AT HOME .....

The picture above was the beginning to which I began to find the story within....which is on top.

AT HOME.......Words that have become paramount in this season of my (our ) life!  Words that were given to my heart and mind as I prayed for direction with our downsizing move.  The year and a half we have taken to clean and glean the STUFF in our lives, the stuff we have gathered through the years of living..... precious memories, hard memories, things from loved ones gone, too much furniture, too many antiques, way too many frames for art, and way too much fabric and art.  We were excited about our new adventure and the momentum was energizing ..... and we were on a roll moving forward and never looking back.  But we were getting tired ..... really tired, really really tired!  And then began to look at the past years and all the hard work lovingly building the house of our dreams ..... and the yard of our dreams with fabulous porches .... all 2.5+ acres of it!!  Hosting people in our B and B and welcoming new people into my shop each week.  And then I got a little confused (slightly depressed maybe) thinking .... WHY HAVE WE SPENT THE LAST FOURTEEN YEARS BUILDING SOMETHING SO BEAUTIFUL TO ONLY HAVE THE DESIRE TO LEAVE IT!!??  And then thinking ....  WILL YOU BE AT HOME IN LAGRANGE IN THE SMALLER HOUSE OR IN THAT TOWN?  I asked people to pray for me, as I was also not feeling well at that time, and just really really tired, mentally and emotionally!!  I know they were praying because I would awaken in the middle of the night from sleep with profound thoughts ..... like questions from God ..... "Where IS Home?"  .....  "Do you really want to feel At Home?"   "To be at peace in your home?"  "You created a beautiful place, ... but it became difficult to enjoy because of so much work...."  "Do you need all that you had?"  "Can you let go of special things?....because you can't take it "Home" with you....." ....wow, you mean to Heaven?, I thought.  Yes, that is the real HOME, when we get there, but what about before we get there? .... then I had a visual ..... of ME BEING THE HOME WHERE HE LIVES IN ME! .... like a house!!!  So as I wrote and listened and prayed and gave thanks too..... I finally realized, ..... That I need to work on the place where He DWELLS..... and that is inside my soul.  I need to have HIM there so comfortable that He is AT HOME THERE... in my soul...  OK, A couch potato on the couch of my soul..... Wow, where did that thought come from!!?? Ha, but really, HOW COMFORTABLE is He or are you with HIM REALLY DWELLING INSIDE (Your) MY SOUL.....not just on Sunday, but every minute of the day....  Oooo now that's what I am talking about!!!  Yes!!! When He dwells in me, I am AT HOME WHERE EVER I LIVE!!!  EVEN UP ON A LEAF ON A STEM OF A GIANT FLOWER!! Climbing that little ladder..... That is where this art piece comes in.... I did the MYSTELE (you'll find her by clicking on STUDIO THRIVE/MYSTELE to the left in my list of favorites.) style of  collaging, doodling, writing, paint dripping, smearing and playing for the picture/story to appear in it .... had to come from my soul, ... what has been in my thoughts for several weeks!!! So enjoy!!!  He DOES HEAR YOUR PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS .... AND HE ANSWERS.  You have to be still (or even asleep) and listen.  We are finally getting closer to being completely moved and THIS WEEK I got ALL MY ART SUPPLIES  on shelves!!! That also feels "AT HOME" for me.  I am thinking AT HOME is actually doing something you love with Him living in your heart and getting to do it with you!!! .... or He is doing it "through" you because He lives inside!!!  So many empowering thoughts that have warmed and comforted my heart!!! We look forward to the resting with AT HOME in us ....!  BLESSINGS!!!  I am adding what we read today in Sunday School!!! PERFECT for this art and my thinking!! 
www.biblegateway.com 
click on the above link to go straight to the verses, or here are the references,
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
2Corinthians 5:1-9
Romans 8:22-25

