The Beauty of Holiness....part 5

Beginning with Selah time (part 4 here), the exploration of this theme - The Beauty of Holiness - has entered its midpoint.  We have looked at scriptures describing the beauty of the heavenly realm, we have seen the beauty evident in a fallen creation, we have documented the beauty within ourselves, we have looked at the hope for resurrection beauty coming from seeds of dark, hard places...and we paused to let it all sink in.

Now, we will look at the actual definitions of the words in this phrase from Psalm 29:2:

Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness. 

Worship:  The word translated "worship" here is the Hebrew word "shachah " which literally means
                 to "bow down"  (There are actually at least 7 different words translated as "worship", each

                 indicates a different posture or action.)

To bow our head to worship is the exact opposite of having "a stiff neck" which is always a figure of speech for having the kind of pride that says "I don't need the Lord or His help".  Bowing shows submission to the one bowed to...how are you bowing in your heart, with your head, or with your entire being today?

the Lord:  The unutterable Name of God is translated "the Lord"...I love this thought by Rabbi 

                 Lawrence Kushner and retold on this blog in detail (and it was also referenced in Ann
                 Voskamp's site)...but below I have summarized the main point in the article:

The letters of the Name of God in Hebrew are YOD, HAY, VAV, and HAY. They are frequently mispronounced as “Yahveh.” But in truth they are unutterable. Not because of the holiness they evoke, but because they are all vowels and you cannot pronounce all the vowels at once without risking respiratory injury...This word is the sound of breathing. The holiest Name in the world, the Name of the Creator, is the sound of your own breathing.

Breathing while bowing...remembering He is the source of all life, of this life that I am now living...even if I don't understand or don't like aspects of it.  Ask: "Are my breaths deep and rhythmic, indicating peace and an attitude of patient waiting or calm receiving?" or "Are my breaths shallow and rapid, indicating anxiety or fear or worry or an uncertainty of this relationship between Creator and the created?"

Today I am checking myself...and you? 

(More definitions next week!)









Joining with Tiffini at Word Women Wednesdays
and
Emily at Imperfect Prose

1000 gifts and then some...

Continuing the count - at least the written count (#146- #162)

and remembering gifts given through out time:

this crazy Texas weather!  Cold in the middle of May!

another birthday gathering

playing in the fountains at the park, even in the cool temperatures

tweener girls, giggling and delighting in each others' joy

the gift that kept on giving (thanks Jordan)

Reminding me of the Gift that keeps on giving!

the robot kit! (thanks Sophia) just what she wanted!

 powerball maker - another gift in the science category (thanks Mimi and Bennie)

and all the girls gave a gift that was exactly keeping with dear daughter's personality and likes...crafting, science, Claire's, and collections - *sigh* - wonderful!

cupcake cakes from Wal-Mart - birthday cake ice cream! - hoops and yo-yo balloons and cards - conversation with adults! - for school today, doing "science" and "home-ec" as an opportunity (excuse) to continue working with all the gifts! - life-group with friends - memorizing scripture together (so fun!) leading to - in depth discussions at home with the Word open! -

enjoying the life He gave us to live!

Joining other grateful and gracious souls at Ann's:

 

1000 gifts and then some...

Continuing the count - at least the written count (#139- #145) -

and remembering gifts given through out time:

sharing with my mother over the miles between us
(treasuring the time now and recognizing the measure is becoming smaller)

Getting taken out to eat - TWICE!

Going to the matinee
("Thor" is great - action for the guys with just the right amount of romance for us girls!)

Tweener recognizing the honor and power of courtship

A generous husband
(in patience, time, finances, overlooking my imperfections, honoring me, blessing me)

Finding books at the bookfair that have captured the entire family's imagination!  As powerful as the Chronicles of Narnia

check them out here:  kingdomseries.com

children at the bookfair with swords slung over their backs...openly declaring their desire to be "Knights of the Code"

Joining other grateful and gracious souls at Ann's:
 

Sneak Peak Friday...Write the Vision!

I have been busy this week plunging into creating the website for the vision...

the above is a little "Sneak Peek" covering what the future holds!

and working on the technique tutorial...

we went to our area's homeschool bookfair - that was totally fun and exhausting...

Linking with other creatives at Studio JRU

The Beauty of Holiness....part 4

Isn't it interesting that when you are being led of the Lord, He puts the same topic before you often and in many sweet ways?  This past week was like that...and this week's post is a collection of what has come across my path as I visit friends on the internet!  And as I was preparing this, the Spirit whispered "I just want people to take a Selah moment; to pause and think about this; to soak in My ideas of beauty"...

