"Party of Seven" Painted Pony Pulls Horse Painting by Laurie Pace

"Party of Seven"
18 x 27 inches
Acrylic on Canvas

Contact me to purchase: Laurie

© Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009

“I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with Joy." 2 Corinthians 7:4

The Painting: Golden Acrylics and Liquitex Acrylics were on the palette as I began this pull. 97 percent of my pulls are in Oil, so an acrylic one is rare. The paint does not respond in the same manner, but I am able to double up on my layers and the dimensional aspect of the subject.

The Thought: I've got the Joy Joy Joy Joy down in my heart....that is a line from a song I sang with my children as they were growing up.

What is joy to you? For my youngest son, joy should be every day having fun and living life. To my oldest son, joy is his buddies and time with that World Warfare game. To my daughter, joy seems to be getting everything done. Finding a completion in a job well done.

We all seem to have our own thoughts on Joy. Joy is a blink when considering the list above. Joy is a simple passing moment or feeling and it only surfaces for short times. It has to be "fed" to exist in their lives. Our daughter is most aware that there is joy in the fleeting sense with each completion of something, but in her heart she knows the lasting joy from knowing the Lord. She knows the suffering that comes with true joy. She and her husband lost their young son several years ago...but from that horrible loss came the sweetest joy as the two of them found their walk with the Lord. Enduring something like this, or thinking of Jesus dying on the cross moment by moment bleeding to death...it is amazing how it produces Joy. Losing a child is not fun. Enduring the cross was not fun. The joy is in living to the glory and praise of God.

Your experiences may bring a tough reality to your life. Stay centered with God and live as He would want you to live in accordance to His Will and His Plan. Joy is not more money, or more things...Joy is in the "being" and the "giving" to others. Experience the everlasting overflowing JOY of the Lord. It is this joy that will comfort you and give you strength.

Joyfully live for God today.

Laurie

"Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

"Sunset Sail" Contemporary Sailboat Seascape Oil Painting by Laurie Pace

'Wind at Sunset'
18 x 27 inches
Oil on Canvas


SOLD

Contact me for your own sailboat commission: Laurie

© Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2006

"No one whose hope is in you, will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse." Psalm 25:3

The Painting: An oldie from 2006. Fresh strokes of heavy oils created the movement of light in the sky casting the vivid brightness onto the water. Sky and water maintain the colors and the fluidity of the water appears to take over the clouds in the sky, all running closely together.


The Thought:

When you are anticipating something, are you waiting on God to do it His way or your way?
I can answer that one...my way. I work really hard making things happen...not good huh? Yeah, I know, I have found out the hard way.

Research tells me the Hebrew work 'qavah' means to bind together, look patiently, to wait or hope eagerly. The second close word in Hebrew is 'yachal' which also means wait or trust. A third Hebrew word seen in translating is 'damam'. This means to be dumb or grow silent and still, but also can mean wait. No matter which word, wait is wait and wait requires the passage of time. If you tie in faith, you have more involved than the passage of time...you now bring in expectation and hope. If you mentally braided the two words together, waiting and hoping... you are beginning to understand.

Waiting with hope will bring in another step based in knowledge and trust. If we do not have trust, we will be anxious and more tempted to take things into our own hands. Will the sun rise this morning? (Remember it is 5:30 here as I write...) Will the sun set this evening? I totally trust in these things happening. Proof over the 56 years of my life provides me with the knowledge that this is a for sure thing.

What about attitudes playing into the "wait on the Lord" idea. Do you simply sit back and do nothing? Are you passive or active? Are you negative or positive? I would hope positive activity doing the right things would be the best. This entails careful obedience by faith in our knowledge and trust in the word that has been shared with us through the Bible.

While you are waiting, seek the Lord spending time in prayer, in his Word and listening.

Wait to take action in the right time. Just as you should not plant seeds to grow a garden in the late fall...you have the knowledge to know when it is time to take action. In addition we have to learn to be content with His timing and what He provides for us. We have to give up our ideas to hear His. Time to let go of the pressures we put on ourselves with the wants of the world.

From this we learn to wait on the Lord, be content with His provisions for us and His timing in every situation. Through this you will be strengthened. This is when character is built and you grow spiritually. Wait with a positive attitude and great expectations of His plan.

Wait, Hope, Trust, be Positively Active, use Wisdom with Action, find contentment right now and EXPECT....look ahead, look up and be productive while you are waiting.

"Wait for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. " Psalm 27:14


Laurie


"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;" Psalm 37:4-7

"Wild Morning" Equine Horse Art Painting by Laurie Pace

'Wild Morning'
18 x 27 inches

Acrylic on Canvas

Contact me to purchase: Laurie

© Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009

"Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly, and revere your God. I am the Lord." Leviticus 19:32

The Painting: Acrylic Overlays in about seven layers. Dense thick paint and high glass varnish combine to finish off this unique composition.

