RachelBoothblog

2011-02-01T23:46:00.003-05:00

be mine by ~singing2themoon on deviant ART

Reuse Reduce and Recycle this holiday season!

2010-12-15T16:25:00.003-05:00

Have yourself a GREEN Christmas.

This holiday season is tight for most people this year, that is why I am giving you a list of ideas on how to save you money, as well as the Earth. Reusing and re-purposing are key to have a wonderfully frugal and eco-friendly Christmas... or Hanukkah.... or whatever you choose to celebrate :) like my birthday a couple days after christmas ;)

So Here are the top 10 eco-friendly/money saving ideas to make this holiday bright!:

1.Hand craft special holiday greeting cards by collaging together wrapping paper scraps, keep the packaging to holiday cookies you buy and cut out graphics or patterns to add, bits of ribbons that are too small, or even from cut outs from cards you received last year. (and this year be sure to keep your cards and torn paper from this years to use next year!)

2.Wrap your gifts using newspaper, you can even make a bow out of many skinny cut strips and some doublestick tape. You can also add magazine clippings for extra images and text. I tried this last year after being inspired by this image from last years December issue of Country Living . There are so many different kinds of bows that can be made so very easily.

3.Re-gift. haha. Sounds Cheap, but produciton lines make more if you buy more, so don't buy gifts this year and giveaway any unused present.

4.Visit thrift stores and antique shops for unique hard to find presents. Clothing can be hard to find since thats whats everyone is after nowadays, but I always seem to find the most unique jewelry and dish-ware at my local second hand shops.

5.This is a MAJOR one. Think about using solar powered Christmas lights to decorate your home.... they cost more upfront but your electric bill would be significantly lower than last year, plus you reuse them every year... Or even replacing all your christmas lights with LED low energy lights.

6.Hand made gifts such as knitted scarves or mittens are usually very appreciated in the northern regions. Personalized ornaments can be relatively cheap if you buy in bulk and have the time to decorate them. If you are pressed for time, consider buying recycled hand crafted goods at etsy.com.

7. Decorate your home with handmade crafts using recycled materials such as this old wine bottle that has been painted and flourished with paper flowers and twigs. Try a green bottle with red paint.

8. Dont buy too much food. When we throw away stuff it goes into the landfill, blah blah blah CO2 gas = bad for the environment.

9. Give someone a plant as a gift! If you have house plants that are overgrown split it into multiple pots and give away the others. So good for the environment and it can be fairly cheap if done well.

10. LET IT SNOW! Stay inside and don't drive. Have everyone over and spend the night. I know its not ideal for everyone because some must travel for the holidays, but just be conscious of your fuel consumption

Hope this list helps get you thinking of even more ways to save your money and your environment. If you know of any economical holiday ideas PLEASE comment and share the good news ;)

christmas creativity

2010-12-08T16:16:00.001-05:00

I just love it when companies use amazingly good design aesthetics in their Christmas promotions. Target's website is one of my favorites. It's so surprisingly festive in a crisp, professional, yet creative way. Lately I have been noticing businesses using their logo and crafting it into a snowflake design such as Lincoln and Best Buy. Even walmart (who usually has little creativity in their design) is in on the logo play with ornaments. Oh how fun! Now you are going to notice this everywhere since I brought this up.

What is your life purpose? Contrasting Destiny Schools of Thought.

2010-11-18T13:30:00.000-05:00

Looking through various life purpose quotes this morning, I saw a contrast in two very different beliefs. It got me thinking back to my psychology and philospohy courses I've taken at Michigan. I learned that there are two kinds of ways ones mind naturally views things. Which means two very different perspectives on ones destiny.

First of all there are ones believe they can not control what happens to them in life, and that ones purpose will find them no matter what. These ones seem at peace with themselves and feel that they are right where they need to be. To let destiny decide who you become, and know that its not up to you. Even if you try, destiny will find its way.

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."

-John Lennon

"You often meet your destiny on the road you've taken to avoid it."

