Calendar pages from an artistic perspective (months December 2009 - March 2010)

I thought it might be a good idea to share a bit about the calendar pages from an artistic perspective...or at least share with you why I chose cetain photos from my portfolio to go with

the messages. I've included the first 4 calendar pages (December 2009-March 2010) in this post.

The first one is called "Transformation", and you can save it on your desktop or check it out at http://lilyeveart.com/default.aspx, under 2010 Electronic Calendar, in order to actually read the words.

I chose this photo, which is very near and dear to my heart, because I think it signifies beauty in the midst of solitude. I took this photo a few years ago at Assateague Island in New Jersey. This is one of the "Wild Horses of Assateague Island".

This horse seems so at peace and content to walk on the beach and eat on the patches of grass. I also love the softness of the photo, which occurred because the sand had been blown around a bit. It's a great natural affect and every time I look at this photo it draws me in to remember the beauty and necessity of solitude, which was where I was starting on this journey toward transformation and healing.

The next one is called "Hold Your Focus", and I called it that because of what God was saying to me about holding onto the words He was speaking to me and keeping my focus on Him and not my problems. The photo is of a waterfall that I hiked to on the Island of Oahu in Hawaii. As I look at this photo, it speaks of peace, tranquility and refreshment. So as I thought about what it meant to "hold my focus", I thought, this picture was something I wanted to focus on to be drawn into that peace and tranquility. I noticed that as I did, it was very refreshing for me and to combine that with what God was saying to me, helped me to see and remember the peace that God promises as we trust in Him, and hold onto that idea in a more "tangible" way.

The verses I chose in this piece were significant for various reasons. The first one from Isaiah 26, is one of my nana's favorite verses and as I was struggling through things, she would keep reminding me of this verse. So, the more I thought about where my focus was, whether on my problem or on God, I knew what the Bible said about having God's peace if we keep our mind set on Him; and knowing that helped me to remember the truth and keep readjusting my perspective to focus on God rather than my problems. The second set of verses from Psalm 46 are very significant to me because Psalm 46:1 is my life verse. God has always been my refuge and strength, which I could turn to when I couldn't turn to anyone else and remembering this verse always gave me comfort that I really was not alone. The final verses from Proverbs 3 were included because I felt that was one of the verses God impressed on my heart to remember in this season. It was important for me to remember to keep my trust in God and not in myself, to not depend on my own understanding and to include God in every part of my life.

This piece is called "Seek Me Immediately" and it's entitled that, because it's exactly was God said to me in reference to inviting Him to be with me in the midst of a challenge, as soon as it arises. I chose this photo of the waves crashing against the rocks because it represents a certain "chaos" that comes when the water "collides" with the rocks. It also goes along with the passage of scripture I included, which I was studying at the time, of when Jesus walked on water and calmed the sea when He entered the boat. So, I wanted the photo to represent the sea from the story, in a small sense, and the "chaos" that can come when we do face overwhelming challenges in life.

This piece is entitled "Come to Me" and I chose it because those are Jesus' words in the passage from Matthew that I included. I chose this photo because it represented several things to me. This photo is of a small mountain peak in Hawaii and I was captivated by all the fog that was resting on the mountains, and especially on that peak. While I was in church, about a month or so ago, I felt compelled, during one of the songs we were singing in worship, to write about what was on my heart. The impression was so strong, I stopped mid-song and sat down to write and that's when I wrote this piece. I had a vision right then of that picture of how the "God-head" works in us to bring us to Himself, so that was the picture I wanted to get across of the Holy Spirit drawing us and Jesus coming to shepherd us and meet us where we are at and leading us to His Father, where He spent a lot of time while He was on earth.

I thought it was so interesting how it was a lot easier to come to Jesus when I knew He understood my pain, because of the way He experienced His own on earth. And, because Jesus could relate to my pain, He could comfort me and teach me and not only that, I could see Him leading me "up the mountain", which represented the challenges in my life and introduce me to His Father. I don't know if you've ever hiked up a mountain before, but many of the ones I've hiked have not been easy...very taxing on the body. So, climbing a mountain, to me, represents struggle...but a struggle that leads to beauty and the tranquiilty you can experience once you can rest at the top. I loved that in the photo, the fog covered the peak, because it almost represented a "secret place" where you could meet with the Father and be covered. It speaks of a place of safety and rest, which is what Jesus promised when He said "come to me".