art therapy

My career coaching has been an amazing thing.
We've just had our third skype session and I'm
beyond excited about the tools and tips I've learned so far.
Little short cuts and ways of doing things I had never
learned, and it may have taken me months to google
and find them in tutorials.

Making the whole digital painting process that much
easier and more freeing and useful.

Pretty much since childhood I've turned to art as a release.
Things have been a bit stressful with circumstances I haven't
talked about much here.
It's not super important what they are, just that what it means
is my pencil has been flying off my paper.
It's my therapy.
Just after prayer and turning it all over to God,
it's my way of calming and centering.
I turn on my Sara Groves pandora station and I pray and paint.
And just wish I had more time to paint and pray and paint and pray.

I'm trying to make it all work and am hoping to have new things in the shop soon.
Here's a teeny sneak peak of one thing I'm working on.
And a clue of more to come.
I've been slightly obsessed with sea animals
since it's our whole science unit this year.

I love how cozy she looks snuggled up with him.

fall inspiration

Fall is my most favorite season.

I love the anticipation.

The spirit of thanksgiving.

There's a feeling in the air.

The sunlight is different.

The leaves changing colors

 (even if they aren't as plentiful in so. cal.).

I wanted to capture this season of giving in an autumn print.

and finally i have a red-head in the shop.

I'm working to turn this into a thank you card 

with a different scripture...

It's coming soon.

I think i'd like that outfit she has on...

and below you'll see what happens around here when 

mommy tries to work while the kids are awake.

 

Yes, the dishes get piled high in the sink and the filing awaits, 

but I love that my kids get inspired to do their own drawings.  

This little lady likes to draw from my drawings.

She was getting frustrated that i kept blocking her view,

so I printed it out for her to have her own copy.

I love that she's so detailed.  

and I love her creativity.

She and I are kindred spirits

in the fact that she'll wake up and say,

"I NEED to draw."

When there's a spark of an idea, 

she has to get it out.

Before eating, before anything else.

She just needs to draw.

Happy Autumn everyone!

mirror mirror

This is the first of a series I've had in mind for awhile. 

Quoting 2 Corinthians 3:18 to remind each of us that we, with unveiled faces, are a reflection of His glory.


To think of that the next time you look in the mirror.


And to think, we're being transformed into His same image more and more each day.  


We get to behold the glory of the Lord and in turn reflect it out to others.  


Pretty powerful.  And pretty convicting.

"But we all, with unveiled face, 

beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, 

are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, 

just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

.

I've created it in a few different color choices.  Keep checking back... there are more prints to come in this series.  I'm thinking they'll go perfectly in a bathroom or wherever you get ready for the day.

super girl

I've been inspired a lot lately.


So many ideas, but so little time.


However, I stayed up late the last couple of nights in order to finish


SUPER GIRL.... she makes me smile.


She was inspired by this photo of my youngest daughter.

I thought it went perfectly with 2 Timothy 1:7.

This was one of the earliest scriptures I memorized.


Because I can be prone to a spirit of fear.

For God has not given us the spirit of fear;

but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

I love this reminder that fear is not from God.


Because of Him we get to have a power greater than our own.


I especially love that I get an opportunity to instill this in my girls.


Super girl is available in the shop.

Feel free to convo me if you'd like her with a different hair color.

The Dolphin Girl

I've had some requests to make her blonde... so here she is!  You can find her in the shop now.

Trust In The Lord

 

I've been busily working on a logo for a friend's new business.


She suggested I take it and turn it into a print with this scripture.


I loved the idea and so a new print is born.


I think I mentioned before I work well with deadlines.


This was a deadline for me, due today.


I'm happy to share it with you.


These children and this scripture make me smile.


It's available here in the willow of wonder etsy shop.


Happy Wednesday... we head off tomorrow for a little vacation in the mountains.


Lots to get ready between now and then.


xoxo,
Jackie

Ezekiel Treasure

The Ezekiel Treasure print is complete!

I was contacted by a sweet mom a little bit before Christmas to see about doing a custom work for her son, whose name is Ezekiel.

This is what she wrote:  "My son's name is Ezekiel and I would LOVE a print with a boy and Ezekiel 36:26 on it. ("And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.") Maybe with a heart in a treasure chest or something?"

 She also sent me a picture of her son and a beautiful quilt she and her mom had made to hang in his room.  From there I started doing some inspiration hunting through google images.  I thought I'd share a little bit of how my creative process works.  I will gather these images just to create a feeling in my mind of where to head with the drawing.  I loved that more rustic looking tree growing out of the sandy cliff and the long grasses growing along the beach in the bicycle picture.