-unknown

Life is like a library owned by the author. In it are a few books which he wrote himself, but most of them were written for him.- Harry Emerson Fosdick

Secondly there are those who believe one has the oppourtunity to push harder and make their dreams happen. Those crazy geniuses out there that know they can't control the way things fall into place but trying harder always makes a difference, and that persistence gives a greater chance of getting what you hope for.

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

-Jeremy Kitson

"Success doesn't come to you, you go to it."

-Marva Collins

"We can't change the wind, but we can adjust the sails."
-unknown

I think that we all have dreams and desires within us that are difficult to achieve but possible if we give it all we have, and then some. Even as a young child I felt that it makes a difference to try. I always believed that I or my parents could get what we deserved if we tried everything, and that I should never just settle for the way things played out. That is one of the childlike traits that I am glad I never let go of.

The bible tells us that "We may toss the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall."

So my question for you is how do you see it?

I'm Back to blogging! {and a second blog coming soon!}

2010-10-30T12:17:00.002-04:00

heyo! rachelbooth.com now leads back here to my blog :D yey

I thought i would give you all just a sneak peak at my new blog coming soon. get ready to be served up a heaping helping of inspiration! Its going to be on wordpress so embrace yourself! it will to be filled with way more diy crafts, photoshop tutorials and inspirational posts on a weekly basis. :)

so please comment if you have any suggestions or requests on what you would like to see there.

anyone still here? and wedding inspired!

2010-07-08T08:47:00.001-04:00

I know that changing rachelbooth.com to a website instead of forwarding to my blogspot was a bad idea, because I think that i have lost a big chunk of my audience in the process. but alas! in a couple weeks this will all change back to normal :) hopefully I can gain back my follwers.

So for anyone who is still here....
What would you like to see more of from my blog? After I am done moving and married and sane again I plan to continue posting my projects digital and crafty, and hopefully some how-to blogs.

Coming up in the next couple of weeks will be a bunch of previews to my wedding decor! We have most of the silk flowers ready so I should have those images up next post, but for this post I want to show you my cake alternative:

Josh and I both HATE cake, so we were thinking of doing an ice-cream-cake or cheesecake, but then i found something even more creative. plus it's made out of our favorite treat and one of the few things i know how to make... RICE KRISPIE TREATS! I am in love with this idea.

Everything to fill a house

2010-06-16T12:32:00.000-04:00

Josh and I recently accumulated everything we need to put inside a house and more (as far as furniture goes) so now all we need is a HOME! We even have duplicates of dinning room and bedroom furniture sets. God is really blessing us, and everything is falling into place. We have been praying so hard about finances and things are really working out and looking bright. We are on the hunt for a new home, and just thinking about moving in with josh just fills me with Joy. We have compared way too many apartments to number and only visited a few, but this weekend we are getting pre-approved for a house loan.

as far as wedding planning goes.....
yikes.
there is still so much to do.

Yes, I have my dress, but it still needs to be altered. (get on that mom!)
Invitations have yet to be worded, ordered and sent out, as well as the retrieval process of all the addresses to send them to -ah!

Still need to decide on a menu, either an Italian buffet or an all dessert reception!

July fourth media designs

2010-06-08T16:45:00.000-04:00

july fourth media designs.

click to enlarge.

I found the dress! and save the date (8-9-10)!

2010-05-24T21:40:00.000-04:00

Since I changed my wedding date to 8-9-10,

There is not enough time for me to custom design a dress and have my mom construct the patterns and sew it all by herself.

Even though it brakes my heart, we decided it would be less stressful after all to just go out and find one.

And I never thought I would... but i did!

and....

I never thought that I would go with something very traditional, but I tried it on and even strangers gave me compliments. The one I got is IVORY not white like the pictures below. This dress looks so much different on me that the model in the picture. It's much heavier and It's hard to see but the bottom layer has sequins scattered all over it. I pick it up on Wednesday! then my mom gets to altar it and it will finally fit me! I can't wait to try it on when it's my size!

