Here’s a page from my watercolor travel journal created on our 2011 study tour of Israel.

It was a beautiful spring morning when we stopped just north of the Sea of Galilee at the Jordan River. Across the water we could see the hillside where Jesus fed 5,000+ people.

I’ll never forget how fabulous the wildflowers were in that area. (We were there in March, but I understand it’s not like that all year round.)

Our stop at this place reminded me that Jesus was all about fulfilling prophecy.

He was the Bread of Life in the flesh, yet on this remote hillside, He miraculously provided bread- and fish- to hungry people, many of whom would have been traveling through this exact region on their way to Jerusalem for Passover.

My time in Israel helped me see that where Jesus did things was just as important as what and when and how He did them. He had a heavenly perspective on the perfect “when, where, why, and how” of His ministry.

He also has a perfect heavenly perspective on the “when, where, why, and how” of my life.

Here’s the Bible passage surrounding the site of the feeding of the 5,000. . .

Matthew 14:15-2 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 

¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 

¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 

¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. 

I can’t wait to take another group to Israel next year! Let me know if you want to join us.

Here's Shep's picture on the beautiful table the hospitality committee created. He was surrounded by bowls of chocolate. What more could he ask for?

It feels like we moved to Amarillo then just blinked. When we opened our eyes, our church family was throwing a little party in celebration of Shep’s fifteen years of service.

Where did the years go?

It’s been my privilege to be on the front row seat watching Shep at work in ministry. His shepherd’s heart for people has inspired and sustained me over these years. He is my hero.

When a minister’s average length of stay at a church in America these days is less than 4 years (see IronSharpensIron.com), Shep has been faithful and loyal and forgiving through 15 years of the ups and downs of church family life- the kind every congregation faces over time.

The yummy cake we all enjoyed.

For me, another part of the beautiful miracle of the celebration was knowing deep in my heart that the LORD has been ever present and faithful to me- the girl who swore (yes, I know I’m not supposed to swear, but I did) she never would or could or should be a minister’s wife. 

Whatever images I’ve had in my mind about an ideal minister’s wife should look like, cook like, clean like, pray like, dress like, or be like, I know deep down in my soul I can’t possibly measure up to that illusive standard. It’s just not me and I’ll be the first to tell you I don’t have what it takes.

But the LORD at work within a girl sure does.

I’m so far less than ideal in every possible category of “ministerial spouse perfection,” yet I’ve watched the LORD walk me through this 15 year adventure in amazing ways.

So, there we stood, right in front of the chocolate table and the cake, surrounded by the wonderful “family” called our church and celebrated.

My, O, my, how faithful the LORD is to His people!

Notice who is positioned closest to the chocolate. Just sayin'...

I love painting with analagous colors- that is, beautiful “color neighbors” on the color wheel.

Analagous colors typically work really well together because they are adjacent to one another and make natural blends with one another. In watercolor, analagous color combinations can create beautiful textures like you see in semi-opaque or semi-precious stones. (Think: turquoise jewelry.)

The painting above was created in a demo where I worked wet into wet with greens, dropping in neighboring greens or blues from my palette into each section. I saved one little section in the lower left hand area as white then, once all the blue/green areas dried, I popped in the compliment of green— red.  (In this case, it was Carmine with a bit of Magenta- painted wet into wet also.)

I think it makes a pretty cool abstract painting!

Working with neighboring colors reminds me of how, in women’s ministry, there’s great beauty and power in friendships. When one woman invites a neighbor to a Bible study or event, it creates a beautiful new “color,” if you will.

Like the analogous color combination, neighbors can be easily overlooked. We see them all the time and out of neglect or over-familiarity, forget they are there. This analogous painting makes me stop and wonder if I’ve been overlooking a woman in my neighborhood or workplace who could benefit from an invitation to join me in Bible study or at an upcoming ministry event.

Could there be an analogous friendship- a beautiful neighbor- just waiting to be discovered around you as well? Let’s be in the lookout for her this week!

The Pondering Palette: Could there be a beautiful neighbor at home or work or church (or wherever) you’ve overlooked? Ask the LORD to open your eyes to see that neighbor this week. . .

