The birth of Christ.

 

It would seem that many in our government would fit this analogy. Why would I say this? Over the passage of time many have run for office and made promises only to be elected and break those promises. It is rare that promises have been kept. Elected officials seem to think they are better judges of what is needed, what is right or wrong for those that have elected them. Am I getting political? No! What is my point? This country was founded on Christian beliefs and ethics. There have always been those who would bend or flat out ignore those beliefs to the breaking point. Laws have never replaced the need for Christian ethics and beliefs. Christ was born lived and died for us. That birth was a blessing for us in many ways. Most important of all is his example of what we should become in this life so that we would have eternal life. That is not something someone else can give us. Our God came to us in the form of a man to live among us and feel what we feel, experience what we experience. His birth was something we are celebrating this week. Celebrate His birth and let the present giving be secondary.

No artwork today. I will not post again until after the holidays. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New year. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe until then. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Total Love

No truer words have ever been voiced. It is difficult to understand that kind of love or to put into words the impact that kind of love would have on those who embrace it. I can't name anyone who has encountered a flesh and blood  living person in this day and age that has experienced it. Can you? It is available though. We all seek it. We all long for the kind of love that knows no age, no limit, no death. The problem is the definition this world has for love is not that kind of love but one that is age limited and does die. It is based on sexuality not love. Take a look at the divorce rates and length of marriages. Real love is not physical. It is far superior to that. It is not based on a heightened feeling that lasts a short time. It is caring and giving without conditions or limits. It is not looking at what am I getting out of it but what is the need of another. It is when there is a mutual exchange of this kind that love becomes something more. Life long growing into this kind of love creates a bond that is truly permanent.  This is what becoming one is all about. This is what it means to become one with your wife/husband. This is what it means to become one with God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. This is what it means to become part of the body of Christ. This is the love that has no age, limits or death. Christmas is nearly upon us. Enter into this season with the proper thoughts and attitude. Thanks and worship of our Lord are in order over and above the gift giving to one another.

The image I am sharing today is another image from yesteryear. The image says it is a Bibiana flower but when researched it is called a baboon flower. Go figure! 

The Copic colors used are:

I know, this is a lot of colors. The light lavender is a tough color to match in the flowers and I wanted to be sure the pot got some attention too.

That is it for this week. May God bless and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

No message, Just Pictures

Today I am Sharing some pictures taken when we shared our daughter's birthday at Longwood Gardens. These were globe that cycled through the spectrum of colors. The photos aren't great but they give you an idea of the spectacle outside the conservatory entrance.

This is a side view from the entrance. The front was so crowded there was no room to take the frontal view.

These trees are always decorated just inside the entrance and are a favorite to take personal photos in front of.

We, of course had to do the expected.

Imagine this next two views with people so packed together that you could only go in the direction they were moving. The closer you get to Christmas that is the way it gets with the crowds. It is impossible to take pictures.

This next batch is of the shallow pool, only a few inches deep, that is decorated to the max.

This is a side display room. 

This is a corridor leading to the orchid house.

These are amaryllis growing in a pot with deciduous plants.

This is the orchid house. It is four walls of blooming orchids. Heaven!

I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do. My camera was not focusing properly in the low light. That will be very apparent in the last few pictures of the outside light show.

This is looking toward the Garden entrance.

This was a tunnel of lights that constantly changed in design and colors.

This is a view looking through the tunnel.

More of the lights on the grounds.

This next display was a cage with a light in it. It was designed to cast an intricate shadow on the ground. Amazing!

The last of the pictures are of the display going to the lake and field beyond. Sorry I didn't take any of the lake or the walk back. Jill and I were ready to call it a night at this point.

These were the best of the pictures I took. I hope you enjoyed them and I didn't bore you too much. That will do it for this week, Yay!!!

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Omnipotent

 

Omni means in all ways or things. Potent means having great power. Omnipotent means having unlimited power or able to do anything. Why have I broken down this word. I wanted to bring home the description of God as "omnipotent." It is the only way we as finite beings can grasp the unimaginable that our God represents. Our bible often describes things He does that are seemingly impossible. Because we can't grasp that we tend to discount it as fact. We often take the position of "show me" putting Him to the test. Beware the danger of doing this because you may get what you ask for and it will not be pleasant. It is not beyond His power to wipe the slate clean and start over. This brings us to the other word often associated with omnipotent when describing God, benevolent. The word means to wish well. (I used to think it meant "to put up with" which in my case may have been somewhat true.) In other words to wish us everything that is beneficial to our well being. Does this sound like a God who likes to kill and destroy or one who would love and protect His creation? It is not true that He prefers to hurt destroy. Yes it is something He will do but not what He would choose to do. Last week I said God is love. Love would rather protect, cherish, guide and share affection. It is a two way street. The key word for this is choice. It is our choice to accept the love offered to us or to reject it. This is true in this life as well as the spiritual life. Where do you stand in your beliefs of who God is? Do you need to be shown "miracles" or proofs of that love? I look back at my life and see all of the negative that has become the positives and the love is apparent. Living life provides more than enough proof of that love. If there are still negatives then it may be that I need to let go and Let God in those areas. 

Once again we are going to Digital Tuesday for our image. I love the old images for their nostalgic appearance. This one is a rose called "Pearl of The Garden". According to the images found it is a white rose with bright yellow highlights. My DW loves yellow. 

The Copic colors used are:

DW says I am a brute for punishment since I pick the hard images to do. You can't become better at something if all you do is the easy things. We never become perfect but we can become better. In Christianity it is like art, it is a learning process. 

