Surprised? I am.

Thanks for asking. My first art class today went really well.

I surprised myself with how well my first few sketches came out. I think I've spent my entire life telling myself I couldn't draw. You know, 'I'm the writer, I can't draw' or 'My sister's the artist in the family, not me' etc etc. Imagine my surprise when I was able to translate a photo I took of a beautifully gnarled hibiscus bush with a gorgeous soft flower and bud nestled amongst deep green leaves and sparse dead branches into a recognisable detailed pencil sketch. Stay tuned for the colour version. It's one that I plan to develop into a painting on canvas. I'm not in a major rush to do that though. I want to spend a few weeks learning stuff and practising on paper before I buy a canvas.

It's a funny laid-back kind of art class. Every one just works on projects and Shane, the art teacher, helps them with constructive advice and suggestions on what technique or material would be best in their projects. Shane also presents lessons for part of the session.

Today's lesson was on colour temperature and colour blending. It was great to learn and, apart from anything else, handy to learn before I dish out $$$ on paints. Knowing how to mix true secondary colours may be a cost saver because you can spend more money on better quality primary colours instead. It's not all the paint required, but I learned that a good starting point is 3 warm primaries and 3 cool primaries. I'm really looking forward to getting paint on paper, but for now I'll enjoy doing pencil sketches and surprising myself.

What is Grace?

"Grace is that most marvelous, multifaceted gemstone that sparkles, glitters, and radiates the love of God in our lives. Grace -- the favor of God by which He blesses sinful human beings -- is given according to the measure of Christ's gift (the measure of infinite love for undeserving people)."

From WordTruth.com's online sermon "God's Church is Growing Up".

I think about this every single time I say my daughter's name. She might have an "ey" on the end from time to time,.... I am Australian, after all, but it is still Grace that I say a hundred times a day. God showed us great favour. I feel like one of the most blessed women in the world because He heard my cry, He gave me a precious promise to hold on to and then He worked miracles and tip-toed a fine line between life and death to bless us with Grace.

I feel sorry for people who say there is no God because I have looked Jesus in the face as he lifted me up off the doctor's table. I remember thinking that I wasn't scared at all, but I probably should be.

Duh! Who'd be scared when Jesus is beside you reminding you to hold on.

Sparkling, glittering, multi-faceted indeed,....