If you are short on time, I highly recommend to read number 1 and number 3!

1.  First up, from Jen Price of I Believe In Love...her words, under her photo, in four lines say the Beauty post of last week...(she gave me permission to re-post this - so full of grace)...

dream a little dream

cast aside fear

plant a seed

watch it grow

2.  Next up:
Cloverton's "Take Me Into Beautiful" song...found through my friend Paulette Insall's sharing it on her blog...she has just launched a new creative class titled "Divine Romance" - teaching how to recognize the connection to the Creator when creating!

3.  If you read anything this week...read Joybird's post about her post-Lenten thoughts and God's ways being wrought in her heart...someone in the midst of His hand molding the Beauty of Holiness....

4.  And finally a great video whose title captured me:

The Beauty of Different: Is Everyone REALLY Beautiful?

Linking with Tiffini at the House of Belonging

and

Linking with Emily and other imperfects at Imperfect Prose

1000 gifts and then some...

Continuing the count - at least the written count (#128- #138) -

and remembering gifts given through out time:

sweet daughter's 10th birthday!

family togetherness at our favorite birthday restaurant

working with family to clean up the yard area behind the mailbox -

(it looks so good when we come up the drive way now)

working hard and then going into town to get shaved ice

(almost 100 degrees on the last day of April!)

THEN

turning the heater on in May!

(loving this crazy Texas weather!)

  

enough rain to end the burn bans in the county

(maybe now we can get our pile of dead branches which has grown to the size of a small house!)

the royal wedding

clinging to God's hand through a rough patch last week

dear husband who listened as tears spilled...

gaining spirit strength as I
connect to Him in prayer

winding yarn balls

Joining other grateful and gracious souls at Ann's:

 

Sneak Peek Friday - Making art paper

This week has been all about children and creativity and lots of fun...

I learned a lot about making a video tutorial and operating the movie maker software on 

this wonderful computer my guy gave me a while back...

Shaving cream and liquid food coloring

art paper tutorial with Miss A...

Tuesday we made crosses at a homeschool function.  

The children were really focused, letting the Holy Spirit speak to them...

I loved the combination of the natural elements and the scrap fibers..

Thursday was her B.I.G. 10 birthday!!!  

I can't believe it!

She says she is "0-teen"!

We went to Don Pablo's for her birthday supper - 

she had a chocolate volcano AND sopapillas for dessert!

She wanted to go hang out with a group of older ladies and learn smocking yesterday...

so we had "Learning Heritage Sewing Arts" for school time (smiles)...

They absolutely loved having a young one...they are all amazed at her heart for hand work...

(You know that means that I am learning to smock...right?)

My project

Next week will be focused again on painting "eternal words..."

till then -

Click here to join other creatives at Studio JRU's Sneak Peek Friday...

The Beauty of Holiness - Part 3

Continuing the series...

Part 1 here
Part 2 here

I highly encourage you to read Part 1 before continuing through - Part 2 was just a response of mine during a time of stress, not necessary for the thread to be continuous in your heart and mind!

I have been reading a book about making crosses (click here to go to the title on Amazon.)  I love the idea of the empty cross - did you know Christianity is the only religion on earth where our Founder is still alive?!?!?!  I have made crosses, bought crosses, I have a collection of crosses...I love this blog post about crosses in her home.  Click on this post to find an amazing (and alarming!) post about the changing definition of what the cross means "a-cross" the globe...

It has been a month since I posted on "The Beauty of Holiness"...and it was as I was contemplating the cross I had made during Holy Week - in response to the book and my own liturgical roots...that I heard the familiar voice of the Holy Spirit telling me the significance of the piece...this cross is fashioned from a plant's flower stalk and seed pods that grow wild on our land...the common name is a "Century Plant"...it is a succulent that does well in our area of Texas - the border of prairie and desert... I found the pods appealing,

I could see how to remove some of the small branches that once held blossoms and now spent pods to form the cross with little to no manipulation.

Have you ever felt that you have blossomed and now the beauty is all spent?  

The Spirit began parading the images of all the seeds I had ever seen before "the eyes of my spirit".
All smaller than the blossom...dark...hard...
Do you feel "smaller" than before?  Has what you held dear been removed from you?  Are there dark and hard constraints around what you once believed?  Or perhaps you have only known darkness and hardness around the real you? Have dreams fallen to the ground?  Is the life you thought Jesus promised only a shadow now? 

Only hope can see the life waiting to emerge inside a small seed. 
Is there a shred of hope that the promise of God can still come to pass in your life?  Or is even that gone?

