He Leadeth Me: O blessed thought!

Psalm 139: 9-10

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

Oak Tree on Ratcliff ©2007 Karen Mathison Schmidt
24 x 18 • acrylic on 3/8 inch art board
dovetail slot in back allows for hanging flush against the wall
gloss varnish for protection and easy cleaning • sold unframed
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Shreveport has some lovely old historic neighborhoods - this beautiful, sun-dappled sidewalk was just a couple of blocks from our place in town. I love living in the country, but one of the things I really miss since we moved out here is walking our dog for blocks and blocks past beautiful lawns and gardens, with hundred-year-old trees spreading their branches overhead.

This painting has a lot of texture with layers of glazed color in the foreground, balanced with the smoother brushstrokes of the middle ground and background areas. Here are some details:





I really needed to hear what the Lord had to teach me today when I read this today from Daily Strength for Daily Needs (this devotional was undergirded by the scripture from Psalm 139 that I put at the beginning of today’s post):

How can we come to perceive this direct leading of God? By a careful looking at home, and abiding within the gates of thy own soul. Therefore, let a man be at home in his own heart, and cease from his restless chase of and search after outward things. If he is thus at home while on earth, he will surely come to see what there is to be done at home, -- what God commands him inwardly without means, and also outwardly by the help of means; and then let him surrender himself, and follow God along whatever path his loving Lord thinks fit to lead him: whether it be to contemplation or action, to usefulness or enjoyment; whether in sorrow or in joy, let him follow on. And if God do not give him thus to feel his hand in all things, let him still simply yield himself up, and go without, for God’s sake, out of love, and still press forward.

- J. TAULER (c. 1300-1361)