BEHIND the PAINTINGS
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Water of Life 24x30 Oils on Canvas
Water of life is a vision God gave me in 2012 of a Bible dripping water with a red string going through it from front to back. And Hands holding the Bible. when He met me in a very broken time in my life. The most beautiful pieces I have ever created have come from the most broken seasons I have experienced. When we are in the darkest places of our lives, He is not afraid to meet us there.
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Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
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Psalm 119:114 ESV
You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.
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Psalm 91:1-4
1 He who [a]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
3 For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
4 [Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
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The dripping water:
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John 4:13-14 (AMPC) 13 Jesus answered her, All who drink of this water will be thirsty again.14 But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) eternal life.
John 7:37-39 (AMPC) 37 Now on the final and most important day of the Feast, Jesus stood, and He cried in a loud voice, If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink!
38 He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.
It took me a year after seeing the vision to actually start painting it. I kept seeing this vision and it wouldn’t stop flashing before me, so I knew it was time to paint it.
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I took many pictures as best I could using my Fathers hands holding a Bible to try to create the vision I kept seeing in my head.
And so it began and I painting on this for about a year and half. With my oldest son, Seth, many evenings painting right beside me on his own pieces (He was two years old at this time).
I would put on the audio Bible as we would listen to the Word and paint together. God was teaching me His heart and character through His Word as I was actually painting the Word. He was changing my life. God did so much healing in my own heart through the year it took me to paint this.
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This painting has come to mean so much more to me now even then it did before as the years have gone on. Now when I look at it, I see it was not a coincidence that I had my own Daddy’s hands holding the Bible, as God has in recent years revealed Himself to me as my Father.
Through many nights crying out to God and seeing how he has never left me nor forsaken me and always been right there with me through my good times and bad, good choices and horrible choices. He has met me in the most broken places and showed me that the true fullness of joy comes from Him. And my true identity and purpose comes from Him.
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He is the resurrection and the Life, the Water of Life. His Word is like a flowing clear mountain river that never runs dry.
My heavenly Father. Hanging out in His presence, reading His Word, soaking on His Word, filling my mind with His Words in the Bible and just being with Him in prayer or in songs worshiping Him, praising Him, Resting in Him, that’s where one can be in deep despair and realize there is a joy that is unexplainable by human standards. Where God will meet you in any trial and heal all the brokenness. He isn’t God looking down on His children pointing his finger, shaking His head, so far away like I use to picture and think.
But the many life lessons I have learned through the past years since painting this painting have taught me, I realize now He is my Papa, he is so near and close to me. My Father, the one who meets me in the secret places of my heart where sometimes I have no words to pray except to cry out to him, “God, I need You”. God Please Help.
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Romans 8:25-27
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
25 But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure.
26 So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.
27 And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.
And then here He comes, to hold me and give me joy in the midst of pain. And I can thank Him and Praise Him and there truly is no where I would rather be than to dwell in the house of the Lord, in His presence all the days of my life. Psalm 27:4 And to take refuge under the shadow of His wings Psalm 91
The red thin string line that is sewn into the pages from the beginning and wraps around the index finger of the hand and then goes through to the very last page of the Bible represents the blood of Jesus Christ all throughout the Bible.
This painting has become even more about my journey of finding the love of my Heavenly Father, and my true identity and seeing myself as God created me to be. And falling in love with the true source of my water. Gods Word.
“Water of Life” represents finding the true heart of the Father, and realizing His unconditional love, through Jesus Christ. He is the Water of Life.
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Isaiah 55
55 Wait and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing].
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness [the profuseness of spiritual joy].
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Revelation 22
The Perfect Life
22 Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Christ), 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer exist anything that is cursed [because sin and illness and death are gone]; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve and worship Him [with great awe and joy and loving devotion]; 4 they will [be privileged to] see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign [as kings] forever and ever.
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You Are Invited to be Blessed
6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel [as a representative] to show His bond-servants the things that must soon take place.
7 “And behold, I am coming quickly. [a]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is the one who heeds and takes to heart and remembers the words of the prophecy [that is, the predictions, consolations, and warnings] contained in this book (scroll).”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who heed and remember [the truths contained in] the words of this book. Worship God.”
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time [of their fulfillment] is [b]near. 11 Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy (vile, impure), still be filthy; and the one who is righteous (just, upright), still be righteous; and the one who is holy, still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I (Jesus) am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, [c]to give to each one [d]according to the merit of his deeds (earthly works, faithfulness). 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [the Eternal One].”
14 [e]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) are those who wash their robes [in the blood of Christ by believing and trusting in Him—the righteous who do His commandments], so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs [the godless, the impure, those of low moral character] and the sorcerers [with their intoxicating drugs, and magic arts], and the immoral persons [the perverted, the molesters, and the adulterers], and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (deception, cheating).
The Final Invitation
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you and to give you assurance of these things for the churches. I am the Root (the Source, the Life) and the Offspring of David, the radiant andbright Morning Star.”
17 The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, believers) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take and drink the water of life without cost.
18 I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies and affirms these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus (the Christ, the Messiah) be with all [the saints—all believers, those set apart for God]. Amen.
Luke 11:9-13
Amplified Bible
9 “So I say to you, ask and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who [a]keeps on asking [persistently], receives; and he who keeps on seeking [persistently], finds; and to him who keeps on knocking [persistently], the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you, then, being evil [that is, sinful by nature], know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!”
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In His Presence Beach Painting
32x24 Acrylics on Canvas
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This painting represents the beauty of hanging out with Jesus in His presence. I love to go to the ocean to breathe in the ocean air and look at Gods amazing creation. The water reminds me of Jesus always standing at the water and that He is the water of life and He refreshes my being. I feel closest to God when I go meet Him at the ocean. To be with Him to be in His presence at the water.
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One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
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You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
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