For newness to emerge, the dark shell must split apart.
A breaking, more pain in the midst of darkness and hardness?

Sometimes a soaking in water is used to soften the outer shell first, helping the growing life within to push through that which constrains...
Has the water of the Word been soaking around you?  
Is there a whisper of life unfolding deep within?

But still, for this life to emerge healthy, the seed always must be planted - into a dark womb of soil and moisture...where the outer shell dissolves and the plant pushes towards the light...how does this young life always know which way is up and out?
Is this new life, your new dream growing, pushing against the constraints encompassing it?  Is there discomfort, confusion, desire to be out of the seed stage and emerging with leaves and stems...but don't be in a hurry, the continued womb of development is an important part of a strong plant...

And such is the path of life lived in Resurrection power!

Now, if there are ideas that were given as you read, make sure you take a moment to write them, record what the dark outer shell is for you, the constraints that the new life is pushing against, what is the name of this new life for you, etc...reflect on them, and let the Lord show His purpose if you are in a "seed-time"... 


Linking up with Emily and other imperfects at Imperfect Prose 
and Tiffini at Word Women Wednesday
and linking up with Ann at walk with him wednesdays

1000 gifts and then some...

Continuing the count - at least the written count (#111- #127) -

and remembering gifts given through out time:
(Just one picture today - but let the Lord fill your senses up!)

Rolling thunder and sheet lightning on an April night

The wind blowing so hard that it took out our electricity for several hours, and many blinks after that...resulting in keeping battery powered lights close at hand in anticipation of adventures in the dark!

Morning coffee, made with love

Songs of praise, voices raised together

 Remembering His sacrifice

Empty seed pods - metaphor for empty tombs

Sunrise on the anniversary of Resurrection

Friends

Cheese cake

Easter Egg Hunts - still fun for young and old alike

The trampoline covered in expoded paper confetti color

Fabric, needles and thread

Quiet moments

Personal devotions

Anointing Oil and Prayer

An empty cross

Reading the lists of thankfulness of others,
and being reminded of MORE of the blessings in my life

Joining other grateful and gracious souls at Ann's:

 

Sneak Peek Friday - Agnus Dei

 

Here is what I have been working on this week...

inspired by my liturgical roots and a picture I saw several years ago...

 My heart returns to the rhythms of the church year during Lent (and Advent!)  

Sometimes I miss the marking of theological time that way, 

but then again, 

I can include those patterns, those rhythms, at home..

where this life I live in the body is lived, 

where Christ is living in me and, 

prayerfully,

through me...

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.  Galatians 2:20

Read this post for a beautiful Biblical Good Friday devotion...by artist Geri Centonze.








 
Looking forward to seeing what all my friends at Studio JRU
are creating and contemplating during this Holy Week
and this particular Good Friday...

The days of Lent...

The days of Lent...

days of examining our hearts...

days of sacrificing some small, ordinary part of our lives,

so that we can more fully participate in His sacrifice,

so that we can die to self and be raised up to live for Him...

the days of Lent remind us that it isn't just for 40 days that we are to live this way...

He meant it to be a way of life every day...

And isn't this the message of Lent? 

Living in reality, in the reality of our failures, our fears, our frailty?  

And using these to come again and again to Him to cry "I need You, please forgive me!"  

I have loved reading other's Lenten journals, tho'

I have not been walking any particular Lenten journey myself this year...

just simply trying to live in  the path He has put before me...

a place at His side...

to learn to "celebrate" the way He defines it... 

 

This morning, I found His surprise for me,

His gift assuring me that I am still journeying by His side...

His sign...the sign of the cross...and this one is crowned...

"And where did you find such a treasure," you may ask?

In the brown and dirt and grime and filth of life in this world...

Isn't this where we can always find Him?

The water reservoir of our coffee maker!

Linking up with Tiffini at Word Women Wednesday 

and Emily at Imperfect Prose on Thursday

1000 gifts and then some...

Continuing the count - at least the written count (#101- #110) - 

and remembering gifts given through out time:

new tennis shoes with curly laces

cardboard boxes
(do you KNOW everything I can do with a cardboard box? she says excitedly)

God-given imagination!

hair straightened

a friend calling and sharing her great news of being GIVEN an equine therapy business and wanting sweet tweener to come take horse back riding lessons!
(I've been WANTING to learn how to ride a horse! she declared.)
(Yes!  God knew it and He is making it happen at just the right time!)

lunch at school with a public school friend,
and meeting all of her friend's friends!

God's blessings on her even when she is R.E.A.L.L.Y. grounded
(the shoes were 1. on clearance; 2. the brand we had been looking for all week; 3. had the new "fitness heel"; 4. and gel in the bottom!!! He gave her EXACTLY what she wanted!)