Bulletin Insert April

2010-04-26T16:16:00.001-04:00

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

I haven't posted any designs from work in a while just because life has been so hectic. Only ONE more week until I am finished with my crazy school and work schedule -and then I can start my crazy wedding planning schedule. haha. Then you guys can expect to more see updates about wedding dress designs and decorations! How fun! can't wait!

Earthy summer colors

2010-04-07T13:13:00.000-04:00

Color scheme for a summer project at work about family. I eye-dropped it out of a photograph -love love love these colors together. I'll keep ya posted on the outcome, I'm working with variations of the same design only by altering the colors. having a blast! :)

so it's official

2010-04-02T13:52:00.000-04:00

After a long couple of months hunting for a bridal gown in a clearance rack budget, i've come to the conclusion that I will not find a size 0 bridal gown for less than 300 dollars. So it's official -I am designing my own wedding gown and having my wonderfully talented seamstress mother create it. I think it will be a fun mother daughter project, i just hope it doesn't get to stressful since i also have to plan everything still. I will be updating when i have some designs to show.

Here is a style I want to imitate. But with heavy satin fabric.

Working on RachelBooth.com

2010-03-25T22:04:00.000-04:00

My theme for my website is about the four seasons. here is just some of my progress. each link brings up a page with a different season for the background. I Would LOVE some feedback.

Since i am working on Rachelbooth.com for my web design class it WILL be done and running before May -or i will not pass .':o
that was supposed to be a shocked face.....

also, I apologize for the lack of updates, it's been a rough two weeks.

New Colaborative Blog by creative people

2010-01-24T19:21:00.000-05:00

an art bog of sorts by doodlers, photographers and fashion addicts. If we create anything artistic we share it. so follow us and be inspired.

Nail design: Tiger

2010-01-23T12:45:00.000-05:00

I love painting my nails. I wish i had nothing to do all day everyday -or at least once a week.

This tiger print nail polish design was my 7 year old cousin's idea, well the concept at least.

Going to bridal shows

2010-01-16T11:53:00.000-05:00

I don't think it's legal for me to post pictures i took at the fashion show but here is some of the fun things i saw at the bridal show.

Emily and her giant donut!

notice the marajuana leaf pattern on the bench

behind her? what?!?! who designed this bench???

cute cupcake idea for winter wedding!

cute wedding cake ideas for winter wedding

frankenmuth cheats their snow.....

Below is my vlog of just some of the fun after the fashion show and before going around to crazy vendors tables and getting info.

Uneasy soul makes for sleepless nights and productive hands

2010-01-12T21:49:00.004-05:00

Woke up at 4:30 in the morning Sunday with a terrible heartache of some sort (not about fiance). Can't explain it, but here is my process of overcoming.

Knowing I can't sleep with this overwhelming feeling I get up and read my bible for an hour and decided that I just needed to get over it. Ate some oatmeal <3 and I went down into the studio and mixed colors red yellow and blue to calm down. Don't ever forget how therapeutic mixing paint can be. A nasty gray light yellow green color turned up I felt that I should paint it onto the entire 18"x24"canvas. Very soothing, painting streaky lines can be. While thinking about how I felt and why a verse from the bible came to mind, psalm 55

My heart is in anguish within me;
       the terrors of death assail me.
Fear and trembling have beset me;
       horror has overwhelmed me.
I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
       I would fly away and be at rest-
I would flee far away
       and stay in the desert;
I would hurry to my place of shelter,
       far from the tempest and storm."
that is why the first one is entitled "The 55th Psalm". -acrylic (even though it looks like a rubber duckie or the twitter icon -haha)

But then I started to hear God's voice a little more clearly. I realize, that there is nothing wrong with wanting to fly away to the desert where there is no rain or storms and hide in the safety, but in those times if you fly straight up through the storm you can soar above it on wings like eagles with God. And facing your problems while God is hiding you under his feathers, helping you become stronger in facing those uneasy situations helps develop you into the person he is designed you to become. Then I began this new painting while I started singing a hillsong worship chorus called "still".

