Painting with Joan Lawlor Devotional Nicole Bennett Prayer John Lawlor In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:4-5 The Naval Institute's magazine carried the story of a battleship captain who was concerned about rough seas and fog when, quite suddenly, a bright light appeared on the horizon. The captain immediately had the signalman send the message, "Change course immediately!" But back came the reply, "It is you who must change course!" Irritated that a battleship should give way to a lesser vessel, the captain ordered that the message be sent, "I am a battleship!" And back came the reply, "I am the lighthouse!" The captain changed course. Long ago Jesus said simply, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). Many an individual cruising through life as a battleship, expecting others to get out of his way, has encountered the light, Jesus Christ, and seeing that the vessel of their life was headed towards the rocks, changed course and direction. Are you one of them? Wise is the person who recognizes the message, "I am the lighthouse." Lighthouses around the world today are few and far between. They have been replaced by satellite technology and electronic devices that let navigators know where the rocks and the other vessels are; nonetheless, the picture of the lighthouse with its beam piercing the darkness is still an image that brings comfort and help. Some things never change. The light that Jesus Christ brought into the world is one of them. There is light in a dark world, and that light makes the difference. Don't settle for anything short of "the true light that gives light to every man..." (John 1:9). Credits to Serenity Arts Background music not ours.

Our devotional today comes from Faith Gateway,com and is titled "Shine On". It was written by Louis Giglio: Try to shine as lights among the people of this world, as you hold firmly to the message that gives life.— Philippians 2:1516 CEV There’s a lot of talk about moonlight and how it lights up the night. But, actually, there’s no such thing as moonlight. The Moon doesn’t really shine at all; rather, when it’s in just the right place, the Moon reflects the Sun’s light. The Sun is the real star of the show (no pun intended)! The Sun gives off light, which means it’s luminous. But the Moon is illuminated, which means it’s lit up by reflecting the Sun’s light. On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man ever to walk on the Moon. He was part of NASA’s Apollo 11 space mission. He stepped out of his spacecraft, the Eagle, and said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” And because the Moon has no wind, his footprints are still there! People are a lot like the Moon. What? You mean round and spacey? Not quite. But just as the Sun’s light reflects into the darkness when the Moon is in just the right place, God’s light also reflects into this world’s sin-filled darkness when you are in the right place. Being in the right place means following Jesus. When you follow Jesus, you reflect His light — His love, goodness, grace, kindness, and power — into the lives of those around you. You shine simply by staying close to Him, the Light of the World! But how? It’s not difficult to do, although it does take practice. Study His Word, the Bible. Listen to those who teach about Him. And talk to Him in prayer every day. Your prayers don’t have to be fancy, long, or eloquent. Say “thank you” when you see one of God’s gifts. Tell Him that you love Him. Or simply whisper, “I don’t know what to do, Lord. Help me.” When you do this, you shine Jesus into the world. Dear God, help me stay close to You, so Your light always shines on me. And help me reflect Your light into the world. In Jesus's name, Amen.

Painting inspired by: J. Camtu Devotional by: Devotions by Chris Seasons Change One of the things I’ve learned about life is that it’s full of seasons. There are seasons of plenty, dry seasons, seasons of doubt, seasons of pain, seasons of just enough, seasons of recovery, etc. There’s no rhyme or reason as to when they show up or how long they’ll last, but one thing is certain, they do pass. The worst seasons seem like they’ll never end and the good seasons seem to go by too fast. I believe that God will give us what we need for each season, and that each season is a time of preparation. If God uses seasons to prepare us, then I believe that you can be fruitful no matter what the season is in your life. You can glean from each season of your life things that will grow you and produce fruit for the future. You may be looking at your life right now and see a desert wasteland, but Isaiah 43:19 says that God is about to do something new. He’ll make rivers in the desert so that you can produce fruit and grow. No matter how dark life gets or how abundant your blessings are, God has a design and a purpose to grow you through this season. Here are some Bible verses on different seasons of life. 1. He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree planted by God’s design, deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss, bearing fruit in every season of his life. He is never dry, never fainting, ever blessed, ever prosperous. Psalms 1:3 TPT 2. Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let joy overflow, for you are united with the Anointed One! Philippians 4:4 TPT 3. And don’t allow yourselves to be weary or disheartened in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming! Galatians 6:9 TPT 4. But I keep calling out to you, Yahweh! I know you will bend down to listen to me, for now is the season of favor. Because of your faithful love for me, your answer to my prayer will be my sure salvation. Psalms 69:13 TPT 5. You’ve so graciously provided for my essential needs during this season of difficulty. Philippians 4:14 TPT

Paint with TLC! Today we're painting a galaxy as painted by Ryan O Roarke of Stay Creative Painting (Youtube). Subject God of the Galaxies! Teacher: Nicole Georges-Bennett. Colours: Black, red, white, blue; Mixes-pink,purple,dark blue,light blue, red/black. Playlist: God of Wonder-Chris Tomlin Psalm 19[a] For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. 11 By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

The Lakeside Church in Toronto (4350 Lawrence Ave.East) hosted its first ever TLC Paint Party, at the Tropicana Community Centre. Visual Arts Ministry leader Joan Lawlor led participants in this fabulous tutorial on the painting "Seed of Life"! You can paint along too! You will need: 1) A blank canvas 2) A palette or plate to put your paints on 3) A medium size paint brush, and a small brush 4) Acrylic paints, any colours you like. 5) Stencils of a circle and a baby shape cut out, or you can draw those shapes free hand 6) Be willing to try even if you are a first time painter-No experience necessary! Lesson Theme: Who are you in Christ? Psalms 139. 13-16; 2 When you look in the mirror, do you see someone who is fearfully and wonderfully made? Or do you see flaws? Not just physical flaws but character flaws? Do you see someone who is weak, angry, bitter, an underachiever, someone who isn’t worthy of love? First remember you’re a winner- You’ve already won the race of life- out of the 300 million possibilities to fertilize the human egg, your genetic material was selected. No one is an accident. God has a plan for your life so He ensured you would be born. God’s fingerprint is on you. What does that mean? David in Psalms 139 verse 13 says this: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Luke 12:7- says even the hair on your head is numbered. So today as we create, think about the part of your body that you don’t like, whether it’s a big nose, or flappy ears, droopy eyes, maybe it’s your wrinkly hands or a receeding hairline, anything that makes you go, ‘meh’ when you look in the mirror. And as you paint, think of this-God created all your parts, even the ones you don’t like, and what you see as a weakness, He uses as an opportunity to show His strength through you. When you become a Christian, you become a new creation in Christ. You are spiritually re-born, and with that birth, you receive the Holy Spirit and the gifts you need to lead a Christian life; So you’re equipped to achieve the destiny the Lord has for you, as Paul says in Phillipians 1:6 - I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Amen! Have fun!