Daughters, Sons-in-Love, Sons, and Grandchildren

Jonathan, Sarah (one of my grown, married identical twin daughters), and Aidyn Esther....






Justin, our "other twin" Hannah, and the never-still Timothy Paul (The Preacher's namesake)...this picture says it all!





Hannah and Timothy. Oh, those two year old boy eyes!

The Preacher and I have known our share of heartache...we have sons who are "working on their testimony", and the stories about that...aside from the stress of ministry...would drop your jaw. How is it we are still friends and still in loving relationship with sons who have pulled what our boys have pulled? How is it we have managed to raise the bar (in terms of our Godly standards) instead of lower it, draw lines where lines should be, yet still exhibit grace? Still preserve relationships?

At great cost. By grace alone. Living by the law would be way easier. Like...way, way.

The Gospel. Living of the Gospel. That is how we do it. Our relationships with our children (and their spouses or Significant Others...and our grandchildren...and our friends) are infused and suffused with grace. Perfectly imperfect.

I am, like seriously, sloppy blessed. Still living a dream I have not earned and do not deserve.



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Of Jaunts and Junkets

The Preacher and I "slipped the surly bonds" of chores and counseling and obligation yesterday...we couldn't finish errands until the afternoon, so our jaunt lasted only for a few hours; we were back home working on mowing and church manuals and preparing for overnight guests by 7.

But guess what I found?







The most adorable vintage (circa 1960's) children's books...two of them, three dollars apiece, and in almost new condition. Every page with a winsome, beautifully rendered animal (in one) or an illustration of a nursery rhyme (in the other).

Even the lady at the cash register was jealous. I was firing off questions at The Preacher, as creative ideas tumbled out..."Is our flatbed scanner big enough to scan these pages? They are public domain, now!". "Will these images print on cold press watercolor paper, you think?"

She asked me what I was going to do with the books, and I explained how, as a mixed media artist, I intended to share these gorgeous children's books with the world, reincorporating them into art, while fully preserving the original books themselves.

She looked me in the eye, and said, "You totally just scored. I don't want to sell them to you, now. I want to do what you are describing. They are beautiful books, and your ideas are amazing. I wish I had thought of them."

Then she grinned and gave me her blessing.

Not that she had a choice. I was prepared to punch her in the neck, and run away, yelling brilliant artsy rhetorical flourishes at her as I exited the shop. Much like Grandma Moses might have done.

Never get between an artist and her muse.


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New In the Shop

New in my shop this afternoon...




I am venturing into a genre called "She Art", and I love it way more than I expected to. My intentions were to dabble, here and there...

...now, I want to create little other than "She Art". I am on a big, big She Art kick. Such an encouraging category.


This is an 8x8 print of the original I painted last week. The painting is entitled "Maria", and was inspired by a time of personal prayer over a friend. As I prayed, this is what came out...and I sensed that it was on target.

Don't we all need to hear encouragement to keep doing what we are doing, in spite of the difficulty and the pain?

This print is, as of today, beautifully framed in a simple, elegant, well made black frame. It is available for purchase in my shop.


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Bragging...

Look at how utterly, heart-squeezingly adorable. My little Aidyn Esther.

It rocks to be a grand mommy. It rocks to be me.

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Working...

Working ideas out in the art journal first. My favorites...the ones I'm really feelin'...will be done again on canvas.






I am feelin' today's results. This will definitely become a rather large canvas.

It says, "Strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come..."

I preach the Good News to myself, through my painting.

Hospitality

Preparing to serve dinner to 13 people...leaders representing three churches.





Many thanks to my two daughters for beautifying our huge outdoor dining space...





It isn't 4th of July, I know, but this is the only bolt of fabric I have that is large enough. I love it.






...the fire is laid in the brick fire pit...

The guest room is fluffed and ready for our dear Pete Beck. God is so very good.

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W.E.L.L. Being (A Video Weblog Series)

Today's Art Journaling

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Morning...

Soft breezes...waxing sunlight, diffused by clouds and soft rain...birdsong...hot coffee..."October's meditative haze"...peace and plump fruitfulness...Bible reading...prayer...feeling nested.

My very heart nested this morning.




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Studio Addition

This evening, as I was working on a huge painting (the biggest one yet) The Preacher noticed that several inches of my canvas was hanging over the edge of my table...the piece covered my entire table, and then some.

And now, just a couple of hours later, I have a new, bigger top, firmly attached to the old tabletop...

...and painted with black chalkboard paint!





