Please have some mercy and grace on the video, this is my mom and I trying to produce a decent video of the progression from the 3 services. We are not professionals but believers listening to God when He calls us to share! Unfortunately for the last service the top of the canvas is not in view so I added the only pictures that were taken to help show the transformation. Thank you to my mother who is always here for me and helps with the technical things…we’ll get it worked out. Bless her heart she went to all 3 services I painted at and went to the 1pm service so we could watch a friend paint live for her first time. She’s awesome!!
Praying for a better way to record these live paintings🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Merry Christmas 2021
It was an amazing feeling to worship together in person for Christmas 2021. The incredibly powerful music and extremely talented singers, dancers, the real manger scene, the inspiring messages and the candlelight from everyone who was present filled that worship room with immense Joy and Hope! Hope for an eternal life with our creator in a similar setting except there’ll be no more pain or suffering.
The two songs that I overlaid on the time lapse video are from that night the 7 pm candlelight service the Lutheran Church of Hope’s worship band. And HOLY WOW🙌🏼 OMG PRAISE GOD!!!! Powerful music!!! Everyone did such an amazing job giving so much energy for all 11 services. That just inspires me to witness the commitment, dedication and fire everyone has for Jesus!! I feel truly blessed and honored to be apart of this church family. The amazing music and the words being preached moved through me as I co-created with God during such a holy worship experience! I was completely surrendered and in the flow!
This year God called me to paint a progressive work of art on one large 6’ x 3’ canvas during three consecutive services the 7pm, 9pm & 11pm. The message was focused around Luke 2:8-14.
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.””
Luke 2:8-10, 12-14 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.2.9-14.NIV
Round 1
The 7 pm service I started with the canvas standing up the long way. Prior to the services I created a door knob with a custom stencil I made and drywall spackle to represent the action of opening the door thats required by us. I painted it to look like the door is cracked open because if your seeing or reading this you’ve already started opening the door peeking in to see what God is doing. “Immanuel”, God is always with us inviting us in to know Him and be in a relationship with Him. God is knocking on the door of your heart. You are the only one who can open the door to your heart, mind and soul to let God in. There is only one door knob and it’s on the inside. Open the door…it’s time to Come and See!!
“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
John 10:9 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/jhn.10.9.KJV
I wasn’t sure how I was going to actually start until a few hours before I was scheduled to paint. I originally was just going to paint the base color red with a big brush but after going to the 1 pm service God instructed me to paint the words in red from Luke 19:10. I had been praying about what my first few brush strokes were going to be. The last few live paintings I started with a cross where the light source was going to be. After getting to worship and experiencing the service God guided me to the right words to paint. Explaining what it means to come and see. Come and see what God has done. He did not come to condemn us but to save us.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.””
Luke 19:10 NIV
https://luke.bible/luke-19-10
God completely moved me in that moment to paint the cross through the word Son and then dip my red paintbrush into the fresh water and press it against the top of the canvas. Water rushed through the red paint like it was bleeding which represents the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I repeated this process several times working the water through the paint until almost the entire canvas was washed in red creating the land where the story would unfold. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word Oudem means “red clay”. The color red was originally a word that related to mankind. Oudem is the root word for mankind. It sounds a lot like Adam, who happens to be the first human being created out of the dust of the earth.
“for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.”
Leviticus 17:11 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/lev.17.11.NLT
Red symbolizes many things: The blood of Christ, Gods love, salvation, action, fire, Holy Spirit, spiritual awakening, sin, death, redemption, red is also a symbol that saves. (Joshua 2:18, Exodus 12:7)
I took my drill and loosened two screws on the back to release the canvas and set it up on my easel and proceeded to paint the story of Jesus’ birth from Luke 2:8-14. I started to form black mountains in the background to represent the absolute, constancy, eternity or the womb, black also represents death, fear and ignorance. Mountains are the ultimate symbol of stability. They also symbolize constancy, permanence, motionlessness, and the peaks signifies the state of absolute consciousness. Being fully present.
I ended the first candlelight service with the sheep and shepherds out in the field with the angel of the Lord and all the glory down amongst them. “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” is what the angel said. Great Joy for ALL people!!
