Dancing With God

Doesn't Everyone Love to Dance...

I found the wonderful little story and a friends

Notes on FB

Dancing With God (author unknown)

When I meditated on the word Guidance,

I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.

I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music,

and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,

both bodies begin to flow with the music..

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back

or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness,

and attentiveness from one person

and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G": I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".

"God, "u" and "i" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust

that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings

and mercies are upon you on this day and everyday.

May you abide in God, as God abides in you.

Dance together with God, trusting God to lead

and to guide you through each season of your life.

Watercolor Titled, "Hearts,

 Seeds & Butterflies".

By Deborah

So Just Dance....

Dance like no one

is watching...

Dance with the one you

Love...

Dance for Joy...

Dance with your

Kids...

Dance With

GOD...

God, thanks for daily inspiration and guidance.

I Love to  Dance with you God!!!

And invite everyone to join in

the Dance.

Hearts and Marriage

Hearts,

Roses,

Hugs,

Kisses,

and

My favorite

Chocolate...

A Watercolor College of Valentines Images.

Watercolors By Deborah

Soon to be listed individually on ETSY...Stop By!

When I think of Love...

I

Think of

Jesus 1st,

My Husband,

My Children

&

All My Family

&

Friends.

1JOHN 4:10

WE LOVE HIM

BECAUSE

HE

LOVED

US

FIRST.

Another stroke of the brush......

I think the greatest example of  Love, has to be...

 Jesus dying at Calgary for ALL Sin.

I believe in a marriage you have the Greatest opportunity to

experience the kind of love Jesus shared with us at

Calgary.

The Love of

JESUS

which was perfected

at

Calgary.

WE HAVE...

The opportunity to

LOVE...

Unconditionally...

Like

 JESUS

Too Forgive,

 when it isn't

easy...

Like

JESUS.

( I pretty sure dying on a cross wasn't easy)

Too put an others needs

before your own.

Like JESUS

TO

Sacrifice,

Encourage,

and inspire each other

to be just

Like

JESUS.

 Take time this Valentines to express the kind of love Jesus intended for all of us to share.

UNCONDITIONAL AND EVERLASTING

FOR BETTER AND WORSE.....ECT....

Do something special for the

special person in your

life.

Love and Respect the one you Love!

Something New,

I am proud to announce....Something New

PENDENTS

WITH

MY 

ARTWORK.

I am so excited!

I JUST CAN'T

hIDE iT!

College by Deborah

Glass Tiles & Plastic Tile Pendents

Fiber Art

Original Watercolors

Archival Prints of My Watercolors

You can get a better look at my

ETSY Shop!

Another Stroke of the Brush...

Here in Iowa,

we are experiencing a brutal winter.

7 Snow Days on the School Calender.

What Summer?

Winter is only 1/2 Over!

I need some sunshine!

Bright

Sunshine!

Time for a Thankful list........

I am so thankful

for all the sunny

comments you

Leave.

I am so thankful

for healthy kids.

I am so thankful

for new opportunities.

I am so thankful

for a Mural Job.

I am so thankful

for my Family &

Friends.

I am so thankful

to be sharing.

Watercolor titled "Seeds, Petals and Glory"

God, I am thankful

 even though

I really feel like complaining

 about lots of

stuff!

All Glory to you Lord!

"Pleasant words are like

honeycomb, Sweetness

to the soul and

health to the bones."

Proverbs 16:24

So for today I will speak pleasant

 words and think of the sweetness

your comments bring to my soul.

  Besides... Winter won't last forever!

This too shall pass and the sun

will shine brightly again.

And all will be well with my soul.

Gods Best, Deborah

Comfort, Gifts & Thanks

God offers comfort and all the desires of our hearts!

EMBRACE IT!

Lord, show us how to be a delight and comfort to others.

We are called to be a channel of the comfort Christ offers.

ENCOURAGE,

COMFORT,

SHARE your GIFTS.

Original watercolor titled, "Delighted"...2009

By Deborah

Sometimes it seems like God

 allows me to suffer so I can appreciate HIS,

 MERCY

COMPASSION

&

COMFORT...

A deeper understanding of that which God offers in a deeper way.

