Elizabeth Dianne: March 2015

Friday, March 13, 2015

Generations Celebrate His Goodness

Today I am so thankful for ancestors who prayed--ones who believed in God and His Son, Jesus Christ--ones who celebrated His abundant goodness and sang of His righteousness.

Wishing you a wonderfully still weekend--full of the Father's grace upon grace. Hoping you have some quiet moments to spend with your children or grandchildren reflecting on the wondrous acts of our God.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation commends your works to another;

they tell of your mighty acts.

They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They tell of the power of your awesome works—

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

From Psalm 145

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Flowers Appear On the Earth

Wishing my life away is not something I want to be guilty of and yet lately I've found myself wishing for sunny days and flowers to appear on our little plot of earth that God has blessed us with.

Normally, winter is my favorite season of the year. Even when I worked outside the home for many years and had to drive in ice and snow at times, it was still my favorite.

When time did allow, I loved to curl up on the sofa with a good book on a gray, overcast day and read to my heart's content. If it was sunny, I felt like I needed to be up "working and doing," (three sons) but somehow I could deal with those feelings better if it was what some people call a "yucky day."

But now after months of cold and rain and clouds, I am ready for some sun and flowers.

I love the spontaneity of this young lady. She has walked out into a field of blooming flowers and made herself a wreath of blessing from the Lord's bounty. And she was not shy about it. She just did it and is now wearing it humbly but boldly.

Of course, there are deeper meanings to this scripture--who knows, this girl may have just come through the greatest storm of her young life or she may be in the midst of one and chooses to celebrate the good instead of what satan means for harm.

Hoping you choose to celebrate today!

The winter is past, the rain is over and gone

The flowers appear on the earth

From Song of Solomon 2:11, 12

Monday, March 9, 2015

Scale A Wall

Wwith my God I can advance against a troop or scale a wall.

My beloved Aunt Hazel, who withstood some fierce battles here on this old earth, used to quote this verse a lot.

She lived in another state and I did not see her very often but when I did I felt as though I had been rejuvenated and could fight anyone or anything in the world with the help of my God.

This was my first attempt to paint a person of color and I am pleased with how she turned out. When I paint the next one, it is my hope that I will make the color much stronger.

I am working on my husband's computer and noticing that the color on his monitor really makes the picture appear much more washed out. I am hoping she does not appear that way on yours because she is a strong woman--and the color needs to reflect that--she, together with her God, can accomplish great things and has!

Tip: Don't be afraid to take a scrubbing brush (I used a toothbrush) to your painting when something is just not quite right. For the "lifting out of the color" to work right, you must use good quality watercolor paper and transparent watercolors. I used plenty of water and then let the paper dry thoroughly.

I was almost through with her and I knew that her eyes just weren't what they should be--I scrubbed both of them out and started over again on them. I love how they turned out the second time around.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

My Times Are In Your Hands

You are my God and my times are in your hands.

While reading the Bible through with www.shereadstruth.com--the thoughts above are the ones that spoke to me the most. They are from Psalm 31.

I can trust Him to handle "my times" as He sees fit, knowing a loving and faithful God is watching over me and mine.

Sometimes I get really anxious as I did over the last couple of weeks with worries about this and that. I can repent (for it is sin when I worry and fret) and turn back to fully trusting my Lord.

I hope you have a productive and lovely week.

Tip: Just go for it! I painted this on a sheet of watercolor paper that I had prepped for another picture. I didn't notice the pencil marks for some flowers until I had already painted the lady. They do not bother me at all. In fact, I really like them and think they add just a touch of a 'stained glass' or 'broken' effect if that makes any sense at all. (We are broken without Him) Be loose, be free, don't sweat the small stuff!

Friday, March 6, 2015

O Happy Day!

This little friend of mine is having a happy day today recalling the day that Jesus washed her sins away initially.

I call her a friend of mine because--I used to paint at an art studio every Thursday with several friends of mine.

One of them always painted beautiful girls/ladies.

One day I asked her if she would be willing to sell one of them and she said, "Oh, I can't--they are all friends of mine."

I thought that was so cute--if you painted a lovely lady once a week just think how soon you would be surrounded by friends if you framed them all.

I have every intention of framing some of mine but somehow just never seem to get around to it. However, they bring me such joy whenever I see just a little bit of life come from one of them--maybe a gleam in the eye, a genuine smile, a prayer from the heart--it is my goal that they speak something from God to me and to you.

A tip: When painting teeth, use just the tiniest suggestion of paint--add some tiny, tiny dots of opaque white paint toned down with another color--in this case I used purple--as the teeth are in shadow and do not appear to be white in a picture such as this.
If I had made either the whites of the eyes of the teeth "white," they would look very unnatural and ruin the picture.