My Wish For You

Today is the first Sunday of Advent--a time to look forward to the coming of the Messiah, to dwell upon His richness versus our poverty, his righteousness against the backdrop of our sin, his wholeness in comparison to our fractured hearts-- His peace surrounding our fretting.

My prayer for you and me during this holiday season is that we would remain stress free, that decorating, shopping, wrapping, baking, and buying would just be a casual by-product of an otherwise "meaningful, take time to stop and rest and enjoy your family more than ever" kind of holiday.

I have always been kinda "over the top" as far as wanting each room decorated--nothing fancy or expensive--just wanted to do it for the kids and grandkids--and that is okay--unless I get my focus on that more than spending time with the people I love, especially Jesus.

This year I am going to take it slow and easy.  If a room gets decorated--fine--if it doesn't fine--last year I worked for weeks getting the house ready for my family--Even painted a big canvas that said, "I'll be home for Christmas--you can plan on me"

Well, guess what--we had a huge snowstorm--our power was out for several days and our family never came "home" for Christmas--we celebrated at my brother's house and they never saw all the work I had done in those weeks before Christmas.

That has placed somewhat of a different light on all the time I spend decorating.  I will do what comes naturally and easy this year BUT with God's help, my goal is to spend more time with my Savior--more time anticipating the joyous celebration of His coming.

I wish you Peace--

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14:27

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

Good News!

Don't you just love it when your mailbox has nothing but good news in it? No circulars, no bills, no junk mail--frankly, we don't have many days like that around here anymore.

 But, think for a moment if you will, if every mailbox of any kind, any kind of delivery service, were only filled with the good news of Jesus Christ today.

Well, I can't fill every mailbox, but I can fill just one outgoing mailbox (blog, if you will) with the news that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

I love what John said in the very last chapter, the very last verse of his book about Jesus--It goes like this--

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.          John 21:25

Just for today, I like to think it could be said--
If every one of the things that Jesus did were written down, I suppose that every mailbox in the world could not even begin to hold them.
If you would like to know more about this Jesus who cares so much for you, why don't you consider starting with the book of John in the New Testament.  Here is a link to it.

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

Holiday Nostalgia

I love Christmas decorations. Today as I placed a berry wreath on the back door and went over to take a picture of it, I noticed that my reflection was in the glass.

 I thought that might make an interesting "selfie," as they call pictures people take of themselves with the main purpose of sharing them on the internet.

 After I looked at it--I liked it--mostly because the reflection of the glass hides lots of wrinkles and double chins--smile. I also liked that the composite of the face looking into the distance with an antique-like look, the white door and the in-your-face red berries is such a contrast.

I couldn't help but get nostalgic just looking at it--the picture of me getting older, all of the memories stored in that one head--the memories of good Christmases, of ones that weren't so good, of Christmases spent with loved ones who are no longer with us--of children and grandchildren who are now grown--well, I am a big old softie I guess-but it really made me nostalgic.

I hope you make many wonderful memories this holiday season.  Memories that will make other holidays painful--painful because it hurts so bad but feels so good to remember.

On this earth, today is all we have.  We are not promised tomorrow.  This holiday season hold all of those you love ever so close.  And take a picture of yourself and share it.  It's fun!

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

Loud Applause!

I love this portion of scripture from Isaiah 55.

…So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.  "For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,  And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.  "Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, And it will be a memorial to the LORD, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off."

This whole portion of scritpure is just wonderful but after finding the leaf shown above, it got me to thinking.

Can you imagine how much noise a tree with thousands of leaves like these would make in a big wind?  And they not only clap their hands--they give Him a standing "O" at all times.

I surely don't want the trees of the field to outdo me in praise so today I will sing, clap, shout, dance and praise with a loud voice.  I will worship the Giver of Life, Jesus Christ, in all His glory and splendor.

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

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

Joy Comes In the Morning!

Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5b

Joining Texture Tuesday today--I used one layer of Kim's Total Grunge at 61%

You can find Texture Tuesday here.

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

Golden Inspiration

After a Saturday morning granddaughter's basketball game, my husband and I went out to eat lunch at a small local pizza joint that has incredible pizza.  

