24” x 24” x 2.5” canvas
Happy New Years everyone!! I started “Sovereign Love” New Year’s Eve 2020 and finished on January 10, 2021. This painting ties the years together creatively. I’ve decided this is the 2nd piece in a series of lions that I will do every year to end the old year and welcome in the new!! I used acrylic paints and paper towels to create the texture on the canvas. It took like 26 sessions each about an hour to build up all the layers. God put the color purple on my heart for many reasons which I’ll list later in this blog. I also have the lyrics for the song Up &Up by Coldplay down below. Coldplay is known for their poetic sometimes really abstract lyrics.
Sovereign – a supreme ruler.
Love – a profoundly tender, passionate affection for other living beings.
Up & Up by Coldplay official video No money was made in the making of this video using the song Up & Up by Coldplay.
We live in a broken world that is in desperate need of leaders who are driven by love! I believe that God wants us ALL to feel love and peace. Not just some of His people but everyone. Even the people considered to be “bad” or “evil” they need love most of all. Jesus walked with the darkness while He was here on Earth. This is most obvious sign and message that we need to love our enemies. He wants us to live in harmony with each other, with ALL nations. Love is the only way to conquer evil. And we have to start within our own hearts. Who is leading your heart? The world? Or the One who created the world?
I know that my life changed drastically when I finally surrendered and accepted Jesus Christ as my savior. I started to read the Bible to answer the questions I had and still have. I wanted to really know who Jesus is. I grew up in a Christian home but by the time I was in my teens I doubted everything. I was lost, addicted to the attention of boys, drugs and alcohol for many years of my life. I was so desperate for a love that would bring me back to life. I was desperate to love myself. But I had an awakening that started happening inside me while I was in rehab March of 2017. God showed me His love through many people. I was saved!!! My heart started to warm up and my eyes filled with tears of joy. I began to understand that I had a purpose. I felt a calling to rise up and share this with everyone who feels despair, lonely and empty. It is possible to turn your life around! I realized that I can help make this world a better place by the way I treat everyone that crosses my path. By allowing love to lead me!
If you need help with anything please Contact me or my church Lutheran Church of Hope.
Jesus taught us that we need to humble ourselves and serve others. That is where you will find fulfillment and true joy. It is the purpose of this life. We all have been blessed with gifts and talents to share. So many ways to be creative from obvious ones like art, music dance, building, sculpting, decorating, cooking, but also being great with numbers to medicine to being funny.
I just listened to a comedian the other day that a friend shared with me his name is Michael Jr. he was doing a set called The Good Room. He is hilarious but also has a very powerful message tied in. He has 3 questions to ask yourself…
1 – Who are the People?
2 – What is the Problem?
3 – What do I Give?
He calls it the 3 P’s…lol but it has stuck with me ever since I heard this. We all have gifts and talents to offer this world. We have to be awake and listening to find out everyday how we can help. First you need to figure out what your passionate about. Pray and ask God to show you what your gifts are. Then pray for God to use you.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?”
Rev. MartinLuther King Jr.
The word love appears 551 times in the NIV bible.
Here are several bible verses that I feel connected to “Sovereign Love”. The Alpha and The Omega, Light and Darkness, Love, Mercy and Praise.
Christians believe that to Love God with all your heart, mind, and strength and Love your neighbor as yourself are the two most important things in life (the greatest commandment of the Jewish Torah, according to Jesus; cf. Gospel of Mark chapter 12, verses 28–34). Saint Augustine summarized this when he wrote “Love God, and do as thou wilt.”
The Apostle Paul glorified love as the most important virtue of all. Describing love in the famous poetic interpretation in 1 Corinthians, he wrote, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.” (1 Cor. 13:4–7, NIV)
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:35-39 NIV
https://www.bible.com/111/rom.8.35-39.niv
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV
https://www.bible.com/111/1pe.2.9-10.niv
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:3-5 NIV
https://www.bible.com/111/rev.21.3-5.niv
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Revelation 21:6 NIV
https://www.bible.com/111/rev.21.6 niv
“The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything. Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands. Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will! Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord.”
Psalms 103:19-22 NLT
https://www.bible.com/116/psa.103.19-22.nlt
Up & Up song by Coldplay 2016
I love when the song shows up to go with each artwork video I create. Sometimes I have a song in mind but most times it comes after I create. I pray for a message that compliments the art. The lyrics in this song are so beautiful! I really love their message of humanity, positivity and believing in love. Down below I share my interpretation and the connection I felt. The lyrics are in bold print.
Fixing up a car to drive in it again
Searching for the water hoping for the rain
Up and up, up and up.
I see the car as our body and soul, we keep fixing it up after we get hurt from relationships, accidents, abuse, addictions or sickness. We are driven searching for something to satisfy us. We search for the water because we are thirsty, thirsty for a better life. We are beings that are continually seeking the living water. And when we can’t find it we hope that God answers our prayers. We realize we can’t do it alone. Never lose hope.
Down upon the canvas, working meal to meal
Waiting for a chance to pick your orange field
Up and up, up and up.
