Mandy’s Journal

“These paintings speak at multiple levels into so many different lives and situations.

I believe this is what art is meant to do.

Hold onto your own special interpretation and enjoy these fascinating stories behind each painting…”

Mandy…

 

Check out Mandy’s NEW BOOK…(click here)

Father’s Dream

“The LORD called me before my birth, from within the womb He called me by name.” Isaiah 49:1

It is not unusual for God to speak to people in the language of their dreams.

Colorado 2003. I will never forget that night. I woke up with a shudder, looked at the clock. It was passed midnight. I could still feel Him in the room: The dream was so real.

God had taken me somewhere, a place I had long forgotten: It was dark, I couldn’t see much but I could understand exactly what was happening. It was like I was watching a movie, yet there I was, in the movie. I dreamt I was being created by God. I had no shape or form and God was hovering over me. The place was warm and quiet. God was so focused and careful. I could sense an overpowering excitement emanating from Him. He was doing something that thrilled Him. He was creating me. I watched Him as He was bowed over me, there was silence. It seemed like every heavenly being held their breath. The atmosphere was charged with an electrical feeling of heightened expectancy, like when an artist creates a masterpiece.

Every thing in heaven waited.

When I awoke my heart pounded at the thought of what I had just witnessed, something so shocking it would change me forever.

I sat down on the bed to gather myself. I had witnessed a moment in time when God had created me.

This was not a normal dream, but rather an encounter, the effects of which lingered with me for days. It is not unusual for God to speak to people in the language of their dreams. I was given the gift to see into a mystery that changed my whole perspective on living. I realized that this dream was a gift not only for me but for many others. I was to share this dream in a painting.

It staggered me to see how important I was to God. I had known Gods love for me for quite a few years already but this dream revealed something new to me. God was so passionate about me- I was His special one.

This love I witnessed towered over every other expression of love I had ever known before.

Independence and stress lost its grip over me as I realized who I was. God was my maker, my lover. I was not the author of my life, He was, and my life was His gift to me. I began to grasp an understanding of who I was.

Over the next few days I could sense stress and anxiety lose its grip over me. There were so many things to worry about but these dissolved in the presence of my new reality.

The strangest thing happened to me that night, it’s almost embarrassing to admit; but I felt like I was his favorite. I felt like he loved me in a way that only I knew.

I had in fact discovered an amazing truth; I was His beloved favorite, but this is not all; you are His favorite too. The message God had for me to share was that each person God creates is His Favorite.

You may ask how God can favor every human He has ever created?

God has given us the answer to this mystery in our own lives; as a parent when our first baby comes along we are so passionate about this sweet little thing that we don’t think we could ever love anything else as much. Then the second child comes. With this child comes a strange new reality; we develop another chamber in our heart, we find that we still have our first child as our favorite but now we have a new ability to love another in the same intensity and focus as the first child. We now have two favorites.

As we have more children we develop new chambers in our hearts to love all of our favorites. As long as we have children we are able to favor each one individually. If one child goes away we can never fill that empty chamber with another child because that original child is irreplaceable. So it is with our Father.

You are His favorite. You are irreplaceable. He is intensely in love with you, whether you know it or not. This is why He gave His own blood for your soul- you are His favorite child. No one else could ever fill that place in Gods heart reserved only for you. Not only are you His favorite but He has a dream for you. Sometimes we forget our dreams or fail at our dreams but our Father in Heaven has a dream for you. My hope is that you will discover Father’s dream for you and that you would be able to comprehend how loved you are. Though you may not be a child anymore, you have not lost your value to God, He loves you today as much as He did when He first made you. He waits for you to grip His hand and walk with Him in this life. There is so much He has for you- remember it’s never too late to reconnect with your Heavenly Father.

