Life in Transition...

Wow...my life is surely in a transtional state right now...right now my husband and I are working on getting our home ready for one of the most important changes of all...I can't really say exactly what it is yet...but I'm hoping by next week I can reveal the whole situation.  All I can share is that it involves giving up my Art room...this has been the most challenging but I know that the sacrifice is worth it.

Now I know it's not a serious sacrifice like giving up your life but to an artist it's a sacrifice of what you do and who you are...I know my life is going to change dramatically and I have accepted that and always known that eventually I would be in this place of life.  Even though I have accepted this...it has been challenging for me...I'm very happy about what's going to evolve in our life but I am also a little sad...which I cannot ignore...I know that in time my husband is going to build a room addition so I can get my studio back and that my 'Art space' will temporarily moved to our dining area so all is not lost!

Soo right now we have been rearranging our home to accomodate our upcoming life altering situation.  On Tuesday my dad & brother Sal helped my husband Art switch our tv into the front room and also my brother helped install 2 new light fixtures that we needed for me to move my stuff into our dining area...I will be posting pics soon but I want to wait until these rooms are completed in order to show a before and after shot! :)  My main problem right now is trying to figure out what to do with all this 'stuff' that I have in my art room...I sooo wish I had some help with that...Lord do I need help with that!!!

Well gotta get back to work...keep us in your prayers and God bless! :)  Gina

Finding Good In The Ugliness

Faith is reacting positively to a negative situation.
- Dr. Robert Schuller

Recently there have been some things in life I have experienced that I could have easily became extremely upset about and would have years ago...maybe even months ago...but the Lord surely has been changing me and I have been able to resist jumping into a reaction that could not be so pretty.  Without going into too many details...this last Saturday my husband and I experienced a group of people that were a little racist...little comments I overheard and the feeling that we were looked down upon.  I think I was more shocked that it happened to us...I know it goes on...you hear about it on tv and stuff but to personally experience it was a bit disappointing...to say the least.  Sooo, I have decided that instead of getting upset I am going to use that experience to be as one of my upcoming series of children's stories about values and morals that I have been planning to start writing.  The title will either be 'Love Thy Neighbor' or 'Love One Another'...still thinking that over!

*New Artwork from my 'Song Bird' Series titled 'Morning Praises'

What never ceases to amaze me is how the Lord will use others to help me see good in our humanity and to also encourage me to keep doing what I do...as it is so easy to become discouraged when you feel unwelcome sometimes.  So I thought I'd share a few things that really picked me up and helped me push forward!  Now this 1st 'pick me up' was something that my Uncle Raul posted about this blog on my FB page...he knew nothing of what we encountered and how I was feeling a tiny bit discouraged so what he wrote was exactly what I needed to hear:

"GINA YOUR SITE IS VERY ENJOYABLE FOR THESE REASONS.
WE ARE ALWAYS BETTER FOR THE VISIT.
YOUR SITE ALWAYS PRESENTS A POSITIVE OUTLOOK.
YOUR SITE IS FILLED WITH POSITIVE THOUGHTS AND HOPE.
YOU PRESENT YOUR FEELINGS OF GOODNESS AND FAITH.
YOUR SITE RECHARGES OTHERS THAT NEED TO FEEL THE WARMTH OF KNOWING THAT THERE ARE OTHERS WHO ALSO STRUGGLE.
PLUS YOU REINFORCE THE BELIEFS THAT PEOPLE CAN OVERCOME ANYTHING WITH FAITH.
YOURS IS A LIGHT IN THE MASSIVE DARKNESS THAT CAN BE THE WORLD.
THANK YOU!"  

(FYI, My Uncle Raul is not the type to say something unless he means it so that is what makes this special! :)  

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This next 'pick me up' is also a reminder that the Lord did not gift me for nothing!!  A dear friend of mine ordered my 1st children's story 'The Rose In Floralsopar' that I wrote & illustrated for her boys and she posted this picture on my FB page:

"David reading to Davin♥ The Rose in Floralsopar...A book Written By a Dear friend of mine:)So Talented!! Its such a cute childrens book.We Love them! I'm so Happy we Have one for each of our boys:)" - Carina F.

OMG!!  This soo made my day...seeing his face as he is reading my book...priceless!  I will treasure this photo for always! :)

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There were other things that the Lord showed to me that I was overwhelmed by the abundance of it!So in the end of what I experienced...I know that the Lord was teaching me to find Good in all the ugliness...sometimes it's hard but if you look hard enough you can find it...and I did!  Thank you Lord for that!  :)  God bless and love you all!  Cre8tvlyYrs, Gina