Saturday, March 31, 2012

His Peace



LLast week while we were in Mountain View I took a picture of a flowering tree that inspired this acrylic painting.
 It looked like an Easter card to me so I placed some of Jesus' last words on it in Photoshop.
 Hope you enjoy and hope you experience this weekend the peace that only Jesus can give. 
Love, Dianne


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Friday, March 30, 2012

Bursting Into Song!








YYou will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.  Isaiah 55:12








I will take a lesson from this magnificent dogwood tree 
and offer all that I am or ever hope to be to the Savior today.

Have a joyful weekend giving praise to our blessed Lord.

I love you,
Dianne



© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

photos taken March, 2012 Mountain View, AR

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Calico Rock






M
My grandfather took his family, circa 1915, from Calico Rock in northern Arkansas to Hot Spring County in the south central part of the state. The trip took three weeks by horse and buggy. I had never seen this part of northern Arkansas until this past week and it is incredibly beautiful. 

I accompanied my husband and a couple of other Renewal Ranch volunteers on an expedition that I will tell you about another day.   

We took all the RR guys and went to Mountain View, AR.  From there it is about 17 miles on up to Calico Rock.
 We arrived there, Sunday, March 18th and returned on Friday, the 23rd.
I will write more about the trip later but wanted to show you the pictures I took along the way. 
Heavy rain was being forecast for Tuesday through Thursday so I decided to get a lot of my sightseeing done the first full day I was in Mountain View.  I made the trip to Calico Rock and was so far up in the mountains there was no cell phone service. 
I might not have gone by myself if I had known I wouldn't be able to phone out.  But, oh well, God was good and I had an awesome trip. 










I couldn't help but wonder if these old ruts were ones that he used moving his family.


Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.  Psalm 145:4


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

My Strength







T

The LORD is my strength and my shield;
   my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
   and I will give thanks to him in song.















© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Friday, March 16, 2012

Technology Break





MMy loropetalum bushes are blooming like mad and oh so beautiful!






Just wanted to leave you with these peaceful photos.  I will be away from the blog and hopefully most technology for the next week.



If you need a header done, please email me from the right sidebar info and I will get back with you in a week.



So I leave you with this verse of scripture from John 14:26. 27,

"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance that I have told you.  Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give to you.  Not the peace that the world gives.  So do not let your hearts be troubled, neither be afraid."--

that is a loose paraphrase--

I am working with one of the guys from the ranch on his memorization--that is what I remember from our session last week.



For all you art and art journaling and calligraphy lovers, I want to give a "shout out" today to Teri Martin.

Here is a link to my Pinterest calligraphy page.  She is at the bottom in pink with the word imagination.

Teri is located right here in Arkansas in the town of Eureka Springs.

Here is a link to some gorgeous calligraphy.  This is her actual website.

I will miss you so much.

See you on the 26th or maybe a little before,

Love,
Dianne


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Be the Seed



WWow! When I read that today, it hit me full in the face. We talk of planting seeds concerning farming and gardening. 
When we have a need, we plant a seed out of our need into a certain ministry or church to bring about growth in certain areas of our lives. 
But to be the seed--that is a whole 'nother ballgame.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 
Jesus used this parable to teach the disciples why He would go to the cross, give up His life, and trust God for the outcome. He truly is the great seed.  
However, I would like for us to consider, to ponder being the seed.
We know the Bible teaches that to be first, we must be last, to be the master of all, we must become the servant of all--all of these seemingly upside down, inside out teachings of Jesus threw the Pharisees into a tailspin.
In our own lives are we willing to die daily to those things which would hinder us in our Christian walk--dwelling on being mistreated, bitterness, grudges, being misunderstood when we are trying to do our best to help someone, greed, _____________ and you and I can fill in the blank or blanks. 
Am I willing to be the seed that falls to the ground, is covered and dies so that it can bring a harvest of plenty?
Jesus was willing.  Thank God He was willing. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the art lovers or artists wannabees out there, I am hoping that you will watch the video below.   
There are lots of good instructional videos out there but I just really, really enjoyed watching this one.   
Seeing the artist make something beautiful from mistakes she made reminded me of just how much God can do with this one human soul, if only I choose to die to self. 
You will also see where I got the idea for today's post.  Hope you enjoy! 
So sorry!  The video keeps "popping out"--not showing up, although it shows up in the editing mode--I will just provide this line to it-- 
Here is the link:   This is actually a link to my Pinterest page of art journals videos and the video I referred to is the very first one.  






 and one other thing--



This is the new header I designed for Nancy.  I would love for you to hop over to her place and read about her retreats dedicated to knowing God better and enjoying His presence in the beautiful scenic mountains of North Carolina.  I am hoping that I get to go there and visit some day.

