Renewal

  A daily rate for every day

        2 Kings 25:30

The acts of breathing which I performed yesterday will not keep me alive today; I must continue to breathe afresh every moment, or animal life ceases. In like manner yesterday’s grace and spiritual strength must be renewed, and the Holy Spirit must continue to breathe on my soul from moment to moment in order to my enjoying the consolations, and to my working the works of God.

                                            Toplady

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

Each day we are confronted with new, never-ending challenges. It is not enough to assume because today was lived that tomorrow will be the same. Every day is different. Every day requires us to be vigilant. Yesterday's pain does not dissipate with the setting sun or it's rising in the morning. What we experience and endure in the course of our life is like breathing. Life does not go on without that next breath and the experiences within that life do not go away on their own while we live. As Christians we have accepted the Holy Spirit as our gift of grace from Christ. That grace is to live as Christ lived and be images of Him. That means repent of our sins, be examples of peace, unity and forgiveness. The life you live and what the world at large sees of you when you are in this condition is the light that will change lives and the world.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

A New Day, New Form

 Exodus 14:19 - Then the angel of God, who preceded the army of Israel, changed station and followed behind them.

The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985), Ex 14:19.

It is not always guidance that we most need. Many of our dangers come upon us from behind. They are stealthy, insidious, assaulting us when we are unaware of their nearness. The tempter is cunning and shrewd. He does not meet us full front. It is a comfort to know that Christ comes behind us when it is there we need the protection.

J. R. Miller

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

The "Thought for the quiet Hour" and "Brainy Quote" may not seem to be along the same line of thought but in reality, they fit perfectly. It is not always the place of leadership to go before the assembly but to follow it and protect it from the rear. The Lord provided protection for Israel while fleeing Pharoah and the Egyptian army by moving to the rear of His people and in front of the Pharoah's army. Leading is not always done from the front but by example. Perfect timing and leadership is what Jesus provides for us. 

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.
Remeber to "Always Love The Details."

In the Fog

 

The world around us is a place of diverse swirling confusion and misinformation. It is getting harder to discern the truth in anything. I am constantly told things that are near truths or fabrications of anything imaginable. Apparently, people are willing to believe almost anything they are told. The world is a mishmash of misleading information partial truths, mirages and total lies. We must remember that we live in a world overflowing with lies and diversions. We are expected to believe what we are told without question. Wisdom would dictate that we stop and weigh everything against what the word of God says. When we do that the realization soon dawns on us that much of what we are told is anything but the full truth. The word of God is something we can go to and discern what is real and biblical. The word of God is what matters. There have been many failures in life and many victories as well. The Lord has been there through all of them. The blessings in life have all come through the Lord. They happen when we seek God and allow Him to provide the blessings. Seeking the blessings rarely makes them happen. It is in His graces that we realize His blessings. The only way that can happen is if we seek Him. It is in prayer and praise that He can be found. 

Have a great week and pray often with praise in the knowledge that He is always there. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remeber to "Always Love The Details."

Thank You

 Thank You for understanding the time away. Hopefully I will be returning next week. I will not be posting the artwork every week as before. Again, Thank you. God bless and keep you safe.

Lost Tomorrows

This is a thing that growing older causes us to do. To those of us that are ageing the past is still relevant and real, a safer place than the present reality. Just as our parents before us saw the days of their youth as safe and simpler we find ourselves doing the same thing, living in the past. In reality, the present is where we are and where we need to be and participate. The past is good for lessons learned and remembering mistakes made to prevent them from being repeated. There are good memories to be tucked away but today is the time to create those new memories. They do not exist in future times because the future is not the present. We create the future in the here and now. It is good to remember that our travels through the present are where our footprints are left according to what we do in the present. Our actions and even our words mold the future not only for ourselves but for those around us. No-one passes through life without affecting the world around them. Every breath we take, every word we utter, everything we do causes the world to change in some way. Is it any wonder that God spoke, and it came to be? Greater things are accomplished when Jesus is part of the present than just me alone. We cannot change what has passed, but we can move forward with positivity. 

(This will be the last post for some time. I am taking a sabbatical due to other demands in my life.) 

Today I am sharing another of the Highlander Men images. 

 

The Copics used are;

The pen is a Copic multiliner brown.

That's it for now. Thank you for your support and may the good Lord bless and keep you safe. Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Growing up

This is one of my favorite poets and mystics. He is unique and relevant, even in today's world. I have many of his books in my library. He was a large influence in my younger years. 

 

Two of His writings:

"Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so also the bow that is stable."

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving." The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish. Surely, he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you. 

This week I am sharing the image you saw in my post last week. It is finished. It took almost a week to do and consists of more colors than any image done so far, a total of 30 colors. What made it so difficult was the details were either faint or made no sense. AI is far from perfected at this point. This was definitely AI generated.  

The Copics used are:

The two pens are multiliner brown and multiliner green. The zero blender pens were used at times to correct and to lighten the colors used.

That's it for this week. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe. Remember to "Always Love The Details."

You see, I see

 

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 

The view that we have of the world around us is tainted by our experiences and what our view of that world presents to us in our everyday life. People are a major influence. The reading above tells us that because we are believers we see and experience things differently than non-believers. We are seen as foolish or even crazy. Read 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 and meditate on it. It is a fact that most can agree with.

