Tag: art

Posted on in Finding Grace Weekly Recap, Food and Nutrition, Gratitude, Miscellaneous, Parenting, Perseverance

Finding Grace #359

You may have seen the acronym GRACE as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is also God’s unmerited favor, or God doing for us what we cannot.

I find grace overflowing with God’s love, joy, peace, blessings, mercy, power, provision, protection, and wisdom. Thank You, Jesus!

Free Mountain Snow photo and picture

Where did I find God’s love and favor—His abundant grace—this week?!

This was an awesome week. It felt like God came through for us in big and small ways!

On both Sunday and Monday, we met with friends and did some art projects. On Monday, my dear friend helped me take down the Christmas tree. For the last few years, I could not get it all apart. My friend and I were finally able to pull it into its three pieces for storage. I was so thankful!

We were off due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, so we used the time to get Lydia’s glasses updated. She kept her frames but needed new lenses. I had shopped around, and found a good deal with same-day service. It felt good to save some money and cross it off my to-do list.

Because of the holiday, it was a short work week. It was made even shorter because Lydia had two appointments. On Tuesday, her orthodontics appointment went well, and we will wait on a second round of braces (to see if she needs them). On Thursday, we had some good news, too. With her permission to share, Lydia has been having frequent, yet unpredictable episodes of dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue, and so on for many years. Apparently, she needs a lot more water and sodium than the average person. At least that’s what we are going to try for now, though it will likely be long-term. She is already feeling better with no symptoms for the last two days. I’m grateful for answers, and I’m praising God that this is a manageable medical condition!!

The weather gave us some sunny days and some overcast days, but minimal wind. Still below zero but enjoyable! 

Today, we did our usual Saturday tasks, and I listened to a webinar while cooking soup and baking sweet potatoes. I also cleared two shelves in the pantry and reorganized them before taking an official inventory. This helped me group like items together and even carried over to a couple of the kitchen cabinets, too. It feels really good to see everything I have all at once. Then, I don’t accidentally buy something when I already have it in storage!

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These are only a few examples, but God’s grace never runs out!

There’s grace in every situation—we just need to look for it. God promises if we seek Him, we will find Him (see Jeremiah 29:13)!

Posted on in Finding Grace Weekly Recap, Gratitude, Kindness, Miscellaneous

Finding Grace #348

You may have seen the acronym GRACE as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is also God’s unmerited favor, or God doing for us what we cannot.

I find grace overflowing with God’s love, joy, peace, blessings, mercy, power, provision, protection, and wisdom. Thank You, Jesus!

Free photos of River

Where did I find God’s love and favor—His abundant grace—this week?!

This week, we had something going on several days/nights. Thankfully, all the activities were good… Monday and Tuesday were fairly normal besides some errands.

On Wednesday night, we volunteered at church. This time, we helped in the three to five-year-old class. Lydia had fun reading to the kids, coloring, setting up little bowling pins, and playing kitchen with them. The kids were so cute!

On Thursday night, Lydia had Biogirls. I ran a couple of errands and then picked up Lydia and her friends. It is fun to hear them chat in the back seat! Then, Lydia showed me some of the moves she has been learning! I am impressed!

On Friday night, Lydia had another friend’s birthday party at the Fargo Force hockey game. She had fun, and I had a little free time! I hung out at home and enjoyed doing nothing in particular. After, a long week, it was perfect! 🙂

Work was busy but good. I had a good performance evaluation and earned high marks! I also got to collaborate with several people in order to meet my patients’ needs. I enjoy what I get to do!

Today, I took Lydia and some friends to a pottery class at the local art museum downtown. During their class, I met a dear friend for coffee and had a fun time catching up! Then, I took the girls out to lunch. It was fun to see these little ladies at the restaurant, and it was a beautiful day for a little adventure!

Friendly reminder: Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour tonight! I called my new African neighbors to explain Daylight Savings Time, and they were really grateful as they’ve never experienced this before!

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These are only a few examples, but God’s grace never runs out!

There’s grace in every situation—we just need to look for it. God promises if we seek Him, we will find Him (see Jeremiah 29:13)!

Posted on in Finding Grace Weekly Recap, Gratitude, Miscellaneous, Perseverance

Finding Grace #327

You may have seen the acronym GRACE as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is also God’s unmerited favor, or God doing for us what we cannot.

I find grace overflowing with God’s love, joy, peace, blessings, mercy, power, provision, protection, and wisdom. Thank You, Jesus!

Where did I find God’s love and favor—His abundant grace—this week?!

This was a busy week, full of hard work!

Oddly enough, I fell down a small set of stairs, after missing the bottom step. Thankfully, I was not hurt badly and just had a nice bruise on my arm where I caught myself. It is still a little sore and colorful but improving.

Lydia attended a couple of art classes during the week. She went with a friend, and it was really helpful because she could get a ride there. They pour-painted some canvases and created objects with resin. It was fun to see the end results!