Here is the link to Footprints to the Potter's House.

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Lo, The Non-Winter Is Still Here






LLo, the winter is past. The rain is over and gone. Blossoms appear in the land. The time of the songbird has arrived. The cooing of the mourning dove is heard in our land.
from the Song of Solomon 





My tulips are blooming!

Tulips are my second favorite flower with peonies coming in first.



My narcissus (don't know what the plural is) narcissuses are blooming.




My azaleas are blooming!

Am I blooming?

Are you blooming?


Flowers don't worry about how they're going to bloom.  
They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.
 Jim Carrey


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Love In Action



One of the guys at the ranch, Jassen, wrote this poem recently and I asked him if I could share it with you.

I want..........................He gives, 
I need..........................He provides,
I try.............................He strengthens, 
I do............................. He guides,
I regret.........................He forgets,
I sin.............................He forgives,
I fear............................He protects,
I fall.............................He raises.
I cry.............................He caresses,
I mourn........................He reassures,
I hope...........................He fulfills,
I pray............................He listens,
I yearn..........................He teaches,
I follow.........................He leads,
I love............................He receives,
I live.............................He loves,
I die..............................He resurrects.


That poem says so much.  I hope it speaks volumes to you as it did to me.


For those of you who have requested it, here is a link to Barb's blog.


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Waiting For Something New!


For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!  Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Isaiah 43:19




AAndrew Murray said, "...............too little time is given to waiting on God. 
 Is he not willing to put things right in His own divine way?   
Has the life of God's people reached the limit of what God is willing to do 
for them? 
Surely not. 
We want to wait on Him: to put away our experiences, however blessed they have been; (bolding mine)
our conceptions of truth, however sound and scriptural we think they seem;   
our plans, however needful and suitable they appear;   
and give God time and place to show us what He can do, what He will do. 
God has new developments and resources. 
He can do new things, unheard-of-things, hidden things. 
Let us enlarge our hearts and not limit Him."





As much as God has done for me in the past and as great as his blessings have been, I am guilty of holding on to those past blessings.

Today I want to let go and expect something new--

Pathways in the wilderness?

What wilderness do you need a pathway cut through today?

Rivers in dry wasteland??

I can hardly wait to see what NEW things God has in store for you and me today.


Sweet blessing to you my friend,
Dianne
2012--the year of less--I have several bags to take to Goodwill and am trying to find something each day to give away--really trying to simplify!  The remodeling sure helped me locate and pinpoint all the stuff I do not need that someone else might.



© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Friday, March 9, 2012

Let's Chat!


One of our graduates, Seth, and me.  He drove three hours to come back for Josh and Barry's graduation.
Friends, family, RR brothers pray over our new graduates.





Let's chat for a moment.  I have changed my mind about something.  The headers--until I reach $1000 dollars (all proceeds until that time will go to Renewal Ranch) I have chosen to make your new header for whatever amount you would like to pay--yes, even $1.00.

My reasoning?
1.  I have people who want new headers who cannot afford them and I want them to be able to have one.
 2.  Remember the loaves and the fish--God can take a small amount and multiply it if I don't limit Him.
3.  The guys and their families are worth any amount of sacrifice that I am willing and able to give.   
My email address is in the sidebar so please feel free to email me for more information. 




BBarb is the winner of the free header. Barb, using the contact information in the sidebar, please email me and we will proceed from there. Congratulations to Barb. You can access Barb's blog here.  And yes, the name of Barb's blog is Let's Chat--you gotta love it!

I am excited to see what God has in store for Renewal Ranch.  Thank you to all of you who have given me words of encouragement in reference to RR.  You will never know how much I appreciate it.

