Tis the Season...

Christ loves you, unconditionally. His love is boundless, limitless, and true. It is broader than the morning sky, and deeper than all Seven Seas, and it is meant for everyone... yes, even you!

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

It's not about what you've done or the mistakes you've made in the past. It's about what He did for you; how He came down from Heaven for you, and died for you. His love is everlasting and celebrating this love, I believe, is the true meaning of Christmas!

Luke 2:10-12
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you : You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Let's not lose sight of what today is about. Shopping, buying, spending, cooking, cleaning, stress... that is not Christmas. This is a time to remember, to bask in what He did for us, when we didn't even ask. It's not about how perfect the house was, it's about how perfect God's love is. It is not about the gifts under the tree, it's about His love for you and me!

 

Ephesians 2:4-5

 But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.

 

So spend time with your family and your friends. Laugh together, pray together, and lend a helping hand. Reach out to those in need, comfort those who hurt, and remember love should be our reason. After all, tis the season!

 

1 John 3:16-18

This is how we know what love is : Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

 

Merry Christmas Y'all

©    

The Hero Within

Wow, what an awesome semester! I'm both relieved and a little sad that it's over because I absolutely loved my classes, especially my painting class. So here you go, this is my final painting:





 

 

We were allowed to choose our own concept for this one and I thoroughly enjoyed the freedom!

This is an inner city scene at sunset, and the idea behind it was that inside each of us there is greatness no matter how small we are. Who knows, maybe I'll write a story about it!

What do you think? 

Want to see what else I've done? Click: here

Painting Inside the Box

Ok, this one was fun to do! Our second to last assignment was a still-life, which was just a giant arrangement of random, miscellaneous junk that really didn't make any sense. But it was really interesting to look at and took up almost half the classroom! This is only a little bit of the whole thing:

  

 

 

The challenge was to make the objects appear as real as possible. Realism is difficult for me; my style is more abstract or nonrepresentational, I guess. But it was fun to sit down and actually paint something that I was looking at. For most of this project I was sitting on the floor, and I didn't realize how cold the linoleum would become after two hours, lol!

Anyways, for my first still-life, I'm pleased with the outcome.

Want to see my last project? Click: here

Who I Am; Self-Portrait

I guess I really don't have to explain this assignment too much, lol. Yep, this is my self-portrait.

 

 

 

 

 This was probably the hardest assignment for me this semester, but as hard as it was I enjoyed the challenge. This is done from a photo and from just looking in a mirror, and I tried to make it as personal as possible. My instructor wanted us to express who we are, and I tried my best to show who I am and what makes me, well, me. I had wanted to put a poem in the background but I didn't have enough time. Oh well, I'll save that for another project ;).  

 

 

 

Want to see my last project? Click: here

 

 

A-R-T

It's the interpretation 
of inspiration ,
how you see the

It's your perspective on their objective;

Genius that's unfurled.

 

 

It's what makes you uNiQuE,

 

How you dance in the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To your own drumbeat,

 

It’s your


                       




     which perceive the

 

                                     of your own imagination,

It’s the height of perspiration.

 

 

It's a light in the dark

That's

 

12/12/12

J

Give Thanks...

For a loving family and good friends

For the blessings angels send
Give thanks
For clothes to wear and food to eat
For our hands and for our feet
Give thanks
For even in the dark there is a Light,
And dawn always breaks the night
 

 

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!

Psalm 107:1

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

J

Follow the Pink-Brick Road

Aaaaand here is my fourth art project for this semester:

  

The goal was to take a photo from a magazine and extend it by mixing and matching our paint to the colors in the image. I chose this image because it reminded me of Venice Avenue here in Florida; we used to go there as a family when I was a kid and it's just one of my favorite places.
This assignment was a little difficult, but it was fun to see if I could replicate the artist's style.
So heres a challenge:

Can you find the photo in my painting?

Want to see my last project? Click: here 

 



With all our Love; Thank You!

To all the men and women who protect us

Who've put your lives on the lines for us

Who've sacrificed everything so we can sleep free at night

Who rise daily to win the fight

Thank you

For all that you do

And for all you have done

To make sure our freedom is won

We love you

©

God Bless our Troops!

Happy Veterans Day

When Space Horses Fly

Ok y'all, here is my third completed painting for this semester! By the way this and Broken but Beautiful were recently featured in an on-campus gallery show.

The Space Horse

 

 

This piece was a two-part project based on a collage I created from magazine clippings. Staying true to my love for horses, I chose a lot of equine related images. But the astronomy theme was totally unintentional! During our process crit I only had the gray on the bottom (intended to be wood) and most of the monochrome horse. Everyone in class thought the wood was actually a moonscape and someone christened it the "Space Horse" and, well, I just ran with it, lol. I love astronomy, too, so it was a perfect fit!