"Still" by hillsong
Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are god

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know his power
In quietness and trust

And I did find rest for my soul and I didn't even finish the painting (notice there is no eagle soaring over the storm -hehe- just imagine it!) "Above the Storm" Work in Progress -acrylic
Then it was 9 in the morning and time for breakfast.... again.

Engaged x 2

2010-01-03T14:23:00.003-05:00

My best friend from high school (Nicholle) is also engaged! and within a couple of days from my engagement. :D Very excited to have someone to look do all the fun bridal things with.

I am engaged!

2009-12-30T22:52:00.004-05:00

holy crap I am engaged! Josh surprises me every birthday with a spontaneous adventure. This year (my third birthday with him) he romantically took me out to Frankenmuth and proposed on a horse drawn carriage while we were crossing over the wooden bridge. There is a legend that if you get engaged on this bridge that your relationship will last forever. Here are some pics of our adventure.

This is Guss, who walked us around for half an hour. i think this might be a pony..... haha
well horse drawn carriage or pony drawn it was still romantic, and it has always been my dream to take a ride in one on a romantic date :)

isn't it cute! This whole town is beautiful.

My crazy beautiful engagement ring which was my boyfrien... I mean Fiance's mother's ring. It has yet to be sized down for me. I tried really hard for the picture to not let it show that it's 3 sizes too big. I am wearing it on a necklace until I take it in for sizing.

Me on my 21st birthday. I don't remember if this was before or after. if my mascara's running then its after -hahah.

I am SO thrilled. I thought I was going to have a LAME 21st birthday since I don't believe in drinking alcohol, and your 21st is supposed to be a big party day. It was definatley a memorable birthday :)
We don't have a date set since we haven't had a chance to discuss it yet.

falling down an elevator shaft

2009-12-28T23:08:00.001-05:00

falling down an elevator shaft
Originally uploaded by rachel_booth

accidental pictures turn out so funny sometimes. we just laughed and laughed after looking at the preview in the camera before we uploaded it.

Hot Coco

2009-12-24T21:30:00.004-05:00

yum! Christmas Eve hot coco with my girls! YAY!

I LOVE hot coco <3
this is what i made for us all tonight. so cute! so fun!

Final Project (country music poster)

2009-12-21T17:30:00.006-05:00

NOT REAL EVENT
Just a design project for my University class.
boots were modeled after a CMT poster.
Photograph taken by my amazing and creative little sister Emma.

Watercolors and soon to be christmas

2009-12-16T18:26:00.004-05:00

So how is everyone coming along on their Christmas shopping/decorating/planning/present-wrapping? it's all kinda overwhelming isn't it? Especially if you do not get any days off to prepare for the holiday until after the holiday... ridiculous right? I spent my "study day" (a day that usualy i have school scheduled but its the last one before exams so we get the day off to study) going into work today instead of tomorrow since there was a graphic design emergencie.... i know right? but there was only 4 hours of work to be done, and I had an 8 hour shift. So this is what I did the last 20 minutes when i realized that I had my paints with me THE ENTRE TIME.... jeans o pizza. i googled "cute" and drew what i saw..... hahaha. Have a great holiday prep. :D

this is my first time EVER drawing/painting any furry creatures! i thought it would be difficult, but i'll let you be the judge....

doodles PREVIEW

2009-12-12T19:38:00.003-05:00

been working on a series involving 3 square 5x5" canvases invoving acrylic and sharpie. here is my design concept preview.

Personal Story Time

2009-12-08T18:55:00.002-05:00

photography (trevor senior pics)

2009-12-07T22:43:00.003-05:00

At Work today (dec 3rd 09)

2009-12-03T16:15:00.002-05:00

What i designed real quick at work today.

It's fun to go back to stick figures! Yay :D

Just for fun

2009-12-02T22:13:00.002-05:00

bah hahaha ha ha

it looks so tasty but when I eat it I gag.

