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More from my path...back when I was in my twenties and I found Jesus again, and found the strength to leave an abusive relationship to raise my kids on my own, I also found that I had a choice in the way I would live the rest of my life. Emphasis on "the live" part of it. I chose to not sit back and let the government take care of us. I chose not to live in subsidy housing. I gave my kids - me. I chose to work for everything we had and I chose to go to school at the same time. I chose to pick a degree in that which I was not only gifted towards but funneled it to that which would pay back to my children a lifestyle that they deserved and also be a balm to the poor choices I had made up until then. My entire life changed - back to the values I was taught and as I was raised by good Christian parents and family. God blessed me all along the way. He taught me endurance and faith. He also gave me the blessing of being an observer. And in observing others I have been able to make better choices for myself. In watching the life of one bitter woman unfold, I have been glad many times over that I chose to let the angry go. Was it easy? Oh no it was not! Did I whine along the way? Of course I did. But...the results are a good man, husband and father to my kids who are growing, succeeding, and pleasantly strong willed and friends and family that I could never delete. And yes the best is always yet to come. Its all in the choices you make.

More from my path... well actually more of a flashback... I had overheard a coworker telling another of how he and his wife had chosen to raise their son with unyielding strictness in the attempts to raise him right and in accordance with their religion. And was complaining that all their hard work had completely alienated his son from their lives. The recipient of this conversation only replied "in my church, Jesus forgives." That simple response spoke volumes to me as well as giving witness to my belief that my path was crossed by these people to send a message from the cross for me. It's all about love. With a dash of grace. And a whole lot of Nobody gets it right...everyday..all the time. What is right is this..."Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in, and dine with Him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20). It does not say "oh but not you because you do this..." Just get to Jesus and the rest will get sorted out between you and him.

As plain as anything could ever be. Truth is standing right in front of you. Standing there for all eternity. The Way, the Truth, the Life, the Victory. I read where J.C. Ryle said "We must read our Bibles like men digging for hidden treasure." And according to the Bible, it says in James 1:7 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” More from my path...actually more from the studio and what’s Beyond the Canvas”... A need for paint took me to the store. And there standing in front of me was a clearance cabinet and just like Goldy Locks, it was the right style, the right size and the price was just right too. Nice and thank you Jesus! Wait though there is no door. And with that the the Holy Spirit led me to the wall decor section and right there, like manna from heaven, also on clearance, is a wall hanging that just so happens to be a great fit as the cabinet's door. And the hinges are already on it. Lets take it home Lord! It took a little redesign but then who doesn't? :) And there you go, a Magnolia worthy project. Well now how did that come about? It’s actually quite simple. According to (and proven true many times over by this humble human I might add) Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." So here's the deal...the more you give, the more you get. Gift away one large beautiful vintage china hutch to a most beloved and God-chosen person and give the need for a smaller one for ones earthly treasures to God. Tuck the prayer into your heart and leave the details to Him as well. And there you go. Answered prayer in no time at all. Did I fuss at Him about it? Nope. Not this time. Did I rail at Him about it? Nope and the thought makes me flinch and want to put on a tin foil hat. What I did do, is that I learned to just give it over to Him and move on about my business. God is faithful and He cares about every single part of your life. So relax. He's got this. #allgoodthings #hobbylobbywin

