MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY - Creating Displays

Preparing for my bazaar on April 20th, I would like to share with you my display idea for my art pins.  Here they are!  Happy Motivational Monday!

Till my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER! Love you, mean it!

FIND REFUGE

As vulnerable human beings, we are almost always exposed to not only other vulnerable human beings, the uncontrollable force of nature, life changing events, etc.  No matter how strong we are physically, mentally or emotionally, we are merely humans and we react to these types of elements is various ways.

One of the ways we react and get affected is our health.  We try to live a normal happy life but the stressors that afflict us are oftentimes unwelcome.  We try to let it slide but to no avail.  Another way is to sometimes lash back out at the source of these stressors, but do we really feel better post retaliation?  

When the element is an uncontrollable force of nature, life changing events, etc., we feel frustrated and helpless.  Most people cope with it just by plugging along and suppressing the source.  Others become angry and then become immobile, meaning, instead of acting and doing something to rectify the devastating results, they retract interiorly and freeze.

The people we watch in awe of when they are able to handle bad situations are the ones who brave their circumstances and rise above them like champions.  These people get a boost from something, someone, another source of energy that inspires them to fight and to beat whatever it is that dunks them further into the abyss.  That source of that fight is God.  Call it what you want, God is, and should, be everyone’s refuge in their time of need. 

When you give up and wallow in your sorrow and just let these sources of negativity pounce at you and beat you down, you pretty much succumb to the fact that God is powerless.  On the contrary, God is the strength and the power we all need but the funny part is, all we have to do is ASK, and we shall receive, SEEK and we shall find, KNOCK and it shall be opened to us.  The Bible doesn’t say, “maybe,” it says SHALL, shall means WILL and we were born with our own wills but if our will lines up with God’s, it is already considered DONE!!  Isn’t that awesome? 

Now, in order to get there we have to really accept the fact that it is done.  Done doesn’t mean right here, right now when we ask for it.  Done means when God is ready for you to accept that it is done.  It is done when you are ready, but when it is finally realized, you will know for sure that it was done by Him, and there is no other question in your mind, or anyone’s mind that it was God’s work.  That’s how God works.  He is the most powerful and he sure acts that way.  When you recognize this, you have just unlocked the mystery, the secret access to a life unparallel to mere simplicity.  He is your refuge.  In everything, seek Him, ask Him and He will open doors for you, comfort you, guide you, shelter you and most of all Love you.

Till my next rant… LOVE ONE ANOTHER!  Love you, mean it!

THE PROPOSAL

Share share!  I love this piece because it is a combination of life and fantasy.  I've always liked the Napa Valley and hope to have an art gallery there one day soon!  There's just something quaint and romantic in a city where grapes for winemaking flourish.  The place is ritzy but nevertheless it is unmistakably effervescent.  Makes one want to say, Ciao, bella!  It reminds me of Italy.  Till my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER! Love you, mean it!

ART DAY WEDNESDAY! ART PROMPT TODAY FOLLOW ALONG

Hi Everyone!! Join me for today's art prompt!  Ok, so we are doing a postcard to God.  Think of what you need absolution for and want to be forgiven for and follow along!

First, grab some cheap postcards, or you can also use watercolor paper or acrylic paper, whatever you want.

Then cover the entire area with either gesso or watercolor ground.  I use watercolor ground because I have a lot of leftover watercolor paint.

I made three for now saving the other two for another day.

Draw something that will inspire you to focus on why you're doing this.  Don't worry about what you are drawing, it could be doodling.  It doesn't matter because of what is going to happen in the end.  The next few photos are just progression of my own steps.  I hope to inspire you.

Add your heading... or not.  Now turn it over to the lined side...

Now write a love letter to God about what you want to be forgiven about (I am not showing you what I wrote... secret) and then....

Go outside and light it up.  BE VERY SAFE PLEASE!  I used a glass container.  The smoke going up only symbolizes the direction it is going.

At the end, if there is a piece left, tape it to your art journal and write something about it.  Part 2 I will show you how!