Today I am going to deviate a bit and share what my artistic corner of the house looks like. I will post another image next week.

This is the allotted space at our dining room table that Jill allows me without complaining. It is about a quarter of the table.

It does expand out somewhat from time to time but usually not for long.

This is a sneak peak at the current image I am working on. The tray I use to keep the current pens used separate from the full marker collection is on the left. A notebook used to track the colors used is on the right along with some of the Copic Multiliner pens.

The Copic suit case for the markers 

The Copic Marker suitcase also contains some of the refills, replacement brushes and other pens and helps needed to do each project. Yes, that is the full set of Copic markers (less the special brilliant markers). It took all of ten years to collect them all. The refills case sits to the left on the floor. To the right on the floor are more helps and paper. It is a bit confined and compact. It works for me and Jill. 

That is it for this week. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe. Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Gifts

 

Hebrews 2:4, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 & 14:1-5

There are many gifts that the Lord has given us through the Holy Spirit as named in the above verses. The key to these gifts is stated in 1 Corinthians 14:1, pursue Love. The second thing to remember is that they are gifts. Just like the gift of eternal life they are not earned, cannot be purchased or coerced from the Holy Spirit but are given according to the Grace of God. You may not even know you are using a gift at times. It is important to know that you can pray for the gifts and it is equally important to remember that it is by the grace of God that they are given. Each of us is a child of the living God. He sent His spirit to live in us and by that Spirit we shall know Him. This does not entitle us to any of the gifts. They are gifts that are given according to His grace through the Holy Spirit.

The promise of things to come with the holy spirit are still with us today. (John 14:12) There are miracles happening even today. They may not be advertised the way the news media sensationalizes the events of the day but they are happening. The blind still see, the lame walk, the deaf hear and the mute speak. Don't forget the miracle of the birth of a young child. There are even reports of people being reported as having died that upon the coroners table have come to life. You just don't hear of these things because they are not spectacular enough to draw the attention of the news media like war and mass shootings. Many miracles are personal to us. The crazy thing is we are often not even aware of them at the time. Hinde sight often reveals them to us. God is not dead. The Holy Spirit is still at work in our lives. Miracles still happen. Jesus is still coming. Until that day the promises of God and Jesus through the Holy Spirit are very much alive and well. What are your miracles? everyone has them. 

This week I am sharing another Moontear image. There are only a few of them left (5) and I have not had much time to do the Highlander images of late. 

    

The Copic used colors are:

The pen in the lower left is a gold Marvy pen.

That is it for this week. May the good Lord bless you and keep you safe. Remember to "Always Love The Details."

friendship

 

The friends who will answer the phone at this time of the morning or earlier are true friends indeed. They are a treasure to be kept close to one's heart. When they are gone it is a heavy loss that may never be replaced. This hit home for me since those that I could call anytime of the day or night and know it would not be a problem are gone. They are home with the Lord now and we are still here awaiting the call to come home.

This week is a special image from the Irishman coloring book. This is my favorite by far to this point. It took the better part of three days to do. I printed the image on photo paper and was pleased to see it really does look like a photo of a real person.

The Copic colors used are;

The four pens are all Multi Red, Blue, Black and Cool Gray. I did some research on this image because I knew the attire was formal. I did the best I could to make sure it was as accurate as I could make it.

That is it for the week. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe. Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Imperfect

Failure ©

                                           What is failure as defined by man?

                                                Is it omission, inability, lack or deficiency   

                                                Of a vital or not so vital function?

                                                Who is guilty of failure if not all?

                                                Who can judge if all are alike?

                                                Dare I judge myself or another when

                                                I have failed by sin or lack of talent?

                                                Where is the failure if the lesson it

                                                Teaches is one of positive results?

                                                Why can't failure be constructive

                                                Instead of destructive in nature?

                                                If all things were created for good

                                                Then failure is victory in disguise.

                                                If this is true, then what we call failure       

                                                Is not failure but the teaching of wisdom.

©This is copyrighted material from my book that never was.

Christ died for us even though we live in sin. We are in a world that is rife with sin. We are unable to win our way into heaven sinless. We are doomed to fail on a regular basis in this world. Try as we may, we will not become sinless. That said, it is not a green light to go ahead and commit sin after sin until we die. It isn't a free pass to do whatever we like thinking we are forgiven no matter what we do. It's not a get out of jail card making you free to commit crimes against others. Failure is the means by which we are taught humility and courage. It is the means by which we learn that we are all vulnerable. It is the means by which we learn that we are all very much alike in many ways. It is the means by which we are tested and guided in what is good for us and bad for us. Failure is many things. It is never the end of the line unless it is where you give up and stop trying. 

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     Reflections on God are important for personal growth but

should be to the good of all mankind. A truth about a

reflection on God has no worth if the beneficiary is strictly

ones own self. The true test of its value is in its ability to

touch and bring light and peace into a dark corner of the life

of others. Truly, it is then a reflection of God who is a

solid foundation of life. 

© From my book that never was.

       

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This week I am sharing another image from the Highland Dreams coloring book. 

The Copics used are;

That will be it for this week. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe. Remember to "Always Love The Details."