Have a blessed weekend dear friends,
Dianne

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Waiting

Photobucket



WWhen we look at this picture a story is portrayed--we know the precious little guy is waiting in line, we know there is a need, we see the hunger in his eyes, but we really don't know what the hunger is for or if it will be satisfied. 
It is a tangible photograph of my soul--like him, I realize I have a need. 
He is waiting for something. 
I am waiting for His timing, His Bread, knowing it will satisfy.  
I am hungry and I long to be filled. 
To me this little guy epitomizes the essence of the following scriptures.  
They are my favorites for capturing the hunger David felt for his God. 

 Ps 27:4-6  
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. 
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; 
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; 
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; 
I will sing and make music to the LORD. 

In this scripture I see my need to examine myself. 
Has there ever been a time in my Christian walk when I longed more to dwell in His house, when I yearned more to behold His beauty, when I was more anxious to seek Him and His will for my life? 
 Ps 42:1-6 

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 
When can I go and meet with God? 
My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 
These things I remember as I pour out my soul: 
how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. 
Why are you downcast, O my soul? 
Why so disturbed within me? 
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

After reading this scripture, I must ask myself, "Do I understand what it means to "pant" for God in this way? 
Is my soul thirsty to meet with the living God? 
Oh, God, it is so incredibly sad to read about David remembering leading the procession to the temple and how they were dancing and singing and shouting before you--how happy they were--! 
Corporate worship, Lord, corporate hunger for you. 
When writing the above passage, David was not with a festive throng. 
He was alone crying out to you, remembering former, happier times. 
Oh God, please help me not to waste these days when I have access to you and your house of worship so readily. 
Please help me never take for granted the freedom I experience in this country to worship you.


And please Father God, see all of those all over the world who do not experience this same freedom, watch over and protect them and fill their hunger. 
Where there is danger, protect them. 
Where there is a lack of Your written Word, fill that void.  
Where there is desire and hunger, let them know that others are thinking about them, praying for them, longing to share this corporate hunger for You with them. 
And please Father God renew my hunger for you in a way that I have never experienced before--a new hunger, yes, Father, that is what I desire-- 
Ps 61:1-4 
Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. 
From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 
For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. 
I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Ps 63:1-5 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 
Ps 84:1-2 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 

As for the little guy in the picture above, he and the other children waiting in line did not have any shoes. 
He realized his need and was willing to wait his turn. 
Yes, they were waiting in line for shoes and their little feet found rest.
May each one reading these words today experience a corporate hunger and a corporate worship together.  
To have the accessibility to push a key and worship with friends from all around the world, Lord, is terribly humbling and uplifting at the same time. 
David did not have access to that BUT he had access to the Lord of all the universe and it was for Him he hungered. Lord, we are hungry. Come and fill us with Yourself.


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

 Photo credit: My granddaughter, Kailey, took this picture while on a missions trip to Africa.

edited from past pages

  LINKING TO CHARLOTTE AND FRIENDS OVER AT SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS--

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Chicken Spaghetti


Oh my goodness, was this ever good. Let me tell you what I did. 
 I googled a few items that I had--I was low on groceries so I thought I might find a chicken spaghetti recipe that would hook up with the supplies I had on hand. 
 Sure enough, there were several recipes that looked promising but none that I had all the ingredients for. 
 So............. I decided to make my own and I'm so glad I did.  I will definitely make it again.   
And it was enough to feed an army.  We (just two of us) ate a meal and froze enough for two extra meals from this single recipe.   
It would be easy to cut in half, I think. 
First
 I sauteed in butter and white cooking wine,
1 yellow bell pepper 
1 red bell pepper 
1 yellow onion
1 purple onion 
I let them simmer until they were on the soft side but not mushy-- 
boiled three carrots--this was an afterthought so they are not in the above picture 
I removed them from my big skillet and added extra virgin olive oil, white cooking wine and one can chicken broth to cook four large chicken breasts-- 
After cooking the chicken thoroughly, I took a cup of the (mainly) chicken broth from the breasts and added to the water where I was cooking my angel hair spaghetti (a 1lb package). 
Watch this carefully because it is very thin and cooks really fast. 
You do want it to get done because you will not be baking this dish--
After chicken is done cut it into small bite-sized pieces, 
mix together 1 can mushroom soup, 
1 can cheddar cheese soup, 
1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt, 
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper--this is optional but it is what "made it" to me--
black pepper to taste (we like a lot) 
1 1/2 to 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese--more or less to your family's liking 
Mix all of this together in the large skillet that you cooked chicken in, 
cover and let sit for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese-- 

I didn't need to do this but if it is too dry after mixing, you can add small amounts of the leftover chicken broth until you get the consistency the way your family likes it.

