Our church reading plan has taken us into the book of Judges in the Old Testament. It is the story of the cycles the Israelites went through after they entered the Promised Land. The cycles go like this:
They begin by serving God, then they become comfortable in the blessings God is showering on them. Instead of being thankful to the One True God, they begin looking at the gods of the peoples around them and worshipping them, turning away from God.
Well, of course, God doesn’t like this. He is a jealous God but He also loves them, so much so that He wants what is best for them (which is a right relationship with Him) and He brings oppression to help them begin to think in the right way again.
They realize that there is only one God and He called them to be His special children. Perhaps they remembered the miracles He performed for them in their history, among them bringing them out of Egypt where they were in slavery, and into the Promised Land.
Then they cry out to God to forgive them.
He answers by sending a deliverer, a judge, to save them from the country that is currently oppressing them. Then they love and serve the Lord God again.
Judges that God used to deliver them include Deborah, Gideon, and Samson.
Are you and I in this cycle somewhere?
The Art Guild I belong to is having a Spring art show and the theme is Spring Into Dreams, and I thought I would try to make something I could enter in the show.
This is a type of collage. The sky is watercolor. The leaves are watercolor, too, but I just put paint on paper, then cut out the shapes and attached them to the sky. After some helpful comments from art guild members, I added the grass and changed the butterfly and caterpillar to Prismacolor pencil.
While I was making this I thought of the wonderful change that will take place for believers in Christ when this earthly body will be resurrected and transformed in heaven!
I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions, but at the beginning of this year, I resolved to learn more about painting and signed up for an online course. While I haven’t painted every day like I thought I would, I have been painting. These are the results of three of the projects.
The art guild I belong to is having a Christmas party and this is my entry into the Christmas card contest. I pray the message is true for you.
In this painting, the water was painted first, then the otter was drawn on top with alcohol markers. So, I got practice painting water, and tried alcohol markers, too.
The only thought I had about otters is that they are playful. Life has been so serious lately, necessarily so, but I want to put a reminder of something fun into your day. The God Who made the otter is still in control of this globe, and the universe. We don’t always (or often) know His purposes for what is happening, but we can trust Him.
Giving credit where credit is due - the photo used for the otter can be viewed here.