I have always been told I am too sensitive.

What is too sensitive?

I can cry at the drop of a dime.

Commercials

Hallmark movies

Greeting Cards...

Is this not the way God made me?

I believe I cry tears for those who can't. (I didn't always)

No really, I believe God gave me hyper sensitivity for a purpose.

HIS PURPOSE

Does that sound crazy???

Its kinda hard to explain, but when some one's heart is hurting

 my heart actually hurts.

It is like I can truly feel their pain and hurt.

Now you will really think I am nuts!!!

A christian counselor once told me it was a

gift from God.

( At a time when my suffering was so overwhelming I had to have help, another story)

Which at the time, I really could not appreciate

this particular gift.

So while others have told me I am too sensitive and emotional as if it were a curse.

I have in the past few years embrace it as a gift.

I let go of the perception that is was a bad thing to be hyper sensitive.

So...to all the hyper sensitive out there in the universe.

It is a GIFT of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6

"There are different kinds of gifts,

But they are all from the same SPIRIT.

There are different ways to serve

but the same LORD to serve.

And there are different ways that God

works through people but

IT IS THE SAME GOD.

God works in all of us in everything we do."

Original watercolor titled, " Giving Thanks"

By Deborah

So I will give thanks for the gifts of the Spirit and give thanks for the

way GOD made me. I will forgive those who choose to

believe it is a curse to be hyper sensitive.

I will not tell my children they are too sensitive.

(I also have a hyper sensitive daughter)

So if you know someone who

is sensitive, share this, it is

 a Gift,

a blessing

&

a purpose.

One which we should encourage

to be used to give glory to God.

OUR HORSES AND SMALL SACRAFICE

Our Horses,

Taken this winter...

I have become addicted to colleges!

In the center is our sunset right behind the barn!

Yes, I know it is awesome!

And I also know am truly blessed

 to be able to look west out my kitchen window

and see straight to the horizon

without anything blocking my view.

 I have a cozy little bench

which I can sit on 

and enjoy beautiful sunsets whenever I can. 

I think horses are one of Gods most majestic creatures.

Another stroke of the brush...

On the way to work on the Spider Man Mural today I thought to myself, Wow! How many people

get to go to work and color with paint and get paint all over myself as well as my overalls.

How did I get so blessed? How is it on one side of the world there is me and my only worry this

morning is do I have enough paint? (after I got everyone off to work and school)

And on the other side of the world they have no food, no fresh water and

 no place to lay there weary heads.

 I wounder how come some people in the states don't realize how fortunate they are?

Too even take for granted fresh water.

WATER.....

we have perfectly safe running water and I buy bottled, because I don't like the taste.

 Selfish?

I heard a story

about a man and his

family.

They ate out once a week

and only ordered water to drink.

that is 2 X 5 which equals 10.00 dollars

a week and 40.00 dollars a month.

You can feed a family for a month

 in some outreach programs.

And I am buying bottle water.

 Wake UP CALL...

Only care Paint? (TODAY ANYWAY)

?????

What I realized is.. you can cut back just a few

 dollars a day and HELP another ...

have what I take for granted.

SOMETHING I WILL BE REMINDING MY

 CHILDREN of!

JUST A THOUGHT...
a SMALL sacrafice on Our part could mean

water, food and shelter to another.

All Gods Blessing....

                                                                             

Outside the Art & Soul Studio

Today!

Simply Beautiful! I Had to Post it!

Photography by Deborah

It is a beautiful day in my neck of the Woods....

 Husband and daughter are getting ready for

 an indoor Ranch Rodeo. I am staying home

to get healthy and inspired.

"This is the day the Lord

 has made rejoice

 and be glad in it."

PSALMS 118:24

Oh, I will...Rejoice!  Lord allow the gift of creativity to flow freely through me, from you!!!Amen

Another stroke of the Brush...

"Jesus said to his followers,

 Go everywhere in the world,

and tell the Good News to everyone."

Mark 16:15

Have a great day! Enjoy the ones

you love and use the gifts

God has given you.

Deborah

Blue Skys and More of Gods Promises

This is a photo I took while visiting Tucson AZ.

Is it me or is the sky bluer  in AZ.???

