I just read this verse from the bible , ten minutes ago .

It’s talking about a guy in the bible called Paul who has an AMAZING story of being a murderous angry Jesus hating man , and completing turning his life to becoming a Jesus adoring dude . And this verse is from  about a section of his life when he  was being begged to stay in a certain town to keep on sharing his knowledge of Jesus, (which he probably would have loved to have done) , but instead , set sail for another place , Ephesus , saying as he left “I will come back if it is God’s will “.

His life was run by Jesus …..

I’m an artist , and I love Jesus too . I gave  my heart to Him when I was 10 – and I swear , that since I was that arty creative little girl , to now , being an arty 45 year old woman , Jesus has run  my life .When I have  let him .

“When I have let Him”  …..I haven’t always allowed Jesus to direct the way I live .

I have been anxious , like the little girl scared of the moon at night , worrying about which way my life will go .

It’s so easy in our comfortable middle income Australian life , to try to run things our way . To try to control our anxiety ourselves . To try to run our lives by ourselves .

As an illustrator/artist, I have become used to creating my works – a gift I know comes from God . God has given me an amazing opportunity  in the last few months , to illustrate a book to help children with anxiety , written by an Associate Professor in Child Psychology at Griffith a University , here in Brisbane , Dr Allison Waters     . It’s called “Jessie and the Scaredy Cat Brain ” . God has also led me to paint portraits for people , portraits of people who have passed away , of pets they love . I know in my heart these opportunities come from Him – because they do something that blesses people and moves them to feelings of love and peace .

However  ,  this gift of creativity gift that can also lead to a tendency to feel you can create and control your own way in life .

If I ran my life MY way , I would become an illustrator for children’s book that will be published and sold in shops and read by children across the land !

BUT , I also need to prioritise  God , first up , top of my list !

He is my good , kind , peaceful loving Heavenly Father . He wants the best for me . He wants me to share his love with other people .

With you in fact .

And so I have this morning – before I start a big start on my artwork for “Jessie ” today … which will likely be at least 8-10 hours of work , I’ve tried to put Jesus first .

I’ve read Gods word , the Bible , and found the little verse I shared above , that has just jumped out at me from the page . And now , I feel compelled to share this blog post with you before I start work .

Finally , as the next big event in my life looms near ( only 3 days to go !) – the CYA conference , a conference for authors and illustrators of children and young adults and illustrators  . I have paid $100 a pop to meet with editors of BIG publishing companies -Penguin , Affirm , Black Dog Books and Hatchette , to get feedback and hopefully be contracted by one of them as an illustrator

But , God , I promise to you that I will trust that I will be lead by you .

“If it is Gods will “

That’s my Theme .

Love to all

xxxooo Sandy