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Jesus told us to love one another, as in 1 John 4:21, "He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister." Being an observer has given me the privilege of being a "fly on the wall," and my latest lesson is, "What kind of love is ours?" We say we love, but how deep is it? And is it enough? How do we go deeper? I witnessed a paid caregiver assist a patient. They smiled and talked kindly. They appeared to be in no rush, exhibited great patience, and gave their patient the gift of "all the time in the world." If other duties were beckoning, there was no external signage. My heart observed that they were more than an accomplished employee but living their calling. I was touched by the blessing of watching a true calling at work. I noticed that comparison of this "paid professional" and those who loved the patient in a myriad of ways generating more questions for pondering. Is the love shared controlling as in is it out of directing influence over for personal reasons? Is the love shared empathetic? As in showing an ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Is the love shared gratuitous? As in it cost nothing. Roger L'Estrange said, "We mistake the gratuitous blessings of Heaven for the fruits of our own industry." Jesus' love cost Him His life. He did not stop short of going all in. Is the love shared selfish? As in arising from concern with one's own welfare or advantage in disregard of others. Is the love shared compassionate? As in pitying, sympathizing, sympathetic, or tender? We are on our path to figuring this out. In the meantime, we are to put ourselves "out there" and allow Jesus to care for us in return. With that, I share the prayer; To Love One Another . Dear God, Thank you for being a truly loving and merciful God. Thank you for offering me forgiveness and the gift of new life in you. Thank you that your love is perfect and never fails; as you promised, nothing can separate me from your love. I pray that I will be filled and overflowing with the power of your love so I can make a difference in this world and bring honor to you. I ask for your help reminding me that the most important things are not what I do outwardly, not based on any talent or gift, but the most significant thing I can do in this life is to love you and to choose to love others because "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." 1 John 4:18 in Jesus' name, Amen.

Bear with me while I am unraveling the pondering in my thoughts for months now involving our consent to the use of our own bodies to the indoctrination of the next phase of the apocalyptic takeover, which is implicating the palms of our hands, and our growing impatience of "I want what I want and what I want is to have it right now"... The mark of the beast has been long thought of as ingesting or inserting foreign matter into our bodies. That's too easy, and already the backlash of it was felt, and the test was not well received by the masses. The easiest way to get compliance is in our available agreement to have ease and comfort. Side note... the children's movie, Wall-E, was just a precursor, but unfortunately, their happily ever after ending is not as viable unless you know Jesus or get Raptured out of here. The palm of God's hand... God answers the repentant people of Jerusalem, who thought Yahweh had forgotten and forsaken them; Isaiah 49:16 says, "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." The face scan has proven successful for the use of smartphones. My own Macbook is easily unlocked with my fingerprint. Access to secure areas is using retinal identification. Amazon One recently launched a new biometric technology that lets shoppers enter and pay for items by placing their palm over a scanning device. For it to work, users first must connect their palm to a stored credit card. After that, users can pay with their hand. Credit cards... that's a whole other beastly area... Do you recall Isaiah 41:13, where God says, "For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." ? As God holds our right hand and as we keep our eyes on Him, our right hand is automatically joined in His. Is it not insidious of evil to try to break this handshake? And how clever to get us to do it of our own free will... And as I write this, the thought pops up of many grasping at loopholes to maintain their comfort, such as Matthew 6:3, "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing," Hmmm... I will count on Psalm 16:8, "I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." and I will keep my hands to myself.