 

 

Wanna see my last painting? Click: here

 

 



The Color of Creativity

Oh boy... has it really been so long????? I know, this is waaaay overdue, I'm sorry. But thank you for being so patient and faithful! It's been a crazy few weeks (my life has consisted of namely home work, home work, and more home work -- sleeping, of course, is optional) and your patience is greatly appreciated. Y'all are awesome!
    Now, down to business, I have some paintings for you and I'll work on posting them over this week. So here is my second painting for this semester:

 

We were supposed to replicate a painting/image with two different color schemes. The top one is a Monochromatic blue-violet. The bottom one is an Analogous in green, blue-green and yellow-green. This class is making me look at color, art and life in a whole new way; I love it!
    Oh, by the way: all these colors are made from only primary red, blue and yellow. Including that gray background; it's made with fake black! The challenge is we can't use real black and have to mix ours from the three primary colors. Fun, huh?

Want to see my first piece? Click here

Broken but Beautiful

Here's that painting I promised y'all! The project was to depict a stained-glass window. Now, today is the anniversary of 9/11 so I am dedicating this piece to all the families who lost loved ones, and to all the fallen heroes, of September 9/11. Let's take a moment and remember them in our prayers.

 

We love you and will never forget

 

Dear Readers,

Hey, how are you??? I hope all is well.

   I know it's been a long while since I've written... alright, much too long. I'm sorry for that.
   How am I? Well, my semester started (which is the main reason I haven't written. If you're also in college then you know how crazy it can get, lol). Ya, it's going well, thanks. My English class is awesome, and painting is a blast, and although Math is still a mountain to be conquered, He says if we have faith we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20) so we'll see... *eye starts twitching.
   But I wanted to tell you! I have a new painting that I'll be posting soon!!! Yep, it's an assignment - which is due Monday - but I thought I would also share it here, just for fun, and you can tell me what you think.
   Don't worry, even though I'm busier now the good news will still be rolling and I'll still be posting about how wonderful, special and beautiful you are (which is the truth!). It might take me longer to get them together and put them up. So please be patient with me. 
   Well, I just wanted to say that I love you and miss you and will write soon. Hopefully it won't be too long until we chat again! But watch for that painting and we'll be in touch, I promise. Until then, happy reading y'all!


Sincerely,
Me

You are You

Original artwork by: Megan Finsel

You are who you are that is something no one can take,

It’s encoded, preprogrammed; you are what you make,

Yourself to be, so go all the way!

Cause it’s in the strands of your DNA!

You’re creative, outgoing, artistic, quirky, chic…

Passionate, strong, adventurous, sporty, unique…

The thumbprint of your personality equips,

You to be the “you” that you should be,
After all, that truth is already at your fingertips,
It's woven with your originality!

Want more artwork? Click here

Never...

Let another day pass you by

Without finding a reason to smile 

©

Never let a dream go

Without finding out if it's worthwhile

©

Never let another door close

Without seeing what lays beyond it

©

Never let yourself say:

"I quit!"

 ©

Never let an opportunity come and leave

Without even trying

 ©

Never waste another beautiful day

Crying

©

Never let another moment slip away
We should all seize the day!

The Truth of the Olympian Spirit within You

Heyu,

    Did you know that, within you, there is a place where all your possibilities reside?

    You already contain the potential for success; you already have that utter greatness and that special inner strength you need deep inside! You already have all the makings to be the person you long to be, you simply have to find it.

    Reach for it!

    Dig deeper!

    Until you uncover it and discover those possibilities within you.

    Those dreams you've buried? You can revive them. Those ambitions you've tamed? You can unleash them.

    Because, inside you there is that Olympian spirit, just longing for the gold, and longing to let your dreams take hold. But you will never know for sure, unless you try to find it.

Ready or not,
Why don’t you just give it a shot?

J

Good Things Happen; It Says So Here...

Darkness, shadows and rain does fall,
And bad things happen for no reason at all.
We ache, we cry, they take, we die,
And it leaves us often asking: "Why?"

Thankfully, life is not all pain.
You know, with every dawn there is the night,
And with every rainbow there is the rain,
With every storm there is the fright,
But not without a gain.

Bad things happen this we know,
But He will never let us go.
He dries our tears and quells our fears,
And all those storms? He makes them clear!
He will forever hold us near,
It says as so, right here:

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things,

God works for the good of those who love Him,

Who have been called according to His purpose.

©

Need more good news? Click: here

Sticks and Stones

To the kid in the back who hates his glasses...
To the girl who doesn't smile to hide her teeth...
To the quiet boy afraid of his lisp...
To anyone who has ever been picked on, mistreated or judged…

This is for you

They call us nerds, dorks, weirdoes, oddballs, and outcasts; but they don't really know us. They shun us, despise us, hurt us, threaten, beat, embarrass and scorn us. But they need to take the time to see the truth. You can't judge a book by its cover! So why judge a person by what you see on the outside? It says nothing about what's going on within us!

