"it's magic"

i teach piano/keyboard, and even after all these years of teaching, i love watching my students progress in their skill and in turn fall in love with the beauty of the instrument. 

yesterday i was teaching one of my favorite students - he is six years old, bright, loving, funny and autistic.  his lesson is keyed around him learning the fundamentals of playing and experiencing the beauty and joy of music.   

ink and acrylic on arches text wove

 i programmed a beautiful string pad with overtones of voices and begin playing a chord progression.  at first he was playing along with me and then, as is his way when especially moved by the music, he closed his eyes and began conducting the music.  

after a few minutes, he opened his eyes, (still conducting) and said, "miss donna, it's magic."

ink and acrylic on arches text wove

i, of course, teared up and said, "yes, it is."

ink and acrylic on arches text wove

how often, do we go through our day - forgetting the majesty, splendor, holiness and the mystery of the One whom we serve.  how often, do we fail to remember the "magic" that makes up each of our days.  

do you ever just listen to the music - - - -  

and remember that it is magic and the One who gave it is Majestic?

details

"to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever."

saying goodbye

goodbyes are hard - tears will fall - relentless grief - loved friend gone - and yet life goes on

i, along with other friends and family, are saying goodbye to a dear friend tomorrow - Larry Metcalf.  we will be reliving the moments of his life and remembering how his life impacted us.  

when i was a bald woman, i decided to wear my head with dignity, and yet when i started losing eyebrows and eyelashes i felt a little less than beautiful and dignified.  When Larry came to church every week, he would rub my bald head and tell me i was beautiful.  he was a man who encouraged others even when he himself was discouraged.  

art journaling from 2010
"feel beautiful"

Larry - you will be missed - but we will meet again.

God of Mercies 
donna dugone-ASCAP1999

God of Mercies/gracious Father
You gave Your Son to rescue me
With great compassion/You sealed my pardon
By Your grace I now am free

Lifting hands up/I will praise You
Seeking only to see your face
I will worship/with all my passion
because of love and amazing grace

When life is over/and I see you
face to face/completely whole
I will sing of/Your great mercy
And Your love that healed my soul

Amazing grace/how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me
i once was lost/but now i'm found
'twas blind/but now i see

how nameless road got its' name - or lack thereof

"art journaling with snow added"

The story of Nameless Road 

by Barbara Dugone

Back in the 1800"s, a thriving little community was nestled in a hollow by Sandy Creek. There was a blacksmith, a dry goods store, a butcher shop, and a school house that served both as a one room school and a church.  

The community wanted a post office, and my great-grandfather Colley was the designated postmaster.  The people came together and chose a name for their community.  My grandfather submitted the name and request for a post office to the United States post office department.  The request was denied as there was already a community in Texas by that name.  Another name was submitted, and the reply was the same.  A third attempt was made with the same results.  By this time, my grandfather was seething.  He wrote back and stated (in his strongest language), "Well, dad-blast-it!  Let it remain Nameless!"  The federal post office complied, and the community of Nameless was born.  

No longer is there a blacksmith or a butcher or a dry goods store, but my great-grandfather Colley's legacy lives on in the form of a road that just happens to be my address - Nameless Road.

2015

this last Sunday my brother and pastor, R.J., requested that his daughter sing a song i penned about 5 years ago.  the title is "coming to the mercy seat".  the lyrics are as follows:

"tired of running in circles getting nowhere fast

if only i'd surrender/You'd give me all the peace i lack

so take me in/take control so i can live

coming to the mercy seat/finding rest at your feet

at the mercy seat/at the mercy seat"

my three favorite art pieces of 2014

 "humbly i seek You/bowing before Your holiness

longing for Your mercy/to touch me in my brokenness

so take me in/take control so i can live

coming to the mercy seat/finding rest at Your feet

at the mercy seat/at the mercy seat

so take me in take me in/to the mercy seat

take me in/take me in

take me in take me in/to the mercy seat

take me in/take me in"

gina and i were practicing the song and running through the mechanics of how we wanted the song to sound until we got to a bridge that i had added two years ago.  she started singing the bridge - we both teared up - stopped practice and began sharing on the goodness of the Savior whom we serve.

