New vlog on life lately

say what!!!!! i'm back!

here's the link to the awesome interview with kelly barton that really spoke to the heart of me.. her part is about midway thru .. listen to it!

sorry i've been missing!

Sorry guys! i have been sick & busy and the blog is paying the price..
this is just a quick drop in to announce the winners of the giveaway!!

the winner of the original 6'x6'  "Trust" painting is  : Kelly Barton!!!!
here is what she said about trust:
"my word this year....first year i have chosen a word, btw. is T.R.U.E. - i need to work on being
true to me, my path and what i want to fill my daily life and with that, welcome that truth into my daily life without the fear that i will lose friends, upset others and somehow lose out. "

&
the winner of a 8x10 print of my newest painting "Making Trust my home" is : Shannon Matter!!
here were her feelings on trust:

"Trust is the very foundation of every decision I've ever made in my life. It's been the boat that merits my soul to sail. It's the rock that I built my home on. Trust is incredibly valuable, and it is not only earned, but cherished. Trusting John this year with my whole heart, we joined hands and hearts, and hearts in hands, making a trusting decision to trust each other in our new marriage, and our new lives together.

This year, I plan to implement a solid, genuine trust in John. Rather than trusting myself first, I'm going to trust John first. I'm going to take his word for it, as my soulmate. My life partner. My husband. This will be so incredibly valuable because John will gain confidence essential to a working marriage, but John will respect my choices when I step back and let him make the decisions. I've always been hard-headed, and adamant about my word being the only one that mattered. Now I understand that we matter. As a team, and a force.

Thanks for helping me come to that realization :)"

Love it!!!

get me your address and i will mail out your goodies!!
thanks to all who entered!!

&
i'll be back to blogging soon!!!!

truth...

 

YOU ARE MADE OF MAGIC!

The Trust Giveaway...

 Lately Trust has been a huge topic on my mind.. 

i was in with my counselor last week and had the Aha! moment that what i 

was missing in my current steps on my creative & life path was Trust!! 

Some place between thanksgiving & new years my trust in God had gotten 

smaller due to life happening.. money troubles,worried about my creative biz,

family weirdness,etc....  I had started to doubt all the good things my Heavenly 

father had clearly told me.. i am still fighting off smaller now pockets of doubt but 

i see where my trust is growing again .. what a constant battle we fight to BELIEVE!!

We struggle to trust our hearts, the things we know that we know, to trust ourselves & our choices,

to trust the God who loves us so so dearly and has so much good in store for us!!!

 just as my favorite passage in the scriptures says :

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

- Jeremiah 29:11

And this leads us to 

The Trust Giveaway!!

In the comments tell me ways that you plan to Cultivate trust more in your daily lives..

What steps can you take to trust for Amazing things to happen for you! 

{i plan to do a gratitude journal (inspired by my friend rhonda) 

& spend time in prayer focused on trusting}

***

 And here is what you could win! : 

one of you will win the original 6'x6'  "Trust" painting 

& 

one of you will win a 8x10 print of my newest painting "Making Trust my home" ... 

{i will be using a random number generator to make the choosing fair :)}

original 6x6 painting

8x10 "making trust my home"print

 *****

 So comment below to enter the giveaway and here are some extra things you can do to get 

Bonus Entries:

1.tweet about this giveaway gets 1 extra entry

2. post about it on facebook gets 1 extra entry

3. purchase something from my etsy shop gets 3 extra entries

if you do any of these bonus entries please post each one 

separately in the comments so they get counted as extras..

and don't forget to leave your email address so i can contact you if you win!!

Deadline to enter is Sunday 1/23/11 @ 12am EST.

I look forward to hearing all your stories & ideas!!

Good luck!! 

LIVE ANYWAY!

"Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it."

                                                                - Anne Lamott

So much things to say right now....

I have been feeling such passion for the subject of "comparing yourself to others" lately .
as i trod along my life and creative path with God
i have really been hit by some big high's & big ol low's!!
i have felt amazing & like i'm finding my way &
i have felt totally lost and like this journey is a lost cause..
"what do i have to say that isn't already out there in 1,000 other paintings" ..
and
"who am i to try to make a life of artful living! 

Sometimes you can feel like white noise out here in the land of
your fellow creatives..
you can feel like everyone but you has a booming art career & can make a
descent income off of what they love doing and they aren't living pay check to pay check like you are..
you can feel like everyone has a book deal & a awesome teaching gig..( when this is so not the truth of the matter.. the grass is not greener .. just different)      

BUT then ....

You remember why you do this creative living,you remember why you paint,make jewelry, CREATE!!!
and it has very very little to do with any of those things you use to compare yourself to others & that make you feel "not enough"...

YOU WERE BORN TO SHINE LOVE!!!

and share the true story that you have seen darkness & the light won out!!! 
{i'm talking to all of us} 

So despite all things and all comparison and all the "what do they think of me, am i good enough" and blah blah blah!!! there is one truth ... 

YOU are the only you there is and YOU are meant to SHINE!!!!!!

As God's word says : 

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

and as fate would have it i found a girl online who i had never seen ..
i stumbled into her blog 

via the link my friend Kelly posted for the Be Present Retreat
{Thanks Kelly :)}

Liz posted a video i just watched that so so so spoke to my heart! so i wanted to share it with you guys & introduce you to a girl who as i'm discovering her via her blog is very honest, funny, & so very heartfelt.. 

her words in this video really sum up how i'm feeling lately ..  Enjoy!!

December 1 from liz lamoreux on Vimeo.
something i really want you (i really want me) to think about in this moment.