Snow Snow Go Away!

There is no place like home, and I don't think I'd care to live anywhere else, but...West Michigan has had too much snow and cold blowing around here! Here's a few pics from my Nikon D300 camera from this winter. I would like to get out and take some more....but it's too cold!!!

I saved the snowy rock pic on my phone...I love to use the doodle feature in the phone gallery...

The pic below I took through my windshield with my phone one night. The parking lot light shone through the ice crystal pattern, making it look like the sun shining through palm trees...

But of course, I just had to doodle with it....making it look more festive.

Grace Angel and some Table Talk

 Accidentally deleted the text and pictures from this post...will "circle back" some other day and try and fix it up...

Summer 2013 drawings and paintings...

I picked up a drawing book at a garage sale this past spring and have produced a few 8x10 watercolor paintings, along with reproducing them via the kiosk machine at Walmart, which actually turned out better than I had expected... yes...sometimes I am guilty of dreaming too small...way too small.

First was the panda, which I thought was fairly easy, and I even added the bamboo in the background. For the reprint, I chose the 11x14 premium canvas at Walmart, which I really liked; made it look like an oil painting.

Then I did the toucan, which seemed surprising easy...well...until I started painting the beak. Even though a toucans beak looks rather odd, similar to half a banana stuck on its face, well...I just couldn't get past that, so that's what I tend to focus on when I look at it. For the reprint I tried the faux canvas in a 16x20, which I wouldn't do again; it's mounted on cardboard. It's worth paying a little more for the premium; real canvas mounted on wood.

During the process of painting this one, I had put my old sweetheart of a cat, Tazz, to sleep...it was time, but it was still a sad and difficult choice to make. In the background of the painting, I can see her spirit free to roam in bird paradise, so I didn't want to add anything else to it.

Then I painted a kangaroo...for Lizzy; she hops like a kangaroo on her new trampoline. The reprint I did in the premium canvas, an 11x14. I also added some text...I love Lizzy... which I inserted under the kangaroo. I forgot to capture the pic of that but will soon.

Little Bunny

Little bunny, little bunny...

You are so cute yet look so funny.

Your ears look like tall teepees.

You are such a furry, fuzzy, funny little bunny.

©Sheri * June 2013

Dedicated to Lizzy



About the "Little Bunny" poem:

During a walk I spotted a cute little bunny by some small evergreens. The bunny was kind enough to stay still and pose long enough for me to snap a few pictures, which I later edited on my phones program, giving it a water-colored storybook look.

Come Dance with Me!

As a sea of treetops billow in the wind, like a finely

orchestrated ballet, their wispy tendrils bent this way and

that way, and some another, dancing differently, but

seemingly as one. And then all at once, all are still and bow

 to end the act, and quickly take their places to start

another. They are motioning for all of life to see, saying:

Please… Come Dance with Me!

Then…flying as aces so gracefully, two birds swoop in,

 instantly engulfed and hidden, as if swarmed by bees. The

 tree limbs in unison bend towards the birds, investigating,

 wanting to know their presence. Then, as quickly as the

 birds flew in, out they went, as the tree limbs were in awe

 of such flight, rising and falling from such delight!

The wind continues to prompt them to dance, and so they

 huddle to prepare, and then another act begins…motioning

 for all of life to see, and echoing out from their Creator:

 Please… Come Dance with Me!

© Sheri * June 2013

About the “Come Dance with Me” poem...

I have been trying to spend more time listening to God, especially making the time to sit with Him and be still and listen. So, this morning, after much prompting from my cat, Tazz, to join her out on the balcony to do just that, I grabbed a chair, God’s Word, and my freshly made concoction of fruits and vegetables, and I sat and began to listen... To be still and know that He is God. I hope we can still listen and hear God with our eyes, for I heard plenty.

The words in the poem began flowing through me, and from experience I quickly grabbed pen and paper to write them down, before they blew away with the wind.

