Inspired by Hebrews 11:1
Inspired By 2 Corinthians
Inspired By The Book Of Revelation
Several people in my life are in the process of overcoming. Overcoming an addiction, a broken heart, a long illness. One dear soul I love is saying goodbye to her family as she gets ready to meet the Lord. Overcomers are the true warriors. To overcome, in Scripture, means to hear God’s voice, then to […]
Inspired By Psalm 34
Inspired By A Hymn
Sometimes a line from a song just brands itself into your mind. This line from the famous hymn has always resonated with me and so many others, it seems. We long to be close to God, but we wander away so easily and thoughtlessly. No wonder Jesus was always talking about sheep. This print is […]
Inspired by Psalm 27
Inspired by Psalm 62
Inspired By Psalm 139
Inspired by Proverbs 18:4
Inspired by Psalm 139
Inspired By The Lilies Of The Field: Luke 12:27
A rosary should be as precious and unique as a treasured piece of jewelry, its beauty meant to inspire meditative prayer and reflection on the life of Jesus. The inspiration for this rosary comes from Luke 12:27-28: “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon […]
Inspired by 1 Corinthians 10:31
Inspired by Matthew 5:8
Inspired by Romans 8:38
Inspired by Micah 6:8
Inspired By Psalm 34
Inspired By Psalm 126
Inspired by Psalm 119
Inspired by Psalm 63
It’s a special kind of joy to create scripture art. Choosing an image, selecting colors and fonts, while focusing on the meaning of the verse – it is a unique and glorious challenge. Every detail matters and any variation changes the message. This Psalm was written by David when he was in the desert. The […]
Inspired by Courage
Courage. People who risk, who stand up, who fight, who take chances, who put their lives on the line. Who isn’t inspired by courage? I particularly love this quote that is attributed to Saint Joan of Arc, a young girl who carried a banner along the French Army and was tried for heresy and unjustly […]
Inspired By Psalm 27
Psalm 27 is about fearlessly trusting the Lord. “Seek My Face”, such a powerful and tender request, how do you seek the face of God? Face also means Help. Seek My Help. Trust In Me. I struggle with total trust, I forget that everything is not all up to me. I remind myself over and […]
Your Stories Inspire Me
Your stories inspire me. When I go on a book signing or to a book fair, exhibit at an art walk or craft festival, I hear your stories. In my Etsy Shop and on Facebook, you send me notes about who you are buying for and why this person will be getting a book, print, […]
Five Books To Inspire Creativity
My first job out of college might be the best job I ever had. There were no openings for art teachers, which is what I thought I wanted to do, so instead I went to work for a local bookstore and spent all day, every day, surrounded by books. It was glorious. With the employee […]
Psalm 23
Psalm 23 Necklace
Artists often work in series and I’m no exception. The idea for this crystal beaded bracelet depicting the 23rd Psalm, using a different colored bead to represent the idea behind every line: Led to this idea for a boho style Psalm 23 bracelet: Which in turn started me thinking about a designing a necklace, something […]
Psalm 23 Bracelet, Boho Style
Wearing a piece of inspirational jewelry can be a tangible reminder of what is bigger than ourselves, a source of encouragement and comfort. After I created a sparkly, crystal Psalm 23 bracelet, my son wondered if I was going to make a guy’s version with a similar design. He wanted to wear one too. Well, […]
Psalm 23 Bracelet
Some of the most poetic, comforting words in the Bible can be found in the Book of Psalms and the most familiar is Psalm 23. The image of a gentle shepherd, green pastures, still waters, we yearn for such peace and reassurance. If you are looking to be inspired, it doesn’t get any better than […]
Inspired By The Psalms
Growing up, every Sunday in church we would sing the psalms. The congregation would chant one verse back and forth. It was mesmerizing; the melody haunting. The words fascinated me because they were emotional, longing, pleading, a kind of language I did not hear often in the understated midwestern culture I grew up in. No […]
The Mystery of Inspiration
Inspire literally means to breath in, to take air into your body. It also means to fill someone with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. It is derived from the Latin word “inspirare” which means breathe or blow into. The scriptural definition refers to God. 2 Timothy […]
What Inspires You?
Inspiration. I seek it, crave it, and cannot seem to get enough of it. I actually consider myself an inspiration junkie of sorts; it is my drug of choice. Inspiration may be addictive, but it is rarely harmful. In the name of inspiration, I confess to have done the following: Climbed around a hot dusty […]
What Is Iowa Nice?
No doubt you live in a wonderful state where people are kind and lovely. Your fellow citizens are good, decent people, always willing to lend a hand. You are proud of the place you call home. However, at the risk of sounding boastful, I must tell you when it comes to being nice: There is […]
Are Christians One Big Family?
