Tuesday, February 27, 2018

"For our brothers and sisters in Christ"



Matthew 25: 40

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."




This is the home of Mike and Dottie Clark at 
Casa Aleluya in Guatemala.      
In 1989, while on a mission trip, Mike Clark literally stumbled on the suffering, homeless children in Guatemala City and immediately recognized a need, and with his wife moved to Guatemala to make a difference.  Now almost 30 years later, Casa Aleluya has been home to over 5000 orphaned, abused and mistreated children.   Originally adopting a "handful" of kids to care for, their orphanage has grown to 15 acres with 11 dormitories that are "home" to over 400 kids, plus staff, an Elementary and Junior high school, vocational school, and health clinic.

In the summers of '15 and '16, I had the privilege to spend a week at Casa on a mission trip with TWUMC.  We were there "just to love on the kids" but the gift was mine to receive!  

Whether it is a week long mission trip, an afternoon at the Food Pantry, or building a home for Habitat... the opportunities to serve are unlimited.   Or like Mike and Dottie who saw a need and dedicated their lives to helping to fix it....
It is in giving that we receive.  





  



To learn more or sponsor a child at Casa visit their website:
www.casaaleluya.org

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

"I can do all things..."

Philippians 4:13

"I can do all things through Christ 
who gives me strength."



Visiting Yosemite National Park is on my "bucket list!"
I see photo's of El Capitan and wonder how in the world someone could climb the face of that granite monolith.   It seems insurmountable.  Life can be like that too...  problems arise that seem to be impossible... we say "how will we ever get through this, over this, around this?"  But with God by our side, we can!  Always!    
Sometimes the way is straight forward, climb up the face of your "challenging situation."  Sometimes we take the meandering trail and eventually get to the other side.   Sometimes we just fall apart, and Christ will carry us the whole way.   Each challenge will bring it's own direction, but it makes no difference, the result is the same, and we can rest assured that Christ will give us the strength to get through whatever comes our way.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

"Follow Me"

Luke 5:11

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people." So, they pulled up their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him.





Imagine that.... drop everything and just go!  
Twelve regular guys, people like you and me, from various walks of life, chosen to carry on the name of Jesus Christ.  Not the richest, or smartest men in their community, and not the ones with celebrity status or best known... just twelve guys who believed in Christ and were willing to walk away from their livelihoods and their families to be His hands and His feet going forward.

So I must ask myself...  I am just an average person, leading a pretty ordinary life....
What am I doing to advance His Kingdom??




Tuesday, February 6, 2018

One more Christmas sketch to share!



  The last of my Christmas sketches was for my client Anne as a gift to her husband.  He particularly loved working in their yard and the flowers were gorgeous so we went with watercolor for this piece.  

It's my pleasure to create these works of art for my clients!   I love the stories that go with them and it's an honor for me to be a part in preserving so many happy memories for them.
_____

Next Wednesday is the first day of Lent and once again, I will share some of my favorite Bible verses during this Easter season.   I'm going to mix it up a bit this year with some both watercolor and pen and ink, a few favorites from previous years ... and one very special photograph you won't want to miss!!  

If you enjoy my blog posts via e-mail, I hope you'll consider sharing them with your friends or family during this 
Easter Season.