Felicia's Painting

The Song of the Fiery & the Gentle

So I thought I'd finally share the painting that I made this past fall for Felicia and Jeremy's home.  I ended up naming this painting: The Song of the Fiery and the Gentle  - as a representation of the couple's relationship.   The explanation is below.  


Enjoy!

In their house

It matched perfectly

The Process

 My Wonderful Art Teacher: Charlotte Krusi

Knifing the poppy - Oil Paint

Memorial Day weekend, I stayed at the Krusi's house over the lake and worked on this painting all weekend.

The Song of the Fiery and the Gentle

Felicia & Jeremy

September 25, 2010

Jeremy and Felicia, my dear friends, it is an absolute privilege to have been asked to paint the painting for your house!  I feel as if I can be part of your home and family now; that I may be shared with every person that visits your home.  

May you be reminded of my love for you and 100% support of you.  Just as I will stand beside you at your wedding, I support you 100% in your choice to join your lives together.  I support who you are, individually, and believe in who you are together.  I believe that you will be a beautiful refection of Jesus Christ in your love for each other, I believe in your passion and submission to God, and I believe in your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to go and do whatever he directs.  I am committed to praying for you.  You can call on me if you ever need anything. 

The Fiery Poppy – The Bride

The right panel with the bright red poppy on it represents the bride – Felicia. 

Felicia – just as the poppy bursts out of the painting with its fiery red so are you – completely unique, you are one of a kind, you attract others to yourself, and you have fiery passion on the inside.  You have big dreams breathed from the Father himself of reaching children in other nations, affecting millions with one powerful drop of God’s love, and many more.  As the poppy carries over onto the other panel – you are inspiration to many including your groom.   You are an inspiration to dream; to live life wildly like there is no tomorrow, to love deeply, and to know the heart of God.  And like the petals of a poppy are thin and transparent, you are a delicate soul.  You flourish under gentle care and good soil, which allows you to blow freely in the wind.

 

The Gentle Lion – The Groom

The left panel with the carved lion on it represents the groom – Jeremy.

Jeremy - Look closely, you may not see the lion right away but he is there, and he holds a foundational role in the structure of the painting.  Look into his face you can see that it is undoubtedly strong, powerful, even fierce, but it is also gentle.  It is the most respected animal in the jungle, with the most authority.  Jeremy, you are a foundational man, you may not be the flashy, loud person in the middle of the room but you are the concrete foundation of the building.  Without you the whole structure would fall.  As Felicia is an inspiration to you, you provide the confidence for her to be free, she can trust your decisions, and put faith in your consistency – You are her soil.  As a man of God, you have the respect of others and are a good leader.  Though you have the strength to demolish you know how to treat a flower with gentleness.

 The Song – When Two Hearts become One

Who would have thought the Fiery and the Gentle would come together and make such a beautiful couple.  When two come together in love and unity they make a beautiful song.  You fit together so melodically – and it creates the most pleasing harmony.  Your love is a song.  As you continue to inspire and up build one another in this journey of life, may your song never end.

Love  -

Shyla

HOME

HOME

What is home, and why is it so hard to leave?  Sitting at the airport there are hundreds leaving home, off to college, doing business, taking vacation, and going off to war, the other half are coming home. 

So what is home exactly?  Is it a house with four walls, is it a warm fireplace with a home cooked meal on the table, is it where your family is at?

Yes, I think that home is a little bit of each:

Home - Security, a roof over your head and parents who support you financially

Home  - Warmth, homemade meals, a place to lay your head, and a family who loves and   
                                supports  you

Home -  History, the treasure chest that holds all of your childhood memories; the envelope of

         the first two decades of your life.

Can you identify?  Do you know what I'm talking about? 

I bet either this makes your heart ache with desire to be home again, or sounds completely foreign to you.  No matter what kind of 'home' a person has experienced, I think that there is a longing in every heart for a home. 

I believe that the Almighty God of the universe created the home as a necessary greenhouse for the human heart to grow properly and healthily in relationship with Him.  It is proven that a child's temperament and outlook on life is formed in the first 5 years of his/ her life.  For a person to have  a healthy view of themselves and know how to form whole relationships with others he/ she needs to receive nurture from the mother and protection from the father.  In this way the man and women are each a reflection of God to young, formable souls. 

God desires to draw all men to himself - to Love them well - and complete His good plan for the world.

Men and Women - we must play our proper part as mothers and fathers. 

If you did not have a home for your heart to grow - know that God is good and loving and He is after you every day of your life that you may know Him. 

