Thanks for the Rain

Here's the rain on my windshield

and it's not photoshop!

Thank you, Lord!

Purple Sage and Rain-Today

This was the sky yesterday morning.

We could see the rain-

so close and so far away.

It didn't rain yesterday.

I was beginning to think I was just an

"old wife" with the tale about the purple sage.

Remember, I told you that when the purple

sages bloomed it would rain within 10 days.

Today was day #10. This afternoon the

clouds rolled in, the sky darkened,

and water began to fall from the sky. There was some discussion concerning,

"was it raining, sprinkling, or drizzling."

My thought-it was a

wonderful shower of blessings.

The air was a little cool. It smelled wonderful.

And the sprinkles felt wonderful.

Isaiah 45:7-8 I form the light and create
darkness, I bring prosperity and create
disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.
"You heavens above, rain down
righteousness; let the clouds shower
it down. Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness grow with it;
I, the LORD, have created it.

The Art of Conversation

This past Sunday we went to Sweetwater

to visit Emmauel Fellowship.

It is always such a blessing. After church Joe

and I went to Mrs. Allen's a very popular,

family-style restaurant. It is great fun

and the food is wonderful! The people

we sat with had never eaten there

before and were a bit surprised. The tables seat 8 and you just grab a spot.

The waitresses bring huge bowls of food and it is,

"Pass the mashed potatos, please";

"Could you hand me that platter of fried chicken."

and "Save room for the cobbler."

The most fun part is getting to meet new

people. Brittany and Tyler were from the

San Antonio area and the family of females

from Mesquite. They were just traveling thru

and saw all the cars and assumed that

the food must be good. They were right.

We chatted about occupations, interests,

and how did you meet.

You know Jesus did a lot of his minstry

and teaching at meal times.

He taught when he feed the 5,000,

at Mary and Martha's home,

at Zacchaeus' home, at Simon the Leper's

home, and at the Passover.

Maybe we are just more relaxed

when we sit at the table.

Food, Friends and Fellowship!

Invite Jesus to come and sit at your table.

"Please, pass me some of the fish and loaves!"

Thanks for stopping by!

Purple Sage and Rain

It could be that I am an "old wife"

but I think this is worth sharing.

In our area of Texas we have bushes

known as Purple Sage.

Most of the time they are dusty, silver gray.

But sometimes they like to show off with

beautiful purple blooms.

Now the old wife part.

When the Purple Sage blooms,

it will rain within 10 days.

It can rain without them blooming

but when they bloom it will rain. It was about 15 years ago that I heard that,

so I began to pay attention.

When you live in a very dry area you pay

attention to anything having to do with rain.

In all those years, I have only witnessed one time

that it did not rain within the 10 days.

And another intersting thing I have noticed

is the brighter the blooms are, the heavier the

rain will be. The sages popped out bright

purple blossoms Sunday. That means

by next Wednesday it should rain!!!

"Let It Rain"

Let it rain. Let it rain.

Open the windows of heaven! Let it rain!

Perfume and Pearls Watercolor Tutorial

Celebration of the Hearts

Last weekend I had the priviledge of

being the guest artist at

Celebraton of the Hearts, a fund raising

event for Mission Messiah. It was

held at the Green Tree Country Club.

The food was delicious!!!Joe asked the event coordinator where

he should sit. She told him that he could

sit at any table that didn't have a

reserved sign on it. After he chose a seat,

this kind gentleman came to sit at the

same table. Joe told he that until I

had been asked to paint, we had never

heard of Mission Messiah. He asked him if

he knew anything about that ministry.

The man introduced himself and told

Joe that he was the founder of the Mission.

How awesome was that?!?

A LITTLE ABOUT MISSION MESSIAH

The hope of Mission Messiah

is that every hurting woman experiences

the unconditional love of Jesus and finds

a new life in Christ. God has a plan and a

purpose for every life and His heart is the

restoration of each one us to His Divine Call.

Through a disciplined structure of prayer,

Bible study, scripture memorization,

Biblical counseling, work assignments and

recreation, residents are taught life and

leadership skills. Each woman also receives

educational and career counseling

as well as financial management training.

Life at the Mission is very family-oriented

rather than institutional. Mothers are

encouraged to have their children with

them during this time of healing.

I painted while the guests visited, ate,

and placed bids for the silent auction.

There was a lot of art donated by local

artists. The featured artist,

Jennifer Contini, brought several very

large pieces from her studio in New York.

Those were offered in the live auction.

This is my friend, Annette.

The event was her niece's vision.

The finished piece-up for auction!

"The Father's Heart"

The scripture emphasis was from

Malachi 5:6 He will turn the hearts of the

fathers to their children, and the

hearts of the children to their fathers.

The Father’s hands emerge from the darkness

in the shape of a heart. The Father’s

hands are painted using all the colors of flesh.

Cradled in the hands are 3 forms:

blue for the sons, pink for the daughters,

and purple (the combination of blue and pink)

for the earthly fathers. Their arms overlap

each other also forming a heart.

This is a two-edged message.

Not only is God turning earthly father’s

and children’s heart toward each other but

as His spiritual sons and daughters,

He is turning our hearts to Him.

The Hebrew word for turning means

“to return home again”. Let’s return to Him!

To purchase prints of this image

http://nathaliekelleyart.com/prophetic.html

a portion will go to Mission Messiah!