Leanne Shawler, Artist

Sorry for the delay in getting this post out. Helena and I finished our icons last weekend and I get to pick up mine from her place, hopefully Saturday and then get it blessed. It's been a busy last few days preparing for the family gathering on today, Christmas Day, and I still have a little bit to do for that, but first, the icon update. After abandoning the whole borders idea, we still had to use the ruling pen (with watered down red paint inside! terrifying!) to put down the lines for Jesus' halo. This is Helena at work: (PS: Not sure how these videos are going to work ... ) My icon, ready for varnish under the glow of a lamp Helena's icon, ready for varnish, under the lamp Shiny, eh? Well wait, there's more. The magical transformation that occurs with varnish. Watch the magic (sound effects are all mine): I feel I could write something about the transfiguration of the icon at this point, but the excitement level is still a little too high ...

And I've been meaning to post them ... so here they are: An Open Letter to my Sisters in the Suburbs by Osheta Moore Perfect Pie: a Bakers Dozen+ Tips from Flourish, the King Arthur Flour blog The brilliant How hard can it be to find a handmade, fair-trade, biblically-accurate, ethnically-realistic, reasonably-priced, child-safe nativity scene by Rachel Held Evans I have a couple more but they are on the theme that I've been trying to settle my mind around: incarnation. Maybe more on that later this week.

There is this meme going around Facebook about listing 10 books that have stayed with one in some way. Nobody tagged me, and even if they did, I wouldn't put it on Facebook because I have never been a fan of chain letters, or guilting people into doing something (unless of course they are my little brothers, in which case all bets are off). In other news, I've been reflecting on incarnation thanks to some amazing sermons at my church  (December 1 and 8, 2013) but haven't found words for this yet. Or time to really dwell with it. And so I haven't posted. No progress on the icon either. But I have almost finished the giveaway paintings. Here's my list of 10 books that have stayed with me in some way. With commentary. Naturally. Jane Eyre , Charlotte Bronte Would it be crazy to say this was my scripture growing up? Not really. I come back to it again and again, and as I mature different moments and thoughts resonate with me. One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Li...