Mercy Girl

Mercy Girl 2 – Poem on mixed media

Mercy: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. —Google

Have you ever been shown mercy? I have. Over and over and over again. I’m so thankful for mercy, because I know that without it, I would be living in fear. Who wants to live in fear? To me, living in mercy means living in freedom. There’s a reason to wake up in the morning. A reason to smile. A reason to dance.

Have you ever been shown mercy? Share your story…

Mercy Girl 1

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Just a quick note to let you all know that I’m back from my break. I was off for just over a month with the goal of accomplishing a bunch of things that I needed to get done. I was successful with a couple, but thanks to breaking my foot, I was unable to get everything done. It’s great to be back though. Looking forward to reading your blogs and catching up.

Mercy Girl 1

Mercy Girl – Mixed Media

After a very busy two weeks, going nuts with all the busyness and not enough time for me, I finally said, “That’s it! This afternoon I’m going to create.” Haha. The above is something I started working on a while ago. I didn’t like some things about the girl, so I decided to go a different direction than what I had originally planned. Next week I will be posting “Mercy Girl 2” hopefully.

❤

Forgiven Woman

Forgiven Woman – poem on mixed media

Have you ever wanted something so bad that it didn’t matter the circumstances, you went for it? That’s what happened with this woman. She knew she was dirty. She knew her life was empty and aimless. She knew that nobody respected her, especially the religious folk.

She had heard about this miracle worker and how he accepted all that were broken – the outcasts and those that society despised. She knew he would accept her. All other men looked at her as an object to be used and thrown away, and this stripped her of every ounce of dignity she had.

That’s what I love about this man. Grace, pure grace. And unconditional love. Coming to Him with a brokenness and an understanding that there is great need for forgiveness.

Have you ever wanted something so bad that it didn’t matter the circumstances, you went for it? Tell your story. 🙂

Echo

I would like to thank the talented Pepperanne from Field of Thorns for nominating me for a Timed Word Challenge. My topic was ECHO. My word count is 97.

Now I would like to nominate the following bloggers to participate in this as well.

Heart, depth, and Soul 

Neha at Forgotten Meadows

Sibella at Arts & Rhymes

Marlyn at Kintal

Audrey at Oldest Daughter Red Headed Sister

Below are the rules, and your topic will be at the very bottom.  Have fun, and make sure you visit Pepperanne over at Field of Thorns.

1) Open an MS word document (or any other editor).
2) Set a stop watch or a mobile for 5-10 minutes.
3) Your topic is at the foot of this post.  DO NOT SCROLL DOWN TO SEE IT UNTIL YOU ARE READY WITH A TIMER.
4) Fill the word document with as much wordage as you want, once you start writing, don’t stop.
5) DO NOT cheat by going back and correcting spellings and grammar with spell check (this is only meant for you to reflect on your control over sensible thought flow).
6) You may or may not pay attention to punctuation and capitals.
7) At the end of your post write down the number of words.
8) Do not forget to copy and paste the entire passage to your blog post with a new topic.

Your topic — INTENTIONAL

Blood

Can you imagine a body without blood? Kind of a strange question, isn’t it?

This week I was reading the lyrics to an old hymn, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus”. I’m not a big fan of old hymns, but in the past few months, this hymn has struck a chord with me. Mainly because I was questioning certain aspects of my faith.

I decided to do some research in google on the ‘whys’ of blood and it’s function. Did you know that blood is absolutely essential for life? It carries water, nutrients, proteins and hormones to the parts of our body that need them. It also carries carbon dioxide, toxins and waste along so they can be disposed of. Without blood we can’t keep warm, nor cool off. Blood helps fight infection, bacteria and viruses too.

If you are not of the same worldview as me, you may not be able to fully appreciate how there seems to be a strong analogy between the physical and the spiritual here. I find it fascinating, and quite revelatory.

If you’re interested, this is a great version of the song by Sarah Hart Pearsons.

Have you ever thought about the complexity of the human body, and how it’s different systems work?

These Sticks, This Tree

I’m super excited. I have joined a faith-based arts community on-line, because I really like mixed-media art and want to learn how to do it. I also have this crazy urge to just create, so this gives me the opportunity to learn and grow. The above picture is the first I’ve done since elementary school I think. It is the first piece I’ve done of a five-week course offered within this online community. Once I was finished, I was inspired to write the poem.

Ok, I know it’s no Picasso, but there is really something exhilarating about creating something yourself and seeing the end product.

Do you like to create? What are your creative outlets?

True Love – # 3 in the song series

 

(Photo credit: Marian Trinidad)

When I fall and fall and fall and fall again
You don’t give up on me
When just like Thomas I doubt your goodness
You continue showing it to me
When I’m like that little sheep that wandered away
You leave the rest to come and get me

Oh love, sweet sweet love
That’s love, sweet sweet love
True love, a love that’s greater than understanding

When I lack in faith and act in unbelief
Your faithfulness continues unto me
When I think I’m no good, and never will succeed
You don’t stop believing in me
When my heart is cold, and you seem so far away
Soon you show you never left me

What do you consider to be true love?  I believe that the English language is very vague when it comes to ‘love’.  One can easily say, “I love my husband/wife” and in the next breath say, “I love your dress”.  Now I know that there are different types of love and I shared about them in a prior post here: https://stacilys.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/love/

This song, however, is based on Agape love, an unconditional, total commitment type of love.  It doesn’t seek reward.  It isn’t a selfish love. It is self-less and sacrificial.  It is this type of love that I believe is God’s love toward me and all humanity.  Being that I am a Christian, it is this type of love that continually draws me in and back to my God, to acceptance, to freedom and to wholeness.  This song is a depiction of what I believe to be true love, freely given by an all-loving God through His son, Jesus Christ.

Back to you.  What do you consider to be true love?  Have you ever experienced this type of self-sacrificial love? Have you ever given it?