Stormy Seas

By Hazel Holland

This is an impressionistic/abstract that I created using soft pastels as I remembered how we all go through storms in our lives of one kind or another...

When it seems like the storm will never end, and you feel weak and helpless and full of fear, remember how Jesus came walking on the water... stepping through the whitecaps towards the terrified disciples as if the angry waves were mere asphalt?  Can you hear His welcome voice as it thundered with power and authority in the midst of that storm?

"It is I... don't be afraid!

Just as He calmed the sea that stormy night long ago and brought the disciples safely to the shore, so He comes striding across the turbulent sea of your life.  With a voice more powerful than any wind of adversity, He says to you right now:

"I AM with you!  Don't be afraid!  Let Me step into the restless sea of your anxious thoughts and emotions and quiet your spirit with My love.  Let Me hold you as I sing over you. Let Me lead you as we dance over the whitecaps on this turbulent sea of life together.  Let Me bring you safely to shore." ♥

To see a larger copy of this artwork click here.

A Beautiful Exchange

By Hazel Holland

This is a variation of a pastel of mine that I did a few years ago where I've altered the colors in order to give this new painting a beautiful, warm and rosy glow. 

As I look at it now I'm reminded that Jesus continues to give us beauty for the ashes in our lives today.  He gives us sight when we are spiritually blind, and brings us freedom when we are oppressed by guilt. 

He reminds us that the basis of our acceptance with Him will always be His finished work that took place outside of us on the cross.  May your heart experience this beautiful exchange today.♥

To see a larger copy of this art work click here.

In His Arms

By Hazel Holland
 

I did this chalk pastel of Ebbie last June as a way of dealing with my sadness as I let go of the last of my beloved pets that I needed to find homes for before moving out of state.   I got the idea from my friend, Ramone, to create a picture of placing Ebbie in God's hands before I gave her up for adoption.

Several weeks later the Humane Society called to tell me that a nice lady had come into their facility and adopted Ebbie, along with another kitty!  I praised God for His timing and for keeping His promise to provide loving homes for each one of my beloved pets. ♥

If God so cares for the animals that he created, and especially the pets who mean so much to us, how much more does He care for us... His beloved children whom He has adopted into His family forever! ♥

Resurrected from the Dead!

By Hazel Holland

We may live in His resurrection life daily! ♥

Because of His resurrection, He has spiritually resurrected us from the dead! Experiencing new resurrection life in Him daily brings me great joy! 

Click here to see a larger image of the painting!

Face To Face

By Hazel Holland

I thought that I would try and draw a pastel of Jake, my three-and-a-half-year-old (in June) grandson kissing his baby brother, Max, who will be a week old tomorrow.  Well, as you can see, I not only overshot the mark by at least a year, but I didn't get Jake's lips close enough to Max's face to pull off the kiss, either!  As I  was looking at this picture I had drawn of my grandsons I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 13.♥♥♥ 

When I was a child, I spoke as a child speaks.  When I was a child, I understood as a child understands.  When I was a child, I thought as a child thinks...

I am still His child, but now I've come to know the One who loved me first.  When He called me, I found out that my name was written on His heart because He already knew me...  How could I resist such kindness as He drew me deeper into His loving presence?  

Now my heart wants to continually rejoice in His amazing grace.  My mouth wants to sing His praises all day long!  I want others to know Him and understand that His resurrection life is for them, too!

I long for the day when we will meet face to face.  But for now I am content to know Him through His Spirit.  To know Him is to love Him... until I see Him in all His glory... face to face! ♥♥♥ 

See: Brothers Are For Keeps

Brothers Are For Keeps!

By Hazel Holland

I thought that I would try and draw a pastel of Jake, my three-and-a-half-year-old (in June) grandson kissing his baby brother, Max, who will be a week old tomorrow.  Well, as you can see, I not only overshot the mark by at least a year, but I didn't get Jake's lips close enough to Max's face to pull off the kiss, either!  Ugh!!!  When you draw a picture with pastels there's no erasing.  What's done is done!

My intention wasn't to try and draw a picture where these boys actually looked like my grandsons, because I don't yet have a picture of them taken together.  That will happen this week!  But I just couldn't wait to get a picture!  So I decided to draw a picture of them today to send to Jake as a reminder of how much I love him and his baby brother, Max! 

Maybe this picture will help Jake understand that before he knows it Max will be sitting up by himself.  Then a year from now he will be running around the house, getting into Jake's toys, and challenging Jake as to who got the truck first! 