Photos from our Aquabord Adventure class! (Yes, that’s how you spell aquabord. . .)

My demo painting (it’s not quite finished)

Students hard at work

A pineapple “lifted off” the aquabord

My aquabord examples (Great news: these watercolors need no glass over them!)

Here’s where you can learn more about this amazing surface by Ampersand Art.

Happy painting! I’d love to hear what you think about aquabord after you give it a whirl!

Shep and I have taken part in many marriage events during our three decades together- retreats, seminars, conferences- that have encouraged us along the way. For the past 5 years or so, we’ve helped lead a marriage ministry in our church by coordinating and/or presenting marriage focused events. 

One of the things I’ve noticed about strong marriage ministry is, like a coin, it often has two distinct sides: preventative marriage enrichment and “repairative” (yes, made up that last word) marriage rescue. You might think of it as a health club approach and a hospital approach.

The Marriage Health Club

Think about what you do in a health club. Here’s my short list:

• exercise muscles to make them stronger
• learn new ways of exercising to build up your body
• train for endurance races/events (and marriage is certainly an endurance race!)
• exercise in groups or with a trainer to get encouragement along your fitness journey
• give focused attention to your physical health

Marriage enrichment is like a health club approach to your relationship. You wisely pay attention to staying strong before you’re at a crisis point when you have to address your health. Marriage enrichment is a means of strengthening your relationship, building strength that can help you weather rough times that may lie ahead. 

The Marriage Hospital

Marriage repair is different. It’s more like an emergency room or a secluded hospital stay where healing takes place. Staffed by skilled physicians (or licensed marriage therapists), the marriage hospital is  a place of intensive, loving care for hurting spouses.

Weekly counseling or marriage intensives in places like The Hideaway Experience provide this kind of extreme (and extremely needed) care.

My point is this: both of these approaches are powerful. They complement each other. They cover the spectrum of needs within a relationship. 

Keeping the health club and the hospital open for marriages is a wise, balanced way toward effective marriage ministry. 

I’m so glad that as we packed to go over and be with the family, I tossed a needlepoint kit into my bag.  

I can only take so much sitting around with newspaper and magazine reading, especially when I’m feeling stress. I have an inborn need to DO something, to make, to produce, to create, even when I’m stuck in one location.

Creatives are often like that.

Using my hands eases the hurt of my heart and I’m so thankful to the LORD for designing me that way. (If you are a creative, you may have noticed the same thing about yourself.)

I’m not always in a situation where I can use my paints to create something (watercolors in a hospital waiting room don’t always fly), so this time I turned to needlepoint.

Do you know about Erhman Tapestry of England? I’d spotted an ad about their series of beautiful needlepoint pillows that tell the story of creation in a magazine last Christmas. When my order arrived, I was so pleased to see the tapestry was even more colorful and beautiful in person than it was in the magazine ad! 

Here’s the full picture of the first pillow from “The Creation Series” I’m working on now: Day One- Light. Isn’t this beautiful?

The tapestry was also an instant conversation starter as people inquired about what I was doing with all those colorful threads in a dreary hospital waiting room. 

“What are you making?” someone would ask.

“A pillow that illustrates day one of God’s creation of the earth in Genesis 1,” I’d say.

“Oooo, that’s beautiful!” they’d reply.

As I worked on the pillow, I pondered this: The same God who created light is in absolute authority over the health of my loved ones. Jesus is powerful and can be trusted to provide whatever they need. (Meditating on that fact soothes my heart even more than the action of keeping my hands busy.)

If you are a “creative,” try carrying along a project that engages your hands the next time you have to spend time in a waiting room. Even better, meditate on a Bible verse as you do so. You may be surprised how it can soothe your stress. 

(PLUS it gives you something beautiful to show for your time!)

