Everything Beautiful in it's Time

Hello, hello!! Wednesday came in a blink of an eye and I soon realized that I hadn't yet blogged this week. Ah!! No worries though because I'm here and ready and writing...and it feels so perfect.

Today I'm sharing a newly found favorite verse of mine...something that really spoke to me for this adventurous season that I'm in with my sometimes seemingly impossible dreams.  It's from a book that, from my understanding, isn't very popular among the majority of readers.  A book that when read without proper lenses, can appear to be the most depressing and unhelpful of books...Ecclesiastes.  It's written by the wisest man in history, King Solomon.  Solomon was a man who tried everything he could think of in his pursuit of happiness only to realize that there's only one thing that truly matters in life...

While reading Ecclesiastes my heart grows in gratitude as I'm reminded that we're so fortunate to have been left with words of wisdom from others before us who had to learn things the hard way.  Though there are a few different verses that have really caught my attention, there's one verse in particular that spoke louder than the rest...Ecclesiastes 3:11.  It says this, "He has made everything beautiful in it's time." Short. Simple. Sweet. And full of such truth that I daily need reminding of.  "He has made everything beautiful in it's time."  Things will never reach their full potential and full BEAUTY until the right time...His time.  Verses 1-8 in chapter 3 are also all about everything having it's time.  Time to be born, time to die. Time to cry, time to laugh.  Time to mourn, time to dance.  Time to gain, time to lose.  He continues on and on explaining that everything, literally everything, has a time.  Solomon even continues later and says in Ecclesiastes 7:8, "The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit."  He's really reeeally trying to get his point across.  When we're patient and fully obedient to God's will, then everything in our life will be fulfilled it's it's perfect time...the outcome of all we've been working for and hoping for and dreaming for will finally be reached...and it will be beautiful. 

But how do we as imperfect sinners maintain patience and obedience? That's exactly what Ecclesiastes ends with when Solomon sums up all he's learned by saying, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all." Ecclesiastes 12:13.  He couldn't be any clearer.  "For this is man's ALL." The point of life is not to work as hard as you possibly can for as long as you possibly can so that you can have as much as you possibly can.  No. Solomon tried that, he had it all.  And in the end still realized that none of that meant anything.  The ONLY thing that truly matters is having a right relationship with the Lord.  And in return, while we trust Him and listen to Him, He leads and guides us in His timing. 

And all is beautiful.
All is right.

NEW Mini Journals!!

Hello any/all of you lovely people reading this! Happy Friday :) Today has been a great day, just a really great day.  And to add to the greatness of my day, I've started a brand new series of mixed media art created by the one and only...me! Today I finished the first two brand NEW MINI JOURNALS!!! (are you jumping up and down with pure joy yet?!? I am!)

I decided to start using mini journals in order to add some more cheaper options to my Etsy shop.  These lovely little pieces are only $5 each!!!  My goal is to continue providing options in my shop for everyone! Come on over and check them out in my shop, you'll find more pictures and details here.

I'm really excited to continue making more of these because they are honestly a lot of fun to make! :)

Besides these new mini journals, I'm also getting excited about the prints I got in yesterday! I don't have pictures to show yet but I will eventually be matting the prints and putting them in my Etsy shop as well (again, more cheap options!). Getting prints made of my work allows me to sell copies of my canvas pieces for more affordable prices.  And who doesn't like affordable prices?!

I wanted to say thanks again to each and every one of you who continue to follow me on my creative business journey!  Little things like reading my blog, visiting my Etsy shop, or even just 'liking' my Facebook posts mean more than you could know.  I know that I'm still at the very beginning stages of this grand adventure but I also know that without the support and encouragement of people like YOU, this journey would be so much harder to walk.  I'm so thankful to be surrounded by people who believe in me and am so overwhelmed when I'm reminded of the One who's blessed me with these passions, talents, and dreams in the first place...it's all from Him.

Thank you Jesus for this beautifully messy season of my life. I am truly blessed.

'Create' Photo Shoot

It's me again! I'm officially done with this semester of school and summer...is...HERE!! I can almost start to smell the sea salt and sun screen on my skin! What are your plans for this summer??  Anything fun or exciting planned?  I can tell you that I honestly have absolutely no idea what my summer is going to look like...at all. BUT, I do know that I want to enjoy every moment because I know they are going to be good!

Yesterday my brother did a mini photo shoot for me in order to get some new artsy fartsy photos.  Lemme just say that a trampoline, roof, and spider monkey human with a camera can produce some pretty funny pictures...and some pretty cool ones too! Here are some of my favorites that I fixed up a little :)

 And here are some funnier ones that I just had to share...

My brother was on the roof taking these pictures and had me staring up into the sun and man was it BRIGHT!! Just uploading these makes me laugh haha! And sometimes, laughing at yourself is exactly what you need...at least it sometimes is for me.

