Homegrown Hospitality

Women of Faith

I joined an amazing group of women from Saddleback this past weekend and we planted ourselves at The Pond, well, The Honda Center for a weekend full of women, faith, worship, tears, laughter, Cece Winans, Selah...and a whole lot of wow at the Women Of Faith event.

Standing on the floor and looking back onto 11,000 women (and a few men) for the same reason...JESUS.

WOW.That's all I can say right now..wow.

 

...and yep, in case you are wondering because you know I do not like to vere too far from home..I spent the night there with my friends, my faith and my bravery, not to say that there were brief moments (before we got there) when I just wanted to go home.

I stayed, I danced, I sang, I cried and I cracked up with laughter...alot.  If this event gets to your town, please make an effort to attend...

I hope to be back later with more thoughts.

I am..

BRAVE....

even when I feel like I am not,

I am.

and courageous

and vulnerable

and an artist

and sensitive

and sarcastic

Brave is

hard

rewarding

courageous

scary

and part of life so don't waste a second being a fraddy cat..PICK YO' SELF UP AND GET GOING!

Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Uncommon Courage

This past weekends message at church was all about "Standing Courageously For the Truth" and if you were there or watched it on-line then you know it was jammed packed with ALOT of things and it would take me 74 blog posts to cover it, so in a nut shell, here it is...

This is a hot topic right now in our little home sweet home because TODAY, Jack is going to be learning about "Conspiracy Theory's" in his "History Through Film" class.

Again, TRUTH MATTERS and as a parent I have to reinforce that.  Does an 11th grader with an open mind need to learn about conspiracy theory's?  Maybe, maybe not...but I am going to stop here because I could be walking into a can of worms..and I do not like worms, especially those big gross green disney-character looking ones that eat tomatoes.

So back to the message..just a little more...

it all takes courage.

Something I personally battle with DAILY, sometimes...HOURLY!

There it is...the Truth about me. (I suppose that was courage right there by admitting that to you..) You might not know it or think it if you are around me, but it is there, more than ever and I tell you, ever since I "FULLY SURRENDERED" that damn red suited guy likes to sprinkle my day with doubt, anxiety and anything else he can muster up to toss in my path.. Sometimes I can karate chop it away..and sometimes I can't and that is what I am working on. (It is okay, you can call me a "fraddy cat.")

The thing that helps me get through this crap (and it is crap) is prayer and art.  The more anxiety, the HARDER it is to get up, but I make myself do it...and the more powerful I create.   This is yesterdays harvest:

I am finding comfort, peace and meaning through my art and I want to suggest that if you are in a spot that is not comfortable..try creating.  Many times I just work on getting the base of a project down so that when I am inspired, I can go out and create HEart.

I am using old marquee letters as my base.  I start by layering on tissue wrap and dictionary paper using Glue-n-Seal. Make sure to dry....

Then I add swipes of crackle paint  and while those are set aside, I use color wash and distress stain to add color to dictionary paper so that I can tear out hearts and just those steps starts to take the crap away...then when I am ready to create, I have all of the pieces and parts I need to create a piece of HEart!

Big Words...

doodled in a little 2 1/2" x 4" mini moleskin book.

Think about what you are doing and who you are doing it for and I betcha you will do it better....just sayin.

I/WE..Me & you

I put my pen to paper to doodle out a few huge reminders from Sunday's message at church...One of the BIG 5 factors that influence our identities:

CONSCIOUSNESS - How I talk to myself.

Truth is, as Pastor Rick put it.."..if we talked to our friends the way we talk to ourselves, we would not have any friends"

RIGHT?

Thing is, I/We do not have to believe everything I/We tell myself.

Duh..I/We know that...right?  So how does one stop talking/listening and believing the things that are not truth???

CHOOSE WHAT I/WE THINK ABOUT..

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Phil. 4:8 (NIV) 

oh so much more to come from my notes.... 

All is Forgiven

Grab some coffee....

I have been on a personal journey of faith for a several years now and have really started to share more of it with you here on my blog.  

Some of you embrace it and some don't .  

That is okay with me.  

Some of you are of the same faith as me, and some are not.  

That is okay with me too. 

It is more about the heart...

and we all have one.

More than we may realize, we are all in the same boat.  Some of us have paddles, some of us have life jackets and some of us don't.  A few stand at the head of the boat and scream "I am the king of the world" and some of us are hanging our heads over the railing throwing up from all of the waves.  Thing is, we are all in this together and we all go through similar things.