Love it! Not only is the tabletop able to accommodate the large canvas I was working on, but I have extra inches to sit my tubes of paint, the bowl I use for matte medium, and my jars of brushes and water.







Fun stuff.









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My Warped Sense of Humor...

Went with a friend to an exclusive art gallery in Atlanta...one that features several mixed media artists. It. Was. Heavenly.

For fun, on the way down my friend and I arranged to have this picture snapped, at a Georgia rest stop. I sent it to The Preacher's phone...with only the word, "Oops" :






That was my best "Oh no. I got busted in 'da hood" face. It was the best this homegirl could manage. The Preacher knew the pic was a hoax. He knew right away that I was messin' with him. He failed to see the humor. Me?

I howled, giggled, guffawed, and chuckled my way all the way on to Atlanta, where I commenced to having yet more fun.

This is how I deal with stress. Thank you, Georgia State Police Department, for cooperating with Operation Recover Sheila's Sanity.

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My Granddaughter

Something tells me Homegirl didn't want her picture taken. She probably wanted her binkie. She's a binkie kinda girl, through and through. Her momma and daddy don't dare leave home without a stash of pacifiers.

Isn't she beautiful? This picture makes me smile, from way down deep inside.


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Latest Addition to the Art Studio...

...is a beautiful chandelier, made by my daughter Hannah, over at Daughter By Design. She finds old-but-working light fixtures, and she blesses them with her eye for design, painting them, and adorning them with real crystals - either clear or of various colors. Then she sells them for a pretty penny. But this one, she made just for me...for my new art studio.

Gorgeous much?

 I knew you'd agree.  I think so, too.  Ignore the art journaling going on at the table (the beautiful leather bound book with the hand-edged watercolor papers, a gift from my other daughter, Sarah)...

...it has been a rough couple of weeks, here at the cottage.  I'm emoting on paper.  I've heard it called "Praying In Color".  It's cheaper than therapy, healthier than meds, and much easier on all my friends.

I'll fill you in on whatever it is that is going on later....whenever I figure out what is going on.  This could be a good thing, or it could be a very bad thing.  Youngest children tend to give their parents a run for their money like that.

And the nest?  Well...it may or may not be empty.  We shall see.

I know, right?  Pray for me, friends.  God, grant me the serenity.  Help me, Rhonda.  Jesus take the wheel...

...and I am so grateful for wild sons and stable daughters.  Both are a blessing - just in different ways.  One tends to be a happy sort of blessing, the other a blessing that deepens and strengthens you.

You know.  "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

I say it again - by faith, before the outcome can even be seen:

Grace will accomplish what the law could never do.

W.E.L.L. Being (A Video Weblog Series) : Humility

Sold Before I Could Put It In The Shop...But!

The original sold before I could list it in my shop.  But!  But prints are available in my shop.

Also, this is now available:

 My new design, called the "66/1".  (66 books in the Bible...only 1 message, and the cross is the key to understanding that message!)  I'm so excited about this long, lean, ultra-creative design.  The necklace has been test driven by my daughter Hannah and I both, and we love it...and it gets compliments.  It is an unusual design...not for everyone.  But I don't pretend to design for everyone - just artsy, creative Jesus freaks.

Yeah.  Pretty much, that is my demographic.  We're a small demographic, but our destiny is world domination.  (Cue Handel's Messiah..."and He shall reign forever and everrrrrr!")

You think I'm kidding.

 I'm stinkin' proud of it.  So proud to be serving the King with my gifts and art and life and blog...and stuff and things.

Goodnight.  It is late.  Amen.

Can Anyone Say It Better Than The Grace-Man, Spurgeon??

(clipped from the devotional "Morning and Evening" by C.H. Spurgeon, that Prince of Preachers...)

September 18 — Morning

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. {#Ga 5:25} The two most important things in our holy religion are the life of faith and the walk of faith. He who shall rightly understand these is not far from being a master in experiential theology, for they are vital points to a Christian. You will never find true faith unattended by true godliness; on the other hand, you will never discover a truly holy life which does not have as its root a living faith upon the righteousness of Christ. Woe to those who seek after the one without the other!

There are some who cultivate faith and forget holiness; these may be very high in orthodoxy, but they shall be very deep in condemnation, for they hold the truth in unrighteousness; and there are others who have strained after holiness of life, but have denied the faith, like the Pharisees of old, of whom the Master said, they were “whitewashed sepulchres.” We must have faith, for this is the foundation; we must have holiness of life, for this is the superstructure.

Of what service is the mere foundation of a building to a man in the day of tempest? Can he hide himself in it? He needs a house to cover him, as well as a foundation for that house. Even so we need the superstructure of spiritual life if we wish to have comfort in the day of doubt.

