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!

One Man's Trash...

I wasn't actually dumpster diving.

I was just taking out the trash

and found this in the dumpster.

It was clean and right on the top.

It was some sort of school math

cirriculum tote. I saw immediatey

there was potential for this cart.

It just needed someone to love it

and give it a new direction.

Kind of like us sometimes.This was going to be just right

for my traveling paint gear.

Sometimes I paint at a clients location

and my favorite -

to paint during worship.

I grabbed my paints and

embellised the top.

It is just the right size for my dropcloth,
a bin for brushes, a bin for paint,
a roll of paper towels, several containers
for water, and a pocket for
promotional materials.
It's just like it was made for me.

I covered the old logo with gesso
and a couple of coats of black.
A new look, a new purpose,
redeemed from the pit.
That will preach!!!

Be assured that if you are feeling like a
failure, feeling unappreciated,
tossed aside, or no longer useful -
it could be that you are at the
beginning of a new phase
and purpose for your life.
You may feel that people have
given up on you but
God never gives up on you!
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation;
the old has gone,
the new has come!

The Memory Box

This morning after I had my coffee on the back

porch I decided to pull out the memory box and

take some photos of it. My mom had asked for the

"Lucky 13" newspaper article. So, here goes!

She made this box for me in the 70's.

There are some precious

momentos on this little box.

THE TOP OF THE BOX

This photo is me helping Daddy with

"SIGN PAINTING".

I am evidently totally uninhibited and

getting into the paint was more important

than getting dressed. Hope you're not blushing!!!

I cropped the picture just for you!

Here's the article that Momma requested.

"13" Is Lucky Number For McKinney Girl".

Born 6/13, weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz.,

Room 313, Baby #13.

I am NOT superstisious (sp?).

I don't believe in luck-I believe in Jesus!

THE FRONT OF THE BOX

There is a newspaper article from the

Dallas Morning News,"Engineers With Curls".

Soozy and I helped Daddy survey the street in

front of our house. The city was extending it

to meet the highway and to build the Gibson store.

That was before Wal Mart. I also helped

Daddy survey the area for Lake Towakoni.

Then, there is a picture

of me and Soozy in our Easter bonnets,

ruffled dresses, and patent leather shoes.

The back of the "Station Wagon".

That's another story.

We are ready to go on vacation.

Probably to the beach,

and definitely camping.

I love the old (it was new then) metal cooler.

That's my baby brother, Kenney standing up.

ONE SIDE OF THE BOX

We were McKinney Lions fans.

I don't think Daddy ever missed a

game, no matter how cold or rainy it was.

And we would travel across the state

for championship games. Every week during

football season Daddy drew school spirit cartoons

for the newspaper. Our school mascot was this

HUGE stuffed lion. I remember waking

up one morning and the lion was in Kenney's

baby bed in our room. It scared me at first then,

I felt proud and OOOH so priviledged.

"The Lion" was at our house!

How could one girl be so "lucky"?!?

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOX

Soozy, Kenney, and me in my with

my wanna be a hippie hair.

I wanted long, straight hair.

Oh well, I am not going to go there!

THE BACK OF THE BOX

This side of the box has some of

my early handiwork, a painting

of a snow scene, an article about Daddy

and his portraits, and a day pass

and 10 cent ticket to Disneyland.

That was from 1955 or '56.

That was before Six Flags,

Orlando, Disney World.....

For some reason there are no articles

about Momma on this box.

It could be because she made the box

and left those things out.

She was and still is very involved in

anything and everything to do with

her family. She was most likely on the

other side of the camera when the

pictures were taken.

Here is the newspaper article about

Daddy and the portraits that he painted.

This has been a precious trip

this morning. As much fun as going on

vacation to the beach but without all the

sand and sunburns.

See Ya Later, Alligator!

* Sorry if you got this twice.

The picture of the back was missing

and I couldn't leave that out.

West Texas Sunset or Sunrise - Last Panel

Here's the last panel or canvas. Sometimes the
family room feels a bit empty with these gone
to their new home.

This last panel looks to Snyder's future.
The wind turbines have been a boost to the West Texas economy.
Even though the church is an older church located in Fluvana,
I put it with the wind turbines as a reminder that we need God.
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed weekend!

West Texas Sunset or Sunrise - Middle Panel

The mural is a blending of the old and new.

So here's the old windmill. I took several

wonderful photos of old windmills. The wooden

ones are getting more dificult to find.

The barn is on Highway 84 here in Snyder.

I will be posting a little slide show with

instructions on painting the barn,

so check be sure and come back.

The cotton fields are so typical of Snyder.

When we first moved here there was a billboard

that said "Snyder, where the oil flows and the

cotton grows." Now they should add "and the

wind blows". The new economic boost is the

wind turbines. You will see those in the

distance on this panel.

Our horizon has completely changed.

Thanks for stopping by! See ya later!