Can You Paint With All The Colors Of The Wind?

"Like the appearance of the bow in that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." - Ezekiel 1:28

Hello friends in Christ! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a while. My schoolwork has been very hectic lately. But God has definitely been helping me a lot to get through this rough patch. Anyways, I wanted to share with you about the wonderful colors God has bestowed upon us in His amazing creation! Recently I had several coloring assignments for my classes. It's funny because I'm a senior in college and my professors are giving me things to color—like when I was five. However, I'm not complaining, it was a lot of fun.

For my Renaissance class we were all given panels from the Sistine Chapel. Each person in the class was assigned a partner to color with. The panels were separated into several sections. It was our job to color them with the right colors and to keep the panels seamless, in doing so. The girl I worked with gave me some of her colored pencils to use so we would both be using the same colors for the panels. The assignment ended up turning out very well. It is so bright and vivid. The colors are absolutely beautiful! The section of the Sistine Chapel we colored was the throne of The Delphic Sibyl. She is one of the most beautiful figures Michelangelo painted on the ceiling. Her garments contain hues of deep oranges and reds, light greens, and various shades of blues.

Michelangelo, The Delphic Sibyl, Sistine Chapel, 1509

After coloring the large panel sections I recalled Our Lady's recent Medjugorje message. On September 25, 2012, she said, "Dear children! When in nature you look at the richness of the colors which the Most High gives you, open your heart and pray with gratitude for all the good that you have and say: 'I am here created for eternity'—and yearn for heavenly things because God loves you with immeasurable love. This is why He also gave me to you to tell you: 'Only in God is your peace and hope, dear children.' Thank you for having responded to my call."

After reading her message over again I just walked around my campus and took in all the beauty, the colors, and the light God has given us. He has created the most wonderful and glorious work of art in history—which is the Earth and life itself. Just think about how many beautiful things in this world can leave you in complete awe...such as the ocean, the sky, the sun, the clouds, the mountains, the aurora borealis, all of the rainbows, waterfalls, trees, flowers, plants, animals, etc. The list goes on and on! With every form of creation we have amazing colors. This world has so much beauty to offer. For instance, there are so many colorful fish under the sea, vividly painted flowers of the Earth, multicolored butterflies, picturesque landscapes, blazing orange fires, and crystal blue waters. We need to take the time to appreciate the beauty around us. Even admiring the metallic feathers of a peacock, created by the Most High, illustrates our understanding of God as the ultimate creator of beauty and wonder. Having an artistic background myself, I have learned to appreciate this beauty even more deeply.

Maybe you have heard of Akiane Kramarik. She is an artistic child prodigy. She started drawing around the age of four. Without any art lessons she began to paint mesmerizing pictures. Her imagery came from visions she received from God at a very young age. Akiane is known for painting portraits, scenic landscapes, religious, and spiritual images. She tends to use extremely vivid colors for her compositions. At ten years old she painted Creation (2005), a colorful depiction of the stars, planets, and galaxy. This is Akiane's interpretation of the universe which came from God, Himself.

Akiane Kramarik, Creation, 48"x48", Age 10 (2005)

She painted another incredibly vivid image in 2006. Again, her interpretation of Heaven came from these visions. This piece is called Supreme Sanctuary, completed at age eleven. Talking about this painting, she said, "In Heaven I believe there is a place where each of us will be able to choose and create a sanctuary. I believe that certain things will be somewhat similar to the earth and many things completely different. This is the garden and a mansion I would like to plant and build. In fact, the colors in the original painting are so unique and mysterious that it was almost impossible to reproduce them for the print reproduction."

Akiane Kramarik, Supreme Sanctuary, 30"x40", Age 11 (2006)

Akiane's striking images speak to us through the colors she utilizes inspired by God's creation. Although there are many beautiful creations in this world, the most beautiful of all is God's mother—the Blessed Virgin Mary. Akiane also painted a portrait of Mary, titled Innocence, at the age of twelve. She describes the painting as her interpretation of purity, gentleness, beauty, and humility. Even though she is not Catholic, Akiane recognizes the importance of Mary and her eternal, youthful, glorious beauty.