But do not seek a holy life without faith, for that would be to erect a house which can afford no permanent shelter, because it has no foundation on a rock. Let faith and life be put together, and, like the two abutments of an arch, they will make our piety enduring. Like light and heat streaming from the same sun, they are equally full of blessing. Like the two pillars of the temple, they are for glory and for beauty. They are two streams from the fountain of grace; two lamps lit with holy fire; two olive trees watered by heavenly care. Oh Lord, give us today life within, and it will reveal itself to your glory.

My First True Abstract-And My Personal Interior Design Style

Above the sofa, is my first large canvas - 4 feet long - and my first abstract mixed media piece. I painted it "on commission"...my daughter Hannah asked me to paint a large abstract for her as a housewarming gift.  This is it, hanging in her new living room. (if you click on the image above, you can see it, slightly enlarged...)

I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. I was also surprised at how difficult it was, yet at the same time, how fun it was to paint!

You can't see it, but I embedded an antique key onto the canvas...a gift from my neighbor Earl. I also stamped all the special dates that the McConnell household has experienced in its short history...their wedding day, Timothy's birthday, and the day they closed on this, their first house. You'd find them, hidden all around the canvas, if you could see it up close and in person. You'd also see vintage and antique book, hymnal, and wallpaper scraps in the background, giving this painting beautiful depth and texture. Heavy-bodied acrylics in shades of salmon, coral, orange, navy blue, turquoise, yellow, and slate gray were used, along with inks of black and yellow ochre.

I finished it off with daubs of white plaster, applied randomly with a palette knife.

Cannot wait to paint another, for my own living room, in calm, cool shades of orchid, eggplant, gray, misty blue, and putty colors....very Restoration Hardware.

As I renest, I have arrived at a very precise description of my personal style...I love Swedish/Gustavian flavors, but those words are too wide...too sweeping. I have long thought of how to describe the design I am going for - the quirky house-beauty
I see in my addled imagination.

Instead of merely "Swedish-Belgian-Gustavian" or "French Country", my style is precisely this: think Restoration Hardware meets Granny Chic.

I know. It has never been done. Y'all watch this...

...I am about to do it. I promise, over the upcoming months, to share photos. Leave it to me to pioneer a whole, new design aesthetic.

Now to give it a name...

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Soon To Be In My Shop

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Tour of My Art Studio!

Well, my daughter, her husband and our grandson have completely moved into their house...across the cul-de-sac from us.  The guest room/youngest son's room (when he is home from college) has been transferred over to what was Hannah and Justin's old bedroom, the grandson's nursery has become The Preacher's home office (finally...we both hear angels singing the Hallelujah chorus...after over two years of working from home, his home office is out of our bedroom)....

...and my art studio is up and functioning!

She's not completely finished...I will be tweaking for weeks, and my mood board/inspiration wall isn't up yet...but I am already painting in her, so I thought I'd take you on a tour...

When you walk through the door, this is what you see...

my art table, elevated, in the very center of the room...with a huge four foot long canvas, already started!  (I was itching to get in here and work!)

Over under (...over under??  Just roll with me, don't judge my grammar) the window you see...

...my sewing cabinet...underneath, is storage, on top is a french bottle-drying rack used as storage for thread and my leather cuffs and vintage rings...for now.  Eventually, I want simple wall-mounted wooden pegs for my threads and things.

...the video production nook...

chalkboard ("He makes beautiful things..."), video production, and shelf - soon to be shelVES, plural.  When Hobby Lobby runs their next 50% off sale on these shelves I will get one more, to be mounted under this one.  Here, I store paints and inks and extra gesso and ribbons and fabric swatches and..and..and...

The other side of the room...my desk/laptop/printer area, and more metal shelving for photo props, mixed media papers, laminator, paints, goodness...details I shan't bore you with.

Next, looking straight down, is the only thing (so far) I have purchased for this room.  (Everything else has been stashed here and there, throughout my bedroom and whole house, for months and years)

An antique Coca-Cola crate, purchased at Granny's Attic for 60% off, for a grand total of $9.

 (Granny's Attic is, sadly, moving to Clinton, TN, and selling off their store at a deep discount, so as not to have to move as much stuff...I weep, I weep, I weep.  This antique store has been minutes up the road from my house, for years and years. My checkbook rejoices...I weep.)

Crate sits atop a cool storage unit, on wheels, that spins around.  In it, I have my art reference books, my antique books and hymnals I use for my mixed media backgrounds, and my larger acrylic paint bottles.