Have a great day, and as always... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!  Love you, mean it!

MY HAPPY COCOON ART DEBUTS IN STORIES BOOKSHOP, BRENTWOOD, CA

Come in and support your local artist!  Come visit Stories Bookshop 629 1st St. Brentwood, CA.  Till my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY - SING A SONG

                     

Ahhhh.... singing. We all do it whether we think we're good enough singers or not, whether it is done in the shower, a karaoke, at church, or just in the privacy of our own home. We all sing because we are naturally captivated by a melody, a tune, a note. There is something about music that stirs up feelings in our hearts and which we all have in common. When we sing to God we praise and worship Him. It is believed that when we sing in church, we pray twice. So no matter what you think you sound like to others, who cares? Keep on singing and praising God while you're at it. It is a sweet, sweet tone in His ear. Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER, Love you, mean it!

GOD'S MASTERPIECE

Your whole life, what labels did people put on you or you put on yourself?  Are they positive or negative?  I bet most of the negative labels come from people around you, even close family members.  We are not in control of the labels other people put on us but we can refuse to make the label stick to us.  This is how satan works.  He would love to stick labels on you to keep you from achieving your highest level. He doesn’t fight you for where you are now but for where you’re going.  He knows God has amazing things for your future so he will fight you, intimidate you, and make you feel insecure.  

Words are like seeds, if you dwell on them long enough they become roots that would have a stronghold on you.  It is like giving power to them much like water is to a new growth.  It is not easy to shun the labels sometimes because those thoughts would play in your mind constantly especially if you feel like you are in a rut.  Once the label is removed, you have to put in new labels.  Labels that God endorses, such as “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” or “Greater is He who is in me (the Holy Spirit) than he who is in the world (satan)” or “no weapon formed against me will ever prosper, but every tongue raise in judgment” (Isaiah 54:17) It means for every negative label, it points at you to be in the wrong.  God said it is up to you to show that nothing that is spoken over you has to define you, even from the people who raised you.  Nothing that has happened in your past has to keep you from your destiny.  Shake of the self-pity and move forward in your life because allowing them to fester inside of you will stunt your growth.  You are not who people say you are.  Who are they to criticize you?  The one who loves you unconditionally, the one who has the power, the one who is Lord of all says you are perfectly and wonderfully made from His own image and is whose voice you need to listen to.  Wear the right labels.   Negative people listen to the labels people say about them instead of what God says about them.  People do not determine your destiny, God determines your destiny.

The only power that label has over you is the power that you give it.  Removing it means stop thinking about it, stop thinking like it’s the truth, and those labels will have no effect on you.

Remember that misery loves company.  People who throw out negative labels on others are living in the rut of their own.  You must break those chains for you as well as for others to see you as a soldier of God. 

Along the way, there will always be negative labels thrown at you, but God would not have given you the dream unless He’s already equipped you.  You already have what you need.  What seems to be a limitation, God can use as an asset because He knows what He’s doing for the race that He planned for you.

Negative labels are: guilt, mistakes, sins (large or small), lies, death, misery, anger, unattractive, average, ordinary, weakness etc.

Godly labels:  redeemed, forgiven, mercy, grace, blessings, love, success, patience, abundance, etc.

You have seeds of greatness inside and created to be a history maker.  You’re not supposed to live and die with no one even knowing you were here.  God has an assignment for you that nobody else can fulfill.  God needs you, He needs your gifts, your smile, your love, your passion.  YOU ARE UNIQUE.  Don’t be average because God knows you are not.  There is nothing ordinary about you, you have the fingerprints of God all over you.  The creator of the universe breathed His life into you.  He crowned you with His favor.  You have royal blood flowing through your veins.  You have a destiny to fulfill, something greater than you have even imagined.  YOU ARE HIS MASTERPIECE.

I give permission for you to print out the artwork with the message and post it on your mirror, so that everyday, before you walk out that door, you are reminded of how special you are.  All I ask is to respect the copyright and not distribute it for profit, but instead, share with love to others.  

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!  Love you, mean it.