Tune My Heart

Words from a rich old hymn provide comfort and encouragement even today. This huggable pillow is available in four sizes, square and lumbar. Click image for details.

(More pillows designs are available here.)

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Surprise Bloom

Prints available

Gardening is one of my favorite parts of Spring and Summer. I love watching
the dead of Winter stripped away and replaced with new sprigs of green peek-
ing up through the soil.

And sometimes I spot surprises that I didn’t physically plant myself.
Helped along by birds or a seed-scattering breeze, those plants often become my favorites
of the season.

This year, though, I noticed two tall, leafy plants hugging the fenceline.
I had no idea what they were or where they came from, but kept an eye on
them to see whether they were some oddball weed, or a volunteer plant. I
was puzzled by their uniform size. Asked my husband if we had planted some-
thing I’d forgotten. Nope, he said. Must be another garden surprise.

Then I saw it – a single pale pink peony. And like someone waking up from
a deep sleep, things became crystal clear.  Last summer, I’d bought two peony plants that
were sitting on a sales table at a peony farm. We were on the way to the car
and decided to try to save those poor wilted plants. Who can resist a good plant sale?

I’d followed the tag’s instructions, planting each of them in a hole twice as deep and wide as their root-choked pot. I fed them with plant food and checked them every couple of days. Made sure to keep them watered, but not too often. Unfortunately, they shriveled into a flat heap among my flowers, where I let them turn crispy brown and forgot about them.

Until this Spring!

Life isn’t always what it appears to be. On the surface, we might make snap decisions about a situation or person or give up in the face of disappointment. But I’ve learned that for every circumstance there’s a backstory–details that are sometimes known only to God.  He works behind the scenes, bringing new life from seemingly wasted years. He holds all the details, working at changing hearts, attitudes, and relationships.

While we fret and wonder when, how, and why, God’s busy making all things new.My job isn’t to figure it out, but to look expectantly for the surprise bloom.

And be grateful when it appears.

Nature-inspired home decor products can be found here, with free shipping (worldwide) through the midnight, July 10.

April 5th is Coming!

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas

I’m looking forward to April 5th. That’s the day Etsy (a marketplace where I’ve been sharing my photography and digital art since 2009) rolls out its new look. No more small shop banners, but a full-width header designed by each shopkeeper. Here’s a peek at my new header, a taste of the vibrant colors I enjoy working with – colors found in Nature launched way back when, when God created it all for us to enjoy. That’s what drives my art, a sense of gratitude for the amazing textures, patterns, colors, shadows and light found in the everyday sights we so often miss in the rush of life.

Visit my shop when you have a chance. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.