Each night this week was busy. It included the typical blog writing, grocery shopping, and other errands. But I also ended up mowing, paying some routine bills, and making summer plans. All good things, but it all took a lot of time.

I saw some gorgeous peonies in the healing garden at work (picture above). Walking through the garden is one reason I park across the street every day (instead of the regular employee parking lot)! 

On Friday, I took myself to see another movie after work, while Lydia was at a YMCA field trip. This time, I saw Top Gun: Maverick! It was really good. It had a lot of references to the original 80s movie, but I think it was even better. Not only the improvised picture and action, but the storyline brought things full circle. I’d recommend it!

Today, I finished putting out the deck furniture (after staining it last weekend). I also worked on catching up around the house, while Lydia worked on chores, cleaning her room, and doing some art at home. We had the screen door open all day! It felt pretty relaxing and productive!

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These are only a few examples, but God’s grace never runs out!

There’s grace in every situation—we just need to look for it. God promises if we seek Him, we will find Him (see Jeremiah 29:13)!

Posted on in Finding Grace Weekly Recap, Gratitude, Miscellaneous

Finding Grace #289

You may have seen the acronym GRACE as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is also God’s unmerited favor, or God doing for us what we cannot.

I find grace overflowing with God’s love, joy, peace, blessings, mercy, power, provision, protection, and wisdom. Thank You, Jesus!

Where did I find God’s love and favor—His abundant grace—this week?!

This was a great week, and we participated in a lot of fun events!

At work, we had two celebrations, which is really appreciated with how busy we have been lately! On one day, we had a DQ ice cream cake for a coworker’s birthday. The next day, we brought treats to say goodbye to another coworker. She is leaving to focus on some other things, but we will really miss her on our team!

I had some women from church come over for some encouragement. We had indoor s’mores and a fun conversation with multiple topics! We prayed together, too, and I am really grateful for these godly ladies!

Lydia and I did some yard work this week. While she tied her shoes, she noticed a bumblebee on the sedum. I came over and also noticed a honey bee! We watched them for several minutes, in awe!

Yesterday, a friend came to hang out before a movie night at church. While Lydia was still at school, we painted with watercolors! Neither of us has any experience, but it was fun.  I certainly won’t become a professional, but it was a relaxing right-brain activity!

Later, we drove to church to watch Inside Out. I have seen it before, but last night, I was able to pick up on more details I must’ve missed before. Specifically, Joy had to finally allow Sadness to do her thing. By acknowledging pain and sadness (or grief), we can eventually move forward with greater joy.

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These are only a few examples, but God’s grace never runs out!

There’s grace in every situation—we just need to look for it. God promises if we seek Him, we will find Him (see Jeremiah 29:13)!

Posted on in Finding Grace Weekly Recap, Gratitude, Miscellaneous, Perseverance

Finding Grace #274

You may have seen the acronym GRACE as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is also God’s unmerited favor, or God doing for us what we cannot.

I find grace overflowing with God’s love, joy, peace, blessings, mercy, power, provision, protection, and wisdom. Thank You, Jesus!

Where did I find God’s love and favor—His abundant grace—this week?!

This week went fast! It started off with having friends come visit, which meant a good ol’ Tour de Fargo! We had so much fun!

Lydia spent a couple nights at a friend’s house so they could attend puppy camp! The camp consisted of little dog art projects. Lydia and her friend also went to the pool and played lots of games. I appreciated my friend offering to help out, so Lydia didn’t have to miss out.

Today, I was on call for work and had to go in for a few hours. Lydia stayed home with some family who came to visit. Last night, we went to Scheels and out to dinner. This afternoon, we went to see the new movie, “Dream Horse.” It was good to get out of the nearly 100F heat, and it was our first time in a theater in over a year! The movie is rather inspirational and is based on a true story. I would recommend it!

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These are only a few examples, but God’s grace never runs out!

There’s grace in every situation—we just need to look for it. God promises if we seek Him, we will find Him (see Jeremiah 29:13)!

Posted on in Finding Grace Weekly Recap, Food and Nutrition, Gratitude, Life is Short, Miscellaneous

Finding Grace #256

You may have seen the acronym GRACE as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is also God’s unmerited favor, or God doing for us what we cannot.

I find grace overflowing with God’s love, joy, peace, blessings, mercy, power, provision, protection, and wisdom. Thank You, Jesus!

Where did I find God’s love and favor—His abundant grace—this week?

This was a busy but exciting week! All the usual things went…well, as usual. I enjoyed Zoom on Sunday and work on the other days! 🙂 Lydia also went to school in-person all five days, which was a first for her school year! She had a great week, too!

I got my second COVID vaccine shot on Monday. This time, my arm was far less sore, but I was a little more achy than last time. Perhaps this was because my muscles were already sore and recovering from shoveling and snow blowing the weekend before! Thankfully, after a day or two, I felt much better. I am grateful to have received both shots!

