Thursday, March 20, 2014

Spring Break!


Iwill miss you but I am going to be taking a blog break next week to spend more time with my relatives and friends.

 Sure hope you have a great week and I will see you when I get back--most likely on Monday the 31st.

 Love,
 Me

p.s. I took the picture today of some trees in my neighborhood--textured in an app--I think it was Distressed FX but can't remember for sure.


 Comments off just for this post.


© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2014



Monday, March 17, 2014

Sun Rays Dance in an Aquamarine Sea












Today I am linking with Texture Tuesday. The theme this week is color. I have been on a black and white kick the last few days on my blog so it was a welcome change to get back to some color.

All of my pictures are textured with touch of-1, at different percentages-- I believe the last one is almost 100% but the first one is a very low percentage opacity.

The forsythia is blooming in my side yard even though we had snow night before last.

Besides the addition of Kim's textures, the photos were also edited in the Camera + app.

Happy Tuesday sweet friends!

© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2014



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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Black & White & Red All Over


This amazes me. God's Word became flesh. God's written black and white Word, His spoken Holy Spirit breathed Word became flesh.

 And this Word Flesh became red all over--from sweating drops of blood to thorns ripping apart the skin on His face and head, to hands and feet dripping blood and a broken heart that burst open and flooded all down when the spear went in deep, yes, He was made red all over for you and me.

I hope you behold His glory this week and I know it will be full of





        Without His shed blood, 

grace and truth 

would be just another couple of ordinary words.






© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2014





Thursday, March 13, 2014

All My Longings


One day a few years ago as I was studying Psalm 38, the Holy Spirit penetrated deep into my heart as I read the above verse.  Just a few little words but they exploded on impact.

"All my longings?  Really, Lord.
They lay right there open before you?
I spent quite a bit of time alone with the Lord that morning, searching myself, trying to see what He saw.  It impacted me so much that I dubbed the year 2010 as "the year of longings."  I dedicated the year to finding out what my true longings were.

As I was preparing this post to share with you, I once again searched my heart to see what my true longings are.  I will share a couple with you.


I long to long to spend more time in His Word *sigh*
then I know I will do it--
The rest of that verse says "and my sighing is not hidden from you."--
Really, he makes note of every time I sigh. 

I long to long to spend more intimate moments in silence with Him,
for if I long for this, I know that those intimate moments will come more often.

I long to know what He sees when He looks at my longings?  Sometimes our hearts deceive us and we fool ourselves--sometimes we don't even know what our own longings are, 
So, I long for God to show me what my real and true longings are.
"The good ones, Lord--I pray you will expand and bring me out into a spacious place where they can be generously shared and used for the upbuilding of others.
The ones that aren't so good--I pray you will remove--take them from me--cast them as far as the east is from the west."
So, my challenge to you would be--if you haven't already done it--

Ask God to search you and show you what your real longings are--


Why is this important?

For one, if there are longings that are not pleasing to God, I can ask Him to remove them.

Two, it helps me refocus and pay attention to the things that really matter in my life.

It helps me simplify.  And couldn't we all use a little more simplicity and focus in our lives?


God's Word is so full of everything I need, it totally astounds me.  I love it when the Holy Spirit zeroes in highlighting a few little words.



I'm so glad you stopped by.  I pray God's richest blessings on you and yours this wekend.


© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2014












Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Longings


When I was a girl, I longed to be a beautiful ballerina. That was a dream that didn't happen for me.

But it is amazing to me how God knows our longings and desires and chooses to fulfill some of them in the most amazing ways.

I will be writings more about longings in tomorrow's post but for right now I just had to show you my beautiful granddaughter, Ashton.  She is thirteen and already an incredible dancer.

And she is just as beautiful on the inside as the outside.  Here she is dancing to Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.

I have to say, there aren't many things that give me more joy than watching her dance for Jesus.

But one of them I enjoy just as much is basketball as those of you who know me already know.

Today it was announced that another granddaughter made the all-state basketball team.  We are so proud of Caroline.  Although having some God-given talent and height, she has worked mighty hard to become a top-notch player.  I love the dedication to their pursuits that both of these young ladies have.

But most of all I love their humble spirits.

Is it okay to brag just a little about your grandchildren to your friends?  I hope so.  I really try to watch showing and telling about them but sometimes I need you to indulge me just a little.

