Blossoming

As the old adage goes....."Bloom where you're planted!"

I remember the fleeting look she wore on her face, the day I brought the birthday bouquet.  I sensed her mind was running, wondering.  I even thought I glimpsed her mouth open and shut quickly again, as if just on the verge, but not quite ready to voice her thoughts.  I guessed she had something in mind.....for her wedding.

My best guess was that maybe she was going to ask me to make boutonnieres or wrist corsages, something I had learned to do for my sons and their dates for formals.  Right off, I knew I would decline.  I was just too slow to make multiples.  I considered that I was over-thinking, and totally misreading what I had observed, but the following week, came the e-mail.....

Alethia's bridal bouquet

"Question!".....read the subject.  Amidst a sweet message came the most dear and humble request .....would I be willing to fix her bridal bouquet for her wedding?  What!  This is what she had been wondering when she saw the birthday bouquet I had arranged for Cindy?  This was something I had never done,  never expected, and had never even imagined doing.....ever.  There was no pressure at all in her message, just an invitation to dream.....to grow.....to blossom! 

To be invited to use the flowers from my own garden for Alethia's bridal bouquet.....to be given her trust for something so important .....and to hear her say in her message that she would be honored by this?  Why, I was the one who was honored!  To give of what I had, to know it could bless this remarkable, godly couple who were walking a narrow road in uncommon purity!.....I was humbled.

I had many questions.  Did I have the right color flowers for her palette?  What if the right blooms were not blooming when I needed them?  I had questions about timing and delivery and style.....but these concerns I set aside and answered in faith, "Yes, it would be an honor!"  I knew there would be many unknowns, but I trusted that the Creator, would be my guide.  I would trust his infinite wisdom.  I would serve with his help and inspiration.

Made with love to bless an extraordinary bride

The wedding-morning promised an uncommonly hot day ahead, but under a gorgeous blue sky with snowy-white thunderheads in the distance, I went out on my flower-finding expedition.  Blooms and buds and greens found their way into my buckets of waiting water.  I gathered from my yard, from my mom's flower garden across the street and from a neighbor who had given permission for me to use her peach-colored roses.  My kitchen became my floral station.

I set to work with rosemary and roses, heliotrope and hydrangeas, purple status and the gone-to-seed, fuzzy spheres and sunny blooms of gaillardia.  I added the variegated leaves of nandina and dwarf Japanese maple. On a whim I picked a couple of dainty purple blooms from the neighbors' that I thought looked so pretty, but at the reception, when I was finally able to take a few photos, I disappointingly realized they didn't hold up well.....oh well.  Next time....wait.....what am I saying? 

Paper roses - from worship music

Along with these, I added the bride's special request.....paper roses which I had made with great love and attention to detail.....to coordinate with the boutonnieres and the mother's wrist corsages. These too, have a message to tell.....but that's a story for another day.....Paper Petal Praise and Worship.

When the paper roses, the greens, and the peach, lavender and rosy palette had come together, the stems were wrapped in burlap, lace and twine.  I set the finished bouquet in a Kerr glass canning jar and delivered it to the happy bride.  The process had taken much longer than I had anticipated, and the experience had stretched me, but I did it!  I was done, and I was pleased.

homesweethome. Oh this little space we get to call ours.

Later that afternoon, under the canopies of the chuppah, the old, oak trees, and the blue skies above, a radiant young bride and her adoring groom, made covenant to one another before many witnesses under the canopy of their Father's love.  Holy and symbolic, the ceremony painted a picture of our Messiah's return.  The bridal bouquet suited the romantic, natural style of the setting.....it was but one of many blessings that had been showered upon this inspiring couple, who had saved their first kiss for their wedding day. 

Days after the wedding, I viewed a photo the new bride had posted.  There, displayed on her cheery, little, kitchen corner was the bridal bouquet!  As I read her sweet little hashtag and caption, I felt the blessings come back my way once again.  Back and forth, the blessings flowed, and I praised the LORD for the joy he had given.                      .

