Everyday Matters Challenge #56 and Inspire Me Thursday Challenge: Self Portrait

Illustration Friday --Tea

Here's my "doodle sketch" for this week's Illustration Friday Theme.
A simple drawing --from a different perspective. Enjoy!

An Amazing Artist --Is this the REAL thing?!

Someone recently pointed me in the direction of this artist, Julian Beever. I have been viewing his work with awe - especially his pavement drawings. Knowing that they are "temporary" works and they will fade away within a relatively short period of time, it's amazing to see the incredible detail that is depicted in his art. When you have a few moments - take some time to view his work. You'll be amazed!

Illustration Friday -- Song

This little pup is singing his heart out at the moon!
...an Artist Trading Card I created several days ago which I thought was appropriate for this week's theme. Enjoy!

A Lesson in Faith

The phone rang today. It was my stepdaughter, Stephanie, calling to say that she had just learned her grandmother has been diagnosed with breast cancer. After assuring her that I would be praying for her grandmother and asking her to be sure to give me regular updates, I handed the phone to Olivia - knowing that by talking to her youngest half sister, Stephanie would be cheered up.

A few minutes into the conversation Olivia asked Stephanie why she was sad. Stephanie replied, "My grandmother is sick." Olivia said, "Well, we'll just have to pray for her - okay? Hold on. Dear Jesus, please help Stephanie's grandmother feel all better. In Jesus' name, Amen." She then said to Stephanie. "Okay - now you don't have to worry about a thing because Jesus is in charge." She then went on to talk about something else. As far as Olivia was concerned, the situation was handled.

Oh...the faith of a child. So matter-of-fact. So certain. No worries. Jesus is in charge. May we all learn from Olivia today and trust the Lord with total abandon - not worrying about anything that we lay at His feet - because Jesus is in charge!

Photo Friday -- Theme: Baby

This week's theme for Photo Friday is "Baby". Here she is...our little Olivia --when she was a baby! Today she's almost four! ...sigh...she is growing much too fast for my liking!

Today's Thought:

...this quote appeared on one of my favorite blogs today:

“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks incognito. The real labour is to remember, to attend. In fact, to come awake. Still more, to remain awake.”
–Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer

Olivia's Art Project

This morning, immediately upon awakening, Olivia had to make "Jonah" the Whale. She didn't want to eat breakfast, didn't want to watch Noggin, didn't want to do anything besides an art project - Jonah the Whale - with "sprinkles" on him. (Sprinkles = glitter). I asked her if she talked about Jonah the Whale in church last night. Her reply - "No, we talked about the Mud Guy." "The Mud Guy?"... "Yeah, Jesus put mud on the guy's eyes and then he could see that his house was dirty and he needed to run the suck-up sweeper." ?!...out of the mouths of babes. Here's Olivia's art project: Jonah the Whale:

Illustration Friday - Simple (Submission #2)

This is a small painting I did years ago - 1997.
Entitled "A Pot of Geraniums" --just a simple pot sitting on the window ledge.

Self Portrait Tuesday 2-14-06

It's Wednesday.
I'm a day behind in posting for Self-Portrait Tuesday.
What else is new?

Here's my submission:
The Theme: All of Me
We're supposed to be capturing ALL --warts and all.
As I said before, I don't have any warts.
So --I took a photo of my teeth.
If I could - I would change my teeth.
They're yellow - there are two on the top that are slighly crooked.
Up against my RED lipstick which I applied for the Valentine's Day dinner last night --they REALLY looked yellow. So - I had to wear a different color lipstick. I applied and wiped off seven different shades before I settled on the same one that I always wear. It looked the best. Why mess with a good thing?
Okay --here's my TEETH PORTRAIT --altered, of course. My teeth really don't look THAT BAD!

OUR GOD IS AWESOME!!!!

I just read the long-awaited news on Rebekah's Page that Rebekah is CANCER FREE!!!!!!

...and I have just done a dance before the Lord!!

Earlier this evening, a friend said to me that when you know that something is of the Lord - there are no words to describe the emotion. She was right. There are no words!

All I can say is - God is Good - All the Time!!

