I have been working on this series of paintings in my bed at night (I don’t recommend this if you don’t like getting paint everywhere! Thankfully my husband is pretty chill.) But I have just been so tired at the end of the day that the only way to really motivate myself to keep going is to sneak in little painting sessions in a way that is super accessible. And it’s actually been really satisfying to be surrounded by flower paintings whenever I go into my room, so I thought I should take some photos to share here. The paintings are in varying stages of completion, but they make a pretty happy group so far.

I had originally planned to do an entire release of paintings of hollyhocks, but I think I want to explore the garden theme some more with some additional flowers. I’m thinking peonies, coneflowers, and maybe daisies so far. What garden flowers are the most nostalgic for you? Peonies, bleeding hearts, poppies, and clematis always remind me of my mom, she was a champion at growing all of those. And I remember impatiently waiting for the poppy buds to pop open; I would often try to help them along which usually proved rather unhelpful in the end. I grew up in a very Dutch community in Central Alberta and there’s something about the Dutch and their flowers, which I think may be partly why I’m so drawn to them. If you’ve ever seen the tulip fields in Holland, you know what I’m talking about! I’ve never seen them in person myself, but to go and plein air paint in tulip season in Holland sounds pretty dreamy to me!

On a personal note, we had a fairly major breakthrough this week and I feel so hopeful about what’s to come. We had been up against trial after trial and having a breakthrough like we did instantly infused our situation with hope. And hope is truly a priceless commodity. I know that we should always be hopeful but we have been in such an extended period of the refiner’s fire that there were more than a few moments that we felt like we couldn’t get back to hope. I have always been one who has wanted to rush off into change, and rush off into destiny; but God is teaching me the value of preparation and heart-readiness. Only He truly knows what it takes to prepare you heart for what He has for you, so we have to trust Him in the process! It has very much felt like a blind season, but with the blinders on is surely the best way to learn absolute trust.

I know that with an election year upon us, there will likely be many things to hit the news headlines, but I have this deep assurance that this is a year of redemption. The last four years have been tumultuous to say the least and our hearts are longing for peace and hope and joy. And HE IS our peace and hope and joy, in spite of the news headlines. I have learned that in a very real way.

As much as there have been dark and scary exposures going on in the church and the world, I have such hope for that too. God is hitting the reset button and I believe we will be coming into some of the greatest times. God’s justice will be served and He is bringing purity back to the church. He is strategically placing His beloved ones in positions of influence and is drawing lost ones back to Him. It’s time to come home.

Thanks for stopping by!