CHRISTMAS EVE ..... and another Cereal Box Christmas Card

It is Christmas Eve in our smaller but warm and cozy living room lit with Christmas lights and watching Scrooge with Dick and also listening to the laughter from the children in the loft/art room playing with their new Christmas games they opened tonight.  It is truly a fit for us here on Walnut Street .... we loved our beautiful big home in Round Top but it was too much for us to care for at this point in our lives .... so it awaits a new family to be blessed by it's beauty and comfort.  We have had unexpected BLESSINGS in our new spot with four old and mature pecan trees that have produced a bumper crop this year!!!!  We have gathered pecans for weeks now giving plenty to family and friends.  Two extra large plastic tubs full went to families we know in Mexico where pecans are unaffordable to most.  The Lord truly provides!!! Dick's desire for years was for the pecan trees to mature where we used to live .... and he waited and watched as the squirrels got the few pecans they began putting on after 12 years ..... so to have these four trees mature and big with more than enough for us and the squirrels has been a gift for Dick!!!  
I just wanted to share my third Christmas card design and wish you all a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!!  My art studio is coming along and the art supplies are making their way to my tables..... so I am anxious to start the art and creating again!!  I have my sewing area set up and sewed up a storm for the grand girls for their dolls for Christmas.  I have been making doll clothes ever since I was nine...... about 57 years to be exact!!  I will post what I have in photos of them plus my card for the year.  The grand children were in the Christmas programs as an angel, a shepherd and as Mary ....the tradition of worshiping Our Savior goes on..... this verse came on a friends newsletter and I just wanted to share it to bless you!!  "...He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."  Philippians 2:6-8

YOU SHOULD SEE HER ROOM !!

Yes, you should see her Sunday School Room.  All around the floor the 3rd and 4th graders have built the scenes of David's life happenings in I Samuel.  All David's men (Ken Dolls) are set up with Saul's Palace, a Tabernacle, the giants at Gath, David's Family at Bethlehem and last week they built the caves in the wilderness because David is on the run!  Candy, the best teacher ever, emailed me and said,  "This Sunday I need to bring the girl dolls (Barbies) and some material for the children to fix and dress them up for the scene, but I have no under garments for the dolls!  Would that be a big project if I asked if you could COVER THESE NAKED BARBIES?"  That was a first for me ... I have sewn doll clothes for years, but asked to make at least a dozen under garments to cover the naked Barbies so they could be fitted and dressed up in Sunday School for the scene was indeed an important task.  Actually I got excited about it going to the local fabric store for the perfect slightly stretchy, non- raveling garment material in white ..... and I found what I needed.  Then I made a pattern looking at shorts and top designs and came up with a simple short type of pantaloons,  appropriate under garments!  I forgot to take a picture, but I drew one and added color to the fabric in the drawing of the under garments to create interest ..... even tho the actual under garments were all white.  This was a ministry first for me and as I sewed the tiny garments I thought of the action in that Sunday School class and what a fabulous way to learn the stories that happened in Scripture!  The whole time I was  wishing I was a 3rd or 4th grader!!!  I felt blessed to be a part of helping her teach that class!!! Blessings to you!!  I forgot to mention the middle picture .... just a drawing and color of present symbols in my life , an excersize for a small class, it has the sun shining on me and the blessings of children at the bottom, a paint brush which I love to do, a bird, love birds in my yard, Fall leaves, my new yellow house with columns out front and God at the center and over it all on the weather vane.  I should have had Dick flying an airplane above as that is where he was ! Enjoy..... my art supplies are still packed in storage and these are just pencil drawings with watercolor pencils..... simple but satisfying!!

ART EVERYDAY JOURNALING ... for one year!!

 New Beginnings ....

 Flower and caladium from back porch...

Ball point ink doodle and two real feathers with two painted feathers....below.

 Tree... "Getting Older" ...... and fun with color pencils below...

 A cherished place to rest my back...and the LOGO for ART EVERYDAY JOURNALING.....

 Above.....missing my art supplies and closing my eyes to the mess of packing boxes!!

 My new kitchen...play with my black and white floors....

