Truth

This may remind you of one of those posters you see on the ceiling at your dentist's office. You know the one. Those "reach for the stars" sappy inspirational posters that you see as the chair lowers down and you resign yourself to the (hopefully) capable hands of your dental hygienist for the next thirty minutes of teeth cleaning.

I needed to make this. I was watching Hungry for Change and they were talking about not only changing your diet, but looking in the mirror and saying something like; "I accept myself the way I am right now." I thought I could take it one step further. Let's deepen this a little more.

I will probably always think something about myself isn't right (no matter how much I tell myself the truth that God formed and fashioned me as only a master artist can) and so looking into the mirror and chanting something like that really doesn't do me any good. I pray God changes my heart to match the truth in my brain and I'm sure someday it will click, Lord willing. Until then, and even then I think I will repeat the truth. Jesus loves me and accepts me where I am in this moment. Right now.

Elizabeth Elliot

Reflection

 

This past weekend I had an adventure. I don't get to go on many and I'm not really that adventurous in the first place so this was a treat! I headed up into the mountains of North Carolina to visit Nancy and go through a one day conference she runs called Footprints to the Potter's house. That weekend was such a time of rest. I didn't even know how many burdens I had been carrying until I started simply talking about my life with Nancy.

 The mountains are so beautiful. I looked like a dog in the car, my head going this way and that, trying to take in everything at once. My mouth was open and I'm sure at some point my tongue was hanging out in awe at the landscapes around me.

The sounds of the stream outside my window at night soothed me like no music ever could. I heard God speak more clearly than I had in a very long time. It wasn't that I couldn't hear Him in civilization...it was that I was trying to fill the silence myself. Normally, I would journal or say a prayer and not wait long enough, most of the time, for Him to answer me back. When I went out to the stream to pray and eat lunch I heard Him whisper; "Just let me talk. Don't journal. Don't look up anything in your Bible, yet. Just listen." So I did. He gave me Psalm 91 as my theme for this year to memorize. Funny, He's been showing me a lot of chapters about fear. Maybe He's trying to tell me something. Novel idea...right?? 

Psalm 91

 ¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
   my God, in whom I trust.”

 ³ Surely he will save you
   from the fowler’s snare
   and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
   nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
   nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
   ten thousand at your right hand,
   but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
   and see the punishment of the wicked.
 ⁹ If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
   and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
   no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
   you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
 ¹⁴ “Because he^[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
   I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble,
   I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation.”

These were the other ladies who attended the conference. I was the youngest. I loved being around the other women. I think women my age need to be mentored by older women. I learned so much from them in such a short time. The only one missing from the picture is Sandra who co-ran the conference with Nancy. Sweethearts! There was such a difference in countenance when everyone came back from talking with Jesus. It shouldn't surprise me, but He always seems to. 

It doesn't take much to impress me. I don't really need a lot. Give me the stars, the ocean, the mountains and I'm pleased. I had two out of three. Life was wonderful.

 

Nancy and I on the steps of the church. She is my new surrogate grandmother. We bonded over Newman O's and art. 

I loved exploring the countryside. I found places that people don't get to see out in the suburbs. I automatically wondered about the pioneers who came before us as we drove around the mountains in Nancy's car. It's hard not to, because a lot of the land looks untouched and wild.

 I added a couple of macro shots to show you the beauty I found. Nancy kept saying she wished I was around for spring when everything bloomed. I found enough loveliness in the moss and the dead trees. Like I said it doesn't take much to make me happy when it comes to nature. 

 I love moss and found it everywhere. I even painted it at one point. There must be some sort of hidden meaning that! As I left the mountains I felt better prepared for what is coming. I felt God was giving me a period of rest before my life gets a little more topsy turvy. I feel so grateful to have been able to go. I'm so blessed.

The Artist at Work

 

It's probably the grace and mercy of God, but I was able to hear his soft quiet nudging this morning on the way to church. I was looking at the clouds admiring His workmanship when he let me in on his process. He said; "I shape them with my hands like a potter shapes clay." I thought this morning's display of gorgeousness was enough, but then tonight He really allowed me to see a small fraction more of the beauty he can create.

 

As sunset began, I saw all of these colors emerge after a late summer storm. Pinks, oranges, and purples all began to swirl like the watercolor painting I was working on. Every time I looked out the window I saw majestic cloud formations filled with golden sunlight.

 

Pictures never capture nature the way God intended it to be seen. He wants us to experience, feel, run, jump, roll in His nature playground. Too often I trap myself behind my computer screen and passively choose not to explore...not to learn...not to immerse.

 

If I can capture a half of a half of a half percent of the beauty that God let me see tonight in my art I will be happy.

