Do you feel like sometimes you just need a little encouragement to get through the day? Me too. When I’m in nature, all I need to do is sit in creation and soak it in. During that time, my charge cord is plugged in and within a matter of minutes I’m full.
Look what scripture says about nature:
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:1-4
For those who believe, this is why we feel so close to God when in nature. Nature itself is witnessing of God without words…that’s so cool!
But what if you cannot get outside?
There’s another source of encouragement you can tap into at any time by meditating on the Word itself. It is alive.
When I’m worried about something, I find an appropriate verse and repeat it during the day.
For example, if I’m feeling scared I can say this verse:
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Is 41:10
After a few minutes of meditating on this, I will lose my fear and begin to feel calm. If I fall backwards and feel anxious again, all I have to do is keep repeating my verse. It really is powerful.
So, I want to encourage someone out there with some free artwork in the mail.
- 1 person will receive this original watercolor with a personalized handwritten verse on it.
- 6 people will receive a print of this watercolor with their own personalized handwritten verse on it.
The Rules:
- By Friday, March 4, 2016 at 6pm (cst) Leave a comment and tell me what area you need encouragement in. (For example: I am feeling worried… I am feeling scared… I am feeling a little sad.) You don’t have to be specific. DO NOT leave your personal information like address or phone number…it will be deleted.
- I will pick 7 entries Saturday, March 5, 2016 and contact you via email.
- When you receive your artwork in the mail, do something encouraging for someone else. This could be anything. You can call someone up on the phone and tell them you’re thinking about them and share your verse. You can give a friend one single flower and find a verse that can help them. Just do something encouraging for someone in need!
Next week, I will post the selected entries as 7 different encouraging verses for anyone to download. So everyone is a winner!
It is my hope that I can uplift people and in return they can turn around and uplift others. Let us be light in the world!!!!
Let's Paint Nature! 
I struggle with feeling overwhelmed and tired from taking care of my mom.
She recently passed away, but there is still so much to deal with.
Hi Carole,
I’m so sorry for the loss of your mother. Not only are you in mourning, but you are also trying to tie up loose ends. It is no wonder why you feel overwhelmed. Here is the verse I picked out for you:
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path. Psalm 142:3
Take comfort in knowing that God can help you by giving you wisdom to know what to do. He will walk with you through the process.
I will contact you shortly via email so that I can send you a print. Congrats!
Hi Carol:
Being overwhelmed can drag the best of us down when it comes to our loved ones ,but it is us that have done the imposable for our loved ones ,and get no breaks in life. After the loved one has left, this world is when we get the results of all our hard work that we have done taking care of them ,and that is all the memories that we have of that person.
So remember Carol that the good lord will purify us with his passion, for the passion that we give others to make our days become bright lights in a dark world,now and then we can look at ourselves and say good job lets get on with it, and feel good about what we did for our passion, and create more ART.
John! I love your encouragement! I am going to send you a print as well. Here is the verse I picked out for you:
The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147:11
The term “fear” refers to being reverent of God and not scared of God. It is evident by your willingness to help Carole, that you put your hope in His unfailing love. Congrats! I will send you an email shortly.
I’ve been getting email updates from you from before I came a believer, and now they have really begun to stand out to me. Today was the first day I read your blog post and really felt a strong spiritual connection to it. I need God and I walk with Christ the best that I can because I need His light. Not just daily, but every minute of everyday. I used to not know how to cope with my depression and anxiety, and it was bad for long periods of time. Now, I still get tired and depressed, but I know that God doesn’t give me more than I can handle. I still need encouragement when I’m feeling depressed though.
Hi Jeffrey,
Depression can wear out your soul. It is a very heavy thing. I struggle with it myself. Do you want to hear something really amazing? We have a God who willingly transformed Himself into a human and felt all of these suffering emotions. Look what is says when Jesus saw Martha and Mary weeping for their dead brother Lazarus: Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. John 11:33 In verse 35 it says: Jesus wept.
Doesn’t depression feel like a groan in the spirit? Our Lord experienced it all. He groaned, he cried, he felt pain. He is not some far away God sitting on a cloud waiting to strike bad people down. He’s compassionate because he feels our pain.
The verse I picked out for you is:
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. Lamentations 3:22
Depression will not consume you. Anxiety will not consume you, because His compassions fail not and are new every morning.
Congrats, I will contact you via email shortly so that I can send you a print.
I’m feeling discouraged with a nerve issue that isn’t diagnosed and is dragging on now for months and doesn’t seem to be improving. I yearn for a full night’s sleep. However, I’d give the price to Carol, who is overwhelmed with having cared for her aging mother. I only gave relief to my sister, who was my mother’s full time angel and care giver, and I know how exhausting this can be.