Two sleepover birthday parties (but on the same night!)



watching her live in joy

learning, always learning

Joining other grateful and gracious souls at Ann's:

 

Sneak Peek Friday - Whatever is...

Remember this from last week?

  I am progressing along with it..

I just need to add some collage elements on the left side and maybe stamp 

some flowers on the right side.

I think I will leave the word blocks more white, and not do my usual colorwash over them.

I also have been really pressing in to the Lord for clarity on what I wrote about here...and He has placed a "picture" of the path right on my lap - my laptop that is!  Finally I can "see" more clearly...it means much work on my part, but renewed energy to the task (I have recently been asking Him, "Am I a writer or an artist?" - and His reply has been "Yes!")  I guess I already knew that...
but His "yes" pushed me through some thinking that had been blocking my path...

so - I am also requesting and coveting prayers from those who read here...

and if you would like to be a part of a "feedback group" to review what I am writing, would you mind putting your email address in the "subscribe" box?  I need to test that feature : )  And, I know it will be June before I have something complete enough for review.......

Also, I am in the process of making another tutorial (!) for the pieces with just one word on them...

I am thinking of calling those pieces "Eternal Words"...what do you think?  But it will definitely be finished after Easter (or Resurrection Sunday!)

Joining with other creatives at Studio JRU...

How to REALLY receive a gift...

Our sweet tweener received an early birthday present in the mail this week, and while I can safely say that I do not know where this total delight and savoring of every aspect of the event was learned from (I do believe it is from the Holy Spirit, because even though she doesn't quite recognize how she flows with Him, she TRULY does!), I also DO know I learned much as she enjoyed the treasure:

1.  Pick up the package, hold it close to your heart, and twirl around the kitchen a few times...

2.  Kiss the writing in the "From" corner...

3.  Delicately touch your fingertips - with wonder - over the "Addressed to" writing...

4.  Run to where ever there is another human being in the house so that they can document every move and share in the awe and excitement of the package (aren't gifts even better when someone can share the joy with you?)

5.  Sit on the bed together and babble about "Isn't it nice, I got a package in the mail...!"

6.  Carefully open the superlarge envelope (which is the package) and slide out any card or letter that is inside, all the time making sure that you really don't see what the gift is quite yet...

7.  Kiss the card and/or letter...

8. Ask that person to read the card/letter to you as you dreamily look in the distance, letting the feelings of belonging and specialness wash over you as that person read the words of love meant to be lavished over and through you...

9.  Peek inside the package, and if the present isn't wrapped, make sure it is face down or that you look away as you draw it out of its container...

and I must mention here that all the while you might be smiling, or at least the corners of your mouth turned up, and that there are a million stars in your eyes sparkling to mirror the beaming joy of your soul...


10.  Carefully draw out the gift...

11.  Look at the person with you and ask if they are ready for the reveal, when they nod acknowledgement, take a gentle breath, hold it, and...

12.  Turn the gift over!

13.  Gasp with the beauty of it!

14.  Babble about every detail to the person you are with...let the words of awe tumble over each other as you both just pour out all sorts of comments and blessings on the one who gave it...

15.  Hug the gift to your heart as you close your eyes and smile...

16.  Prominently display it and share it with everyone who comes by...

And THAT is how you REALLY receive a gift!


and I imagine to myself, how receiving the gift of Christ the first time, and every day might look if I used her example....

Linking up with Tiffini at:

The House of Belonging

Linking up with Emily at:

1000 gifts and then some...good links to come back to

Continuing the count - at least the written count (#93- #10) - 

and remembering gifts given through out time:

A weekend of rest...

Having time to get inspired online by visiting the blogs featured
and meeting many new creative people here - (at (in)courage)!



Good verses applied to creativity and offering ourselves to God and others here
Not to us, LORD, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness. 
Psalm 115:1 

"How to paint a bird's nest" tutorial here and here

Home made ideas for Mother's Day and Father's Day here  

Really good recipes here

A great acrostic for the word "creative" here as well as another verse illustrated so beautifully...

'The earth is wrapped in darkness...but... 
God's glory rises on you.' 

Isaiah 60:2-5


Field trip to the new Legoland Discovery Center, leaving in a few minutes!
 

Joining other grateful and gracious souls at Ann's:

 

Sneak Peek Friday -Three eternal words of inspiration

click this button to find other great sneak peeks - this week on (in)courage!

