An Artist New Year's Resolution -- Staying Focused

There seems to be a lack of consistency in my work.

Acrylic on barn wood

Acrylic on cardstock with original verse

Colored Pencil

I'll do something serious that takes hours and every stroke can be critical.

Then I'll get some crazy idea to make my own canvas out of paint sticks.  Paint a picture and put a lace stencil around it.

Acrylic on a paint sticks, a frame made of stretcher strips and a doily stencil

Another "bright idea", I'll paint on barn wood!  Sounds like fun?  I turned it into something serious.

Acrylic on barn wood

Well, then I thought I'd try to lighten up on the barn wood and have some real fun.

Acrylic on barn wood

Out of no where I decide to sew on screen wire, whhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Sewing on screen wire with yarn

After that came the idea of building my own crate with paint sticks.

Crate made with paint sticks

And where ever did this come from?  I decided to do a bit of weaving!  With paint sticks!  Well, I couldn't actually weave them, but believe me I tried.

Woven organizer with paint sticks

Which then gave me the idea of weaving with paper rope..............

Woven wall hanging with paper rope and stretcher strip bar frame

And then I wanted to weave a pot, and so I wove one out of paper and then one out of a t-shirt.

vase woven from an old t-shirt

I painted on lace.............

Lace on stretched canvas

Suddenly I decided that I'd like to paint on canvas again and add something real to the painting, so.....

Acrylic on canvas with real butterflies glued to the canvas

Next, okay, let's do a bit of illustration on pages from the Bible.

Colored pencil and pastel on printout from Exodus

Let's throw in a bit of Christmas crafting, again, whyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Angel made from t-shirt, wood ball and old sheer curtain

Oooh, time to paint again!  But this time, for some reason I decided to play with black and white.....

I went serious.                                                                                                

Pencil on bristol board

Then I played around a bit...........

Pale pink paint sticks
black, gray, white acrylic

This made me think of art therapy, so I had to try my hand at that too!

 

Oh and let's not forget painting and sewing screen wire on canvas.............

And making a pair of flip flops from foam and woven t-shirt scraps.....

I decided to put my art work on products, so I opened up a Zazzle store for my fine art.

Then another for my fun art, with quotes and poetry.  

And then another for greeting cards.  

Then I threw another one in for spiritual things and of course I had to have a store for the children's art I love to do. 

 Here's one of those............

Acrylic and water color pencil on bristol board


Oh and lest I forget, I also have a store for the kitchen.  I love designing the kitchen products with my art too!

So here is my artsy resolution, ready, here goes..............

This year, 2016, I'm going to try to be more focused, try to stick to one or two things and work on perfecting those areas.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

Wish me luck.

Paint With Black, White and Gray

Even if all you have is black, white and gray paint, you can still paint anything you like.  I'm going to be experimenting with this technique a bit more, but I really did enjoy keeping it simple.  This painting is on canvas and painted with acrylic craft paint, black, white and gray.

There are some touches with watercolor pencil.  Three shades to be exact, French Green and Staedtler #50 another green. Then add Staedtler #30, a blue touch for the rain and droplets.

After lightly penciling in the flowers and stems, I just began my background with black, gradually working up the canvas adding a touch of white as I moved upward and gray.

This was my first attempt at raindrops, so I Googled them, studied them and tried it.  Yes, I was afraid of failing, but now I've actually got something to build on for the next time I try.  They are not the greatest, but they will do in a pinch.

I enjoy the look of lead pencil and the act of shading.  This worked much like it, just a different look.

You should try it.  If this becomes your palette think of the space you would save in the studio.

On dreary days as it's pouring or drizzling rain, it seems my mind will always turn to flowers and especially sunshine or light.  Even on these kinds of days God can help us turn our minds to happy, positive visions and thoughts.

God gives us His light to see us through, even on days like these.

Art: Pleasing Imperfections

 

This painting has been quite a challenge for me and I’ve learned a few things I find quite interesting.  The more imperfections I caused it to have the more I seemed to like it.

Here’s what it looked like to begin with…..

For some reason it just bothered me and I couldn’t figure out why.  It wasn’t a perfect square outline, which I like the imperfection there.  I sat back and studied it for awhile and decided it was the light blue clouded area, the outline was just too perfect.  I worked awhile on it and just couldn’t get that perfect outline off of the painting.