...the art studio closet...fabrics are hung, my trade magazines stored, my tote that holds all my leather stamping supplies, my camera bag and boxes, my sewing box, and a hanging mannequin (for the tops I will someday be both designing, and upcycling from vintage, and selling in my shop!)  The hanging mannequin was a gift from a dear friend who believed in my business before it was a business, and before I believed in myself.  She knows who she is.

My daughter Hannah's old spice rack...she didn't want it anymore, and gave it to me.  I have utilized it for findings, beads, and the tiny hardware involved in jewelry making.  I have even left the stickers on it that say things like "celery seed", "cumin", "cinnamon", etc.  I absolutely LOVE them, and want them to stay.  It speaks to the repurposing that IS creativity and art and soulful living...

 bottle drying rack, threads, cuffs, rings, embroidery threads...love!


And so, before I shut the door on this space for a few hours, and actually go buy things like toilet paper and food (hey...creativity and art are my soul-food, but I can't do the "other thing" with them...) I leave you with a last, backwards glance...

So blessed.  I am just so blessed.

The best thing?  Seriously, the best thing?  It is this....

Through that window, as I paint, I have been watching my grandson play in his front yard, and I can easily see how my granddaughter is being held in her momma's arms...

...the sisters - my beautiful, identical twin daughters, both married to wise and Godly men -  are visiting with each other.  These things I can watch, as I see birds alight on branches, and hear the pond waterfall, directly under this window.  All these elements softly relax my whole being.

The tears have rolled down my face.  I am living a dream I have not earned and do not deserve.

The Grace of God is amazing.  I will speak of it my whole life long.

The New Art Studio

Took this shot yesterday. Then the Preacher got up this morning, repaired and repainted all the walls. Then he helped me move a sewing cabinet, desk, office chair, comfy video production chair and new backdrop; he moved shelves, my stool and my art table which he also elevated for me, up to countertop height.

Been working all day today, on filling up this room (it was a lot of work, but it wasn't hard to fill the entire room with tools, furniture, and supplies...things stashed all over this house have been long awaiting the day I could trick out my own art studio.)

I am so exhausted, there are no words.

I am so ecstatic and sloppy blessed, there are no words.

Pictures forthcoming tomorrow, dear friends. Can't wait to show you, in detail, my new creative space!



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"66/1" is Born (New Design)

Finally, the first version of my "66/1" design is birthed!  She's a necklace, instead of a cuff, which is a surprise even to me.  But she wanted to be a necklace, for her debut.

The first charm is hand stamped "66/1", as in "66 books in the Bible, 1 message".  The second charm is a cross, the last charm is a key.

"66 books in the Bible, 1 message, and the cross is the only key to understanding the message properly"...

...is the truth behind the symbolism that is this piece of jewelry.  The word "GRACE" is hand stamped on the leather pendant - that one word encapsulates the one message of the sixty-six books of the Bible.

The pendant is finished in torn fabric, for a vintage, edgy-yet-feminine sort of look.  Comes with a long silver chain, can be simply slipped over your head, no fastening or unfastening necessary - which is my all time favorite length of necklace!

Available in my shop, as soon as I get the time to take better pictures!

Email me, if you wish to pre-order.  She'll be priced at $35, shipping and handling included in the lower 48 states!

Going Local

Four hours spent cutting paper backings, gluing them to canvases and frames, and hammering on hangers. Then, I had to make prints of my smaller paintings, and print samples of other larger paintings, as well as some of my photography.

A. Lot. Of. Work. And I'm still not done. My Restored Soul Poppy mixed media painting still has to be framed and finished out, and my business card attached to the back. So much detail.

But worth it. Looks like my art is going into a local boutique!

Wish me luck...I am so excited and grateful to my daughter Sarah for putting in a good word for me with the owner.

I'm Pretty Sure...

...nothing else needs sayin'. Just sayin'.

#mostblessedwomanontheplanet


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W.E.L.L. Being - A Video Weblog (Women Equipped to Love and Lead)

I've been a week, now, without a voice. I hate being sick. But I didn't make this video this week. I shot this W.E.L.L. Being Series video a couple of weeks ago...and then I sat on it.


 Why, you ask? Because I was afraid some friends of ours might feel I was directly referencing them - they have recently moved to the country. I wasn't thinking of them when I made this piece - I didn't even find out where exactly they actually live, now, until a day or two AFTER I finished it.