I had a dream last night. Inside the gold circle of an engagement ring was stacked cubes of diamonds. 4 wide x 3 high totaling 12 in all. Being in such a confined space one would think they fit perfectly and snugly as in the method done by the History channel Ancient Builders. But nope! The Holy Spirit asked me not to look at the shiny things and to notice the gaps between the stones. The gaps are a problem. Words create gaps... whats in a word… I came across a post that was well written and true. But yet it has my senses tingling. Why? i agree, I think... and yet I am in a long time struggle with those who use the word compel in describing anything about Jesus. I struggle with the thinking that Jesus compels us towards difficulties. Compel is defined as in pressuring another. And in the many versions of the bible compel is substituted with being bold with assurance, bold with confidence, bold to make a daring stand, you made me do it, forced upon me, etc. and this is just from Corinthians. It is my understanding that it is the devil who compels as in Revelation 13:16 Also he compels all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead [signifying allegiance to the beast], As I said… I struggle with the use and as reminded yesterday… wise as serpents… The thing is that once seen, once the brain pings on something… it cannot be unseen. Yes, I have had my queries deleted without so much as a how-do-you-do but the Holy Spirit assures me every time that the ping has happened they saw what they deleted. I am His reluctant observer. Reluctant? Yes as its not an easy task to cause people to think. Thank God for those who search out Gods truth for themselves on their lives. And the lesson of whats in a word query continues… What version of the bible is your “stand on” ? I stand on the KJV and the NKJV but find the NIV an easier read but find it tainted with modernisms. example… compelled by the spirit is NIV is bound by the spirit in KJV I know my God would prefer me to be wanting to be held tight to Jesus rather than pressured into it as pressured does nor not align with seeking Him and following Him, of our free with all our heart and soul. the message on my path is the devil is in the details. each word and its intention is incredibly important. after all… to thwart the devil utilizing loopholes, also recognize how it is our nature to drift from God with excuses and assumptions. The devil loves these both for breakfast. there is no right vs wrong in any of this as there is only what knowledge we agree to believe. its easy to latch on to others opinions but God wants our own! For me… no compelling of the Spirit as I associate the defined definition of being pushed as not of God. This has been an exercise in evaluating what we readily accept without thought. Our assumptions will cause us to sink in the water or walk on it. As long as you know you are good… thats all that matters. ❤️

I envisioned a catapult built upon a smartphone poised on a hilltop positioned to aim at the cities. I saw the egg in the sky in place of the sun. I saw its cracked Faberge shell on the desert floor. I saw an iron pan symbolize the impossibility of people reaching God after the siege has begun. The siege... the apocalypse... This painting is of Ezekiel's story of the forever rebellious captives set free of the Pharaohs only to be bound by idols of their own making. As he stood in place for God, he was to look only at the pan, not the city, in recognition for these people to see that their sins have put a barrier between themselves and God, causing many to spiritually starve to death. Ezekiel 12:7, And I said to them, "Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God." 8 "'But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on...hmmmm "...they did not listen, they did not know how. Perhaps they will listen now..." Don McLean's song called Vincent comes to mind. Even though the phrase out of the frying pan into the fire describes moving or getting from a bad or difficult situation to a worse one, it is like Francis Schaeffer said, "The beginning of men's rebellion against God was, and is, the lack of a thankful heart." I believe in God. I believe in His people. I believe most retain the original Adam's inherent goodness, and that love always wins because God is good. Most will willingly fly home. Hmmm... There were barriers then as there are now, for it is man's nature to drift from God. And today... it's the internet. But God is good and has given us a way back. Jesus has replaced the pan. John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Thank you Jesus!

