Poppies!

A poppy burst open this morning in our studio garden. 
It's been said that one can actually hear the sound of a poppy opening...a subtle little "pop!" 
One thing's for sure, they do make a grand entrance!
A poppy opens up with such bright faced joy, and summer surprise in its petals, that we've wondered if it silently plans the explosive, celebratory debut for weeks ahead, inside its fuzzy little head?  

That little head must swirl around with thoughts of celebration, joy and gratitude...and it's probably because the poppy has its mind set on right things, on good things, on the beauty that is to come in its life.

This poppy unfolded a few thoughts in us today. Thoughts about the same joy, the same celebration, that we can hold in our hearts, as we, like the poppy, set-our-minds-on-good things, good thoughts and promises spoken directly to our hearts by God.
 
We know that when we let our thoughts, inspired by God, swirl around in our heads and hearts, we too, like this fresh-faced poppy, will be able to lift our heads and be filled with a joy, a gratitude, that simply overflows and kind of "pops" out into our own worlds.

So today, we'll be looking at the poppy party going on and letting our hearts join in with lovely thoughts like this...
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of The Lord rises upon you."
Isaiah 60:1

Enjoying the party in the garden and in our hearts,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Fresh Starts

A droopy looking shrub hung out in our studio garden all summer long, looking like it was barely getting by.  We tried to perk it up with fresh drinks of water and fertilizer smoothies, but it just stood with its head down and slumped shoulders most of the summer.

Deep inside that dreary exterior, though, there was a great work going on.  The Creator knew what He was doing with this one and although things looked pretty despondent on the outside, inside, a magnificent work was being done.

We’ll never forget the day we caught a glimpse of just how extensive the hidden work had been. It all began with a little tender bud. 

A soft pink envelope, barely containing the strong, vibrant life beneath its veined petals.  This bush was coming alive again! It had been renewed!  It had exchanged its former life with a new life … an abundant life … an exuberant life!  This new life filled it up so much, it just began to explode with joy, and flowers burst out in every direction. Wow, what a sight to behold. Flowers everywhere with their hands lifted up in praise!

All of this was inside that old bush all the time!

It made us think of the transformation, the actual exchange, that can happen in our lives and re-create us into the person God made us to be.

It’s conveyed in The Message beautifully:

We don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look … now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new.  The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! (grows, rapidly expands, flourishes) Look at it!

So, we hope you will “look at it!” 

Look at this bush that is now alive and flourishing with flowers!  Let it remind you of the fresh start, the new beginning, the absolute-total-recharge of your life that's just waiting for you.

 

Celebrating fresh starts,

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. A special thank-you to Travis D. Rhodes, Laura’s father-in-love, who gave the small cutting that became the magnificent star in our garden. Like the Confederate Rose, his life overflows with reflections of God's abundance, extravagant love and transforming power.

Watermelon Days

Watermelon Days

The first sure sign of summer is not the summer solstice, June 21^st or lightening bugs captured in a jar.  It’s a juicy, sloppy, slurpy bite of ice cold watermelon. A head plant into an entire watermelon half, as pictured above, is the best way to enjoy it.  You really should try it sometime.  Just forget about all pretense and plunge in. Make sure you aim for the middle. When you come up for air you’ll know the true definition of “delight”.

The dictionary describes delight this way … a high degree of pleasure, enjoyment, joy or rapture. Mr. Webster must have been thinking about watermelons.

These girls just describe it with a big “YUMMMM!”  Adding a long hanging - on– the –end  twang to the “um” part.

Sheer delight. Summer bliss.  Watermelon days are here again.

So, go feel like a kid again. Find a watermelon. Slice off a big chunk. 

And take your first bite of summer. Head plants are optional.

                                                                          

With watermelon slurps & smiles,

Laura

Lilly, Alexa & Sophia - watermelon girls.

Go Where You Are Celebrated!

“Go where you are celebrated, not tolerated”.

Do you remember the last time you were really celebrated?  Applauded, cheered, exulted, praised and partied over? Let this photo remind you of what it feels like.

