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Jesus said in 1 Corinthians 13:2 "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing." The other day, a person of good intent sent to me prophetic words that spoke of looming hardships and rising mountains coming up on my path. Warning! Warning! Will Robinson. Warning! Sorry not sorry about the Lost in Space flashback ;) And if you fall for this well then thats where you will be. Lost in Space. First of all... God wishes no one hardships. The Holy Spirit brings no mountains to your life. He was sent to remind us about Christ and empower us to live in the light of the gospel. The Holy Spirit “speaks” to us both for our good and to God’s glory. He reminds us what Jesus taught, to glorify Christ, to show us the truth and to shed light on our sins so that we can ask forgiveness and become closer to God. The mountains are already there and He wishes to walk with you through them as well as up and over them. I hear the song "Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born..." Not only born to save you but died on the cross for you to have eternal life and to know true love. This is called The Valley and it as the Holy Spirit showed me in a dream as to just how "we" would handle this "good word" that I was given and re-gifted back into the basket at the feet of Jesus.He said in in Isaiah 52:7 "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion "Your God reigns!" He will walk your mountains with you. And it offers a beautiful view. Looking at life while standing in the valleys the mountains look huge. Looming. Casting shadows. Making your path shaded and causing stumbles. And sometimes fall. And what should seem to so easy seems pretty darn hard and hope seems muted. But it is not true. It is a deception. In the book of Isaiah 49:11 it says "And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up." Go! Grab His Hand and let Him show you the way. And do not let go! Live the life God gave you and don't settle for less than good thoughts. So with that, I leave you for the moment with this thought... Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. from Philippians 4:8

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 This piece began with the image of an ancient vessel in the color of pale aqua sea glass. I saw cracks spidering out threatening to shatter the vase but were quickly repaired with gold in the Japanese art form of Kintsugi that repairs broken pottery with gold as the breakage is treated as part of the beauty of an object, rather than something to disguise. At this point the thought of "covenant" spoke to me and I envisioned a rolled scroll held tight with a loop rather than a knot and stored inside the vessel. As water began to fill the vessel I saw one drop Christ's blood mixing in with it and creating wine. Curiosity as to what was emerging on the canvas began to take hold and in my physical self I saw this work representing ourselves as the precious glass vessel into which the ancient scroll, wrapped up like faith, became a part of us even though we have been cracked yet not broken, healed and more beautiful. The background was to be blue with white and wrapping the vase. What I saw was the Jewish prayer robe as described in Numbers 15, a Tallit, and in its four corners the Tzitzit to be a constant reminder to the Jews to be a distinct people, set apart for service to the one true God. ​​ I saw purple at the base of the vessel. Violets. Violets in the desert? And I could not find any reference in scripture to violets. But violets there shall be.​​ Plot Twist! I had assumed I was creating either a Phoenician or an Canaanite vase but no! This is actually a priceless Roman cinerary funeral jar used in storing the ashes of two, presumably for a husband and his wife. Whoa ! So whats going on here Lord? So far we have the husband and wife, Adam & Eve possibly, to be stored as ash in a Roman jar, made by the same people who killed Jesus, holding a covenant from God. Even though the jar was cracked, it is now a functioning vessel, no longer used for death, the cracks have been sealed with the Blood of Christ mixing in with the contents defeating death. And it is all wrapped up with a ritual prayer shawl beginning with a young man's bar mitzvah to his final blessing when the shawl is wrapped around his body at burial. And then there is the tzitzit. The Book of Matthew describes the healing that took place when a woman reached out to touch the hem of Yeshua’s garment, which was Yeshua’s tzitzit. Wait! What about the violets? In flower speak, wild violets traditionally represent loyalty, devotion and faithfulness and they grow beautifully in the shade of the tree. They are as a representation of God speaking to Moses in Exodus 20 of His covenant, the ten commandments, demanding loyalty, devotion and faithfulness. And the violets will adorn His bride, being intertwined with the tzitzit, whose purpose is the exultation of God and His commandments, not the exultation of oneself and one’s observance, as the New Jerusalem. And the scroll... Hebrews 8:7-13 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. The folds in the prayer cloth... It is time for the Jewish Community to take their place with Christ. John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. And then I heard the song "Tale as old as time. True as it can be. Barely even friends. Then somebody bends. Unexpectedly..." Thank you Jesus.