Because, that kid: you have nice eyes!

That girl: you have a beautiful smile!
That quiet boy: you have a great personality!
And to all of you who have been ridiculed someway, somehow: you're amazing just the way you are.

And they’ll wish they had seen it.

    You shouldn't be afraid to be yourself; you shouldn't have to hide the true you. So don’t let their words chain you, don’t let their opinions bring you down, because those are lies.  

This is the truth about beautiful you:

What they call your "disability",

Does not determine your ability.

And what they say is your imperfection,

Helps to make you perfect in your own way.

There is no mold you have to fit,

No one you have to please.

Simply be yourself,

That’s all you need to be!

If you've been bullied (like so many of us have, in one way or another) this message is for you. Go ahead and leave a comment, we're listening to you©

 

J

It's that Moment...

Right after a thunderstorm

When the grass and the leaves on the trees
Are still studded with raindrops,
The air has been washed clean and the clouds have parted,
Revealing damp blue skies.

It's that peace;

The feeling that the whole world has been renewed,

And you realize:

Everything is going to be just fine.

Hallelujah!

It's almost dusk, and yet it's a new day. It's just like how 
Christ can take a storm and bring forth a blessing.

How He can take your sins and wash you clean.
He can make you new and restore your peace,
No matter what you have weathered.
Even if you're standing in the dusk,
He can give you a new day!

That's pretty good news!

Want more good news? Click: here

There is a Difference

Between being “strong” and having strength

Between looking “hot” and being beautiful

Between acting “brave” and having bravery

Strength will get you through the hardships in life,

It lets you bend under your circumstances without breaking,
And enables you to hold on when all you want to do is give up.

The child fighting leukemia,

is stronger than any war hero or bodybuilder.

Beauty says: “I do not need all this makeup; I’m perfect the way I am.”

It looks in the mirror and sees her personality, her smile, and her heart,
Not the wrinkles, gray hair, or pimples.
It steps on the scale seeking a healthy weight, not size 000.

 

The woman comfortable in her own skin,

is more beautiful than any runway model.

Bravery is having the nerve to stand up for what you believe in,

It's continuing on despite the odds,
It's trying something even if it seems impossible.

The dreamer who chases his dreams,

No matter what the haters say,

Is braver than the daredevil who pushes the limits.

What do you think?

Happy Independence Day U.S.A!

You may have guessed by now but this is my absolute favorite holiday! It's the fireworks, the colors, watching the sunset on the beach (family tradition). Its cookouts and bonfires and the smell of fresh cut grass lingering in the air. The 4th, to me, is the signal that summer is here and in full swing and absolutely awesome! It's a time to spend with friends and family, to slow down and unplug from this crazy life we're living. But we are also celebrating so much more. We are celebrating our blessings. Because, yes, we are blessed. Some of us may be struggling, but America is very blessed. We are also celebrating our country's Independence (hence, Independence Day) our freedom. Isn't that wonderful? We have the freedom to be whoever and whatever we want to be! Not many people in the world can say that but we can. America is a free nation and today we celebrate that freedom!
And thanks, of course, to the brave men and women who've fought for our country, we've stayed that way. That's a pretty good reason to celebrate! So break out the baked beans and coleslaw (love yours Nana!) and let's enjoy this freedom which we've been given! And in a couple of hours, when we're sitting out on the lawn watching the fireworks, let's say a prayer for our nation. Here, I'll start early: "Thank you, Father, for bringing this country to the place it is and please continue to take us to even greater heights. Please protect those who are protecting our freedom today and bless the USA."

 

 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYBODY!

This is the Time!



Photo by: Megan Finsel

This is the time when your dreams are within reach

Free as walking barefoot on the beach

With your toes digging in the sand

Alive, like lovers standing hand-in-hand

When adventure is never planned

And you don't know what waits around the bend

This is when scars and broken hearts can mend
I just can't wait to find it all out

Cause that is what summer is about!

J

Standing in the Storm

When the skies are dark and the winds are sharp
The rains are crashing down
When you don't know where to go
Or what to do
And your umbrella has turned inside out
You feel helpless and hopeless and have no way home
Standing in the storm you feel completely alone
It's hard to believe Someone is watching out for you
But He has heard your request
And He's standing with you out in the tempest
Protecting you, shielding you, His love is all aglow
Now the winds will blow
And the rains will pour
But they can't hurt you anymore!

Mark 4:39-40

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!"

Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"  

P.S. If you're living in the Florida area like I am, you're probably feeling the strength of Tropical Storm Debby right now (which, as you've probably guessed, was my inspiration for today's post). Well this is for you: Father please keep all of those touched by the Tropical Storm safe and thank you for calming our storms.

Hope y'all stay safe and dry and warm.

©Love you guys! ©