We got the supreme, thin crust with white spicy cheese sauce instead of the regular red pizza sauce.  Oh my goodnes, it was definitely a winner.  Will order that one again someday.

The restaurant is in an older quaint little section of Little Rock.  The parking is very limited so we had to park a block or so away and walk through the neighborhood.  What a treat.

I thought it so frugal and clever to use the yellow gold ribbon as a decoration.  Of course, it didn't hurt anything that they have a beautiful black, wrought iron gate to hang it on. 

The next family probably spent a little more on their decorations but not a massive amount, and they are so welcoming and festive--not too overdone--just right to me.

But I was definitely inspired by the golden bow to just make the effort to add a touch of festivity no matter how simple.

This is part of an old church in the neighborhood.  I thought the golden leaves of the tree looked so pretty with the white-washed bricks in the background.

Sure hope your weekend was a lovely one.  I have so much to be grateful for and I am so very, very thankful.  

The sunshine in my soul far outweighs any storms thrown at us.

Praying that your week ahead is exactly what God wants for you.

And the greatest inspiration of all to me--the Word of God  For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Psalm 84:11

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

In Him We Live

Hoping your weekend is filled with work, play, fun, relaxation, living, moving, being, rejoicing, worshipping.

 As for me, I will be watching a granddaughter play basketball, spending some quiet time with the Lord, watching cheesy Christmas movies with my husband and praying for you if our paths happen to cross here.

For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' Acts 17:28 More versions of the verse can be found here.

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

Power Supply

This morning as I was having my devotions, I found it hard to concentrate on God's Word.

 My mind kept going to a couple of nagging situations--me wondering how to handle them--them taking my mind off God's Word.

 I struggled with this but finally got through my regular reading of five psalms a day and the reading for She Reads Truth.

I always get something from God's Word even if it is one of those days when I am struggling.

After all, Hebrews 4:12 says that his Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. 

God always knows just what we need though. After reading those selections, I picked Jesus Calling for November 15 and this is an excerpt from today's reading.

"Approach problems with a light touch. When your mind moves toward a problem area, you tend to focus on that situation so intensely that you lose sight of me. You pit yourself against the difficulty as if you had to conquer it immediately.  Your mind gears up for battle, and your body becomes tense and anxious.  Unless you achieve total victory, you feel defeated."  Jesus Calling, Sarah Young

We have such an incredible power supply.  Thank you, Lord, for ALWAYS responding when we are trying to seek You with our whole hearts.


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

Many Many Tears For Me Today

Our Muhly grass is going nuts.

I couldn't decide which picture to post so I will bore you with all of them.

It does seem redundant to keep posting almost the exact same picture.

Please forgive me but there was just a mood or something about the one above that made me put it on here and leave it.

And this is kinda a boring pic but just couldn't hurt the little Dianthus' feelings and not show it.

And this one---it almost looks like a doily or lace, doesn't it.  God's creations are really just so magnificent.

And the dogwood--well, I should have taken the picture about two days ago--that was when it was showing off the most.  But you know how you ignore your kids sometimes when they're showing off--guess that's what I did.  I know, I know, I really regret it now.

And I love my little flag that says, "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow."  Yes, they do, amen!

Our first big cold front of the season is coming in tonight.  When I went out to take these pictures today it was around 70 degrees.  Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 47 with real feel of 37.  I will be driving to Conway to Renewal Ranch.  We had part of our class outside last week.  Well, we won't be doing that tomorrow, I'm pretty sure.

Another view of the side of our front yard.

Back in the post a ways, I spoke of the magnificent, wondrous creations of our God. Speaking of that, I wanted to share this little tad of news about my class at Renewal Ranch last week.

This is what I posted on Facebook last Wednesday.

"Great time at the Ranch today--16 men and I walked the grounds, ascribing to God in loud voices 365 different names or attributes He is--from far and near I heard one voice and then another as these mighty names flowed forth--Precious cornerstone, Coming Again, Morning Star, Rose of Sharon, Holy One of Israel, Fragrance, El Shaddai, and 358 more……………..

If you haven't praised Him yet today, I pray that you will.  He is all deserving.  I know that some of you may be going through very hard times.  This is when we offer a sacrifice of praise.

My heart is really heavy today.