I am so grateful to the LORD for the time and resources and gifts he has given to me.  I thank him that he continues to nurture me so that I can grow and bud and blossom. I thank the LORD for my supportive husband who has given me such freedom for creativity.  I know I am blessed.....to be a blessing.....to take what the LORD has given to me and pour it out again.  

"May you bloom and grow
bloom and grow forever!"

Rogers & Hammerstein - Edelweiss

You can check out my young bride-friend's beautiful, inspirational blog at:  

http://alethialov.tumblr.com 
See her 'Forever' page for wedding and flower pics!

Foolish, Weak and Lowly

For Kris & Alethia - whose consecrated love inspired me 

An accomplished artist once laughed at me when I told him I wanted to paint hearts.  Then he hung his head, put his face in his hands and just shook his head from side-to-side.  It was obvious that he thought my idea was ridiculous.....not worthy to be called art.  

Then I shared one of my ideas with him.....not a cutesy idea.....but a symbolically spiritual and biblical one.  I remember the look he wore on his face after hearing me out.  I sensed he was taken aback.  Then in all seriousness and with new resolve, he looked me in the eyes and stated, "Okay, if you're going to paint hearts .....then paint hearts and hearts and hearts!"  He proceeded to share a few ideas.....which I took to heart.

 

Ephesians 5 - Wives & Husbands

Someone very intelligent once told me that artists don't write about their own work.  Very knowingly, she persuaded me to buy a mini tape-recorder, so I could speak my thoughts about my work rather than write them down. That way, someone skillful could script my thoughts into written words for me.  

Although deep down I believed I could write for myself, because I had often penned beautiful blessings to people I wanted to encourage, I heeded the counsel of this advice-giving woman and bought the little tape recorder just as she had suggested.  But.....when I turned it on to speak.....I couldn't say a thing!  Not a thing!  So.....I began writing and writing and writing.....about my own art.

"Love is Meant to Grow" - Set 3***

 In both of these situations I found myself stifled, I found myself misdirected and I found myself looked down upon as foolish, weak, and lowly.  Initially I agreed that I was not enough, but then I found myself.....in HIM.....putty in the Potter's hands!

1 Corinthians 13 - "The Love Chapter"

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."

1 Corinthians 1:27-29

  It's easy to doubt our self-worth when we compare ourselves to someone who seems smarter, stronger, or superior.  Sometimes, I look at my hearts and think that maybe they're just cutesy and cliche.....and not really art.  But then I ask, "Does it really matter?"  Whatever label my creativity is given, if God can use it for His glory, then a label doesn't matter.  What does matter is why I do what I do and Who I am doing it for.  The important thing really is.....a matter of the heart!  

".....the greatest of these is love."

A cartoon character from a children's book once inspired me.....to overcome the fear of failure.....to take a pass on perfectionism.....and to just give what I've got.  In a short but sweet and simple picture book, entitled The Dot, Peter Reynolds tells the tale of a little girl who assumed she had no artistic abilities whatsoever.  The only mark she dared to put on her piece of paper was a dot!  Trusting then, that she could do better, she began painting and painting and painting.....a whole series of dots!  In the process, her enthusiasm grew, as did her joy and confidence!  By the end of this tale, the little artist was encouraging another beginner, one who was afraid to make his mark!  The Dot encouraged me to give what I've got, do what I can do, and enjoy the success of little things....not just in art.....but in life.

I have learned that I don't need to be better than someone else.  I don't need fame or fortune.  I don't need to be afraid of failure, and I don't need to be perfect.  In fact, even if I am looked upon as foolish, weak and lowly.....it's OK.....because in the hands of my Maker, my little is much! 

"The Dot" - See it, hear it, watch it, in this short and sweet, animated video!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5mGeR4AQdM

Set 1

"Love is Meant to Grow" has become my version of "The Dot."  I didn't set out to create a series, it just evolved as I experimented with variations.....like the little girl in "The Dot".....and I suspect there may be more to come.  

