God-Bumps: I Am … Forgiven

January 17, 2012 | 57 comments

Two girls.
Five paint brushes.
And 108 different answers to
One important question:

“In God’s Heart
I amΒ . . . ?

We asked the question,Β and you answered.

The result?

One night of fun for the girls and I,Β painting life-changing truths on canvas.

God-Bumps?
Oh … yeah.

We are more than our mistakes and our missteps;
we are more than our problems or our pasts.

We … are … Β HIS.

Here is our video, putting your words to the canvas.

Song: Forgiven by Sanctus Real

Words: These are your one-word answers to the question. You were kind enough to leave them here in the comment box, over at the Getting Down With Jesus Facebook page, and in emails. Thank you for your affirming words! We couldn’t fit them all into the video, so I let the girls choose which ones to paint. But we read all of them out loud!

Inspiration: Holley Gerth, who asked the question first.

Email subscribers: Can’t see the video? Click over here for a look.


GOD-BUMPS & GOD-INCIDENCES (Hosted here Each Wednesday)

Your turn, friends. What has God been up to in your life this week? What are some of the God-Things that make you go Hmmmm? Share your God-Bumps and God-incidences here.

Grab a button over here, add it to your story, then link up below. Then, pay a visit to someone who linked before you. They’ll be glad you did. And I’ll bet you’ll be glad, too.

by | January 17, 2012 | 57 comments

57 Comments

  1. Diana Trautwein

    NICE. And a leftie in the bunch – good to see.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Would you believe me, Diana, if I told you that there isn’t just one leftie, but FOUR?

      Yes, Anna, Lydia, Scott and I are ALL lefties!

      Reply
  2. Lyla Lindquist

    Very nice. Their work, your work.

    His work.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      But no choate. πŸ™

      I mean … not on the canvas, anyway. πŸ™‚

      Reply
      • Lyla Lindquist

        I love the words they chose. For their purposes, I think it was better left on paper.

        I’m just glad she went to look it up . πŸ˜‰

        Reply
        • dukeslee

          Oh, she sure did, Lyla. In fact, as soon as Scott got home, she asked him the question right away. Without letting him look in a dictionary.

          She wanted to see if he could tell her straight out. He couldn’t. And she looked at me, and asked: “Mom, am I pronouncing this right?” … I had to confess that I had NO idea. πŸ™‚

          Reply
  3. Kathy

    Been a rough day for me and my “little” girl…she is having troubles and too far away for me to hug. Seeing this video made me smile…thank you ladies πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Oh Kathy …

      They grow big too fast, I think. (hugs to you.)

      Reply
  4. Deb Russell

    Beautiful … simply beautiful Jennifer!

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Thank you, Deb, for your affirming words! God is good. He has so much to tell us and to teach us about who we really are, in His heart. It’s fun to share the experience with my girls.

      Reply
    • dukeslee

      Me, too, Sheila. Watching those girls paint God’s affirming words on that canvas? Yeah. … It was a cool thing. I kept praying: “Please, God, … don’t let them forget that these words are true. These words are the ones You speak over them!”

      Reply
  5. S. Etole

    What a memorable project for all of you, and us.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      It was. Very memorable. And thank you for your word(s), Susan. If I recall, you gave me two words. One here, and one on the Facebook page.

      You bless us. You really, really do.

      Reply
  6. Dolly

    Great idea…praying with you that your girls remember how God sees them : ) So precious.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Me, too. Dolly. I want them to remember. I showed them the video after school, and their eyes lit up. They painted again tonight. I hope they paint all their lives, and every time they put brushes to canvas, that they see themselves as the masterpieces.

      Reply
  7. caryl dukes

    Oh the artists you have and what a lesson to teach the girls..Loved watching them dip those colors in each color and anxious to put up another word..Thanks Lee girls and Mom.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Hey Mom! Did you see your word there? Lydia wanted to be sure to get Mema’s “making a difference” onto the painting.

      Reply
  8. Nancy

    Loved this. And who knows? Years from now, during a dark night of the soul, (we all have them don’t we?) the Spirit may whisper a memory of this project into the hearts of your girls. And they’ll remember what is true about them. #goodwork

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Oh thank you, Nancy, for these affirming words. It is sometimes these types of moments that resurface to remind us who we are … and Whose we are.

      And thank you for linking on Facebook. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  9. Wendy

    I’m blown away by the blend of creativity and heart that went into that video. This is extremely cool!
    ~ Wendy

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Thank you, Wendy! It was great fun. So cool to watch them take these words, and make art of them.

      Reply
  10. Cindy

    Loved this! I want to do this with my grandchildren. There’s something about putting it all down right there in front of you! Beautiful words.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      It was wonderful, Cindy. I don’t get the paints out enough, quite frankly. Always afraid it will be too messy, or too much work, or too something ….