Hi Polly,
I’m sorry to hear of your undiagnosed nerve issue and not being able to rest. Here is the verse I picked out for you:
For He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. Psalm 72:12
“No one to help” refers to the fact that the doctors still have not come up with a diagnosis yet. In Psalm 68:19 it says that the Lord daily bears our burdens. We don’t always receive an answer to why we go through things at times, but we do know that our God is compassionate to our struggles daily. I will be praying that the doctors receive the wisdom they need to give a proper diagnosis for treatment. In the meantime, I will contact you shortly via email so that I can send you a print.
sometimes I feel incredibly sad…for no reason…it;’s as if I am covered by a dark cloud…I feel unable to fight it,,,I just hold on until it goes away…but days go by before I can lift my head up or smile…I would not call it depression…just sadness.
Hi Cheryl,
You might think what I’m about to say is strange or even hard to do, but hear me out…. On those days of sadness, praise God. Now, you might even want to yell at me saying, “What?!? How can I praise God when I can’t even lift my head???” There is something about praising God in the midst of sorrow which breaks strongholds. By stronghold I mean, that foreboding feeling which wont go away. What do I mean by praise Him? Simply whisper, “God, you are good.” It wont make sense to you now but keep praising Him.
For your verse I handpicked this one for you:
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3
By keeping your mind steadfast in Him, you will experience peace which surpasses all understanding. Congrats! I will contact you via email shortly so that I can send you a print.
I am extremely anxious and worried about my husband’s health. I am so scared of losing him.
Hi Nancy,
I’m so sorry for what you are going through, I know you must be scared. I am praying for you as well as your husband. I don’t know what the future holds but I do know that God hears you when you call to Him. Here is the verse I picked out for you:
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9
God wants to show Himself strong on your behalf. He will always be with you and never forsake you.
I will email you shortly. I would like to give you the original artwork.
A lovely painting, Christine … and a generous offer! Thank you.
Thanks Gene! In a few days I hope to have all of the verses up for free downloads so that you can have your pick as to which one you would like to have. Hope all is well.
Psalm 46:10
Sent from my iPhone
>
Be still and know that I am God.
What a beautiful and appropriate verse! That’s all we really need to know!
Thank you
I have a friend who is in diagnosed depression. Her husband passed away 8 years ago from ALS, and she is still in so much grief. I need encouragement to keep contacting her even tho’ it doesn’t seem to do any good. My verse is from Jeremiah 29:11: “11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil”
Hello Juzzell,
You’re doing a great work encouraging your friend! It is so very, very important. I know it might not feel like it….her depression can actually bring you down, by making you feel drained because you don’t see any progress. When my son had episodes of depression, there was nothing I could say to shake him out of it, but do you know what? He was listening. Not only was he listening, but he even considered the things I said to be true, even though at the time he would never admit to it. He told me this later. So keep going! Depression is a lack of hope (among other things) and it’s important to give our reason for hope which is God. If you suspect your friend is so depressed that she is at risk of harming herself, please call medical assistance for her as she wont be able to do it herself.
With that being said the verse I picked out for you is:
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
I love Jeremiah 29:11, by the way….such encouragement!! I will send you an email shortly so that I can send you a print. Congrats!
For your friend, you might want to give her this verse:
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18
A contrite spirit is a crushed spirit. That sounds like it would describe your friend. If only she can realize the love our Father has for her!! Well, that’s where you come in. Keep up the great work!!!
Gorgeous painting. Is this open to addresses worldwide or just stateside?
Hi, I’m sorry I did not see this until today. In a few days I will post all of the verses with free downloads so that you can pick the one you like.
Amen to all your thoughts! Have you ever read the book Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas? It is a wonderful and encouraging book detailing the ways the author has determined we connect with God best (and we all do it in different ways). One of them is through nature, and that one is consistently my top “connector” to God. The verse you shared is perfect with your words. I love Psalm 19. What a sweet thing you are doing. I look forward to seeing the verses you choose and put up once you’ve sent the artwork out.
Hi Mary Anne!
I definitely will check into that book by Gary Thomas. It sounds right up my alley….I LOVE to read too!! Thanks for your encouragement, I appreciate it so much!
Please pray for me, too. I thought I was friends with someone whom I gave support to when she needed it but who was too busy to help me when I needed her. She’s a Christian, too, and I’m beginning to wonder how I could be so wrong to trust someone who just pretended to like me but just felt obligated to pretend to like me because it’s the “Christian” thing to do. I’m beginning to wonder just what side she’s really working for to be as insensitive and indifferent to someone who once really cared about her. I don’t want any artwork. I have enough on my walls to remind me whenever I forget and want to reach out to another person again. People really do treat one another about the same way they treat God. This is from the book “Spiritual Literacy” and I find it to be so true.
Jesus knew what was in the heart of man. He cried for them, he prayed for them, he taught them, and they betrayed him…he loved them anyway…he forgave them.
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2016 22:25:45 +0000 To: trobertlewis@hotmail.com
I want to say how much I enjoy your posts! They are such an encouragement to not only me but countless others! I try to check your blog often as I love your paintings and take inspiration from your artwork but I also am encouraged by your thoughts and the scriptures you quote. Thank you so much for how you have inspired others. May God continue to bless you as you have blessed others. Sincerely, Paige Pittman