Sunday Sketches

I missed Sunday Sketches last week because I took a break from blogging due to the death of a little great-grandson, Gabriel. We were saddened that Gabriel did not survive his birthing and the whole family mourned with his mom and dad. We are sure that he is now healed and happy and living with Jesus where he will be surrounded with all of the love he can take in, and for that assurance we are thankful. So you will understand that much of my sketching for the last few days has centered around Gabriel's homegoing. I wanted to memorialize this little great-grandson in my scripture journal and begin adding some scriptures on death and eternal life. This is not a morbid thing, but a hopeful experience. So here is what I've put together so far...

I also did this zentangle for The Diva's Weekly Challenge...

and did an urban sketch of part of the Old City of Jerusalem for the Sketchbook Challenge.

I'm hoping that my sketches and my scripture journal will be things my family will treasure when I'm gone and that they will see the joy that art has brought to me and the hope I found in the scriptures. Of course, I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon, but our days are in the Lord's hands and it's always good to live as though He might call us home at any time.

That's my sermon-in-a-nutshell for today! :) To see more artwork go to Sunday Sketches at the Blue Chair Diary blog!

Have a great Father's Day and Shalom!

Returning to an old love...Jerusalem...

I've been in love with Jerusalem since I discovered her at about age 16. This was when I came to know the Lord. Well, at least, when I began to know the Lord. It's a lifelong and eternal process, I know now! :) I began studying the history of the Jewish people and the land of Israel at that time (beginning in 1973 or so) and I've always loved pictures of Jerusalem. Someday I'll go there, but for now I'll try to draw some of the beautiful stones of the city. I got a little frustrated trying to represent all of those stones, lol! Anyone got any advice on how to do that? Anyway, here is this mornings' attempt.

I've been taking a lot of notes for my scripture journal. I want to write some thoughts about death and eternal life since the passing of little Gabriel. I know that if we belong to God and have accepted Jesus's atoning sacrifice on our behalf, we are safe in His hands. Satan may kill our bodies, but he cannot touch our spirit. I know Gabriel is safe. I'd like to capture these thoughts in my journal.

Have a blessed day and a great weekend!

Shalom!

WOYWW!

Here we are again! Wednesday! Life is flying by one week at  a time! Once more it's time to sneak a peek at folks' desks all around the world. Julia at Stamping Ground is the hostess of this fun blog hop, so drop in at her blog if you'd like to join in.

Some of you may have read my last post in which I talked about my little great-grandson, Gabriel. For those of you who didn't, little Gabriel passed away six days ago while in the process of being born. It was a sad day for all of us. He had been diagnosed with heart problems a while back and it was expected that he would need some surgeries, but his heart just stopped while his mom was in labor. As you can understand, we've been thinking a lot about him this week and in his memory I wanted to create a couple of pages in my scripture journal. I'm not sure I'm finished with these. I may add some more text, but this is what they look like so far.

My granddaughter, Esther, had a dream about her son the night he died. In her dream she saw Gabriel in heaven and he was being held and passed around  by many people who loved him, and who had gone to heaven before him: two of his great-uncles, a good friend of the family and a man Esther didn't know. She described him to her husband as a very large, muscular black man. Her husband, Logan, had been feeling very sad thinking of Gabriel being all alone and after Esther's description he checked with some of his military buddies. They found out that a friend of his matching her description had died in Iraq and he hadn't known about it. One of these friends sent a picture of the man who died. His name is Mario and Esther said that, yes, that was the man in her dream. I hope I'm explaining this clearly, but I thought it was such a blessing that God would give her a dream like this to put both of the parents' hearts at ease knowing their little boy was surrounded by people who love him. Of course, Jesus is there with him also, but God knew it would bless them to see these other people they knew. :)

Besides these journal pages I haven't been doing a lot art-wise. On my slant-top desk you'll see my sketchbook which appears to be blank, but in reality there is a string drawn there awaiting my attempt to draw a zentangle for The Diva's Weekly Challenge. Not tonight; it's late!

I hope you all have a great WOYWW and thanks for all of your prayers!

Shalom!

We'll see you in Heaven, sweet little Gabriel...

Our granddaughter, Esther, gave birth to our little great-grandson, Gabriel on June 6. Sadly, he didn't survive, but we rejoice that he's in the safe arms of his Savior, Jesus! Gabriel had been diagnosed with a heart problem which would have required surgery immediately after birth with follow-up surgery in 6 months. His little heart just stopped beating before he emerged into this new world. I know he's loving his home in Heaven, and we sure would appreciate your prayers for his mommy, grandmom and aunt in Oklahoma who miss him so much. We pray that they will feel God's loving arms around them and that they will eventually feel at peace knowing that Gabriel is safe.

Shalom.