A not quite to scale graph type sketch of the truth, a poem, and more.

Today I finished reading the New Testament. This is a task that proves in and of itself the power of the Holy Spirit. I am a working Mama who is cranky in the morning. It has to be due to supernatural strength and not my own that I have been able to get up at 5am to have time to read day after day. Tomorrow I will get my cranky butt out of bed again and somehow as I read and pray I will come closer to being the woman I am designed to be. 

Anyway, I finished it today and happened to reach the end of a journal at the same time. So what was the overall message I received on the end of this journey? 

This...

I have the courage to write these words. The courage to share my terrible handwriting with you. The courage to face whatever God sends my way. The courage to share His truth. The courage to share this sketch with you.

I made this a year or so ago and have been wanting to share it but did not know how nor did I have the courage to for some reason. It is not to scale and could be prettier. (Maybe I'll work on that.) The point is, it needs to be shared because it shows what is more important than anything. It shows that your life, right now, being kind of hungry or slightly too hot; worried about money or a relationship; battling sickness or missing someone you will never see again; whatever your hardship no matter how hard it is, it is fleeting. On the same not no matter how good life is, it too is fleeting. How you spend this fleeting life matters. Jesus is the only one who can save you. He already did. He is the only one who can restore you and give you an eternity of real life the way it is meant to be lived. Loving Jesus and courageously showing others His love is all that matters. 

This is obviously only part of the conversation. If you have questions, great! Ask away because I have questions too and maybe we can find answers together. 

I'll get off my soap box now and leave you with a poem by Nelle D. Bradley. It says how I want to live my life. I hope you join me.

Hold high the torch of beauty, truth, and love!

You did not light its glow-

'Twas given you by other hands, you know.

'Tis yours to keep it burning bright,

Yours to pass on when you no more need light;

For there are other feet that we must guide;

And other forms go marching by our side;

Their eyes are watching every tear and smile,

And efforts which we think are not worthwhile,

Are sometimes just the very helps they need,

Actions to which their souls would give most heed;

so that in turn they'll hold it high, and say, 

"I watched someone else carry it this way."

If brighter paths should beckon you to choose,

Would your small gain compare with all you'd lose?

Hold high the torch of beauty, truth, and love! 

You did not light its glow-

'Twas given you by other hands, you know.

I think it started down its pathway bright,

The day our Maker said: "Let there be light."

And He once said, who hung on Calvary's tree-

"Ye are the light of the world." Go! ... Shine for me.

What inspires me may inspire you: Andrew

This is Andrew (the one with the beard). He is my friend. He is my husband.

Maybe he does not directly inspire my art very often but I cannot do what I do without him. He encourages me and keeps me going. Too many times I have asked him for his opinion on color choice or if something was cute enough? He has no idea on such matters but he understands his input is important to me so he takes the question seriously.  

A little while back I asked Andrew what his favorite piece I have made is. He bought two paintings from me when we first started dating. This one is still his favorite.

I imagine it must be challenging be married to an artsy type. My ideas often make no sense. I have a hard time just watching TV and doing nothing. There is always a mess.  I think there is at least a little selfishness needed to create. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We just need to recognize this as artists and remember to thank those supporting us.

Thank you Andrew. I love you even if you did almost wipe your barbaric hands on one of my just finished fancy tea towels that one time and you love me even if I have almost accidentally stabbed you with a needle a few times. Just so you know, I also may have gotten colored pencil shavings in our bed once or twice. I guess it’s all part of the creative process.

Happy four years ago we got married day!

P.S. The two embroidery details are pieces on my White Bear inspired by Andrew. He is a fan of breakfast and books.

The Girl in the Lane Shop

What inspires me may inspire you: my moms.

I grew up watching my mom's hands. They were always at work. Every time she sewed, crocheted, or quilted I wanted to know how I could get my hands to make what she could make. 

 She gave me a yellow lunch box full of the bits and pieces of embroidery floss from her finished cross stitch patterns. I gave her many many knots and my frustrations. I still have and use the old lunch box of thread but I've figured out how to untangle my own knots...most of the time. 

Thank you Mom. You have made me who I am.

Jane, my mother-in-law. She sews, quilts, and the like. She gives me supplies, advice, encouragement, babysitting, and a listening ear. 

Thanks Bammy.

"Why the buffalo?" you ask.

 For one thing, the buffalo is my mom's favorite animal. Also, even though neither my mom nor mother-in-law live out west, both of their hearts reside on some distant open prairie. Mine does too.

My favorite quotes from these women:

"You kiss boys you have to buy cribs." -Mom

"You're just this side of crazy aren't you Andrea." -Jane

Truth.

Happy Mother's Day to all.

Grey and Lavender Buffalo for sale here.

The Girl in the Lane Shop

My Easter Post

    I had no idea what to write about for Easter. Here I am trying to be free and honest about my art, faith, and life and Easter totally stumped me. I haven't even been looking forward to Easter this year. No matter how much I tried, the plastic eggs and smiling bunnies were not the motivation I needed to fully celebrate the resurrection of my Savior. 

    I have been in a spiritual funk. It happens. The husband and I have been busy with boring grownup stuff which seems really important but actually isn't. I really want to do God's will with this and every situation. I have been trying to listen. It seemed like the more direction I wanted the more silence I felt. I wanted so badly to do God's will that I was starting to get scared about makingwrong decisions. I didn't even know what project to start next and was anxious about starting the wrong thing.