I knew what I was going to have to do to make this painting more pleasing to look at, but I just kept putting it off.  I was afraid after all my hours of work on it that I was really going to mess it up when I started sanding it.  But that’s what I wanted to do and that’s what I did.  The more I sanded it the better I liked it.  Sometimes those hard lines need a lot of elbow grease and sand paper to get them out.  I’m thinking the same can be said for out lives.

On the painting:

To create this painting use three pieces of old wood prepared with two coats of white gesso and lightly sanded.  To achieve the colors use these for the rose – Apple Barrel by Plaid Acrylic , Pale Daffodil, Bright Yellow and White.

For some of the darker areas on the rose use  Staedtler watercolor pencil No. 16

For the wispy stems on the small white flowers use English Ivy Green acrylic paint again by Apple Barrel Plaid.

Use the same green for the stem and foliage on the rose along with Lime Tree and White by Apple Barrel Plaid.

The sky was achieved by mixing Aple Barrel Plaid Acrylic Paint, Turquoise and White.

Using a paper doily stencil, create a light layer using Turquoise and white to dab the design on around the outside edges.

I hope you enjoy giving this a try.

Inspiration:

I was wondering if God looks at our lives in the same fashion; standing back and studying about just exactly what we might need to help us become more pleasing to Him.  What might He do next in our lives to bring about a more positive or pleasing result?

Like this painting, I have had quite a bit of sanding and, I might add, chiseling too.  I am glad that God knocked me down several notches and shook “stuff” out of me that wasn’t pleasing to Him.  Now that we have established what I should not be doing, God and I are working on what I SHOULD be doing.

Happy Painting!

Art: Put Reality Into Your Paintings

 

These butterflies are real!  Oh yes, they are.  Because I love the butterfly so much, when someone finds one they give them to me.  Sometimes they are whole and sometimes not.  But they are always lifeless.  What better way to bring them back to life and give them another chance to grace us with their beauty, than to put them in a painting true to their surroundings.

This wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.  Although first dissappointed, it became apparent that they were going to need a little touch up.

I began by painting in the background on my canvas using acrylic paint and then painted the flowers and the grass.

Using an exacto knife and tweezers the wings were removed from the body.  Afraid the delicate wings wouldn’t take much moving around, I used the knife and tweezers to place them in different positions on the canvas to decide where they would be most appealing.  Using Plaid Matte Mod Podge with water mixed in it, I applied it to the area on the canvas for the first bottom wing.  Carefully moving the wing I placed it on top of the Mod Podge.  It was all more forgiving than I expected, but still working very carefully, I pressed gently with my fingers, then applied a coat of Mod Podge on top of the wing.  Each wing was done this way.  One wing at a time.

There were a few parts missing on the butterflies so I took acrylic paint and painted the missing pieces in.  You can’t really see it.  The right bottom wing on the black butterfly was missing a bit, the yellow butterfly was missing some on the right bottom wing.  The brown butterfly (or moth) was in tack except the body and antenna, I had cut them away on all the butterflies and had to replace them.

The dissappointment came when the Mod Podge had dried, it left the butterfly darker and some of the colors were no longer vivid.  As I began touching up flowers and adding more and adding more grass I decided to try a little watered down paint on the wings to see if it helped them.  Not much was needed.  It was like giving them a drink of water.  Since they accepted paint well, I decided to highlight them and even put some blades of grass and cone flower petals on top of them.

All in all, I’m pretty satisfied with this idea and can’t wait for friends to give me more butterflies.  They would look great on old wood.  I’m thinking they would also be easier to apply to something a bit harder than this stretched canvas.

To finish the piece, paint a coat of Mod Podge on top of the entire canvas being careful not to put too much pressure on the butterfly wings.

You should try this for yourself on a wood board for ease.  Let me know if you do.

Happy Painting

Art: Counting feathers or NOT

 

 

Some of us are just too serious.  There are times when we just need to let go and play with ideas instead of thinking that we need to do a serious, saleable piece each time we begin one.  I find that when I do allow myself to relax and just have fun with it all, I personally, like the finished product better.  But early on, I was around many artists that were successful at selling their work, actually counting the feathers on the ducks in their paintings and they were….. tremendously stressed out.

The thought that everything had to be just so-so, has remained with me throughout the years.  Even though much of my work doesn’t reflect that, I was attempting to achieve perfection and it has been very stressful.  Occasionally, I have allowed myself to just let it all go and have fun.  I love that free feeling so much, but still can’t seem to stay there.

