He is making perfect sense out of a perfectly senseless, messed up life!

Showing posts with label Encaustic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Encaustic. Show all posts

Sunday, May 27, 2018

OH MY SOUL


Here it is Sunday morning and my husband woke me up with breakfast.  So very sweet of him but I stayed up for a couple of hours after he went to bed.   I groggily “smiled” and got up.  (God always has a reason for my needing to get up early.  He has proved it to me again and again.  Even though so out of it in my own mind, I seem to tune into Him much more easily at this time of day.  I have written most of these blog posts in the wee hours of the morning.)

I did not need my husband to open the blinds to know that it was raining outside, I could hear it.  It’s been raining all week almost every day all day and now we are expecting a tropical storm today.  Just truly typical tropical weather for this time of year, but it can get depressing.  I have a friend who it has been affecting extraordinarily so and when we came home from the grocery last night it struck me to send an uplifting song to her so I looked one up and was sharing it with my husband this morning:



As I was looking for it, another song came to mind that helped me in my last dip of depression… this depression spell was a doozy!  It was, though, as if God, Himself was speaking to me. 



That day was one of my worst in some time.  My hands are having major problems right now.  I’d had trigger finger for some time in my right hand, which is debilitating to say the least but I’d had a stroke when I was 40 (now 57) with some effects to my left hand but “FAITH” kept me going like it was nearly normal.  This day I was “seeing” my left hand shaking terribly when I was typing and I had trouble hitting some of the keys.  I’ve been typing for 45+ years and playing piano for even longer. (The stroke slowed me down when I typed 120 words per minute as a Radiological Transcriptionist).  OH, WAS I EVER SHAKEN!  I was mad!  I called my hand doctor for an appointment but the office lady explained over and over to me how my family doctor had to know about my left hand issues before I made the appointment and I went off.  I had a “melt down”.  I even hung up on the lady, which is totally unlike me today yet it was how I would’ve reacted just after the stroke.  I was in tears.  I was more mad than I’d been in I don’t know how long.  BUT I cried out for prayer.  I go to God!  As much of my artwork depicts, “I RUN TO HIM”:




I was still mad.  I sought out doing housework while listening to worship music to get my mind off of it but this did not help, it used my hands!  BUT, “Oh My Soul” started to play and I heard “One more day, He will make a way.” And it caught my attention so I listened more. 



Oh My Soul

Oh, my soul
Oh, how you worry
Oh, how you're weary, from fearing you lost control
This was the one thing, you didn't see coming
And no one would blame you, though
If you cried in private
If you tried to hide it away, so no one knows
No one will see, if you stop believing
Oh, my soul
You are not alone
There's a place where fear has to face the God you know
One more day, He will make a way
Let Him show you how, you can lay this down
'Cause you're not alone
Here and now
You can be honest
I won't try to promise that someday it all works out
'Cause this is the valley
And even now, He is breathing on your dry bones
And there will be dancing
There will be beauty where beauty was ash and stone
This much I know
Oh, my soul
You are not alone
There's a place where fear has to face the God you know
One more day, He will make a way
Let Him show you how, you can lay this down
I'm not strong enough, I can't take anymore
(You can lay it down, you can lay it down)
And my shipwrecked faith will never get me to shore
(You can lay it down, you can lay it down)
Can He find me here
Can He keep me from going under
Oh, my soul
You're not alone
There's a place where fear has to face the God you know
One more day, He will make a way
Let Him show you how, you can lay this down
'Cause you're not alone
Oh, my soul, you're not alone
Songwriters: JOHN MARK HALL, BERNIE HERMS


My heart melted once again.  He knows me so well.  Music speaks to me.  He speaks to me so often through music.  And here it is a good 2 months later and it is in His hands still!

May God bless you through my writing. If He has especially touched you in any way, please leave a comment below. Your comments are so very encouraging to me to help me to keep writing. Also, click on the “Uptweet” button on the above right and share! I pray you will keep coming back. I fully believe that my writing is by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so if I am writing, there is someone that needs to read it! Maybe it’s you? Also, please be sure to share any questions you might have with me and if you would like to keep them personal (just between you and me) please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at juliana.pace@gmail.com. If I don’t know how to answer you, I will may every attempt to refer you to someone for more information. Thanks and may God bless all your days! 



Friday, March 22, 2013

Do You Play?


I’ve not been a good one for that for much of my adult life and it is so very therapeutic. I’ve learned this since I decided to finally announce to the world that I’m an artist. I’ve also found other artists who consider at least some of their art to be “playing” as I do. 

Do any of you feel the need to spend more quality time with God? “Playing” can help you to do this!

I believe I shared in another blog post about the rare illness that I had, CNS Vasculitis. This illness was only found in autopsy prior to 1999 so it was quite rare. I once knew a site administrator for information on this illness and she had done a poll of the people registered to the site. The ONLY thing that ALL participants had in common is that we were ALL work-a-holics. Is that you?

I don’t believe that God wants us to just work all the time. And, if you’re anything like I was, my mind didn’t slow down enough to hear from Him very often at all until I learned to “play”. You need to find a hobby, something that you enjoy, something that helps you to slow down and get your mind off of the list of a million and one things that you have pending!

What do I do? Well, I put on worship music a bit more quietly and tune all else out while “playing” with my art. In doing so I get so quiet that I am able to also easily commune with God. I’m able to have quality time with Him. I’m still doing something but I’m quieted. More things have come to me while doing this. I’ve gotten out of more funky moods while doing this, too!

My “playing” in the art piece above was even more “playful” since it was an old piece that I’d saved with Encaustic wax on it so I “played” with my heat gun melting the old wax (what fun) and letting it run all over! I think I’ve discovered a different kind of art for me and I’m still working on it (will post a photo when finished). ONLY God knows what you might discover!


May God bless you through my writing. If He has especially touched you in any way, please leave a comment below. Your comments are so very encouraging to me to help me to keep writing. Also, click on the “Uptweet” button on the above right and share! I pray you will keep coming back. I fully believe that my writing is by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so if I am writing, there is someone that needs to read it! Maybe it’s you? Also, please be sure to share any questions you might have with me and if you would like to keep them personal (just between you and me) please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at juliana.pace@gmail.com. If I don’t know how to answer you, I will may every attempt to refer you to someone for more information. Thanks and may God bless all your days!