My favorite part of the shoot was painting my hands and writing 'create' on them.  There's just something about painting on yourself that is so freeing...and so fun! And I felt like 'create' was the perfect word to describe where I am right now in my life.  Even though I definitely sill run into fears about starting a creative business and trying to have it grow, I'm going to continue fighting for what I'm passionate about...fighting for one of the things I believe I was made for.  To create.  And creating is exactly what I'm going to continue to do.

Short and sweet!

Hello everyone!! I hope all of your weekends are going great so far.  Today I'm keeping my post very short and sweet because to be honest...I don't have that much to say! Don't worry, that never lasts for very long though ;) I've been working a lot on moving forward with some of my goals for this month.  And am proud to say that I've officially ordered some prints of my artwork AND am about to order my first ever business cards!!! I'm super excited for everything to arrive so I can start advertising my art more...it's definitely time to run harder! And I can't wait. 

Well...yep, that's about it for now! Go spend the rest of your weekend enjoying the ones you love and cherishing every moment together.  I know I will be!

See you guys soon :)

Unexpected Little Blessing :)

It's Monday! What a great week ahead for all of us...why you ask? Well because, God is GOOD!! :)

This is my last week of school and I can hardly believe how quickly this semester has gone.  I can honestly say that it's truly been a great first semester of college!  Each day this week (Mon-Thurs) ends a different class for me and today was the end of my English class...I was so blessed in the most unexpected way and I just had to share it with you.

After my final exam, some shared class cookies (did I mention how awesome that class was?), and some goodbye words from my English teacher, we all started packing up to leave.  As I was packing my bag, a girl in my class walked up to me and laid a note on my desk that's envelope read "Bekah".  I was so surprised and had absolutely no idea what to expect inside this lovely note.  As everyone started leaving, I quickly opened the note eager to see what it said...and what it said was better than anything I could've ever hoped for. 

Here are a few of the lines that she wrote me... "You're probably wondering to yourself, 'why is this girl giving me a note?! How weird!'" "...there's something about you that's different.  It's not because we happen to share a similar view on a topic..." "...It's more than that- it's who you are inside.  It's because you have something most people lack- you have a heart.  People you meet will try to tell you that you're wrong for the way you are, how you see the world, what you think and feel, but it's because you're a good person and people can't relate to what they can't understand." She ends by saying, "Don't let anyone ever try to snuff out your light."

I was in shock.  And I was blessed beyond words.  This girl and I had only had a few conversations together and yet there was apparently something that stood out to her about me...and I'm 100% positive that what she saw in me was Jesus. 

And that is why I'm sharing this with all of you today.  To encourage and remind each and every one of you, that once you know Jesus and let Him live inside of you...others will see a difference.  Let His love and His light shine through you and others will notice...they might not understand what it is that makes you different if they don't yet know who HE is, but they will see it and His light will continue to touch all you encounter.  And just maybe, just maybe one of those people will tell you...and God will use it to bless and encourage you just like this girl's words were used to bless and encourage me. 

Thank you Father for blessing me today.  And thank You for the light that You're continually shining out through me...may nothing, no fears or darkness in this world, ever dim the light you've given and may every eye who reads this, be blessed by Your light too.  In Your precious name, Amen.

My planner's been Bekah-fied!

Thursday has arrived! I don't know about you, but Thursday afternoons always get me excited because I'm done with all my classes for the week and am now staring head on at the weekend!  And as I'm sure we can all agree...weekends are always something to be excited about :)

Today I'm sharing some pictures of something I actually created for myself.  Normally when I spend time doing art, it's creating pieces that I turn around and try to then sell in my Etsy shop...but today is different!  Today I'm showing off something that is NOT for sell...something that I get all to myself...

I'm excited to share with you today...my new and improved planner!!  Bought this lovely thing at Target for $12.  The cover and back were originally completely black but I knew it just couldn't stay that way for long...you could say it's been Bekah-fied!!!! (or if you think I'm being too weird now, just forget about that last part).

Ta Da!!! What do you think?! I'm very happy with how it turned out and must be honest and say...I haven't missed the boring black one bit!!

Have a beautifully blessed weekend everyone. Go out and smile at someone :)

Welcome to my room!!

Hello and happy Tuesday everyone! The last few days have been absolutely crazy...great, but crazy! And I know I've got a few more 'crazy' days ahead of me still. There's always a comfort in the back of my head though through those long never ending days..."I get to go home to my room."

