's wedding several years later. He is the one who wrote the song that many of you Blue Mountain girls came to know me for: "Safe in the Arms of Jesus".

And thus is the story behind "The Guitar Lesson"...

What lesson are you leaving with others as you go about your living this life?

A Bluebird for Rachel

A Bluebird for Rachel is a watercolor that was done by me in the Fall of 2009 specially for a beautiful young friend upon her engagement.

One day Rachel's mother was sharing the story with me of how the bluebird had become a reminder to them that the Lord would not forget to fulfill Rachel's desires for a godly man for her husband-to-be. As I listened intently, I knew that a painting was in the making!

In November of 2009, Rachel was wed to her "bluebird", Micah, who faithfully serves our country in one of the armed forces.

Lamentations 3 says, "This I recall to mind, therefore, I have hope: the Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease; His compassions never fail; they are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness!"

Many verses in the Bible talk of "waiting on the Lord"; but saying it and doing it are not necessarily the same thing, are they? Do you agree that it takes more faith to wait than to receive what we have desired of the Lord? It is in waiting on our Father that our trust in Him is strengthened and refined. It is in the waiting that we learn to cling to Him for our every need and desire. "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word; just to rest upon His promise, just to know thus sayeth the Lord! " Remember those words from the old hymn? They are so true! Have you ever had a time where God allowed you to wait much longer for your heart's desire than you thought you could possibly stand? Do you remember the wonderful time of closeness you and your loving Father shared during that time of waiting? Once you finally got what you once thought you just couldn't live without, didn't it pale to the glorious gift of fellowship with the Lover of your soul?

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart!" Psalm 37

May you enjoy sweet moments with your heavenly Father as you wait upon Him for your prayers to be answered. Always remember that He is at work for our good even when we can't see it!