When you're dry

2009-11-29T15:06:00.005-05:00

As creative beings, we all find ourselves in that dry place where nothing seems to inspire us to create. The best thing to do is flood yourself with works by creative people, creative ideas and new things. Also what helps is to get outside the box, look for different "genres of art" if you know what i mean. Look to other artistic things such as theater, pottery, sewing, cosmetic art, furniture design, fashion and such. I have been searching the internet the past 5 months for websites and bloggers that bring fresh inspiration. here are a list of sites to check out.

www.sharesomecandy.com
http://kandeethemakeupartist.blogspot.com -make-up artist -life coach
http://promisetangemanblog.com/ -graphic designer -photographer -fine artist
http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/ -blogger -crafter
http://www.urbansketchers.com/ -many doodlers
http://charmedtasha.blogspot.com/ -blogger -thrifter
http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/ -fashion
http://www.blog.sugarlotus.com/ -crafts
www.fredflare.com -random online store

that's just to name a few.
If you have any sites that are full of great ideas (or tv shows or magazines) that help you find inspiration please share! -leave comments :D

Water capsules from KOR (CUTE)!

2009-11-22T22:51:00.006-05:00

How cool is this? New designer water bottles (or hydration vessels) from KOR.
each one helps to profit a environmental water related cause. Which explaines their high price of $35. They are PBA free and totally safe. Plus they have cute little "mission statements" or motivational phrases on these "stones" that you can slide in and out of this slot on the under cap, so every time you drink you can be inspired and save the world at the same time.

Capacity: 750 mL (25 ounces)
Size: 11.5” tall, 3.4” wide

if you find any other intresting packaging designs PLEASE LINK TO THEM IN THE COMMENTS :)

sorry about the lack of blogs

2009-11-17T19:29:00.004-05:00

I've tried and tried and tried and tried but how do you work this thing?

I cant upload pictures through google blogspot or gmail.. Getting frustrated >:(
i've tried to upload many updates about the recent shenanigans....

photoshop homework: selecting, masking, and adding color to b&w

2009-11-04T20:25:00.004-05:00

three different photographs photomontaged together

Self Portrait Illustration

2009-11-03T23:25:00.002-05:00

chapstick preview

2009-10-29T16:42:00.007-04:00

here is a preview of the goodies our choir will be throwing during Clio's Christmas Parade. Its a Christmas chap stick label! spf 15 :D Click to enlarge images.

handmade, headband

2009-10-20T10:29:00.004-04:00

Now that all my art supplies are organized in an easy to access fashion, I began to whip out the hot glue gun! Stayed up rather late last night since i accidentally took a 3.5 hour nap as soon as i got home yesterday. While I was up I crafted together a neat little headband piece.

Just a little update.

Right now I am working on a self portrait for a school project. Its all VECTOR art. Just learning, so if you have any tips please let me know. I am required to use a gradient mesh somehow. HELP!

And my families old scanner I've been using finally died.... sad day :(

but it's ok -Boyfriend Joshua to the rescue with a spare!

pictures coming soon soon soon!

christmas promo sneak peak

2009-10-15T16:23:00.004-04:00

here are some beginning options for the over-all look of the Christmas promotional materials.

Vote on your favorite!

obviously there will be more information added... but that's not my job :D

My "Dream House" ...Work in Progress

2009-10-07T22:13:00.007-04:00

EDIT: HERE IS MY DRAFT 2

DRAFT 1

Illustrative project of my ideal "dream house". Just to set the record straight, I dream of a modern two story loft apartment. Since the idea of illustrating a city never occurred to me until after i had already began, I just stuck with it. NOT FINISHED yet, but its due in 5 days so it's getting there ;)
The bushes must go since they are too bright for the sunrise/set lighting i have setup; what should i replace them with?

Please leave comments and tell me what you think needs improvements
<3
dont be affraid to hurt my feelings

I want this <3

2009-10-06T14:52:00.002-04:00

http://www1.fredflare.com/customer/product.php?productid=5059&cat=4

cute $12 desk calendar!

Happy Birthday

2009-10-06T13:33:00.006-04:00

I want you all to have a happy birthday! Even though today may not be it, I didn't want to miss it so I am telling you early. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Just kidding -i just felt like drawing a cupcake~ LOL

But seriously... I made it just for you, on your early birthday.