Testimonies about Father’s Dream

“Last night your painting arrived. I needed that reminder that God called my son from birth.” Private collector

“I’ve bought this print for my newborns room.” Private collector

“Someone asked their husband to purchase it for her because they had lost a baby and this picture touched her heart. Praise The Lord that He uses us to bring peace and joy to others through your paintings.” Store Owner

“ A doctor bought the large one to hang in his office. He is a gynecologist!” Store Owner

“You will be happy to know that your print will be hanging in a Pro-Life clinic. I cried because that was what I told everyone that I thought it belonged in an abortion clinic.” Store Owner

“The lady was going to carry the picture in a march for life.” Store Owner

“They could see the beauty, awesome presence of God breathing life into a baby. I am so blessed to be part of this ministry in sharing these with others.” Store Owner

Fragrance

“and the house was filled with the fragrance.” John 12:3b

Look carefully for the Alabaster jar hidden in the painting.

In the Biblical account found in John 12, the broken jar of perfume symbolizes the woman’s’ broken heart and the sweet offering of her broken life to God.

Her worship was real, somewhat messy and the cause of great embarrassment for the woman, but it was pure and it filled the room with a sweet fragrance. She had to push through a wall of condemnation, intimidating self righteous spirits and her own guilt to get to the feet of Jesus.

When she finally arrived, her soul literally broke open over The Lord and the fragrance of her worship spilled into the room and overpowered every critical spirit. Her alabaster jar broke at the same time releasing the sweet fragrance of spices into the atmosphere, a picture of what actually happens in the spiritual realm when we worship The Lord in reckless abandonment.

Have you found the hidden alabaster jar yet?

The woman IS the alabaster jar; she is the broken vessel carrying the fragrance of Christ to the world.

You too are the alabaster jar carrying the fragrance of Christ to your world.

You can never be too broken to come to Him or for Him to use you.

Psalm 51 says: “A broken and a contrite spirit He will not despise.”

Boundless Love

God is good and He loves us. According to the Word of God He sings over us with joy. We all need to see Jesus singing over us and our loved ones. In this painting I not only wanted to depict The Lord singing over His child but also spinning His child around in laughter and dancing. Green fields and freedom~ they speak of heaven.

Heaven when our spirits leave our bodies and heaven right here on earth while we live!

This painting has brought freedom to many viewers. For many it is so refreshing to see The Christ who laughs and plays! His love has no boundaries. It is Boundless Love.

Many people see themselves in this painting as the child in His arms- free at last.

Others gain comfort as they recognize a loved one is safely in His arms forever.

Every Tear

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:4

As a mom I’ve wiped many tears, it is one of the most intimate and tender acts of care that we show to our loved ones. We do this as a symbolic act of healing.

Place your hand up to your eye and pretend to wipe a tear, you are placing your hand on the most vulnerable and nerve exposed area of the face.

This requires great tenderness from the giver and absolute trust from the receiver.

In the Bible we see a powerful word picture; The Lord Himself wiping every tear from his children’s eyes.

Africa’s 40 million suffering orphans inspired me to create this painting, for there will come a day when justice will rule in every corner and place and God will wipe away every tear from His children’s eyes.

This ultimate comfort is described in Revelation 21, when God Himself will comfort His children forever.

His Bride

“As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62:5b

The bride in the painting is the Bride of Christ; She appears to be a single person but she is made up of millions of peoples from every nation and culture ~ you will notice that her hair is made up of the flags of the nations of the earth.

If we are in Christ, we are His Bride made up of every tongue and race and nation, loved and cherished by our Groom.

We are the true Church, not a building made with human hands but the very hands, feet and mind of Christ on the earth.

Quite a lofty calling~ we call heaven to earth and men to God~ we are the body of Christ, His bride.

We wait for His return…Maranatha!

Not Forsaken

“Even if my mother and father abandon me, The LORD will hold me close.” Isaiah 62:5b

This piece is the result of a real and traumatic dream I experienced: I dreamt that every one in my life forsook me. There was not a soul who could comfort me in my dream- all the ones I loved had turned away or were gone. I was so broken, hopeless and reeling in pain. Right in the intensity of the moment The Lord Jesus appeared- He just walked into my dream and lifted me up in His arms. He held me close to His chest and nuzzled his face into the cleft of my neck.

I will never forget that moment or that image. When I awoke it was etched in my soul. I noticed that the atmosphere in my dream changed when Jesus walked in- everything turned a hue of purple. Purple is the color of royalty. Royalty had burst in on the scene of brokenness. No matter who has forsaken us; whether parent, spouse, friend or child, The Lord has adopted us as His royal child and His royal blood runs through our veins. We are adopted by The King of Kings and given the identity of Kings and Queens. Our name has changed with our identity; we are no longer given the name ‘Forsaken” but ‘Not Forsaken’. This is who we truly are.