Take a moment to visit Rebekah's Page and continue to pray for this incredible Champion who has been such an inspiration to all who have been walking with prayer with her through her journey!

Glory to God...Glory to God...Glory to God!!!!
Yes!

Illustration Friday - Simple

Randy and I played a game of Scrabble last night.
He won.
He cheated.
He played words that don't exist.
Here's an example....He plays "Q-U-A-R-T"
I say, "KWART? KWART is not a word!"
He looks at me like I'm from Mars and replies...
"It's QUART - as in a QUART of Milk..."
Duh.
Sometimes I wonder about myself.
Inspired by the game....and my simple mind...here's my
submission for this week's illustration friday:

Attention: All Who Pray!

To all the prayer warriors who are reading this entry - please take a moment to pray for a seven-year-old boy named Damien. He is in the Intensive Care Unit with kidney disease. He has not been responding to medical intervention. Please pray for wisdom for the medical staff as well as a divine intervention and complete healing for Damien. Also pray for his Mom, Lauri Jean, as she makes decisions regarding Damien's care. Pray for strength and peace for her as well.
Thanks!

Photo Friday -- Theme: Blur

This week's theme for Photo Friday is "Blur". The first photo is that of our daughter, Olivia --who is in CONSTANT motion! Most times, this is how I view her!

The second photo is one of the plant which sits inside our front door --no flash -- camera in motion. I thought it made for a nice composition.

A Favorite Blog : A Sojourner's Journey

There are so many great blogs out there in cyberspace, but I have to say that "hands down", one of my all-time favorites is A Sojourner's Journey. Never a day goes by that I'm not encouraged and challenged in my Christian walk when I read what the author has to say. When you have some time, stop by and visit. Tell her that Deb sent you!

Self Portrait Tuesday - 2-7-06

Theme: All of Me
Part One:

I thought about showing a photo of my warts - but I don't have any warts. Since the theme is "all of me" and we were instructed to "dig deep" - "show the dark side" - "be grumpy" (ha! Never! Not ME!) - "photograph the stretch marks" (uh....no.) (come on...you've already seen my "crooked hangy down thing" a.k.a. my uvula). This photo is the beginning of a collage I'll put together for the end of the month. It will all work. Trust me.

go steelers.

I saw on the news last night that Pittsburgh won
the superbowl. go steelers. yeah. (I'm not at all
a football fan --can you tell?)

here's my thought --all of us need to get as excited about Jesus as we do our favorite sports team. There were people everywhere dressed up in steeler black and gold - bank tellers, grocery store clerks, restaurant waitresses and patrons. I even saw some young people who had black makeup under their eyes - obviously so they would have no glare from any source which may impede their view of the big screen HDTV.

Everyone whooping and yahooing about a football team.
Let's whoop and yahoo about Jesus.

Let's wear His colors.
Are we dressed in His armour?...

the belt of truth

the breastplate of righteousness

the gospel shoes

the helmet of salvation

the shield of faith

the sword of the spirit

praying always

All the pieces of the armour of God, listed in Ephesians 6, are different aspects of who Jesus is to us. To wear the whole armour of God is to focus on Jesus. Each piece helps us to defend ourselves against Satan's wiles, while at the same time, advancing ourselves even further towards being more like Christ. Notice that every area of our body is covered - from head to toe --with a shield and a sword to protect and defend.

anyway...just a thought --always my thought whenever I see people going oogoo aagaa over sports. There's nothing wrong with going oogoo aagaa over your team --it's okay to love your team --but how about loving Jesus too?

that's all.
I'm off my soapbox now.
have a blessed day!

Why don't we seek Him first?

This past week - as you may know,
if you've followed this blog -
our microwave died.
dead.
kaput.
done.
finished.
the end.
may it rest in peace.

Randy and I spent TWO HOURS trying to install the new microwave.
For some reason, one of the two bolts that held it to the cabinet
above the stove just wouldn't screw in. The threads wouldn't catch.
Randy tried everything, including drilling a larger hole in the cabinet
to insure that the bolt had plenty of room to go in straight.

We took took it on and off the wall bracket twice. That bugger was heavy
and it was awkward trying to hold it in place while Randy attempted to
secure the bolt.