Love is Meant to Grow - Set 2**

Following "Love is Meant to Grow"  - Set 1*, I painted a very colorful version, Set 2**, planning to give it to a special young couple who exemplified the heart of the message I purposed to convey in this series. However, when I was done, I sensed that the bright colors weren't really wasn't suited to their taste, so I started over again with something much more fitting. 

"Love is Meant to Grow" - Set 3*** is my third take on this series. So far, it is my favorite and most meaningful, because this time around I chose Bible passages, that focus on love, as the background for the hearts. Set 3*** is the set I gave my young friends as a wedding gift.

To read the message behind "Love is Meant to Grow" go to:  http://kimsheartstrings.blogspot.com/2014/09/love-is-meant-to-grow.html

You can check out my young bride-friend's beautiful and inspirational blog at:  
http://alethialov.tumblr.com/tagged/personal

Who's Knocking?

".....knock and the door will be opened to you."  Luke 11:10

I remember with fondness, sitting in those pint-sized children's chairs on Sunday mornings.  I remember my loving teachers, the Bible stories, and the fascinating figures on the flannel graph.  I remember the offering time, and the "birthday pennies" that children would drop one-by-one into the little, white, church bank while we would count aloud, and.....I remember the songs.....on big, colorful visuals that we took turns holding.  I loved Sunday School. 

I loved Sunday School songs.  I took them to heart, and they are imbedded in my memory to this day. The chorus of one song, in particular, brought a life-changing picture to my mind, "Behold, behold, I stand at the door and knock, knock, knock."  When we sang about Jesus knocking on the doors of our hearts, all the children would knock on our chairs in time with the music.  I didn't just sing the song or picture it in my mind.....I believed it!  I wanted Jesus to live in my heart, and I wanted to follow him! 

From my youth, I can remember nothing other than having a faith in Jesus as my Savior.  I praise God for His goodness to me in raising me in a Christian home, in a Christian church and in a Christian school.  I've been loved and guided and influenced by extended family, books and radio ministries and many, many people who have poured into my life.  I've participated in youth groups, Bible studies, mission trips, and many other wonderful, faith-enriching activities.  I never doubted my beliefs, or questioned the doctrines I had grown up with.....until.....

It was in my forties that I started to question a point of doctrine that I had always believed in.....the doctrine of infant baptism.  As an artist, being very aware of symbolism, I had noticed that the symbolic image of water being sprinkled on a baby pictured cleansing from sin, yet what I really saw taking place was a child being dedicated to the LORD.  My questioning took me on a journey from doctrine, to Scripture, to history.....looking, searching, seeking.  "If scripturally baptism signifies repentance,cleansing from sin, and spiritual rebirth," I wondered, "who started the practice of baptizing incognizant infants?  Why, when, and by whom did this ritual begin of replacing circumcision with baptism?  Was this really taught by Jesus and His disciples?"  I had an inquiring mind and I wanted to know!

One question led to another and I started to wonder about other things too, like Sunday-sabbath and traditional Christian holidays.  I wondered why the Christianity of today resembles the Roman Catholic Church in its traditions so much more than it mirrors that of the early church.  Was Jesus Catholic?  So, why don't we follow the practices of Jesus and his disciples?  Why are we are called Christians, meaning followers of Christ, if we not following Jesus by imitating him?  Isn't that what defines a disciple?  If we are grafted into Israel, why then have I grown up so disconnected to Israel and the biblical traditions?  

 

In my studies, I began to see that the Jesus I had invited into my heart, the Jesus that I had been following all my life looked very much like me.....a Christian.  But why, I wondered, did I not look very much like him?  Why didn't I even know his real name?.....his prophetic, God-given, birth name....."Yeshua".....meaning "Savior!"  Very truly I have grown up, barely cognizant of Jesus being Jewish.....when in fact, Rabbi Yeshua obeyed faultlessly all the laws and customs that God had given by everlasting covenant to his people through Moses.  Why have I not worshiped on the Lord's appointed day or honored the Lord's appointed festival days as Yeshua did and taught?  Why do these days of prophecy, fulfillment and things to come go largely unnoticed in the church?