    With the help of Watchman Nee's The Normal Christian Life, the thought occurred to me that maybe there was something I was still holding on to and that is why I was hearing silence. Maybe there was still something I wasn't willing to let God handle so I wasn't getting the direction I was craving. This began my asking for more direction and the racking of my brain trying to figure out what the something was. I didn't know what to write on this blog so I was willing to never write on here again. Job, money, whatever, I was willing to hand it over to Him but the more I was willing to hand over the more I realized my motivation was out of fear of not doing His will instead of a desire to do His will. 

Fear is what I was holding on to. 

    God asks nothing of me. Jesus's death was enough to meet all requirements. All He wants is my willing heart. He knows I am going to mess up. He can handle it. Jesus didn't rise from the grave to give me a new life full of fear and burden. He gave me a life of freedom, hope, and love. If I bring Him my willing heart without worry, His will will be done. 

Spiritual funks happen. The important thing to remember is they bring growth. 

Happy Easter to all!

The Girl in the Lane shop

Wordless Wednesday

The Girl in the Lane Shop

Spring busy

Spring's first weekend.

 We made butterflies.

 Color coffee filters with marker and spray with water so the colors run. Then clip with a clothes pin. They are so pretty as they flutter in the warm breeze.

Rocking.

Rolling.

ZOO!

Not real.

Also not real.

Real.

Not real but really funny. 

Picture taken .34211 seconds before he fell off a manatee. He's fine by the way.

Of course no spring weekend is complete without finding some flowers.

Happy Spring everyone!

The Girl in the Lane Shop

Mother-daughter handkerchief

Mother-daughter handkerchief

I guess it is a little early to think about Mother's Day but that is what I had in mind as I sewed this sweet scene.

Every Mama could use a pretty little hankie. 

Well now that I think about it, every daughter could use one too.

The Girl in the Lane Shop

What inspires me may inspire you: Father

By far the greatest inspiration for anything and everything I do is God. Because I believe he sent his son to save me I get to be his child. I get to call him Father.

The fact that I am a visual person is no surprise. I became a Christian as a younge girl. As far back as I can remember, one of the ways I hear the Holy Spirit is through images. I will have an image in my brain and I have to make it. It sits in my brain very clearly until I work with my hands to give the image life.

Name Above All Names

 I know it is God's direction not because I want it to be but more often because I don't want it to be. Not always but often the image that shows itself in my brain is not one I want to make. It is challenging in some way or another. I might think it is artistically beyond my skills, it isn't the medium I want to work with, or it just isn't what I want to make. I remember in high school I painted an image of Jesus's feet. Feet are kind of ugly. I didn't want to paint feet but I did because I choose to believe and trust. I chose to obey. When I obey, I grow. My skills improve or I find more confidence in the skills already there. Sometimes the art sells (the feet did by the way) and sometimes it doesn't because that wasn't his point in having me make it. I always learn some lesson.  

When an image shows up in my brain it is always very clear. Sometimes is grows but it is always very clear. Name Above All Names was always clear as it grew and as it grew, I did not want to make it. It is scary to be this honest. I don't want to be. It seemed too hard but mostly I knew the making of this would push me to be open about my faith in new ways. I knew I had to tell the story of how God put this picture in my brain because really he made it. I didn't. 

It is scary to be this honest because if you haven't experienced something similar, it sounds a bit crazy or at least foolish. I guess I am mostly in a place where I don't care if it does come across as crazy because I know it is true. I cannot prove anything. I can only tell my story. I am not in other artists' brains but I would imagine any creative person Christian or not has experienced a strong drive to make whatever it is they are thinking of. I have no doubt God works in every one of us. Whether we choose to recognize it as God is up to us. 

I also know there are things I come up with on my own just as any artist does. Often these ideas don't work out but that isn't really the difference because sometimes they do. It isn't that my ideas are bad. God has given me my own creativity and free will, gifts I am very grateful for. It isn't always a big bold statement piece that shows up in my brain from God either. Right as I type this I am eager for the time to start a very simple project he has given me. The ideas I come up with can fade, be forgotten, or just weren't that great to begin with but what comes from the Holy Spirit must be done. What comes from him stands out because he is trying to tell me something. 

I asked many of my friends, "What name do you do you say when you pray?" They wrote their answer on a little colored paper of their choice. Many needed to write down a few names.  I also added many of the names for God and Jesus found in the Bible along with the names for God and Jesus in other languages. I used the papers to make his face, well a face that can be easily recognize as Jesus. I have no idea what he looks like but someday I will.

It reflects how different we all are. We are all found in different ways and we all reach out in different ways but he loves all which makes us all one.

The black paint represents sin. It cannot reach him. Grace turns dark to light.

Thank you to all who helped me out. 

The Girl in the Lane Shop

My Never-ending Sewing Project

The day Avia turned 5 months old three things happened. She ate her first "solid" food, she was dedicated which means I dedicated my life to help her get to know Jesus, and she met her best friend.

 Baby Ella

She was a gift from my sister and instantly Avia loved this bear. 

They have been inseparable ever since. 

Every six months or so Baby Ella needs a makeover. 

There is hardly any of the original dress showing anymore.  I don't know how many layers upon layers of patches there are but each one is carefully selected and sewn on with love.

My most important critic is pleased with my work.

Edit: 3/20/14 

I totally forgot to put this sketch I did years ago on here. Oops. Better late then never I guess. 

The Girl in the Lane Shop