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?