These questions and more, I've been asking, researching, seeking and finding answers to.  I've been growing in my understanding and appreciation of biblical holy days as I've begun to celebrate them.  While I don't believe everything I've grown up with is wrong, I don't think it's all right either.  I'm willing to admit that the slithery Serpent has found footholds, even in the church.  He has caused us to call into question the infallible, enduring Word of God in much the same manner he provoked Eve in Paradise with, "Did God really say.....?"  I am willing to admit that paganism has been very influential in shaping our Christian traditions.  I am willing to admit that some traditional teachings have been based on biases against the Jewish people.  

Bean-bags were tossed while singing the Wordless Book Song

Although the journey is not an easy one, as for me, in the same manner that the church would expect a convert to Christianity to surrender from his old way of thinking and living, and live a new life, I am willing to surrender from traditions and teachings which I find untrustworthy.  My foundation remains the solid rock of Scripture, the same Scripture that I have always trusted, the same Scripture  Rabbi Yeshua and his followers followed and based their teachings on, the same Scriptures which Rabbi Shaul (Paul) endorsed when he said, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." -  2 Timothy 3:16

If you've heard him knocking, 
if you've opened the door of your heart.....

.....then you, too, have a Torah-observant, Jewish guy dwelling within you!

   

*The 4'x16" collage/painting was a piece I worked on at a community children's outreach event a number of  years ago.  It features the Wordless Book Song, a favorite of mine from my Sunday School days.  Of course, I fashioned it into my heart theme, as well!

Love is Meant to Grow

A few years ago I sat before three small, blank, black, canvases, my mind empty of inspiration.  My friend and I had gathered with supplies at my kitchen table, both prepared to do a little painting.  She had come to my house for inspiration, but I, myself, had no idea of what I wanted to paint.

As we prepared for the process, we shared what was on our hearts, and then we decided to spend a little time in prayer to set before the Father the things that concerned us.  It was something my friend said in prayer that suddenly gave me the idea I needed to get started.  It was a small phrase that brought a picture to my mind.....simple, yet at the same time, deep and profound.

The words that captured my imagination were, "Love is meant to grow."  With these words I saw in my mind three hearts that got progressively bigger, with the word "LOVE" on each, increasing in size.  

 What I understood by this phrase is that God's love is un-ending, and that our relationship with Him is meant to become deeper and greater as we learn to trust and obey Him more fully.  It's a continual process.  The more we trust and obey.....the more trusting and more obedient we become.....as by faith we witness firsthand God's goodness and faithfulness.  

I saw another concept in my mind through this visual image.  I saw the ideal way a human relationship is supposed to grow in love.  Particularly, I recognized the way love should grow between a man and a woman.  As the bride of Messiah is called to keep herself pure for her coming Bridegroom, so too should a couple remain pure and spotless for one another until the day they make a covenant before God through marriage.  Growing love is meant to last a lifetime.

I painted this second series to honor of a young couple who has conducted their relationship in the most godly way I have ever witnessed.....they exemplify the concepts that I saw in this design.  In a few days, they will seal their marriage covenant .....with their first kiss....a symbol of their reverent purity before our holy God. Their relationship is a beautiful testimony of God's goodness.

So, what should a growing love look like in our lives?

And how should our love be demonstrated?

 In Matthew 22:35-40 the teachers of the law asked our Teacher and Savior essentially these same questions.  Rabbi Yeshua answered them by referring to the commandments of Torah.  Quoting from the Word of God, he answered, 

"Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your mind, 
this is the first and greatest commandment.  
And the second is like it:  
"Love your neighbor as yourself."

John sums it up by saying, 
"In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands."

May we learn to trust and obey more fully,
and may the LOVE we have for God 
and one another.....

grow

and grow

and grow!!!

Dedicated to Kris and Alethia 

You can check out Alethia's beautiful and inspirational blog at:  

http://alethialov.tumblr.com/tagged/personal