 Crazy composition of leaves, twigs, and rain drops....

 My cheap but wonderful watercolors and supplies....

My mother's old metal flower hanging lamp I am thinking of restoring for hanging above my kitchen sink....

 Drips and drops of paint then made into flowers with a pen...simple fun!

 Peacock feather with metallic watercolors....

 Forever Love stamps reproduced in watercolor....stamps are on left and right.

Warrenton memories in the Texas Trash booth with Cheryl....

 Vase of leaves and acorns done with a fine Sharpie.....

 Detail of "New Beginnings"

I have an on going new EVENT on my FACE BOOK..... called "ART EVERYDAY JOURNALING" .  You are welcome to join in if you like..... it has been fun with a few friends who aren't even artists, they thought!,  to do some doodling and sketching and writing thoughts. Some are surprised I think at how good they are and we have just had fun overall!!  It is a challenge to me mostly to do some doodling or sketching every day for one year!!  Especially since I have had my art supplies packed away for almost a year trying to get moved!! So I am doing it to get me back to some drawing and playing with my simple tools of pencil, ball point pen, and cheap water colors and some color pencils..... someone seems to post at least EVERYDAY and it has become a way to communicate with each other and have something fun to look forward to!  No telling what God is going to do with this!!  I think after a year in 2013 in September we will actually have a get together EVENT!!  Anyway, stay tuned to see...also click on my FACE BOOK to the left to go to the EVENT and join or say you are "going"....which means going everyday to see what we are up to or to post your own fun doodling!!  I will post a bunch of the doodles done so far from me..... enjoy and BLESSINGS TO YOU!!! 

GRACE.....

The women's event "If the Shoe Fits" was wonderful, of course!  God did his thing moving hearts to accomplish it! We had almost 200 !  The dining room was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the chatting was lively and happy! We had very special music with words so assuring. There was an exciting air of expectation in the atmosphere as we filed into the Sanctuary to hear "Jenny Broughton" !  She could be a Christian Comedian!  She is so alive with humor and funny "real" things to talk about that we all experience in our dull everyday lives .... but somehow she makes those simple events we go through not so bad and at least very memorable!  Like the days of those of us who never went anywhere without our pantyhose and the struggle they at times presented in our trying to get and keep them in the right place!  She is so animated!!  It was so wonderful to laugh HARD with her, especially during a time in our lives of such heaviness on TV!  
We needed to hear her .... to hear her and how very real and normal she is!  And WHY?..... she,  being so normal with the same struggles as anyone ..... Why would she want to come and entertain us with her funny and painful stories of her life experiences?  WHY?  Well, it's the heart that God mended, in such a broken child, that He so beautifully nurtured and grew and loved unconditionally that she is "compelled" to share His boldness with us!!  His boldness.  Imagine having someone love you so boldly that He never gave up on you ..... that He reached down to an orphaned child and made sure there were loving arms around her at all times!  He used so many to do His job.   
Well, Jenny's "story" is wrenching .... the things she has had to go through and witness in her life as a child .... and even the things she learns later in her life she never knew.  So one of the loving things God gave her to help her get through, was a sense of humor!!!  We could all use a little sense of humor!!  Not that she has been absent of painful tears, but her sense of humor is crucial to her survival in sharing what she shares with us.   Because THEN WE CAN EVEN identify with her!  Maybe in some way we have walked in her shoes!  That is why she is compelled to share it "all" with us .... the ALL .... the good and the bad, but most of all is she is compelled to tell you how she was rescued through it all and from it all .... and she continues to be rescued and "fitted" for the right shoes in each season and then able to "Walk On" in  His shoes he "fitted" for her at that moment ....... and for all of us if we so choose to take off the old shoes that become so uncomfortable!  Her words to us......and they leave me wanting to shed a few pairs of shoes I keep walking in .... that have become uncomfortable .  I am ready for a new fit!