Although I was artistically challenged to get a kiss planted on a baby's face, perhaps I succeeded in showing Jake that one day he and his baby brother Max may be in each others' faces like this drawing suggests.  There may be times when they disagree as to who gets the last cookie, or whose turn it is to go first...  I'm sure they'll be able to resolve their differences when they remember that brothers are for keeps!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

See: Face to Face

How Far is the East from the West?

By Hazel Holland

That's how far Jesus has removed our sins from us!

Living Sacrifices!

By Hazel Holland

  

When I read Ramone's "Hosanna" post I was reminded of the chalk drawing I did many years ago for a church Easter pageant.  Suddenly I saw that I could draw children waving palm branches and place them in front of the Jerusalem backdrop...

Can you identify with these children who were being told to hush up and keep their hosannas under control as they passed by the temple?  After all...their loud praises might disturb the worshipers inside...

It's the same way today when people get hit with a "spirit of laughter" inside the "temple"?  Usually it's not understood by the people worshiping, and is seen as disruptive and unacceptable behavior in a corporate church setting.

Incidentally, the "laughter" I'm talking about is His joy that bubbles up inside of us at times as a result of embracing the new covenant gospel. His joy cannot be contained because it's coming forth from the Spirit in us who wants others to know that His well of joy is available to them, too.

We need to come and drink at His well of Living Water often so that we can be refreshed and filled to overflowing.  Then we will understand why His joy and laughter are impossible to hold back.  If we don't praise Him, the stones will begin to cry out!

Remember how Jesus told us that we must become trusting and child-like if we want to enter His Kingdom?  Revelation 7:9 gives us a beautiful picture of God's children holding palm branches as they praise their King in His Kingdom for all eternity! 

Yes, I believe God desires to interrupt the way we do church.  He wants us to be free like children so that we can worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.  Our bodies are the palm branches... living sacrifices that are acceptable to Him!

 

See: Hosanna  

Wishes to Blow

By Hazel Holland

A child's perspective is beautiful!  All we see is a field full of weeds, but a child knows a dandelion clock when they see one.  "Mommy... Daddy... look at all the wishes to blow!" they cry out in delight.

I remember last summer showing my grandson, Jakey, how to pick dandelion clocks and blow the seeds so that the breeze would catch them.  We'd count how many blows we would get on each clock.  Then we'd make wishes with each blow, and he would try to catch the seeds before the wind carried them away and out of his reach...

You know in life we often miss out on a lot of beautiful experiences because we forget to look at ordinary things through the eyes of a child.  As a result, we lose the wonder and excitement of discovering something new in every situation we face.  We forget to be thankful for the simple joys and pleasures of life. 

I mean... seriously now... what is more ordinary than a field full of dandelions?  And yet God tells us we are His field (I Corinthians 3:9).  The seeds that He has planted in the soil of our hearts will will produce a fruitful harvest in His time... a harvest that will be appropriate to the season and the stage of growth in our lives.  So instead of seeing a field full of weeds from now on, let's open our eyes and see a fruitful field full of wishes to blow!

Turn Your World Upside Down

By Hazel Holland
  

As I began to draw this new picture for my grandson, Jakey, I wanted it to be something that would bring him joy and make him laugh.  The idea of having him look through his legs while standing in a puddle of water seemed like a fun thing to draw... until my world began to turn upside down as I tried to draw his reflection in the water!

As I looked at this picture I was reminded of another scene where Jesus' followers were accused of turning the world upside down.  I wondered what they were saying about the gospel that so disturbed the townspeople that they complained to the city authorities?  

Throughout the Bible and human history we are made aware of the strained and broken relationships that are the result of the clash between the dominant culture of the day and the spiritual kingdom that Jesus came to establish.  Could it be that in a world where the haves write the rules for the have-nots, the gospel brings hope to the have-nots, but threatens to upset the comfort zones of the haves? 

The Good News is preached to the poor, but the rich are sent away empty.  Those who have broken hearts are comforted, but the proud and arrogant remain heartless.  Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are filled, but the self-righteous are too full of themselves.  God’s kingdom proclaims freedom to the captives so that the blind see, but those who see continue to be blind.

The radical gospel calls us to love one another, including our enemies, as Jesus loved us and gave Himself for us.  This spiritual kingdom that Jesus came to establish in our hearts is a kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy.  Will you allow His love to flow through your heart to others so that their world will be turned upside down, too?

Becoming Like Children...

By Hazel Holland

 God is bringing His children back into childlike joy and

 freedom so that He can make them fisher's of men.

As I was drawing this picture for Jakey today I was remembering how much he always loves the water.  So I can just imagine his delight at finding a big fish like this while playing in the ocean! 