Spirit Wings

“Behold I make all things new.” Revelation 21:5

Jesus Christ is the great restorer of all things. God releases the broken, trapped and dying soul into His freedom. The once hopeless caterpillar living in darkness can receive the wings of freedom. How amazing to see life with the perspective of a high flying butterfly instead of the limited caterpillar.

Life on earth is only free when Jesus sets us free! There will also come a time when our earthly ‘tent’ is finally shed and we are released as butterflies to live again!

Interesting Painting note: You will notice hidden in the painting is the image of a dove kissing The Lord, this was not intentional. I noticed it only when I was almost finished with the painting. When I saw it I emphasized it a little. Many of these paintings just ‘happen’ like this.

Behold…He Comes

This painting needs no written explanation! You will notice the face of The Lord Jesus is blurred in this one; I wanted to maintain the mystery and anticipation of His coming. When He is revealed there will be such glory I did not have an adequate way of portraying this.

Interesting Painting note: I danced so much while creating this one! The song,”Days of Elijah” was playing continually in my studio. I have never danced while painting before but I could sense such joy and excitement for that glorious day! This is a very large piece and it took up the whole table- I literally dance around the table as I sensed the electrical expectancy of The Lords coming!

Bloom

“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.” Psalm 138: 8a

This painting is the sequel to ‘Fathers Dream’. It continues with the story of our Father creating human life- the crown of His creation.

You will notice the unborn baby in the center of the poppy: This is the human at the very birth place of life. God creates this child equipped with the seeds of potential that he/she will need to fulfill his/her destiny ~ or ‘Fathers Dream’.

In the background, browns and golden hues represent aged historical documents. Many Biblical promises have been scribed in tiny writing all over the aged looking background- they represent the layers and layers of promises given to every life. Most of these words appear to be scribbles and are ineligible but you will be able to read one promise:”The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me”.

There is a heavenly proclamation over the new child;” Bloom!” Like the glorious pink poppy opening around the infant, this is the call on every life- the call of God to Bloom. The promises in the Word of God are to equip us to grow and flourish like a beautiful flower- blooming in our time and releasing life, beauty and fragrance into the atmosphere. Every human has the potential from God to bloom even in the most wretched circumstances, with our Faithful God- nothing shall be impossible!

Lord of Lights

“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” Daniel 12:3

This old lighthouse, ‘Latimer Light’ of Stonington, CT. has always intrigued me. It is situated a little way out to sea all by itself. Many evening boat rides around ‘Latimer Light’ and the hours of simply drinking in of its beauty and symbolism eventually inspired me to paint ‘Lord of Lights’. This was a season in my life when I would go out to sea and pray for New England from a little boat. The Lighthouse was always there reminding me of my job. It stood tall and strong, alone in the great wild ocean, a savior and a beacon of light to many.

At the time of my intense fascination with the old building there was talk in the town of destroying it. It was quite sad to think that such a beautiful symbol of light would possibly be destroyed and forgotten. It reminded me of the ministry of the intercessor (prayer warrior). This is often the most overlooked ministry in the earth but is truly the core of all other ministry. The Church cannot rescue and restore souls without the light of prayer. Those who pray and intercede for people, cities and nations pave the road for the Lord’s Kingdom to come. They literally bring heaven to earth.

May this painting serve to encourage every secret warrior~ Well done, your life will shine forever !

Interesting Painting note: During the painting process I stopped to pray. I remember thinking that I needed to get back to the painting or it would spoil (there was liquid color just sitting on the painting which I needed to move around with a brush.) Instead, I was so drawn into The Lords presence that I left the painting completely. When I finally returned to look at it, the swirls and stars had appeared on their own in the sky due to the liquid pigment settling beautifully on its own. I had not intended such a deep evening sky filled with stars but I added some more stars with a blade to finish ‘Lord of Lights’.

There were many more lighthouses in this collection, all owned now by private Collectors, but chose to make ‘Lord of Lights’ available in print due to this amazing painting experience!