Thank you for understanding.



Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.


© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2014



Monday, March 10, 2014

From Above


This is a photograph I took today and textured with Kim Klassen's 2312 at 100%.  The theme this week is "from above."

I picked these lenten roses from my backyard, brought them in and laid them on a sheet of white watercolor paper.  I was standing over them (from above) at a slight angle when this picture was taken.

I edited first in Lightroom and then brought it in to Photoshop where I added the type and the handwritten calligraphy using a Wacom tablet.

These lenten roses were a good and perfect gift for me today and I am thankful.  We had temperatures in the low 70's today.  The hammock got its first true workout of the season and at least it didn't flip me like it did my first time on it last year.


Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17


© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2014




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Sunday, March 9, 2014

One of My Best Blessings








One of my best blessings this week was getting back in the groove of designing and making jewelry.

I had quite a few supplies that had lain untouched for several years--I have quite a few other interests---sigh---maybe that is part of the reason why it had gone untouched.

 But at any rate I was needing the space it was taking so had decided to give it to a good blogging friend who makes jewelry.

But before I did, I needed to see if I would ever enjoy jewelry designing again.

Well, I have had a blast and look forward to it once again.

So the pictures above are of the necklaces I made--I'm excited and ready to get down to some really serious jewelry making business.  I also made another necklace and a bracelet.

So grateful I have past times that bring me great joy.


Col. 3:23



© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2014













Thursday, March 6, 2014

More Than Watchmen





A few years ago as I was studying this passage, the repetition of 'more than a watchmen' hit me so hard and I knew I wanted to know more.

After some research about a watchman's duties and reading more passages of scripture concerning watchmen, I knew I wanted to place myself in the watchman's shoes and see what my thoughts were.  The following is what I wrote.



I prepare for the night ahead. 

The darkness here in the desert can be quite cold--

I cocoon myself in future warmth, 

layer after layer of protective covering 

anticipating the deepest, the most penetrating bone-cold winds 

sweeping across the vast spaces of my soul. 

The night will be long, 

 I've served this shift before

 and the moments, the minutes, the hours 

 pass as winter sap from the tree-- 

 I look ever so often to the eastern horizon 

 Waiting for the faintest sparkle of the tourmaline sky, 

I pace from one end of my post to the other, 

 Ever on the lookout for trouble, 

for any sign of the enemy. 

 At times my heart beats like the flap of the eagles wings 

 Once it's spotted prey-- 

 The night brings not so familiar sounds-- 

 Sounds I don't want to be familiar-- 

 The core of my being raps hard 

and I look to The eastern realm again. 

 And then the quiet, 

 The orchestral din of reverberated nothingness, 

The clashing cymbal of thought upon anxious thought-- 

 One more quick look-- 

 Can it be the fringe of amber sun spilling 

 Over the horizon onto saffron sands? 

 It has come--Hope rises once more. 

It has come--Hope rises once more. 


 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. 
My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, 
more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6 



 This has always been one of my favorite scriptures. I think it so interesting how the last line is repeated. In literature repetition is used for a purpose--to make a statement, to get a point across--The writer is voicing his soul's quest in terms the people of his day can understand. 

If you were this sentry how soon do you think you would want the morning to come?

How hard would you look towards the eastern horizon?

That is how I want my soul to wait for the Lord.


© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2023



Wednesday, March 5, 2014

In Need

Photobucket


Became dissatisfied in his current environment.

Demanded what was "rightfully his."

Changed his environment.

Made some very unwise decisions.

Spent all he had.

Began to be in need.

Partook of unhealthy diet with bad company.

Remembered all that he had before.

Returned to homeland.

Welcomed with open arms.

Feast prepared in his honor.

Was reconciled to his father.

The picture above is a 3' by 4' canvas I painted to enter in an art show a few years ago. Each artist had to provide an inspiration statement. The piece did not turn out like I thought it would when I started. I had orignally intended to have celebratory phrases covering the background script. However, I was so moved when I read "and he began to be in need"--I knew the canvas story had to stop there.

Because? Because in page after page, chapter after chapter from God's Word we recognize that this is the story of all of our lives. Somehow, we don't recognize "our need" for the Father until we "began to be in need."