"it's my hearts' cry/my one desire

to be with You/complete in You

it's my hearts' cry/my one desire

to be with You/complete in You

so take me in/to the mercy seat"

there is an often quoted scripture in Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

2015 is upon us - 2014 is behind - as we seek Jehovah, He guides us through each day renewing us with hope and securing our future in Him.  

provision

"birds gotta' fly"
ink and acrylic on vintage sheet music
sold

 the last couple of years, i have had some astronomical bills come my way.  there have been moments, during that time, that i was worried because i did not know how i was going to be able to remain financially solvent.  

today, as i was mailing a hefty property tax 

and paying several different insurances - - 

i was overwhelmed with God's provision.  

yes, i do work hard and  i take on jobs that i wouldn't normally take on, 

(i looked over the musical Oklahoma today for the first time, that i am playing starting next week, and realized it's 300+ pages of piano music and many times it is solo piano - Yikes!) 

i budget, and i practice generosity - 

but even with all my effort - 

financial solvency and the meeting of my daily needs is due to God and His provision.

"so beautiful"
acrylic on canvas

 Believers Church

Piano Students

Contract Work

Sale of Art

i made it through 2013

i made it through 2014

2015 is upon me

i need to work hard

and then rest in His promise that He will provide.

"easy like Sunday morning"

i serve a God who cares and daily supplies my needs - physical, spiritual and financial.

#sograteful

closing out the year

2014 is coming to a close and 2015 is on us.  

at the end of every year, i count my blessings 

and share with those who mean the most to me - family and friends.

all of us have different degrees of friendships with different people.  there are those who are casual acquaintances, pinterest followers, twitter followers, etc.  there are friends whom we see every week and we talk sports (football), music, movies, weather, go out to dinner, go shopping  and if we work with them - talk job related items.  there are others who are in our life for a season and then we reconnect via social media.  

then there are the friends of the heart.  

heart friends can be young, old, long-standing, new, different, alike 

but they all have common elements.

"trust"
acrylic and ink
American folk Art

my heart friends love Jehovah God with the same kind of passion that i have.  

they are seekers and long for His presence.  

their relationship with God is not built around what they do, but who they are in God.  

the other attribute of my heart friends is unerring trust.  

they are my best friends and i trust them with my heart and my life.  

they love me when i am happy or sad, successful or in trouble  

they love me in spite of myself.  

we laugh, we cry, we plan, we have fun 

we eat good food and communicate 

we dream 

we share life.  

my heart friends communicate their love and support in special ways:  

they take me in when i need a place to hide

they innately know when i need prayer 

they celebrate my successes

they love me through my failures and are there to lift me up 

they walk with me through the shadow of the valley of death. 

they are friends who would lay down their life for me - and i them.

daughter and mother

as 2014 draws to an end - i am so grateful for my friends.   

no matter what kind of friendship we experience - acquaintance or heart friend 

thank you for being my friend - you make my life rich and meaningful.

enigma #2

purple (true color or one of its variations) is one of my favorite colors to use in art work or as an accent color in decor.  one of my favorite artists/people is Alice Foster.  she and my mom have been best of friends since their first meeting at the pink church on the corner of Holmes and Garfield in Idaho Falls, Idaho. when we moved to Idaho Falls, we left the culture, climate, people and family of our heritage.   the Fosters and Kaisers, along with many other families in the pink church, became our extended family and a safety net for us.  

Alice loved the color purple - i still remember, in detail, her purple velvet coat.  she, more than anyone, inspired my love of the color.

"enigma of love #2"
art journaling

a few years ago, i did half of an art journal in the colors of passion - red and purple.  the colors and the theme evoked what i was feeling at the time - a warring of the soul - as i walked through a maze of emotions.  the spread i did got published, and i remember that i wrote a fluffy article to go along with the pages, but the article did not articulate the place from which the art came.

"Love is"
watercolor paper/ink/acrylic spray paint
sold

i, as a Christ follower, believe that everything in our lives happens for a reason - even though some of those life decisions or circumstances don't seem to make any sense and are incredibly painful.  the walk of faith endues us with courage to understand that any pain - if shared - can result in another's gain and their eventual healing.  

"reaching"
art journal

 love, (the enigma of love) is a beautiful part of life when shared with your best friend and a common love of Jehovah God.  i was talking with Larry Metcalf, my friend who just lost his battle with cancer, a few months ago.  he had come to Believers Church to say good-bye to all of us who loved him.  as he was sharing, he said, if this was God's time to take him he was ready.  after all, he had relationship with God, wonderful friends, a church family and the love of a wonderful woman.  Larry had suffered many disappointments and tragedies in his life, but those sufferings did not matter in the light of the beauty he had lived.

street art

don't dwell on what you don't have - but each day practice gratefulness for the wonderful life you have been given.  disappointments and suffering will occur in all of our lives, but when we know God is in control - "all things work together for our good."

have a wonderful Saturday.