Dear Friends,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries this week!
Those who know me understand that my head is usually in the clouds where I am often confused.
This malady struck hard last Thursday when I accidentally dismissed my painting class for kids a half an hour early.
I will be giving an extra class at the end of the course to make up for my mistake at no cost to students or the Art Center of Battle Creek.
Love, Sue
Monday, April 25, 2011
Success of Approximation
Dear Friends,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries this week!
Have you ever almost reached a goal that you had set? How did it feel?
I have spent the last three years actively working to lose 40 lbs.. In the first year I lost 20 lbs. and in the 2nd year I maintained my weight. Then a friend invited me to join Weight Watchers with her. During this last year I lost 14 lbs. and then I hit another plateau, where it seemed impossible to move further.
At the beginning of Lent I decided to complete my quest for health by reaching my lifetime goal approved by Weight Watchers by Easter. I thought that the self discipline of Lent would help me as it has in the past when I needed to improve my health through changes in lifestyle.
There was a pamphlet published by W. W. called "Managing Your Thoughts" which I read and used. It suggested 3 steps toward success: the first was to be a friend to yourself by treating yourself as you would treat your best friend, with kindness and encouragement rather than criticism. The 2nd step was to make 2 columns side by side on a piece of paper, write your negative thoughts about yourself on the left and the opposite positive thought in the column on the right. This activity set me free from some very negative beliefs about myself! The 3rd step was to seek out and spend time with kind people.
Then I wrote notes to myself of encouragement and posted them all over the house. I believed those notes and was able to start losing weight in the very first week, which spurred me on to work even harder. The next few weeks did not produce results for me though and I started to doubt if I could succeed, which led me to regret my decision to set the goal in the first place. The last few weeks were successful however and when I weighed in at my meeting prior to Easter I was within eight tenths of a pound of my goal.
I chose to accept this as complete success rather than punish myself with perfectionism, so I gave away my big clothes and went shopping at Goodwill where I hit the jackpot with incredible bargains! I also visited the hairdresser who turned my odometer back 10,000 miles! On Easter morning I went to church glowing with joy from my recovered health and youth.
When I was a child our mother sewed matching Easter dresses for herself and the 3 of us girls. We all wore hats including Mom who wore a pink pill boxed shaped hat which sprouted with a garden of pink silk flowers! Of course we little ones wore our new white gloves and our slightly worn black patent leather shoes. Those were happy times and it felt good to revisit them by dressing up for this Easter as well.
Love, Sue
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries this week!
Have you ever almost reached a goal that you had set? How did it feel?
I have spent the last three years actively working to lose 40 lbs.. In the first year I lost 20 lbs. and in the 2nd year I maintained my weight. Then a friend invited me to join Weight Watchers with her. During this last year I lost 14 lbs. and then I hit another plateau, where it seemed impossible to move further.
At the beginning of Lent I decided to complete my quest for health by reaching my lifetime goal approved by Weight Watchers by Easter. I thought that the self discipline of Lent would help me as it has in the past when I needed to improve my health through changes in lifestyle.
There was a pamphlet published by W. W. called "Managing Your Thoughts" which I read and used. It suggested 3 steps toward success: the first was to be a friend to yourself by treating yourself as you would treat your best friend, with kindness and encouragement rather than criticism. The 2nd step was to make 2 columns side by side on a piece of paper, write your negative thoughts about yourself on the left and the opposite positive thought in the column on the right. This activity set me free from some very negative beliefs about myself! The 3rd step was to seek out and spend time with kind people.
Then I wrote notes to myself of encouragement and posted them all over the house. I believed those notes and was able to start losing weight in the very first week, which spurred me on to work even harder. The next few weeks did not produce results for me though and I started to doubt if I could succeed, which led me to regret my decision to set the goal in the first place. The last few weeks were successful however and when I weighed in at my meeting prior to Easter I was within eight tenths of a pound of my goal.
I chose to accept this as complete success rather than punish myself with perfectionism, so I gave away my big clothes and went shopping at Goodwill where I hit the jackpot with incredible bargains! I also visited the hairdresser who turned my odometer back 10,000 miles! On Easter morning I went to church glowing with joy from my recovered health and youth.
