Finally Art Again

I am finally forcing myself back into art and quite enjoying it. Lately I've been doing a lot with my marker pens. I'm going to try to branch out more eventually, but right now I'm just glad I'm doing art again. 

Scary Minnie Mouse. I messed up her eyes, so she looks kind of evil. 

Lydia gave me a paint set for Christmas, and I drew the outlines for this butterfly a while ago. Then I was lazy for months, and only just painted it. It is a happy picture in my opinion. 

I got a little carried away. 

This is inspired by stain glass.

In case you're interested, the DongNu are an unreached people in China. I am helping to encourage people to pray for them and the spread of the Gospel in their area. 

✌

Ice and Flowers

 

My garden is looking so green.

But sometimes the windows still get frosty.

Baby Bump

She's growin'. 

The wonderful bathroom selfie. 

I LIKE My Husband

Yep. I really like him. 

It's great to love people. It's great to love your spouse, but do you like him or her? Do you get super happy when they walk in the door? Is that person your best friend for life?

I remember the first time hearing this concept of liking ones spouse. I always thought you should love your husband or wife, but it had never really dawned on me that someone could love their spouse but not like them too much. One guy was raving about his wife, and he said, "I like her. I love her, but I really like her." 

I've also heard the opposite. Jacob has told me about some of his coworkers who say they love their wives but don't like them. It's pretty sad. It's as if they've decided to stay married because they don't want to divorce, but instead of thriving in their marriage, they're just dealing with it. That actually leads me to a whole other topic: the importance of being a good wife. But anyway, I'll get to that later. 

Right now Jacob is working hard for our little family. I appreciate that about him: he really works hard. Right now I am also thinking about later this afternoon when I get a phone call from my best friend telling me he's done with work. I get really excited about that phone call because that means I can stop whatever I'm doing, jump in the old Camry, and go pick him up from the warehouse. You see, Jacob and I really like each other. We like to be together, hang out together, serve at church together, tease each other, play games with each other, pray together, sit and read our Bibles in the morning together. We're really good friends. 

And, just in case you're wondering, best friends don't always agree. We had arguments before we were even dating. Sometimes we just don't get each other. Sometimes I'm a real grumpy pants. But, the cool thing about being such good friends is that we don't give up on each other. We are learning a lot about patience, forgiveness, and grace. 

Obviously, I am no expert on the subject (I've only been married for 5 months, for crying out loud), but I'm already learning about the importance of really liking your spouse. If you've been married for a long time, maybe this is harder to do. I'm sure your love for that person has grown much deeper over the years, but when was the last time you thought about something you really like about him or her? Think about it, just one thing to start with. 

Mental Health

Wo, is me. 

This is super random, but why does everyone seem to have some kind of mental health issue these days? Maybe I'm a bit insensitive, but I'm slightly annoyed. I'm also not sure what to believe about mental sickness because anyone can say they're depressed or anxious and then turn it into an actual medical condition. 

Being a blogger, I tend to check out various other blogs on the internet. I have found over and over again that these other bloggers have mental problems. It got me to wondering why this is so normal these days. I used to have more sympathy because I thought people were actually diagnosed with real diseases and such. Now, however, I just get suspicious. 

I have several thoughts on the issue, but the one that just got me is that we have too much time to think about ourselves. Too much time to mull over every single little mole hill that we can turn into a mountain. I have a headache? Oh, no: I suffer from severe migraines that put me down for days. 

Now, I want to acknowledge that there are actual health problems out there that really do cripple people for days. I know people with these sufferings, and I don't take it lightly. However, if you're going to tell me you deal with anxiety, I'm gonna say, "Me, too." Who doesn't? 

I think we have become so selfish and self-centered. I know this to be true because I have experienced some dark days that were more or less my fault. Also, the parts that were affected by outside things still did not give me an excuse to stop everything and decide I was mentally ill. I still had to go on with life. Everyone goes through seasons of depression, but that doesn't permit you to get a doctor's letter and quit working because you are "ill." Let's face it, folks, this earth is not a perfect place. Because of sin, everything has been marred, including the state of your mental health. But that doesn't make you super special and exempt from living life. 

So, maybe we could all stand to quite thinking so much about our own petty problems. Call a hurting friend, write a letter to a lonely person, clean the house, love your family, volunteer somewhere, get a job,  look at the sky, smell the flowers. You get the idea. We're surrounded by a life worth living. Why waste it on our own selfish problems?

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."  ~Philippians 2:3

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."                        ~Mark 8:34

Spring Keeps Glowing

 

Spring

Birds' songs fill the air

Soft breeze through my hair

Warm sun's golden hue

Full sky brilliant blue

Flowers Ahoy!

The flowers have been blooming their little heads off. These are pictures I've taken over the past several days/weeks. I think flower posts can be a little boring, but I really love taking pictures of flowers. 

✌

My Little Girl

Yesterday we found out that Jacob was right: we're having a girl. Even though I had wanted a boy, I really don't care, and I'm so thankful for our Taliya. 

Spring and Winter

Last night we got our biggest snow this winter. It's practically spring, folks. Yesterday it was in the 60's, and it will be warm again probably by Monday. Oh, well, I guess that's the south for you. 

Yesterday

This morning

Some flowers I picked earlier this week sitting on our window sill with the snow in the background. 

Well, that's fun.