All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at allYou make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us~”Beautiful Things”, Gungor
Good news! I’ve officially wrapped up my testimony! Hurray!!!! I never intended to share it in the way I did, nor did I think doing so would impact others (let alone myself) the way it did. God is so kind, and so faithful! If we will allow Him, He truly will take our very worst experiences – even those things we are most ashamed of – and rework them into something that is beautiful.
So now what?
The end of last year, I was actually considering shutting down this blog. After all, I’d not been writing regularly throughout 2016 or 2017, and as a result there wasn’t much of a readership. And of course, there is really nothing particularly special about me that people should want to read my ramblings :). So I asked the Lord if I should (could) shut it down. He simply replied “I didn’t instruct you to do that.” Hmm.
So that resulted in my committing to write one (1) post weekly throughout 2018. This is post 42! Time flies, but there are still 10 weeks left. Hmm.
“The sower (farmer) sows the Word.” Mark 4:14
I think the best things to write about come from our own life stories – either what’s currently happening in our lives (i.e. what we’re learning or trying to learn) or from our past (what we’ve experienced and hopefully learned something from).
HOPE: desire
accompanied by confident expectation
I’m currently refreshing on the importance of speaking HOPE-filled words.
“As for Me”, says the LORD, “this is my covenant with them:
“My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants descendants” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.” ~Isaiah 59:21
These Scriptures and others are what inspired the above sketch. Now for the hard part -to paint it! You all know that I’m only a beginner, so it will be interesting to see how closely the finished piece resembles the sketching. Time will tell 🙂
I hope you’ll join me as I allow the Lord to remind me what He has to say about the words that I allow to come out of my mouth. And I’ll share updates to the artwork as it evolves.
PS – From this point on, I’m going to try to keep my posts short (err … shorter). I promise 🙂
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All sketches and watercolors posted on this website are the sole property of the author and are for exclusive display on the website PuttingHopeToWork.com.
PuttingHopeToWork 
Testimony is a wonderful gift to share. I weave my story into blog posts to bring Him glory. I guess I am confused. Have you already written week 20 or do I go back to read?
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You would go back to read. This link is the beginning, starting with the abuse in my childhood home and continues through destructive and abusive marriages, and my deliverance from patterns that kept me bound for decades. Sorry, it’s a lot of reading (my story reads kind of like a drama thriller :)), so feel free to skip around if you like.
I have enjoyed reading your blog and look forward to hearing more of your own story and future posts. God bless you.
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I like the garden in the heart! The tools behind and the living water!
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Thank you Amy. I will comment on the meaning behind all those in coming weeks. 😁
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Your sketches are amazing! What a wonderful visual to accompany your words. I look forward to hearing more about your story. God bless.
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Thank you Julie. I sat under a Pastor for many years who often used word pictures in his messages…. I guess it made an impact ;). If you are inclined to read, my testimony begins on ‘week 20’. Glad to say all that is in my past, and I am a new creation in Christ Jesus.
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