carrying moonbeams home in a jar

I've had this song in my head all afternoon!
lovely!



and just because she's completely awesome...

on a white sandy beach

I felt inspired to play my ukulele today,
after so very long
[check out the dust!!]
since it's a Hawaiian instrument
(this particular model)
I gave it a Hawaiian name
'Kauanoe' - the misty rain

one of my favourite songs from one of my favourite artists



my lovely Kauanoe




so dusty!!


music seems to sound happier & lighter on a ukulele

things that made me smile today
- putting clean sheets on my bed &
dreaming of how good they will feel @ bedtime
- brushing my teeth
- playing 'first day of my life' on kauanoe
- the smells of my dad's minestrone soup

bloggystuff

my blog is undergoing renovations.
trying to make a new header
this one is interim...
and I love my new background!
but the current header makes it all look way too pink now!!

2 musos I love

friday never hesitates

I tried to finish the painting today,
but no such luck.
I ended up painting over it all
about 3 times.

and I am blank.
I mean.. I just have to hit that one point
where it all crystallises and clarity ensues.
Soon.

I need some Posca Paint pens
I first encountered them in year 5
and ever since, they have held a special place in my heart
the kind where voices are hushed and awe
is all around
haha.. I know.
nerdy or what. they are just pens after all
to some, perhaps.
to me, they are completely amazing.

so now I just need to find some.
I don't recall seeing any for a long time in newsagents, etc
I really don't feel like traipsing all over Sydney for them.
on a vaguely related note,
I know what I want to give a friend for Christmas.

Some Beautiful Things

1. eating dinner with my ma, just the 2 of us, and just talking.

2. rediscovering my love for posca pens & getting stoked on
all the things I dream I'm going to paint.

3. uplifting words from a dear friend.. and someone I consider
to be a mentor of sorts.


and this song... always makes me smile

a day in the life of pictures

strands of my ma's fijian broom

some of my favourite passages and my beautiful bookmark from a very dear friend



the beginnings of a painting that has to be finished soon


a tangle of old quilling paper

what I'm reading

I liked the way they looked in the bowl

some of my currently homeless & displaced art supplies

old dried paint in one of my palettes

part of one of my old paintings, which I was reacquainted with this week at a friend's house, where it lives on her living room wall

turn my water into wine

I hate those days when
there is so much to say
but when you are standing right in front
of the person you meant to
speak these words of love and beauty and joy to...
...your breath catches in your throat and
your heart panics at the thought of being seen
that clearly...
..and yet, all you want is to be seen that deeply.
to be Known and loved for everything
that's found there

It happened to me today.
sigh.
learning to trust is so hard sometimes.
and regret sucks.

so.. just because I can...
here are My 5BT since last week:

1. long, warm cuddles.

2. feeling that deep deep craving for more of God
while going through my day. I could barely finish
peeling the potatoes at one stage, I just wanted to drop it all
& sit at His feet.

3. falling into the arms of dear friends when
things feel so rough, knowing I'm falling into
the arms of Jesus.

4. my first taste of pumpkin crunch cake,
made by her, with Love.

5. standing in the truth, especially when
it feels like a lie.

my soul can't dance without You

I haven't been blogging lately, due to a really bad cold
knocked me for a six and I was out for over a week.
Still not feeling fully better, but at least I'm not in bed anymore.

at the beginning of this year, God said He was
going to to teach me to fight
and boy has He.
to learn one has to practice, right?
well, I've had a lot of things to practice with.

it's all worth it in the end.
the darkest of nights is always worth
the radiant dawn to follow.
so, I press on and keep my eyes on Jesus
even when things feel blurred and
truth is all topsy-turvy,
He's still worth it.
He's still Love beyond all imagination.

I want to be found faithful.

He's been restoring so much to my broken bleeding heart.
Opening up old scar tissue that I just wanted to ignore.
The kind that is still beating and red and torn
just under the surface.
Gently washing it clean and fighting away the darkness
as He holds me in His arms.
A love I cannot understand,
no matter how hard I try.
I just want to be Lost in Him.
____________

I have missed blogging my 3BT,
so here are my 10BT lately, to make up for time lost.