It may sound silly to some to think of a room as being a comfort, but my bedroom has always ALWAYS been an extremely important part of my life.  Why?  Well, not only do I loooove interior design and pride myself in the fact that I get to design an entire room to myself BUT my bedroom is also my place of peace.  When I was little and having a hard day I'd go to my room, shut the door, turn off the lights, light some candles, and soak to worship music...and this His PEACE that 'surpasses all understanding' would come...and everything was okay again...and I was okay again.  And my room continues to be that same place of peace, His peace, even today.

So, here it is!  A glimpse further into my world...into my room!  You'll also see some of my favorite things in my room...little thrifty finds and cherished gifts.  My dream is to one day have my own art studio but for now you'll see a peek at my current 'art studio' in my room where all of my pieces are created!  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

View when you first walk in

And when you turn right...closet and pictures of me and Andrew through the years!

Now looking left from the closet...my 'art studio' so to say!! Here is where all of my pieces are created! One of my favorite parts of my room :)

Still moving left...here's one of my favorite pictures of my room.  Hello gorgeous lights and thrify finds like my pretty lace curtains!

Continue left from my bed and you'll find my keyboard and more pictures of friends and loved ones!

And finally reach back to my dresser!

And now some of my favorite parts...My Kelly Rae Roberts calendar behind my door with of course...more pictures!!

One of my all time favorite thifty finds that now hold art supplies

Lights!!! And more thrifty finds including my flower picture, shelf, and clock.  Also love the Ugandan coke bottle and old picture of me and Andrew :)

Again, more thrifty finds including my antique flower vase and tin box, and of course my beautiful Ugandan elephant!

I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek into my room.  I truly loved being able to share it with you!! I pray that you are filled with His PEACE the rest of this evening and through the rest of this week.  Thanks for stopping by :)

May Goals And New Canvas!

Me again! :) Hope all of your Thursdays have been fantastic!  Its almost the weekend, hold on in there...just one more day!!  I'm going to start by doing one of my favorite things...sharing one of my new art pieces with you!  Below is my newest canvas called "Fly".  I created this the other night and actually ended up covering up an older canvas I made a few weeks ago (don't worry, it wasn't any of the ones I've shown you guys!)  The old canvas I covered with this new one was something I had made and ended up never finishing.  SO, instead of having an unfinished canvas staring at me every day, I now have this one smiling at me!! Let me just tell you a little secret...I really really like it :)

I always love how I end up coming up with my pieces because when I start, I never know what it's going to end up looking like.  It's always a complete surprise...even for me!  I started this one by covering the old piece with white paint and then lots of book papers...lots and lots!! Then I just happened to notice that one of the torn book papers I had added kind of resembled the shape of a bird...and the rest they say is history! This pretty red bird came to life and had a little piece of wisdom to share too...  "Break open the cage that holds you back, spread your wings and fly."  Thank you Lord for those words!  Help me truly break from any cage still holding me back (fear is always the biggest one) and may that freedom bring me soaring to places I never thought I'd be!  

Here are a few more pictures of 'Fly'.  Find details and purchase information at my Etsy shop located here. 

Now it's goal time! I want to be honest and say that I unfortunately did not complete all of my April goals...oh no!! :( But I was close, very very close.  Here's a little break down of how my April goals went...  I ended up creating four complete pieces of art instead of my goal of creating six (definitely one of the things I have trouble finding the time to do!), I was able to research the boring 'legalities' (would love to continue learning more though), I was able to set up a free accounting system online, I continued blogging twice a week (wrote an entire post about changing part of this goal which has helped...a lot!), AND last but not least, I tried to work at least 15 hours a week on my creative business (I need to start tracking my hours down in my planner because my log time 'notes' in my phone deleted itself...wahhh!)

Did I accomplish everything? No. But am I excited and ready to try again?? Yes! I've been dreaming big for this month ahead guys and there are lots of things I'm very excited about :) Here's what I've got planned...

Goals for the month of May:

1.  Get business cards made and start passing them out out out!!

2.  Figure out how I want my 'shipping presentation' to look 

3.  Get prints made for at least one canvas.

4.  Make at least one sale on Etsy!   

5.  Try to actually create SIX pieces of artwork this month.

6.  Continue blogging twice a week.

7.  Continue trying to work on my creative business for at least 15 hours a week and actual track it this month in my new planner!

How am I going to meet all of those goals you ask?? Well, here's my game plan... Make steps of what it'll take to reach each goal, put each of those individual steps into my planner (just got one and am so excited to see if it helps improve my time management!), and share some of those steps with people around me to help me stay accountable.  That's the plan, so we'll see how it goes! 

What about you? Have you been thinking about what you'd like to accomplish during this beautiful month of May? I'd encourage you to take a few minutes sometime soon to write down a few goals for May...and hey, maybe at the end of the month you'd even feel like sharing them on here?! And when you're thinking of your goals make sure you remember to..."Break open the cage that holds you back, spread your wings and fly!"   

Talk to you all again soon :)