Fresh Paint, Hard Lessons

Only 2 days into the new year and already learning!

Do you ever do something only to end up regretting it?

In my last email, I talked about working on a painting that I decided needed more work. I took a painting off the wall and back to the easel to work on it.

I learned a lesson.

Going back into a painting is nearly impossible for me.

Regardless of when I painted it, I have learned more than when I worked on it originally.

Photo by laura adai on Unsplash

Questions like:

• What colors did I use?

• What brushes?

• Or did I use a palette knife instead of a brush?

I had no idea. I had been away from it too long. It took me days to even get close to the same color I needed.

And I am not sure I even like it now that I have started changing it.

What I now wish I had done is ask myself a question:

• Do I want to revisit this KIND of painting?

If I said yes, I would have started a brand new one. It would be revisiting the same subject, but with fresh eyes. It would have been fun to see how the new work would have looked next to the original piece.

I want to permit myself to leave some loose ends this year. So what if the painting hanging on my wall could have been done differently? Instead of being bothered by something I wish I had done differently, I want to see the invitation to keep exploring.

I don’t want to live this year with the expectation that everything should be perfect.

That isn’t reality. Life is messy. We are all in process. I will know some things tomorrow that I didn’t know today.

Who I am today is enough, and I am really excited about this journey!

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5-Star Reads from 2025

Photo by Héctor J. Rivas on Unsplash

(I’d like to add this to my 2026 vision board as a place to visit this year! Who’s in?)

I started in March, keeping a list of every book I read and giving them a rating. Here are my 5-star books.

2025 FAVORITE BOOKS:

(Non-fiction)

• Rembrandt in the Wind by Russ Ramsey

• In the Water by Bill Johnson

• Leap Over a Wall by Eugene Petterson

• Art and Faith by Makoto Fujimura

(Fiction)

• The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Calhoun Henry

Unbeknownst to me, until this article, I had no idea I was so particular with my 5-star ratings. And although I am a huge fiction fan, I think I must be harder to wow in the fiction genre.

I have several that are 4 1/2 stars and some that are 4-stars in the area of fiction. If you are an avid reader and would like me to include those books in the next email, leave a comment below and let me know.

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An Amazing Testimony!

At the beginning of the year, our youngest daughter, Elizabeth Jane, and I hosted a Morning of Creativity. We wanted to make space to encourage people in their creativity without having the pressure to make a masterpiece.

Elizabeth Jane taught about collages. During that lesson, our dear friend Lisa began to consider her year. She had just turned 50 and made her collage to celebrate her Jubilee year.

Within the last few weeks of 2025, just before her 51st birthday, Lisa started the process of buying her first home. One of her friends reminded her that it was still her Jubilee year. That comment reminded her of the collage she created at the Morning of Creativity. When she saw it, she was amazed.

In the bottom corner of her collage, there is a house! And it actually is even reminiscent of the home she will be purchasing in the next two weeks.

Our creativity matters.

So this year, I created a Pinterest Vision board for the year. Before I started, I prayed and asked the Lord to partner with me as I started pinning ideas. It is going to be sweet to go back a year from now and see what I am celebrating.