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Enjoy!

"13Loves" Paintings

Hi! 13Loves would like to meet you.

[Meet #1.]

[Meet #2.]

[Meet #3.]

Ok, glad we are best friends now!

Check the 13Loves Page for more pictures!

GREAT EXCITING NEWS!!!!

Right now, I am more excited than when I was eating my Happiness cupcakes. And that reached a new level of excitement for me.

I hope you can feel the level of my excitement now. So here's the EXCITING news! I have a big, new series coming up. But this is more than just a series. This is going to be MY ART. Most artists, have their "style" or their "theme" for the majority of their pieces. Heather has found hers. And I am going to make a billion of them. All different. Any one can customize it to their own liking. Yay!

Name: 13Loves. (The 13 verses of 1 Corinthians.)

Here's a sneak peek!

*Note: Hopefully I will be getting a much better camera soon. Details will look so much better :)

While we talk, people die.

My previous post still pulls at my heart to this day. I've had time to pray about it and wait for the Lord to reveal what he wanted to reveal to me. It has taken fasting and raw conviction from the Holy Spirit to get to this point, and yet I still feel like I need to hear more.

Isaiah 58 makes some audacious promises.

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: 

to loose the chains of injustice 

and untie the cords of the yoke, 

to set the oppressed free 

and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry 

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— 

when you see the naked, to clothe him, 

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, 

and your healing will quickly appear; 

then your righteousness will go before you, 

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard …

If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry 

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, 

then your light will rise in the darkness, 

and your night will become like the noonday."

We should never let our actions go

without our WORDS pointing to the cross.

The scripture makes it clear

that because you "feed" a person's body,

you open up the opportunity to feed their soul.

What justice is served if we temporarily serve

the situations of individuals yet neglect their souls?

That is the ultimate purpose of my convictions I have been having: not to just help others have the physical possessions that I have, but to see and feel the love of Jesus through a mere disciple.

My audacity begins here:

I can no longer read the Bible and come to the conclusion that health and my own well being is more important than the souls that are lost, that I am called to be a Godly light drawing in the lost. I am using discernment through this all, and I know the Lord is calling me to a place that I should be fearful of...and yet I am not. "and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard."

I will end on words from the bold Mumford and Sons, gotta love them: "In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life."

Levites.

Suddenly feeling like a Levite.

Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. "Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?" He answered, "What's written in God's Law? How do you interpret it?" He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself." "Good answer!" said Jesus. "Do it and you'll live." Looking for a loophole, he asked, "And just how would you define 'neighbor'?" Jesus answered by telling a story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.

"A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I'll pay you on my way back.'

"What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?" "The one who treated him kindly," the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, "Go and do the same."

I am feeling so convicted right now. I was driving to church tonight, and I saw an older woman walking on the side of the road with her thumb out, needing a ride. My heart said "Help her." but my mind convinced of me driving past her with all the fear and situations that I am always told will happen. And now I am wrestling myself with my choice of driving past her, feeling like a Levite. My heart breaks for her and people like her who have no choice but to walk in the Texas heat while I am driving in my air-conditioned, mess-of-a car that has survived several fights with other cars. I feel blessed, yet broken.

I feel torn between being a Levite or a Samaritan. Levites, easily compared to the Christians of today, are both groups who are stuck in the safe realm of religion. I mentioned my story today to someone at my church and they told me, "Heather, better safe than sorry!" Is it really better to be safe than sorry? To leave the poor, helpless, stranded people like the Levite did? Wasn't the point of this parable to teach us to be like the good Samaritan? I'm pretty sure this is the story that started the W.W.J.D fad. Yes, the Lord has given us beautiful spiritual gifts and our precious breaths for a reason, but if I am called to step out of a safe-zone to pursue the divine will of my God and do not listen, then my human desires and fears are not following in servanthood and discipleship.

Why are missionaries the only ones who get the right to risk their lives in other, remote countries for the glory of the Lord? Aren't we all supposed to be radical missionaries at the exact location that God has us at this very moment in our lives? It just doesn't seem fair to me that I am overwhelmed with fear of taking a risk of helping someone. If I do not help those in need, who will?

Christians: please stop being scared. I am so sure of the power of our Lord to guide and protect us that we shouldn't be scared of taking risks. We can NOT become content with being safe. The Church has gotten so comfortable in following the man-made rules of religion that comfort has taken over conviction. If we can't take risks in our community, where we will get the strength to do so in places much worse? Alright "Levites", you can check off your list donating canned foods and giving money to the Lottie Moon offering. Risky, I know, some Christians might even dare say...radical. Y'all must be reading some David Platt.

"If I lose my life, don't I gain everything?"

TOMS Shoes featured me!

WOW! I am shocked right now, but here it goes: TOMS Shoes website featured my painting. Here is a screen shot of it. Almost 2,000 people "liked" it on the website! BLESSED!

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:40-42

In His service, & for His glory.

Chara Silent Auction: SOLD!

[The Red Tree: SOLD]

[Spread Love, Spread Joy: SOLD]

This past weekend was the 2nd year in a row for me to be asked to put my art in a silent auction for dance team in College Station, TX. My best friend from high school is on a Christian dance team called Chara (Greek for JOY!) and they hold a silent auction to raise money every spring show. Good news! Both of my paintings sold! But I did not get to see who bought them or how much the final selling price was. However, I was just extremely thankful they sold! Someone somewhere is hopefully enjoying my paintings!

Bye paintings, it was nice creating you. :)

TOMS Shoes Painting DONE!

Go to the MIXED MEDIA page to see the TOMS Shoes painting. This piece is going in a local store selling Toms & I am so excited!

Media used:

Cardboard

Ink

Gold leafing

Acrylic heavy body paint

Temper paint

Toms shoes :)

HUGE NEWS! :)

I have incredible news! The next piece in my Teaching Compassion series will be about Toms Shoes. :) I didn't know how this piece would come together because I couldn't find someone to donate a pair of Toms for this piece. Last night my prayers were answered! I have a donation of Toms...

AND... this piece will be featured in a local store that sells Toms. INCREDIBLE!

P.S. I'm on BlogLovin' :) Follow my blog with bloglovin

I jump around a lot...

Because my mind and life are so scattered, my paintings jump around a lot. I don't complete a series all at one time, I consider them ongoing. So for now, my Teaching Compassion is a beast of planning mode.

Next on my agenda: The Red Tree. This is of the rich and gorgeous ways that God tells his stories through our lives. How some things are actually one of God's best gifts, worth celebrating, worth seeing. What looks like a plain old city street is just that until you lift up your eyes and see the red tree. Don't miss it. YAHWEH.

As for Me & My House painting

Look under the MIXED MEDIA page!

A mixed media painting that I did for a friend of mine for his mom's birthday. He has 5 people in his family, so check out how his family is represented in this piece! I used spray paint, acrylic heavy paints, and modeling paste on a 16x20 canvas.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

Compassion Series

My 2nd Compassion piece, World Poverty, will be done and posted tomorrow by noon! This one is going to be my favorite...I'm painting with a 5 year old and teaching her about Jesus' compassion!