I am undecided how to start this. It can either be “where two or three are gathered…” and in the Bible, it continues on with Jesus being there as well. But because the devil is a perversion of good, he can also be there. or “… never promised a rose garden…” okay, but why are the thorns so prevalent? So I thought I forgave, forgot, and moved on. but the old situation reemerged to prove I hadn’t. That pack mentality that has been a thorn in my side for so long successfully baited me into conceding my healing. It took years to recover from past offenses made up of insinuations, assumptions, slander, the sheer meanness of words said and deeds. An invitation was sent, and I accepted. I walked in and was immediately assaulted by the prevalence of evil. The room wafted a heavy atmosphere of oppression which baited me into reverting into a self-defensive mode to the glee of the evil one. I had prayed beforehand. I had asked God to go before me and with me, and the meeting was still tense and uncomfortable. I left feeling utterly defeated. I knew I had surely failed… again. Did I? It feels like it. But God says no. I had assumed He wanted me to participate again. He hadn’t asked me to. I had assumed only good waited for me. Sometimes we are not to participate. Sometimes we are not to walk into the den. Being pushed in is another story, but to willingly walk in under free will? No. God gave me free will and a sound mind, and He expects me to use both intelligently. Even if. I prayed and beseeched God as to the particulars of this event. I was shown that one person's anger, greed, and unforgiveness allowed into them an ancient-looking, storybook-type of crone/witch entity. They wore the reflections of the sins they harbored on their face, and it repulsed me. I had gone into this meeting thinking God would back me up. I got a reminder that it was foolish to rely on asking forgiveness rather than permission in the first place, and I will think long and hard before I go willy-nilly into the den again. But God is good, and He talked to me about it. I was distressed about this meeting for a few days as I floundered on going forward while feeling like a failure, AND the orphan-ness had been reinstated, and it all seemed more than I could bear until I kneeled to Jesus to take this cup from me. He gave me a dream. I left the day of work in my new sports car, a Trans Am. And I made a wrong turn and got lost deep in the metro side streets. I ran into a roadblock and sought the help of an immigrant woman who gave me directions on how to detour around. As she did, I recall feeling odd at the look she gave me when she asked if I had left the keys in the car. I said I had. As I left her home, I noticed the key to her home was still in the exterior lock allowing anyone to come in. I recall thinking how odd. I returned to my car to find it gone! I walked back to my workplace to get my old car. This time I made the right turns to get home. And then its back tire went flat in an older but suburban neighborhood. I got out and talked with a landscape crew about getting help. As they offered suggestions, I was distracted by their language and the look they gave me. I returned to my car. It was gone as well! There can be a lot of speculation in the symbolism and nuances of this dream like cars are a source of pride, need, mobility, etc. And the knowing something was skewed by the looks I caught as well as the keys being tools but the only thing that is important is that I am shown that none of this would gave happened had I not left my "work." And who do I work for? Jesus. Message received. Amen

Adhering a mural to a 15’ high stairwell aand adding a wainscoting look

In this Halloween season… God owns you by right of creation. Because he created you, he owns you–just as any artist owns that which he creates. “For every living soul belongs to me” (Ezek. 18:4) Per free will… You can sell your body, your thoughts, your beliefs. But not your soul. Capeesh?

Who do you work for? You or Jesus? No, its not your spouse or your bills or the bank. Thats responsibility. To work for Jesus, look to your attitude and motivation: look after those in distress, give to those who have less, encourage those imprisoned, to be as one of His at work working for the Lord. Collossians 3:24, “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Who do you work for? You or Jesus? Who do you work for? You or Jesus? No, its not to garner attention for likes, loves, or wows. Thats ego. Ego is an exaggerated sense of self-importance resulting from an excessive preoccupation with “self.” But Jesus asked that we die to “self.” To live with a purpose outside of ourselves. John 5:31, “if I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true.” Who do you work for? You or Jesus? Who do you work for? You or Jesus? To garner attention for likes, loves, or wows? Thats ego. Yes ego is an exaggerated sense of self-importance resulting from an excessive preoccupation with “self.” But Jesus asked that we die to “self.” To live with a purpose outside of ourselves. Who do you work for? You or Jesus? No, its not to work to accumulate more or to add to your treasures or even to feather your nest. Thats gain. Mark 8:36, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Who do you work for? You or Jesus? This keeps coming up? Is the Holy Spirit laying something upon my path to share or is this the “red car” syndrome? Who do you work for? You or Jesus? What would you do if you found yourselves in direct contradiction to the word of God and you had to say yay or nay? What will the passive OR agressive answers given cost the coming children? And then I saw this…”Your church may cost you your job, but your job may demand your soul.” -Dr. Albert Mohler and all this pondering before coffee…

Who do you work for? You or Jesus? No, its not your spouse or your bills or the bank. Thats responsibility. To work for Jesus, look to your attitude and motivation: look after those in distress, give to those who have less, encourage those imprisoned, to be as one of His at work working for the Lord. Collossians 3:24, “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Who do you work for? You or Jesus?

