Beautiful Brushstrokes.....

"One cannot collect all the shells on the beach."

Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Gifts From The Sea

Have you ever studied a painting closely? Have you ever noticed the values of light and shadow? Have you ever noticed how all the colors are blended and formed into a shape? Have you ever noticed all the tiny brushstrokes that go into creating a landscape, still life, or any other type of painting? Have you ever seen a work of art that just spoke to you and to you alone? You knew when you saw it that it was yours, it sent a message straight to your heart and you then desired to own it?

All of these things happened to me when I saw a painting by Helen Read of Brushstrokes Etc. Helen does wonderful tiny daily paintings of many subjects and styles. The first painting of hers that I saw captured me not so much for its subject, but for its colors and her explanation of it. It drew me in and kept me coming to her site again and again to see what she would come with next. I went to her online gallery and fell in love with three specific paintings, sadly one had already sold. There was one in that group that reached out and grabbed me with its special message for me alone and I desired to have it as my very own. I asked Santa (hubby) to put it at the top of my Christmas list along with some hand made jewelry by another artist out there in blog land. I honestly did not expect to get it, I thought I would be making the purchase myself after the holiday. On Christmas morning the last present under the tree was for me and it was the painting! I beamed, squealed, danced, and ran to the computer to email Helen immediately.

This little painting is of a shell and a small glass bottle. I can see every brushstroke that went into making a flat object look dimensional. I can see how the values of colors are blended just right to create depth and how light and shadow are used to give the illusion of reality to the piece. I can see each little beautiful brushstroke that went into making this piece of art. But more than that I can see a message from God to me in this small painting.

I love the ocean and we vacation at one shore or another almost every year. I have a collection of photos and shells from all the places we have traveled. My little writing cottage is where I display all my treasures and it is decorated in the cool calm colors of the sea. Its shelves have favorite books with titles like, Gift's From the Sea and Sea Edge. When I saw this painting, I knew it belonged in my writing cottage.

Two messages were gifted to me in this painting. The first gift is a reminder of the depth of forgiveness and is represented in the image of the shell. The creatures that inhabit shells travel along the bottom of the sea at depths I could never fathom. Scripture says that God has compassion on us and will hurl our iniquities into the depths of the sea. Can you imagine such great mercy, compassion, and willingness to forgive? The beautiful brushstrokes of this shell remind me to extend that same measure of compassion, mercy, and willingness to forgive to those around me.

The second gift, the bottle, is a reminder of the depth of compassion God has towards us. Scripture says that He puts my tears in a bottle, that when I cry to Him, I can know that He is for me. He cares about what concerns me and is so compassionate that not one tear escapes His notice.

I see in this painting not only the beautiful brushstrokes from the hand of Helen but the beautiful brushstrokes from God upon my life. He too uses light and shadow to give my life dimension. He blends His values into my life painting to create depth of character and reality to the difference He makes in me. He is using each little brushstroke to make me into a work of art. I only hope that I can represent Him well and that I will be well blended into the background as others see God's brushstrokes in this small painting that is me.

May His beautiful brushstrokes create in you a work of heart that others desire to own for themselves.

Blessings,

Miss Sandy

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year!

January is ushered in with celebration and glee
We invite the New Year in as we watch the old one flee
The New Year is a calendar blank, full of endless possibility
Three hundred and sixty-five new mornings and evenings, fifty-two fresh weeks
Four new seasons to cherish, spring time’s new life, summers lazy days, autumns blazing colors, and winters cold and bleak
Twelve months of holidays and ample opportunity for memories to be made
Each square is fresh, blank, and free, all in a row, neatly laid
Just waiting to be wisely used by you and by me
From wishing away our seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years we must flee
Remember that today is the tomorrow you wished for yesterday
Each day is God’s gift to us with ample time to work and rest and play
We should usher in each day for the gift it is with mercies tender and new
Arising at the start of each asking the Father what to do
And how we spend our time and what pursuits to seek
What we should let go of and what we should keep
We think the time is ours to spend so fully and so freely
When it is all the time we are given is God’s time really
Everyday we have a choice as we stand at the crossroads and look for the ancient paths of old

Asking where the good way is, walking in it, and finding rest for our soul
We cannot see what is coming, we can only look behind
Asking our Father to bless us and to help us to redeem the rest of our time
So have a blessed New Year and may this little rhyme
Remind you of the gift you have in where, when, how, and in whom you invest your time!

