Dare To Be Different

               This is one of my most-favorite-ever watercolors.  I painted it over three years ago, and it remains a favorite.  I painted this when I saw a bunch of tulips in the flower bed right by my doorway.  All of them were the same, except one.   I felt akin to the different tulip;  I have never quite "fit in", sometimes to my chagrin and sometimes to my relief...
                ...to my chagrin, back in my highschool days when everybody wants to fit in; I was the artistic type, the one who dressed differently, the all-A student who did NOT participate in student council, because it was too clique-ish...
               ...and, to my relief, throughout my Christian walk I don't WANT to fit in!  The LORD tells His people to be set apart.  And, I am set apart.  I am the orange tulip. All praise be to God.
               Dare to be different!
                                                                                       Shalom Y'all!     Twyla
              

mountain life

     Mountain life is different.  Different than anywhere else.  I've often said that it's like a step back in time.  Qualities such as honesty and integrity are the rule, not the exception. Where else but in out little community could the people down the road have a little vegetable stand, selling their excess garden produce - with a jar to put the money in?!? Purely on the honor system.  Where else could we buy hundreds of dollars worth of hay from a complete stranger and be told, " I'm busy today, so, when you get all your hay delivered, just count up how much you owe me and leave a check in that ol' pickup over yonder."?

          These aren't isolated events; they are commonplace.  There is a spirit here; a spirit of love and peace and kindness. This is the evidence of the existence of the One True God. I don't know why His Spirit is so strong here, but I'm glad to be here and to be a part of it.
          The simple life is the better life.  I love my kitchen gadgets and my air conditioning.  But, if the day comes when I have to give them up, I'll be glad to be "roughing it" in the mountains - the land of the free and the home of the brave.
                                                 Shalom,   Twyla