I was raised with the attitude of what you say is what you get. You say you have a cold. Voila! You will have a cold. You say you will do well on the test. Yes you will do well on the test. Why? Well because words have power, be focused and intentional with what you speak giving no energy to the things you do not want and just watch how things start to shift! So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 I dreamed this painting. It began with an all black canvas and a spark and evolved through the touch of my fingertips. And from the spark came the heavens and the explosion of golden nuggets. What we have here folks is a divine explosion of the Holy Spirit, the true spark of the Trinity. In 1 Corinthians 2:13 is says "And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual to those who are spiritual." Acts 11:15-16 “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. "And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' THE WAY YOU SPEAK TO YOURSELF MATTERS! John 20:22 “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” “For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” 2Peter 21 SPEAK, CHILD. THE UNIVERSE IS LISTENING.

This was a “do-over” instructed by the Holy Spirit to finish. It was the first of many I had burned in a large fire when I turned to fully embrace my life in Jesus In the 70s. Why? Because evil is real and insidious. Because of my lifes choices and the consequences that ensued, I felt that evil was also insinuating itself into my art. He Himself confirmed this when He led me to Philippians 3:7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ. And He gives back what He gives back to His child who has the appreciation that in all things that He is truly greater in me than the demons of this world. When God gives a vision, it never diminishes. This is the gates of heaven holding back hell. And the eye of the goat is watching. Jeremiah 13 Thus the LORD said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” Linen was the material of choice for the priests' garments bonding in purity the Israelites to God and as said in (Ezekiel 44:17-18) were symbolic of Israel's holiness as a "kingdom of priests" (Exodus 19:6). To wash it represented trying to undo sin. Oh but then God says to Jeremiah in 3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.”5 So I went and hid it at Perath (river) , as the Lord told me. Well okay. But then! In 6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.”7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless. Wait! What?! Ohhhh... there's the lesson. In Jeremiah 13:10, God himself makes that clear when he connects the ruined belt to the spiritual status of the people: “these wicked people who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them will be like this belt—completely useless!” Working on this piece was like I was trying to remember something. It was on the tip of my tongue but I could not speak it. I continued painting the thoughts that came to me and knew sooner or later it would be revealed to me. I saw the prison cell. The Stars and Stripes appeared to be caught up in its bars. Even as this country was based on "IN GOD WE TRUST" we allowed this to be only a motto on a dollar bill. The linen belt itself was like our path with Jesus. A little holy. A little back sliding. A little church persona. A little sinful pleasure. Call it a drunkards path or the scenic route or a work in progress but the truth is we tend to wander away from our bond to God counting on His endless patience and forgiveness. And the belt finally snaps. This is the finished product of the last painting I began 30 some years ago. I never finished it. I burned it. Along with every painting I had done up until then. Looking at hell then was a little too much. Looking at what was being prophesied to me then was too much as well. I was scared. Scared straight to Jesus and I only had eyes for Him. This is called Trigger Point. The goat is watching and waiting for your bond as well as the bond of the United States of America to God to finally snap. Tick... Tock. Well? What are you waiting for? PRINTS AND GICLEES available at https://www.propheticsgallery.com/store-warehouse/art_print_products/store-warehouse-i8acnbuit8k

Now I see why they paint brick! I still have the semi-floating fireplace but too much floating and the whole design concept was up in smoke.