The Thought: We were driving down Forest Lane on our way home from Whole Foods and I saw the sign outside the Unity Church, "HAPPY HOUR" . Of course it was referring to the church service on Sunday.

Then I was reading a magazine with little one liners that said, "Do you know what Happy Hour for the elderly is? An afternoon nap. Life not only begins at forty, it begins to show. Some of the other one liners were: You don't stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing.

It seems like the older Terry and I get, the more we forget our age. ( in more ways than one...either doing more than we should or truly just forgetting how old we are!) Somehow our inside brain thinks twenties but our body doesn't match up at all. I just realized recently I had crossed over to the 'other side' when I was examining our 'future' retirement situation for that long term planning I spoke of yesterday in the blog. I had mentioned to Patrick Lowe, our financial adviser, http://www.fa.ml.com/lowe_group (HE IS THE BEST, look him up!) that I could still teach school if I had to. Good gracious, I will be 57 this year. Why would I ever want to do that?

What are you suppose to be like in your sixties? What is "Sixty"? I can hearing you screaming OLD at me, but my mom will be 80 in a few weeks and she isn't old... she is older, but not old. She is wiser, but not old. She is in full bloom with every intense beauty within her bursting out.

As we grow older our faith takes us by the hand and we walk a tiny bit slower in our journey. It is faith telling us "And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His spirit, who lives in you." Romans 8:11. In a sense it suggests that in those closing years of our journey here on earth, that our mortal life will be infused with special energy from God's spirit. I can hope!

We can hear a whisper as hope does jump into the scene. "because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory." Romans 5:2 Hope give us the assurance of a glorious future.

Generally society here in the US does not put much value into our elderly. The older we get the more diminished and devalued we are. I can see it all around me. I can't fix it. I can only continue my journey with Terry in faith and hope for each new day.

No matter where you are in age, remember those older than you today and call someone you love that is older and share some joy.

Laurie

"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46:4

"The Great Race" Equine Horse Oil Painting by Laurie Justus Pace

'The Great Race'

18 x 24 inches
Oil on Canvas

Contact me to purchase: Laurie

© Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6

The Painting: Taking off on a different road with this one. The horses are more defined for space; the action is in the movement of line and counter lines playing angles against each other.
Colors are always vivid.

The Thought: Planning ahead. Is it the Great Race? In the remodeling of this house we definitely should have had a better plan and kept a better schedule. Planning ahead I should have never lined up cable or internet until we were done.

This morning I began to wake and lifted one eyelid and saw it was light in the room. Terry is on a different schedule and I knew he had to be up. My eyes flew open to the alarm clock and it was only 4 am. I realized then the back neighbors 'movement' light was on and it was reflecting off the monstrous second story next door towering over us with its silver insulating board lighting up our entire bedroom with reflections of the light. Not exactly the stars and moon we had before is it? Prayers began to tumble from my head across my lips. What am I missing that I am to learn from this? Patience must be at the top of the list. Patience in God to position us where we are to be for Him to give what we need for our lives. We must all be in place... the place He wants us to be.

How do you plan for this? Can you plan ahead? In the old testament what did Joseph do when God told him of a seven year famine? He took immediate action and began making provisions for the future by storing food. What are we each facing in our own lives right now and are we preparing for the future? Our future?

Terry and I have touched on several things over the past few months, but I believe it is time to get a firm grip on our plans for the future. God may be laughing as we do them, but with constant prayer and listening, I hold firm in my faith whatever we decide will be the best guide we can use right now.

Faith without works is dead. We must have a plan based in faith. Achieving financial freedom for retirement will be a challenge in this economic economy. Everyone can save but you have to make a decision to do it and carry through. I think for us we will begin building that 6-12 months of reserve cash in our savings account. So much of what we have is tied in the stock market. (yeah, high risk, low risk, medium risk... whatever!) The time now is to be focused on our diligence to save and be consistent. Wealth will be gather little by little. Small steps before you run.

Always know there will be unexpected things happening. That is God at work. We wise and build up that six months of living expenses. Do not waste your money. Remember to consider NEED and WANT. I am pretty tight on our money outgo right now. We are on hold unless we visit about expenditures. The Bible says in Proverbs that a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. In this economy that is a huge task. I don't think I will make that in money. Their inheritance will most likely be artwork.

Yes I can hear them groaning in heaven.

Make a plan today and begin to carry through to your new goal.


Laurie

"But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1 Timothy 5:8

"Mums" Flower Oil Painting by Laurie Justus Pace

"Mums"

18 x 24 inches
Oil on Canvas

Contact me to purchase: Laurie

© Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009

"You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 2:1

The Painting: This is a second painting I was working on when Barbie was visiting. I finished it up yesterday. It began with a bottom layout in acrylic for value placement. From this point there are layers of oils piled on top using a wide brush.

The Thought: Not sure of what it is, but I have been "down" for two days straight. Hopefully today will be better. Anytime I ate or drank water it felt like a tightening in my stomach, like an old fashioned tummy ache. Did not get to go visit our best friends in Mt Vernon yesterday...so I am a bit sad. Hopefully today I can eat again.