I get it. Not everybody likes everybody. No law. No sin. But when it’s family then ohhh then it stresses out all parties involved. It is easier to ignore than to be polite. But sometimes you need to be polite. But what do you do when polite isn’t enough? Not go. Not participate? And what do you do when "they" hate you more than "they" love their own? The one you have chosen to spend the rest of your life with? Hate really matters. It makes a difference. And none of it is good. It destroys. It destroys your own foundation like ants tunneling under it. It is an illusion. Imagine, if you will, a magician with his hat. At any moment he can produce anything he wishes to sway you or to fool you. None of it is real and no more than a trick of the eye or the slight of hand. Its all in your perspective of what is true. Do not let it make a fool out of you. Do not let it rob you. Keep going. Be polite. Do it anyway. And I as I write this, I recall an instance when one family member actually scraped her nose on the wall to avoid eye contact. Or the drive-by courtesy handshake, which sometimes is a blessing in itself :) I could list another hundred different instances to validate that it is them and not me and they too just might have one or two things that I might have done to validate themselves ;) But in the end... what does it matter? No one wins. Hate causes pain that is not easily forgotten or forgiven. But that too is an illusion. But Jesus. Seek the love. Yes they said stuff. Yes they did stuff. Yes they hurt you. Go anyway and Jesus will go with you. You will see the truth that "birds of a feather flock together". But keep looking. Allow yourself to see those who are the real treasure and be blessed by those who adorn your life with goodness and kindness. See those that love and are loving. Be grateful for the mercy that those who do not belong in your life will find themselves busy with others. It IS hard! I get it! This my struggle as well. What should be happy family encounters is mostly met with dread and despair. I wrestle with this over and over again until I finally concede, over and over again, and give it over to Jesus. And then there I was, minding my own business and enjoying my sleep when I dreamed that the alarm system went off in our home. A most obnoxious noise. I saw myself trying to turn on the hallway lights but they flickered and stayed dark as my dearest husband entered the basement and yells at someone “what are you doing here?? How did you get in??” And there stood two people covered in ants. Ewww! And at that point, and thankfully, I awoke. My first thought was "how could this be? This home and property is blessed?" I went downstairs later and prayed in the Spirit and began to twirl and praise Jesus. I felt a vortex of good and Godly love radiating the room. Yay! Then the next morning I awoke to loud audio booming from the television in that very room which is odd as no one had been watching it for quite a few days. As I shut it off I noticed the time was 6:33. And then God showed me this... Luke 6:32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. And I says to my precious Lord and Savior “them? Noooo! anybody else please!" He says “them.” Alrighty then Lord. Lights are on. And I am home. PS... people can know the Ten Commandments and serve the Lord for years and years... yet they trip up on this one. What is there worth hating so much that it will keep you from heaven? Nothing! You are allowed to enter because of Gods grace and that His only son, who lived and died for us, was accepted by you into your heart and your life. What it will do however... is add and lengthen your lessons here.

You wait. Knowing it is not lethal or contagious. And while you wait practice staying away from things that reflect back to you and instead look outward. Notice stuff. Notice the scenarios that play out in others. Take a second look at those people who stand behind the counters or on the street corners holding their signs. Stop and notice kids playing. Listen to the sounds around you. Shut your eyes when you eat ice cream. Bury your face in a whole bouquet of flowers and inhale. Do a crossword puzzle and give your brain a break. All these things feed your soul. Why? How? Because there is a great big good world out there that hums right along and welcomes your observations as well as your participation. And sooner or later contentment aligns itself in your habits. In contentment happiness reigns supreme. A cape couldn't hurt... 🎶For everything there is a season… turn turn turn🎶

I don’t think there was any one creation or moment that helped me discover hidden meanings in my life. I have toured the art shows, museum’s, including the Louvre, and nothing ever reached out to me for a second look. It was more of a sequence of events that caused me to turn away from art. It was in this loss that I found out just how much I needed the outlet to create. I tried to feed this need by taking it out on flipping houses, interior design, manufacturing design and random corporate arts and crafts stuff and I knew I was just settling for moments. After almost 30 years, I turned back to getting my fingers in the oils and allowing my thoughts and visions loose onto canvases that I found me again and what makes me tick. Or so I thought. Truth be told that it was the Holy Spirit who I had invited into my heart that had something to say. Messages from God wanting my attention to share with me my path and my healings and then the paintings progressed to warnings, hopes, healings and blessings to others to get our eyes back on Jesus. But why me? In Ephesians 2: 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The Bible tells us that we are all born with distinct talents and gifts that set us apart from each other. When we discover these talents that God has given is and we are to use them to glorify Him. So I guess the discovery of the creator of all creation that has shown me just how I tick.🔥

