Hannah and I spent some time recently adding more paintings to the WisdomInWatercolor art gallery.  I hope you'll visit!

It was really encouraging to work on this together while simultaneously creating an inventory of my paintings from the past ten years.  (If you're just getting started with art here's some advice from "Debbie's School of Doing Things the Wrong Way"- keep an inventory as you go!)   

It was amazing to see how many paintings had been created over the years.  That's what it's like in the Christian life, as well.  Some days it feels like there's no growth, no development--- but when you stop and look back, taking inventory of little life changes the Lord makes in you over the years, you can see the progress.  

The Pondering Palette: As you take inventory of your life over the past decade, what's one change you've watched the Lord bring about in your life?

A wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Proverbs 14:1

One of my goals for this month is getting more organized.  That can be a challenge for anyone with an artistic bent, but I've discovered that when my personal space gets too crazy it works against me by shuting down my creativity.  

Extreme disorder makes me like the woman in Proverbs 14:1 who is tearing down her house, with the "house" I'm tearing down being my ministry with words and watercolors. That makes it imperative that I straighten things up so I can get back to the things I've been called to do (instead of wasting my time searching for stuff).

As a right-brained artistic type, this has always been a trouble spot for me.  I have pictures from magazines in my head of what a perfectly organized office and studio would look like, but my space has never looked that way (for more than 15 minutes, that is).  I'm finally learning that my space does not have to look identical to those picture in my head, but I do need a creative system I can celebrate and embrace in order to more effectively get my work done.

A couple of years ago, I hired a professional organizer to help me with my office.  Things were really neat and tidy. . . for about ten hours.  That experience made me realize that there's no such thing as "one size fits all" organizing system for everyone.  Sometimes very left-brained (i.e., neat, structured, tidy, meticulous, detail-minded) organizers are gifted with the ability to create orderly spaces, but those plans don't always fit right-brained (artistic) types.  

I've realized my need for a fun, creative, personal system to keep things in order--- one that fits my personality, learning style, brain hemisphere preference, etc.  To that end, I'm reading Organizing from the Right Side of the Brain- A Creative Approach to Getting Organized by Lee Silber.  It's giving me some great ideas, most of them simple baby steps. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

The Pondering Palette:  How can getting yourself organized glorify God?  What's one wise way you've gotten organized lately?

The horrific images coming from Haiti move me to pray... and give. 

A great place I've found to contribute is to a group called Texas Baptist Men.  It's a reputable group of dedicated Christians who mobilize people and materials to help those in need. They've put together 5,000 water purification systems to help Haiti that cost about $30 each. 

If you want to help, you can go to www.texasbaptistmen.org and click on the Donation tab or send a check to:     Texas Baptist Men      5351 Catron Drive       Dallas, TX 7522

I came across a Facebook post recently where a Christian was finger pointing, berating, ridiculing and all around criticizing a Christian leader for some remarks he had made.  For some reason, it made me think about a simple little random incident a college roommate of mine had with her boyfriend. 

After she berated him about something, he turned to her and asked:  "Are you praying for me as much as you're criticizing me?"  

Whoa.  That's one piercing, penetrating question.  

It convicted me, and I wasn't even involved in the incident.  Let's be gentle out there... and pray for others before we point accusing fingers.

The Pondering Palette:  This is a hard question--- is there anyone you've been pointing at more than praying for?  (Why not stop and pray for that person? Right. Now.)

Here's that picture I promised from the sewing room re-do.  It's my absolute favorite corner of the room. . . 

The woven seagrass chair was found on sale at World Market a couple of years ago, while the storage cabinet with woven front (being used as a side table) came from Hobby Lobby.  Animal print accessories are leftovers from Hannah's high school girl space and makes me think of how much I love her.  Even though she has left our home to make her own, she will always be in the home of my heart. The tall cabinet to the left (you can hardly see it) belonged to my Grandma Hannah, an early sewing influence in my life. Her cabinet is now a storage space for fabric.  

The framed print on the wall was painted by our former pastor, Dick Moody.  It was a piece he donated for reproduction and sale to support fundraising efforts for mission work in Texas.  A cool thing about it is how he hid religious symbols all throughout the painting.  An even cooler thing is it's a great example of how art can be used for good.

I believe that art used for good is really good art (...and you can quote me on that!)   

The Pondering Palette:  Where is the last place you saw art being used for good?  I'd love to hear about it.