 I am going ahead and publishing this because...well, because first of all, it is the truth. Secondly, I have been "all about" this message since the turn of this millennium - I wrote about it in a series of essays that date back to the year 2001, and I can reference blog posts right here on this blog beginning in '08.


 So there you have it. Anyone who has moved to the country since 2001...I am not talking directly to you.


 But if anything I say in this video applies to your life, then heck yes, I am talking to you.


 Deal with it.  (Not really...I only say that for fun.)


 Without further ado, here is the video...and please excuse the too-loud music. I'm still deep in Beta Mode, when it comes to creating my weblog videos. Many thanks in advance for your patience!


 

PS.  I am laughing out loud (well...croaking out loud) - please also excuse "The Hand" that pops up, now and again, with the air quotes and other such gestures.  I don't know who that is.

Just kidding.  It's me.  But it looks like someone is hiding just below camera level, mocking me...

Now that I've ruined this for you.  You won't take it seriously a'tall.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

One side of our church sanctuary, this morning. Wish I had a shot of the whole thing...many other precious ones on the other side.

This picture is priceless to me for a hundred reasons...such a great Lord's Day. So glad to be part of this local church.

Green Drink Recipe

Here is the much anticipated (via Facebook, Twitter, and email) Yummy Green Drink...not a shake, a drink. And so good. Promise.

1/3 C of frozen mango (give or take)
1/3 C of frozen pineapple (give or take)
1 C of fresh spinach leaves
1-2 C coconut water (water, not milk)

Throw it in a blender and liquefy it. Add coconut water to make it a consistency that is to your liking, if necessary.

Spinach is a super food. So is coconut water...well, it is super water. More electrolytes than a sports drink. Need I say more?

And...truly...delicious.



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Working On New Fall Designs

I stumbled across some beautiful antique and vintage (two different things, by strict definition) earrings. I have been working on creating one-of-a-kind rings out of them...

...well, two-of-a-kind, by strict definition.








This one is my favorite...








Vintage multi-color....so cute on!









Love this one. Actually, though the white one is my favorite, this one is too close to count as second favorite. This one is my one-and-a-half favorite.



All will be in the shop soon, along with a few other new designs...

His Message In The Heavens

I spent some time this evening rejoicing in "this Divine Romance"....this "thing" that my Creator and I have for one another.

As I lay there, sprawled precariously across a short wicker love seat on my back porch, the rhythmic song of cicadas and the briskness of night air, so different from the usual languid warmth of southern summer evenings, filled me with joy.

And He spoke of His love for me.

And He spoke of my destiny - nothing big at all, in light of the fact that the Creator of the universe also created me and knows me by name and loves me. Is there a better destiny, a more-to-be-desired-than-this, lot in life? Not to my captivated heart. Frankly, whatever you desire other than Him....you can have it all. You can have my portion. Give me Jesus...lover of my soul.

And I sang to Him.

And blew Him a kiss or three. (That's my personal expression of profound worship.)

And I rejoiced in all He has done for me of late.

And He pointed out to me the fact that the outrageous love I'd experienced from The Preacher yesterday, was in fact, also Him loving me through my nearest physical vessel...

...yesterday, I had suddenly become sick, with aches and cough and misery and no voice. I could only sleep. And croak. And feel terribly unlovely. Yet...yet...

...yet The Preacher brought me flowers.  And throughout his busy day, he managed to bring me a dozen or so juices, hot ciders, teas, and home made soup...enough to float a battle ship...crazy-extravagant care by any marriage standard...constantly checking in on me, by text message, by phone (though I could only whisper) and in person as he worked...

...God was trying to get something through to my heart.

"I know that was Tim, but...that was You, too, Lord?"

Yes, it was Him. Then He said to me, "I'll prove it. Look at the sky...just get still, and watch...I will blow you a kiss in the form of a falling star."

So I looked straight up...watching...no longer than five or ten minutes...and just when I thought I might have heard wrong...

...blazing and bright and bold and brief, there it went. A falling star, streaking the ink blue sky.

Remarkably, I didn't weep. I didn't feel chill bumps or Holy Ghost fire. I broke out in a grin, laughed out loud, and said, "God, you're crazy!"

It just popped out. He knows I wasn't being irreverent. I was responding in sheer delight, because there was something of His smile in it first. He laughed first.


Oh, how He loves me.

"...it is more to worship God, and more very delight, that we faithfully pray to Him of His Goodness, and cleave to Him by His grace, with true understanding, and made steadfast by love, than if we took all the means our heart can think. For if we took all these means, it is too little, and not full worship to God; but in His goodness is all the whole, and then faileth right not."

~Julian of Norwich


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