Hither to and Yon

My dear friends. I fear I owe you all a much deserved apology for my long absence! I spoke boldly to a friend a few weeks back that I would be posting soon, and unfortunately, this has not been the case.
I hope that I might find some sympathy and understanding after I explain what our busy lives have been involved in these past few weeks. We have had a month of shows, spent time planning for a camping trip, and returned only a little while ago.
Camping trips might seem no big deal, but truly, when you are taking 19 teenagers to camp in tents, it is a work of love! We richly enjoyed ourselves, and the fellowship we had with the teens we love so much.

Anyway, we are home, recovered, and now preparing to leave for the Dominican Republic with a few of our youth again in July! Time has flown, and caught me by surprise.

During our short time home however, I have been focusing on simplifying my home, and organizing my life, so that I can better, more effectively support and serve Jonathan through our business. (When I have accomplished even a portion of my goals I will be happy to share them ;). Today, as I was "decluttering", I was sweetly distracted by Jonathan's old stash of sketchbooks, all hidden away in a tub in a closet. I pulled them out, and found so many little treasures. Some he drew 10-11 years ago!

I just LOVE birds, I have some hand-carved, vintage frames scoped out for these beauties!

He has such natural talent. He sees an interesting character, a photo, someone on TV, etc... And for pleasure draws something this beautiful! This truly was such a fun stash of drawings to dig through.

Some of you are probably wondering what happened to our mystery "painting in progress", well Mr. Artist has finally decided to call it done, and signed it yesterday. You will be seeing it very soon!

Simple Pleasures

On a stroll the other day, Jonathan and I enjoyed nature's simple pleasures

The brightest color, on the smallest of creatures.

How what seems ordinary, can be so beautiful

And captivate your imagination

The way the sun will transform a trail, into a dreamland

The happy communities around us!

Even the odd things in this world are full of fun-filled wonder

Soaking up the spring warmth

And basking in the sun!

Isn't God good?!  Walks are always refreshing. Be blessed today!

Today I am linking with:
"Craft Edition"
"Silly Little Sparrow"
"Twee Poppets"
"Sew Chatty"

Who is the Risk Taker

It is not my intention to be oober spiritual today. But if I do, ya'll must know that a testimony is a testimony, and it's going to preach whether you try to or not! Today I read two wonderful blogs, The Nester  and Constant in Chaos, both with a common theme: "Taking Risks", both had wonderful insights to share. What is a risk to some, may not be to others.

But my question is, do we, as Christians EVER take risks?

God calls us to step out, to do what would seem impossible; to say what would seem to be crazy; and to believe what would seem to be absurd.

Here's the definition of risk:

hazard: a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune;

a venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury;

expose to a chance of loss or damage;

the probability of becoming infected given that exposure to an infectious agent has occurred

gamble: take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome;

But here is the contradiction:

"We walk by faith, not by sight" -2 Corinthians 5:7
"Fath is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see." -Hebrews 11:1
"And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28

The contradiction lies, in that, if we walk by faith, we are pursuing a promise, not simply an ideal. There is no risk when we step out in obedience to something God has called us to, rather, the risk lies in not doing.

Am I a risk taker? NO!

I am a 23 year old, married only 1 year, who has chosen to obey God, and with her husband, venture into the world of the self-employed. We are pursuing art as a business in a broken economy, with no business education. We are leading youth groups overseas (with no promise of income). We never studied, waited, saved in case of a loss, when God said "go" we went.

We are anti-risk taking/faith walking people.

We walk by faith, not by sight. We do the hard things, we make the tough decisions, we see miracles, see God's abundant favor, we are blessed!

So when people would say, "Isn't that a big risk",  I would say, "No! It's too risky not to obey!". In truth, I doubt that any of us, as Christians are EVER called to take risks.

Isn't God good?!

Be blessed!

Roan Mountain

Apologies for my lack of posts this past week! I suppose you could say I've been on a "blog-cation". But I have been silently, intermittently exploring the blog world, enjoying others fascinating lives, and skilled writing.
I love the scope and effect that blogging has had on the world. It has in essence, replaced the magazines.

Saturday before last, Jonathan and I left for the weekend to "fill" our creative tanks. His mother, Amy invited us to Roan Mountain, for a lovely fall hike. 14 miles through tall mountains [I can't honestly call them hills, they weren't, and this is unlike what I was used to hiking!], and then submerging down into a  sea of yellow, golds, and reds. It was a lovely hike, a majestic hike, and I lost my husband for moments as he was swept into the artist's world of potential paintings. 14 miles, many sore muscles, and several hours later, we came home with hundreds of photos he could work from.

And we would have a painting or two to show you from the week, if we weren't busy preparing for a show in Tomato Head [ http://www.thetomatohead.com/ ]. Tomato Head is a fun, urban, restaurant in the heart of down town Knoxville. And attracts the masses because of the eclectic atmosphere. His art will be up there for the month of November, and then will move to one in Maryville for all of December. So, we have been framing, painting, organizing, and happily compiling a show full of his wonderful variety, from portraits, to still life's, to landscapes.

Here are some pictures from our lovely hike! Enjoy!

This is most of the group minus my hubby! My mother-in-law Amy, Father-in-law Tom, Josh and Emily, and little Whitley tagging along on daddy's shoulders!

Ain't he cute?!

Sorry ladies! No makeup, No hair-do, I wasn't ready to face hikers ridicule!

one of our mountains, perhaps you can see the people in the background halfway up the mountain

Walking along the high grassy knolls were my favorite parts

This older man, we met on the mountain! He lives at the bottom, and has hiked these trails for many, many years. It's so much fun to meet and hear the stories from the people on these trails

Blackberry Farm

If you haven't heard of Blackberry farm, it won't take too long until you do. One of the most well-known mountain resorts, which easily run you over $1000 a night. And you will see why when you visit their incredible property, luxuriously designed rooms, and taste their gourmet meals.

What few people know is, Blackberry Farms official photographer- Beal-Thomas photography were Jonathan's employers during his internship at Maryville College. And he continues to do as-needed photography work with them. He has photographed multi-million dollar weddings there before. Stunning work!

My first taste of the "high-life", I drove up to this multi-million dollar farm property, in my old, dirty, overheated Pontiac to drop my husband off. He had two days to drive the property and photograph the biking trip of two well known bikers: Robbie Ventura and George Hencapie, two Tour De France competitors, who were staying to enjoy the fresh mountain air.

I dropped Jonathan off, and then I would return to pick him up. The driveway is as far as I was allowed to go, but I can say I've been there! I didn't feel put out not being able to join him there. Nor did it make me feel less important, instead, i was SO proud to have a talented husband, and to be able to be a support.

I was his "mobilization"--- "I love you, have fun, do good, and I will see you soon!"--- Then I drive away into the distance, as he jumps into the Mercedes cars and does what he loves to do. He leaves with my support, and returns with my adoration. We come home together fully satisfied, to our warm, little home, decorated by a budget, to a crowd of young people gathered to learn from us in the evenings. I would take that over Blackberry Farms any day! (Doesn't mean a night there wouldn't be dreamy!)

If you ever get the chance, make some memories in the Smokies! And visit this exquisite resort.

http://www.blackberryfarm.com/