Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Change They Thought They Wanted
The recent passing of the healthcare reform bill reminded me of this video, which I had seen on another girl's blog a while back.
I tend to agree.
What do you think, fellow Americans?
Now more than ever, it is time to pray for our country - and be willing to stand and fight for the truth.
Also, as Christians, we must remember that our country, our lives, are in God's hands, and He will always protect and provide for His people. And He is the one who puts kings on thrones, and presidents in offices. As Proverbs 21:1 says "The king's heart is in the hands of the Lord; like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He pleases."
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sanctus Real - Pieces of a Real Heart
My favorite Christian band just came out with a new cd, which my Daddy got for me Wednesday! I have been savoring every song for the last several days! ; D
Their new cd is called Pieces of a Real Heart. The words of their songs are awesome- I've shared one song with you before- Legacy, here, in one of my first posts.
The first song is called "Forgiven". If you've been listening to Christian radio recently, you might have heard this song played. It has really been an encouragement to me- I often find it hard to forgive myself for mistakes I've made and let it go, hard to believe that I'll ever do anything right - and I can't, I won't, but He can - He will give me the strength to change, to turn around, and He has promised that when we ask for His forgiveness, we are forgiven. The devil can never take that away from us - he can place doubts in our mind, and he will try to, but that's when we go to the Word of God, and read the truth -
1 John 1:9
You can listen to the song here:Forgiven
The past is playing with my head
Failure knocks me down again
I'm reminded of the wrong
That I have said and done
That devil just won't let me forget
In this life, I know what I've been
But here in Your arms,
I know what I am
I'm forgiven
I'm forgiven
And I don't have to carry
The weight of who I've been
Cause I'm forgiven
My mistakes are running through my mind
And I relive my days in the middle of the night
When I struggle with my pain
Wrestle with my pride
Sometimes I feel alone and I cry
And in this life, I know what I've been
But here in Your arms ,
I know what I am
When I don't fit in and I don't feel like
I belong anywhere
When I don't measure up to much in this life,
Well, I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ
In this life I know what I've been
But here in Your arms, I know what I am-
I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven
I don't have to carry the weight of who I've been,
Cause I'm forgiven
I love that song- I've probably heard it, played it twenty times now, but every time,
It's message is just as sweet to me - the grace of God blows me away, that no matter how often I mess up, how many times I turn away, how many times I fall sooooo short, He is willing to forgive me, and He never gives up on me!
In turn, it's made me look at other people in a new light- if my Lord grants me this grace, should I not as a Christian grant the same grace to others? Roots of bitterness can all too easily spring up in our hearts, when people hurt us, when relationships go through rough times- and they do - because people will always mess up, so relationships take work.
We have to look at people like God does- never give up on people, life is too short to hold grudges, and bitterness is an acid that eats it's container - as Christians we should be first to forgive our fellow believers and friends, and to forgive our enemies.
Romans 12: 9-21
"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing steadfastly in prayer;
distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.
Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written-
"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
Therefore
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
-Thank you to my pastor, Pastor Randy, for preaching the Word every Sunday- he uses this passage of scripture frequently- used it yesterday, actually.
My apologies for not having posted sooner- sorry, life is busy! ; D
Their new cd is called Pieces of a Real Heart. The words of their songs are awesome- I've shared one song with you before- Legacy, here, in one of my first posts.
The first song is called "Forgiven". If you've been listening to Christian radio recently, you might have heard this song played. It has really been an encouragement to me- I often find it hard to forgive myself for mistakes I've made and let it go, hard to believe that I'll ever do anything right - and I can't, I won't, but He can - He will give me the strength to change, to turn around, and He has promised that when we ask for His forgiveness, we are forgiven. The devil can never take that away from us - he can place doubts in our mind, and he will try to, but that's when we go to the Word of God, and read the truth -
1 John 1:9
You can listen to the song here:Forgiven
The past is playing with my head
Failure knocks me down again
I'm reminded of the wrong
That I have said and done
That devil just won't let me forget
In this life, I know what I've been
But here in Your arms,
I know what I am
I'm forgiven
I'm forgiven
And I don't have to carry
The weight of who I've been
Cause I'm forgiven
My mistakes are running through my mind
And I relive my days in the middle of the night
When I struggle with my pain
Wrestle with my pride
Sometimes I feel alone and I cry
And in this life, I know what I've been
But here in Your arms ,
I know what I am
When I don't fit in and I don't feel like
I belong anywhere
When I don't measure up to much in this life,
Well, I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ
In this life I know what I've been
But here in Your arms, I know what I am-
I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven
I don't have to carry the weight of who I've been,
Cause I'm forgiven
I love that song- I've probably heard it, played it twenty times now, but every time,
It's message is just as sweet to me - the grace of God blows me away, that no matter how often I mess up, how many times I turn away, how many times I fall sooooo short, He is willing to forgive me, and He never gives up on me!
