Revelation in Lenox

This is an unusual post for me but I feel I have to share this. I feel like there is someone reading this who may feel hopeless or like God isn't listening. I want to assure you that there is hope even when it seems out of your grasp and God is listening and hears every prayer you've whispered to him.

I'm just going to be open and real and share my raw emotions with you. I stepped away from blogging for a season as I just felt like I had lost my inspiration and my joy. I found myself in a place where I didn't wish to stay. I prayed and sought the Lord for answers and felt like there were none to be found for me. Sometimes when we least expect it, the sun breaks behind the silver clouds and the overcast sky is chased away by the intensity of the light.

One of my favorite things to do is get in my car and just drive the backroads with my camera and my music...especially on sunny, warm days with my windows down. This particular day, the sun was out and I felt riding would lift my spirits. I ended up in a very small community on the edge of the Mississippi river called Lenox. As I rounded the corner toward the river's side of the bluffs, I saw a tree that was stripped and bare and like a flood God's presence overtook me with revelation in the form of words in my soul that wouldn't stop. I knew I had to pull over and write them down so I pulled into a church parking lot and began to write. These are the words God gave me:

2-27-09
Like an Oak tree in the dead of winter,stripped down and bare for all to see, revealing what's underneath the layers that so often hide the core. They hide the innermost core of who we are. What makes us who we are? Who are we really? What makes us happy? What do the peeled back layers of our souls reveal? Are we really what onlookers see on the outside?

This season of winter that's gripped my soul and stripped off the layers has revealed to me that I am not always what I appear to be.

I struggle, I fall, I hurt, I cry, I feel. I smile even though I'm not always happy. I smile.

Revelation....maybe not new, but new again to my soul is that it's not in the things of this world that I find my joy, my peace or my future...but it's only in that closeness with my Heavenly Father, the creator of all things, that I truly know who I am, that I feel, that I live, that I am, that I know and that I love.

HE is the smile that you see. He is the joy that I seek. If only for a season I forgot where my happiness came from...it is THAT revelation of HIM that reminds me HE is all I need to "just be." It is God who makes me "me" and I love the me that I am in Him and despise the me I am when I build the walls and hide from the sun(SON).

He is my life force. My very being is from his Grace. I revel today in the revelation that regardless of what I feel or what you see...I am HIS child, made perfect in His love. SPJ


I must have sat in that church parking lot for half an hour with tears flowing. It was as if God was washing away the sadness and heaviness that had settled upon me. I felt hope again. I felt renewed. One week to the day, God answered a huge prayer for my family and sent the right job across my path. Thank you Lord for answered prayer and renewed hope. Don't stop praying....never give in to the despair or hopelessness that tries to settle in your spirit. Keep looking up and know that you are HIS child, made perfect in his LOVE. He has a plan for you and didn't bring you this far to let go of your hand.

I pray blessings over everyone who reads this and finds themselves in a similar place. Just remember, in one single moment God can change everything. (....and then SUDDENLY) Pray for your "suddenly" moment. It will come.

Many blessings,
Sherri

Blog Slacker & Tennessee Ice Storm 2009

Oh me, what else can I say? I've been seriously blog slacking over the last few weeks. We've had one of those crazy months where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. A lady from our church said we should write a book about all of our mishaps...ha. It's been very trying to say the least. We've had both cars in the shop, Stevie was in a 4-car pile up on the ice covered Mississippi River bridge on the way to work, etc. It just goes on and on but....we are still smiling.

Sometimes a lot of smaller things pile up on you and can become so overwhelming. We are still blessed though. We have our health and our family. We know it could always be worse so we've just thanked God for our blessings. You just hafta' praise him in the good times AND in the bad times.

Photos I took during the ice storm of 2009. We fared much better here in Dyer County than my family and friends just north of us in Obion County and also over in Southeast Missouri and Southwestern Kentucky. My brother and his family were without power for almost 2 weeks. It literally looked like a tornado had come through in the winter. The weight of the ice broke branches and tree tops, power lines and even entire trees and thousands of power poles just snapped in half. I don't remember ever seeing anything quite like it here in Tennessee. We had an ice storm when I was a kid but NOTHING at all like this. Our kids missed so much school here they are talking about taking away part of their spring break. Keeping our fingers crossed that they don't lose their break!
I loved the contrast of the pop of red against the ice. I nearly froze but it was worth it to capture these shots.

This photo was taken last weekend....what an amazing contrast from the ice and snow the week before. It was 72 here yesterday and is supposed to be the same today. Tomorrow they are calling for severe storms and a change of tornados...UGH! The weather here is crazy!

