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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

WOYWW Anniversary and Clearer Vision!

 Happy anniversary WOYWWers!!
This is on my desk today!

 But I have been busy! 
Here are the ATCs I finished for exchanging.
First choice of course goes to my *partner,
then after that, who knows?

 "You do not know what you are asking." Mark 10:38

I wonder how many times God says this of me? 
Here in this chapter, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, 
ask Jesus to grant that they sit, one on the right side of Him, 
and the other on the left, in His glory. 
Wow! The gall, the utter audacity! 
But sometimes we have that brashness when we come before God. 
Many times we just keep asking and asking, 
as if He is there to do our bidding! 
God does indeed wants us to ask and ask, 
but with the heart of a child who knows the Father. 
Here we have James and John asking 
out of their own need for self gratification. 

Lord, may I come to You knowing who You are, 
and asking for Your will to be done in my life. 
Yes, most of the time I do not know what I am asking, 
but give me a clearer vision of what You want for me!



Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 
peek at desks and projects!

I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:

Blessings!
Patsy


Wednesday, May 18, 2016

WOYWW: An Unbelievably Gory Story

 Today, my desk is just so messy, 
I am just going to show you my Bible.

 I traced a picture on a page using carbon paper.

 I used flesh paint to do the woman's face.

 Brown paint for her hair, and eyes.


 A darker shade of flesh to make shadows.

 I need another brush with no paint, just water,
to dilute the darkness.





 I also use a brown pencil to add darker
shades where needed.



"And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out." Mark 9:47

There is an amazing legend of Saint Lucy of Syracuse. 
She is the Patron Saint of the blind and of eye problems. 
She wanted to remain a virgin and refused to be married. 
When she had a suitor who pined for her beautiful eyes, 
she plucked them out and sent them to him, 
so that he would leave her alone. 
According to the story, God miraculously restored her eyes. 
Then another rejected suitor renounced her as a Christian to the magistrate. 
When she refused to give a sacrifice to the Emperor's image, 
she was sentenced to be placed in a brothel. 
When the guards came to execute the sentence, 
they found her body so heavy, t
hey could not carry her even if they 
pulled her with a team of oxen!!! 
Finally, they decided to gouge her eyes out, 
but she was still able to see without her eyes.  
Pictures of Saint Lucy often depict her eyes on a plate. 

 
The story is quite gory, and we cannot tell which part of it really happened! 
What is true is that Jesus did say if any part of our body causes us to sin, 
whether it be our eyes, our hand, our foot, our lips, 
it is better to pluck or cut it off, rather than we be "thrown into Gehenna, 
where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched".  
In the Bible, Gehenna was where some kings of Judah 
sacrificed children to the god Molech by 
throwing them into the fire in the Valley of Hinnom. 
In Jewish Rabbinic literature, it is where the wicked go when they die. 

Do we believe in Hell or not? Jesus obviously knew it existed. 
Lord, thank You for coming down, to speak our language, 
to teach us, but most of all, to save us from Gehenna. 
You have done everything so that we would not be thrown into Genenna, 
but enjoy eternal life with You. May our eyes see as You see, 
with compassion, and love, for everyone we meet. 



Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 
peek at desks and projects!

I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:

Blessings!
Patsy

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

WOYWW: Be on Guard!

 What I have been doing is taking apart old necklaces 
with faded chains and putting the 
components on new chains.
I hate waste!  Now I have several I can wear again!

 Since some of you enjoyed my pictures that 
showed how I do this, here's another series.
First, I trace a picture from a magazine on 
to the Bible page using carbon paper.
In the US, I think you call it transfer paper.

 I always check how it goes because sometimes I miss
copying the eye or the nose!

 First thing I paint is the skin.

 Then the hair and eyes, then lips.

 Then I use a darker shade of flesh to make shadings-
paint on the eyelids, sides of the nose, 
the neck, and the sides of the face.

 I use brown pencil to outline.


 And I use a thin black pen to write the Bible verse.

 "Be on guard..." Acts 20:31

"Watch, be always alert," this was Paul's advice 
to the elders of the church of Ephesus. 
He was warning them against men who distort the truth 
and lead astray any who would follow. 
These days it's just not wise to believe anything you read or see on TV, 
newspapers and especially the Internet. 
Here in the Philippines we just elected a new President. 
The campaign period was particularly vicious, 
where reputations were torn to shreds, and good men were vilified. 
There were mean memes, malicious spliced videos, 
photoshopped photos of mammoth crowds. 
One really had to dig through all the muck to see the truth. 
But that campaign period is just a macrocosm of life. 


We too are being wooed by our enemy who has a brilliant strategy 
of untruths, half truths, and all kinds of 
deception wrapped in beautiful packaging. 
At no other time is it so easy to get sucked into the trap 
of believing that our purpose is to be happy and that 
as long as no one gets hurt, anything we do is all right. 

How do we protect ourself? 
Paul wrote, "I commend you now to the Lord, 
and to that gracious Word of His which can enlarge you." 
Reading and obeying God's Word can protect 
our minds and hearts from the wiles of the evil one. 
Lord, may I live by Your truth and not be deceived 
by the enemy's efforts to lead me astray! 



Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 
peek at desks and projects!

I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:

Blessings!
Patsy

Friday, May 06, 2016

Paint Party Friday: Be Not Afraid!

" Do not be afraid..." Acts 18:9

Saint Paul was always in hot water for one thing or another. 
Many Jews would get so furious with him, 
and he would get thrown into jail, or stoned, 
or brought before officials for judgement. 
But the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, "Do not be afraid. 
Go on speaking and do not be silenced for I am with you." 
Saint Paul really took this to heart. 
In his letter to the Philippians, he writes: 
"Be anxious for nothing...and the peace of God, 
which surpasses all understanding, 
shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

I received good news this morning. 
A couple of months ago, a Facebook friend messaged me 
to ask for prayers for her daughter who was pregnant. 
The baby's father who was younger than her daughter 
was pushing for an abortion. 
Of course my friend was feeling awful, 
and was worrying for her grandchild. 
We prayed that they do the right thing, 
and take joy in the new life God was gifting them with. 
We rebuked the power of the enemy that was deceiving them. 


I am overjoyed to report that God answered our prayer! 
Her daughter decided to keep her baby who is due in August 
because of a dream she had. 
Her baby was trying to reach her hand from inside the womb. 
In the dream she could feel that he was so sweet and loved her so much. 
She fell in love with him because of the dream! 
Indeed, we should never give up praying.  
Such a desperate situation is now turned to joy!

I am also trusting God for our 
desperate situation in the Philippines right now. 
We need not be afraid even if it seems as if our next President 
may be a man who confesses to killing people without due process, 
to being a leftist, who threatens to abolish Congress 
and set up a revolutionary government. 
Many people are praying and fasting, 
and I know God will answer our prayers. 
How? I leave that up to Him who is so creative and wise! 
Just as he told Saint Paul, "I am with you", so He is with us, 
walking with us in our journey. 
I expect that our desperate situation 
will also be turned to joy in His time!