He called her Hephzibah

  For Katie, a most faithful friend who hears the voice of her Shepherd.  I love you like you were my own sister.  Thank you for being such a precious friend to me.  You've been with me and prayed for me through some really hard days.  I am so grateful for you!  Your love for Jesus radiates through you. "My sheep know my voice; I know them and they follow Me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand."  -John 10:27-28 There is SO MUCH that can be said about sheep being used in scripture.  I've had a hard time narrowing it down, so I'm just going to include as much as I can and trust the Holy Spirit to guide you to what you need. The Shepherd's Voice I remember being a kid and going on a field trip to a farm.  We learned about sheep and how they only respond to the voice of their shepherd.  We all took turns trying to call the sheep.  The sheep completely ignored all of us....

WELCOME   If we have not met, my name is Emily and I am a survivor of a traumatic brain injury.  I am honored to be a featured artist alongside fellow survivor, Jeremy, for the month of March at Huntsville Hospital.  March is TBI (traumatic brain injury) awareness month.   For more about me and my personal journey with a TBI, click here . If you are interested in hearing the story behind any of the paintings, please see the links below.  Feel free to explore this little blog and also check out my shop and portfolio !  If you are interested, I would love to add you to my subscribers list.  I send out an email on the first of each month with a devotional link attached.   Email me  if you would like to be added to our group!  Thank you for being here!  Thank you for your support!   "Connections" I did not paint this one alone.  Click here to read the story. "Peachy Keen" I haven't been able to write the story ...

  For Whitney,  my first "grown-up" friend.     Whitney was the first real friend I made after moving back to Huntsville in 2013.  I heard someone say once that "as an adult, you get to choose your friends."  I'm so thankful we chose to be friends with each other.  You've been with me through some really hard seasons, and have always encouraged me to look to God's word.  I think of you as my sister & am so grateful for you.  Love you bunches! Isaiah 49:15-16 "Can a mother forget her nursing child or have no compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands..." Our verse this month comes right after the following: "Shout of joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains!  For the LORD comforts His people and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.  But Zion said, "the LORD has forsaken me.  The LORD has forgotte...

  For my Nana,  flowers always remind me of your beauty & perseverance.   No matter what the enemy seems to throw your way, you keep standing.  You keep fighting. Thank you for loving your family so well. And for keeping us rolling with laughs ;)  Jesus was sitting with His disciples at the Passover the night He would be betrayed.  After Judas leaves the meal to betray Him, this is what Jesus says: “...Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.     If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.     Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’   A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.    By this all people will know tha...

Happy New Year! If you would like to be added to the list to receive a monthly reminder about our devotions, please contact me: emfwlr@outlook.com This first painting in the 2024 is dedicated to my youngest brother, Isaiah.  I don't have children of my own, but if I did I would want them to be like you.  Isaiah, you continually remind me of the Lord's loving kindness and I am so very grateful for you.   “Come now, let us settle the matter,  says the  Lord . “Though your sins are like scarlet,      they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson,      they shall be like wool." -Isaiah 1:18 I have been sitting with a blank screen for days trying to figure out something to say.  To be honest, it's made me rethink this whole devotion a month idea.  My heart feels empty and my hands struggle to type.  I was planning to talk about God's amazing forgiveness.  Yet, when you've been touched by evi...

I am so glad you're here & I'm so excited for us to journey together through the 2024 scriptures and calendar paintings!  Lord willing, on the first of each month I will post a devotion that dives deeper into the scripture on your calendar page. *You do not have to own a calendar to follow along! *I send out email reminders with a link on the first of each month.  If you'd like to sign up, you can do so by sending me your email address  here ! Since we have some new friends joining us this year, I wanted to take this opportunity to also introduce myself!   My name is Emily.  Jesus rescued me from death and has brought me through a fair share of heartache.  I have all brothers, lots of fish, and a pup named Winnie.  Winnie is an ESA & therapy dog, so she frequently accompanies me to the doctor.  From 2013-2021 I was an elementary school teacher, tutor, and reading specialist.  I worked with the best kids and I miss them every day. In 2...

The calendar. Wow. Can I just say…WOW. It started off as a fun way to raise money for medical bills.  It turned into a community when the Lord would not relent that the devotions would go with the paintings.  It has been so fun and so encouraging to hear the different ways God has used this little 2023 calendar. In January of this year, I knew I wanted to try to create another calendar for 2024.  So I started off strong with completing the January 2024 page a whole year in advance.  Then life happened and I didn’t get February done like I planned.  But for the next six months whenever I could steal little moments to paint I did so- sometimes with the calendar in mind and sometimes just for fun.  Then summer came and I hit a wall.  You might remember that July’s whale never got his devotional.  So instead of Christmas in July, how about we have July in Christmas? This has been the hardest post to write.  I have wrestled with what to say or not...