You know God is interested in finding big fish and little fish in His ocean, too..  Since He's fishing for people, He's calling us to leave the "nets" we have trusted in and follow Him instead.  His Spirit is still drawing men and women, boys and girls to Himself... one by one.  He's still calling His children into childlike joy and freedom so that he can make them fisher's of men...

Link: Leaving Our Adventist Nets

Called to Be Free!

By Hazel Holland

Since we are called to be free, let's serve one another in love.

 Galatians 5:13

I decided yesterday that I would try using pastels to draw a picture for my three year old grandson, Jakey.  Since he can't read yet, I thought that he might enjoy receiving a new picture in the mail from me each week as a reminder of how much I love him.  So this is my first try at doing a kid picture...

Drawing this picture for Jakey brought me such unexpected joy!  I really was not expecting it to bring out the playful child in me, but it did.  And then God's Spirit began to speak to my heart about how drawing pictures for Jakey will bring about further healing of my childhood memories as well...  As I send Jakey weekly reminders of how much he's loved, I'll be able to enter into priceless moments of his exuberant childhood joy... 

Have you received a "picture" lately of how much you're loved by the Father?  If you have, go share it with someone who needs to know how much He loves them, too.  If you haven't, ask God to give you a fresh picture of His heart of love... not just for yourself, but for someone who may need to be touched by Him through you.

You know... God sends us "love pictures" all the time.  But they don't usually come in the way we expect them...  So let's open up our hearts to His joy today.  We are called to be free and to serve one another in love.

Link: Free in Him!

He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not...

By Hazel Holland  

 "He loves me...he loves me not...he loves me...he loves me not..."

Do you remember making daisy chains when you were a child?  I sure do. It was fun picking the daisies and seeing who could make the longest chain.  The first daisy we counted was always "He loves me!"  The second daisy was "He loves me not!"  The third daisy was "He loves me!"... and so on until we got to the end of the daisy chain. I remember the excitement and tension we felt as we finished threading our last daisy into the chain... What were the odds that we had picked the "right" number of flowers so that the last daisy would be "He loves me"? 

Yesterday, when God brought back this childhood memory to my mind and told me that this "daisy chain" is a picture of the church today, I began to weep.  This is a picture of many of us in the body of Christ who do not want to let go of the old covenant!  So we do our best to "weave" both the new and the old covenants together.  It's like we're still children, content to play our childish games instead of leaving the "shadows" of childhood behind us... forever.

Trouble is... playing "daisy chains" with the covenants to see how we fare in our relationship with God gives us a distorted picture of His love and grace.  Not only that, but it leaves us in a world of contradictions and confusion.  One minute we're loved, and the next we're not.  One minute salvation is a free gift, and the next it's not.  One minute we're forgiven, and the next we're not.  We catch a glimpse of the Father's heart of love for us, and then suddenly we nose-dive into a world of fear and condemnation.

It's time to leave this childish guessing game behind us.  It's become obsolete.  The old has gone and the new has come!  It's time to grow up into who we are in Jesus Christ, and embrace the truth that "He loves me...always!"

The "Old" Has Disappeared...

By Hazel Holland

The "old" has disappeared... and the "new" has come!
 

Jesus knows the hearts of His children.  He knows that many of us try to hold on to the old wineskin of old covenant law believing it to be better than the new wineskin of the new covenant gospel.  He knows that in the natural realm old wine does taste better than new wine. 

That was why the people at the wedding in Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle were so surprised when they tasted the new wine.  The old wine—the good wine was always served first, but at this wedding the best wine was served last!   

Do you see the prophetic picture?  Jesus was declaring Himself to be the New Wine—the Best Wine.   The Son of God was declaring Himself to be God’s final Word.

Although we have been accustomed to drinking “old wine,” believing the “old” is better, Jesus came to show us that the “new wine” of the new covenant gospel is far better than the old wine of old  covenant law.  He is defying our expectations just like He surprised the guests at the wedding feast by showing us that the new wine—what came later is better!  Indeed, the host of the wedding banquet did serve his best wine at the beginning.  

But like the glory of the new covenant (2 Corinthians 3), the New Wine surpasses the old!  We thought we had great wine through Moses, but it doesn’t begin to compare with the New Wine of the Spirit...

*Excerpt from "The Naked Truth...", p. 74.  

Your Harvest

By Hazel Holland

God longs for you to know that the wilderness is the place where He calls you to be alone with Him!  The wilderness is the place where He draws you into His presence with His deeds of loving-kindness and tender mercies that He has towards you.  The wilderness is the place where He gives you back your vineyards of lost fruit (Hosea 2:14-15)!  Yes, it's in the wilderness where He shows you your fruitfulness in Him...