This week, I saw God redirecting my steps. I am thankful He knows better than I do! He had me work ahead on my Wednesday blog post, which is good because on Tuesday evening, I was able to go to bed earlier and rest (see above paragraph!).

On Wednesday evening, Lydia’s friend came over again. We had a brief Bible lesson about Ruth and Naomi (loyal love) and then we had fun with spin art. We had three colors of paint and did lots of experimenting! It was fun to see what we created together!

Today, Lydia and I did several art projects together. Well, we started them, at least! She received an arts & crafts subscription for her birthday, but we just now are getting to the projects. Some of them required multiple steps which will take a little longer. But, it was fun to spend a lot of time together.

In terms of self-care this week, I went to bed earlier a couple of nights. I also did a little exercise and finished a small, intricate puzzle (pictured above). It was cut out of wood and has all sorts of unique shapes. I enjoyed the little figures hidden throughout. I even found a duplicate piece that threw me off more than once! 😉 Then today, I listened to an audiobook while I chopped and baked loads of vegetables for the coming week! Rest feels good!

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These are only a few examples, but God’s grace never runs out!

There’s grace in every situation—we just need to look for it. God promises if we seek Him, we will find Him (see Jeremiah 29:13)!

Posted on in Miscellaneous, Perfectionism, Wisdom

Like A Canvas

A few days ago, I took a social media quiz to determine my so-called ‘life quote’. I’m sure you’ve seen similar ‘tests’ regarding personality traits, how good of a friend you are, etc. I generally avoid them, but got sucked into this one nonetheless. 🙂

This is what my results showed:

“Your life is like a canvas: every morning it is up to you to decide if you like to keep on painting the same old picture or create a new one.”

wildflower-fresco

While I don’t think this quote is the ultimate reflection of who I am, it stood out for several reasons. First, I hadn’t seen this quote before, so it made me stop and think.

Second, I have been pleasantly surprised at how much of a mood lifter the recent changes to my home have been. I have seen the value in changing my surroundings, which has prompted me to be open to change in other areas of my life.

Third, the idea of keeping the status quo or creating a new opportunity reminded me of a fun mom’s night out with friends two years ago. A local artist hosted a painting night, with a predetermined picture as the goal.

There were two options and I since I am not super crafty, I decided to go with the easier choice. The end result was supposed to be a silhouette of two song birds on a branch or wire. The little birds looked very cozy against an azure background.

I thought it was so cute, similar to this cheery picture I recently bought for my home.

happy-birds-on-a-wire

At the beginning of our painting session, my friends and I were given the same size canvas and amount of paint, and the same directions and materials. It seemed fairly easy, and the artist gave us pointers as needed.

All was going well until…

I added too much white paint to the blue! I started spreading it around but that only made it worse. Of course I kept smearing the white paint, trying to blend it in…

As you can tell in the picture (below), my results looked nothing like the original plan! I tried to make the birds and the branches. But, it turned into a big mess. Soon, I took a step back and considered my options.

I could keep going and hope the old plan worked out—or I could go another direction entirely. The second option—the obvious choice—was a much better fit for my skill level…

above-the-chaos

Ok, clearly I’m not meant to be a painter! Stop laughing and let me explain!

I decided the white against the dark blue looked a little like a thunderstorm clouds. Or, possibly, a turbulent ocean… I couldn’t quite decide. 😉

Either way, I felt it represented a sense of turmoil.

In the end, I painted tiny v-shaped birds at the top of the clouds (or waves?!) to signify rising above the chaos. I wrote ‘Isaiah 40:31’ in the corner, and decided that was the best I could do! Whew!

isaiah-40_31

As I think about that experience and the ‘life quote’ above, there are a few parallels.

Sometimes our life ‘canvas’ looks good. The brush strokes match up just as we envisioned. Occasionally, smudges or spills can make a big mess—and we feel like we have to start over. But, often, those creations turn out to be the most interesting.

Perhaps we just have to reframe the failure or make it into a new picture!

You might have to take a second look to see the hidden beauty and potential amidst all the smudges. You might not understand all that has happened in your life or how it could possibly turn out well.

Rest assured. You might not see God’s hand in it all. But, trust me—He’s there! He cares deeply about you and is the Master of second chances. It might not look perfect, but God can make our lives into a beautiful masterpiece as we rise above the chaos.

lydia-artwork

The key is letting Him show us what to keep (the old) and what to change (make new). Thank God, the final result is more dependent on Him leading us than our artistic talent!

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God, thanks for seeing the beauty within us and for developing it in our lives. Thanks for second chances and new direction. Please continue making us—and remaking us—like You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Questions: When it comes to being artistic, do you prefer painting, drawing, photography, music, writing, food, or something else? Did you ever have a project that required a do-over…or a complete overhaul?

Task: Make something creative today!