Just Draw

Drawing is a sort of therapy for me. When I really get into a drawing, I start to feel kind of relaxed, I guess. I don't really know how to explain it, but it seems calming to me. Drawing is also rewarding, at least, if the picture turns out good. Sometimes, I rush through something, but when I take the time to sit down and really enjoy the artwork, I find it more relaxing.

Lately, I have been working on this picture of a girl from Chad. For some time I have been interested in Chad and the need for the Gospel to be preached there. Also, drawing a dark African is a good challenge for me because drawing dark people and light people is different. I like doing things that might be harder. This has been a very enjoyable drawing for me.

I give doughnuts to a friend most weeks. One time he was late, so in the mean time, I drew him a big buck and put it on the box of doughnuts. The next time I didn't draw anything, and he complained that there was no big buck. So, the other day, I drew a shaggy little raccoon. It was very fun. I have a fascination with raccoons. I think my friend was pleased.

Anyway, yes, drawing is a good thing to do.

She's not quite done, but I like the way she is turning out for the most part. I am just drawing with a regular old Bic pen.

And the raccoon.

The Ten-foot Collage

This is my biggest piece of art so far. It isn't really just one piece, and some of the pictures are not my own. But, I put it together, so to speak, and most of them are my own pictures. I had a lot of fun making it to the ceiling, and I'm still not done.

Below are pictures of the individual pieces and then the whole thing.

Swirls, hummingbirds, and a heron

My dream house and flowers

A little cut-out and an owl

That whole section

Mountains, a girl, a chair, and pup, along with a butterfly in the middle

Girl on a swing, Tyler, girl on a hill, and a leaf

A close-up of the girl on a swing

A heron cut-out, dancing girl, and a picture a friend sent me

Gabriel and me, butterflies, a rabbit, a dancer card from a friend, another butterfly card from Lydia, and a picture of a girl with flowers from a friend

I only drew the flowers and made the cut-outs. The rest of the pictures are from people. Lydia gives me the actor pictures. 

Cards from people to me. 

A butterfly from a friend.

Brooke, windows, a tree, flowers, a design, Jesse, and Micah

A kid and me, Quinn, and more designs

A song, butterflies, a daffodil, flowers and a poem I found from a book

Me standing in front of the whole thing. 

Do you have a favorite piece of art? Or a worst? Haha! It could even be one of those actor pictures. 

Fun stuff. 

Seeing the Beautiful Things

Sometimes we get so distracted by the problems of life. I get really upset about things and forget that the world is still turning and God is still working. So, if you need a little reminder that beauty and wonder still exist, here you go. 

Ah! These guys smell so good, and they are blooming all over the city. 

Trees, folks!

This little park path is just delightful and refreshing even on a hot day. Even when the city is screaming, you can find these quiet places all around you if you look. 

Sun, sky, and trees. 

I was struggling but finally managed to capture this bee on these green blossoms. 

Food is a nice little blessing that I think we too often rush through and forget to really enjoy. 

Morning sun. It is that small slit of the year when actual sun (as opposed to reflections) shines into our living room the morning. 

Yeah, a small slit of sun, too, but it is glorious. 

Those fragrant blossoms in my house. 

See the sun, smell the flowers, remember that God is good. 

🌞🌞🌞

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❤

Wendy's

Alaina and I stepped out of the car into a quiet neighborhood. Children were out across the street, the grass was green, there were flowers shining in the sun, blue sky overhead. We started walking south toward Lake. We noticed the boarded up McDonalds, but we've kind of grown accustomed to that. Then we hit Lake and turned right.

I had seen the videos, I had seen the pictures and heard the stories, but you know? There is really something different when you are there.

The blackened...well...everything. Burned by flames of anger. The smell of soot, the piles of gutted building, everything ruined. Metal bent and useless, street lights dripping from excruciating heat, roads blocked, glass gone. One old brick building looked like it was ready to topple. Buildings were empty, their charred contents dumped in piles on the side walks. Graffiti covered nearly every standing building.

War-zone.

That's what I had heard it was like, and now I knew.

We didn't know where to start, what to do. It looked unconquerable.

But, finally we saw a line of people on the Aldi wall, scrubbing away at the graffiti. We did this for a bit before it became obvious that we weren't really doing anything, so we left to join a slowly growing crowd at the Wendy's. I think Wendy's must have been one of the first buildings to go down because it seems like a very familiar restaurant people talk about. It should be famous.

Anyway, upon approaching the Wendy's, it looked utterly hopeless. There was debris piled up upon itself, all blackened by angry flames. I thought, Are we actually going to clean this thing up with our bare hands. That's exactly what we were going to do, what people were already doing. Inside the remains of brick walls, there were piles of fallen brick, bent metal, glass, electric wires, dry wall, even a sharpy. People were literally grabbing huge metal pieces of roofing, medal counters, refrigerators, drink machines, etc., and throwing them into dumpsters and trailers that would haul the scrap metal away.

Alaina and I stood there for a second, almost unsure of where to start, but then we just walked in and grabbed something, anything. There was an assembly line with people collecting brick and throwing it into large piles where a guy in a Bobcat would scoop it up and carry it away. The crowd grew to about 50 people or so, grabbing this, raking up that, hauling away metal, and so on.

The air was hot, the sun burned, wind blew ash into our eyes and hair and arms and legs. Soot soon covered our sweating bodies. My hair felt sticky and strange as sweat and soot mingled into a crusty mess. But I worked on. We worked on.

It dawned on me: here was a group of people from all backgrounds working together for the good of others. Muslims, Christians, all the in betweens, blacks, whites, Asian, Somalian, all working together. It was like we were instantly friends, talking together, helping one another, laughing, hauling, scraping, loving.

When the media and the news and the world wants to scare us, to tell us we're in a big mess, that there's no hope for racial harmony, riots are happening, buildings are burning, people are angry, lives are lost, we have this. A bunch of people working together in love.

This is what I want to remember, looking around and seeing all those people making a difference, getting dirty.

By the time we left, so much had been accomplished. The floor was finally becoming visible. And we had done that with our hands.

"Beauty for ashes."

I'll never believe those fires were OK, or that the people who started them had a right to do that, but I know that God does bring good out of evil, and I'm glad I could see that.

So, next time you walk into a Wendy's, think about what God can bring out of the worst situations.


"The Spirit of the LORD is upon me...to comfort all that mourn...to give unto them beauty for ashes."
~Isaiah 61:1-3

"And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations."
~Isaiah 61:4

Twenty-Five

I have this cool sister named Priscilla, and she happens to have a birthday today.

So, Happy Birthday, Priscilla!

Priscilla and I go way back. I've known her for just over 23 years, and though I have attempted to be as old as she is, I have never made it. Who cares? The great thing is that we get to be sisters. We are actually pretty different when it comes to sisters, but somehow we've been able to work through those differences and become good friends. We talk about everything, we work together, I sleep at her house when riots happen, we were even in college together. I babysit her daughter, I poke her, she pokes me, we get upset at each other, we get on each other's nerves. But in the end, she's a great pick, and I'm glad she's had the privilege to live on earth for 25 years.

Adventures in Stillwater from last year. Apparently, Priscilla and I don't take a lot of pictures together.

Yeah, definitely not. This is from almost 3 years ago. 😞

Justus and Priscilla running on the beach. Also, a long time ago. 

Obviously, Priscilla is an interesting person. 

That's it for today, folks!

❤❤❤❤

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