May you each be richly blessed in the coming New Year,

Miss Sandy

Laughter Is The Best Medicine.....

The envelope I held in my hand was post marked December 13 and yet it was still unopened. I knew what it held and I chose to do my best Scarlett O'Hara imitation and ignore the unpleasantness that it contained, at least until after Christmas. I knew it contained yet another questionnaire, not the kind you find in a magazine or one of those quirky web quizs, like What kind of biscuit are you, home made or canned, type thing. This quiz would ask me all kinds of questions I was tired of filling out and getting no answers to in return. It was from the office of yet another specialist, one of the next two I will pay a visit to in the coming weeks. I am frustrated that there is no answer, yet I fear the answer all the same.

Tossing the cover sheets aside to read through after filling in the blanks I heaved a huge sigh and picked up my pen and began to make check marks down the pages. That unpleasant task finished I picked up the tossed aside pages and began to read all the requirements before my upcoming visit. I skipped across all the personal information already filled in at the top of the page and read all the areas that were highlighted with the most pertinent instructions. As I was about to refold the pages and return them to their envelope, my date of birth caught my eye. I blinked and blinked again and sure enough the date was typed in wrong but it was not the date that stunned me, it was the age I was listed at. Incredibly, I was listed as being 101 years old! For some reason I found this totally funny and began to laugh and laugh and laugh.

I wondered if the office wondered why I was even bothering to find out what was wrong with me as I had already lived to the ripe old age of 101 and it probably didn't matter what the results would be as my days were surely numbered. I could just hear the office buzz about seeing a patient of that age and being wowed when I walked in instead. I thought about calling them and telling them about the error but I decided I will have a little fun with this instead.

After all the laughter I am feeling suddenly better, lighter, and certainly younger! Laughter truly is the best medicine. It really does not matter so much what the results reveal, it will be what it is and I will do what I have always done, persevere. I will follow the advice of the Apostle Paul, be content in my circumstances, whether I abase or abound, therein I will be content. I will cling to the Serenity Prayer, to change what I can and to accept that which I cannot change. I will choose to cling to hope for better and brighter days without uncertainty. I will waltz into those appointments as no 101 year old woman has ever done and I will be mischievous and have fun and I will take my medicine, a hefty dose of laughter and I will feel better.

I prescribe viewing the following video for today's dose of laughter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tl2qGWvPdc

Wishing you all health, happiness, and a hefty dose of laughter,
Miss Sandy

Merry Christmas.....

"Joy to the world,

The Lord is come,

Let earth receive her King!"

I’ve often thought of the Christmas story from Mary and Joseph’s point of view, as a parent with the awesome responsibility of raising a child. I’ve thought about how they must have felt an even greater burden knowing that they had been entrusted with not just any child, but the Son of God. My thoughts have run along these lines because I am a parent and I have some insight into the enormity of the task of raising children. This is a common bond I have felt with Mary and Joseph.

I have not, however, given much thought to the Wise Men or Shepherds points of view until I became a grandparent. I had an experience, which I am sure must have been akin to what Wise Men and Shepherds must have felt when they first saw the new born baby Jesus.

Biblical prophecy pointed to the coming of a Messiah and His arrival was long awaited and anticipated. When I found out that I was going to be a grandparent an anticipation and excitement built as each day passed and the time of the long awaited baby would arrive. Scripture says that there is a time and a season for every purpose under the heavens and in both cases the long awaited time had arrived.

When the time finally came, the Shepherds received notice from an angel and the Wise Men followed a star, and we got a simple phone call. We each had the same reaction, to go and see the new born babe. My family and I rushed to the hospital and waited anxiously. At last my son stepped through the waiting room door and announced that our grandson had made his appearance. Mother and son were doing fine and we would all be allowed to see the baby soon, more waiting! Can you imagine the anticipation and wait the Shepherd’s had? I am sure that they had to herd their sheep along with them as they journeyed towards the stable where Jesus lay. What about the Wise Men who traveled from far off lands bearing gifts for the Christ child? Don’t you imagine that their pace seemed far too slow? I imagine that they could hardly stand the wait.