Trust Him. 

My Personal Experience

The Lord spoke to me when I was 18, I was on a short mission trip in Baja, Mexico and about ready to leave for Texas for a 1 year internship away from my home in Ohio.  As I began to feel the anxiety and fear of leaving all that I knew, he spoke to me and said - Shyla, I am your home, I reside in your heart, and you will have a home there.

I have been in Texas for about 4 years now.  It is hear that I have discovered what my gifts are and know how and I want to impact the world.  I am amazed at how good and kind God has been to me as I am away from home.  He has provided some of the best friends, and dear families who have taken me in under their wing.   I have learned how to cultivate a loving community of people wherever I go, and have become even more endeared to my family at home.

It is one of the greatest desires of my heart to create home wherever I go and to love people well.  I believe that being a wife and mother is one of my highest callings, and I desire for my home to be a place for those to come who don't have one.

 Some of my favorite Things  about home (figuratively and literally):

It is where:

• I am known - understood
• I am believed in - the best is seen in you and encouraged
• There is help - when you are struggling, loving hands guide you back
• There are couches to sit on and blankets to cozy up in
• You can sit down for a cup of tea with your mom or invite a lady over to share it with you and share your heart
• Meals are made and put on the table
• Grandma lives
• There is food in the pantry that you have full access to
• I have my own room
• I can sit on the front porch in the morning
• I don't have to pretend
• I can cry

Merry Christmas! 

I hope that you enjoy home this Christmas!  Most of all know that God is a home for your heart!

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way,"

Psalm 46:1,2

"The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake.  But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel."

Joel 3:16

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Psalm 91:1,2

What are your favorite things about home?

Autumn Reflections

Autumn is my absolute most favorite season of the year - and Ohio is one of the best places to experience it.  I haven't been able to go home during the fall months in 3 years.  :)  This week at home as been an exciting blessing to me.  

Mom and Good Food!
One of my favorite things about home is spending time with my dear friend, mom.  She is a friend, the person that knows me the best, and the person that I am most comfortable with in the whole world.  I think it should be this way with every mom and daughter.  Thanks mom for being an awesome Mom!


Whenever I come home we have great food - tea times, shopping trips, coffee, chocolate, and good chats.  The first day I was home.... I slept in, with enough time to take a morning run on a beautiful crisp autumn lane, and sat down for breakfast with mom - Egg sandwiches and Green Tea Latte's (Oregon Chai)!

The Wedding
The reason for my little vaca was not actually to see fall in Ohio but for my Best Friend's wedding!  Felicia Diane Byler (Now Miller!) got married yesterday.  I dedicated this week fully to her and took so much joy in it.  It was good to have precious sweet moments with her: to help her plan and fulfill Maid of Honor duties, to help keep her mother sane, to throw her a bachelorette party, to pray for her, to present to her the oil painting I did for hers and Jeremy's home and hang it on their wall!, to reminisce about old times and cry with her the night before her wedding, to help zip her into her "Perfectly Felicia" gown, to hold her bouquet and fix her train, to make a toast to her and give my best friend away to her husband "To Felicia and Jeremy, best friends for life" .......


Love
.....But the most heart wrenching moment of the entire experience was when I was standing on stage and I realized that Love is worth living for.  Felicia is someone that I have loved and allowed to love me.  There are levels of love that we will experience more and more deeply over time if we allow ourselves to.  Some though, never choose to.  There are some that never love at all.  Most people love to some extent and love well - but I want to be someone that loves with my whole heart!!  Unashamedly, not holding back, vulnerably.  What is life if we don't love???  Answer that question for me!  


I'm not sure how that actually looks - but may that be the purpose of my heart!

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us

1 John 4:7

[ God's Love and Ours ] Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Song of Solomon 8:6

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

Ephesians 5:2 

and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

John 15:13

 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

4 Hour Pumpkin Spice Latte
I'm currently sitting at the DFW airport waiting for Sharon to arrive so we can drive back to Garden Valley together.  This provided a 4 hour refection time which I started with a venti Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks!  First one of the season!!  It lasted me nearly the whole time. 




Please share your thoughts on Loving Deeply......

Runway

Fashion for the Runway

Yesterday Morning we put on a Fashion Show for the girls at Teenmania to talk about modesty....'Get Your Fash' On'!   We went all out.....all of the DD's dressed like runway models....extreme and dramatic!!  My favorite part about my outfit was the Gold Bow wrapped around my head.  This 'happened to me' in the bathroom.....Sarah Nicholas, my fellow DD, says..."And what do you need yet?....grabbed this sash wrapped it around my head ....and said "there!" :)  

We had a blast.  