When I was a child our mother sewed matching Easter dresses for herself and the 3 of us girls. We all wore hats including Mom who wore a pink pill boxed shaped hat which sprouted with a garden of pink silk flowers! Of course we little ones wore our new white gloves and our slightly worn black patent leather shoes. Those were happy times and it felt good to revisit them by dressing up for this Easter as well.
Love, Sue
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
New Art
Dear Friends,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
I started reading "Vein of Gold" by Julia Cameron yesterday and following the advice, which has benifited my artwork already! I am onto something new. I call it my "Danish Modern Caribbean Michigan Art."
The thing that inspired me the most is the idea that only creativity can cure an aritistic injury, even if it's "bad art" or "crafts." So I set out to do some bad art and I love it. When I am thinking of my painting as a prototype or a first draft or a study for a better painting then my freedom emerges and I let loose with some unbridled creativity that results in a creative binge where I don't care how hungry, sore or tired I am. My bladder is the only thing that will get me to stop for a break.
Love, Sue
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
I started reading "Vein of Gold" by Julia Cameron yesterday and following the advice, which has benifited my artwork already! I am onto something new. I call it my "Danish Modern Caribbean Michigan Art."
The thing that inspired me the most is the idea that only creativity can cure an aritistic injury, even if it's "bad art" or "crafts." So I set out to do some bad art and I love it. When I am thinking of my painting as a prototype or a first draft or a study for a better painting then my freedom emerges and I let loose with some unbridled creativity that results in a creative binge where I don't care how hungry, sore or tired I am. My bladder is the only thing that will get me to stop for a break.
Love, Sue
Monday, April 18, 2011
Snow in April
Dear Friends,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
My poor daffodils are brave, yet fallen soldiers of cheer.
Love, Sue
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
My poor daffodils are brave, yet fallen soldiers of cheer.
Love, Sue
Friday, April 15, 2011
Children Painting
Dear Friends,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries!
Last night I had the honor of teaching acrylic painting to a class of 10 children who ranged in age from 4 to 12. What fun!
We played a game to help each other learn our names, which involved going around the circle introducing ourselves, saying our favorite color and reciting the names and favorite colors of all of the people who introduced themselves before us. It's easy for the first person, but the last person in the circle has the hardest job to remember all of those names and colors.
So here are the first names of the kids and their favorite colors:
Hadley likes blue.
Abby likes blue.
Allie likes red.
Kira likes red.
Rebecca likes pink.
Delany likes purple.
Alberto likes red.
Genna likes purple.
Alex likes red.
Sophia likes green.
One boy painted more paintings than anyone else and a tiny girl was concerned that she hadn't painted enough paintings to please me or her mom. I knelt down in front of her and said, "It doesn't matter how many paintings you make or how good they are, what matters is that you have fun painting them."
She listened with all of her heart and I think she might have believed me. I hope so.
Love, Sue
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries!
Last night I had the honor of teaching acrylic painting to a class of 10 children who ranged in age from 4 to 12. What fun!
We played a game to help each other learn our names, which involved going around the circle introducing ourselves, saying our favorite color and reciting the names and favorite colors of all of the people who introduced themselves before us. It's easy for the first person, but the last person in the circle has the hardest job to remember all of those names and colors.
So here are the first names of the kids and their favorite colors:
Hadley likes blue.
Abby likes blue.
Allie likes red.
Kira likes red.
Rebecca likes pink.
Delany likes purple.
Alberto likes red.
Genna likes purple.
Alex likes red.
Sophia likes green.
One boy painted more paintings than anyone else and a tiny girl was concerned that she hadn't painted enough paintings to please me or her mom. I knelt down in front of her and said, "It doesn't matter how many paintings you make or how good they are, what matters is that you have fun painting them."
She listened with all of her heart and I think she might have believed me. I hope so.
Love, Sue
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Kitchen Update
Dear Friends,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
Our son is back at school, so I am working on the kitchen redecorating project by myself, stilling going slowly to baby my sore arm. This morning the spring sunshine beamed down on me through the window as I painted the window sill and I thought I was in heaven!
Thank you God for the joy of spring!
Love, Sue
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
Our son is back at school, so I am working on the kitchen redecorating project by myself, stilling going slowly to baby my sore arm. This morning the spring sunshine beamed down on me through the window as I painted the window sill and I thought I was in heaven!
