Open the Door

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears me and opens the door

I will come in . . .

I am the Door . . .

Art.

Takes me on quite a journey

sometimes.

It can be like a

living

breathing

moving

act

of

prayer

worship

Bible study

all at once.

In which the LORD

speaks to my heart . . .

I'm knocking . . .

open up the door

. . . you know I am the Door . . .

to walk through for Life

the Door to open and come through

and to get behind for protection too . . .

let's talk, you and Me.

Journey through The Door of passover,

The Door of salvation,

The Door of relationship,

The Door of Life.

Sunflower~A~Day 13

The grass withers,

the flower fades,

but the word of our God

stands forever.

Isaiah 40:8

*

~ Linking with Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood ~

Sunflower~A~Day 12

an excerpt from The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd . . .

"Was your Big Mama the one who taught you to keep bees?"

August took off her glasses and cleaned them on the scarf at her waist.  "She taught me lots more about bees than just how to keep them.  She used to tell me one tall bee tale after another."

I perked up, "Tell me one," I said.

August thumped her finger on her forehead like she was trying to tap one of them off some back shelf in her head.  Then her eyes lit up, and she said, "Well, one time Big Mama told me she went out to the hives on Christmas Eve and heard the bees singing the words of the Christmas story right out of the gospel of Luke."  August started singing then in a humming sort of way, "Mary brought forth her firstborn child and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger.'"

I giggled.  "Do you think that really happened?"

"Well, yes and no," she said.  "Some things happen in a literal way, Lily.  And then other things, like this one, happen in a not-literal way, but they still happen.  Do you know what I mean?"

I didn't have a clue.  "Not really," I said.

"What I mean is that the bees weren't really singing the words from Luke, but still, if you have the right kind of ears, you can listen to a hive and hear the Christmas story somewhere inside yourself.  You can hear silent things on the other side of the everyday world that nobody else can.  Big Mama had those kind of ears . . . "

*

~

*

 I get that.

I hear that.

This makes me feel like I'm not the only one.

Like hearing those things

is real

is good

is ok.

{I know.  This is just a fiction book.  But I relate.}

This is what I get:

God speaks my language.

He knows each individual language.

Deeper than English, Spanish, Japanese.

He know the language of my individual, unique, authentic heart.

Of your individual, unique, authentic heart.

And if I listen wholeheartedly

He will speak to me.

And if you listen wholeheartedly

He will speak to you.

In the core of your being.

I believe that.

That is when the words jump of the page in my Bible.

And that is when He is speaking to me

through birds, butterflies, stars, flowers, my kids . . .

on the pages of my journal and through paint and pictures . . .

{like August and the bees}.

*~*

That passage reminds me of this:

For since the creation of the world

His invisible attributes are clearly seen,

being understood by the things that are made,

even His eternal power and Godhead,

so that they are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

*

~

*

What if I believed this was true?

Yesterday

was the start of Believe Truth e-course.

Which got me thinking about these questions.

About truths.

~ What if I believed this was true?

How would I live? ~

This month,

 I am working through

Brave Girls Club

Soul Restoration.

I am at the point of looking

at my reasons and excuses

that could hold me back

and deciding to

live the life I want to be living

anyway.

To be true to my Lord, to my family, to who I am.



And so

today I created

from my heart.



And I am asking myself



"Even though __________,

how can I live it anyway?"

How can I take steps toward the life

of living true

today?

And choose take one small step in that direction

today.




I am honored to link up with Jen and these sisters.


To God alone be the glory.

Art, photography, text copyright 2011 Jodene Shaw.

Established Hands & Guarded Hearts

Two new pieces I put together

over the past few days.

The first is inspired by

my prayer for

my husband. . .

He works hard as a rancher

here with his family.

Carrying on a legacy

of a great-grandfather

who immigrated from Ireland

over 100 years ago.

It is my prayer that the work of his hands

would be established

~ held up ~ strengthened ~ solidified

by the Lord.

Those of you that work

outside year-round in the weather

are familiar with the yellow chore gloves.

The way they smell when they are new.

The feel of them...

the warmth.

But also the cold

when they get wet.

And the smell of them

in the spring.

When the baby calves

are dropping into the snowbanks

and have to be brought in

on a calf sled

to the barn

or to a calf heater

or to a bathtub

to be saved.