Terry continues to rip out the bathroom in our bedroom. The shower is completely torn out and tonight I think he intends to pull out the toilet and the rest of the floor. I suggested he stay on schedule because getting up at night makes it hard to remember to stumble down the hall to the other bathroom. He is actually working today. Normally he is off on Mon/Tues but there are impt meetings at the airport and so he works 7 days straight. It will be a long long week for sure.

The baby has begun to babble and giggle. Stacey phoned late yesterday afternoon to let us hear her laugh. She was watching the food network.

I have been studying in the bible where David is taking over from Saul. There are so many events happening around those two men, it is difficult to keep up with them both. There are many players on each side of the turnover of power, and there are many deaths.

In comparison our lives seem simple with out the physical battles of warfare surrounding us and the every day anxiety of survival. Each battle has a reason in our lives. If we didn't experience the battles, we would not be stronger. Out of each blooms a grace from Him. His good is there to pour out into your life.

There are times you cannot find goodness or grace in your life. That is when I would remind you to seek Psalm 20.

Psalm 20

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

² May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.

³ May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
Selah

⁴ May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

⁵ We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

⁶ Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.

⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

⁸ They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

⁹ O LORD, save the king!
Answer us when we call!

Be assured that the grace of God is with you always.

Laurie

"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16

"Reflections in the Wind" Equine Horse Painting by Laurie Pace

"Reflections in the Wind"
24 x 36 inches
Acrylic on Canvas

Contact me to purchase: Laurie

© Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”- Matthew 16:25

The Painting: I worked on this one while Barbie was here painting with me in the studio. It began with two soft layers of Indian Yellow with some dripping. Then the sketching out of the horse and the strength seem to spread across the composition before I realized it. It is one of those paintings it is hard to walk away from.

The Thought: When we woke up this morning it felt good to have known I slept all night. It was such a small thing, but yesterday I was outside waiting for mom and the head construction crew man stopped to chat with me on the building next door. He was proud of his men and the job they were doing. I could not fault that in any way and complimented him on their ability to work together so smoothly and neatly. When he pressed forward to see what I thought of the addition I had to shake my head and say I didn't like it. I explained the loss of light and nature for our contemporary home and how the very heart of it was starving for what was lost... he realized then the complexity of the situation. I shared my story of our new peeping "toms" as the two windows have full vision of our bedroom from above and they can watch us dress, undress etc etc. If I totally cover the window our bedroom is in darkness. (I do have three day blinds coming in about 10 days... seems ridiculous they are called that but it takes two weeks to get someone out.) I had leaned a nude painting on our dresser so at least they had something educational artwise to view. We visited a bit longer. He lives out in Parker north east of the metroplex and has land around him. I envy him. I miss the land and the privacy.

God bless this man, as he left yesterday, his crews covered BOTH of the offending windows so at least over the weekend we have had privacy.

As Terry and I talked about our "visceral" reaction to this choking effect on our home, we did stop and spend time visiting what we were to be learning from this situation. God puts so much before us that we walk by, often never gleaning something for our knowledge and wisdom base.
It sent us to the thought of priorities and direction for ourselves.

Everything that happens in our lives has a reason and a season and is there for us to progress further in our spiritual journey. When things confront us and we are dismayed, hurt, depressed, anxious, etc, that is when we need to STOP and climb out of that box or moment and breathe. We are where we are suppose to be... how do we need to change? What is most important, the having and being of that situation or the becoming as you climb out of it? We cannot grow with out our trials and temptations. With each occasion we are given the opportunity to take one step closer to Him.

Laurie

"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour?' No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour." John 12:27

"Best Friends" Dog Art Oil Painting by Laurie Pace

"Best Friends"
8 x 10 inches
Oil on Linen Panel

SOLD

Contact me for Commissions...this was one: Laurie

© Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009

"He said 'Do not fear, greatly beloved, you are safe. Be strong and courageous!' When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, 'Let my Lord speak, for you have strengthened me.'" Daniel 10:19

The Painting: A commission painting of two dogs, in the later years for a special lady...a gift from a special man in her life.

The Thought: When I think of dogs many things goes through my head. They are a member of our family, they are always there giving love and companionship and they are protectors. When you are in their presence, they are there for you 100 percent.

God is that way too. Old and corny I know, but GOD spelled backwards is dog. God is with you all the time. God is your protector all the time. Be secure in the knowledge that He has your front and your back sides at all times. Have faith to know He will provide you with everything you need to accomplish what needs to be done today. Be inspired by Him. Be protected by Him.

You are safe with God.

Thursday, my high school friend, Barbie, came to visit. She was in Dallas visiting her mom and sister and she came to paint with me. I have pictures to share. She did not finish her painting so next year, same time, we will paint again. She is one of those friends you wish you could grow old with close by. We never miss a beat when we see each other each year and she is like the sister of my soul.

Laurie

"but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm." Proverbs 1:33