Isn’t the Body of Christ the most amazing and eclectic group of believers? We have Latin chanting monks, kindly Protestant Sunday School teachers, pamphlet passing door-to-door bell ringers, mega church preachers and missionaries in the wilderness, all on the same team for Jesus. We come from many traditions, many perspectives and yet all follow […]
What I Learned From 31 Days
What I learned last month during the 31 day writing challenge: 1. Apparently, I love a challenge. This is actually a revelation because I’m not particularly competitive or athletic. The only sport I ever played was softball in 2nd grade and I spent every game in the outfield praying the ball would not come my […]
Let God Surprise You
Lists, Goals, Projects: Oh, how I love these things. Notebooks, Planners, Calendars: I’m all in. You, too? In ninth grade, I mapped out my entire high school curriculum just for fun. In college, I carefully plotted my classes so I could take extra hours each semester in subjects I loved. I knew what my senior […]
Who Has A Heart Like Joseph’s?
Not long after we had adopted our younger son, I heard about a couple who had adopted 12 children. Each one of these precious kids was considered “unadoptable” because of various physical and mental challenges. All of them required continuous care and since the family was quite wealthy, they had the means to provide for […]
Take The Bull By The Horns
As they say in Texas, sometimes you need to take the bull by the horns. My dad lived there and he was known to do just that. When his only daughter wrote and illustrated a children’s book, my father sent a copy to the features columnist at the local paper, letting him know this was […]
What I Want My Younger Self To Know
(Imaginary conversation about parenting between the Current Me and my Younger Self) Current Me: Hey, are you ok? Younger Self: Um, yes I think so. I’m about to have my first baby and of course, am very excited and well, I just really want to do all the right things so I can have an […]
Make Life Hard For Your Kid
A lovely woman, a mother of three once told me,”We would love to adopt, but I worry it would be really hard on our kids”. (This is one of those cliches people say about adoption. Yes, really). How sad I was to hear her say this. Oh, please make your kid’s life hard in some […]
Adoption And Ancestry.com
Several years ago, the genealogy bug bit and I joined Ancestry.com (or as my family lovingly calls it, Facebook for Dead People). It became a fun new hobby obsession. After combing through the family history I knew, I did research on the ancestors of my youngest son. He is adopted and knew nothing but the barest […]
Everything And Nothing At All
What does it mean to me that my son and I do not look alike, that we have ancestors from different continents? What does it mean that my son is a different race than I am? There are actually two answers to that question: It means everything and it means nothing at all. It means […]
An Adoption Manifesto
I believe in a very succinct philosophy of adoption. It is simply this: Everybody deserves to be somebody’s child. That’s it. Everyone should be someone’s son or daughter. A decades old running argument exists about who should adopt whom. Do you have to be married or can you be single? If so, single male or […]
Three Faiths, Three Views of Adoption
Adoption is part of our spiritual heritage as Christians. We are steeped in adoption culture, whether we are fully conscious of it or not. Our faith teaches Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, and since we are also His children, this makes all of us His adopted sons and daughters. We know we are […]
You Were Adopted
You know that classic Mean Kid Trick where the older sibling tells the younger one, usually in a fit of frustration, “Yeah, well, you know WHAT? There is something you don’t know, but I do! You are ADOPTED!” And the little kid runs off, sobbing to his mom, to find out if this new revelation […]
Angels 101
Angels are confusing. We love them, create beautiful images of them, and are comforted by knowing they are all around us. Who wouldn’t want a Guardian Angel to depend on? But who are Angels and what do they do besides fly around and look, well, angelic?There is a body of information in scripture. Here […]
Away In The Manger
This is a painting from a children’s book I wrote and illustrated called Joseph’s Heart: A Story of Adoption. It is titled Away in the Manger and is the most whimsical image from the book. Baby Jesus takes center stage as He lies in swaddling clothing, surrounded by a bird’s eye view of various creatures. They look […]
Mary, Full Of Grace
The first time Mary is mentioned in the Bible, an Angel appears. The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.” (Luke 1:26-27) Luke states that Joseph was […]
Saint Joseph, Super Hero
Su-per-he-ro (soo’per hlr’o) n., pl. roes. A heroic character with a selfless, pro-social mission; with superpowers- extraordinary abilities, advanced technology, or highly developed physical, mental, or mystical skills Was Joseph a Biblical Super Hero? A look at Joseph’s Story through 21st century eyes: Let’s do a quick recap, shall we? A nice Jewish […]
Here Is My Son
After Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary wait one month in Bethlehem before taking Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, the law requires after thirty days the new parents must travel to the Temple to consecrate their son to the Lord and make a sacrificial offering of two turtledoves. “Every […]
You Were Born In My Heart
So it came to be Mary and Joseph were married. As they were settling in to their new home, an order was given. All people had to return to the town of their birth to be registered and counted. This meant Mary and Joseph must journey a long distance. Joseph worried it was dangerous to […]