1. walking along a beautiful beach with 2 people who
embody beauty and love to me.

2. songs that move, shake, mould and break me.
The kind that come straight down from heaven and through
amazing hearts that are in constant pursuit of His heart.

3. walking in the grey, shadowy light of a rainy day,
drinking in the beauty of the fallen amber leaves at my feet
strewn along the path, just for me.

4. siting alone and feeling the brokenness of my heart and
the impending despair that was once such a close
and constant companion, and crying so hard
that I feel my eyes will fall out into my hands,
only to have my Lover say, I'm with you. I cry every tear with you.

5. the pure joy and simplicity of a bento box and green tea.
each bite taking me to new heights of gladness and grinning
like an idiot in the restauran while people look at me and
wonder, what's so great?

6. that joyful moment when the phone rang,
and a precious embodiment of love in my life spoke to me.
I'd been waiting all day for them to call!

7. the restoration of hope in my heart and life.

8. the contrast of colours in nature and people
as the weather turns colder and winter descends
to wrap us in its wonder.

9. feeling the pain in my leg subside, even for a little while
and knowing that it's already healed no matter my experience,
because my Lover heals every disease every time.

10. the ability to give love and to accept love.
and through that, to learn the deeper, mysterious
aspects of its wonder and power.

and one more Beautiful Thing

11. meeting someone who can make me blush,
but not in an embarrassing or gross way. Pure.
I love that.

spatial intelligence

so I haven't been out to my new painting area
since I set it up the other day.
but today my dad came home, visited my site
and declared that he now had no way of reaching
his tools and whatnot, so everything had to move
haha!
sigh.. ah well.
it was a little too cramped anyhow.

it's not just for painting.. it's for all my arty
and creative stuff.
in the end, a dusty garage is not really that suitable.
sigh!

I'm thinking of buying one of those bunks from IKEA
where instead of a bed on the bottom section, it's a desk.
it would come in marvellously handy
and open up my room a little.

but I don't fancy climbing up and down
onto that bed.
I've spent a large portion of my life
sleeping on the top bunk of a bed..
maybe I'm over it?
haha yes I think I am.
and yet I'm still cramped and without an Area.
hmmm.
what to do.

powerful

paint & spitfires

i got my nursing registration today!
i'm all official now.
and it was all only by the grace of God.
wow. uni is really over now.
onto the next adventure I say!

so I finally found a spot for my painting adventures to be based.
it's in the garage, surrounded by my dad's
tools, model-making paraphernalia and dust.
it's a little cramped
but cosy in that hardware kind of way.

forgive the dodgy resolution,
left my camera @ a friend's and used my phone for these

i'm dreaming of my solid wood paint box
which is to come really soon

I am dark yet Lovely

some things are quite rough to deal with
at the moment.
but it's not about me.. it's about God.


I want to live before Your eyes
I want to stay before Your, gaze
So keep me steady here

I want to run the race
I want to keep the faith
Help me win the prize
Of the knowledge of You

I want to be found faithful
I want to be found steady
I want to be found faithful
Until the end

by Justin Rizzo, IHOP






I am dark yet lovely.
In my weakness I am still lovely to God.

carried away

dark eyes
liquidy grey
apple juice and coffee delight

red and white
paint me down
swirl me round

cloudy sentiments and inane words
melancholy brew
carry me

[ by Losana ]

honey milk wine fire

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
~ ephesians 3:16-19

all of me
for all of Him.

stand by me

walking amongst the trees

here is part of a song
I wrote last week
a few of my favourite lines...


Hand in hand in hand
Feet entwined in the sand
Mangoes and moonbeams and melodies
Making me smile

Breathless glances find a way to make
Dreams come to life
Breathless glances find me a way
To your heart

Whispers and raindrops and cherry trees
Silhouettes of love