Glorious.  I can't believe the colors were that vibrant. I can't imagine how Heaven will look, but boy am I even more excited to see it after the presentation I saw tonight.

 

amen. 

Recap!

My extra days!

 

I was so blessed to be able to stay two extra days in my favorite city on earth. The first part of Friday was spent doing a quick load of laundry (lovely) and moving all of my stuff to a taxi that I took with Sharon to a glorious hotel room.

Bye bye hostel!

Let me tell you I became very thankful for a private bathroom. I am definitely not complaining about the community bathroom at the hostel (it was so CLEAN) but being a spoiled American I appreciated the private bathroom even more after that experience.

The elevator doors all had something comical on the inside! 

After we got settled my Hawaiian buddy (Sharon) and I decided to go visit Ground Zero. It was overcast and drizzling.

 The Freedom Tower is halfway built. I thought it was very beautiful and peaceful looking. A very fitting tribute.

 Two beams in the form of a cross that will be placed back in the memorial when it is ready.

I thought this sign was amazing. America is so young so for a church to have witnessed all of these huge events is amazing and sobering.  

 

 

I couldn't take pictures of the next event I went to, but it was amazing. I went to Mako Fujimura's opening of the Four Holy Gospels show at the MOBIA in near Columbus Circle. I even picked up my graduation gift from my parents there, hehe. The amazing gift is a beautiful illuminated four holy gospels bible. I got to see the paintings in their full size at the opening and I really didn't want to leave. Please watch this video as well as go to his website http://www.makotofujimura.com/four-holy-gospels/ and watch that one too! I have a new favorite artist!

After staying for perhaps only an hour at the show, Sharon and I met up with Faith who was also on the project and we headed off to go see a Broadway show. I was so PUMPED! I'll keep it short. I love Sutton Foster and Joel Grey and I got to see them both onstage. I could have left the next morning and been an extremely happy woman!

After the show we got autographs!

 One of the leading ladies and Faith!

This gentleman was actually a good foot and a half taller than us. He just decided to be comical and bend down to our level.

 The next morning I headed off to see if I could get some cheap How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Broadway tickets. Unfortunately, I underestimated the Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) fans. There were already a good forty people in line for maybe ten tickets!! So I decided to walk around the city until my next meeting with one of the project girls. Amber was going to take some senior pictures of me in Central Park. They turned out marvelous. She is so talented. 

I then headed off to my next crazy destination. I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the second time that trip. I had one goal and that was to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit that I had missed on my first visit. It was very creepy, but well done. It's amazing what someone can accomplish with fabric. He even said that he was an artist and that fabric was his medium. 

The line took an hour and a half to get through. I was trapped in between two very dysfunctional families.

After that I headed to the Frick museum. I will definitely be going back to that one. It was gorgeous and had a lot of old master's paintings. I was in art heaven! I had a lovely laid back dinner with Sharon after my museum adventures and we walked slowly back to the hotel. I was trying to savor the city as long as possible. The golden hour in NYC is like nowhere I have ever been. The light is amazing as it bounces off of buildings and on to the street.

The view from my hotel room was so NYC. I loved it! Check out the water towers! 

I had an amazing trip. I hope I can visit or live in New York City someday soon. I already miss it. God showed me so much while I was there. I am still processing a lot of the information. I have a feeling I will be back in the city sooner than I think...I hope!

Art Show and the End

I have been back for a while now. The days after the art show were a frenzy and it was hard to keep up and catalog the beautiful experiences I was having. We were preparing for the warehouse opening up to almost the last minute. There were people there for the community, churches, and one of the other Crusade Tribeca tracks. There was even the same sweet grandmother who we talked to in the park a couple of days earlier. She was there with her grown up daughter to see the portrait that Ziad had done of her and her granddaughters. So sweet. They just keep staring at the picture. I loved seeing the look in their eyes. It felt so wonderful to encourage them and make them feel loved.

 

We went home exhausted, but so excited that we had completed an amazing show and that we had opened the community's eyes to the fact that there is a place in the city where people will love them with Christ's love and be there for them in the midst of hard times.

The next day we cleaned up. It was hard having to watch all of our hard work be taken down, but some of the pieces of art will remain in the warehouse as permanent pieces of art and reminder of the event! That evening we ate at a beautiful restaurant in Battery Park looking straight out at the lovely Lady herself...the Statue of Liberty. It was so hard knowing I would have to say goodbye to my new friends. 18 days is not long enough to really get to know people well, but we bonded quickly and pulled off an amazing amount of work! I feel so blessed that I got to have that experience.

Ziad being silly with his coffee cup!

Leigh Ann and I

I was sad to see it ending, but I was excited for the next two days that I had given myself to experience the city more on my own.