I see an artist who is struggling to find fulfillment or meaning and/or is literally and figuratively starving. Starving in their soul for a purpose that makes them feel content because their gifts and talents are put to use. Working paycheck to paycheck just waiting for their big chance or opportunity to pick from the orange field. The orange field representing opportunity…or your dreams and passions start manifesting.
See a pearl form, a diamond in the rough
See a bird soaring high above the flood
It’s in your blood, it’s in your blood
To me this means that beautfil things are created from the most extreme conditions. Pearls are formed from constantly defending itself from an irritant (like sand) by producing layers and layers of a protective coating around it eventually 6 months – 4 years later a pearl is formed. Diamonds are formed under the intense heat and pressure of the Earth’s gravity, and can also form in the midst of a collision between Earth and an asteroid. People go through constant trials and tribulations which shape them as a person. Some people are humbled by their experiences and some turn bitter. Leaning into God, accepting what life unfolds and always seeking a life full of love is the key to joy and peace. A bird flying high above a flood represents complete confidence, hope, endurance and freedom. We need to rise above our circumstances and seek God! It’s in our blood to seek the good, it’s in our blood to be peacemakers.
Underneath the storm an umbrella is saying
“Sitting with the poison takes away the pain”
Up and up, up and up it’s saying
I’m not really sure what this means but I think when we are going through a storm we can ease our own pain by sitting with someone or helping someone out that has troubles. You can shield someone else who is struggling even when you have your own hurts to deal with. It actually heals both people.
We’re gonna get it, get it together, I know
I’m gonna get it, get it together somehow
We’re gonna get it, get it together and flower
Woah, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
We’re gonna get it, get it together I know
We’re gonna get it, get it together and flow
I’m gonna get it, get it together and go
Up and up and up
Lying in the gutter, aiming for the moon
Trying to empty out the ocean with a spoon
Up and up, up and up
You can be in the worst place or situation you can imagine in life yet still have high hopes and aim for a better life! It can feel impossible to make a difference like your trying to empty the ocean with a spoon. But anything is possible with God. When we come together we can accomplishment amazing things.
How come people suffer, how come people part?
How come people struggle, how come people break your heart?
Humans inflict so much pain and suffering onto each other…why? I think it’s because people are hurting, everyone is hurting! If you don’t look the same or think the same people quickly dismiss each other instead of trying to understand their differences. I believe people struggle because they are allowing evil to lead their hearts. Letting jealousy, envy or any negative emotion to take root in their heart causing even deeper pain. This is exactly what the devil wants. Hurt and division. We just need love. And pray for everyone and everything!
Break your heart, ohh
Yes I want to grow, yes I want to feel
Yes I want to know, show me how to heal it up
Heal it up
I think every human has a desire written in their DNA to seek. In no specific order people seek truth, knowledge, wisdom, acceptance, family, friends, confidence, independence, order, freedom, financial security, balance, peace, joy, love and healing. People want to feel emotions and find things that have meaning. People want to know the truth how to get through this life without so much pain and sadness. How to love again after their heart has been ripped out of their chest from all the things they’ve had to endure. There will always be valleys and hilltops but there is a way we can respond to everything happening around us where we can still experience peace through it all. Acceptance of what is out of our control. Let go of everything and give it to God that is a way to start healing. Let go of things and people from the past that hurt you. It’s all in our minds. Try to be present, really present in each moment. It’s like the old saying. There are two wolves inside each of us. One is good and one is evil. The one you feed most wins! What are you feeding your mind? What we think about we bring about. Start dreaming and dream big! God can bless you more than you can ever imagine.
In order to grow you have to take some risks and get out of your comfort zone. Things that you would pass on normally like joining a zoom book study which was me, I would normally pass. I don’t read or at least i didn’t til 2020. Because of covid the zoom wave happened so I had a chance to study a few books via zoom and I said yes instead of no. Even though I’ve always been really uncomfortable zooming or FaceTime or any of that stuff. But I knew that because it made my heart race and my nerves go crazy every time before I would get on it I knew it was transforming me. It completely blessed me and feels easier to zoom now because of that experience. My point is if you want to fully experience what God has to offer, let go and trust Him. Follow His lead.
See the forest there in every seed
Angels in the marble waiting to be freed
Just need love just need love when the going is rough
The seed is a person and being able to see the whole forest (all of Gods creation) in that other person. We are apart of something bigger. Jesus is the branches and we are the leaves. When we show someone love and they respond with love we have just encountered God. God is Love. God is within each of our hearts so we can experience God right where you are right now. We need to start looking at everyone and everything for what it is, it’s God, the Holy Spirit in the midst of all of it. It’s incredible to see how everything is connected one way or another. God has an incredible way of showing us signs through his creativeness.
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
Michelangelo
I had to research this part of the lyrics because I had never heard this quote from Michelangelo. Michelangelo suggest that the “Angel” existed in the marble prior to his carving, or that he did not carve the form of the angel but rather chipped away everything that was not the angel waiting to be “freed” from the marble.