I'm super happy to now have a boy in the willow of wonder collection and hope to add more soon.

I have a couple of other drawings mulling around in my mind.  The Lord has been bringing me to scripture about WISDOM a lot lately.  I can't wait to have some time to bring it to life.

Meanwhile this morning I was struck by the fact that both of my devotionals spoke about how it takes getting to the end of ourselves in order for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.  It is so true.  When we feel capable, we don't turn to Him in the way we should.  Feeling incapable can be such a frustrating place to be for those of us who have control issues.  Ahem.  But I've been learning in the last couple of years, that when we truly release that, we are made stronger in Him.   

That scripture about beauty from ashes I referenced in my last entry.  Did you notice the part about becoming a strong oak.   Not only strong, but graceful.

For the LORD has planted them 

like strong and graceful oaks 

for his own glory."  

Isaiah 61:3 NLT

I love this imagery.  That's how I want to be.  A strong and graceful oak, firmly planted for His glory.   

Listening to this as I type and wanted to share.  

May you know His extravagant love, and friendship that surpasses all things.

p.s. I'm praying for healing for our four legged baby Bella you see peeking out there in the corner and strength in case we get bad news from some blood work taken yesterday.

It's a BOY

My spare moments have been spent this week working on this custom order.

This is just a sneak peak.  I'm waiting till it's shipped to reveal the whole picture.

It's something new for me.

Can you guess why? 

Well for one, it's a BOY! :)

And the scene is more of well, a scene.  I hadn't done that here yet.

Can you guess what scripture it is?

I'm so excited about it.

And I'm so excited about this pdf for a Baking Birthday party.

You see I have a daughter who is turning 6 in just two days.

So close to Christmas I usually delay her party a little bit.

This year she has had trouble deciding what she wants to do.

So today I said we must sit down and decide.  

I LOVE this party website and it led me to this party website.

Don't you love how that happens???  

I can get lost looking at the beautiful photos of so many blogs.

And you know, my soon to be six-year-old is taking after me.  
She ooh'd and aah'd over the pictures of so many party ideas.  
But this baking party, it won out over all the rest.

Check out this adorable cake topper.  Seriously cute.  

I've never done this before.  
But this year, with opening the etsy shop 
I don't have the time to custom make my own invitations 
so I did it.  I ordered the pdf.

Six dollars and all of the instructions and pre-made downloads for decorations, 
tags, invites and thank you's are there.  
I think it was well worth the money because of the time it just saved me.

Invitations are already printed and ready to go.

In the meantime we're heading to the mountains for a few days.  
I may not be online much.  I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!  
I'll definitely report back on our adventures when we return.

The Joy Of Freedom

Do you remember the day you first learned to swing?

To really swing high and free with your hair flowing in the air.

My five year old just crossed this milestone.

Today was the first day I captured it.

This freedom is my joy #54.

I love that face.  The sheer excitement.  The feeling of freedom.  That childhood rush without a care in the world.  I remember it like yesterday.  

As an adult I feel like in many ways I'm experiencing freedom of a new kind.  A freedom I should have grasped long ago.


But I didn't quite get it.


The freedom that comes from knowing who you are in Christ.


And nothing else matters.


I don't know how to explain it.


But lately I feel more free in this way.  I feel the way she looks in those pictures.

I feel the way I draw the girls in my prints.


It's that freedom of knowing He's rejoicing over you and that you are perfect in His eyes.  And that no matter what hits you in this life He's got it under control.  All of it is perfecting your faith and making you more like Him until one day you get to be in perfect peace with Him.


What a gift it is and how joyful that makes me.


So freedom in Christ is my joy #55.


Joy #56 getting to help in the kindergarten class today.

A little scheduling technicality meant my preschooler had no school which meant my preschooler had to come with me.  But all was well.  She fit right in.

They've adopted her as a classmate.  

She joined her sister and friends in the dramatic play area where they were princesses and kitties crawling around the room after me.

Now that's freedom of a different sort and just so adorable.


You don't realize that in the beginning of the year there's no way Ava would have even thought of crawling around acting goofy like a kitty.  The fact that she's so free to be herself today brings me joy.

And Joy #57 working computers, working fonts, working photoshop means prints lined up and ready to be packed, wrapped and shipped.

I'm still in denial about the fact that I MUST print my address labels to get our cards out.  But deep breath.. it will get done.  It will get done.  