Some things that we shared with the girls: 

Modesty is a way of thinking about yourself...respecting yourself
It is a way of respecting men by helping them guard their eyes
Our beauty is a [refection] of the Lords beauty which is 
pure and lovely and ultimately gives Him glory 
Women desire to be lovely, seen, admired.... it is the way we are made, 
but we are intended to find our affirmation in Christ and not by attracting people 
We are to be obsessed with the image of God and not man 
 [May our image draw eyes to God] 

Art and A Home

Weekend Escape at the Krusi's

Awakening My He[art]

So Monday rolls around, its a week away from Labor Day weekend, and I'm trying to decide what I want to do.  God forbid I not take advantage of the 3 day weekend and travel to see a friend or find some kind of adventure.  I find out that all of my friends are going to IHOP {International House of Prayer} in Kansas City - which is a great steal for a spiritual retreat.... but I wasn't feeling it.  By Thursday I finally figured out what I really wanted to do with my weekend - what I really wanted was to spend the weekend off campus, but close by, retreating at a home.... So I prayed that the Lord would provide someway for me to do that.  

I ended up at the Krusi's house. The Lord answered my prayers in every way and nurtured parts of my heart that I had been left unattended for awhile.  

The Krusi's are a Swiss family with 5 grown kids (Hanz and Charlotte grew up in Switzerland and came to America when they were adults).  Charlotte is an skilled painter whom I got to know through helping her set up art shows at Teen Mania.

10 am on Saturday Morning - after sleeping in and taking time to feel beautiful.... I drive into the Krusi's long driveway in the woods. As I open the front doors of their brick house I can see straight out to the lake in their backyard through the wall of windows and walk into a room of high ceilings covered with Charlotte's paintings.

Charlotte greets me with a warm hello and quickly makes me feel at home with a cup of tea (Orange Roibous) then, takes me out to the porch for breakfast. 

What I thought would be an apartment to stay in and a porch to sit on became a family to spend a weekend with and a woman who awakened apart of me that has been asleep for a long time.  

I enjoyed many parts of my weekend 

A few to note: 

• Mornings on the Porch overlooking the Lake
• European Food/ Swiss Traditions (Small spoons and forks... Fried carrot and apple squares, bread and cheese for lunch, tasty pasta (Made by her son Stephen), really yummy salad, and most of all swiss chocolate). 
• Inviting friends over to join me (as the Krusi's love to have company)
• Seeing Jupiter and 4 of its moons for the first time through Stephens telescope at Moon Hill 
• Painting with Charlotte during the service on Sunday at CCF
• Canoe rides
• Painting lessons with Charlotte
• Quality time with their family

This weekend was packed with beautiful moments, but amidst it all something truly extraordinary happened!  

The artistic part of me awakened.  As I spent time with Charlotte I began to be softened by her free spirit, even her home carried a sense of peace and freedom; a relief from a very fast and high paced executive atmosphere I have been raised by at Teen Mania.  With every brush stroke, discovering the workings of oil paint, a very familiar part of myself began to come alive.  

I forgot how much art is apart of who I am.... what a gifting it is that the Lord placed inside of me.  Two 9-11 year old girls came to help us paint on Sunday morning and all of a sudden I put myself in their shoes and remembered that my first memory in life was when I was a year old sitting at that old gray cardboard table coloring.  My childhood is filled with these kind of moments: coloring in the lines before kindergarten, coloring contests, creating my own art projects, bead and braiding kits, art class, making cards, scrap-booking, and finally painting.  I don't know when this part of me was set to the side... but I am so glad that it was awakened again.  

Charlotte said that it seemed like I was "starving for creativity."  :) 

My heart truly comes alive when I'm outside, in a refreshing atmosphere, especially a home and nurtured by loving family.  It is in this place that my senses come alive and the Lord speaks to me in so many ways.  When I paint, or draw these heavenly thoughts become expressions. 

I pray that the Lord would show me how to allow this part of me to flow in who I am, and how use it for His glory.  It has been so good for me to develop strong leadership and business skills at Teen Mania, now I think its time for me to learn how to integrate the very artistic - sensing/ feeling side of who I am into that.  

Thank-you Lord for nurturing my heart and thank-you Charlotte for being who you are and taking me under your wing.  

I completed the painting for Felicia's home - but you will have to wait until after the wedding until I  post it on this blog. :)

I also accomplished one of my life goals this wknd too: Taking Painting Lessons

Shalom