A Spiritual Awakening

By Hazel Holland

As I was doing this pastel tonight I was reminded of how God has ordained each season in the natural world to come at its appointed time.  In a similar way He has designed each season in your spiritual life to follow His chosen plan, too.  As you look back on your life, you will recognize some of these times of spiritual awakening...

You will remember the tug on your heart each time His Spirit revealed Himself to you as you and He walked down life's path together.  You will remember how your heart burned within you at times when you were deeply touched by His goodness and love.

During those seasons of spiritual awakening your life was being prepared to respond to His Spirit at the next appointed time...

A Door of Hope

By Hazel Holland

 

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her

 into the desert and speak tenderly to her.  There I will 

give her back her vineyards, and make the 

Valley of Achor a door of hope..."  

Hosea 2:14-15

You're probably wondering... "Is that a burning bush out there in the desert?" Continue reading and find out!

I had forgotten all about this pastel I did of the desert many years ago until I found a picture of it in one of my photo albums.  Before selling it to a friend, I had apparently taken a picture of it, but not before framing it and putting it behind glass.  Now I saw that the camera flash had left an obvious glare on the photo.  Then  the idea came to me to scan this photo onto my computer and play around with the glare by using Microsoft Office Picture Manager to create a "burning bush" on my desert path!  This was the the result.

After a Facebook friend saw the story behind this painting (July 2, 2013), she commented that she “loved the light in the center of the path, lighting the way where she needed to go.” 

Immediately the Spirit hit me with the truth that the glare that I had tried to get rid of was no "accident"! In God's kingdom there are no "accidents" because He causes ALL things to to work together for good to those who love Him!  So now this "LIGHT" in the center of the painting has become something beautiful to me. (I'm weeping as I write this because God's presence is so strong right now!) It will be a constant reminder of His daily Presence as I walk in His love through the Spirit.♥
                                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Remember how God set a bush on fire in the middle of the desert because He wanted to get Moses undivided attention?  He wanted to heal Moses so that He could use Moses to bring deliverance to a nation of slave children...

God knows your places of weakness and brokenness, too.  That is why He's seeking you out with His consuming presence.  As a Lover He's calling you to come away with Him into the desert so that He can heal your brokenness and bring you deliverance, too.  He wants you to hear the gentleness in His voice as He tenderly places His arms around you, and reminds you that He is betrothed to you forever in love and righteousness.

He's not calling you into the desert to chastise you for your inability to remain faithful to Him, but to assure you that He will always remain faithful in His commitment of love to you.  He wants to remind  you that the consuming fire of His presence has swept away your sins like a cloud.  Like the morning mist, they have disappeared...

Did you ever wonder why God chose to get Moses undivided attention through a burning bush? Perhaps because one of God’s attributes is that He is a consuming fire. Although He is a consuming fire, the bush was not consumed. Although He is a consuming fire, we are not consumed, but only the dross in our lives is removed.

Your Lover will get your undivided attention because He is your Relentless Pursuer!  He is your Door of Hope!  He will do whatever it takes to capture your heart with His love so that you have only eyes for Him.♥

To see a larger copy of this artwork click here.

My Place of Sanctuary

By Hazel Holland

This cozy little cabin tucked away somewhere in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by lush evergreens and alpine flowers, overlooking a crystal blue lake with a backdrop of distant snow-covered mountains was my safe haven... an idyllic place of tranquility that I could escape to whenever I needed to get away from the turmoil of life. 

 I liked the idea of placing the mountains in the distance when I drew this remote scene many years ago because I hated the cold.  My memories of trudging through deep snow drifts on my way to and from school during bitterly cold English winters had left an indelible impression of dread on me.  Snow looked pretty enough in pictures, but in reality if you weren't wearing warm enough clothing when you got caught in a blizzard, your feet and hands would be bone-chilling numb by the time you got home from school.

Now as I look back at that time in my life, I realize that this idealistic picture was a symbol of sanctuary for me.  I wanted to find a safe haven that I hoped would shelter me from the coldness and fear that I felt within my own heart.  I wanted to create a place of safety where I could escape from the turmoil and pain I saw in the hearts of others.

As a child I use to dream of escaping into my grandmother's waiting arms whenever I was misjudged or harshly mistreated at home. She was always ready to give me a hug and take me into her heart.  That's why I painted this elderly-looking woman in this idealistic setting, because she represented the love and acceptance I needed, but rarely received at home.

I painted her standing outside looking at the bank of flowers because working with flowers was grandmother's favorite pastime.  Although now as I look back on those childhood memories, I imagine grandma had an ulterior motive for puttering around outside in her flower garden just at the time I would pass by her house after school.  She must have noticed that I was constantly hungry, because she would always place at least one or two of her famous rock buns in my pocket so that I would have something to eat on my way home from school.

