From Beginning to End

Quite awhile ago my sister-in-law contacted me and asked me to come paint at a women's retreat while she taught.  Well, of course!  She gave me her initial thoughts on what she might be teaching, and we hashed it out, and then I came up with a line drawing for her approval.  Of course, I HAD to color it in, just like in a coloring book.  Stay inside the lines, now!!

Then, we took a road trip...16 hours on the dotted line!  The canvas started black, with the lines drawn on it in pencil (I did all that at home), and then I had three different sessions to work on it while my sister-in-law taught.

This is the end of session one.  (funny how the lighting made the yellow look oh-so-brilliant in this pic!!  It's not really that bright.)

And the final  product!  I was nervous to the point of shaking for the first 10 minutes of the first session, and after that God was kind and I found it to be FUN.  The red turned out darker than I intended, and I love it. 

When it was all said and done, I loaded up all my junk, left the canvas behind, and returned to my tiny little home.

 Thank You, My Father, for Your Kindness.  Your Faithfulness.  Your activity in my life.

Genesis One

"God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good." Genesis 1:31

I couldn't bring myself to paint a lovely garden scene, with lots of greenery and two naked adults with artfully placed drapery.  Besides, creation is so much more!  More than the initial garden.  More than what I see in my little mountain town.  More than our globe.  The creativity and power of God are astounding.

God says, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements?  Since you know.  Or Who stretched the line on it?  On what were its bases sunk?  Or Who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"   (Job 38)  It must have been ASTOUNDING to behold.

Here we go!

Change: a)to make different in some particular b)to make radically different

That about sums it up.

The canvases at my church are changing.  Yesterday morning they had lovely images and pieces of scripture on them.  This morning they were all jet black.  Tomorrow morning (Lord willing!) one of them will begin to show evidence of yet another image, and yet more scripture.  By Tuesday morning it just may be done!

Change is good, right?