Have a happy and blessed Monday!

~Sherri

God Bless America!

God bless America! We are all Americans living in this great nation of freedom and opportunity. I will never forget the statement made by my high school Civics teacher, Mrs. Catherine Roberts, who said "Democracy at it's very best is not good but it's the very best that anyone has to offer." She said if you never remember anything else about my class remember that statement....well, Mrs. Roberts....it's now 22 years later and I never forgot.
I SO appreciate the blessing to live in a free country, to be able to freely worship our Heavenly Father, to be able to raise my son to be a man of God and to be able to freely chase my dreams...and even fail and get up and try again. Amidst all of the economic hardships, the negativity in the news and the economic bailouts, I'm so thankful and so proud to be an American. Regardless of who we all voted for, we have an obligation to support our leaders in prayer. Pray that God would grant them wisdom as they make the tough decisions for our country and that the lawmakers would seek God first as they face the days ahead and pray for the protection of our leaders and their families. May God look upon us with favor and bless this land once again.

As I scoured through images of the inauguration events this shot caught my eye. I love the thumbs up from a very proud daughter.

Much love and blessings! ~Sherri

Art Quote of the Week, Favorite Paintings & Art Finds

Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.
~Andre Gide (1869-1951)

I love the above quote so much. I recognize that the more I let God lead me the better EVERYTHING is whether it's my artwork or just my life in general. I had this lightbulb moment and thought I would start a new weekly or bi-weekly post featuring an art quote that stands out to me and some favorite art pieces and links to the artists as well. Something fun for me and hopefully you guys will enjoy it too :-)

The painting below is from an artist that I've admired for quite some time. She loves Jesus and isn't afraid to tell you so. She has such a soulful artistic style that is unique and inspiring. She truly has a God given gift in her ability to convey her heart through her work. I've bid on several of her pieces on ebay in the past and haven't yet been fortunate enough to acquire one of her paintings.....someday. She is Jane DesRosier of Gritty Arts Studio up in Washington State.
Jane's ebay listings can be found HERE and her blog featuring her new art is HERE.

I also recently discovered these awesome designs by Lisa Leonard Designs..her jewelry designs are simple yet such statement makers. I have my eye on a couple of pieces for myself. Here are pictures of a few of my favorites....

You can find Lisa's website HERE.

Another recent find is Du Buh Du Designs by Christine Alvarado of Oregon. I love, love, love her art dolls. They are nothing short of amazing, life-like and exude such a cool style. Visit her blog HERE and her Etsy shop HERE.

Enjoy the rest of your Monday and Be blessed! ~Sherri

Fireproof Your Marriage

I really feel led to share this with you guys and I just can't seem to get away from posting about this. Our church is doing the Fireproof Your Marriage seminar. We are into the second week of the 6 week series. This is an incredible marriage strenthening tool and I've read so many reviews where people are saying this has literally saved their marriage. Using video clips, scripture and open group discussion this study allows a non-judgemental setting to understand each other and the issues you are dealing with............or choosing to NOT deal with. Denial is not a solution.

I'm just gonna be real with you here.....with Steve and I we have seemed to always struggle with communication. I think if we are honest with ourselves we will recognize that communication is an issue for most all of us. It is one of the single most important qualities within the marriage. It's so easy to misunderstand or assume what our spouse is thinking or feeling or what they are "really" saying to us. Through Fireproof Your Marriage and Love Dare, we have been able to communicate on a whole new level.

If you are struggling with issues within your marriage, have a wonderful marriage or even on the brink of divorce, I so strongly urge you to get Fireproof Your Marriage. It will literally change the way you view your marriage. My husband made a profound statement in our group discussion last night......he said often we search for an EXIT rather than a SOLUTION. How true that statement is.

Get the study or recommend it to your church as a couples seminar. When marriages are strengthened, the church body as a whole is stregthened as well.

I would love to hear from those of you who have done this study as well. Comment me!

In Christ, Sherri

Super Fast Weekend

Ok, so our Titans didn't win against the Ravens...there's always next year! They still had a great season this year.

We've had a great weekend but one that FLEW by...don't they always? We pulled out our new Totally 80s Trivial Pursuit, watched some football...ok, LOTS of football, shot some photos, had my hair done by the fabulous Michael O., drove around for an hour on Saturday trying to purchase ONE single postage stamp in this town and had an awesome service at church this morning. Let me just say that being "of the 80s" Stevie and I thought we would be aces at 80s Trivial Pursuit. Those are some tough questions! We can't wait to break this out at our next TGP game night at the end of the month. We have a competitive bunch and it's always a blast!