This makes my mind go crazy with curiosity. Brilliant artist minds like Michelangelo intrigue me. The idea that the angel is already there and he freed the angel from the marble is an incredible perspective. People have a heart and purpose that’s always been there. We all have to chip away at all the clutter and heavy burdens so you can free the real you. Your authentic self.
We’re gonna get it, get it together, I know
I’m gonna get it, get it together somehow
We’re gonna get it, get it together and flower
Woah, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
We’re gonna get it, get it together I know
We’re gonna get it, get it together and flow
I’m gonna get it, get it together and go
And you can say what is, or fight for it
Close your mind or take a risk
You can say it’s mine and clench your fist
Or see each sunrise as a gift
You can talk about things or you can take action. You can have a closed mind and resist everything. Or you can take risks that will require you to open your heart and mind, then completely let go and trust God. You can keep everything to yourself and not share it with anyone. Or you can be thankful for everything, see it as a gift and share it with everyone!
God promises an abundant life. In John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Unlike a thief, the Lord Jesus does not come for selfish reasons. He comes to give, not to get. He comes so that people may have life in Him that is meaningful, purposeful, joyful, and eternal. We receive this abundant life the moment we accept Him as our Savior.
We’re gonna get it, get it together, I know
I’m gonna get it, get it together somehow
We’re gonna get it, get it together and flower
Woah, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
We’re gonna get it, get it together I know
We’re gonna get it, get it together and flow
I’m gonna get it, get it together and go
Up and up and upWe’re gonna get it, get it together, I know
I’m gonna get it, get it together somehow
We’re gonna get it, get it together and flower
Woah, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
We’re gonna get it, get it together I know
We’re gonna get it, get it together and flow
I’m gonna get it, get it together and go
Up and up and upFixing up a car to drive in it again
When you’re in pain
When you think you’ve had enough
Don’t ever give up Don’t ever give up
I love everything about this song. Believe in Love, seek it and share it! Don’t ever give up!
The meaning of Purple
I hardly ever use purple in any of my paintings. So this was neat to work with it and find colors to compliment each other and really just learn more about the color.
Purple combines the calm stability of blue and the fierce energy of red. The color purple is often associated with royalty, nobility, luxury, power, and ambition. Purple also represents meanings of wealth, extravagance, creativity, wisdom, dignity, grandeur, devotion, peace, pride, mystery, independence, and magic.
The color violet inspires unconditional and selfless love, devoid of ego, encouraging sensitivity and compassion.
As civilizations developed, so did clothing and colored dyes. The earliest purple dyes date back to about 1900 B.C. It took some 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye – barely enough for dying a single garment the size of the Roman toga. It’s no wonder then, that this color was used primarily for garments of the emperors or privileged individuals.
The color purple is a rare occurring color in nature and as a result is often seen as having sacred meaning.
“The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.”
Mark 15:16-20 NIV
Purple Day, observed on March 26 of each year, was created in 2008 to promote awareness about epilepsy.
The “Purple Heart” is the American award for bravery. The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after April 5, 1917, with the U.S. military. Wikipedia
Purple is associated spirituality, the sacred, higher self, passion, third eye, fulfillment, and vitality. Purple helps align oneself with the whole of the universe. Different shades, tints, and hues of purple have different meanings. Light purple hues represent feminine energy and delicacy, as well as romantic and nostalgic feelings. Dark purple hues evoke feelings of gloom, sadness, and frustration. Bright purple hues suggest riches and royalty.
Violet Chakra Color
Chakras are energy centers within the body that help to regulate all its processes. Each chakra governs specific functions and is represented by one of the seven chakra colors.
Freshstock
Violet: (purple) is the color of the Crown chakra, also known as Sahasrara. This chakra is located at the top of the head. The Crown chakra is linked to the crown of the head, nervous system, and the brain, and is representative of pure thought. This chakra connects one with the infinite consciousness. Opening this chakra will help tap into a deep spiritual understanding. Gemstones that will aid the Crown chakra include diamond and clear quartz.
Purple is a symbolic color for the gay community in many Western cultures. Each year, millions go purple for Spirit Day to support LGBTQ youth in a united stand against bullying. Pledging to “go purple” on Spirit Day is a way for everyone — global and local brands and companies, world leaders, celebrities, neighbors, parents, classmates, and friends — to visibly show solidarity with youth and to take part in the largest, most visible LGBTQ anti-bullying campaign in the world. Touch the link to learn more about Spirit Day
Purples have been used in the care of mental of nervous disorders because they have shown to help balance the mind and transform obsessions and fears. Most psychologists view these claims with skepticism. No valid studies have been conducted to confirm them.
Purple’s rarity in nature and the expense of creating the color and has given purple a supernatural aura for centuries. Purple is also the most powerful wavelength of the rainbow – and it’s a color with a powerful history that has evolved over time. In fact, the origins of the symbolism of purple are more significant and interesting than those of any other color.
Meaning of Purple, Color purple links to where I found these facts about purple.
I hope and pray that this artwork and blog sheds some light and love into your life.
If your in need prayers or support please visit my churches website Lutheran Church of Hope West Des Moines, Iowa.