I love seeing what my "Friday Friends" have been up to each week!  I get so inspired, and get introduced to new art and artists - new inspirations to dance in my head all weekend long, wondering which thread the Lord will grab and pull and tell me "Let's play together"!

This week has been about playing with a new color combination that is an intercessory friend's favorite, and creating a distressed type look with paints in that color...here is the piece I did for her with her "word of the year"...

  
She loved it!


And I did too - Holy Spirit inspiration does cause that!

As I made this, I could "see" the three eternal words,
Faith,
Hope,
Love
on canvases with the same technique...


and that has been my week!

As I was working, I was meditating on how these three words are prevalent even in non-Christian sectors of society...the need for "Faith", "Hope", and "Love" a beacon in all people's hearts, their invitation to the Creator of words -Who is the Source of the heart condition described - inherently imbedded!  They truly are eternal words!


I think it is finished now 
(after multiple "step back and let's see how it looks now)

Close up view...

On the work table..

(The lights in the studio have a yellowish cast; I was photographing this after dark!
I just couldn't edit it enough...if you see a yellow cast, just think white!)

I also started a companion to my prayer pieces...this one will be based on Philippians 4:8...

I was working on publishing a tutorial for these "Prayer Pieces" this week, too,
and you can find it here.  (Below is what we make in the tutorial):

Thanks for coming by and visiting me! Have a very blessed week!
 

How to Hold Your Heart Open When It Seems You Can't....

Last Wednesday I posted about tragedy, about crisis, about things that are so large, that they are hard to process/comprehend/hold-in-our-hearts-to-pray-about...

I talked about my emotional numbness, about the psychological disconnect that occurred during 9/11 and the recent Japanese tragedy...

We were never meant to face such challenges...we were made completely in God's image, and placed in a perfect world...we were not designed to be able to handle tragedy...

If we weren't designed to handle crisis, then how is it that our minds can become numb, that our minds can "dis-connect" or "dissociate" as a temporary survival technique?

If we weren't designed to withstand such blows...then how is it that we can function at all in the face of the multitudes of painful experiences that happens in this fallen world?   It is a miracle...

We ARE made in God's image...intellectually, emotionally, volitionally, having a spirit that seeks to re-connect with its Source...God doesn't need to "numb out", "disconnect", or "dissociate" when it comes to the things that affect our lives (and since His Presence is always with us; He is affected, too), but instead He provides what we need the most - a path back to unhindered fellowship with Him...

I talked about the nebulous "it" that is the source of my distress, more clearly defining the overwhelm, and in the naming, breaking the tragedy into - perhaps? - more manageable pieces...

I was processing, holding the people in my heart and as I did the time turned into a sort of intercessory prayer as I touched and held and came close to the burden that I now know the Lord had placed in my heart...wait a minute, when I numb out, disconnect, and dissociate from tragedy, is it true that I am also doing the same thing to the burden the Lord wants to share with me, and that I am even  dis-connecting from Him?! 

And at that time of coming closer I didn't remember that one of the names of the Lord is Jehovah-Jireh - the Lord our Providor...(and why would I?  But this is the key to holding my heart open)...

The Lord our Providor - this is how I have learned to interpret the Hebrew for years...but I have been reading "Trail to the Tree" from A Holy Experience, too, and in Day 2 we are reading the account of Abraham offering Isaac to the Lord, and in The Message Bible,  the verse reads "Abraham said, "Son, God will see to it that there is a sheep for the burnt offering.  And they kept walking together"...and verse 14 reads "Abraham named that place God-Yireh (God sees to it).  That's where we get the saying "On the mountain of God, He sees to it"..."

And her quick prayer is written "Father, You see to it, whatever "it" is."

And I am struck still...all the "it's" of my processing last week - He sees to them...He sees "it"...He sees each of pieces I need to process...and He has what I need to manage the tragedy...

I need to take off my fig leaves of numbness, diconnectedness, and dissociation; I need to not even try to sew a few of them together...but call out to Him, in my nakedness of questions and confusion and overwhelm; fear and distress...and cling to Him, His Presence...

Tragedy is an invitation to draw closer to Him and to keep my heart open to the fullness of His provision and to declare that "God will see to it"...and keep walking together...with Him.


Linking up with Emily and other imperfects at Imperfect Prose

A link for your consideration:

A book that looks at the increasing "natural" disasters in the world and places them in the context of what the Bible says... God is still in control!
Description: 92 pages - available here
Find out how God speaks through natural catastrophes.

A book that so poetically illustrates the emotion of God, and our part in joining Him in intercessory prayer...

Re-printed under the title:  Hearts Attuned to God
Available here:  canaaninthedesert.com