As to the question of Leviticus 19:31 that says “‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God." I have seen spirits all of my life. There was an elderly man that "lived" in my childhood home. He was quiet and bothered no one. But he left a aura of depressing feelings.And all if a sudden we moved. My parents began having bible studies in our new home and we all became "born again Christians" and were filled with the Holy Ghost. And then my brother came home from VietNam, an addict, and brought an attached demon home with him. yep I saw it too. it was not benevolent or helpful or quiet. Just lije people there are all kinds that use whatever persona required for the "job". As I aged and began to lose person after person through tragedy after tragedy, I used to seek them out. I had questions. I was woefully unprepared for just how many people that I had lost that and I looked for help to cope in an area where there were few answers. Oh and what barrel of snakes this turned out to be! Many seemed incredibly intuitive and provided reasonable and realistic information. It had to be legit. Right?! And i was albeit a Christian, I was ignorant. Well up until one day when I was sitting in my chair watching a television medium. I had been getting thoughts that maybe this was a slippery slope prior to this and that I probably should not be busying myself with shows like this. I was just about to turn the channel when the Holy Spirit said "wait! watch." And what had seemed to be another inoccuous show suddenly became a lesson of lying, manipulative, ugly spirits of the evil one whispering half truths to the woefully duped customer. They were able to relay stories, events and a persona of the deceased. What I discerned was right there plain as a day was an earth bound spirit, a politically correct term for demon, who was whispering into the psychics thoughts these things that it had acquired knowledge of eavesdropping on this family over the years. It was not of God. It was not the deceased. It was a counterfeit and a thief. It was ugly. Ugly like a lie. The “comfort” it appeared to give was a roll of the dice towards a slippery slope away from Jesus. They shared imitated information gathered and learned from unencumbered eavesdropping on the deceased man as well as his family. It was all just a show! The Holy Spirit then pointedly asked me "why settle for lies and half truths when Jesus is the truth?" and "why go to the peons and not the Father in heaven?" So still heeded? even though times they are a changing, the more they change, the more they remain the same. So Yes. Or No. Just choose whom you will serve. Choices were as relevant then as they are today. For me? I have seen the lie. No fooling me anymore. i choose life in Jesus. PS..,And yes I do know where my family is at now. Waiting for me in heaven.

18  Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. what goes around, comes around. If you give good, good will be returned to you. If not, duck!

The Holy Bible. To live my life with the peace and love of Jesus in my heart. Why? Because it grows and multiplies and spills out in every direction. At which point there is no room left for any condemnation to anyone anywhere at any time. But then I already do.

I pray and meditate with my Father, the God of Abraham, the creator of all things and I paint what I am shown.

When the fire of the Holy Spirit gets in a person, that person’s life changes at that instance. And they are propelled constantly forward to things that are good and right. The call of things from the dark side lose their wooing strengths. As for the feeling…for me… when I pray in tongues, when I sing along to worship music, when I paint or when I blog what I have painted… I get a catch in my throat, tears well up in my eyes and the knowing of just how grateful I am that Jesus loves me envelopes all of me with hope. And other times I can sit quietly and just be. Which is what my ministry is about. Hope. That yes you were supposed to be born. That there is a reason you are here. You matter. You make a difference.