Oh and that reminds me of Joy #58 I got a commissioned order to do a scripture print of a boy with a special scripture to go with his name.  I had plans to do a couple of boy drawings.  My son is begging me to make him a bookmark.  This new order has inspired me to do them sooner than I probably would have.  The ideas are mulling around and quite frankly I feel like doing that so much more than addressing envelopes.  But the days are ticking away so the envelopes will have to come first.

I'm linking to the 100 Reasons for Joy challenge if you'd like to read the other posts this week!  Happy Monday.

Soaring On Eagles Wings!!!

This seemed the perfect print to include with the announcement that the etsy shop is now OPEN!!! It took me seriously a few hours to resize the photos, upload, describe them etc.  But now that the learning curve is over hopefully it'll go more quickly.

I'm super excited to be able to finally say it's open.  I'm still working on lots of half finished pieces so keep checking for new additions.

www.willowofwonder.etsy.com

Enjoy!

Warriors For God

I need reminders A LOT.  Reminders for bringing preschool snack, for birthday presents, for appointments.  This mommy multi-tasking brain needs post it notes, giant calendars and text messages just so I 'don't forget.'  


But most of all, I need reminders for the TRUTH.  Seriously, how often do those darts attack your mind and make you doubt or forget what God says and the power you have in Him.


That is one of the many reasons I wanted to make this scripture painting from Ephesians about the armor of God.  I really wish I had room to put the entire scripture up there.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Ephesians 6:10-17

I call her my warrior girl.  She reminds me to take up my sword and fight!  

I know most of you reading this probably already know what the armor of God symbolizes, but in case this isn't something you've learned about already I'd love to share this link that explains it in more detail.  I used this website with a story and craft activities to teach my kids about the armor of God a few years ago. 

I once had a friend who is also a Christian speaker say, "Ladies we're going out to battle putting our flimsy sundresses on and we're getting clobbered.  We must put on our armor every single day.  Don't take a step out of bed before thinking about arming yourself."  

How often do we forget this?  The great thing is, every day is a new day and we get a new chance to suit up.  Isn't it awesome that we have this strength that is not our own to draw upon.  I know I couldn't get through anything without knowing my Lord goes before me.

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron."

Isaiah 45:2

"If God is for us, who can be against us."  

Romans 8:31

I'm getting closer to opening an etsy shop selling these prints under willow of wonder.  This has been a dream of mine for a couple of years (it was derailed a bit by the enemy's schemes), but praise God I think it'll be open by December first.   I see this opportunity as a 'beauty from ashes' for me and a small way to share the gospel.

I've been burning the candle a bit at both ends. But I'm just so happy doing it and praise God I've had the energy and His strength and guidance through this.  I can't wait to share it with you!

I'm linking this to YOU:Create, so head over there and see the other  posts.

I Have Set You Apart

I've been feeling this ache in my heart over how every time we turn around there are headlines about corrupt businesses, organizations, leaders, the list goes on.  It feels overwhelming. 

I think about how many people are just lost and walking down paths that only lead to destruction.  I think of the hundreds of thousands of hurting souls that don't know Jesus.  The ones that do, that are also hurting.  The hurting people that are hurting others. 


You see glimpses of it everywhere.  At the grocery store when a customer is rude to the checker for no good reason.  On the road when you're trying to merge and someone speeds up, so you won't 'get ahead' of them.  From giant corporations, to neighbors who don't even say hello.  We are called to love, to be a light, to be different, to not cave into these worldly ways.


I hear startling statistics of young adults turning away from their faith.  I hear it from pastors, on Christian radio, from my bible study teacher.


We just began the book of Judges, following after Joshua.  I am astonished at how often the Israelites repeat the same cycle.  They have a time of peace, they become complacent, they break God's rules,  and do evil things like the people around them.  God no longer fights for them and they fall into destruction.  They cry for help.  The Lord hears their cries and rescues them.  He provides someone to help and a way out.  They are pulled out of their destruction.  They are in a time of peace and then they fall into the world's evil ways once again.  Over and over and over.  

The elders, those who personally saw God's faithfulness in crossing the Jordan into the promise land, did not keep their testimony alive.  They did not share with their children the amazing power God showed in delivering them out of captivity.  They didn't embed in their children's hearts a sense of awe and thankfulness for his sovereignty and the many blessings he gave them.

 "After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel."  Judges 2:10

It's convicting isn't it?  I've heard some say this could be exactly why those in their 20s and 30s are turning away from their faith.  Are we making it a habit to show how active God is today and how faithful He is to us today.  Are they growing up learning bible stories, and memorizing scripture, but without an active faith that is alive and personal to them?  Let's make sure this generation grows up knowing how faithful He is, with specific, very personal stories that show the God who rescued Israel rescues us too.


