Lent took my words...and gave me His.

Hello friends!

Well, the blog has been silent for about a month.

Lent has taken my words.

A couple of the most important relationships I've got have needed TLC this month, and I've come to the end of myself. More times than I can count.  Letting the blog go a bit has been a casualty of this-- but I've discovered that when life gets emotionally taxing, I don't write. There is no inspiration. There simply are no words.

About two weeks ago I was praying for one of my kiddos, and once again, I just didn't have the words. I opened my Bible to the passage I pray for my sweet son.  (When I was pregnant with him I was in a bible study on Daniel, and so Daniel became his spiritual namesake.)  I grabbed a journal and doodled the words of Daniel 10:19, and posted it on Instagram and Facebook with a request to pray for my boy.

And two things happened almost immediately:

1. People prayed.  And oh, how it blessed me, and oh, how I believe God is honoring those prayers. We can see the peace, the strength.
2. I started getting requests from friends to illustrate verses for their kiddos, or for friends facing difficulty -- and the more artwork I've posted (not once asking for orders), the more requests I received.  

It flabbergasted and delighted me, because I LOVE THIS.  I love drawing, I love God's word, i love putting both together in a pleasing way. I love knowing that something I've made and prayed over is in the room and life of a child, or a new baby, or a couple setting up house as newlyweds.   

I love being a small part of God's promises entering homes and hearts.

Writing requires an emotional investment that I cannot afford right now.

Drawing words, unlike writing them, seems to have the opposite effect. I can spend hours over a drawing board and come away feeling energized. ENERGIZED.  I have 4 kids ages 6 and under; I had forgotten what ENERGIZED felt like!

Maybe for Lent, I gave up writing--or it gave up me--but God gave me something better in its place.  And it all started with a doodle and prayer.  Isn't that just like Him?  I just can't get used to the beautiful, personal, customized ways God loves us.

Lent took my words, but God gave me His, in black and white archival ink.  In brushes dipped in watercolor.

I am not sure what this means for this blog.  I hope it means I will still get to write a bit, but also post my work and hopefully, eventually, have an Etsy shop I can link to.  For now I am just happy.  Happy to do something God made me to do, and thankful for the way he "pushed" me into it.

In the meantime, I do have some writing I've held back for Holy Week that I did a few months back.  If you liked what I wrote about El Shaddai, you will probably like this.  I'm really excited about it--so stay tuned for lots of (short but so sweet) posts next week.

Thank you for reading!

P.S. In the meantime, if you are interested, I am taking orders for custom watercolor scriptures via my Facebook page and email. ( thebravelittletaylor (at) gmail (dot) com )