In the middle of the afternoon

and

in the middle of the night

when the snow is blinding

or when

the mud is relentless.

The season will come soon enough.

And several pairs

of these yellow gloves

will be thrown away.

Before the season is finished.



And so I pray

that God would establish

the work of these hands

in these gloves.

Make the work firm,

long-lasting,

well-rewarded

fulfilling.

Established.



~

*

~

The second piece is a verse for me.

Reminding myself

that is ok

to protect my heart.

It is ok

to

have

boundaries.

It is ok to have a fence

with a gate.

It is ok to have walls

with doors and windows

to open and shut.

To welcome in

and to close for protection.

It is ok to protect that which is sacred.

And I hope

to teach

my kids

to establish

their

boundaries

and guard

those

especially

around

their

sacred

heart.

The part

of them

that is for

the few

that have proven

trustworthy

and

for themselves

and God.

When it is ok

to

open

and

when it is ok

to

shut.

Learning.

There is a time for both.

Copyright 2011 Jodene (Jodi) Shaw

Branching Out Art & Photography

Crown ~ Abundance ~ Authenticity

I joined Beth Moore's

"Siesta" Scripture Memory Team

as a simple goal for 2011.

Every 2 weeks we memorize

a personally selected scripture.



My first verse for 2011

is Psalm 65:11.

You crown the year with Your goodness,

And Your paths drip with abundance.



I don't know if I will make an art piece

for each scripture.

But it sure helps cement it in my mind,

when I engage myself

in the imagery of it.

And I do love the imagery

of this verse.

I see how it was true for me in 2010.

And I look forward to the truth of it for 2011.

He crowns the year with His goodness (not mine).

His paths (not mine) drip with abundance.

It is interesting to see what that looks like.

How His goodness blesses me ~ blesses each one.

How His path for me is unique ~ for each one is unique.

How He walks us through our seasons of joy and pain.

And how His goodness is in there amidst all of it.

And His path is walked not alone, but with Him on the journey.

Whereever it may lead.

Alongside me.

It is not how I plan or expect.



I also made this piece

on request.

Another

"Be Authentic".



Bloom your sincere, genuine, authentic,

unique bloom.

Our authenticity

has seasons.



Of

being dormant

being planted in the dirt

invisibly growing roots

sprouting

maturing

blooming

&

fruit bearing.



I'm learning to be kind and gentle

to myself

and others

in my various seasons

of

authenticity.

Copyright January 2011 ~ Jodene (Jodi) Shaw.

"Artistic Mother" Vision Board Project

My next project in

The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole

is to make a vision board.

After 15 years of making "goal" posters

this is a familiar activity.

However . . . this feels more authentic than ever before.

Maybe it is because I know my own heart better than ever before.

Maybe it is because I have accepted and embraced myself and desires more than ever before.

But this is requiring me to take a deep breath as I prepare this post.

These are the vision, goals, values, and scripture that are my own.

And it is extremely vulnerable to lay my heart out there for the world to see.

And yet, I believe it is important. 

It is part of being real, being authentic, being courageous.

It is scary to even hang up in my own house.

But I am commited to living authentically for me and for my family.

This last week, I plugged back in to Beth Moore's broadcasts.

And watched "Don't throw away your confidence".

This is a bold, courageous, confident step for me to post.

But here's my heart, my hopes, my dreams, my goals ~

VISION

One of Beth's quotes was,

"What would a courageous person do in my situation? 

Be the person. 

Do it."

This is me doing it.

GOALS

MY VALUES

SCRIPTURE

In The Bible, in the book of John, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well.

Though they have never met, he knows everything about her.

She recognizes that He is the Messiah and tells everyone she meets

that she met a man who knew everything about her.

Through many experiences, I know that He knows me

better than I know myself.

I hope that as I share my stories of Him knowing me

Others will hear HIM for themselves and believe.

That is my prayer for my family:

that they will hear Him themselves

and believe

with their own faith,

their own hearts,

their own love,

know that He knows them

and know that this Man really is the Savior of the world

and of them individually & uniquely.

Photos & text copyright 2010 Jodene (Jodi) Shaw.

Put on Love

Above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Colossians 3:14

I am a new creation, clothing myself in love.

Character of the New Man

Mixed-media collage art copyright 2010 Jodene (Jodi) Shaw.