Back to the Isrealites.  Looking at it on paper, I'm thinking, "Man why don't they just get it?"  Don't they see their wicked ways and see how simple it is to stay in the path that God has clearly laid out for them.


But then I think about how many ways our society today does the same exact thing.  People get lazy during times of ease.  Standards slowly slip away as little compromises are made, that lead to bigger and bigger compromises.  The worlds ways blend together until you cannot tell the Christian apart.


I know I'm sounding kind of heavy.  But even just driving the roads I have to take to get my kids to school they see billboards with images their eyes shouldn't take in.  Driving to ballet this weekend I looked over to see something I shouldn't have.  I don't even want to explain what it was and sadly it wasn't the first time this has happened.  I was struck with the feeling that we are living in a wicked and perverse generation.


My initial feeling that day was I just want out.  But really there isn't an 'out' until Jesus returns or I go to be with Him.  I also know we are not meant to 'run away' even though sometimes I feel like it.    We were chosen to be in this time for a purpose.  God ordained our days and he has called us to stand strong and to stand apart from the world's ways. 

Sometimes I don't know what to do with the frustration I feel about things.  When I'm stressed or anxious or working something through, I find I need to create.  It's a release.  I pray and talk to God and listen to praise music and as things come together I feel a peace wash over me.  

This idea had been mulling around for awhile and it seemed a fitting way to express how I'm feeling.  We are to stand high above and take the narrow path, set apart from the circus of the worldly nations around us.  

Oh, please join me in standing strong against the world's ways, and praying for repentance and changed lives.  Because we too have been set apart, and are chosen to be His own.  This isn't an exclusive club either.  He loves you even if you don't know Him yet.  He's tapping on your heart, hoping you'll be His own too.


P.S.  I'm linking this to gitzen girl's 'You Create' this Thursday.  Feel free to go over there and check out the other posts.  

That My Heart May Sing

That my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God I will give you thanks forever. Psalm 30:12.

Probably about a year and a half ago the Lord planted in my heart a desire to do drawings like this inspired with scripture. Scenes that I'd want to hang in my daughter's room, or the bathroom or even my room for that matter. I have ideas for boy's rooms too.

But then I got sick and started having weird symptoms that included joint pain, fatigue and hair loss. I didn't know what it was for months and months. But last September I finally had a diagnosis. It was lupus.

The lupus derailed me from pursuing this dream for awhile. But I am getting so much better.  I still have flares where I can't draw due to my knuckles hurting, but I feel better more than I feel bad.

It has been a long road of confusion and learning to lean into God in a way that I never had before. I'll admit all last spring and summer I was struggling just to get through the day. I had to put this dream on hold in a big way.

But in the process of being brought to a point where I needed God desperately He has taught me so much. So much I wouldn't have learned if getting here had been easy.

We pray at night for all kinds of things with our kids. One of the constants in our prayers is for wisdom, godly wisdom.

One day months ago my three year old said, "Lupus is kind of like wisdom." Sometimes she says the most profound things without even realizing it.

Because she is so right. I have gained so much wisdom through this experience. Wisdom about my health, about eating really well, about the need to listen to my body, to treat it as the temple for the Holy Spirit that it is, about drawing close to God. My faith life has grown by leaps and bounds. I've gained a spiritual wisdom that I wouldn't trade. And even in that I know I have so far to go. But I praise God for where he has brought me to this point, even if it was hard.

I'm so grateful for the blessings that have come out of it and I'm believing the Lord is healing me.

This piece was inspired by friends of ours who just baptized their 8 year old daughter. He is a pastor and they did it at a beautiful home in the backyard pool. She is adopted from Korea and wants to be a marine biologist. I wanted to give her a special gift for her baptism.

Finding time to draw sometimes can be hard with three small children, but again the Lord just opened doors that week. I had the inspiration, we were at the Huntington Library in the Chinese garden and my kids were playing so nicely by the stream that I sat down and drew. I was able to finish it in that little window of time.

Then that night, I'll admit I stayed up a bit too late to get it done, but as I did the digital painting I got lost in the time. Her mom said her eyes brightened when she saw that the girl looked like her and was riding a dolphin. I'm so glad it will be a memory of her special day of committing her life to the Lord.

And that it'll remind her to sing to the Lord, to not be silent, and to give him thanks forever!