I wanted to leave the viewer with a question that needed to be answered-- "Have I been reconciled to the Father?"

And He is there for each one of us--to reconcile each to Himself.

May this story and Ash Wednesday be a reminder to all of us that when the dirt, dust and ashes of this fallen life cling to our worn-out sandaled souls, we can be bathed and cleansed and clothed in the finest of robes, just as the father in this story provided for the prodigal son who recognized his need, placed his pride beneath him as he traveled that long distance home from a foreign land.


"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9


© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2014




a repost of past pages


Monday, March 3, 2014

Textures of Wondeful, Grief, Victory, Despair, Freedom







And, freed from all that's earthly, vile,
Seem hallowed, pure and bright,
Like scenes in some enchanted isle
All bathed in liquid light.

As dusky mountains please the eye,
When twilight chases day;
As bugle notes that, passing by,
In distance die away;



As, leaving some grand waterfall,
We, lingering, list its roar--
So memory will hallow all
We've known but know no more.

Near twenty years have passed away
Since here I bid farewell
To woods and fields, and scenes of play,
And playmates loved so well.



Where many were, but few remain
Of old familiar things,
But seeing them to mind again
The lost and absent brings.

The friends I left that parting day,
How changed, as time has sped!
Young childhood grown, strong manhood gray;
And half of all are dead.




I hear the loved survivors tell
How nought from death could save,
Till every sound appears a knell
And every spot a grave.

I range the fields with pensive tread,
And pace the hollow rooms,
And feel (companion of the dead)
I'm living in the tombs.




What would a life look like if all the layers were made of beauty?

 Here in this poem by Lincoln we see the many and varied textures that overlay his life--we did not see all because this was written when he was only thirty-seven years old.

And yet, because we know the ending of the story, we put our own textures and overlays upon his life, upon his poem.

We smile wanly at first and then tears dim our eyes as we read about him and his childhood friends romping in meadows and wading in woods knowing the antics of those forests and fields will soon turn to the massacred and sacred grounds of so many Gettysburgs.

The last layer of his life for me included an awe that I cannot explain and goose bumps that seemed as big as goose eggs as I stood at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and read scripture quoted by him and knew that he had completed his calling--that as long as America is free, we will celebrate his life and all it stands for.

The very first photograph is layered with Kim Klassen's 'wonderful magic scripted' at 59% and 'evolve 2' at 95%.  After I really got involved in this post and it started to take shape, my thoughts were that the "It's a wonderful life" (the script in the first picture) would be too light, too whimsical to mesh with the rest of the post.
However, as I read about his early life, I knew Lincoln did have a wonderful life--however tragic, however laden with responsibilities and decisions that would seem far from wonderful, however short, it was still a life filled with victory and freedom.
Rejoice in your life today. 



          In Him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28


© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2014




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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Tulips, Followers, Ice etc.


Good morning precious friends.  I hope you had a lovely weekend.

We are iced in again--not that it has happened all that many times but definitely more than the average winter.

 When I went to the grocery store on Friday, I couldn't pass by these lovely little tulips that were a mere pittance for all the happy sunshine they bring to my little living room. Hope you enjoy.

I want to welcome my newest follower, CaryJo--thank you so much for joining up with us in this journey.

The internet has blessed me with some mighty awesome friends.

And speaking of followers, y'all, I have a little something I want to request.

--When I lost my blog some months ago (long, long story), I also lost all of my followers.

 I did manage to transfer all of my blog posts to the new blog but it would not let me transfer the followers--not only that but I couldn't even find out where to add the follower gadget.

They have taken it off the main menu when you start a new blog now. Well, not really taken it off but they have hidden it behind a teeny "More" choice--

Well, anyway, I finally found it a couple of weeks ago and have added it back but it looks so lonely with my 7 little followers (although each one is so, so special)--so, if you were a follower before would you mind just taking that step to join again.

I would appreciate it so much. And if you are new here and would like to keep up with any of my art, photography, writings (I haven't been very prolific the last few months in the writing department) or gifts to you, I invite you to join also.

My gifts to you are listed on the sidebar by the way in case there is one you would like to retrieve.

So, friends, have a happy Monday and a very blessed week.

I love you! and more importantly God loves you so very much.




© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008-2014