Akiane Kramarik, Innocence, 48"x60", Age 12 (2007)

Observing God's creation and the beautiful colors in found nature, I'm sure you have heard the famous song that correlates to this topic. It is from Disney's Pocahontas called "Colors of the Wind." In the movie, Pocahontas asks her friend, John Smith, "Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?" This seems impossible, right? The wind itself does not have color. It is invisible. And yet, everything it touches is saturated with color. Even though we cannot see the wind, we know it is there because we can feel it. This is the same as our Lord. Although we may not see Him, we can always feel His presence among us through His beauty in nature.

Even though we are speaking about visible colors, the song is also referring to our way of life. Like an artist, striving for perfection, we must also strive to seek perfection in our own lives. Living according to His word is key. Can you just image painting the most beautiful, colorful, and glorious picture of yourself to offer God at the end of your life? I don't mean painting a physical painting. I mean painting the image of your persona with the actions you live in this life. Let your soul be illuminated by the love of God. Only then will you be able to reflect all the colors of the rainbow. So having said this, may I ask you a question...can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Check out my Pintrest page and view my board "Beautiful Places" if you are interested in seeing more of God's beauty. I love to pin stuff! So check out everything. I even have some great Catholic boards you can follow and pin from. Enjoy! 

Be Still & Free Yourself From Distractions

"Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world." - Psalm 46:10

Last Saturday I went on a Jesuit retreat with my sister called "Hearts on Fire." It was a wonderful experience! I learned so much about St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, and met so many wonderful people. During the retreat the priests talked about Ignatian Contemplation. This is a very reflective type of prayer that allows you to focus on God, alone, in silence, and using your imagination to do so. It is similar to meditation, because it is not a vocal prayer, but at the same time it is different because you are not necessarily thinking of prayers while you contemplate.

To begin you might start with meditating on a decade of the rosary. After the meditation, follow up with reading a scripture verse from the bible. When I did this at the retreat I contemplated on the verses Matthew 8:23-27, The Calming of the Storm at Sea. By thinking about this scene you begin to place yourself in it with the disciples on the boat. Imagining the waves of the water crashing up violently against the boat you slowly think about how the surroundings would feel like, smell like, and taste like. Then you begin to think to yourself, "Where am I in relation to Jesus? ...Am I close? Far? Am I with the other disciples?" Maybe where you picture yourself to be in the scene could be a sign of how close you are getting to God in your prayer life. Nevertheless, it is truly just learning to be still in the presence of God.

Using your imagination can be wonderful! It allows our creativity to be integrated in prayer form. Father Jim Martin, author of My Life With the Saints, explains Ignatian Contemplation very well in the video below.

However, when you are in prayer, it is important to know that your imagination is not trailing away from God in self-refection. If you find yourself distracted maybe meditate on the rosary again or just try to empty yourself of all other thoughts. Just learning to be still and free from any thought all together is another great way of contemplating. It gives God the opportunity to answer your prayers in the peace and quiet of your heart.

This brings me to my next point...distractions. We all seem to have so many distractions in our lives! From school, work, relationships, social media, music, sports, finances, politics, injuries, illnesses, ...etc. All of these things have the potential to pull us away from God if we let them. By finding more time for prayer, mediation, and contemplation we are more likely to find ourselves seeking God's Will actively in our lives. Even in C.S. Lewis' book, The Screwtape Letters, he points out that the devil tries to create so much noise in the world so that we can no longer hear the voice of God.

In this video Ashley, a very well spoken young woman, offers her wisdom on "distractions" that lead us away from God. It is important to find some quiet time in your day and go to church on Sundays. Doing these small things will help increase your relationship with God in the long run. When people slowly move away from such things as prayer they become more distracted and tend to wander aimlessly without God's guidance. If you want to know what God wants from you, give God your time. He wants to talk to you too! If we can empty ourselves from this world and try to focus on Him--and Him alone--we will slowly, but surely, find His Holy Will.

Forgiveness and Healing a Broken Heart

"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." - Matthew 6:14

Have you ever been so hurt by someone that all you want to do is blow up in a rage, punch your pillow, and pretend it was them? Do you find yourself sometimes listening to music that correlates to the emotions you feel towards that person? If so, you are not alone. I can empathize with you in this case. It is hard to let go of something so painful when someone has wronged you. It usually weighs on your mind for a while, preventing you from moving on with your life. And this, my friend, is not good.