In turn, it's made me look at other people in a new light- if my Lord grants me this grace, should I not as a Christian grant the same grace to others? Roots of bitterness can all too easily spring up in our hearts, when people hurt us, when relationships go through rough times- and they do - because people will always mess up, so relationships take work.
We have to look at people like God does- never give up on people, life is too short to hold grudges, and bitterness is an acid that eats it's container - as Christians we should be first to forgive our fellow believers and friends, and to forgive our enemies.
Romans 12: 9-21
"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing steadfastly in prayer;
distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.
Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written-
"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
Therefore
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
-Thank you to my pastor, Pastor Randy, for preaching the Word every Sunday- he uses this passage of scripture frequently- used it yesterday, actually.
My apologies for not having posted sooner- sorry, life is busy! ; D
Friday, March 5, 2010
Cool New Art Toys!
I have discovered a new medium of artwork that opens up my possibilities beyond my imagination.
I have been working with graphite (pencil) for several years now, and I have enjoyed it, achieving better realism with practice, but a few days ago, I decided to try a picture in color.
I felt like doing something different, I guess, and I had some old oil pastels in my art cabinet that I had
played around with a few years back. I began a picture of a horse (of course ; D), and was happy with it, but didn't have much luck with making it look real - it felt kind-of like a cartoon, even though it was technically pretty good.
I looked again with despair at the work of my favorite artist - Lesley Harrison. She works in pastels, and her horses look like photographs. I have a small collection of her calendars, which I have dissassembled and hung on my walls - those of you who have seen my walls know - her work is stunning. ; D
Here is her website: http://www.harrison-keller.com/
I have wished for years that I could create artwork like hers!
You see, she has a blog - which I follow, and in it she mentioned the types of pastels she uses.
I went to my favorite store (Hobby Lobby ; D) and found them.
They were not, as I had thought, oil pastels, but were in fact soft pastels.
There is a huge difference- oil pastels are kind of globby and greasy - they will blend, but they leave little crumbs and are bulky. You cannot get much detail, and I love details.
Soft pastels are almost like a chalk, but a chalk so soft and smooth it works like paint.
The detail you can achieve with them is unbelievable - I can now draw individual eyelashes. Individual highlights on eyelashes. Infinitesimal hairs. I am ecstatic!
So - I have posted some of my work.
What do you think?
Yeah, I know this isn't a very profound post, but I am totally tickled with how much
fun these are and had to tell somebody! ; D
Okay - so before, with oil pastels . . . grainy texture, not much detail . . .
I have been working with graphite (pencil) for several years now, and I have enjoyed it, achieving better realism with practice, but a few days ago, I decided to try a picture in color.
I felt like doing something different, I guess, and I had some old oil pastels in my art cabinet that I had
played around with a few years back. I began a picture of a horse (of course ; D), and was happy with it, but didn't have much luck with making it look real - it felt kind-of like a cartoon, even though it was technically pretty good.
I looked again with despair at the work of my favorite artist - Lesley Harrison. She works in pastels, and her horses look like photographs. I have a small collection of her calendars, which I have dissassembled and hung on my walls - those of you who have seen my walls know - her work is stunning. ; D
Here is her website: http://www.harrison-keller.com/
I have wished for years that I could create artwork like hers!
You see, she has a blog - which I follow, and in it she mentioned the types of pastels she uses.
I went to my favorite store (Hobby Lobby ; D) and found them.
They were not, as I had thought, oil pastels, but were in fact soft pastels.
There is a huge difference- oil pastels are kind of globby and greasy - they will blend, but they leave little crumbs and are bulky. You cannot get much detail, and I love details.
Soft pastels are almost like a chalk, but a chalk so soft and smooth it works like paint.
The detail you can achieve with them is unbelievable - I can now draw individual eyelashes. Individual highlights on eyelashes. Infinitesimal hairs. I am ecstatic!
So - I have posted some of my work.
What do you think?
Yeah, I know this isn't a very profound post, but I am totally tickled with how much
fun these are and had to tell somebody! ; D
Okay - so before, with oil pastels . . . grainy texture, not much detail . . .
Now after! See the difference?
Love the way this one turned out!
See the hairs? The eyelashes?
Sorry, I am having too much fun!
I got the reference photo for this one from a photography book, so I cannot
technically call this my own,
even though I have taken some artistic license with it.
I was thrilled with how it turned out!
I will probably be posting some more as I get more time with my new toys. = )
Thank you for so patiently bearing with my rambling! ; D
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