So you think you forgave... but you have not forgotten... well, give it back to God, silly! If you have to give it back 1000 times, do it! Give up the power of grudge-holding, its a weighted blanket of insecurity. And live free! btw... You know when you have succeeded when it seems like a vague dream someone else told you about a long time ago, and suddenly, you are thinking about something else. True story! I was on my morning prayer walk with big dog and listening to a preacher talk about the liberty of living free in God. He mentioned those preachers who assume the position of authority over others when a memory of my brat self popped up. I was a fourth grader sitting in church with my Sunday school friends, and we got bored with the sermon and started talking a little too loud. The preacher used this opportunity to show off the "power of himself" by making examples of us in front of the well-to-do Protestant church. Interesting... I forgave the long-buried memory of being shamed, and my thoughts immediately went elsewhere. Interesting... that was buried a long time.

My third painting back in the art studio wit Jesus is called Promise and stemmed from a vision I was given to prepare me to leave my long time designing career, There was a Mesa, a natural formation appearing as a table top, with a stream running from it causing a divide with Sheep in the right. Goats on the left. In line with the nations gathering before Him as shown by the covenant of the rainbow pouring out from Hand of God as He separates them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left” from Matthew 25:31-33 . ... Those on the right hand, represented as sheep, are the saved. Those on the left were shortsighted. Little did I know as I painted this mesa that He would be preparing me over the next couple of years to go to a larger version of a mesa, a butte called Devils Tower which is a monument in Wyoming, proclaimed by President Theodore Roosevelt on September 24, 1906 and the surrounding land to pray earnestly for this place and the people who lived here then, now and in the future for four months in 2019 and again for another four months in 2020. The Lakota called this big high rock Mato Tipila and they went there often to worship. The Kiowa call this rock "Tso-aa", a tree rock, possibly because it grew tall like a tree. During a celebration in 1932 on the Crow Agency in Montana, Max Big Man was questioned about the Tower. He explained: "The Indians called the Devils Tower "Bear's Tipi" or "Bear Lodge," because so many bears lived there. They believed it was put there by the Great Spirit for a special reason, because it was different from the other rocks, rising high up in the air, instead of being on the ground. For this reason it was looked upon as a holy place, and the Indians went there to worship and fast." The Cheyennes call it "Bear Lodge." The Arapahoes called this big, high rock "Bear's Tipi." The Lord was showing me that healing as well as shelter from the storm was needed atop the Devils Tower per His promise in Romans 8:28 to make something good out of the storms that bring devastation to your life. And from this came the third painting, Promise In 2017. He was starting me off with thinking smaller We were stationed in Spearfish South Dakota where Duane went to work and I painted in the RV communing with the Holy Spirit and praying for the land and its people. I was urged by the Holy Spirit to actually go to the monument and to walk it and pray over it for healing and forgiveness. Well guess who else got wind of my task? Yep! The interferer himself, the devil. Every time we had the time off to make the short trek to see it the weather would turn most foul. It was starting to look like we had arrived in the hail and snow capital of the world but we were reassured by the locals it was only a runner up. After four months of this, we finally had blue skies on the day off and made the trip only to see NOTHING when we got there! That's right! The outdoor monument that raises up near a mile high was fogged over. With the visual aid obscured we prayed and left. We were sent back to the area again the following year and this time we stayed in the beautiful Sturgis area. And just as the year before I spent each day praying for the land and its people. My heart was empathetic to the atrocities that have happened to the Indigenous People in the name of our common God out of sheer and ignorance. I prayed God's blessing upon blessing upon what was, what is and what will be. We knew the time was coming that we would be returning home and we prayed for divine grace to fulfill our task for God. To give it all the grand finale of this stay. And we finally arrived! to the Tower on a spectacularly beautiful day. We hiked the perimeter of the tower, observed the many prayer cloths tied to the trees and asked Gods blessings upon them. We came to a park bench and sat and prayed in tongues as we overlooked the majestic vista of the surrounding area. I claimed it all for the glory of God and asked for His mercy upon those who touched it. It was a good day for a good day to be of service to Jesus for His children. The land is an expression of the Creator’s love for mankind. Geronimo, an Apache chief, commented: “I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. . . . I can go everywhere with a good feeling.” The Creator will keep his promises because he loves the people of every tribe and nation. The Bible says: “Jehovah is good; his loving-kindness is to time indefinite, and his faithfulness to generation after generation.”—Psalm 100:5 "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Thank you Jesus for letting me get to to do this wondrous thing. I look forward to seeing them on the other side. PRINTS AND GICLEES available at https://www.propheticsgallery.com/store-warehouse/art_print_products/store-warehouse-uihtvhtdkqa