Round 2
The 9 pm candlelight service I started out by forming baby Jesus in the manger out of the ground by painting a growing light behind Him. I intentionally created it to look like an outbuilding that is emerging out of the land in the shape of sideways heart sort of sunk into the ground so when I flipped the painting up at the end the heart would be in the correct spot for the end image. It had been 400 years since God had spoken to any of the prophets. Love has broken the silence! Let every every heart prepare him room! The manger scene is in Gods heart because coming down to us in human form and then to be brutally killed for the forgiveness of our sins so we can live and have eternal life with God was the ultimate expression of love. Let every heart prepare Him room! Read more on page 2 about how I’d been preparing my heart leading up to Christmas this year. Life is not perfect just because I follow Jesus in fact I feel the enemy attacking more intensely because I’m getting closer to GOD! Following Jesus doesn’t make life easier. It makes life worth living.
It amazes me how God works, when I overlaid the music onto the time lapse the speed of the music and the lyrics went beautifully with the unfolding art. In the beginning right as I’m painting the cross Alyssa is belting out Jesus, Jesus with great power and the band was jamming out intensely as I was drenching the canvas with water and red paint was gushing down the canvas. You are God with us, you are here with us, Immanuel, Immanuel. Then when I was painting the most intimate part of Jesus in the manger with Mary and Joseph sitting beside him the music slows way down. Children weep no more, love is on the horizon, weary world behold our promised Messiah, sinner wait no more love has broken the silence, come let us adore the Savior is with us. Beautiful lyrics!! Here comes heaven, Christ is born in Bethlehem!
I turned the sky into what starts off as the company of heavenly host that appear with the angel. Then created it to look like a huge white dove descending to represent the Holy Spirit. The night Jesus was born the trinity was complete. God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Round 3
The 11 pm candlelight service I flipped the canvas back to the long way to paint the image of God reaching out His hand inviting us in. Into a life full of love, joy, hope and peace. I avoided this path following Jesus for many many years because I thought is would be lame or boring trying to live on the straight and narrow path. I just really didn’t understand so I hid in the shadows of the darkness for 20+ years where my alcoholism consumed me. I started having a spiritual awakening in rehab in 2017 and I started to find out this path is far greater than anything I could’ve ever imagined. I am free because of this special baby who is the real reason for the Christmas season. Wish I would’ve woke up sooner but I feel extremely blessed to be alive now so I can share my transformation story and become more of a faithful disciple and servant. I appreciate every chance I get to learn more, share how it’s changing my heart, serve and worship.
The feeling of gratitude is like a river rushing through me overflowing everywhere I go. God is blessing me so much that I can’t contain it all and I must share it! What it really comes down to is perspective. Your heart sets the tone for your mindset. It’s all how you look at things, people and situations. You can see everything as a gift from God or you can believe that you did it all and owe no one anything. But when I started learning about who Jesus is and how he made the ultimate sacrifice by being crucified on the cross just for us…it changed my heart. I learned all about forgiveness. I instantly wanted to live my life differently. I realized everything about the way I was living did not honor our Lord or myself. I started to understand my purpose and I constantly pray for God to help me have a deeper understanding and to use me. I started seeking. Everything I’ve learned so far is helping me with whatever I’m up against.
I started dripping white paint down through the scarlet red robe turning it white to represent the forgiveness of sins. Repent and turnaround to face God no matter what you’ve done or how messy your life is God loves you and wants to bless you.
““Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 1:18-20 NIV
https://isaiah.bible/isaiah-1-20
When I was first planning this artwork I was not going to put a face on the figure that represents God who is such an incomprehensible image to depict but maybe keep it like a light illuminating from that area but after many sketches I was moved to create a stencil of a face to represent our Father. God created us in His image. I used many earth tones where I used the stencil of the face to represent all nations and all colors of skin. The end image also represents the second coming. That’s why it’s so important to prepare room in our hearts everyday not just around Christmas. No one knows the time or day that Christ will return. God is inviting you into a relationship with Him. Get your mind and heart right by flooding it with Gods word and then take action by sharing how the path is changing your life and find ways to serve in your community.
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.””
Genesis 1:27-28 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.1.27-28.NIV
I created a waterfall flowing from the source in the teal color, the prophets describe God as “the spring of living water”. This absolutely describes how I feel when I spend time soaking in Gods word or worshipping. Rivers of living water are flowing from within me. Thank you Jesus!
“Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.””
John 4:10 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.4.10.NLT
“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.””
John 7:37-38 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.7.37-38.NIV
Surrender…
The golden triangle represents the Trinity, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There are three sides to Christianity faith, love and hope. Love being the greatest of all. These three things are how we work with Christ and through Christ. A work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ. It also represents Spirit, Mind, Body and Past, Present, Future. A triangle represents manifestation, enlightenment, revelation, and a higher perspective. It’s often used to mark the cycles of growth that lead to a higher state of being. Spiritually, it represents a path towards enlightenment or connection to the omnipresent being, God.
“Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.”
Philippians 2:12-13, 15-16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/php.2.12-16.NLT
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV
https://1corinthians.bible/1-corinthians-13-13
“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV
https://1thessalonians.bible/1-thessalonians-1-3
Christians use the knot which is created by 3 circles of the same size that are connected to symbolize the Holy Trinity and a circle to represent eternal life. It does not explain God, it just describes what we know about God.
The Latin word, triquetra means “triangle” or “three-cornered”, uses the shape of the fish, one of the oldest Christ symbols. It was found in Pompeii which was destroyed in AD 79. The shape in the triquetra, the three equal arches of the circle expressed the equality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The union of the arches represented the unity of the Godhead. Their continuous form symbolized eternity. The fact that they were interwoven denoted the indivisibility of the Trinity. In the center of the triquetra was an equilateral triangle, the most ancient of the Trinity symbols, and each pair of arches formed an ellipse, the symbol of God’s glory. To read more about the symbols touch the link to the website where I found these facts This is church
The symbol is often used to represent the 3 fundamental elements – air, water, and earth or the infinite cycle of life. Land, sea and sky.
This is the seed of life an ancient geometric figure. It is 7 overlapping circles with the same diameter. It’s said that it stands for the 7 days of creation. The seed of life, in its sacred context, represents the consciousness of God, the creator. This sacred geometry can be found throughout many cultures and everywhere in nature. God used a consistent kind of geometry or repeating regular shapes as the building blocks for existence. Touch the link to read more about sacred geometry Seed of life
I first stumbled upon the Vesica piscis when creating “With” for the Woman’s Christmas brunch 2019. I was inspired to find out more when I saw a show about the mystery of birth and I saw the geometric symbol. The almond shape that two circles create is called a mandorla in Italian. Many early artists used a mandorla around Christ to represent the divine coming through to this world.
The second time I stumbled across more geometry was when I was preparing for Hope + Elim’s 1 yr anniversary weekend. The theme was beloved community and God put a vision of fish swimming in a school. Some heading towards a boat with a cross and some swimming away from the boat. I dug down deeper and found out that the fish is one of the earliest symbols for Christians. The two circles overlapping create the fish symbol which was code back when being faced with persecution from Rome’s empire. People would draw half the fish in the sand and if the other person finished the other half of the fish they knew they were believers and in good company. The geometry lead me to a mathematical equation that equals the number 153 which I find in the Bible the 3rd time Jesus appeared after his resurrection to Simon Peter. Jesus tells him to throw his nets in and they catch 153 fish. John 21:1-14. “153” touch the link to find out more.
Touch the link Sacred geometry to find out the depths of this sacred geometry and the connections it has to our creator and all of creation.
All of these gems and bits of information that I find on these treasure hunts strengthen my faith. It’s obvious there is a divine creator repeating patterns and designs in plain site for us to see. I just find this whole journey with Jesus very fascinating. The Bible is full of wisdom and knowledge to help us understand and navigate through this life. I pray that you open your heart, mind and soul to seek God above all else.
God gave me a vision to unfold the story of Jesus’ birth on the canvas and then by painting God through all of it at the end symbolizes that God is in and of everything in this world. He is the land, sea and skies and He is you, me and everyone. God is Love, so everything you see is love. When you start to see everything and everyone as gifts of love that’s when you see a shift take place in yourself. By finding the love that is inside of us and then wearing that as our daily attire we will find ourselves rising above whatever it is we face. Nothing can separate us from the love of GOD! Romans 8
Thank you for taking time to see what God is doing! Keeping everyone in my prayers🙏🏼peace.
