Acrylic – CONNIE EXPLORES

Our Sunrise

This painting is about God’s love and grace extending across space and time.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
– Luke 1:68-79

The Source

P1000036b_final_2_900 — Acrylic on canvas, 2010

This painting refers to God as our source. He is the source of life and beauty, our source of peace and truth. From him flows righteousness, justice, steadfast love, faithfulness, and mercy. This source is a river that never runs dry, a light that endures forever.

Circle of the Earth

Do you not know? Do you not hear?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,

and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

who brings princes to nothing,

and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,

scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,

when he blows on them, and they wither,

and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

To whom then will you compare me,

that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high and see:

who created these?

He who brings out their host by number,

calling them all by name,

by the greatness of his might,

and because he is strong in power

not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,

and speak, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

and my right is disregarded by my God”?

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,

and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary,

and young men shall fall exhausted;

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.

-Isaiah 40:21-31

He stretches out the north over the void

and hangs the earth on nothing.

He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,

and the cloud is not split open under them.

He covers the face of the full moon

and spreads over it his cloud.

He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

The pillars of heaven tremble

and are astounded at his rebuke.

By his power he stilled the sea;

by his understanding he shattered Rahab.

By his wind the heavens were made fair;

his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,

and how small a whisper do we hear of him!

But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

-Job 26:7-14

Far Side of the Sea

The size of our universe is beyond comprehension. Yet there is an infinite God who is everywhere, one who created this vast universe and is also intimately close. This all-powerful, all-knowing omnipresent God is always sustaining, always near, always holding all things together.

“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,’

even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.”

Psalm 139:7-12

Mountains and Valleys

“A voice cries:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.’”

-Isaiah 40:3-5

Filled

Thinking about what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to reflect the image of God.

How Do We Measure Time?

Clock_final_900 — Acrylic on canvas glued to inside of clock, 2011

How do we measure time? I spent a few hours one afternoon reading Wikipedia articles on man’s concept of time and it was quite fascinating. There are many who have put a lot of thought into this, and it is fun to think about such things sometimes. But I wonder if we are neglecting a more important aspect of time.

Every year we celebrate our birthday. We have lived one more year of life – or have we? What constitutes as life? Do we count how much life we have lived by our age, our accomplishments, our travels, our happiness, and how much others have admired and loved us? There is a saying to not count your life by years, but by friends, but I don’t think that is quite right either. Life is more than a popularity contest. So what is it? I think true life is about being in relationship with God and with one another.

This clock is about that fellowship, and it is a reminder for me to not count my life by hours, days, or years, but by love.