Here’s my unsolicited advice about why you might want to consider working with the experts at AuthorMedia. As they have patiently helped me grow and learn and stretch my skills this year, I’ve noticed three consistent themes I love about this company:

1- Spiritually Grounded and Media Savvy

In 1 Chronicles 12, groups of warriors from the 12 tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him. The group that was smallest in number was from the tribe of Issachar, but they were described in a profound way:

1 Chronicles 12:32 says these men, “understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”

AuthorMedia understands the times. They grasp what’s going on in the online communication culture. Even though they are a small company (like Issachar was a small tribe), they are experts in the wise use of the internet for ministry. They also know what to do- how to use techniques and tools of social media for big kingdom impact.

I’ve deeply appreciated how, in addition to their media savvy, I’ve experienced nothing but Christ-honoring, spiritually grounded attitudes and professional competence in my interactions with the staff. They “get it” that what I am doing (and what they are doing) is much more than a business- it’s a ministry. That’s a beautiful (and rare) thing to find these days.

2- Superb Follow Up

My website had been launched and I was operating it on my own. Some days felt great, but most days, I was just flailing around cyberspace. . . or not doing anything at all because social media still felt so intimidating to me. (I’m not over that feeling yet, but things are getting better by the day!)

On one particularly discouraging day, Caitlin, AuthorMedia’s social media expert, contacted me for follow up to see if I needed anything. Boy, oh, boy did I! The gold package I purchased enabled me to get ongoing support that’s been a life saver.

As my ministry has evolved, I’ve had 3 websites over a 13 year period. As excellent as the previous designs were, this was the first time someone followed up to ask me how things were going and how they could help me succeed. Why? That’s part of AuthorMedia’s overall approach to helping author/speakers. I really appreciate their extra mile service of “let us help you until you can grasp this and operate it on your own” as opposed to “here’s your pretty balloon- go fly it.”

And did I mention how patient they are in working with techie wanna be’s like me?

(My advice to you is to bite the bullet and “go for the gold.” I started with a lower, less expensive package of development, but soon discovered the multiple benefits of the gold package. It is the absolute best and I’m so glad I did that!)

3- Super-dooper Staff

I first met AuthorMedia founder, Thomas Umstattd, at a Christian writer’s conference in New Mexico. His insightful answers to media and technology issues discussed in a workshop absolutely amazed me. About 18 months after that meeting, I signed on with AuthorMedia. He personally helped me get started, then passed me on to his resident experts to help with site development and design, social media, and blog development.

I can’t name all of Thomas’ AuthorMedia staff, but here are a few you’ve just got to know about:

Samantha Fagan is a delight to work with as she turns ministry dreams in to webpages. The time we spent targeting the audience for my website was amazing. Her insightful questions opened my eyes to clarify my mission and ministry and target my site to specific groups of women.

Caitlin Muir is a social media expert who makes things understandable and reachable for a speaker like me who isn’t a “techie” but is hungry to learn. We’re just starting to work together, but after our first session I’ve learned a lot- like how to make a monthly “editorial map” to schedule my media posts.

I could go on and on about others on the AuthorMedia staff I’ve worked with directly like- Hannah, Leah, Hilary, and Katherine. Just know I highly recommend this talented bunch of young people to authors and speakers who are searching for help with their web presence.

This video I captured in a local park illustrates how I feel about the web-based part of my ministry now as a result of what I’ve learned via AuthorMedia:

AuthorMedia understands the times. . . and they know how to help you know what to do to help your ministry dreams take off and fly.

P.S. I just realized that, one year ago, I could not have written this post. AuthorMedia taught me how to use WordPress, resize photos for the web, insert images into a post, create my own WisdomInWatercolor channel on youtube, upload a video to youtube, insert a youtube video into a post, and create an overall cleaner blog post. I’m so grateful!

The word is “courage.”

Courage is the ability to do something that frightens you. It takes courage to express yourself with paint (or words or music or dance or you name the creative endeavor). Many people make art for fun, creations that will never be seen out in public, but to take the next step and put your work out there for the world to see takes real courage. To enter a competition where ribbons and prizes are involved takes even more.

That’s because paintings are a piece of your soul committed to paper. 