One drawback of these life-saving memories was that we didn't always live near grandma. When we did life was bearable, but when we didn't there seemed to be no end to the ugly days...  During those down times I would escape into a world of my own choosing and making in order to numb the terrible pain in my heart. 

But then about twenty years ago something miraculous happened.  My mother finally had the courage to tell me her story...  By sharing her childhood abuse she freed me to let go of mine.  Immediately I began to live life with a new focus.  I chose to move toward my mother for her sake instead of moving away for mine. 

I began to let go of years of unrealistic expectations of what I’d wanted my mother to be for me, because I saw that she was not just the mother who failed me, but a deeply hurt woman whom I failed to love.  Her confession and tears freed me to forgive her for the years of anguish and rejection.  Her honesty freed me to accept my loss.

I began to realize how much more she needed my love that I needed hers... I saw that she had been a child trying to raise a child, and no one understood. Now I wanted to offer her the gift of being understood. I wanted her to taste the joy of being forgiven. I wanted to offer her acceptance with no exception, because that is the kind of agape love God has freely given me.

And that, my friend, is the kind of agape love God has freely given you.  No matter what storms you may be facing right now, and no matter what chaos is surrounding your life, you can find yourself a sanctuary in Jesus Christ.  He can bring beauty out of the ugliest of situations as He brings His healing touch to our waiting hearts.

Now I no longer need to find a place of sanctuary by withdrawing from life, because God has given me sanctuary within His heart.  Jesus is my sanctuary!

Beauty for Ashes

By Hazel Holland

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me... to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness...that He may be glorified." Isaiah 61:1-3)

When Jesus entered the synagogue in Nazareth on that Sabbath day, He announced to the people present that He was the fulfillment of the Jubilee that had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah.

We know from reading the rest of the story that the people were not prepared to receive this "Good News". They were incensed and rejected the very idea that Joseph and Mary's son could be the “Anointed One”.

Nevertheless, in the same way that the Lord’s favor rested upon Jesus when He walked into the synagogue on that unforgetable day, so the Holy Spirit continued to rest upon Him for the next three years as He fulfilled His Jubilee mission.

As the Good News of salvation began to shine into the darkened recesses of people’s souls, it began to heal their broken hearts, and bring them freedom from slavery to sin. Jesus brought forth beauty from the ashes of people’s lives. He brought them hope when they were full of despair. He turned their mourning into joy and the spirit of heaviness was replaced by praise.

Jesus continues to give people beauty for ashes today. He gives us sight when we are spiritually blind, and brings us freedom when we’re oppressed by guilt. He reminds us that the basis of our acceptance with God will always be His finished work that took place outside of us on the cross.

So there’s nothing more that we can do because it has already been done by Him. The Good News that Isaiah foretold so many years ago was an announcement of pardon from sin that Christ’s good work alone accomplished for all mankind.

Jesus has become my Jubilee. He gives me the beauty of His life in exchange for the ashes of my failures and broken dreams.

* (This is a pastel I did a number of years ago as I struggled to create beauty out of the ashes of my life.)

God's Smile

By Hazel Holland

(A few years ago I did this drawing with pastels in order to express my gratefulness to God for the beauty of His creation that brought me such joy as a child!)

One of my favorite pastimes as a small child was going for a nature walk in the English countryside. I loved to run and skip through the fields and meadows, and breathe in the delicate perfume of the wild flowers while admiring their simple beauty. Each flower's face seemed to be bursting with joy as it danced and swayed in the gentle breeze, and I knew it was inviting me to pick it.

But more than anything else, I enjoyed finding a new wild flower that was tucked away from the beaten path and out of sight...especially one that I didn't have already in my hand. Somehow, whenever I discovered a new flower it was as if God was smiling at me.

However, whenever I found a flower that had been trampled on and crushed, I felt such sadness. So I would pick it and take it home with me, hoping to "resurrect" it later in a vase of water. Quite often that miracle happened.

I picked and gathered the wild flowers until my hands couldn't hold anymore because I desired to fill my whole house with the sweet perfume and delicate beauty of God's creation.

I didn't realize back then as a young child that God had placed within my heart a sensitivity to His Spirit that would be realized much later... As I saw God's heart for us expressed through His creation, I couldn't stop marveling at His handiwork.

I wanted to be out in nature 24/7, because it was only there that I felt accepted and loved. I could feel the warmth of God's smile upon me in every opening flower, and I hoped that someday I too would be free to dance and smile like these beautiful flowers, and become the child He created me to be...