"The Day of Small Things"

This painting is about Trust:
We can trust God in our calling.

Zechariah 4:10, "For who hath despised the day of small things?" Zerubbabel had been commissioned by God to rebuild the Temple. He is chosen for a task that he will be incapable by any human means to complete.
Yet, when he stood before the mountain, it dwindled before him. He stood in the power of the Lord, ignited by the Spirit of God. In doing the small things, he became great in the sight of the people and in the esteem of the Lord.

Every article in this painting tells of a busy woman, living a simple life, taking care of children, doing the ordinary chores, having an ordinary day--a day of small things. All of us as Christians want to do great things for our Lord. However, most of us live small lives. We wake up, prepare breakfast, pack lunches, buy groceries, make beds. This painting speaks to that life. How so? many small strokes, many small choices. What is life but the culmination of many small decisions? What is a journey, but many small steps? Since most of our lives are filled with seemingly trivial activities, how is it then that we are to count for God?

This is a fictitious setting. Never were these items in this arrangement. However, all are real articles. Each element in this painting is a tribute to the women of influence in my life. These are the women whom God has used to touch and mold me. The churn and hearth belonged to my Momaw Young; the egg basket was carried by Grandma Greear and was made by her father. (Although I never knew her because she died before I was born, her life story was a part of my childhood.) The apron belonged to my mother-in-law. The dolly was fashioned by my sweet eight -year old daughter, now a godly woman with children of her own.

Ah...but the empty chair, the quilt and the storybook wait for my mother. She will come from her busy day. She will lift me on her lap. She will wrap me tightly in the quilt. She will read to me until sleep outruns my imagination. She will place a value on me that will follow me through a lifetime. In her lap I learned songs, stories, and Bible verses. As I gazed into her clear green eyes, she prepared me for the pivotal decision of a lifetime. I was saved when I was seven years old. She, like Zerubbabel, had laid the foundation for a lifetime. She made the small decisions, to break away from the bustle of the day to invest her words and faith into my young life.

XCA Gallery Exhibition ... budding artists in progress. Congratulations, Guys! Job well done!

Scrapbooking design created with Smilebox

"Puddle Patrol"

On "Puddle Patrol," these two travelers set out for new adventures, and like them, I travel in the ordinary events of the everyday. I have learned and am
learning that I have the privilege to trust the Lord in my brief journey here.

Scripture tells us to seek Him... And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

Most of my paintings are visual devotionals, messages to my own need. In my heart and in my art, I seek the beauty of the ordinary for it is there that I recall His loving kindness.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5, 6).

These two guys on puddle patrol may just be wandering, but I know that I can walk in confidence that He leads me.

"December Sunshine"

My first painting for 2010—January, for me, is a quiet month...the hustle of December and the Christmas season has passed. Winter, with its cold icy grip, has decidedly slowed our pace.

To brighten my spirits I chose to paint this "Thank You" note to a dear lady in our church. She and her husband faithfully served for over twenty years in our ministry--he, as the pastor and she, as his "first lady." Due to ill health, he resigned. They remained in our church giving gracious encouragement to us, the new pastor and his family.

Bro. Jones has since gone to be with the Lord and our dear Sister Jones is still with us. That first Christmas and, subsequently, for the twenty years that have followed, my husband and I have received a gorgeous box of beautiful oranges fresh from Florida sunshine.

I hope you enjoy its progression from beginning to end.
(P.S. A later post will include my art students interpretation of this same still life. Alas, Mrs. Jones' oranges, due to their decidedly edible nature, did not last through the whole painting project.
Kirchoff oranges were brought bagged in the refrigerator, posted with a sign "Do Not Eat."
As the weeks passed, the sign became unnecessary. (PHew!!) They had definitely served their purpose.)