I hope that by me being authentic and transparent here, it will help someone elses boat ride along the way.  Just call me "Julie McCoy"...your cruise director because I am glad you are here.

Okay, so as you know, I am really sarcastic at times, and equally, if not more, dorkey.   Here is some good news I found out about that on page 137 of the book "Only You Can Be You"

I am self-conscience about many things (not as many as I used to be) and don't give a crap about other things (see, I told you)

I have always reminded you that I am open minded, share what I believe and create based on it.  I strive to walk the walk and talk the talk but I am human and dang it, I stumble and sometimes fall.

We all do.

THANKS ALOT ADAM (okay, and Eve!)

I have to admit, I have fallen hard.

No..not right now, in the past.

The thing is, I get back up, figure it out, confess it, ask for forgiveness (He will forgive you too, you just gotta ask) and then keep going.  I am continually and constantly learning who I am, what I am supposed to be doing and sharing it...through the creative abilities that God has given me..

and I am so glad you are still here.

With the completion of the "Only You Can Be You" study last week I was a little "okay, what is next..now what" and happily found the answer with the new series  Pastor Rick started this week called "Creating a Positive ID" 

whew.

So the big question was "Do you know who you are" and well, since I just finished learning and being reminded that "I am me" from "Only You Can Be You" (say that 5 times fast) I knew I was on the right track (or is it tract?)

and here was the phrase that stuck me like a thorn on a rose bush...10 words that reminded me of something.

"I am a product of my past..NOT a prisoner"

and it reminded me that I was holding my own self hostage.

Duh.

You see, I realized that I was unconsciously torturing myself because I had not fully forgiven myself. Maybe a little, but not completely and it does not work that way.

You either do or you don't...not kinda.

well, how can I not forgive myself when God has already done so..

done.

gone.

forgiven.

surrendered.

I think I am starting to mature.

and I am glad you are here with me on this journey.

Use 'Em

When I am tired, I become unsettled and when I am unsettled, I start wondering..questioning..doubting...

gulp.

"Am I doing what I am supposed to be doing??"

"Am I doing enough??"

"Am I doing too much??"

Late yesterday afternoon, I started wandering around, not wanting to do anything specific and knew that I just needed to relax.  

Easier said than done. 

How does one "just relax" when there is so much world noise going on, even when it is super quiet?  

and then, last night, I remembered....

I doodle.

duh.

so I wrote out this phrase:

"Only I can be me and you can be you, so let's work together and see what we can do.."

and then I started coloring...and that is exactly what I did last night...

I colored.

Just me, the couch and my markers...for a few hours...and I colored myself down off that wall of wonder.

This morning, that wonder, questioning and doubt was lifted by a single email that reminded me of what I already know...and I picked up my little Moleskin and added a new page.

and this is me reminding you of something you probably already know...

Use 'em.

Your gifts, your talents, your abilities...

Use' em to make a difference.

Our Creative Best

Whether it is being creative with paper, paint, wood, computers, spreadsheets, organization, food,etc. we are all creative in one way or another and it is our responsibility to do our best at what we were created to do.  In "Only You Can Be You" page 102 there is a great verse that reminds us of this fact.

"Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life" Gal 6:5

I really love this verse so I painted it on a canvas over layers and layers of paper, paint, texture and more paint...well and added a heart, of course!

It is part of my "HEart" Collection because HE is the reason for my ART and this piece is for sale.  I have decided that as I create, share and sell my art, 10% of the sale price will go towards the purchase of socks for Joy Jars.

Canvas Details:

• 8 x 10 flatback canvas suitable for framing (Frame Not Included)
• Created using acrylic paint, distress ink pens, watercolors & ink
• Heavily textured 

Price $37.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

SOLD...thank you Linda!

More coming soon...

Do Something

Last night was the final night of the summer study "Only You Can Be You" and I felt a little sad at the end when Erik said "good night" because it was "over" when it dawned on me that it is only the beginning.

The beginning of being fully surrendered and of "Me being Me" so the reminders, art and thoughts about "You Being You" will continue on.

Here is a GREAT reminder and hopefully inspiration for you to do something today...

"Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility" Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Only You Can Be You by Erik Rees, page 166)

A Follow Up

After posting yesterday and in-between trips to the skate shop, the skate park, Sonic and then back to the skate park, I created this canvas based on the thoughts and notes I have been taking from the book "Only You Can Be You"

I am working on some sort of tutorial for this and will post it as soon as I am done!

Enjoy the journey....