Early on in my life as a Christian, I was taught much the same way about worshipping God.  I had to be perfect.  Don’t wear this and don’t wear that, don’t go here and don’t go there.  Pray at this time of the day and for this long and about these things.  If you do this or that, you won’t go to heaven or God will be mad at you. 

As humans, I now know that we can never achieve perfection as far as being judged by others on this earth.  We are made in the likeness of God, so therefore we are perfect in His eyes.  We will surely slip and fall, but He knows what we are capable of, He created us.  God gave me freedom to worship Him and be happy when He revealed to me through His Word, Galatians 5:22-23, which is all about the Fruits of the Spirit.  The wonderful things that God has given me to do that I can do with His help.  I can’t battle profanity and promiscuity in the work place, but I can concentrate on being more like Jesus, emphasizing and practicing the Fruits of the Spirit.  I can’t solve the problems of homelessness, but I can give when I can.  I can’t keep someone from getting mad at me, but I can practice longsuffering.  I can’t always keep myself from getting angry, but I can replace angry words with kind words, understanding words and good deeds.

I hope that someday I can experience the same freedom and peace with my paintings that God has given me in my day to day life.  There are still battles everyday that I find I want to jump on the bandwagon of, but when I rein myself in and focus on what I should be doing instead of what I shouldn’t be doing, it’s a much happier life to live.

So whenever I find myself starting to count feathers, I pull  back and focus on the surroundings.  The beautiful clouds, the color of the flowers, the sun rise or sun set; these are all easier to see and bring into perspective than all the feathers on a duck.

Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 

About the painting:

I started out as usual, thinking I was going to copy this photograph I took exactly.  I quickly realized that I was trying to hard and just began to enjoy it.

This is watercolor pencil, black, gray and acrylic white on wood pallets placed in a barn wood frame.  The stenciling around it is a lace paper doily.

Here’s the photo:

   

 

Photo taken while working:

 

 

Finished piece:

 

If you’d like to see more of my work please visit my page at southern sky art studio.

Art: The Iris (Too Beautiful For This World)

 

 

One of the most beautiful flowers I see is the Iris.  There are several different kinds, I’ve noticed some of the blooms don’t stand very tall and seem as if they are kind of flat.  I had been looking for one that was spread out, yet still had a petal or two standing up high.  When I stumbled upon a photo of this one, it was exactly what I wanted to paint by.

Unfortunately, this beautiful flower, is just TOO beautiful for this world.  The bloom doesn’t stay around very long at all.  It reminds me of some people that have left this earth too soon.  By whatever means they traveled away from us, I think they are in a place that is peaceful, filled with beauty and calm, love and compassion.  Like the bloom of an Iris, their time with us was cut short.  Too, beautiful for this world.

This painting was achieved with acrylic craft paint.  For the bloom I used:

Apple Barrel:  Lilac Mist, Wild Iris, Petunia Purple and White

For the foliage I used:

Apple Barrel:  Lime Tree, Vineyard Green and White

Americana:  Pistachio Mint

To prepare the wood, just coat with gesso and allow to dry, lightly sand. Apply another coat of gesso and allow to dry, then paint away.  When you have finished with your masterpiece, if you’d like a rustic look, lightly sand the entire surface.

If you would like to see more painting on barn wood join me on facebook.

Art: Perfectly Beautiful Flowers

 

 

So what does beautiful mean?  Pleasing to the mind or pleasing aesthetically is one of the definitions I found.  Aesthetics (also spelled æsthetics and esthetics) is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art, beauty, and taste, with the creation and appreciation of beauty.^[1][2] It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes calledjudgments of sentiment and taste.^[3] More broadly, scholars in the field define aesthetics as "critical reflection on art, culture and nature."^[4][5]

Flowers seem to have a way of pleasing us with their beauty.  And with their perfect form (thanks to our Creator) they also help us realize how to appreciate beauty.  We can be a part of this in more than one way.  We can plant them and enjoy them as they come to life, we can pick them and use them to brighten and cheer up our surroundings, we can give them as presents, we can try to paint them and recreate their beauty, just looking at them though, brings a sense of hope to me.

They are delicate, yet they are strong.  They are perfect and all the different flowers and colors are perfect.  Perfectly beautiful, I guess, is how I would describe a flower.

So as I worked on this piece, I fell even more in love with flowers.  It is such a bright and welcoming piece.  It would cheer up any room it was hanging in.  And of course, being on this barn wood with all it’s history even makes it better for me.

