They say, "a picture is worth a thousand words." I purchased the painting pictured here in 1973 in one of the most horrific times of my life. I was lost--without Christ. Condemned. This picture mirrored exactly how I felt. Like a tiny being in a humongous chair--clutching myself--embracing the only thing that was important to me. My selfish, self-centered self. I did not fit or belong to the world beyond my shoulders. I belonged only to myself, my desires, my ambitions, my goals.
After I was saved, I kept the painting. It was symbolic of where I was before Jesus came into my life. When I received His grace, I was able to put my past behind me. Not so far out of mind that I could not recall from whence I came, but far enough to know it was behind me. In Jesus I walk in the newness of life--forgiven. He walks with me through the shadows of death. In those shadows, I seek to die daily to the self I once held in highest regard. I want to live for Him. Many times in the past quarter of a century I have failed. But as many times as I have failed, He has forgiven, restored, and renewed. That is what makes loving Him so incomprehensible. His love is beyond any picture I could paint, or any words I could write to describe.
As a 7-year-old child I was baptized in a Southern Baptist Church in Triangle, Virginia, believing Jesus saved me. I attended that church from the time I was a toddler until I was a teenager. Since becoming a child of God in 1976, I have served in Southern Baptist churches as a children's teacher, youth teacher and director, Women's Missions Director, Children's Worship Coordinator, Minister's Wife, and writer. I began writing professionally in 1981 after studying many writing books from the Meade County Library in Kentucky while my husband was ministering in his first pastorate. I took some writing classes at Boyce Bible School in Louisville. My first article, "Second Miracle", was published in Decision Magazine. I can barely remember a time when I haven't wanted to express myself through writing. Other publications: Home Life Magazine, Living with Children, Living with Teenagers, Upper Room, Daily Meditation, The Crier (my own conservative newspaper). Today I write a weekly newspaper column in The County Times here in Comanche County, Oklahoma entitled Common Matters. I've written devotionals online since discovering blogging as a venue in 2006. Devotional writing is my passion and calling as a writer. It's my hope and desire to write scripturally based thoughts that convey comfort, encouragement and edification. I lay no claim to expertise in theology or doctrine--just the sealed life through the blood of Jesus Christ, God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.
I draw from a well of life experiences that include joys of marriage, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and dear, dear friends, brothers and sisters in Christ. I've known betrayal and neglect: abandoned by a mother at the age of 3, emotionally and physically abused by a step-mother, and molested by others. Through the loss of children through miscarriage, one premature child who lived a day, and a 33-year old son who tragically died on Mother's Day 2005, I am acquainted with grief. Yet, through it all, I have found the healing grace, and peace of God through Jesus Christ. This is why I write...to share Christ and His power. To share how the Holy Spirit guides, comforts and teaches me. To give honor and glory to God the Father and praise Him for all He allows me to do in His name. It is my prayer that when you read my work, you find words worth reading that bring you closer to our Lord and greater understanding of God's steadfast love. selahV