Christians, what is the Holy Spirit trying you today as you read this question? Could you list three? That until then and while we are here… as John the Baptist baptized unto the forgiveness of sins, he also proclaimed that Jesus would come with a fire baptism that would be far more extensive and deep. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Matthew 3:11 why? The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Teacher, the One True Helper who will always point you to Jesus. He will help you realize why you were born and what your mission of love is. 1) You are supposed to be here. It’s not by chance, coincidence or mistake. By design. 2) My mission while I am here…I am grateful to be able to help others realize that we all have a reason to be here and are part of God’s village and I consider it a tremendous honor to help others see how much they are wanted and needed. 3)John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

More from my path... Living up to our legacies. There was my mom. Born to save the world. Born to share the love of Jesus with everyone. Born for greatness and to make a difference for many. Her prayers reached the ears of God and made a difference. An extraordinary woman living an extraordinary life always on the go to meet the needs of others. A seer. A prophet. She knew my day by looking at my face. There was my maternal gram... born to be content. Singing singing singing always singing worship songs. Her simple demeanor brought over so many people who went away knowing they had been seen and heard. An extraordinary woman living an ordinary life. A seer. A healer. She knew my voice and I was heard. There was my paternal gram... born to nurture. Through hugs, rocking, stories, interacting, cooking, baking, singing spiritual songs. She waited to share everything she had. Not a seer. Not a prophet. A woman of love living a life of waiting on. The very embodiment of the love of Jesus. She knew me. There is me... this mom. Born to observe. Born to capture glimpses as a seer and an artist. A unique woman living an out-of-the-ordinary life. Born to emulate that which I knew to those I have been given to care for. My children. My hearts truest desire was made real in my son and my daughter and to theirs. I know their faces. I know their voices. I know their scent. I know their hearts. And they are mine❤️

t wash the dust of everyday life your soul? That it cannot. There is only one way to cleanse your soul and this is not it. However! What it can do is cause your soul to come forth and cause your will back into alignment on its path. With what? Pictures, sculpture, music. How? By evoking memories, hopes, dreams, mantles, desires and so on of why you are here. Why you were born. Why here. Why now. The tip-of-the-tongue thing gets an aha! moment. This pushes you into looking at the bigger picture of your purpose away from the decaying tunnel vision of “everyday life” and KNOW you were designed to be your very self by God Himself. Some of my paintings are but a really nice picture to some (shameless plug lol) but then it was never intended for them. And to others… I have seen people break down in tears that yes there is a God and He did hear them. Their everyday life ceased and began anew. To others the paintings have given a nudge of thought or direction in which they should proceed. One piece of artwork happened and changed my entire life. Everyday life is extraordinary unordinary.

More from my path... lessons and blessings. Being human in all to human relationships... holy moly not for the feint of heart. No one is successful all the time. At one point in my tumultuous teenage years, my mom guilted me with "what did I ever do to deserve a child like you?" in a moment of being pushed (by me) to the edge and over the cliff of complete frustration. Oh how it stung! It left a mark. The love remained as was the respect and the friendship but... God uses these marks, or hidden subconsciousness triggers in our behaviors, to play out at a later date so we can give take another look at them and give them over to him to heal. He desires to see us thrive and prosper in every way, to overcome the "issues" and move on up. The friction of holding on so tight to offenses or dragging ones feet in rebellion rather than letting go only pushes our own selves deeper into the rut. Now mind you like habits, ruts can be comfortable but are indeed completely useless. To us and to Jesus. So yes we think we forgave and we forgot and that we moved on, but the tell tale sign that indeed we clung to a bit of the offense is that a similar situation will present itself (nice going Holy Spirit! I see what you did there") and the memory will emerge. The justification will ensue. The excuses happily resurface. Ahh but now we are older. More mature. More knowledgeable. And fortunately more amenable to the ways of God. And the Holy Spirit convictions persist. Good on us! . Oswald Chambers said "Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It is the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses the conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God." John 16:8 (NEB) "When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world, and show where right and wrong and judgment lie. He will convict them of wrong..." So look at it. Take a good look. Say goodbye and finally give the rest of it to God. He can handle it. There's a basket at the foot of the cross just waiting for all you want to shed. You know the one. Isn't it time? It isn't too late. God has a plan. For us. Sorry mom your daughter was so slow. Thank you for sticking with me through my immaturity. Thank you Jesus that you are so quick to love.