Remembered

I have had this "theme"

of

God's hands

running through my head

this year



The security

validity

and

identity

that is there



The safety of it--

to risk

and

be caught

in the grip

of His grace

when

I take a flying leap of faith.



2010

I know I am engraved on the palms of His hands.

And so I took some flying leaps of faith

~Believe Truth e-course~

~Inspired Studios magazine article~

~Black Hills Photo Shootout~

~Blogging my mixed media creations~

It has not been without challenge.

But never before have I felt

more caught

more secure

to be me

in the grip of His palms.

photos, text, art ... copyright 2010 Jodene (Jodi) Shaw.

Unto You

For unto you is born this day in the city of David, A Savior which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

Unto you.  Unto me.

A Savior.

Christ the Lord.

Unto you.  Jodi Shaw. 
Unto you . . . what is your name?
He knows.
{Say it.  Say your name.  Say unto ____________.}
Unto you.

A Savior.

Christ the Lord.

Your Savior.

For all you seek.

For all

that your heart,

your spirit,

the core of your being

really seeks.

For the Savior knows

what the longing in your heart is

 that you are seeking to fill

--even when you do not.

He knows.

He knows better than you

what will satisfy

your need,

your hunger,

your thirst

in your spirit.

So come to the Savior.

Come to Christ the Lord.

He has been born unto you.



copyright 2010. Jodene (Jodi) Shaw.

Winter Wonderland

The view from my deck this morning.

See the deer in the background . . .

It's a winter wonderland on White Owl Creek . . .

Shhhh . . . don't tell anyone it is so beautiful here . . . .

{{smile}}

Sleep In Heavenly Peace

It's been a busy Christmas season.

I know.

What a redundant thing to say.

This is my princess in her snowboots

On a trip to the post office

To mail some orders of

Mary Kay and mixed media.

It's been a long week for her.

For me.

She is passing out the test lately

And I feel like I have gotten an "F"

the last three days.

I am thinking I need to read or listen

to a little bit lot of Dr. James Dobson.

Titles: 

{Dare to Discipline}

{Strong Willed Child}

At Living Proof Live with Beth Moore last month,

she said that she could tell the kind of day

it would be with her second daughter

by the way her hair looked when she got up in the morning.

Yep.  That holds true here.

And she's had some bad hair days this week.

Maybe it is time for us both to go to the salon . . .

Love her to death.

And that's what she says to me,
"I just love you to death."

Yes she does.

She's an all out

Live and love to the death

Kind of girl

And I love it.

It drives me crazy.

It drives me wild.

And I am still wildly crazy about her.

Even though my throat hurts from yelling.

Even though I seem to speak no other word than "NO!"

Even though I am having visions of thirteen...arrgggg.

She has been this way from birth.

If it was my idea,

she was against it.

Feeding her had to be her idea

at six days old.

If I touched her head to push her,

she reared back.

She is that way with everything.

She takes a completely different approach

than my other two kids.

And so I will take another approach.

And pray for help and guidance

And forgiveness. . .

Here Comes Santa Claus

At the end of our kids Christmas program,

it took about 10 rounds of

"Here Comes Santa Claus"

before the man in red appeared.

Immediately, my "little E" hid beneath my legs.

But after some coaxing, from her cousin,

she agreed to go visit to get her back of treats.

Santa asked how old she was.

Without opening her mouth, she held up three little fingers.

My sincere and serious Syd

cracked a bit of a grin

although she was thinking

at the ripe ol' age of eight

that she might be too old for this.

And at last, my 11 year old decided he would

speak man-to-man with Saint Nicholas

for a bag of treats.

Classic Christmas memories

of Christmas programs.

We will capture them while we can.

Tom played his guitar and a drum.

And Sydney had her first piano performance:

a duet of Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.

This Kind of Day

It is one of those Christmas season days

that remind me that I need

Christmas.

That I need the birth of Jesus.

One of those tired and melancholy days.

Dotted with little springs of hope.

Like a snowflake on my sleeve.

Or a blanket of them on my deck table.

Or a little waxwing in my cottonwood tree.

I adore that little love note from God.

I have never seen a waxwing here at the ranch

this time of year.

But it was sweet tenderness to my spirit.

Amidst all the to-do lists of Christmas and this and that and . . .

And then my daughter has fever and flu-ness for two days.

But then she gets better . . .

yet I am exhausted and I feel guilty for my motherly exhaustion.

And I hear of a 13 month old with cancer

And a wife and mom living the day-to-day realities of mothering and loving

While her less-than-40-year-old husband takes cancer treatment.

And a bully-gremlin in my head says,

what right do you have to feel melancholy?

I still need Jesus for Christmas.

O come, o come, Emmanuel

~ God with us ~

copyright 2010 Jodene (Jodi) Shaw

~Branching Out Art & Photography~

I am so humbled and excited at the same time!

There is nothing like pouring your heart into something.



Nothing like creating out of the truths that are unfolding

within your heart.



Truths that you are finally receiving for yourself.

