Peace

This pirate ship is for my grandson. He is a big pirate fan. The illustration came from a book about pirates illustrated by David Shannon. I found it at a thrift store.Shannon chose to do his version in acrylic. I chose pen, ink and watercolor. I hope he doesn't mind me stealing his idea.

I found this dove image on pinterest a few days ago and the graphic design really  spoke to me. People of many colors working to coexist on the same small planet. It is a pretty image. My disabilty came about when a  person of color attacked me. Peace is something I struggle with. My life used to be so much different. I struggle to accept my current circumstances and my position in the world. Somedays it is difficult. I drive a car that is almost fifteen years old. I struggle with bouts of self-pity. My spiritual life has been the most affected. I really struggle with bitterness when I think about where I was twenty years ago and where I am at now. My concept of a loving God took a beating, pardon the pun. How does a person come to accept that a violent individual can change ones life in an instant? Depression can be a very difficult thing to come to terms with. It is late. I 'm tired.

      Forgive me for my bout with self-pity. Happy holidays and God bless. Dale

All Things Work Together to the Good...

I drew this many years ago. My hand was the model. I drew it because the quote really hit me. God made you and I and we are the stewards of our planet. We are here to try to experience its beauty and to care for it.. How do we do this? How do we stop our rampant consumerism and put Mother Earth first?
    Something was on my mind today. My disability is the result of a random act of violence. Tonight I received a survey about racial equality and the fairness of our system. My assailant was a person of color and the crime is unsolved. I struggle with letting this go and being the best person I can be. Yet, I have horrible dreams. I suffer from PTSD. It is a difficult proposition to forgive this person.. Somedays I struggle to the point that the only thing that I accomplish is being able to not take my feelings out on those I love.
     Yesterday I did a blog entry and deleted it. It was too harsh. It was about violence. I tried to let it go. I had to pray for my assailant.Sometimes it is very difficult. There is just so much hatred in our world. I accepted Jesus Christ into my life many years ago and recently renewed my commitment. I have a lot to live for. I have those in my life that I cherish.

     I am an artist. My reason for being an artist is so that I can focus on the beauty of God's world and I don't have time to hate. I CANNOT HATE. This is my goal. Somedays I succeed, many, many days I fail."Hate robs us of the sunlight of the spirit". -Bill Wilson

       Don't hate. Stop the violence. Happy Holidays. God Bless. Dale