One of my passions in life is dancing. I remember from a young age getting up on the weekends and listening to my mother’s music playing (Bobbie Vinton, the Beach Boys...etc.), and the smell of pancakes. I remember dancing in front of the bay window by the humongous, yet beautiful stereo...

twirling and singing to the songs.

In the past couple years though, dancing has kind of lost its spark, or should I say, I have for some reason almost quit dancing. There was a time when I would love to dress up and go out dancing...dressing up was part of the fun. And maybe that is why some of the spark has sizzled out...no longer having a safe place to dance. Dancing at home is always an option...but it’s too easy to get distracted from other things to do here...where going out dancing was almost four hours of delightful dancing fun!

So, I believe I had better get back to dancing...because no matter where I am,

God is here to dance with me!



Living in the Present Moment

This piece of artwork was inspired by reading the book, “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle. The text in the artwork (Living in the present moment helps us to be who we are…part of the Body of Christ.) is partly from the book. The first part is put together from the book; the second part is the rest of the truth, which is of course, if you are part of the Body of Christ. And with great joy (Yeah!), I confidently say I belong to Christ; He lives in me, and I in Him.

The book itself, I thought to be quite helpful in seeing when a person holds onto the past, how it can affect how we see ourselves and those around us…keeping us from actually being free to live in the present moment.

The author shares quite deep glimpses of spiritual awareness, of believing in a Higher Power, God’s Presence…but sadly, he didn’t promote the unity of the Body of Christ. Tolle wrote of reincarnation, which contradicts the need of a Savior…of God’s Word.

Even though within the book he spoke of Jesus’ spiritual teachings, he did not write of His crucifixion, or resurrection (although, he did imply that some Christians identify themselves with Christ)…meaning he believes (at least at the time of his writing the book) that there is no need for us to be redeemed, or the process of our sanctification through Christ. For reincarnation is the total opposite of that. Believing in reincarnation is thinking that it is all up to us to get it all right in a lifetime (and by whose standards is that based on anyways?)…and if we don’t (and it’s a given we wouldn’t), well…would one be rejected by the Spiritual Perfection Scanner, and be spat back out into the mainstream of recycled souls just waiting to be “born again”, and again, and again? Really? Didn’t Jesus specifically say: there is only ONE way to the Father, and that was through Him. We are to be born again (of water and in Spirit) in this life; through Him, (accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives) becoming sons and daughters of God. Yes….God is our Heavenly Father! Yeah!…I joyfully accept my purpose in life…as a child of God to glorify Him! His saving grace has made that possible.

Tolle’s message in the book would then be that there would be no need for God’s saving grace through His Son Jesus…subtly implying Jesus’ death was for naught...that Jesus was merely “just a pointer” to God’s presence within us all. I find it so ironic that Tolle couldn’t see the danger of people not having Jesus as their Savior; of letting ourselves become our own gods….or should I say, us remaining as our own gods; no wonder believing in such a way would lead one to believe in the need for reincarnation…thinking that way would make me think I needed  to be born again and again also..because that would be mentally avoiding the truth about Hell...but avoiding the truth doesn't make it not the truth.

Over all though…Tolle’s book did do me some good (God will make all things work together for good to all those who love Him ~ Romans 8:28). It’s just like any other garden in life…you just have to pluck out the weeds.

The book helped inspire in me the need to let go of the past, along with the residual clinging on for life ego left in me….helping me to be able to live more in the present moment in His Spirit, which is my true self…being connected with God through Christ; part of the Body of Christ. Without my ego being the helm of my vessel, but God Himself.

So…back to the artwork…I had gone to pick up my granddog’s at Jack’s place (they were going to come and spend the night with Grandma…Oh how I miss my fenced in back yard), to find they were not home yet, and I had forgotten my key, so I couldn’t just go in and make myself useful. So, while I waited, I thought of the “present moment”….to make something memorable about it, other than just waiting around…so I picked a lily by the house and set it on my steering wheel, and fortunately, I had an acrylic paint set kit, complete with a small canvas and drawing pencils in my car that I just purchased. I took a picture of the flower setting, knowing I wouldn't be able to finish the whole project before the flower or I began to wilt, and started drawing. Before I knew it, my son and granddog’s arrived.