God doesn't want us to dwell on these things. By dwelling on the hurt someone else has caused you, you are the only one continuing to cause it. You can become your own worst enemy. By hardening your heart you are allowing hatred to find its way into the open wounds. This is how the devil works. He will try to keep infecting your wounds with hate so they never heal...which, in turn, just makes you feel more miserable, hurt, angry, sad, and even depressed.

By letting go of the pain and learning to forgive we start to feel peace in our own hearts. This is the peace of God that will bless you and heal you of all your anguish. Given time, the brokeness of your heart will slowly mend. You will find that it feels good to let go of the pain and surrender it all to God. He will see how you have been able to truly forgive that person with the love of your heart. In the same way, He will forgive you of your sins out of His endless mercy and compassionate love.

You may have heard the phrase, "forgive and forget." It is always good to forgive because it frees us from so much distress. But it doesn't mean that once you forgive the person all those bad memories will suddenly disappear. By learning to forgive means you no longer hold anything against that person for the harm they may have caused you. Instead, when those memories arise, pray for that person...because they probably really need it! Replace the hatred with love.

Someday, maybe even after that person dies and meets God face to face, they will see the pain they caused you and it will hurt. They will also see the love you showed to them with your forgiveness and prayers. Don't you think that they will be so happy to know that you still showed them love and mercy even when they were unworthy of it? ...Of course they will! This is just like us. We are so grateful to know God's unconditional love and mercy even when we don't deserve it. By forgiving others you not only live like Jesus but you are also healing your own heart from all the pain. It is so much easier to move on with life being free from all of the hatred and resentment.

This healing of the heart takes time and will probably not happen overnight. So when you are troubled go to God in prayer and ask for the grace to forgive and move on. Sometimes we let go of things and the very next day we take them back again. Each day is a new struggle and filled with new temptations. Once we seem to find peace the devil will try to stir up those painful emotions again when we least expect it. Don't give into these games the evil one will try to play on us. He is sneaky, and unlike you, does not know love. That is when you can replace the hatred you begin to feel again with love through prayer. Praying about it will also help you to rebuke evil spirits and cast them out of your life.

Just remember, God will help you get through these trials. He loves you ssssooooo much and doesn't want to see you hurting any longer. As stated in Psalm 34:18, "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." With patience, time, prayer, and love your heart will begin to feel whole again. All of those bad memories will begin to fade as you replace them with new ones---good ones. For just as God promised, "Behold, I make all things new."

Heaven Is For Real: Out Of This World — Literally!

"Jesus said, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these'." - Matthew 19:14

Yesterday I finished reading the book Heaven is For Real. This book is amazing! I highly recommend it. It is a about a little boy's remarkable true story of his trip to heaven and back. Colton, the little boy, became extremely ill during a family trip. His parents, Todd and Sonja, rushed him to their local hospital on the way home. I do not want to give too much away but, as you already know by the title of the book, Colton had a near death experience at a very young age.

Little Colton gives detailed accounts of his trip to heaven in bits and pieces over the course of several years. He remembers almost everything, even to this day. But as a child it was probably harder for him to describe certain things. So as he grew up he was able to share more and more things with his parents about his amazing encounter with Jesus and other holy people. He even got to meet deceased family members that he never met on earth before.

I literally grabbed this book and could not put it down! I read most of it in the course of a day. Even though it is not a Catholic book it is still a very good Christian book. Todd, the father, is a pastor of a small church in Imperial, Nebraska. He writes very well and can relate a lot of the events to scripture passages from the Bible. If you haven't read this book go get it now! I'm telling you, you won't be disappointed. It is a very easy read for teens and adults. It definitely illustrates the power of God in an incredible way!

Also, if you are looking for other great Catholic/Christian books I recommend No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy by Father Donald Calloway, How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul by Jason and Crystalina Evert, Queen of the Cosmos and The Visions of the Children by Janice Connell, and many more by the authors Matthew Kelly and Scott Hahn. All of these books will open your eyes to a new light in faith. But most importantly, as Colton describes with his testimony, God wants us to know that heaven is for real...and that is what we need to strive for. I hope this book and the others I suggested will help you on your spiritual journey. Take care and God bless!