H.A.L.T.

Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired -
Before making any decision, stop and think with this little word, HALT, especially if you are feeling stressed out, hungry, angry, lonely or tired.  It is easy to allow our emotions to affect our decision-making and often that is not good! It has really helped me in the past and present.

Actually, I really am a homebody. And, now, most of my decision making involves what to make my husband and myself for supper and more importantly what color do I paint next!! I love to experiment and am always looking for more ways to dabble.

Yesterday I accepted an invitation to go photo-shooting with a friend. We drove about photographing buildings, trees and whatever hit our fancy. It was a great outing! And really put me in the mood to paint!

Here is an old barn that I did on location  on one of our earlier jaunts!

Thanks for stopping by - Have a great week and do some exploring!!

THE GRASS MAY BE GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE...

But, it still has to be mowed. Often I see others works of art as better than mine. I am not jealous, well maybe a little ;)...but mostly I see the flaws in my own works.  In striving for perfection, the greener grass, I often destroy what was working. Helen Van Wyk used to say make it, break it, and make it again. I enjoyed watching her tv shows! I'm not sure she was talking about the tiny flaws that I see that most do not.

I wonder how many of us look at our flaws, our imperfections, as giant craters instead of concentrating on what is right with us. What we have, what we can share, what we can do for others.
Enjoy today!

A GREAT SONG

“It is no secret what God can do, what he has done for others he’ll do for you."  A great song. What does it mean though? Is He going to make me strong, like Atlas? Talented as Michelangelo? Showing one of my works in progress to a friend, she said she could only draw stick figures. She has many talents that I don’t have, including sewing . I cannot sew a straight line! I have to spend several minutes setting the machine, and then very slowly stitch. It becomes very tedious, so I limit what sewing I have to do to mending.



I receive lots of compliments (although never too many!!) on my art. Yet, I see the flaws. I know that I will not achieve perfection so I just do the best I can do. That is how I try to spend my life also, doing the best that I can do and leaning on God for the rest. His saving Grace is available for you also.

A portrait of Love:

Have a blessed week!

WHAT PLEASES HIM

Boy that is a title that will bring 'em in - LOL. 

When I struggle to find the words that He wants me to write, I pray.  Sometimes all week a word will jump at me and I know that is the key to write about. Sometimes I don't get that feeling. Then I wonder why He isn't directing me. Does He want me to quit writing? Does He expect me to find the words?  When my mind goes to questioning I remember Philipians 2:13, God is working in you for you to do what pleases Him. He is going to be working in me for a long time.

IDLE BOATS

Idle boats, like idle people, provide no pleasure. 

FLYFISHING

It has been dreary the past two days. The sunshine will return.  Today I thought I would post a painting I just completed.  I don't flyfish, actually I don't fish at all. But, I do enjoy the outdoors.  So maybe this will bring a little light or reminder of good times for you.

Have a blessed day!!

SHADOW PLAY

I played with the camera again this week. I am still learning about its settings. What I find is that it does best when I set it to "auto".  That is because I haven't learned how to use the other settings so I get an unsatisfactory picture. 


It snowed here and was very cold. The snow is sticking around which is unusual for our area. I see on tv that the snow is unusual in several areas.  I was struck by the way the snow glistened and called attention from the normal view.  The shadows were intriguing also, due to being reflected on the snow.  

It took the snow for the reflections from the sun to create these striking shadows.  Otherwise the shadows would have blended in with the ground and not been as noticeable.

Do we need to have a special effects in our life to bring God from the shadows?  Or, do we keep Him in the forefront to guide our way.

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate the opportunity to share with you.

THE BIG PICTURE

I received a new camera for my birthday!  I was excited to take new pictures of my paintings.  I skimmed over the settings, afterall, they couldn't be much different from my old camera. I arranged the paintings, added light outside my photo box, set the camera on a tripod and started snapping.  What I didn't take into account was the magnitude of this camera.  It really took the whole picture! Lights outside the photo box which before balanced the light became spotlights creating blurs with this camera which balanced its own light.  Larger megapixels meant a larger picture also and small flaws in my paintings which I hadn't seen with the naked eye suddenly became huge.


I wonder how many times we don't see the whole picture by looking at the flaws of others. How many times do we look to see what is wrong instead of appreciating what is good. 


I am going to try looking at the whole picture instead of focusing on what is flawed.  And, yes, I am going to read the manual that came with my camera before snapping any more photos!


With all the cold and snowy weather, I thought that today I would post something to think about. I can see myself under the tree staring at the sky and dreaming.  Daffodils.

Thanks for stopping by. I try to post every Friday. I was late this week, having fun and frustration with my new camera!