I was browsing some old photos for inspiration and came across this one.

I love the white stucco building against the crisp blue sky.

This was a wonderful old church we visited while site seeing.

Photography by Deborah

I have really been drawn to the color blue lately.

I have also been under the weather and feeling blue.  I have been coping with a sinus infection.

Now I am dealing with having adverse effects of the antibiotic.

Enough of that I have changed antibiotics and am determined to feel better by the end of this weekend, all prayers welcome.

Another stroke of the brush.....

PROMISES...

We make them, we keep some, we break some and we need them, for HOPE in times grief and lose.

I have made promises to my husband, kids, friends, family and God.

And I have broken them on all accounts at one time or another...not intentionally, but because I am a human.

The only promises I know in my heart to trust is the promises of God.

He keeps all his promises, he is consistent, even when I am not. He is my rock and strength, my salvation and my hope. When I do not understand this earth and the natural disasters that take the lives of 140,000 People.

I think....God tell me what good can come of this. How can this be?  How does this happen? When earth was created by God the Almighty. IN all his Glory and Perfection.! How can there be fault lines, tornadoes, flooding and this magnitude of lose and grief? 

What is the Purpose?

IS THERE PURPOSE?

I know what I do believe, God is a God of love and he does not cause these events to bring us closer to him, although these events do give us the opportunity to be servants,comforters, witnesses and examples of Christ.  He gave us his love and the Holy Spirit  to live within us. He promises, your are never alone, you can be made new and HE will be the same today, always and eternally.

He offers new life, seek and find, ask, forgiven and all because of LOVE.

Abundant Love...

Never ending Love...

A Love which does not destroy...

I know my God Loves and Protects...

"God is our protection and our strength. He

always helps in times of trouble.

So we will not be afraid

even if the earth shakes,

or the mountains fall into the sea,

even if the oceans roar and foam,

or the mountains shake at the raging sea." Psalm 46:1-3

Photography by Deborah "AZ"

So this is what I know, God loves, protects and helps us, He offers Life and Love and does not take either to teach us.

I know there is someone who steals life, takes lives and destroys things, people and  will take every opportunity to take us away from the Love of God.

The serpent, the devil and his evil... is real!

 LORD, let us never forget that there is a  battle to fight!

 And with you By us, With us and In us...We can not fail or lose.

LORD, Pour out you comfort to all who have been affected in Haiti and send an abundance of help and aid. MORE THEN ENOUGH!

In JESUS Name, Thank you!!!

Blue Skys and Sunflowers

Titled Seeds, Petals and Sunflowers...

Looking forward

to

Blue Skies

&

Sunshine.

A little sunshine in Iowa 35 degrees tomorrow...

we have had lots of snow and freezing temps.

Sooo... Thought I'd add some sunshine to the blog.

 

Titled...Facing the Son....Jesus

The is a watercolor done from a picture of one of the sunflowers in my garden.

I Love Sunflowers.

Why?

They follow the sun, Just like I follow Jesus Christ the son of God.

I like how the are always facing the sun during different times of the day. I like the seeds... they feed the birds of the sky and remind me of the seeds of scripture that feed my soul.

"Let your light so shine before men, 

that they may see you good works and 

glorify you father in heaven." 

Matthew 5:16

Another Stroke of the Brush...

Do too the weather I have not been able to work very many days on the Spiderman Mural.

I finally  got back to work on it today, the perspective of the buildings are quite challenging.

As soon as I begin to paint I will start sharing the progress pictures. It is hard to see just the drawings on the plain white walls.

Share the Peace you found in Jesus.

Share the Love You've found in Jesus.

Just Share it!!!

I hope the sun is shining in your neck of the woods, Deborah

Seeds Petals & Tulips

 Well the weather is snowing and blowing and there was no school and no working on the spiderman mural today. Tomorrow it will still be blowing and school has already been canceled. The road crews were not making any progress so they are parked at the moment...

Good Times at home!!!

Found this quote by Wayne Dyer and it rang true with me.

"All blame is a waste of time. No matter

how much fault you find with another,

and regardless of how much you

blame him, it will not change you"

- Wayne Dyer

This Watercolor is Titled, Seeds Petals and Tulips

created in 2009.