And having others embrace it too

for themselves

These pieces that I created were born out of

the whispers in my own spirit

that were meaningful to me.

My own personal photographs

and words that have been a message to my own heart.

From others, from within, from the Word.



Each of these pieces have found a new home.



A place to speak to another heart.

I love the relationship that forms when the message of something created

speaks to another person's spirit.

It is good to create

and for others

to respond.



The connection is fulfilling to me.

It is good to work hard at something.

And see someone else delight in it.

It is a gift to me from the Lord

that I have experienced in creating these pieces

for others

and in writing the Believe Truth e-course

for others.

There is fulfillment as these projects

that have flowed from the depths

of the Spirit moving in my heart

have gone out to the lives of other people.

Fulfillment is His gift to me

that I have felt over the past year.

As He has given me opporutnities

to speak,

to teach,

to write,

to create,

with love

and passion

for others

to know

that He is

the LORD

and there is

no other.

Photography, art, writing copyright Jodene Shaw 2010.

"So lift them up to Me, all the broken pieces of your life" from Matthew West.

"Life" stamp image from Stampin' Up.

Handmade Christmas Ornament Exchange

Jennifer at

 Studio JRU ~ In The Studio Sneak Peek Friday

hosted this awesome

handmade ornament exchange

with those of us that have been

participating "In the Studio"

 How fun to make these

joyful birds!

And send them all over the USA!



To lovely spirited artists!

And receive treasures back

from such talented women!



Tomorrow I will share the goodies that I received in the mail!

Fun stuff!



Branching Out Art

Branching out.

Photography.

Writing.

Art.

Why branching out?

Because that is what I'm doing.

Branching out.

Out on a limb.

Here's some of my latest creations.

I will be showing them along with others at an Open House

on

MY BIRTHDAY!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

at 6:30

at Kelly Klein's home.

If you'd like directions,

send me an email!

Masterpiece ~ Ephsians 2:10

New ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

Art & Photography copyright 2010 Jodene Shaw.

~Look inside my heart~

"I want to be beautiful

And make you stand in awe

Look inside my heart

And be amazed

I want to hear you say

Who I am is quite enough

I just want to be worthy of love

And beautiful."

--Bethany Dillon "Beautiful"

"Remember twirling skirts?  Most little girls go through a season when they will not wear anything if it does not twirl (and if it sparkles, so much the better). ~ Their young hearts intuitively want to know they are lovely.  Some will ask with words, "Am I lovely?" Others will simply ask with their eyes.  Verbal or not, whether wearing a shimmery dress or covered in mud, all little girls want to know." -- from Captivating by Stasi Eldredge

How, where, and to whom we take this question is key.

How I guide my daughters in answering this question is vital.

We can find what we are looking for in this question

and what we are looking for

in the desire to be seen, to be beautiful, to be who we are and to be quite enough.

We can find it.

And we can find it in the very point

of Christmas.

Seek for the answers my sisters

in the manger.

In the depth of the truth of Christmas.

His birth.

His life.

His death.

His resurrection.

His ascension.

We can find what we are looking for.

Seek wholeheartedly.

He will be found by us.

love & grace,

jodi

What Happened to November??

November 1 was my last blog post.

Today is Friday, December 3.

Here is a peak into my "studio" ~ my life.

1.  A Dream Fulfilled.

My dad turned 70 in August. 

One of my parents wish~dream list events was to take their family

to Disney World.

So we all celebrated Dad's 70 years in the place made for celebration . . .

 Four days of twelve hours of going and seeing and laughing and playing

and

memory making . . .

One of my favorite moments was right at the beginning:

It was watching my mom with my girls
in the seats right in front of Jim & me,
preparing them with excitement
for their first ride on an airplane.
My mom's excitement was priceless.
And then Erin said, "When does it blast off?"
Thanks Mom & Dad ~ Grandma & Grandpa for a dream fulfilled!

2.  Operation Christmas Child

Our little prairie church prepared and sent

33 shoeboxes packed

 

with gifts, treats, and the message of hope and life in Jesus Christ

for 33 kids somewhere in this world.

These 3 friends are hoping that 3 friends receive their boxes.

3.  Days with Erin ~ age 3 1/2.

{Need I say more? ~ for this picture says it all.}

4.  Living Proof Live with Beth Moore and tas philas (girlfriends).

 5.  Working cattle, moving cattle . . . ranch life . . .

6.  Creating and selling

my first mixed-media art pieces

at our annual open house

along with my Mary Kay products.

7.  Finishing the writing of Believe Truth ~ my first e-course

. . . an online Bible study

based on

my own personal journey of faith, discovery and belief of truth

about life, about me, about God.



8.  Oh, yeah, and Thanksgiving, kids basketball,

preschool, a handmade Christmas ornament exchange, decorating for Christmas,

cooking, finding occasional times to crash in sleep

. . . and so much more.

*

This would be what happened to November.

This would be the blogging that did not happen in November.

*

Life is good.

~In The Studio Sneek Peak Friday ~ Sponsored by Studio JRU~