Sending Roses of Love...

Mothers, (and that means all good women who influence and serve this world for the better), are such important people in our lives! Mothers often get very little credit for what they really do to make this world go round, but, they are the "glue" that not only gives life but holds it all together. My grandmothers were such great women and were also my dearest friends. Some of the deepest truths are best learned on grandma's front porch and for me that's where I learned them. These women weren't rich or well known or even recognized for all they did while they were here, but now I realize more than ever how precious their love and influence on me really was. They taught me about hard work, courage to follow your heart, real religious conviction, creativity, intentional homemaking and so much more. But mostly, they taught me about love. When my grandmothers were alive I didn't have the money to send them big bouquets of flowers, especially roses, on Mother's day. I wish I could have done so much more to express my love for them. One day I was daydreaming about how fun it would have been to do some extra special things for them when they were living. Perhaps there is someone special who is missing from your Mother's day table this week, who you wish more than anything that you could provide a happy Mother's day for. Well, as I continued to think on roses I could have sent and other "what ifs...", it dawned on me that I could give my grandmothers roses even though they aren't here anymore. 

I realized I could give them these types of roses: (Perhaps you could also consider sending these types of roses to the mothers in your life...)

The rose of remembering- You can sit down and give it thirty minutes or so and you can remember your best times with them, their smile and their best qualities

The rose of honoring their name- Are all your actions things that they would be pleased to link with their name? Do you make them proud with the life you live?

The rose of service in their name- Did they have a cause or a love when they were here that you could go and do something about? Were they the one to foster family unity and the one to have the family picnics, make the "just checking"calls, or send the letters or cards? Maybe you could do some of that for them and in their honor.

The rose of improvement- Was there something they wanted for you or your family or a change they hoped for that never happened? Sometimes the best gift is the gift of fixing that which needs fixed. 

Your beloved Mother, Grandmother, Sister, Daughter, Teacher, Mentor or even friend is not gone forever. Mother's day can be a hard day for some of us as we think on who is missing but we can  realize that we will see them again and for now, we can give them the very important 

"roses" of our love. 

Happy Mother's day to good women everywhere!

(make the time to do one of these four ideas this week....

 your loved one will get these roses you send)

The Lamb

     A few years ago I had the wonderful experience of taking over 1,000 pictures, which I used as art references in doing a series of paintings about the qualities of Jesus Christ. I found three amazing Christ models who were willing to pose for these pictures. Many of my friends and neighbors also posed in those settings. I am so grateful to all the models who took of their time to help create the paintings in this series. My family also helped me on this project. My daughter, Mary, helped me by doing a lot of the photography... (She is now a grown woman and a professional photographer). That was such a fun experience. Out of those references I went on to create over 30 paintings of the Savior. This is one of them and I hope to share some of the others with you (with their meanings), as time goes on.

     This painting is entitled: The Lamb. You can see that Jesus is holding a lamb in this picture. One can see His feelings of love and tenderness for this lamb. He often refers to His role as one of a shepherd, or in His words, "the Good Shepherd'. Jesus often taught important truths in simple ways that the people of His day could understand. Shepherds are often known for the personal love and protective care they give the sheep or lambs of their fold. By referring to Himself as a shepherd, Jesus wanted us to know that He loves, protects and cares for us in much the same way as a shepherd does. When one of His fold is lost, He personally goes after them to return them to safety. When they are in harms way He warns them or gets between them and the danger. Often He uses us, His hands, to do this work of outreaching, protecting and caring for precious lambs. Jesus taught Peter (repeating three times) that if he truly loved Him, he must feed His sheep.

     Jesus Christ is also known as "The Lamb". In former times, lambs were used for sacrifice to remind the people that there was going to be a sacrifice of a perfect lamb in the future, namely Jesus Christ. He is the "Lamb of God", prepared to be offered as a sacrifice to rescue all of us. He not only goes after the lost, but He is the Savior, and by His own atoning sacrifice, all of us are rescued from death. For those who are willing to accept His conditions, His grace provides a way to receive Eternal Life.

     April is a special month as we celebrate and contemplate the birth of this amazing and perfect older brother, and as we remember what He has done for us. The cost to Him was beyond anything that any of us can understand. His atonement was an act of perfect love. No other person has ever given a gift of such infinite love. We owe Him everything.

     Spring is all about new life. Bare trees that once looked dead begin to show signs of inner life. I live near a lot of farms and every spring there are new colts, new lambs, new baby pigs and new animals of every kind. Gardens that looked dead are filled with blooming daffodils, pansies and tulips. I never look at a cemetery and think of just the dead, I think of the day when each and every one of them, who now sleeps, will be resurrected... alive again because of Jesus Christ! Oh how good God is to us to give us His Son, His only begotten Son, The Lamb!

 (A print of this painting is coming in June)
note: today at the April General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
Jeffrey R. Holland gave a great talk on The Lamb of God.