Google+ peggy aplSEEDS: You are My Beloved

Friday, February 22, 2013

You are My Beloved


Visiting the Holy Land and renewing my baptismal vows with water from the River Jordan, where Jesus himself was baptized, continues to fill me with gratitude.  And as I looked back in my prayer journal, I saw this entry about Jesus' baptism, with a quotation from Saint John Chrysostom,

...Why did heaven open when Jesus Christ was baptized? To teach that the same thing invisibly happens at your own baptism: at that moment God calls you to your homeland in heaven and invites you to have nothing further in common with earth... If we do not now see the same signs nevertheless we receive the same graces of which these signs were the symbol.

Then a dove was seen descending... It would also teach each one of us that the holy Spirit comes down on our soul at the moment of baptism.  It no longer comes in visible form because we no longer need it to: faith is enough now...

...This dove also reminds us of an event we read about in the Old Testament: when the earth was inundated by the flood and the whole human race in danger of perishing, the dove appeared to announce the end of the disaster; it carried an olive branch bearing the good news of the restoration of peace in the world. Now all this was a prefiguration of of what was to come... When all was lost, deliverance and renewal came about. What formerly took place through the deluge of water now takes place today as if by a deluge of grace and mercy... It is no longer only one man that the dove calls to leave the ark to repopulate the earth; it draws all men to heaven. Instead of an olive branch, it brings to all humankind the dignity of adoption as children of God.

What an amazing gift the Lord wants to give each and every one of us, no exception.  Just as I shared in my previous post about the River Jordan, even when we are dirty and muddy, God calls us to be holy.  He wants us to be his children.  He wants us to hear him say, "You are my beloved!" Luke 3:22  Thank you, Lord!

Sharing this in Paint Party Friday, In the Studio Sneak Peek Friday and Faith Filled Friday!

30 blog hugs:

Meg Hunter-Kilmer said...

I love reading your reflections on the Holy Land. Some day (when the Lord sends me to the Philippines), we will sit and talk over our different experiences of pilgrimage there and it will be glorious.

Christine said...

lovely spiritual piece!

JKW said...

Love you thoughts and your art. Blessings, Janet PPF

Lynn Cohen said...

Lovely!

Giggles said...

Wonderful illustration Peggy!!

Hugs Giggles

www.dorissdaughter.com said...

Beautiful painting and words :) HPPF

martinealison said...

Un très joli dessin pour illustrer cette publication...
Gros bisous

Maria Ontiveros said...

Such a wonderful memory!
Happy PPF!
Rinda

Vilisi said...

Beautiful thoughts and art. :)

mamapez5 said...

A beautiful post. Blessings. Kate x

Linda Stoll said...

mmm ... your artwork, your colors, your site ... yummy!

Linda

Anonymous said...

Beautiful art! Coming from StudioJRU...

Ivy said...

This is lovely, thanks for posting. HPPF!

Unknown said...

beautiful work! We are going to israel this summer (my 5th time) and I am looking forward to sharing with my daughters all of the holy places. Happy PPF!

Anne Manda said...

Love this luminous piece, beautiful! <3

bellefrogworks said...

Amen - and I love your painting as well as your post. HPPF

Netty said...

loving your pretty painting. Happy PPF, Annette xx

Janis Cox said...

What an amazing picture of baptism - you painted that so well with words.
Thanks for dropping by He Cares for Us and leaving a comment.
Blessings to you,
Janis www.janiscox.com

Lindsay said...

Very nice! Thank you for sharing!!

Tracey FK said...

such gorgeous clear colours... you have a great sense of shading as well... lovely...xx

Faye said...

Peggy, I get so much from your blog. Your words are fresh food. I love your paintings illustrating the scriptures.

Robin said...

I love visiting your blog. I always walk away being "fed".

hugs, Robin

Oh heck, your illustrations are so beautiful...I get so wrapped up on your words, I almost forgot to comment on your ARTISTIC ability.....It's over the top, as well as how you are gifted with your writings.

scrapmanufaktur said...

Love your thoughts, your story and this beautiful journal page!

Marcia Beckett said...

Very lovely! Happy PPF!

Šolanje na domu-Waldorf said...

She's beautiful! Love the brightness of it.

Lynn Stevens said...

What an incredible opportunity to visit the holy land! Lucky you!
Hugs Lynn

Elizabeth Dianne said...

Just beautiful--the painting and the message--I'm so glad I landed here.

Blessings to you,
Dianne

froebelsternchen said...

wonderful Peggy! Be blessed!

xxx
Susi
from
ART-JOURNAL-JOURNEY

Create With Joy said...

Peggy, you are SO blessed to have made this amazing journey - and we are SO blessed to have you share it with us!

Thanks for inspiring us at Create With Joy! Congratulations - you have been featured at Inspire Me Monday this week!

Create With Joy
http://create-with-joy.com

Elisa said...

this is so beautiful peggy. God bless you

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