The Art of Life
Photobucket I'm so glad you're here! "The Art of Life" is where I share my journey as an artist & Momma. It's a place where I hope to encourage other women that they are artists too. In this small little space I seek to share, document, and be reminded of God's wonderful grace, all around us. ....And I would be so happy to have you journey alongside me! So grab a cup of coffee and linger for a while. I hope you leave feeling refreshed. Photobucket

Monday, October 25, 2010

YNOT C

(Waiting at the eye doctor's office this past June.)

~~I've been thinking about Faith. That word has been running through my mind all morning. Faith.
What does it mean to have faith, particularly as it applies to my hopes and dreams?

What does it mean to have faith as an artist?

~~The more I think about it, the more I realize that faith is not a passive word.
Faith is full of action.

Faith is a verb.

But far too often in my life I've fallen into the trap of thinking that faith is a noun.

~~It's always been easy for me to have faith in most areas of my life. I have faith that God is providing for me and my family. I have faith in His unfailing love. I have faith that when I lie down to sleep, the sun will rise again and a new day will begin.

~~But what about my dreams?

~~I will admit that this is one area of my life where I struggle far too often. For some reason I think that I have to take the lead in order to get anywhere as an artist.
Thoughts run through my head telling me that I have to make the opportunities.
I have to open the doors.
I have to search and seek and know all the answers or nothing will ever happen.

And of course, the end result of those thoughts is fear.
Crippling, freezing fear.
~~But what about faith?
~~I think that far too often we think that faith is the same as wishing; hoping.
Just sitting and waiting with our head in the clouds.

"Okay God. I'm here. I'm ready. You can give me all the answers now."

Then, when that doesn't work we resort back to self reliance.

~~But God has been speaking to my heart. Opening me up to a much bigger plan. Something I've known in my heart all along.

Faith in action.

~~If I look back over the past 30 years, I can see a clear thread of God's hand in my life as an artist. He has been leading me gently along the way, opening doors, and making many delightful "coincidences" that have all lead me right to where I am.

~~There have been times when He opened doors to opportunities and I missed them because I was too afraid. I was lacking faith. I can see that now.

~~There have also been times when I stalled on my journey because I was trying too hard on my own. I was lacking faith.

~~So faith must be action and belief.
Action and trust.
~~I must whole-heartedly give my dreams to God every day and trust that He has a plan made specifically for me.
Then I also must move on those whispers and nudges that He places in my heart. Every day I should check in with Him to make sure that I'm not doing this on my own.
~~I was contemplating the idea of faith this morning while driving in the car. I pulled up to a stoplight and noticed the tag on the truck in front of me:
YNOT C

Why not see?

My heart smiled and I felt like God was whispering to me.

~~Why not see what He has in store for me? Why struggle and think that my plans need to be my own?

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29: 11-13

~~His plans are better than anything I can imagine or dream up.

Why not have faith?

Why not see?

Sierra with her new glasses. She can see!
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3 comments:

Lisa Shoch said...

Hi - your blog is super cute. I stumbled upon your website a few weeks ago and contacted you about a book I wrote. I am looking for an ilustrator... would you have any interest in chatting with me about it? If so, please email me at ForYouTheBook@yahoo.com. Thanks.
Lisa

Kasie @ ~The Art of Life~ said...

I just sent you an email Lisa. I'd love to talk with you! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh Kasie, you and I are kindred souls. This has been such a theme for me too, the fear, the struggle, the lack of complete trust. And at our house it is compounded by my hubby fixing to retire and start a second career or not, my son graduating this yr and applying to colleges and trying to figure out what HE wants to be, and me still struggling in my way. I just quoted that verse to my son yesterday to calm his anxiety, and I heard the words with my own ears and knew God was telling me that too! God bless you and your talent...I know He will!