Great thing about this piece is that, you won’t even sneeze when you look at it.  There’s more than one way to enjoy their beauty, even if you can’t have the real thing for one reason or another.

I started not to put color to it and this is what it looked like after drawing it with white acrylic paint and a brush.  I like the lacey look too, but the colors are more cheerful.  Cheerful and happy is what I am after in most everything I do.

                                                

Flowers are pleasing to the mind, soothing to the soul and spiritually and emotionally stirring.  They are simply beautiful.

Hope you enjoyed looking at this piece.  Have a beautiful day.

This painting was done by me, Teresa Haynes Johnson, finished on April 21, 2014 and is acrylic on barn wood.

Art: On the Other Side

 

 

This little piece is 5 3/4” H by 20” W, acrylic on barn wood.  I looked through several magazines looking for just the right ideas.  When I finally got tired of looking through all the pictures, I just kind of started with the green.  Then I went to the sky, the tree far in the field and then the fence.  So, apparently I picked up the ideas as I was looking through the photographs.  I knew what I wanted to do in the fore ground, everything else was a guessing game.  I just wanted flowers.

I am so happy God created such beautiful things in nature, if He hadn’t of created all these wonderful things, I’d have nothing to paint.  It seems that is all I like is flowers, butterflies, trees, the sky especially, animals, water….. all things nature.  And how can you go wrong with such beautiful subjects to paint from.

This particular piece of wood I’m told, did not come from a barn, but it came from a fence.  It’s nice wood.  Ricky Pardon gave it to me after he planed it.  It comes from here in Tennessee somewhere.  I’d like to know when it was built and exactly what it fenced in or out.  I’ve asked for that information, but hadn’t got it yet.

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Art: Lighten Up a Bit!

 

 

Tending to take things very seriously and getting into the details, this burlap canvas gives me the perfect base to lighten up a bit.

Seriously, there is not much way that I can see, that you can get involved with the details of what your painting.  I have tried to figure a way to get a little more detail in the petals of the flowers, the grass or even the trees, but thankfully I haven’t found it.

I’m glad I haven’t found it.  It gives me the ability to be more free and is teaching me to be a bit more loose with my pieces.  Which is something I am having to force myself to do, loosen up.

That also goes for other areas of my life.  I’m too serious.  I feel guilty when I laugh at something that is brought across in such a way to be funny, but it’s really a serious issue.

Can you picture Jesus laughing?  Surely He did.  Was He as serious as the master artist’s painted Him on canvas to be, all the time?  That’s the picture I see when I try to envision what He would do in a particular situation, that serious portrait of Him, that all of us in my generation grew up with.  I believe He did laugh and He enjoyed His Father’s creation.  I believe He laughed and smiled at the innocence of children.  And I can even see Him laughing at some of our mistakes and our lack of judgement in areas of our lives, that aren’t critical, but we think they are.

I have had to concentrate on loosing up and learning to enjoy life.  For so many years I was in a cult that taught, don’t, don’t, don’t.  But I have realized there are actually more do’s and more things to celebrate and be happy about, rather than constantly be looking over your shoulder afraid the devil (you know that little red thingy with horns and a pitch fork) was going to creep into your life somehow.

Loosen up, enjoy life, enjoy the creation that God made for us to enjoy.  That’s what I say to myself.  I’m sure there are others that have to tell themselves the same thing for one reason or another.

In Romans 8 it says, “…. to be spiritually minded is life and peace”.

Have a wonderful and creative day!

Art: Yellow Roses on Barn Wood

I’ve been experimenting with different techniques, canvases and medium for a couple of years now.  Right from the start, wood seemed to be my favorite.  There’s just something about a more simple, down to earth approach that gives me a great deal more freedom in the creative process.  I admit, it’s not for everyone and it does have limitations in the marketing process.  But I would trade all that any day for the freedom to play with my ideas and step out of the traditional circle.

Barn wood has history behind it, which is just a thrill for me.  To think that at one time these pieces of wood were a part of a farm where cows got milked or tractors were parked, horses spent the night and had their foals or maybe even pigs or chickens lived, has so much more meaning to me than a piece of traditional canvas.

It’s sad that these beautiful buildings are being torn down.  But since they are why not use them.  I see people doing all kinds of creative things with the wood from barns.  There is just so much character in the wood.  I am hoping that I can keep painting on this wood for the rest of my days.  If not, I think I will still paint on wood of some sort.

