Goodthoughts

Walking in Sunshine

I loved the flying man image in my "7-Up Revival" collage and decided to try to use it again in a collage with a different story. Making art takes a lot of problem solving.   Especially when you're trying to make something old new again, like my flying man. I've learned I have to look at problems from more than one perspective.

Flying makes me think of freedom, transformation and joy!  I borrowed an angel head from one of my digital paintings and turned my flying man into a smiling girl! Doesn't that feel so much happier?

The old picture is me at 7 trying out my new Christmas umbrella on a sunny day. Lots of pictures were taken that day with my parents, grandparents and aunt. Family stories, laughing, love, chocolate fudge, belonging. "In the acorn lies the Oak." I've been an oak a long time, but I'll always remember that little acorn kindly.

This collage is a reminder to me. I've learned the sun is always shining up there somewhere. Even when the rain is pouring, it's up there. And that little Morton Girl taught us all, it's never too wet to spread a little salt around. The curved arrow image was drawn on the back of a love letter Chuck wrote me when I was just a sapling. It recalls the shared path we've been on and the many layers of our love.

I still carry that little girl with me wherever I go.   I'm glad that 7-Up bottle taught her to be bold and seize the moment.  She reminds me of that every now and then when I'm living on cruise control.  Seize the moment...that's where the love is the sweetest!

7-Up Revival

My art has taken off in a new direction lately. Several months ago I decided to try my hand at mixed media and I've got to tell you this is like play! I could do this forever! As always I love to tell a story.  Try putting yourself in the middle of this one.  Hope you feel as happy as I do!!

You might want to read this if you're curious about the 7-Up bottle.

Pentecost wind and fire

Last Sunday was Pentecost...the birthday of the church.  I'd wanted to create some kind of art in our church sanctuary for several years now and finally got around to doing it.  Here's the story I was trying to illustrate.

It happened after Jesus' resurrection and ascencion back into heaven.  It was a day when Jesus' rag tag disciples, who had been hiding for fear of what might happen to them, suddenly changed.  God's spirit, which Jesus had promised, came like wind and fire and rested on their heads.  They were able to speak boldly about God in languages all the people listening could understand.  Peter preached with such boldness and power that over 3000 people were added to the church that day!  And the disciples lost their fear and began sharing the gospel message of God's love with everyone they met.  Pretty exciting stuff!
So how could we bring that feeling into our church?  I had seen some church art using organza and tulle and decided to start there.  Our lovely old sanctuary was built in 1890 with a choir loft towering above the pulpit area.  It was the perfect place to hang our Pentecost art.

It's 3 layers deep made of organza, tulle ribbon, satin and organza ribbon.  We place a fan off to the side that gave it a little movement...not quite like the first Pentecost...but it gave the idea of God's spirit moving among God's people.  

Red is the traditional color of Pentecost and I used yellows, oranges and blues to suggest  the look of a flame in the center. 

Our congregation dressed in red to celebrate this special day in the life of the church. My friend, Betty, arranged flowers from her garden to beautifully echo our theme.  

You can hear Chuck's Pentecost sermon, Living in the Power of Pentecost, at chuckwarnock.com

"On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.  Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.  Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.  And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability."  Acts 2:1-4

 

Merry Christmas, Jesus!

This is the Children's Time I'll being doing during our worship service on Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas, boys and girls!  Today we're celebrating Jesus' birthday.  You know, God sent his son, Jesus, down to earth to be born as a little baby.  Do you know why God sent him?  One reason was to show us what God was like; to let us see a person who could really live his life the way God wanted him to live it.  Jesus was our example...to teach us by his actions just how we should live.  

Just imagine that clear starry night that Jesus was born in the stable with the cows and sheep and donkeys watching.  He looked like any other baby being born that night but he was very special.  He came to earth to show God's love to all of us. Jesus was pure LOVE!

So here at church on Christmas Day, I thought we could give Jesus a special gift.  Let's tell him all the things we can think of that we love about him.  

Jesus loves everybody...good people...bad people...everybody!

Jesus notices people that others ignore.

Jesus cares about sick people and heals them.

Jesus is humble...drawing attention to God and others and not himself.

Jesus is friendly.

Jesus obeys his heavenly father.

Jesus is thankful.

Jesus fed people who were hungry.

Jesus is kind.

Jesus treats children with love and respect and they love him.

Jesus talks to God every day.

Jesus showed love even when he died on the cross.

Jesus forgives people.

Jesus always does what God wants him to do every moment of every day.

Jesus takes time to help people in need.

Jesus listens to people who talk to him.

Jesus is God's son. 

Jesus knows we're not perfect, but he loves us anyway.

 Jesus likes it when we love him back.

Jesus wants us all to be a part of his family.