So was it a success? Yes it was .... God had His Hand in it, touching those who needed it .... He always reaches over and beyond any humanism  to call us to Him in such a private and gentle way.  I am sure many hearts went home pondering all that they had heard from Jenny .... and maybe with a little giggle too!  
How can I say ..... Thank You Lord! ... for all that you used to make this happen in our midst?!!!  Thanks that all of you came to share in such a special person's life!!  She also leaves "blessed" by your presence!  ....that is how He seems to work!  

The flowers above were in her room and then she gave this quote to see if it could be put on a card ..... of her flowers!  Enjoy and if you want her CD called "CALL ME " go to www.JennyBroughton.com to contact her for anything,  even a date to come and speak in your church or group of gals someday!!!

YOU'VE SEEN HER BEFORE...

Yes, you may have seen her before ... but she has a little new meaning in her life and knows where her strength comes from.  As it says .... "I am a princess, not because I have a prince but because my father is a KING."  The King is the Christ, the Son of the Most High.... and believe me when the chips are down He IS THERE .... He is. We will have the priviledge to hear about it this weekend and then on Tuesday evening with Jenny Broughton ........ she KNOWS.  Her heart will be present to share with us ... much laughter and some tears too.... they should go hand in hand.  Don't miss the message!! Hugs and Blessings!!!

I AM HUMBLED ....

 Please try to come to this very special EVENT!!!

Several things come to my mind and heart today ..... My Mother, My Heavenly Father and Blessings ..... even through tough times .... I know there have been incredible blessings ..... and I am humbled because I don't deserve one!  But I am so grateful of God's grace in my life.  Working on this EVENT "If The Shoe Fits" has been a growing blessing for me.  God really knows how to connect the dots to grow His Kingdom and I feel blessed to be a little dot!  The Event is Tuesday the 18th of September coming up and many women are excited about it!!  We will be sewing  tables runners this week in my new sort of finished Studio/Garage.....my first event for creativity in my Studio....His table cloths!!!  I am reminded of His Words in Psalms 23:5....."You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;  You anoint my head with oil;  My cup runs over."  Well, that is how I feel....My cup is running over....not with too much work, but with His love and Blessing of getting to participate in this special women's event in La Grange.  The cups are mine, the red one in front is a cup from my mother, the oil painting of my mother from 1958 when we lived in Spain, ....she was the most awesome MOTHER.....she is who taught me to love to sew....still on her sewing machine!....I miss her.  Then looking out the window of the beautiful house we still live in, but will soon move from.  It has been a blessing of beauty to live here, BUT I KNOW HE has something "new" in store for us and we are excited for what that will be.....we have FULL hearts of anticipation and excitement and peace for the days to come.  This event has connected some dots for me as well and I am so thankful!  Hmm ...the table runners are polka dots!!!

DON'T MISS THIS EVENT!!!!!!

 REMEMBER.....if you are happy.......

 or sad.......

 or tired.......you should not miss this special event to hear Jenny!!!

Even though we have not moved yet, I am feeling like a real part of my new town!  I have met the nicest of women who have a heart for one another....therefore I am sooo excited to tell you about my friend,  Jenny Broughton, originally a Texan now lives in Oklahoma City..... (www.jennybroughton.com) AND  who is coming to LaGrange to speak at a special event sponsored by "Joy Ministries" (click the poster to enlarge) .  She knows "The Pioneer Woman", Ree,  if that makes any difference..ha....Jenny is one of my very favorite women that can get you pumped up about life, even in it's challenges and in the possibilities that life offers you to know how much you are loved and valued! This event is open to anyone in any situation in their lives .....yukky or not yukky....... you will laugh, cry and say a hearty "Yahoo!"  I hope you will try to attend this very special event if you are close by .....bring a friend.... you won't be sorry! Blessings!!!  (the doll above is one I grew up with and still have .... a three faced doll from the 40's ... her head turns for the mood she is in ..... I could use that knob on top of my head!  ha!) Also, we are still packing and remodeling the next house ... someday, someday ... we'll move.  All in God's timing! .... I am missing my art and art room....soon!!!