It was 2016, and the convictions of the Holy Spirit continued, and He pointed me to Matthew 16:26, who says, "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul"? I saw the world I had lived in for so long as a reflection of itself and now only consisted in my life as a dependable paycheck leaving me unhappy as well as homesick, and I just wanted to go home. But where was home? He showed me as we painted this fourth one together. It is called Reflection, for it was a reflection of all that I knew of the world and was now replacing it with the truth in the reality of living for Jesus. It was time to go all in. I was a product of the "no matter where you go, there you are" and "bloom where you are planted" philosophies to basically buck up, make your peace with your circumstances and do what you need to do. But this thinking had passed its expiration date a long time ago. Because God cares, the Holy Spirit opened my mind that now was the time to work for God as an artist. After all, it was what I was birthed for. The job description that Jesus needed me to fill was to gift His hope to others. He had me at "He needed me." He needed the teaching and lessons I had undergone to share with others. His children were being bombarded with worldly wisdom and losing sight of His face. 1 Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" I had a vision of not just my working world falling away but all of the world falling away. I saw the city of Minneapolis on fire. I assumed it was because I was burning bridges. And yes, that was part of it. I heard Luke 21:25 "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves." I saw the waters rising with no way out if I did not leave now. Even as I was ready to go and that my "career" was no longer meant for me, this was a tough switch because steady paychecks rarely depend upon faith and provide for earthly treasures that make life "comfortable," but I went, hesitantly but willingly. My belief is in Jesus is stronger. I found that the grass is greener on God's side. I am free indeed. Till the other side then. PRINTS AND GICLEES available at https://www.propheticsgallery.com/store-warehouse/art_print_products/store-warehouse-2andtcrhld8

This is Windows 5 the Portal of three little birds was long in creating and inspired by Luke 21:8 He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. The legend of the sand dollar holds that when Christ ascended to heaven, he left the sand dollar as a symbol to help the evangelists teach the faith. Physical elements of the sand dollar represent events related to Christ's life and death. On the top of the shell, a star is clearly visible. ​ ​It represents the Star of Bethlehem that led the Wise Men to the manger when Christ was born. Around the star is the outline of the Easter lily, a symbol of Christ's resurrection. The sand dollar has four holes surrounding a center hole. The four holes represent Christ's wounded hands and feet after his crucifixion, and the center hole represents his side, pierced by the Roman centurion. On the back of the sand dollar is an outline of the poinsetta. Finally, breaking open a sand dollar reveals five "doves" (bird-shaped fragments within the mollusk) that represent the peace and joy Christ left behind. Times they are a changing people. The desert will be flooded and will expose the seven hills. Watch for the signs in the sky and the heartbeat of the people. Just as quickly as this desert piece began, it stopped. I waited. And waited. Months later the time came to work on it again. The desert was now being flooded and revealed seven hills. The aurora borealis was painted in the essence of an EKG in the midst of a meteor shower. And the door change or rather the sky bent to accommodate the door. Yes we all fall short of the glory of God. Yet the Bible says to not worry as everything will be all right for His children per Rev 3:8 'I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut. But know this... John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". Repent. Now you know. No excuses. See ya on the other side. Times up.

Chase your dreams.

The theory of evolution. In 2 Timothy 2:23-24 it says “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil” I was asked “I am going to believe in evolution. What can you do?” To which I answered “What I can do is ask why not? If I cared to hear of the reasoning I might ask but what I will do is this. Nothing.” What I did do is walk away with a simple inner “meh” and wonder for about 15 seconds what snagged me into even answering this much in the first place. Their life. Their choices. They can be a monkey. I will be a child of God. Interesting that this picture shows a reflection. Like imitating the Creator.