I am an Artist

 

As a young adult, my poor self-esteem carried over into my new Christian life. God decided to use art as His way of proving to me that Christ in me was totally capable and I could trust in Him.

He put His desire in my heart to paint. Too poor to afford supplies, I used some old paint belonging to my mother-in-law, some toothpicks and some egg shells with the insides literally blown out.

I "painted" flowers, birds, dogs, cats, trees, mountains and all sorts of nature on those egg shells and declared myself an artist. My former husband said I had to sell my art before I could claim that fame.

Well, not to be undone, I asked my Daddy to take my "art" to work with him to see if they would sell. He gave me some end-caps from metal tubing to glue on the bottom of each egg as a stand, and they were quite attractive.

Within a few days they all sold for $3.00/each; and Daddy's workmates gave me special orders to "paint" family pets, beautiful landscapes and other meaningful visuals from photos, which they gave me as examples.

Of course, I had no natural talent, but Christ in me duplicated every one of those special orders perfectly; and I had myself a new and thriving "cottage" business.

With the money I earned, I bought painting supplies: real brushes, small canvases and fresh paints. I stayed up painting for hours after my family went to bed and my chores were finished.

I kept one of those paintings (I still have it) and gave away the rest of them as gifts. Once my supplies ran out, I went back to my original love of making crafts out of trash.

I used them to decorate my home and as gifts as well. I started making my own greeting cards, which I still do to this day. Then, I moved into the realm of making jewelry for myself and as gifts.

I added the God-given talent of buying clothes at thrift stores and mixing and matching them with scarves and my jewelry as works of art. Now, I am perfectly dressed from head to toe no matter where I am, even while cleaning at home.

I am so glad that I "inherited" my Daddy God's creative abilities through Christ in me (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and I look forward to continuing to create out of other people's trash for the rest of my days on this earth (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for encouraging my young life with Your creative powers through Christ in me. I pray that You will do this exact miracle for everyone with low self-esteem who comes to know You as their personal Savior. Build them up in the most holy faith and bless them and allow them to bless others by Your love within them (Jude 1:20-25).

When Your creativity flows out of us in the form of art, baking, needlepoint, childcare, writing, building, mentoring Your Saints, engineering, teaching a class, singing, mechanics, gardening, playing musical instruments, preaching a sermon or whatever form which You choose to anoint our life, we feel at one with You in every respect (Exodus 35:1-5, 35:35; 1 Chronicles 15:16; Job 19:23-24).

Thought for the Day:

An artist is not born overnight, but cultivated over years of inspiration from our Father God, because He makes all things beautiful in His own time. - Ecclesiastes 3:11

Hidden Treasure

I love to have pretty belongings around me, but I like to find them by treasure hunting in a thrift store rather than in the mall. The value of the dollar stretches much further in a flea market than in a chain store. I find greater value, however, in storing up treasures in Heaven rather than here on this earth (Matthew 6:19-21). I treasure God’s presence even more than any presents the world has to offer.

Out of our heart flow the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). God instructs us in multiple verses throughout the Bible that the motivation for our thoughts, words and deeds should come from the spiritual, rather than the earthly realm. These verses encourage us to walk in the Spirit and not to fulfill the desires of our flesh (Galatians 5:16). They stress that our thoughts are as important as our actions (Proverbs 16:3).

Even popular motivational authors and speakers encourage us to wisely choose our thoughts and words, because they are very powerful (Proverbs 18:21). We can follow Paul’s advice. He tells us to think only on concepts that are true, honest, righteous, pure, lovely, of a good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). If your thoughts do not measure up to this standard, discard them and think positive thoughts instead. The secret to keeping our mind and thoughts in perfect peace is to keep our focus on God (Isaiah 26:3).

God wants us to guard our thoughts, as well as our words and actions (Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 34:13; 1 Corinthians 6:13). When Satan plants temptation in our mind, which He often does, what will we do? Will we act on it and sin, or will we submit to God and resist the devil, so Satan will flee from us (James 4:7)? With Salvation, God encourages us to put on the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:15-16). As we live by His Spirit’s direction, He blesses us abundantly with every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).

God wants us to learn to forgive the shortcomings in our self and others, as well as to use the gifts, which He gives us. This takes courage. God has a perfect plan for each of us. He opens doors for us that no one can close. As we walk in His will, He blesses us abundantly above all that we can even request or think. As we enjoy the unique calling God gives us, we use our gifts for His glory. We have to ask ourself if we are willing to live as the treasure that God created us to be.

Prayer:

Father God, You want to direct our life by Your Holy Spirit. You want us to allow the Holy Spirit to infuse our thoughts, words and deeds. Help us to live in the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit, as we cherish Your family and share our testimony with the world around us. Fellowship with other Believers is the life-blood of Your Body. Everything else on earth fades when compared to the privilege of living as Your child.

Thought for the Day:

When we allow God’s thoughts to permeate our thoughts, we have mastered life.