Kersey Valley Christmas

The good folks over at Kersey Valley are at it again this Christmas. I was priviledged to paint a few photo-ops and signs for them this year. If you live in the High Point, NC area, you really need to check this place out...they have about everything you need from Christmas trees, wreaths that you can decorate as you like, hot chocolate, and even their brand new "zip line" for all those who have an adventurous streak in them.
I would recommend that if you go, go at night...or at least make a trip back at night to see the beautiful light display. It took me forever to drag my 3 year old, Ellie, away.

Here are some of the things I painted:

If any man thirst...

What makes us thirsty? Have you ever thought about that? What is it inside of us that alerts our bodies to tell us we need liquids? It's amazing to see how our bodies were designed to inform us through "thirst" that we need water. When we become thirsty, we then naturally seek satisfaction. Without "thirst", we would never realize our body's physical need of water and we would surely perish.

During the last and great day of the Feast of Booths ( Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast of Ingathering), Jesus stood and proclaimed, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." John 7:37-38. Without a proper understanding of Jewish culture and festival practices, one might think this was an unusual setting for Christ's words. But, John always gives valuable details of his journeys with Christ so that we might believe and be saved.

Archdale Elementary Arts Day

Archdale Elementary School hosted a day of the arts on Friday, Nov.12 of which I was invited. Each participating artist was set up in a specific classroom while the students rotated to each class every 20 minutes. I brought a couple of my most colorful paintings to show, "But Noah Found Grace" and "The Seed Sower". Instead of going through a boring lecture about my art and how I paint, I decided to do an actual painting demonstration so the kids could see first hand how a painting is started and how it progresses.

Bread of Life Painting Sermon

How despairing it is to observe an empty painting of an empty plate. We are all consumed with emptiness and we spend our entire lives attempting to fill that empty plate within our souls. In John 6, we see a demonstration of this vain attempt. The multitude of John 6 was guilty of wrong motives and wrong methods in their quest to fulfill their void.

Pastor Appreciation

This is my latest painting that was painted for our Pastor Appreciation Day. October has been designated as Pastor Appreciation Month and churches are encouraged to show their love and gratefulness to the undershepherd of the local flock of believers.

My pastor, John Miles is a huge history buff who shares a common love that I do...old clipper ships. I remember a book that my parents had bought me when I was a little fella, called "How to Draw Ships, Trains and Airplanes". It was the greatest thing since sliced bread. This began my love affair with drawing. I also remember reading a great book titled "Kidnapped" when I was in elementary school. This book is responsible for many daydreams of sailing on old clipper ships and pirate vessels.

So, in my own feeble way, I'd like to say thanks to my pastor, John Miles, for his stand on the truth of the Scriptures and his rejection of the humanistic modern bible interpretations that plague our churches today. May God give him many more years of minsitry.

My First Pentecostal Holiness Experience

"Where do you guys keep the snakes?", was one of my first statements after stepping in the pulpit at the First Pentecostal Holiness Church of Thomasville, NC. (I just couldn't resist the above picture!) Luckily, we all agreed that the only proper way to handle a snake is the way the Apostle Paul did, by shaking it off in a fire!