      We bought a few small canvases, and the girls have been having such fun. I kept the tarp down in the laundry room for the week, to let them play and explore with paint.

      Now, we just need to remember to wash the brushes out after art time! We forgot last night. Oops!

      Reply
    • dukeslee

      Part of me wants to go get a canvas of my own, and just see what happens. I always wanted to take an art class. I’m so literal, though. I often wonder if I don’t think enough like a “real” artist. … Which is at the root of most of my problems–that silly self-doubting nature. A sense that I’m “not good enough.” I guess that’s the cool thing about art. We all get to be artists; we all ARE artists in some way, by God’s design.

      Reply
  11. joan

    Simply beautiful, Jennifer.

    I too have a leftie, and I think that’s special.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      You’ve heard the saying, I’m sure, that “lefties are in their right minds.” πŸ˜‰

      Thanks, Joan, for stopping by.

      Reply
  12. betty jo

    It’s nice to meet you Jennifer. I found your link at Graceful. You have an awesome blog and I’ve joined your linky party today. And now I will become your newest follower. β™₯

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Betty Jo! Nice to have you here. (Shakes hand.)

      I am really delighted that you’ve joined the link-up, too.

      Reply
  13. Jen Ferguson

    so lovely…to see…to hear…to write…to ponder — everyday. Always remembering who are we are in the heart and eyes of God.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      These are good, good words, aren’t they Jen? Life-changing.

      Reply
  14. Linda

    Happy tears.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      My favorite kind. πŸ™‚

      Love you, friend.

      Reply
  15. David Rupert

    I am forgiven are the three words that can move a mountain of regret and shame.

    I say them often.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Me, too, David. Me, too. That would be one of the words I would have picked.

      And whole. I like “whole.”

      The girls liked “cute.” πŸ™‚

      Reply
  16. Jerralea

    I think this was a great idea! Wish I had known of it when my girls were little …

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      I think we’ll treasure this video for a good long while.

      Reply
  17. HisFireFly

    Flood of tears
    His truth drowning out all the lies
    This would make great tee-sirts too!

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Ooo! Love that idea!

      Reply
  18. Katie

    i love that you did this! so awesome!

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Me, too. I’m glad too. It was so fun to watch them create, and to really let those words sink in deep.

      Reply
  19. Shelly Miller

    You have some skills friend, putting that video together! That project and those girls – what a treasure! They are blessed to have you for their Mom. Thanks for sharing that.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Awww … I used Windows Movie Maker. It was easier than I expected!

      And the girls … yes. Treasures, indeed.

      Thank you for saying so. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  20. Joe Pote

    How cool! For you and for them!

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      And thank YOU Joe for stopping by. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  21. Deborahjoy

    I so wanted to post a word but tied myself in knots about which one. And missed out on some of the fun.
    Next time, I’ll try to have sufficient confidence to just jump in there.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      But I’m glad you stopped by anyway, Deborahjoy. And isn’t it just so hard to limit it to a single word? How do we? God is just … so … big. Like Hazel said below you in the comment box, you can’t fit it all on a canvas! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  22. Hazel I Moon

    The painting is so awesome but your canvas is not large enough to contain them all! πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      You are exactly right, Hazel! When I got home with the canvas, then looked at the number of responses on the blog and the Facebook page, I thought: “uh-oh.” Too small.

      Which reminds me of the very last verse in the Gospel of John. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  23. Lori

    Love the song…love your idea….what a beautiful living illustration of how God thinks of us! What a blessing to my day. Lori

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Thank you, Lori! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  24. Lori

    I’m so happy that you shared this with everyone! Your kids are adorable, too. Thanks!! ~blessed… πŸ˜‰

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Thank you, Lori! Yep. I think they’re pretty special. πŸ™‚ And they still let me put their pictures on my blog. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  25. laura

    I saw my word! πŸ™‚ It IS a masterpiece! And your girlies? Beautiful. I love seeing you in their faces, Jennifer.

    Things are crazy here, birthday crazy. Two boys, two days apart and I have class this weekend and life and blah, blah, blah.

    But I’m holding this close: In Him, I am enough.

    Reply
  26. Leanne

    Wow. First time visitor — and I will subscribe. Your blog is gob-smackingly beautiful. I came via Ann Voskamp’s blog and I am amazed at this path to God we all are on.

    Reply
  27. Paul Willingham

    Jennifer

    Your canvas may have been too small but then again, you cannot buy one big enough to contain all the words. We have 2 left-handed grand-daughters and it was fun watching the southpaws
    paint.

    Paul W

    Reply

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