one of my wonderfuly artistic friends…over at curry chaos……is putting on this fun crafty artist swap…here are the details from her blog…….

It’s hard to put a value minimum or maximum – so the best I can do is tell you items I am considering making for the swap:
earrings, a felted soap, a paper door decoration, a small bird, a hanging pillow, a 5 x 7 photo, an altered jar, a set of note cards, etc……
What do you say – I know there a lot of talented people out there – and some of you even read my blog!    I would love to see what we can do!!! 

ok, here is my  “swap” … one of these lily prints…8×12…backed with Single Weight Matboard…from mpix. i’ll let the lucky girl pick which she wants….if that works…other wise…stacey you pick and let me know…and i’ll get it ordered….and shipped to you asap.

ok ladies…I know we have tons of artistic-ness between us…let’s share the love and have some fun. Email me and I’ll pass it on to Stacey….or check out her blog for details.

so a friend posts on facebook today…

…my response was nothing short of a novel…well… almost. 

{better click on the link…so you have some good music to get you through this post. haha. i recommend something by eric hutchinson or jack johnson. :)}

i’m no art major, i often wished i would have been. if i ever got the chance, i’d change my mind…and want to be an artist when i grow up.  {not the business woman i thought i’d be} i wish i knew more about it, maybe then i’d know why i love it so.  whether it’s a painting or music, poetry, or photography, every thing about it moves me. the emotion i feel when i see some thing…it’s all one big sigh of breath…or one huge beat of heart…for me. you’ll pobably laugh, but i love hanging out at ART.com. i have an account there too. i spend way too much time admiring all it has to offer. which room would i put this, where could i put that.  if only i had a big room just for me and my art…what would i collect over my lifetime? what would i save?

 my favs are all so very different, but all so wonderfully inspiring… 

 

Peter Wileman–love his horizon pieces…
 

 

 

anyways…thank you my friend…for such a great question…how fun was this little journey.

can’t get enough of the frosty forests in our front yard.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

Today we celebrate the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ!! Amen! Alleluia!

We light ALL the Advent Candles and the Christ Candle in the center of the Advent Wreath

Let us make this Christmas a joyous and blessed day.

Luke 2:4-16

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[e] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 ¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest,
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

 ¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 ¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Today we light again the candles of hope, love, and joy, and the fourth PURPLE candle, the candle of peace. Christ is the Prince of peace, come to reconcile us with God and others. Christ helps us to see that peace is possible.

Forgive

Our week begins with “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin.   The spirit of joy that begins this week comes from the words of Paul, “The Lord is near.”  We again light the candles of hope and love. Today we add the PINK (ROSE) candle of joy. Prophecy has been fulfilled. The long-awaited Messiah has come. Joy is the mood of all earnest seekers.

Turning It Around for Good by James MacDonald

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

With all due respect to Rabbi Kushner, God does allow bad things to happen to good people. He doesn’t cause them, but He doesn’t prevent them either. The world is free and God doesn’t very often step in and alter the fact that the effects of sin are visiting themselves randomly upon the creation. So God lets trials happen to the Christian just like He lets them happen to the pagans so that the superiority of the life lived in God can be demonstrated through our lives. The majority of the world is choosing not to worship God, but a few of us, by God’s grace, can draw down upon God’s promised resources to get us through.

God did not cause the horrible events in your life, but you need to embrace the fact that He allowed them. God could not make a world in which we are free and at the same time guarantee that everyone would choose Him. So the world is broken and bad things happen. But God promises that He will be with those who love Him. He will bring us through the fire, and we will come forth as gold.

God allowed Paul to suffer a “thorn . . . in the flesh.” Paul said that God allowed “a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited” (2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul understood that God allowed this pain in his life for a reason. God allowed a demon to harass, or buffet Paul. The word buffet means to strike with a fist or beat. But God permitted it with a purpose: to keep [Paul] from being conceited.

God is so sovereign. He’s so much in control that even when Satan tries to ruin our lives, God takes the weapon that Satan wants to use to destroy us and turns it into a good thing. God says, “If you will lean hard on Me in the midst of this difficult time, I’ll take that thorn and make it for your good.”

We all have a thorn. We all have something that God has allowed into our lives that Satan meant for our destruction but that God has turned around to help us grow and change.

© 2009 Walk in the Word.

“As you make a habit of not taking anything personally, you won’t need to place your trust in what others do or say.  You will only need to trust yourself to make responsible choices.  You are never responsible for the actions of others; you are only responsible for you.  When you truly understand this, and refuse to take things personally, you can hardly be hurt by the careless comments or actions of others.”

~Don Miguel Ruiz

It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.—E. E. Cummings

The very act of believing creates strength of its own.

Remember that faith will lead you through unsteady times.

so enjoying my flowers this summer. nothing new planted…not much time to get into my garden this time around…so the perennials are my favorites right now. blooming through out the weeks. something new popping up with each passing day. definitely keeping me inspired.

picked these from our perennial garden. the colors were so lush and vibrant. 

i {love} these. probably more than tulips.  the wind swirls the fragrance all around our house. the smell captivates me and keeps me close. i {love} these.

give me a farmer’s faith, which sees the harvest in the seed time.

Surround yourself with things that inspire you.

feeling inspired

with nothing to say

words toss around in my head

but nothing comes out on paper

click

click

click  … instead

much better

visually

satisfied

fed

the last bloom opened today.