The painting represented “patience” to me. Instead of getting antsy and impatient about waiting, I lived in the present moment, seeing something beautiful, and made something to remember the moment by. I already had a picture I had taken of Jack and his dogs, Hemi (the big puppy), and Thor, so I used that photo for part of the artwork…since they were part of the moment….and adding the text from Tolle’s inspiration. The crate I found to put it all in represents how we at times try to put God in a box…limiting who we are by limiting His character, His Truth…and as you can see…I have a crate now….an open top…slats all around, showing me the need for healthy boundaries….to be careful what I let into my mind, my heart, and my soul….lining it up with the Word of God. God designed us to live in Him and along with others….in a godly way….His way.

Since this project, Hemi has come up missing…it’s been a year now, and he is still sadly missed…he was a great dog and was dearly loved. If he is still alive, I hope who has him is taking good care of him, and if he is no longer alive, I pray he went quickly.

None of us knows how long we will live this life on Earth as it is now…that’s why we should make our purpose count…moment by moment, giving God glory in His strength and grace.

Anger...don't lose it!

Sure wished I would have read this book before I had my son's...could have saved us all from a bit of anguish from time to time. Actually...I just started reading this book, but from what little I've read so far, I'm sure it will help put some perspective on my harboring resentment and self-loathing when my mind ponders all my blunders of motherhood.

Even though my sons are in their mid 20's now, and I'm past the roller coaster years of PMS, and fortunately had an easy transition into menopause (at least emotionally I felt my roller coaster take its last plummet downward towards an even keel ride, resembling more like those peaceful gliding water rides)....I still have struggles dealing with the regrets of how I handled my anger when my sons were younger, yelling and ranting and raving way too much; any was too much for me, not to mention all the other regrets from my past. But then, I didn't handle my anger very well when I was a child myself...didn't understand it all, I guess. My anger seemed to point out an imperfection in me, and that scared me, and made me even angrier with myself, to the point where I would be mad because I was mad.

Learning about God's grace and mercy, His unconditional love for His children, has been the most transforming for me...a lifelong process. Thank you God, Amen!

Fortunately, for all, I went through an early natural, albeit weird, menopause at the age of 41. I would still get angry after that, but I began to choose my battles a bit more wisely, not letting the small stuff get to me as much and being able to recognize the triggers that used to put me in an instant rage...and maybe that is just a normal process of getting older...learning what's really important in life.

And even after all those years of trying to rid myself of anger, I now realize what an important healthy part of our lives anger can be. Anger is a warning sign that something is not right in our lives (I must have read that somewhere, I'm not that profound), and we should take the time to deal with our anger when it arises. It's the ways in which we deal with our anger that may not be so good, for ourselves or others.

Learning to set up healthy boundaries in my life (thank you Joyce Meyer for sharing all of your books; that's probably where that profound thinking was processed from) has also helped with dealing with anger in a healthy way. But to be fair, I didn't discover having healthy boundaries till after menopause, and hopefully, applying the knowledge of healthy boundaries would of helped some in taming the hormonal beast within if that shift in hormones wouldn't have happened sooner in my life.

Another thing that does help, even in my PMS era, is exercise...doing so releases endorphin's, giving one a better sense of well-being...and when Mom's happy...everybody is happy!

Learning to understand my anger, and the anger of being angry, maybe could have saved my marriage from its death. Maybe, maybe not....it does take two to make a good one, well two plus God...not two plus three gods. Even though God will always be God, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow...when we tend to live our lives as if we are our own gods, in our mind's eye God can kind of then become just another god...and that is not good, for anyone.