 

Wow! That's a lot of things to love about Jesus.  But one of the best things is that after he died on the cross and went back to heaven, he didn't leave us here on earth all alone.  God sent his Holy Spirit to live in the hearts of everybody who loves Jesus.  God's spirit sort of changes our "want to" so that we can live with love for others like Jesus showed us.  And showing love for others is the best gift we can give Jesus on Christmas Day and every day!!

Scrambled pansies

Scrambled pansies sounds like a new sidedish Rachael Ray may have cooked up, but these pansies weren't scrambled in a skillet on the stove!  No, they were scrambled on my computer, in my head and with my hands.  And why would I want to scramble pansies?  Aren't pansies beautiful just the way God made them?  

The thing I love about art is the creative process. It's a need to deconstruct reality, rearrange the composition, crank up the color and leave a little bit of yourself and your emotions shining through the work.  It's the hope of endless possibilites.  It's the only way I know to wear myself out and totally pep myself up at the same time!  

 

So, here's how the pansies got scrambled.  I started with a photo looking straight down at the pansies and forget-me-nots growing in front of our fence. See that yellow pansy on the far left side?  See if you can find him on the finished version. I cropped a portion of this picture and opened it in Photoshop.  I then filtered the image to look like a drybrush painting.

I generated about 40 random patterns on the pattern maker.  Look how the elements in the original photo are scrambled up. The white fence is "growing" in slivers in the ground with the flowers.  The combinations are infinite, but I chose the one I like best and moved on.

 

 

 

 

Now, the fun part begins.  With Photoshop's large selection of brushes and my Wacom pad and stylus I can paint with almost the same feel I have with real paints and brushes. So I started choosing brushes and colors and just got lost in painting for a while.  But unlike, real paint, I can use different color overlays and light sources to scramble things up even more!  I painted all sorts of shapes (a triangle, my symbol for God's serendipitous guidance, seems to have crept in!) and colors over the patterned photograph. I cropped it to more of a square shape and thought I was finished.  I love the colors and the movement in it.  Can you find the pansies?

Today I decided to see if I could take it a step further with a new version.  I wanted it to look even more springy and happy.  I used some special effects with some gradient changes that focused it into a circle and a vivid light source that made it scream "happy" for me.

I noticed when I got through that one of the shapes looks like a question mark, not something I intended, but I like the idea! Questions and triangles...inspired by the springtime pansies...as they sing their happy love song to God.

What is God like?

Resurrection

 The painting is "Easter Morn" by Chinese artist He Qi.

It's been a lovely spring day!  The dogwood blossoms are opening in Easter greeting to the warm sunshine.  Daffodils are smiling all over town.  The birds are gathering bits of grass and straw...singing their nesting songs.  The warmth of new life has replaced our cold, dead winter.  It seems that all of nature is shouting out the resurrection story! It's a story we long to hear again each year...for it's triumphant and hopeful like spring!

Here's the story as told in the gospel of Matthew. 

After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God's angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn't move.

The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.

"Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, 'He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.' That's the message."

The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there." --Matthew 28:1-10, the Message

The Daffodil

Spring officially arrived yesterday!  I've been working in the yard all week...happily coaxing my muscles back into gardening shape again.  Daffodils have popped up all over our back yard but the first clump to bloom was down by the labyrinth.  I picked a vase full and brought them inside to brighten the kitchen table.  Their happy faces inspired this poem which I wrote this morning and shared with the children at church.

     

 
 

Happy Valentine's Day

 Watch what God does, and then you do it,

 like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. 

Mostly what God does is love you. 

Keep company with him and learn a life of love.

 Observe how Christ loved us. 

His love was not cautious but extravagant. 

He didn't love in order to get something from us

 but to give everything of himself to us.

 Love like that.

Ephesians 5:1-3 (The Message)

The best Christmas carol

Image via Wikipedia

Does Jesus have a favorite Christmas carol?  Could it be "Silent Night?'  Maybe "Away in a Manger?"  Or how about "O, Holy Night?"   These are all beautiful, but I don't think they are the best. 

Over 2,000 years ago the angel, Gabriel, appeared to Mary with God's great surprise.  She would have a son and call his name Jesus.

But Mary was scared...she had questions...concerns.  How was such a thing even possible?

Gabriel's answer was "Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."

I believe the best carol ever sung...better than the Magnificat which Mary sang a few days later when she greeted Elizabeth...were Mary's final words to Gabriel :

"Yes, I see it all now:

I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.

Let it be with me 

just as you say."

Luke 1:37-38 The Message

I think Mary's loving response is Jesus favorite Christmas carol.  It may be the best carol any of us can sing.  I'm reminded lately that life does not always go the way we planned.  Our journey takes us through shadows as well as sunlight.  We may have questions and concerns about why things happen.

But in the end, we too can joyfully embrace God's travel plans.   And like Mary...we can sing to the Lord our version of the best Christmas carol ever sung...

"I get it, Lord!  I'm all yours.  Whatever you say...I'm in!"

 

Wishing each of you joy, love and peace this Christmas!--Debbie and Chuck