I am finally finding myself as an artist.  I know I still have quite a bit to learn and am so thankful that God has given me the desire to create.  I hope that through my art someone might take a moment to reflect on the beauty of His world He created for us to enjoy and admire and thank Him.

Art: Giving or Selling

 

 

More and more I keep feeling like I just want to give my art away.  I had a lot of questions for myself about that.  Well, how will I ever make any money that way? That was the main question.  Money!  Don’t really like having to have it or starve, but it is unfortunately, a fact.  I’m not that crazy about eating but I know I have to.  I’d rather buy art supplies or give to someone who is struggling.  I have struggled most of my adult life and I know how that feels.  I know how it feels to have someone help you that did not do it in God’s name, but to, in the end, get what they could from you by holding it over your head that they helped you.  So having struggled, I have this urge to help others or give in some way, even if it just brings a smile to their face and nothing more.  And perhaps that’s why I struggled, so I could learn.

I’ve tried to sell my art, but honestly I haven’t put all I’ve had into that, because I wasn’t sure if that’s what I really wanted to do with it.  So I’ve decided that I don’t think selling it is really what I want to do with it and here’s one example why…………….

God gives us ideas, it’s up to us to follow through.  This idea about not selling my art has been tugging at my heart for quite some time.  I had someone in mind a couple of weeks ago that I’d like to give a painting to.  I was thinking if I give it away I won’t get any money for it.  I could use the money.  But God kept tugging and tugging.  This lady where I work is one of the sweetest ladies I know at this time in my life.  She is constant, she works hard and suddenly, I just kept thinking of her and how I’d like to give her something.  I knew she loved flowers, so I started painting with her in mind.  I struggled and struggled with giving it to her the whole time I was painting it.  Even up to the very minute I handed it to her I was wondering if I was doing what God wanted me to do with this urge to paint and be creative He has given to me.  I was really stressed about it, what if she didn’t like it?  Some people would think it was kind of weird to just walk up to them and give them something out of no where for no reason.  And I just almost backed out.  But……………………..

When I gave her the picture, I explained that I just wanted to give her something and that I thought a lot of her.  She cried!  She love it and was appreciative of me thinking of her.    Here’s what I gave her………

 

As I walked away, she was showing it to others with tears still in her eyes and I was thinking about how that reaction was worth so much more than any amount of money.

Thank you Lord for leading me to do this for this lovely lady.  Thank you for showing me that there are more important things than money.  Yes I would like to quit my job at the factory and just sit and paint.  I’m thinking that is not what God wants for me right now, maybe later, but not right now.  One day when I retire, I will be free to go to art and craft shows and sell art to help me make it financially through the rest of my life here on earth.  But for now, I am learning the meaning of giving and how to be fulfilled through the act of giving.

So I’ll just keep giving the originals away to those who touch my life or those God lays on my heart.  Hmm, I wonder who my next victim will be?

But here’s a pretty neat idea.  I have a little spot online where I upload pictures of my art.  There, people can purchase prints if they like.  So far, no sales.  For awhile I stressed about it, but you know what?  I’m thinking that’s not what it’s all about any way.

 

Matthew 6:19-21

New King James Version (NKJV)

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Art: Growing Beautiful Among the Crowd

 

 

As I was working on all these little flowers I was thinking of what a profound statement they make about God’s love for us just by their beauty.  They don’t have to say a thing, they don’t have to do anything.  The air, sunshine, rain and nutrients in the soil do it all for them.  Some flowers get planted by people, but there are an abundance of flowers that spread and pop up just during the course of nature, growing wild and beautiful among the weeds.

I think God gave us these beautiful flowers just for our pleasure and the sustenance they give to some of the insects and birds.  Only God could have made something as beautiful as the flowers and butterflies and all the other ingredients of nature.

As we strive to be all that we can be for the Lord, sometimes you may feel a little lost among all the people everywhere.  But with the Spirit living inside you, you should strive to stand out and let our spiritual beauty stand up and make a silent statement about God, like these flowers do among the weeds.  There should be something different about us that others take notice of as we go about our everyday lives.  God has made us beautiful on the inside when He place His spirit within us.  Share that beauty with the world.

I have three beautiful children that I personally think stand out from the crowd.  God feels that way about each of us, we are His children. 

Here are a few close up shots of different parts of this painting.  I hope you enjoy looking at them.

 

                                 

 

                                  

 

 

If you would like to see more of my work please go to my website or my facebook page.  Thanks for looking.