Photo by Kathy Ward

 This is Marybeth, our creative art director, as she completed the grueling Iron Girl Triathlon last Sunday at Lake Lanier in Georgia.  Most participants were dragging themselves over the finish line at this point, with grim but accomplished expressions, after completing a 1/3 mile swim, 19 mile bike ride and 3 mile run.  It was tough. Marybeth, however, crossed the finish line with a steely determination and then glanced up to see that, to her surprise, her supportive audience had grown! James & I were among her family & friends cheering her on!  She hadn’t expected all this attention, all these adoring fans! This photo captures that moment.  That split- second moment when she realized that she was being celebrated with extravagant love.  A cheering crowd of family, friends and surprise supporters, shouted, yelled, hooped and hollered and completely abandoned all respectable forms of congratulations.  We we’re insanely proud of her, unashamed in our expressions, and we loudly and publicly showered Marybeth with support.  She was celebrated and it absolutely caught her off guard.

 I love the expression in this photo. It’s an expression we should all feel. Really.

We should all have this arms-out-stretched-I-can’t believe-I’m-so loved-and-celebrated-feeling everyday.  Because we actually have someone who does celebrate us.  Everyday.  He rejoices and shouts joyfully over us. Just listen to how much:

“The Lord your God is with you. He is a hero who saves you. He happily rejoices over you, renews you with his love, and celebrates over you with shouts of joy. Zephaniah 3:17

Just read that over again with your name in place of the “you”.  You are celebrated every single day. It’s an amazing thought. It’s a running- around- the- yard- I’m- so- incredibly- filled- with -joy –and-love- I -can’t -contain –myself- feeling.

You really should allow yourself to feel this way today.

  

 And tomorrow.  And everyday.

 The lover of your soul is having a party over you all the time.  Just think about it awhile and let the champagne bubbles of that being- loved- emotion pop the cork off of any ordinary day.

Feeling bubbly,

Laura

Celebrated granddaughters, Sophia, Lilly and Alexa running around the backyard.

Collateral Creativity

They say a bamboo forest springs up suddenly. But, long before any signs of growth or shoots appear, a flurry of activity occurs underground. A vast network of roots busies itself for years…connecting, knitting and weaving a strong support system that will become the foundation for amazing creations. The little root connections all work together, helping each other grow and in the process, they become the “seeds” of the skyscraper-sized potential hidden inside them. 

Their quiet connections become a framework for their future success.

That just how we felt today as we participated in the design seminar, Discovering Yourself As An Artist, at the Hudgens Center for the Arts, led by renowned artist, Kathy Fincher.  A lovely, diverse group of artists gathered and the creative connections began immediately, with Kathy weaving an informative seminar around each participant. (You know it’s a good talk when everyone completely forgets about lunch and looks up to see that 2:00 has arrived!)

How does such a diverse group of creatives connect so quickly? By having the right “growing” environment.  Instead of competition, there was a camaraderie and a willingness to share every professional and artistic piece of advice that could be passed on. An absolute abandonment to creative development seem to spread through the entire session and all of our artistic roots were well watered.

Insights from Kathy on developing a creative voice, art licensing, branding, and web development had many scribbling notes rapidly... and her personal story of discovering art was so moving,(see yesterday’s blog and video link). Our wrap up included a review of artwork and websites by some of the participants … “bamboo shoots” themselves, some large, some small, some undiscovered, but all being strengthened and celebrated by each other for the unique creativity they possess.  Just get ready for the silent explosion of artistic expression that will come from some of these “bamboo shoots” we met today! Wow. We hope to share photos of their work in future blogs.

All this time for connecting could be considered unnecessary.  Why not simply focus on creating  artwork?  Because, like the bamboo forest, these connections make you stronger, better and open up collateral creativity. The kind that just makes you explode with new ideas and inspiration.  That must be how bamboo shoots feel when, after five years of no visible growth, they shoot through their earth canopies with a skyscraper soar and grow up to 90’ in 6 weeks.  An astounding rate of growth only achievable with a strong, connective, supportive root system.  Imagine the possibilities with a supportive network of creative people!

So, go develop that root system of yours! There’s still time to catch a few of Kathy Fincher’s seminars before her show closes.  Call the Hudgens Center for the Arts for details, since these last seminars may not appear on the events calendar. http://thehudgens.org/?page_id=42

Feeling quite creatively nourished, 

The Velvet Lime Girls