READY TO SERVE. 
I didn't have any green bell peppers or I would have added those also. 
This may be one of the best dishes I have ever made in my life.



Enjoy!

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Monday, March 5, 2012

Chance to Win Free Header





A few days ago, I told you that I was excited about my 1000th post and was going to give away a blog header design today.
Well, it is here--today is the day to leave a comment if you would like to be eligible to win the design. 
But I had a method to my madness and I will share that now. 
We are turning men away right and left from Renewal Ranch because of lack of space to house them. (Renewal Ranch is a home for men with addictions to drugs and/or alcohol who want their life restored through Jesus Christ--this is accomplished through a six-month long intensive Bible training, teaching and memorization plan)
You can read more about Renewal Ranch and see some of our videos HERE. 
One of the younger volunteers, a lady named Wendy, decided to do something about it. 
She decided to raise $100,000 to go towards the building of a new bunkhouse.
Now, I can tell you right now that makes NOT BUTTERFLIES, but big huge eagles fly around in my stomach. What faith!!
Here is Wendy's idea and I think it is an awesome one.
She is trying to recruit 100 women who will commit to trying to raise $1000 each. 
I thought about it a little--I have NEVER attempted to raise that kind of money.  And it didn't take me long to decide that I had to at least try and leave the results in the hands of our great, big God.
So here is ONE of the things I am going to do to try to raise my part--
----------------design blog headers---------------
so to give it a great big push, I decided to GIVE one away and it just HAPPENED to coincide with my 1000th post.  How fitting!! 
I have 100 days to raise 1000 dollars--Think I can do it??  We'll see!
The headers will cost $50 each and if you are interested, please use the contact info in the right sidebar to contact me. 
I will try my best to give you a beautiful look.  
If you would like to be eligible to win, today is the day to leave a comment!   
If you wish to comment but do not need a new header, please inform me.  Thank you. 
Comments for this page will be open until Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m. Central time. 
My post from a few days ago was a little confusing so I will be including those who expressed a desire for a new header who commented that day.  I hope all of you think that is fair.
SweetBlessings, 
Dianne


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Did You Know?

t

hat the next post will be the 1000th and you have a chance to win a free header designed by Dianne?

Yea, all you have to do is leave a comment and you will be entered in the drawing for the header.  Winner will be announced Friday, March 9.

If you want to comment on the 1000th post but do not need a new header, please let  me her know in your comment.

In the next post you will find out the madness behind my Dianne's idea to give away a free header.  There is a purpose other than the fact that I  she loves y'all so much and just wants to do something really special for one of you.

Please remember that I  Dianne is a dork and can only work on Blogger headers--sorry if you are a wordpress or other user.  Please refer back to this post.



This beautiful wedding picture is of Dustin and Kimberly who got married December 30, 2011.  Dustin is one of our Renewal Ranch graduates.  Kimberly is beautiful and looks so much like a young Ashely Judd.  This picture actually does have something to do with the next post--it is so exciting--I have butterflies in my stomach!  I mean Dianne has butterflies in her stomach--
I did not take this picture.  I wish I had but Dustin's mother gave me permission to use it.  Thank you, Sherri. 



© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

999th post--I  Dianne can hardly believe it!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

House of Prayer


I'm so glad that God is no respecter of persons--we are all beloved to Him and He desires that each of us come before Him in worship and prayer.  What a privilege it is to have the freedom to do this.

© all photographs, art work and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted


Joining with Deidra at Jumping Tandem
and Charlotte at Spiritual Sundays today--

PHOTO:  Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church near Monticello, Arkansas--on the National Register of Historic Places--organized in 1859.


998th post