When God Nudges–Don’t Hesitate

 

 

This is an illustration I have wanted to do for several years.  I have started a couple of times and each time I went wrong with it somewhere and just never finished.  Last week I broke out the pencils and was successful with a drawing of my boots.  So I decided to try this again.

It has a special meaning to me.  It’s an illustration of a lesson God walked me through.

I seem to always be thinking, coming up with neat ideas, but up until this lesson I rarely ever acted on any of the ideas I had.  Course, I know that as many ideas as I have, it would be impossible to act on all of them, but this idea was different.

There was much tribulation in my home with my children.  My daughter and I were at odds.  Just so happens I was taking a class at church called “One Month to Live” based on a book written by Kerry and Chris Shook. It was hard to concentrate on the class with things at home like they were.  But this one particular night, we were talking about acting on the things you want to do.  After all what if you were told you only had one month to live?  But I’d always had some excuse for not acting on my ideas, not enough money, not enough time, they would think it was stupid and on and on.

The idea?  Send my daughter roses at school on Valentine’s Day and tell her I love her.  I almost backed out as I was driving home because I was afraid she would be laughed at by her friends when they found out the roses were from her mother, not a boyfriend.  But I did it anyway.  The next day at work I made the call, ordered the flowers and said thank you Lord for this idea and thank you Lord for helping me not to back out.

I received a thank you from my daughter and this story along with it.  At school that day the flowers were to arrive, others were being called to come to the office because they had been sent flowers.  My daughter made the comment to her friend that she wished someone would send her flowers. No one had ever sent her flowers.  Next person called, was my daughter.  I am sure that no one knew how significant that was to me, knowing that had it not been for my Lord, I would have backed out of that idea and completely missed that moment.  It meant so much to me and proved to me just how much He loves me and wants me to be happy.  I think our Father does this to all of us all the time.  He gives us ideas and wants us to follow His lead.  How many opportunities have you missed by not acting on an idea, an idea that God Himself probably placed in your heart and on your mind.

When God nudges, don’t hesitate, He loves you.

The Uniqueness of God

 

 

As I began working on this rose, I knew that my goal was to make it unique somehow.  Which took me to the dictionary to confirm what I already knew about the meaning of the word, “unique”.

I got phrases such as, the only one of it’s kind, special, different from all others.  Of course all these phrases and definitions led me to the conclusion that God is definitely unique.  There are others who have gods that they worship, but there is only One God and He is Unique.

He is unique because He created something from nothing.  No other God has created an earth or a person, a plant or an animal.  Without God Almighty, there would be no other gods for people to worship, for He is the Creator of all things.  He gives us the freedom to choose Him or other things to worship.

He is loving.  He knows that our lives will be full of mistakes, so He gave us a Book and the Holy Spirit to guide us.  Neither of which He holds over our heads to constantly tell us how terrible we are or to threaten to take our heads off if we don’t follow every single word.  But to guide us in love and to show us the need for good and pure things in our lives like, forgiveness for our on sakes.

Think about how unique God’s Word is.  Two people can read the same verse and get two different meanings, two different applications to their individual lives.  Because it is written for us all and we are to work out our on salvation.  We are all at different places in our lives spiritually.

What other God came down from Heaven in human form, died a physical death and rose again, alive.  Only the One and Only, True and Living God could have ever accomplished such a transformation.  That transformation is unique.

How about drug addicts, criminals and others who are in the depths of despair.  God can pull them up out of the pit and change their lives forever.  And from evil, He brings something wonderful out of it all.  Unique.

God was, He is and He will be.  Not another thing or person on this earth can be all of that.  No one can deny, that is uniqueness!

So, I wanted my little flower, even though it seems so insignificant compared to God, to be unique.  Something for your eyes to behold, unlike anything you had ever seen.  Something that would make you stop and wonder what the meaning of it was.  It could say different things to different people.  God takes our lives and makes us beautiful on the inside and it helps us become beautiful on the outside through the helpful and caring deeds we do for others.  The swirly little designs on my flower represent the peaceful, happy inside that glows through the petals to make them even more beautiful than they are already.

                                       

                   

I’d like to be a rose so beautiful and red,

and every day the sun would shine in my flower bed.

I’d like to be a rose that bud’s in the spring,

to stand up and pose for every living thing.

I’d like to be a witness so beautiful and fed,

and every day God’s love would shine from His Word’s I’d read.

I’d like to be an example for God, as the bird is when it sings,

to spread His love and hope and faith for every living thing.

 

And the tears?  They are tears of joy!