This morning, I sat down to my computer and felt moved to watch a sermon message. I watch a variety of sermons online being unable to currently attend my local church in person due to my disease. So I went to Living Stones Church in Kona, Hawaii. It's funny, when I saw the sermon title and as I listened, I thought "well, this doesn't apply to me as much anymore...I know I'm not in control of my life...this sermon applies more to other people..."

But as I listened further, I realized that the sermon message indeed applies and it served as a humbling reminder that I can't control everything, I can't play tug o' war for control with God. I can't win God's favor doing all the right things (that includes blending Christianity into some of my artwork) and what I want in life isn't necessarily what God wants for me. Surrender is difficult. For everyone. Period. 

So I'm sharing Pastor Ryan's most recent sermon because I feel it's useful and crucial in our true relationship with the One True God. God is good and He loves us all.

Hi everyone!

I've created a new page under My Art...Pen & Pencil Drawings. There aren't any drawings there yet, but there will be in the near future. :-) My art is the reason why I've slacked on blogging. That and the fact that treatment for this stupid disease kicks my arse every now and then and limits what I can and can't focus on.

When I was in high school, art was one of my favorite classes (that and writing), so I'm trying to get back into both as it's fun for me. It's an amazing feeling when my art reaches people on a deep level...I love hearing how the artwork makes them feel and how they interpret what they see. The Christian-based artwork has a tendency to evoke a lot of warm and fuzzy emotions and being honest, I cry whenever I draw or paint a Christian-based work...one could say that's the Holy Spirit working in me and I welcome that strong connection to the Lord. My favorite Christian-based work thus far is "Touched", a piece for Pentecost. It's on the Multimedia page. Worth viewing.

Sometimes I work from home, sometimes when I'm feeling well I work from Starbucks. I'm sure people wonder why I have to take up a third of an 8-chair table (when I'm blessed enough to actually get one of the tables...I compete with students and professionals for the prime spots!). I always have a lot of tools and such with me. Starbucks visits are important to me for other reasons, too...they help keep me connected to the world outside the walls of my home in an environment that isn't overwhelming to my senses. Lyme has really affected my nerves so there are few places I can tolerate without herxing. It's sad, being an extrovert at heart, but in my mind, I'm making small steps towards improvement. And that's a win for me every time I walk through the door and stay.

So, rounding back to the original reason for this blog entry...I've added to the My Art section. Pen & Pencil Drawings is the page name. Keep checking because right now I update the My Art pages with new art on a pretty consistent basis.

Thank you for following me. If you have any suggestions or would like to be a guest blogger on either or both of my blogs, i.e., this personal blog, Everything Lyme, please contact me. If you have any suggestions for artwork you'd like me to attempt, I'm open to special requests...just contact me.