When we were finally allowed to enter the birthing room, both sets of grandparents, one set of great grandparents, and an aunt followed the father into the dim room. We entered in single file and stood a good three feet in a semi-circle around the foot of the bed and no one spoke a word. My son stood at his wife’s bedside and had a soft smile on his face as he looked at mother and child. We all stood in what had to have been an absolute holy hush gazing at the miracle before us in total silence, reverence, and awe.

Mother and child were propped up on pillows. The only light in the room came from a dim wall light behind them and encircled them with a soft glow. The tiny baby was swaddled in a blanket and snuggled in the crook of his mothers arm. His eyes were wide open and he moved his tiny head in our direction as we filed in and he seemed to look right at us. He seemed to look so wise and alert, being so fresh and new from God, perhaps he was. No one moved forward and silence blanketed the room as we drank in our fill of each little facial feature, the bright alert eyes, the little rose bud of a mouth, and the little button nose. We were finally able to see and with our own eyes what we had anticipated and imagined for all those months prior to his birth.

The Wise Men and Shepherds must have felt to the same way when they first beheld the baby Jesus. I can imagine Mary propped up in the straw with the Messiah swaddled and cradled in the crook of her arm, a soft glow of light from perhaps a candle or lantern illumining them as Joseph stood by their side smiling. The visitors file into the stable and an absolute holy hush falls upon them all as they gaze at the long awaited Savior. They too were finally able to see with their own eyes what prophecy had foretold, the birth of Jesus. I imagine a prayer formed in their hearts as their eyes took in the scene before them.

I remember thinking to myself, “So this is what you look like little one.” And a prayer of gratitude and thankfulness rose up in my heart. I am sure the manger visitors felt the same only on a more grand scale. My little grandson is a miracle indeed. Scripture says that he is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God but the baby that the Wise Men and Shepherds beheld was even more of a miracle. He was no ordinary baby, he was God’s one and only Son who chose to leave heaven and dwell among men. He chose to come so that we might live. His Christmas gift to us is eternal life.

After this experience, I can better see another point of view in the Christmas story. The gift of life is a precious gift indeed. It is not meant to be taken lightly or squandered away. It is meant to be enjoyed and lived fully without regret. It is meant to be lived with gratitude and thankfulness. It is meant to be lived as the Wise Men and Shepherd’s lived it, following after, seeking out, finding, and worshiping the King.

There is saying that says, “What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.” I can think of no better way to spend the gift of life than to keep a fixed gaze upon Jesus, to keep a renewed sense of awe and wonder at what He has given for my good, and to tuck the message of the manger into my heart with thankfulness and gratitude at another life lesson that God has given me.

Merry Christmas and warmest wishes from me to you! May your heart be merry, your joy be full, and your day be blessed. I pray you will each experience afresh and anew the true meaning and miracle that is Christmas - celebrating Christ's birth.

God's Best Blessings to You and Your Family,

Miss Sandy

The 50th Post Give Away Winner Is.....

Dear readers, as previously promised here is a view of the mini holiday album I am giving away in celebration of my 50Th post. The album cover, front and back views:

A couple of the page layouts: The double sided pull out journal tags: At last count between the 50Th post comments and the ones from What I Love About My Holiday Home there were, can you believe this, 50 comments! And the winner is: # 37 - Vicki Page! Congratulations Vicki, email me your address and I will get your prize in the mail!

Thank you all for all your kind support of this blog. I have so enjoyed getting to know you all. I hope each of you has a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Merry Christmas,

Miss Sandy

Another Christ"miss" Adventure.....

Now I have mentioned before that I can be a little absent minded. My mama always said, "Bound for you, if your head wasn't screwed on you'd forget it!" This was always said in frustration because I was always forgetting or misplacing something, usually something important, then a search would ensue for the missing item. Well that is exactly what happened to me a couple of years ago at about this time.

I was raised as a proper Southern Belle, you never, ever, ever left the house without looking your best. So, this being ingrained in me from a very early age.....