 Blame........

 I have been there and done that.....

I think the world view is, it is never my fault... we can always find someone or something to blame.

The president, no time, bad weather, the roads, its to hard and my hormones are making me crazy. ect..

Even Adem and Eve, Blamed the serpent. Claiming he deceived me!

. There seems to be an abundance of blame and excesses out in the world today.

I have realized lately that I have choices every day on weather to take responsibility for my own actions, emotions and not blame others.

   So I have been determined to stop before I blame and take account of of the choice I have to not blame others and choose to change only me.

I know in my heart that God holds me accountable. He gave me free will, and with that I  have the right to make my  own choices and decisions.  My choice is to serve the Lord. With this freedom of will comes my responsibility for right and wrong behavior, and how I choose to respond.

For example.. is it someones fault if I allow my hurt or anger to make me curl up in a ball and waste a whole day just crying and being depressed?

I realized I was allowing others to steal my joy, So I choose to lay it all down at the cross and take a couple of deep breaths and choose to change my own behavior. Of course it is not as easy as that, it has been a long learning process and I have spent many days in the valley with  tears and blaming others. But I have found the only way out of the valley is to start walking with Jesus. So my friends if your in the valley the only way out for you is to choose to get out and to lean on Jesus all the way. I believe you can also do all things through Christ who will strenthen you, Jesus will  be with you every step of the way, just ASK!

I have overcome much, But never alone...Thank you Jesus!

PETALS

PETALS & INSPIRATION

What if we could take all our hurts, mistakes and past failures and put them in a box. Wrapped them up all neat and tidy and maybe lock it up or tape it really good. Then we could mail them off to somewhere with a no return address never to be seen again. It would be an attempt to let go of our burdens, without worries that they might resurface with out notice. They would be long gone in no where land, lost and not found. We couldn't get the box back, there is no customer service contact to call and no UPS tracking number.

In reality even the smallest event can trigger an emotional response and remind me of past hurts and failures.  Then... wham! bam! I am reminded and transported back to the emotions of the past and with the blink of an eye, the tears are welling up in my eyes.

I have to stop... and tell myself it is a choice...do not go back to the past.

 I have chosen to lay my past and burdens down at the CROSS.

Just breath......

I can do all this because, I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me.

I am so thankful that I don't have to do it alone.

I will abide in HIM, HE abides in me and therefore he is always with me.

John 15:4

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me."

For Gods Glory Alone, Deborah

Spiderman & Inspiration

Sooo... I started Spiderman, Why is it no matter how prepared I think I am on the 1st day!

I am Not!!!

Any How, I was able to get 4 Main drawings on the wall, so really not so bad for a first

DAY!

I haven't work on a mural job since last Summer so it will take some time to get in the

zone....

Here are some pics of a couple of murals I've done in the past...

The Little Mermaid and Surfing Monkeys.....

I have alot of fun doing Kids rooms!

Another stroke of the brush!

Inspiration....

I suppose we all need to take a leap a faith once and a while.

I've heard that even a turtle must stick out its neck to move ahead.

I guess that is what I am doing Blogging and putting my art out into the universe.  For along time I didn't think it was good enough.

And any other excuse I could come up with. Like I don't want someone to copy my work. The Internet is a scary place for a newbie.

Then I decided if you don't take the risk you will never

know what could have been.

As you can see I am a right brained person, soooo for me to aspire to learn the computer

has been a bit of a challenge. But I can not express how good it feels to have accomplish this much

and get to the point where it makes a little sense to me now.

I still haven't figured out how to get a button so others can grab a button and put it on their website

or blog and it will link back to me.

Soooo...if anyone out there can explain it in simpleton terms or direct me to a site that explains Button for Dummies.

I would really appreciate it.

 What I realized... was that by not putting myself out there, I was not trusting God in all areas of my life, I was living in fear.

Fear of failure

Fear of rejection

Just to mention a few! So I turn to scripture.

"Behold, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said to you, Fear Not, Neither be dismayed."

Deuteronomy 1:21

Live in Peace, Trust God and have no fear, in the coming year!

GODS BLESS!

With Jesus I am never alone!