I hope in a couple years I can find a job that I get to doodle all day long.... I love drawing!

You're a pumkin head!

2009-10-01T10:39:00.007-04:00

some more practice with illustrator, this time cs3. I thought this pumpkin was so cute! This is the beginning of a church bulletin insert for a Children's ministry Halloween event. Hmmmm, I dont think that it's happy/cheesey enough.... Tell me what you think.

inspirational

2009-09-29T10:11:00.005-04:00

This website is the definition of inspirational.

http://www.sharesomecandy.com/

The reason I love this website so much is because its of the variety of different artists who post to it. They are all amazing creative people and have fully developed their own artistic voice. Its a beautiful thing to go in and see all their daily doodles, final pieces, and even their workspaces. What an inspirational online showcase.

Ode to Gamers

2009-09-25T11:09:00.005-04:00

I turned this sketch above into this vector art below with my graphics tablet

blind contour portraits

2009-09-24T22:40:00.005-04:00

blind contour line drawing from portrait

some Michigan beach landscape behind us....

having some bamboo fun

2009-09-22T21:23:00.002-04:00

my dream house?

2009-09-20T00:51:00.001-04:00

trying to find images to use for my CS4 illustrator class' homework .... I need to design a house from a picture.......

Your home is a

Coder's Stronghold

Your kitchen is stocked with chips, dips, and assorted caffeinated beverages. There's a pantry with emergency backup caffeinated beverages. You also have some breakfast cereals in there, but you haven't had breakfast since last Spring. Your master bedroom has blankets printed with images of Mario and Link. Your study has every language reference book ever written, including now-useless titles like Learn Javascript 2.0! and C++ Programming for Windows 95. (Why are you keeping those?) One of your garages holds your collection of ferraris, and is measured in acreage.

Your home also includes a guest wing and private quarters for your servants. Your guests enjoy your collection of every console and associated game ever made. Except the Intellivision -- those controllers drive them NUTS. Outside is your hedge maze and gardens, meticulously tended by a team of world-class botanists.

Below is a snippet of the blueprints:

Real Estate

A Night of Worship "Awesome God"

2009-09-15T13:58:00.003-04:00

here is what I have created so far for the upcoming event. Rough unfinished draft...

UofM VS WMU First game of the season

2009-09-14T22:10:00.004-04:00

After 6 years of cheer-leading I didn't remember very much about football. luckily there was a little boy sitting next to me asking all the "dumb" questions about football basics to his mom and I overheard my way to football understanding. It was a good game, but I wish that for my first time I in the big house I could see an amazing game like last Saturday's against Notre Dame.

"What I wore today" series

2009-09-10T22:15:00.004-04:00

here is a little preview of the series:

here is the link to my:

flickr stream

JOIN ME
All you have to do is sketch yourself each day and post to flickr. my little sister is doing it along with me and so can you! its fun to add doodles and details with text about how you ended up with each item or strange facts about what happened while wearing them...ect. makes an interesting series. Can also join this Flickr group and see many other styles and creative ideas.

A Whole Week with out a Post!

2009-09-10T19:41:00.004-04:00

Gasp! Thats Practically a sin in the blog world! But I was in a changeover of schedules so it took awhile to get the drift. anywho. if you're not already follow me on twitter @rachel_booth I am also on youtube and post some blogs and occasional awesomeness on youtube.com/singing2themoon and youtube.com/remmyshow. The first is my personal blogish youtube and the latter is my collab show with my sis @xoxoemma101. Speaking of my sister we are doing an art series together to aid in boosting our creativity and productivity while keeping us out of trouble ;) It's called "what I wore today". Very random and very eclectic. My last series was blind contour drawings, but don't you worry my terrible scribble series will live on forever! I also plan on eventually doing a series on everything I eat and then every purchase I make. So look for my new series coming to my Flickr account: rachelb00th (those are zeros)

AN INTERVIEW WITH RICK WARREN (AUTHOR OF "A PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE")

2009-09-03T10:15:00.000-04:00

Interview with Rick Warren , author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California .

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.

God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain."

But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal my wife or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better ...