(Note the spiffy parasol purse,no true Southern Belle would be without one. Decked out in black patten leather shoes, white gloves, ruffled hat, and wool over coat, and of course the ever present lace and ruffles on dress and socks! )
I got ready to go into town to do some Christmas shopping. I made my list, checked it twice, I plotted my route, planned to stick to my budget, get in, get out, and get home in one fell swoop. Off I merrily tripped to one of those super stores with list in hand, smile on face, and a carol floating in my head. I got through the store with no mishaps, with only the items on my list, budget still in tact, ready to head to my next destination. I even managed to experience a mini miracle, no one was in line in lane number 3 but me!

I happily grabbed my packages and trotted out the big double sliding doors and headed down the sidewalk toward my car......

I was in my own little world thinking that this may be a really great day if all my stops went this well as I approach the parking area. I am going along at a pretty fast clip when I stopped mid stride, my jaw and my packages dropped at the same time my astonished eyes took in the scene before me. Right where I left my car was an empty parking space! I was really confused and befuddled for a moment, where was my car?

I whipped around and scanned the lot for the security patrol, got honked at by an impatient driver and motioned to get out of the way as I was standing in the middle of the driving lane, and lost one of my shoes in my scurry to keep from getting run over. I was fine, my shoe got ran over! All I could think about was that my car had been stolen. I retrieved my smashed shoe and stood there like My Son John, one shoe off and one shoe on, thinking that I must surely be mistaken. Why would someone steal my car? OK, it was a cool car, but why mine out of all the hundreds of cars in lot?

I must have looked kind of pitiful and very un-belle like standing there with my mouth gaping open, packages scattered at my feet, one shoe in my hand, and eyes as big as saucers staring at an empty parking space because a lady in an SUV parked next to the empty space got out and came to see if she could be of assistance. I stammered that my car had been stolen.

She said we'd better report it and was I sure this is where I had parked. I kind of got a bit indignant and said it most certainly was. I saw the parking lot security patrolman heading our way one isle over. I thanked her for her offer but I'd just cut across the isle and flag down security and get it reported. I picked up my packages and wobbled diagonally through the parked cars, intent on my destination, waving my packages and calling out to get his attention (and that of every by passer in the lot!) and irritated that my perfect day had gone south, when I got another shock. Right there in front of me was my car! I whipped back around looking forlorn and confused from one isle to the other, ( I probably looked like I watching a tennis match my head swiveled back and forth so many times!), and sure enough it was just as my mama always said, "If it wasn't attached, I'd loose it!"

By this time I had gathered an audience, as Miss SUV had told everyone who passed that my car had been stolen and when I whipped back around I noticed I had a little entourage trooping after me, just glad there was not a paparazzi in the bunch!.....

(OK, so the guy in the corner has a camera, I can just see it now, film at 11:00 - Ditzy Belle! Have we got a story to tell.....) They are all staring, murmuring, and pointing. I am wobbling, waving, and then wavering as to what I should do next when security stops. He asks if he can help me and I grope for an answer, I stammer, "Uh, Um, Uh, I just wanted to...... wish you a Merry Christmas!" I blurted out as I smiled my sweetest most innocent smile. He looked at me like I was one fruit shy of a cake, shook his head, and drove away.

Miss SUV said, "Aren't you going to report your car?" Redder than Rudolph's nose I sheepishly reply, "No," pointing at my car, " I found it, I forgot where I parked," My whole little troop of on lookers laughed as Miss SUV came over and gave me hug and said, "Don't worry about it shug-ah, I've done it before myself." The crowd dispersed with murmuring comments as I packed my trunk full of purchases and did what every good Southern Belle does, I went into Miss Scarlett mode. I straightened myself as well as I was able to on one shoe, lifted my head in that southern proud sort of way, even though I was utterly dying of embarrassment, and I thought to myself, "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." I got into my car and drove straight home, retrieved another pair of shoes, wasn't thinking clearly at the time so I missed out on a shoe shopping opportunity, and headed back to town. This time EVERY time I got out of the car I studied the area to make sure I KNEW where I was parked.

I am sad to say that with me history is bound to repeat itself. Just last week I used one of those big red concrete balls in front of a certain store as a landmark as the isles are not numbered, did you know that there is more than one of those big red balls in front of the store, in fact there is a whole row of them?

Christmas Laughter,

Miss Sandy

P.S. If you missed out on the first two adventures, you can read them here and here.