The first of hopefully many

THEY ARE TEACHING US HOW TO COLOR!!!
This is like every little kid's dream. I never could have imagined that this is what I would be doing when I got older and went to college. It's sort of surreal when I think about what I am doing here every day and what I will be doing in the future, compared to traditional liberal arts college students.

And yet......... I'm still killing myself working so much.

No free time for me.

I have no more laundry to wear and I have been wearing the same grimy pants for the past week and they are literally tearing apart. If I had a free day I would go to the park and lay in the sun for a while. I have also been meaning to go grocery shopping, not so much for myself but so that I can have some good food to make for my friends. weird right? Well I guess the way I see it is that as long as the people I love and care about are happy, than I'm happy, and if I can somehow be the cause of their happiness so much the better.

Spring is coming and it is glorious, I love feeling the sun lightly upon my back, and hearing all the twittering birds that have come back home from from warmer places. God is shinning His blessings upon every morning of the spring, promising a fresh start, new beginnings and rebirth, not only for all of nature but also for my own soul and spirit. It's too bad I don't get to see how the rest of the day usually turns out, as I am to be found in the studio, working away towards some unforeseen goal. Sometimes I just find myself staring out the window towards the murky canal, nevertheless glittering in the sunshine.

Mid-day the sun beats down through the window panes and the bright warmth soaks into my skin. I become drowzy as my body is reminded of better days back home when I had the luxury of coming home from school and just sitting outside under the sun with my dog, watching my garden grow as a slight cool breeze stirs the air.

As the day wears on a cold wind blows and grey clouds cover the sky.

Still I am working.

People ask me how I do it, how I manage to stay so calm in the chaos of looming deadlines, working seemingly without rest . "Only by the grace of God." I tell them. I have a prayer taped to the bottom of my desk drawer, and periodically pull it out when I am in need of a reminder as to why I am there and what I am ultimately working towards. Every day is a new day and I just keep pressing on. This past week has been a no-eat, no-sleep kind of week, but the weekend promises to regain a least a little of what I have lost.

Philippeans 3:13 says that "I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has mad me his own." Indeed, Christ has made me his own, and in doing so he has given me new life, and I am fulfilled by him. It is for Him that my work comes to a halt, and I leave the studio. Forget about food, for Christ nurishes me and I am filled with the Lord. Forget about sleep, for God grants me peace and my heart rests in Him. No, I must not stay for my Lord is calling me forth to come and be in His presence. So I must give over everything to Hime, for what more do I have? I would sacrifice everything to Him, but still it could not compare to what He has sacrificed for us. I don't believe that God asks much of me compared to what I have gotten in return.

The sun is gone from the sky now and there is only an inky darkness overhead. The moon and the stars are hidden by the smog of city life and clouds attempting to hold back their rain, but my soul is filled with His brightness, and His light makes all things beautiful.

Goodnight