I love those vintage game pieces featuring a Trapper Keeper, Tender Heart Care Bear, computer and cd. Yes, I did have a Trapper Keeper...ha.

Oh, and back on the subject of the postage stamp......Have you guys ever seen a post office without a stamp machine? For some reason ours no longer has one so we proceeded to drive all over town in search for one tiny little stamp. No one that we found had one either so....if you are from the Dyersburg area and know where there is a postage stamp machine then by all means please comment and let me know. Or maybe I should just plan ahead and buy stamps before the weekend :-)

Photo of my new hair cut and color. I used one of my cool new Adobe Photoshop actions on this pic. Those of you who know me well know that I like to mix it up. I can only handle a certain color or style for so long and then I move on to the next. Michael O. (my good friend and hair stylist) has come to expect this from me and no longer questions my crazy weird ideas...hehe. He thought I was on acid or some mind altering drug the first time he did my hair. I like to express my artistic side and often times it's through some strange hair color combination. It keeps things fun though. It's only hair and it does eventually grow out. This time I went with lots of blonde...next week it could be purple...ha. I can hear my Mom now UGH...lol. She hated the red I had last time which I loved by the way. I say BE ADVENTUREOUS! You only live once!

I hope you've all had a great weekend as well...until next time...Be Blessed! ~Sherri

Go Tennessee Titans

Go Titans! This has been the most brutal and nervewracking football game. I've seen more trash talking, injuries and smackdowns than in a WWF match. The Titans and the Baltimore Ravens have a bit of a "history" to begin with and it has made for an interesting game. I'm not a "die-hard" football fan but I do love our Titans. I can't blog and concentrate on the game at the same time...ha. I'll be back with scores :-)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! What an exciting time of new beginnings and fresh opportunity with the new year! I don't make resolutions per se but I do tend to step back and think about the past year and look at how I could be better. I will be 40 this year and I have a few things I hope to accomplish before I get there. 40...wow! I'm not sad at all...I'm actually rather happy that I've made it this far...ha. I'm thankful for all that God has brought me through to get to this point.

I have loads of pictures to share as I'm trying to play catch up on posting....

Hanging out on New Years Eve...of course you won't see me in any of these shots since I'm always behind the lens...hehe.

New Years Eve.......I think we pulled into our driveway just as the clock hit 1:00 am. I'm still trying to catch up on lost sleep. I'm not as young as I used to be...see above...ha.

My baby celebrating his 11th birthday on December 27th. He is growing up WAY too fast.

Reed painting ornaments before Christmas and of course the cat has to see what's going on for himself. He and Reed are big buddies.
My niece Avery checking out my art supplies in my studio area. She is quite the budding artist.
Stevie and I just a couple of days before Christmas. It's funny how we are color coordinated with the room. I promise you we didnt plan it that way!!! Ha.

I love, love, love this picture of Stevie. I took this on his parent's property a month or so ago.
My step-daughter Ally who just turned 10 in November. She and Reed are 11 months apart. She has such a sweet personality and throws out those funny one-liners just like her Dad.
Stevie with his baby girl........who has grown up SO much. This was taken on Christmas day in Lexington at the James' home.
Last but not least, I snapped this photo of my nephew Lane on Christmas Day. I think it's one of my all time favorite pictures of him. I had it printed to place in a frame...love this one.

Until next time, Happy Monday and be blessed! Sherri

Funky Chandelier Painting for Avery

My niece Avery who just turned 11(she is exactly 11 days older than my son) is re-doing her room with a more "grown up" theme so I thought she needed some new art. The chandelier painting is part of her Christmas and she absolutely loved it. She is so much like her Aunt Sherri.....bless her heart :-) I hope you enjoy your new painting chickie doodle. Love ya bunches!!
I plan to have some similar paintings in my etsy shop after the first of 2009 along with a few other new designs I have planned. So stay tuned...hehe.

Rockin' Awesome Handbag

I hope you've all had a very blessed and Merry Christmas! I took a few days off from blogging to spend precious time with our family. We also celebrated my son's 11th birthday on Saturday. It's hard to believe my little baby is 11 already. I have loads of pictures to share once I get them all uploaded and edited. Until then, I will leave you with a couple of my new rockin' awesome bag my husband and son gave me for Christmas...they did good!! I love it! It is so perfect for me. Thank you both so very much :-)
They know how much I love zebra print AND tattoo style art (even though I have NO tattoos...haha)

This reminds me of the style of Ed Hardy. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!!!