On the home front in tile

Cottage cheese ceilings. Flat ceilings. Textured ceilings. Drop Ceilings. False ceilings. So many ceilings. Enjoying a timeout with Du in a tiny little bar in the old part of town, I noticed their ceilings. Tin. Ancient. Classic. Painted! Oh my heart be still! This is the studio bathroom so the design choices are as free to roam as any childs bathroom. So with a nod and a touch of homage to Vincent, Du and I set out to finish 'er up. \ WIth the cabinet found in one of those small town treasure shops, we brought it home, rearranged the drawers to accommodate plumbing, made out own ladder towel rack, put a granite counter top on it, refused the gray, white, beige and bland "resell value thinking" on the tile floor and shower and tinned the ceiling located and shipped up from Texas and think that they are the piesta de resistance! I like how it accents the recycled pallet wall nicely I think. AND THIS IS HOW IT ALL STARTED!!

“When your legs scream stop and your lungs are bursting, that’s when it starts. That’s the hurt locker. Winners love it in there” – Chris McCormack “When my legs hurt, I say: “Shut up legs! Do what I tell you to do!” – Jens Voigt

“Paris is always a good idea.” –Audrey Hepburn

Psalms 18 :32 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. 34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. I GOD This. This is for my sweet and funny niece with her three boys to let them know that no matter what they go thru, they should bat it out to GOD as He's GOD this.

A story of the desert horse and the dog. :) Commissioned.

Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. Stephen Hawking Daniel 12:3 speaks of the symbolism of stars, saying "And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever."

This is Blue Orchid a symbol of strength, beauty and peace. "Like wildflowers, you must allow yourselves to grow in places where people never thought you would". EV

I walked up the driveway and there sat my mom at the picnic table and was literally surrounded and being swirled in a kaleidoscope of monarch butterflies! She was being healed by God in this moment of such incredible physical and emotional pain that had dogged her most of her life. I watched as I saw how she suffered much through the cruelest catastrophic pain and tragedies and only sang praises to God throughout them. She watched as my brother was destroyed in Viet Nam. She was present at the unexpected and instantaneous death of my older sister. She was present at the unexpected and also instantaneous death of my younger sister. She watched my dad die slowly over decades of heart disease. Every phone call was feared. She watched as she taught me to stand on Gods Word in the face of the cruelties in my own life. She watched so many and she bolstered them to STAND ON GOD"S WORD. She survived so many car accidents at the hands of others. She was physically broken over an over and over. She lived a life of constant pain. And she praised Jesus. She was not helpless. She had Jesus, And this scene that I have long remembered and comforts me now that she is gone from this life. She watched. She participated. She coached. She mentored. She refused to take a seat. She refused to lie down. She refused to rest. And I watched her. You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? ~ from Psalm 56:8 This is an oil called Tears to Butterflies. God catches all tears and transforms them into beauty. The well used bucket has no bottom and is endless. Butterflies are the rebirth of tears shed and as always... God never ever lets us go through this life alone. He will send someone. She had her mom who was so proud to have been allowed to live just an ordinary life that it made her life extraordinary. She used to wonder if she was ever going to get out of here. And finally at 99 and some God took her home. And mom followed soon after. "...And I sing because I'm free His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me..." I watched them. I learned. I remember.

This is JOB’S LOTUS. “A Lotus? Lord?” He said “I made that too. Just paint and I will tell you about it.” And he did. He showed me the story of Job. Job’s belief in God remains alive in spite of all his hardships. Job avers, “to God belong wisdom, and power; counsel and understanding are His” (Job 12: 13). In the midst of his anguish Job utters, “though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13: 15). It is from Job that we have the promise and prophecy, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19: 25) Like Job, like the Lotus flower, be reborn out of the muck and mire, to rise and bloom, to be open to enlightenment. Enlightened yes. Not as in the New Age version of light workers or even "woke" but enlightened as in the message of Mark 9:30–50 that the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ should cast a very long shadow over our lives. How much does the cross of Jesus Christ affect your life? Is it constantly in the forefront? Does it influence the way you live—how you treat one another, how your spend your time, how you apply yourself in the workplace, how you pursue your career, how you spend your money, and how you treat your fellow church member? The cross of Christ should be forefront in every area of our lives. In the words of Paul, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2), and, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). The Christian, in other words, is called to live a cross-centred life. Jesus had told these disciples this already (8:34–38). Rise up out of the muck and be what God intended you to be,