God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.

Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.

Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.

Painful moments, TRUST GOD.

Every moment, THANK GOD

Blind Contour drawings in Moleskins

2009-08-26T14:22:00.007-04:00

in order i drew blind contour drawings of the pastor at church,My mom, emily and Josh and his hands

inspiration website

2009-08-23T22:54:00.003-04:00

thanks to my sister Emma I found a great random art site from numerous artists. http://www.ffffound.com

Good way to get the creative juices flowing, you never know what you'll find. and you can scroll through by clicking "j" or "k" -kinda cute.

Design for youth group

2009-08-19T10:35:00.005-04:00

a logo rough draft for the youth group sermon series

Constructive critismism requested (or destructive, i'm a big girl... I can take it)

Lift Print

2009-08-14T22:25:00.004-04:00

Here is my art project for the day. i needed to sponge the acrylic off the canvas with scrap paper and i ended up liking the print that was lifted off more that the painting itself. heehee. Funny how that works.

Hey Everyone!

2009-08-11T23:23:00.004-04:00

just some sketches while outside the other day. Havent been online for awhile to post.

wordpress? and how to overcome creative block

2009-08-07T16:01:00.005-04:00

Ok, so every blog site that is well organized and crisp looking has been made by wordpress. I started an account there, but its kind of complicated. I was building the same site here at blogger and at wordpress at the same time, but the blogger won the race. However, I would still like to create one in wordpress. Does anyone have tips or cautions for using wordpress?

This was an attempt to overcome a lack of inspiration and creativity. I was having a dry spell, so i took photographs of nature, and drew a traced line then abstractly filled in colors with markers.

Slip'nSlide Adventures

2009-08-04T23:18:00.005-04:00

Emma

I love my rebel t1i so much i think i might name it. There are plenty more pics from tonight. (a whopping 700 with mine and Emma's photo's combined) eventually there will be a flickr account link on here and the rest will be loaded to that one

gettin thrify with it.....

2009-08-01T22:31:00.008-04:00

click image to enlarge

Goodwill trip today was a good one! I bought some real vintage as well tag new stuff. All of this totaled under $24 which isn't bad considering I bought 3 pairs of new target shoes and new (kohls) frames. I plan to make flowers out of the fabric from the vintage ties and attatch them to hair accessories to sell on etsy. The Paisley tie is from the GAP hee hee. Going to paint the square shelves black to look more modern.

Emotional Abstraction of Water

2009-07-29T22:54:00.004-04:00

This is a painting that I begun before I moved. It was an empty and washed out looking W.I.P. for the longest time. It took me about two and a half months to get back into the gear to pull out all my art supplies. But this really was my original vision for it. The under painting (the washed out looking) created with only a knife and white paint with hints of blue and aqua, to give a base texture, and then today i finished it with watercolor glazes overtop. I absolutely love it, all about deep textural groove paintings right now.

"Let's Rock"

2009-07-29T10:51:00.007-04:00

final T-shirt designs for Kid's Music & Arts Camp 2009

Reuse Reduce and Recylce

2009-07-28T12:20:00.004-04:00

Although I struggle with the whole reducing the amount I consume, I still strive to reuse as much as possible and recycle always. Right now I have a drawer full of scrap paper at my desk at work, and its crying out for me to mash it to a pulp and reincarnate it into a customized art journal. Seriously contemplating buying a Bill Nye the Science Guy Kids Paper Recycling Kit. They are all over ebay for dirt cheap right now.

Inspirations for the day

2009-07-28T02:21:00.001-04:00

It feels great to relax and not have too much to do and play too many roles. I like only having one job and having the evenings to spend on my hobbies for once. Today I stayed at UofM a little longer and ate a pretzel outside on the bench and enjoyed the beauty of the well gardened landscaping that i never get to enjoy during the regular semesters while i am stressing out to get to class on time or finish all that is required of me at both jobs.
Today I have found a couple more youtube artist that inspire me to think creatively, but my favorite artists on the web are still http://www.philinthecircle.com/ and http://www.valsartdiary.com