That is it for this week. Have a great Thanksgiving and may the good lord keep you safe and healthy. Remember to always "Love The Details."

The Call

 
Mark 2:17 States that Christ did not come to call the righteous but to call the sinner. The world at large then and now has a problem with that. I admit that at times I have a problem with that but it is what we are called to address and accept. Why? 1 John 4:8,16 says "God is love". That is not an idle statement. God put His only son among us to show His love for all of us. The self righteous rejected Him and the sinners embraced Him. The self righteous crucified Him. In this single act He cleansed us from our sins through His sacrifice. All of the animal sacrifices on the altar throughout the ages could not do what this one act of sacrifice did. Free us from our sins. This does not make us no longer sinners but it does provide forgiveness for All of our sins. It provides a path to redemption by confession of sinfulness and sin. Does the call to the sinner by Christ make more sense now? It doesn't remove the "I don't understand why that happened" or offer answers for senseless acts of sin. It does offer a way to handle life and those we share this world with. God is Love and His love is offered to everyone equally then share it.

Today I am sharing a simple retro image of some grapes. This is from my wanderings and collection of images from some years ago. Digital Tuesday is the site it is from. It was not as simple as you might think to color it. There is several hours of work in this one. The fine detail took some time. I think it was worth it.

The copic colors are:

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

Sentiments

 

I spent most of a day going through all of the cards sent to me and that I made and kept for later use. After reading them and filing them away for safe keeping it left me with a sense of calm thankfulness. The quote above is correct in most cases but not all cases. There are those individuals that put their hearts into the cards they send out. The sentiment, verse, poetry or whatever they created or chose the for the card was from the heart. They may not even have much else to give so they send out a card. To not appreciate or be thankful for the thoughtful gift of that card would be a travesty, a slight to the beauty of the heart of that person. I realize there are those that send cards for other reasons and purposes but there are those who send cards and choose sentiments from the heart. Our blogs are much the same as cards we create or purchase and send out. They are a sharing of self that can't be done in any other way. For most it is not possible to travel to where others live and meet in person. Card sharing and blog sharing give us a way to share ourselves with one another. I don't know about you but it is a blessing to know those that do this kind of sharing and giving. For me it is a positive way of giving some of who I am in a way that could not happen any other way.   

I spent the better part of a day trying to find where on Pinterest this image came from to no avail. It was colored and shared with a friend. They liked it so much I gave it to them for their kindness over the years. 

For some reason the colors the camera picked up are different than the image. They are not homogenous, free flowing and blended. The image is signed just above the shoulder on the right. It is not legible. 

The Copic colors used are:

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

The end

 

What do you think about Death? Are there really living dead? What comes after death? Do you believe in life after death? Do you fear death? This year was somewhat traumatic for me. It was realized that those that I was really close to in the past are now all gone to be with Jesus. There are a few that were friends and acquaintances still here with us but close friends there are none. Two of my three siblings are still alive but we are not very close. I have a few surviving cousins but we were never really close. Over the years those we love or were once close to drift apart, lose contact with, have changes in interests or move away to new adventures in life. In this world it is hard if not impossible to make a friend that is willing to spend the time to be with you and get to know you as someone who matters and cares. It is sad that people form immediate "impressions" as to who we/they are or are not. I make no excuses that I am guilty of this. It makes me guilty of putting myself above someone, assuming I am better than they are. This also places me/us at an endpoint where we are now isolated not just from others but Christ as well. It makes us feel that this is the end. It makes us ask "is this all there is?" My scripture for today is Philippians 2:1-4. This is the essence of who Christ was and who we are to become. It is not an easy lesson to learn but it is one we must learn. Christ felt alone and isolated just as we do. He knew who he was while we struggle to know who we are. He loved us completely and utterly as He gave His all for us. How is it we feel alone and isolated when that kind of love is still with us. It is not the end but the beginning. 

Today's image is of the Chinese Sacred Lily. The lily is not really a lily but a narcissus. This was a fun image to color. I am not sure which  Vintage site this was pulled from but was a fun image to color.

The Copic colors used are:

The diamond shaped marker in the lower right corner is a Wink of Stella silver pen. 

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

Who is better?

(Luke 18:9-14) I often hear the phrase "thank God I am not like that" or see someone criticised for not being like someone else. I have endured criticism most of my life because I did not conform to someone else's idea of whom I should be. The person I should be like is usually the one doing the criticizing. I have heard prayer like the one Jesus speaks of in Luke 18. Self righteous Pharisees are what they are. Read the passage above. Be sure you are not counted among them. Pray for them in humility. Remember the Jesus Prayer, " Lord Jesus, Only son of our father, Have mercy on me, a sinner." I once read that each of us is everything that everyone else is. On a personal rendition, "all that you are I am." It is a good thing to remember. Under the right circumstances it is not impossible that we could be that person we do not like. Do not judge another lest you be judged as you have judged. (Ezekiel 7:27) As for who is better, scripture is full of verses to answer that question. Jesus had the answer that pretty much says it all. (Matthew 20:21-23) 

Today I am sharing a classic puzzle from the 1920/30 era. It is a well loved puzzle with some damage and two pieces missing but still in rather decent shape. It is called "Spanish Dancer." I tried to find it on the net but all I could find is a smaller version of the same puzzle from a different company. 

The one offered on the net is at least an inch smaller in all dimensions.

As you can see the box is showing wear but is still in good shape.

For the most part this is in good shape. It was not easy with two pieces missing and one piece damaged but well worth it. Love the image. I guess I am old fashioned in many ways but that is OK.

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