Red and Yellow Tulip

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It is Spring. We can’t stop snapping photos of all the Spring beauty and then I’m so anxious to try to capture them in watercolor.

Tulips are waving in the breeze everywhere we go. Trees that wore bare branches throughout winter have started flowering and sprouting delicate green leaves. Some of the biggest trees don’t even look like they have buds for new leaves yet. But with the flowers blooming, we have a settled, secure hope that the giants will leaf soon. I don’t just ‘hope so’ that all the trees will green up soon. I am positive, though I don’t yet see signs.

God wants us to have that same sure, strong trust (hope) that what He told us, will happen. Though the next season may get hotter than we like, His promises will be fulfilled. His plan of redemption is being worked out. He had plans for us and this world before we were created. We will receive an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away that is reserved in heaven. (I Pet. 1:3-5)

Hope. Strong, living, eternal hope.

Orchid Tangle

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Tangles start with an outline. Then inside are any kind of strokes or designs we want to make. There are lots of designs on the internet. I used some of these to begin tangling. This Orchid was an outline of an orchid in one of our coffee table books. Then I made sections in the sketch and filled each section with whatever stroke tickled my fancy. This is my first ‘original’ zantangle. This was so much fun!

Think about how much fun God must have had in creating the vast array of designs even within each species! He made us able to ‘observe’ His designs, both tiny and huge. Then, unlike the animals, we are able to ‘enjoy’ the infinite array of His designs. Though I doubt I’ll ever make a mark on paper that someone else has never made before, I get to experience the joy of creating when making my marks on my paper. God made us so that we can take from His creation and make something beautiful and enjoy the beauty others make. Let’s all share a little bit of beauty with others today.

Daffodil

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I had been wanting to do a daffodil since I’m seeing so many in bloom right now! I just wasn’t quite confident enough to do one on my own. This was an Anna Mason tutorial.

Daffodils, like Crocus, are very early spring flowers. I love them! All through the tutorial, Anna Mason called that center part that projects, ‘the trumpet.’ How meaningful that was to me!

These hardy flowers stand strong even with the crisp, chill winds of the tail-end of winter. They raise their trumpet to praise the King of Kings! They call us to join in thanksgiving for successfully completing winter and stirring hope for the bright sun of summer. Who can stay gloomy while watching these glorious flowers waving in the breeze? Take heart! Praise God! Hope for the glory to come!

A Black and Blue Bird

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Tangling has become my favorite ‘no brainer’ activity in the evening. I pick a shape and then try to discover new ways to fill each part. This little bird started off as a bull finch and got my wild strokes of color and design.

When we are afraid or have been betrayed or are weeping with grief, we may feel like David in Psalm 55:6, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!”

But flying away won’t solve the problem, it won’t make us feel any better, and it won’t punish those who have hurt us. We need to follow David’s advice in verse 22, “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. he will not permit the godly to slip and fall.”

These little birds don’t worry about how they will be fed or what will happen tomorrow. They trust God today to meet their needs. And He does. Take heart! Trust God today!

Violas

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Anna Mason offered two shorter tutorials of the lovely Violas. I was intrigued with their name being the same as the big brother of the violin. I thought, surely they should be pronounced differently, so I looked it up. Both pronunciations were considered correct by about the same number of sources. So, choose the one you like best.

These are very hardy flowers that can tolerate early spring frosts. I pray I will be as hardy in my faith when a sudden chill sweeps in.

I’m reminded of a beautiful Gaither song, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.”