Black, White and Silver Christmas

I hope you are all having a great weekend. We had play rehearsal today and later fought our way through the crowds at Wal-Mart. We plan to hunker down for the night and enjoy family time with Christmas movies, games and some yummy cheesy Rotel dip.

I thought I would share photos of my dining room decorated in Black, white and silver for Christmas. I absolutely love those colors together along with my green walls.


Silver tree featuring clear lights, black, white and silver ornaments and velvet flocked ribbon. I attached matching ribbon to the white feather wreath.
I handpainted most of my ornaments. Last year Wal-mart had gorgeous black and white ornaments which I bought only one of and of course they don't carry that collection this year.

My favorite Christmas plates.....I bought these the year that Steve and I married.

Our Christmas table.

Ornaments hanging from the chandelier over the dining room table. I love the snowflakes.

Until next time, BE BLESSED! ~Sherri~

Painted Ornaments, Spelling Bee and Christmas Dinner at Lupo's

The past two days have basically been a whirlwind of activities for our household. I've had to really pray to stay sane and have kept my notebook and lists handy. It's pure satisfaction to mark things off my to do list...haha. We've had snow days, tons of orders to ship and deliver, gallery orders to personalize, a spelling bee, Christmas leadership dinner, laundry, a school party to attend, Christmas pageant set to build, etc., etc. Whew, just typing that makes me tired. It's so easy to get off track and away from the Lord during the hustle and bustle of the season that's ultimately supposed to be ALL about him. I just pray that this Christmas season I can honor the Lord with my time and my heart. I pray that you can do the same. Finding that quiet time with HIM is crucial to my well being. He is my rock, my anchor...my stronghold. Without him I am nothing. He gives me peace and a calm spirit in the midst of stress and storms. He is my joy. Thank you Lord for your joy!!! May he be your peace and joy this Christmas.

Wedding ornament hand painted for a client's first Christmas together.

Tree ornaments personalized on the back in gold. These are beautiful in person.

I painted this tray for my best friend Rita. She is snowman crazy and has been threatened not to bring anymore snowmen into her home. So, I had to help a sista' out...haha. I personalized the tray with her name and the names of her 3 wonderful boys.

Personalized snowflake ornament painted for a precious repeat client. She and her Mom are just a joy to work with.

Hand painted Relay for Life ornament for RLF director in a neighboring county.

Personalized frosted ornament.

The mound of orders ready and waiting to be delivered and hauled to the post office. I can happily say that they are all either on their way or in the hands of the recipients...woohoo!

This was one of my favorite orders to paint this week. I painted this for the niece of an old high school friend. The canvas was painted to match a pillow sham. I love how it turned out...so happy and bright.

This canvas is for the sister of the Chloe painting above and was also painted to match her pillow sham. I love the funky and modern design and the pink and brown. Thanks Rhonda for your order!!

This hand painted plate was a special request from a client who wants her children to know the "real" meaning of Christmas while celebrating the tradition of Santa Claus.

The Happy Holidays ornaments were painted for a sweet long time customer who works at the University of Memphis. She had these done for her dear friends and co-workers. Thanks Brittney!!

Baby's First Christmas ornament hand painted and personalized with name and year.

Snowgirl ornament painted for my niece Avery who just turned 11.

Avery's painted penguin ornament for her birthday.

Oh my goodness.....this was the yummiest Chicken Parmesan I've ever put in my mouth. It was amazing. We had our annual church leaders Christmas dinner at Lupo's Italian Restaurante in Dyersburg last night. I think I could devour this dish on a daily basis...ha. If you are in Dyersburg or passing through, Lupo's is worth your time to check it out. We had a great time.

Dessert was equally as yummy....although I did have my heart set on the cheesecake which they had run out of at the time. They did have several large parties simultaneously so it's understandable.

My son Reed stepping up to spell his words. He did so awesome. He missed going to county by 3 people. He was a little disappointed but we are SO very proud of him for making it as far as he did. WAY TO GO REED! YOU ARE AWESOME!

Reed waiting his turn along with the other finalists.

The finalists had dwindled down and his last word was absurd which he spelled obsurd. He was more upset that he actually knew the word. We'll just try again in 6th grade. Good job,Reed!

I think that's all I have for now. Time to haul myself to bed to rest up for tomorrow's dress rehearsal and last minute errands.

Have a blessed and stressFREE weekend!