This was my post tonight on Facebook:

This precious man, Mikal Hunt, one of my former students, passed away today. Please say a prayer for his family and also for me--my heart is so very heavy and sad at his passing.

When he was in 7th grade, he ate lunch with me on numerous days. I would be in my room working/eating and he would come and we would discuss the deepest issues of life. He always wanted to talk about God. He was such a deep thinker, very caring and loving and thoughtful for such a young kid. 

When it came time for me to retire, he planned (with help from the awesome Marilyn Cullum I think) a retirement party for me with all the 7th graders--at least the ones in our "family." He also sang to me that day--You're Still You by Josh Groban. 

When we studied about the Holocaust and all the Jewish people endured, we made butterflies in remembrance of them. We hung the butterflies (each of them represented a real child) on the walls and at the end of our 6 week study, he framed his and gave it to me. 

When we read the book, The Hiding Place, and then watched the movie, at the end he came up to me, put his arms around my neck, his head on my shoulder and sobbed like a baby.

I had moved to Little Rock several years before he graduated from high school but we had a deal that I would be at his graduation. I was. 

He will always have a very special place in my heart. I loved you so much, dear Mikal.

Here is the song he sang to me--sung by Josh Groban--





Yes, I cried more than a few tears today.


©  2008-2013 all photographs, art and text property of Elizabeth Dianne unless otherwise noted

Howdy Pardner

It's been quite a while since I've shown a picture of our newest grandchild, James. He turned 11 months old yesterday. I can hardly believe it.  The years seem to be flying by.

He is so darling and as always, I can't remember our family without him.  He is such a special gift from God.  It's a long story but we were extremely surprised when Chris and Andrea announced the big news to us.

Here is a link to the awesome news I shared at the end of 2010.

Andrea worked at a crisis pregnancy adoption place.  They turned in all of their papers and a Lifebook--the "in crisis" mothers would look through the books and choose a family they wanted to have their baby.  Chris and Andrea were never chosen--this went on for a little over a year and our hearts were getting heavy again--

And then bam!  Andrea announced that she was pregnant.  God knew all along what was in store for our family.

We would have loved an adopted child so very much--one that came not from our bloodline but our heartline.

However, we got one that came from both and he is a little character.

He has the cutest fake smile he "does for the camera" every time he sees a flash.

We are in love.  Thank you Lord.

Finally, My Art For Sale

Finally, I have placed some of my art for sale on FineArtAmerica. 

 I hope you will click on this link or the one on the sidebar and take a look at it.

 My goal is to add at least one piece per week (hopefully more) so I hope you will check back from time to time and see the updates.

 Here is my artist' bio--it was interesting making myself write about "being an artist."

One of my very first memories is asking my mother to draw for me. I loved watching the pencil strokes she made and seeing something so simple become a piece of art, well, in a five year old's view, it was art.

I remember a JFK pencil sketch I did copying his portrait from a Look magazine cover. I also remember walking by the art room when I was in college yearning to be in there painting but knowing I had to have a career that would provide a dependable income.

I think I must have been afraid of failure also because I never took an art course even as an elective. Looking back, I really regret that.

A busy life of marriage and family preceded a 20 year career as a public school teacher. During those years, I was always creating something and was happier when I was creating.
Along the way, I did take a few calligraphy, oil and watercolor classes. I had a small calligraphy business for a while but found I could not keep up with teaching, family, and a business.

After retirement, I started to paint more and joined a watercolor society. When one of my paintings was chosen to hang in an exhibition, a granddaughter asked me if I was an artist. Right then and there, I had to decide how I was going to answer her. It was a huge decision to make--to call myself an artist. But I did. I told her I was an artist.

Making that decision led me to develop my own style--I am a very loose painter, designer and calligrapher. Most everything I create has a loose, relaxed, impressionistic or abstract feel to it.

I don't like staying 'in the lines.'

I will be adding pieces weekly so I hope you will check back often.

Hope you enjoy and God bless you. 

_____________________________ 

I am finding that it is very hard to humble oneself enough to promote their own artwork--some might think it is a prideful thing but for me it is more of a humbling to ask for help.

So, if you like my work and feel comfortable doing this, would you be so kind as to like the Facebook or Google + buttons right below this post or give me a shout out on your blog.  I would be ever so grateful.