I’m so proud of the artists who participated in The Best of the Southwest Art Show. They overcame their fears, took the chance, and expressed themselves artistically. They invested time and money (have you priced custom framing lately?) and most of all, heart, to give others an opportunity to see what they saw or felt during moments of creative inspiration.

What a gift that is to our community!

I walked away from that judging experience so very grateful for brave souls who create beautiful visual art, and for a place like Sunset Center where artists can gather to display their work. Thanks are also in order to Amarillo Fine Arts Association for the labor of love they invest in the logistics behind this annual show.

If you live around Amarillo, I hope you’ll stop by and see the work of these amazing artisans. The show opens with a reception at 2:00 Sunday, March 4 at Panhandle Art Center. You’ll find western art, landscapes, abstracts, portraits- you name it- all presented in a variety of mediums. There’s something for everyone. 

If you meet one of the artists, please thank them for participating. . . and commend them for their courage. Those words of encouragement are part of what keeps us creating.

The Pondering Palette: The ribbons you see on artworks at the Best of the Southwest show tell the story of what works of art spoke to me at the moment. If you get to go to the show, pretend you are the judge. To which pieces would you award ribbons? 

Whenever I see flowers, they remind me of God’s love.  

Their fragrance and their beauty are gifts from up above.

When’ere I see or smell them, such joy they bring my heart… 

So I thought today I’d share with you God’s lovely work of art. 

Photo & Poem                   ©Debbie Hannah Skinner, 2012

My deadline involved the completion and delivery of a couple of home portraits. I was really proud of my self when I dropped off the paintings yesterday afternoon- that “Girlfriend-you’ve-got-it-goin’-on-so-pat-yourself-on-the-back” kind of proud.

(WARNING: “Proud of myself” is typically followed by a major thud. Read on. . .)

My embarrassment came when I received a text less than an hour later telling me one of the homes had the wrong brick color- the house I delivered was painted tan (see it above) while it should have been deep red (see it below). 

I’ve had to tweek things like inaccurate trim color on paintings before because reference photos can do strange things with color when the pictures are taken at different times of day, in different light. But, this time, there was nothing wrong with my reference photos. I had no excuses.

If I was driving, I would have not just missed a turn off the interstate, I would have been in the wrong state altogether!

The only thing I can figure out is that, while working on three paintings at once, I carelessly assigned the brick color of one house to another. Then, I got in a hurry and did not pause to check my work before it was packaged. Whatever happened, it was all my fault.

(Now, don’t get me started on all the other silly mistakes I’ve made over the years. That could give me blog material for months!)

While driving to pick up the painting for repair, I caught my self-talk going something like this: “Why, Debbie, you are in the professional color business, how could you possibly miss such an obvious mistake? What’s wrong with you?”

I knew the brick color was an easy fix because it just involved layering a deep red over the tan. You can see it right here…

Correcting the color was easy. Letting go of the guilt of my mistake was much harder.

Two powerful lessons from this incident resound in my heart right now. . .

Lesson 1- Always remember to PAUSE, step back, and see the bigger picture.

The old saying, “You can’t see the for forest for the trees,” came to mind as I corrected the painting. I got caught up in the “trees”- teensy, weensy details of finishing the painting, packaging it, printing an invoice, watching the clock, and making the delivery. When that happened, I didn’t pause to remember the “forest”- the bigger picture of getting the house color correct.

Both the forest and the trees are important. I need to be attentive to both.

Lesson 2- Learn from past mistakes and PRESS ON with a resolve to not repeat them.

The great thing about this whole mess is that the red glow of my embarrassed face has helped imprint this incident in my mind. Therefore, it’s a lot less likely to happen again. I can learn from it yet not linger on it.

I love the words of Paul when talking about his mistakes of the past and looking toward what awaits him, in Christ, in the future:

Philippians 3:13b-14  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

The rest of the story? Well, I “pressed on” with the correction and re-delivered it to my client. Thankfully, she seemed pleased with my changes and was very gracious to forgive my error.

I hope this encourages you to pause and press on if you’re dealing with the guilt of a mistake today.  (Especially if you got some brick colors totally wrong.)

The Pondering Palette: Have you ever missed the forest for the trees? How?