Count Your Blessings

"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap 
nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 
Are you not of more value than they?"           Matthew 6:26 ESV 

When you consider this holiday season with all the hustle and bustle, remember to count what you DO have and not what's missing. Make the most of your time with others–whether family, friends or just acquaintances. Make every minute and day count, as our time on this earth is one of God's blessings to us.

Most important of all is God's Gift to us. This blessing is that He loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to be our advocate and covering for our disobedience and pride from God's perfection. Make sure you know who your Savior is, and that you have the assurance of Heaven when this earthly life is done. Jesus is that Gift.

The Fun of Being a Kid....

I think my yard is the shadiest yard in summer...but that also means it is the most "leafy" in fall. Lots of leaves to fill barrels for the Tuesday pick-up crew.

I miss the old days of the "scritch, scritch, scritch" of the rakes. Now, noisy leaf blowers and lawn mowers and tractors clean up the leaves as fast as they can. No time anymore to enjoy the imagination of childhood. (No more burning of leaves either!)

As kids, we used to make a pile as tall as we could, then and jump in it...or maybe even dive off the the fence into the pile!

We played "House" by building the leaves into piles that represented walls. Even if the walls were only five inches tall, we made doorways and did not "walk through walls".  Then before bathtime, the crumpled up leaves would come out of our shoes and pants cuffs.

Is there time anymore for imagination? For me there is...I keep making up stories in my head. I may not be lying down in a pile of leaves making angels, but I will keep dreaming.

FEBRUARY...a time for L-O-V-E

Valentines and L-O-V-E are what comes to mind when planning a calendar theme for February.  Seems our human lives are centered around L-O-V-E...loved ones, family, romance, love of God...all that's good and lovely in the world...and the unconditional love of a pet!

Rosie & Magee have a special relationship. I have two stories percolating with this lovable girl and her rambunctious pup. One is already in the "dummy stage". The second story's theme will center around Christmas. 

Happy Valentine's Day!!!...get a purrr, a lick or a furry hug!!

 



 

CHRISTMAS...A time for Discovery and Making Memories

Christmas. So much preparation leading up to "the day" and then it's over. I set a goal to make the most of the season. Of course, that comes with the cold days of December, some snow and cold rain and ice. I have found concentrating on the positive keeps a smile on my face and joy in my heart. (Shovel away and hum "Joy to the World?")  ...and Make more Memories!

Besides making oodles of Christmas cookies with the help of Mom's old cookie gun, I have spent the last month making winter/Christmas illustrations of my newest characters, Rosie & Magee, in hopes of discovering inspiration for a Christ-centered story. The picture posted here is pretty self-explanatory. Time again to go up to the attic to get the Christmas decorations. In Rosie's discovery of the box marked "Nativity," she shuffles through the tissue paper and finds Mary, Joseph, shepherds, sheep....BUT the baby Jesus is missing!

How I get from "lost" to "found"  is still processing in my head, but ultimately, I want the reader to know that Jesus never left. He was there all the time. All we have to do is look for Him.  He is the GIFT of the season.  "Seek and you will find."

May you find Jesus Christ this Christmas...May you come to appreciate the FREE GIFT of eternal life God gave us by His sacrifice of coming down in the form of a human, Jesus Christ, and ultimately dying a sinless death, as payment for us. Amazing. Jesus said, "I and the Father are One."

Have a BLESSED CHRISTMAS!!!

Winter is Just Around the Corner!

Time to buckle down and grumble about the coming season, or is it time to anticipate the joys of winter and embrace it? ?? Today is the last day of November. Thanksgiving is over and families are eager to decorate their houses and lawns with all sorts of lights and decor. Even I am starting to get a bit of Christmas spirit as I "embrace" my new characters, Rosie and Magee and think of a new adventure.

Winter is a time for cosy fires, grilled cheese sandwiches and soup, and making hot cocoa, and baking cookies after shoveling or exploring the new fallen snow. Maybe even time for tasting snowflakes and making snow forts and snow angels...or just getting nostalgic about what you used to do as a kid.

May your December be inspired–"embroidered" with love and anticipation as a child. May it be infused with the real reason that we celebrate. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 18:3)

 Search your heart for that childlike awe for our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to earth as a man, to be the ultimate sacrifice for us. Remember He is in charge and is sovereign. He knows the beginning and the end, so rest in that knowledge. 

Make Lemons into Lemonade!

My first "adult" reaction to the First Snow of winter 2016 was, "OH NO, I AM NOT READY FOR WINTER!" 
An artist friend from San Diego, replied in a Facebook post, "Get out and enjoy and make Snow Angels!" So instead, on that Sunday morning, November 20, 2016, I took up my pencil and sketched out my new characters, Rosie & Magee, experiencing their First Snow with their tongues. (Sketch to be colorized and may be used as a promotional postcard)
The magical quiet that comes with snowfall is awe inspiring.  OK...enough of that dreamy drivel...I had to bundle up and clean off the car and get to church. (Oh such a Scrooge!)
My prayer is, "Lord, help me to enjoy and be in awe like a child of this upcoming Christmas season."

Darkness of Night Holds Mysteries and Fright

Here it is October again. I am not a fan of Halloween and all it seems to stand for.  Each year gets creepier and creepier. This year CLOWNS are jumping out of bushes and scaring school kids. There have been some arrests, but even I was "accused" of being a clown when taking a walk in my white hoodie after dark with my flashlight. I thought the initial news of scary clowns was a publicity stunt, but it's not! What next? No clown illustrations here. Just Imogene, who likes to read scary stories late at night.