No matter what we did - we couldn't get the bolt attached.

Finally --after two hours of frustration, I said, "Lord, please help us get this microwave installed --I'm about at my wit's end."

Then I suggested to Randy that he take the bolt out that was already attached and try it in the other side - just so we could see if the threads in the hole on the microwave were defective or something. Or maybe it was the bolt itself? Who knows.
He took the other bolt out and put it in the place where we were having trouble --it went in. So now we know it's not the threads --it must be the bolt. I thought, well, that's okay, we can go to the hardware store and buy a new bolt. But before we do that...let's just see if it will go into the hole on the other side. Whala!
It worked! Microwave installed.

So...why didn't I ask the Lord in the first place to help us with the microwave installation? We could've saved a whole lot of aggravation.

We all could save a whole lot of frustration in this life if we would just put the Lord first. He deserves first place. Not second, or third. He desires that we seek Him - that we spend time with Him on a daily basis. ...not just when it's convenient or just when we "need" something.

Seek His face today. Not His hand.
Let Him do a work in your heart - so that you are changed for eternity.

A Typical Day

A typical day in our household.....

The microwave quit in the middle of cooking our lima beans for dinner. It's an above-the-stove wall mount. Randy took the whole thing down to look for the fuse - which he was convinced was in the top - under the cabinet. wrong. It was behind the front panel. I refrained from saying, "I told you so."

Later that evening --He and Olivia were playing --all of a sudden I hear this HORRIFIC yell from Randy and then Olivia started crying (screaming--because his HORRIFIC yell frightened her.) Apparently, she had kicked him or hit him or something. Needless to say, he was in a LOT of pain and rolled around on the floor for a few minutes trying not to puke. He then proceeded to tell me that I needed to go on the internet and find a photo of the male anatomy and explain to Olivia that she needs to be careful.
yeah. right.

Even later that evening....Randy goes downstairs to his office --I hear a huge yell and a big thud (not necessarily in that order) and then a lot of screaming at Chauncy, our dog. (Chauncy has been downstairs for the past few weeks as he recuperates from his accident - hit by a car - doing well.) I fed him a different brand of dog food yesterday. Big mistake. Chauncy had pooped all over the place --Randy stepped in it on his way down the steps - fell the rest of the way down the steps....and broke his big toe in the process. He's now on his way to the ER since he said that the pain is an 8.5 on a 1-10 scale.

So --typical day here at home.

Randy said I can't tell people that he skidded down the steps on a pile of dog poop --that I need to make up some other story. Here's my story: In honor of the upcoming start of the Winter Olympics, Randy was excited about practicing his poopboarding, I mean, snowboarding....

If he thinks that this story is staying off the blog --he is sadly mistaken.

Good thing he loves me, huh?

Illustration Friday -- Chair

Here are two illustrations for this week's Illustration Friday submission:
Come, Sit a Spell and The Old Wingback Chair. Both are 2.5"x3.5" - Artist Trading Card Size.

Look Mom! I'm BLUE!

After breakfast, Olivia insisted on eating a Blue Raspberry Ring Pop and then discovered that her tongue was blue!

Photo Friday -- Theme: Disguise

Here is this week's submission for Photo Friday.

Every day, Olivia and I try to do an art project together. On this day, she wanted to make masks. Here she is --Incognito as a Pig!

And Then There Was More Art

The colors are more vibrant in "real life" --here are some illustrations of my last few days. Olives for Olivia --black olives are one of her favorite food items. She would eat an entire can if I would let her. She wanted olives. She ate them. I turned them into an Artist Trading Card.

Randy brought me a single rose several days ago. It was such a nice surprise!

And the squiggles...that's pretty much what goes on in my brain at any given moment.

All of them up for trade. Any takers?

Ground Hog Day Tree

Since it's now February, I guess it's time to take down the Christmas tree.

Yep, our tree is still up.

It makes a nice nightlight.

I was thinking of leaving it up until July and throwing a big Christmas-in-July party....but if I did that, then when July rolled around, I would think, "well, it's only five more months until December, so we may as well just leave it up..."

okay. It's coming down.
soon. I think.

Here's one last photo:
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