Treasures Mined

Have you ever worked so hard for something that it becomes much more precious than had it just been handed to you? The toil and maybe a pint or two of blood, sweat, and tears makes the end result more special to you, don't you think?

That is the way it is with the verses I have chosen for my stickers. Each piece of Scripture was extracted from reading the Word through days, no, years of brain fog and deep need. The verses were scribbled down into notebooks, poignant truths that touched my heart in the midst of the storm.

My hope is that these treasures mined from the depths will extend their glittering beauty and worth into your life as well.

(Find my stickers here.)

In the Shop

If you love watercolors, inspiring Bible verses, and stickers, you may want to check out my Etsy shop.

Hand Made Gifts

Baby gift for Issac

Booties for many babies to come

Christmas sweater for Issac

(knit by me, gifted by Mom and Dad)

Christmas sweater for Joseph

(same gifting arrangement as Issac's; Hannah knit Evangeline's sweet grey and coral sweater)

Watercolor for Jeannie, our generous neighbor-friend

Miracles Every Day

"'Your are asking for a miracle,' they said. But the creation of a flower is a miracle, and God makes new flowers every day. So that word [of skepticism] could not trouble us…"

- Amy Carmichael -

 P.S. Find this this original watercolor painting for sale here on my Etsy shop.

A Coneflower

For those who like it to the point:

Just a colorful sketchbook painting of an echinacea bloom from last Saturday. Inspired by a photo I took on the selfsame Saturday.

For those who like description:

While resting in a folding lawn chair by our perennial garden last Saturday, knitting in hand and a Christ-saturated podcast in my earbuds, I looked up and saw stunning shades of pink and green glowing through the sun drenched petals of an echinacea blossom. Wonder filled my heart. The Creator continues painting His masterpiece.

Which caption do you prefer? Short and punchy or descriptive and thoughtful?

Field Sketch

Though bugs ate me under the shelter of my dress, and my head spun with the loud rush of river rapids, this was a special moment on our doctoring/camping trip.

Noticing beautiful creation with my watercolors.

Sunday Sketches

Ruffled and Weathered

While snapping quick photos for watercolor painting reference,  I managed to get one worth sharing. A ruffled double impatien in a weathered pot. Can't get much better!

Peony Season

Yet Not I

Challenged. That's how I feel when I attempt painting leaves. Yet I am determined to learn. And so I keep trying.

It seems as though leaves should be the easiest of subjects to paint. Their simplicity fools me into believing them within my skill level. And yet my hard efforts come up short. Perhaps I'm overthinking them. After all, my best paintings are not those that I labor over but those created in the moments I get lost in the beauty of my subject and the joy of pigment and water.

So it is in the life of many a Christ follower. We carefully think through whether we are able to do the task before us - forgiving a false accusation, returning evil with good, showing compassion, sharing the hope that is in us... The more we dig into ourselves for strength, the more we realize we are completely unable. But when we gaze at Jesus and "the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe," the formerly impossible deed is effortless (Ephesians 1:19).

Yet not I, but Christ in me.

Happy Package

What do you do when your aunt is recovering from an accident? Send her a letter, tea, and one of your small watercolor sketches, of course! I have learned this skill (that I don't put into action nearly enough, no doubt) of a happy package or note in a hard time by being on the receiving end many a time. Thank you for your care, friends and relatives!

Hold the Phone

Have you ever been on hold? A professionally cadenced voice answers after a few rings with a polite, "Please hold until a representative is available to assist you." Then tinny music (my family would put the word "music" in quotes) crackles loudly over miles of cable setting your leg jiggling or fingers drumming in annoyance and impatience. You try to find something to fill the time but don't want your mind to wander too far from the object of your phone call lest you be caught unready to handle business when the overworked customer service agent picks up your line.

Life sometimes has periods much like this telephone hold. Undesired times of waiting, somewhat annoying, bringing a sense of wasted time to our accomplishment oriented spirits. Yet these holds are necessary to complete the great task slated for us. As I have been reflecting on the last eight years of my life, this idea of being on hold seems an apt analogy. Life up to February of 2014 was full, bustling, full of productivity (and yes, hard, because illness was creeping up on me). Bread baking was my profession. Bringing the love of Christ to the hurting of the world was my passion. Discipling younger women was my satisfaction. Family grocery shopping and mothering my aging yet perpetually young aunt who was graced with an extra chromosome was my loved duty. And then all that came to an abrupt end with two emergency room visits, a brush with "the valley of the shadow of death," and endless diagnoses. Cue the long hold, nerves grated by the ugly realities of an illness ravaged body, impatience with a multitude of questions as yet unanswered, and uncertainty how to steward this unspecified length of time. And yet I have a deep sense that this is a critical holding period, the waiting room into a greater future. The many injunctions in the Bible calling me to wait on the Lord hold my soul secure. "I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:13-14).

Are you waiting? Waiting for an answer? Waiting for a promise to be fulfilled? Waiting for hope to dawn? Waiting...? Hold the phone. An answer is on the way. The One who can satisfy all your longings is worth waiting for.

"...wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you" (Proverbs 20:22).

Eight Years

As of today I have been convalescing (a gentle word for a very gritty fight for health) for eight years. Sometimes a niggling thought of "I can't do this anymore," settles over my weary being. Then God gently reminds me that in Him I can. "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). This familiar verse is becoming less cliche every year.

What promises of God do you see being proved true in your life right now?

July 11: A Sketch of Delphinium

Failures

Not all watercolor attempts turn into art. After jarring my beauty loving eyes long enough, I weeded these failures out of my portfolio, took pictures to remind me of my humanity, and tossed them in the recycling bin.

This painting was more fortunate than the rest and ended up in a card making stash.

Begonias on a Winter Day

September Twelfth

Another treasure from my phone's and brain's memory.

Fading Zinnias

My Perfect Triad

If I had only three pigments in my watercolor palette, it would be these three:

- quinacridone pink (or rose)

- French ultramarine

- nickel azo yellow

Look at all the lovely colors they create when combined!

Peace for Bluster

"And he wrote letters to cast contempt on the Lord... And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city."

- II Chronicles 32:17-18 -

The Enemy's tactics don't change.  Noise. Fear. Persistence. What is our defense against this bluster? Like Jesus, we must continually go to a quiet place to commune with the Father (see verse 20). In that place we can hear the voice of Truth, escape the persistent barrage of the Enemy, and leave our fears behind as we walk forward in confidence in the mighty and victorious God.

Photo: watercolor play from last winter