Thank you God for the joy of spring!
Love, Sue
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sabbath Rest
Dear Friends,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
During church yesterday my arm was talking to me, so I decided to go to the woods for a walk in the afternoon instead of painting the kitchen. My husband went with me and we took our puppy who bounded around taking flying leaps of joy to celebrate his freedom and the love of being a dog in the woods. The wildflowers are coming up, but not blossoming yet. We saw deer and signs of coyotes. The streams are flowing and everything is moist. It was all very wonderful.
Today is Monday and it's time to get back to work on my kitchen project. My arm is still sore, so I am pacing myself, but my soul is refreshed from my Sabbath rest.
Love, Sue
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
During church yesterday my arm was talking to me, so I decided to go to the woods for a walk in the afternoon instead of painting the kitchen. My husband went with me and we took our puppy who bounded around taking flying leaps of joy to celebrate his freedom and the love of being a dog in the woods. The wildflowers are coming up, but not blossoming yet. We saw deer and signs of coyotes. The streams are flowing and everything is moist. It was all very wonderful.
Today is Monday and it's time to get back to work on my kitchen project. My arm is still sore, so I am pacing myself, but my soul is refreshed from my Sabbath rest.
Love, Sue
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Redecorating the Kitchen
Dear Friends,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
On April 4, 1993 I married my best friend and moved into his dump, I mean house. I went from room to room redecorating and remodeling, but that was 18 years ago and nature has begun to take over again, so I decided to redecorate the kitchen. Our 15 year old son is helping me to try to give this space a fresh look with a minuscule budget. In the basement I found a 5 gallon tub of white barn paint and we are re coating almost every surface in the kitchen with it, including the ceiling, counter tops, refrigerator, microwave, cupboards, trim and of course the walls. I was tempted to paint the linoleum, but stopped myself just in the nick of time. We are about 2/3rds of the way done and I cannot believe how much better it looks!
But the best part is that our son and I remained harmonious so far throughout the project. I was sorely tempted to spout off a few times, but put myself in time out to repeat the Lord's Prayer until I got past my cantankerous mood. I like thinking about our time together as a play date between two kids who are playing house and making happy memories along the way. We took photos and have been getting lots of rest during our breaks so that our tempers remain calm. We considered wallpapering together, but then a better idea came into my mind. Painting together is much more likely to end in a peaceful outcome.
Love, Sue
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
On April 4, 1993 I married my best friend and moved into his dump, I mean house. I went from room to room redecorating and remodeling, but that was 18 years ago and nature has begun to take over again, so I decided to redecorate the kitchen. Our 15 year old son is helping me to try to give this space a fresh look with a minuscule budget. In the basement I found a 5 gallon tub of white barn paint and we are re coating almost every surface in the kitchen with it, including the ceiling, counter tops, refrigerator, microwave, cupboards, trim and of course the walls. I was tempted to paint the linoleum, but stopped myself just in the nick of time. We are about 2/3rds of the way done and I cannot believe how much better it looks!
But the best part is that our son and I remained harmonious so far throughout the project. I was sorely tempted to spout off a few times, but put myself in time out to repeat the Lord's Prayer until I got past my cantankerous mood. I like thinking about our time together as a play date between two kids who are playing house and making happy memories along the way. We took photos and have been getting lots of rest during our breaks so that our tempers remain calm. We considered wallpapering together, but then a better idea came into my mind. Painting together is much more likely to end in a peaceful outcome.
Love, Sue
Monday, April 4, 2011
Niece's Ex-fiance
Dear Loved Ones,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministry today!
For April Fool's Day my niece's boyfriend posted on facebook that they were engaged without telling my niece. She received calls from all over the country congratulating her on their engagement! Now my niece is referring to her boyfriend as her "ex-fiance!" It's all in good fun, they are still madly in love. Young love is refreshing!
Love, Sue
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministry today!
For April Fool's Day my niece's boyfriend posted on facebook that they were engaged without telling my niece. She received calls from all over the country congratulating her on their engagement! Now my niece is referring to her boyfriend as her "ex-fiance!" It's all in good fun, they are still madly in love. Young love is refreshing!
Love, Sue
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