Looking toward the coming year

During the Christmas holidays we took a trip to Atlanta where some family lives in order to gather and celebrate.  While I was there I became all the more aware of the reality of what my Aunt Carla goes through on a daily basis.  Aunt Carla is struggling with cancer, diagnosed 5 years ago.  She is a mother of 5 and like the rest of us christians is having to fight off the devil and all his wiles.  You see she was told when she became sick with this cancer that she would live through it.  That was her word from God, but through various visits to doctors, different treatments, several complications that have mounded upon her during this struggle she has even started to have trouble believing the TRUTH she was once told.  She has become discouraged as we all do at times if we are trying to follow in the truth of Gods word.  So I began to ask God on the way home if there was a way that I could help to encourage her in any way or to help to restore hope, or if there might be some way for me to walk this with her, to help carry the burden with her. I feel like something that God spoke to my heart is to take what God has given me and walk with it daily, that being painting.

Impending change

     First of all I would like to start by saying that it has been such a great Christmas.  I've enjoyed family as always and hate that sometimes the only time I see some of my family is this time of year.  I was able to host one of the Christmas gatherings here at my house this year for the first time and it was so nice.  I mean I did stress out a bit at getting the house in a presentable form, but when all was said and done it was just nice having people that I love gathered in my home.
     I am starting to look forward to the upcoming 2011.  I feel like God is directing my heart to do a little bit of changing in my approach to selling my artwork.  I don't know absolutely what the changes are to look like yet, but I just keep feeling and or hearing the word change.  I'm very excited at the possibilities. I know one thing that I will be  reincorporating into my life as a whole, that is the bible.  I have been up and down the roller coaster over the last oh...3 months or maybe more.  I lost touch with God in a lot of ways and I lost a lot of my inspiration, but somehow, I feel that God is going to use that time as some sort of a lesson to teach me some of the change thats going to be occurring in this new year.  So right now, it's praying, reading, and waiting for direction on the next steps I am to take.  I know its going to be good whatever it is.  

Too much to say

A lot has went on since the last time that I blogged.  So much, that I doubt I should be able to remember and especially type it all.  I have been able to sell to more paintings as well as to teach an art lesson.  I am so glad that God is giving me these little crumbs along the path to keep me going.  It's very encouraging.  I can't really say that I've been able to do a lot of painting since the last time that I wrote, but I did do one painting that means a lot to me.  I guess the ultimate motive in painting it to begin with was the fact that I sold the painting of the ballet dancer, and I must say it really held a sweet spot in my heart, well I mean as far as paintings go.  I just wanted to paint something that had a similar feel, although I didn't quite capture the same emotion in the painting, I was able to portray how that God gives us grace through the cross.  That is why the name 'Grace was Given'.  Look forward to new posts and paintings in the upcoming weeks

My Birthday is rapidly approaching!

  2 more days and I will be 25! I can't believe I'm already half-way to 30.  Time goes  by so fast.  It's going to be an exciting birthday weekend though.  Haven get's off of work at about 2pm.  When he gets home I imagine he will throw a few things into a bag and be ready to leave.  So we are going to take the kids with us down there.  A couple we know that are real close friends just moved down there about 2 months ago, and we are gonna let the kids stay the night at there house.  I just got off the phone with the concierge at Redmont Hotel in Downtown.  Haven and I are going to stay the night there for my birthday! We haven't done something like that since before Davis was born.  I can't wait!