Tuesday 23 February 2016

reviveFLORIDA week 4 | New Paintings

I’m a bit behind on posting my latest trip. Better late than never! I got home from my second trip to reviveFLORIDA to a house full of sick boys. Usually I can take care of the little ones without getting sick, not this time. I got hit pretty hard, took last week to rest, rest, rest. But I'm feeling better and ready to get back at ‘er.
I wanted to share with you the latest paintings I did from week 4 of reviveFLORIDA. It was an awesome trip to end an incredible 4 weeks of revival in Sarasota.
 
God kept showing me a picture of a house lite up. I could see light shining through all the windows. It was the light of Christ, pouring out of the home, filling the neighborhood around.   As that family boldly lived for Christ, unashamed of the Gospel, the light was contagious, affecting all the homes around, eventually lighting up the whole neighborhood. I believe this is a prophetic picture of what’s to come. Is your home shining the light and love of Jesus through your family and how you live? Does your lifestyle reflect and attract Jesus to others? These are tough questions for many Christians, but in reality are we living out our faith and igniting others around us? Or are our lights only on when we feel and been turned down dimly by political correctness? It’s time we aren’t afraid to shine.
 

This painting was one of the most peaceful, enjoyable times I’ve painted during revive. It was our Sunday service, I woke up and the peace of God came over me. I felt the Lord tell me to have fun painting in His presence today. Simply using color to convey a sense of what I felt. This is what came out of that experience.
 

I love this visual. God gives us the keys to unlock breakthroughs in the spirit. We are in a season of unlocking. Whatever you need, God has the key for you. All you have to do is grab ahold and turn the key for more. After reflecting on this painting, I noticed I painted old keys. I think there is something to be said about that. Unlocking breakthroughs in the spirit isn’t something new, they are keys of the past that have always been there, they just need to be revived and re-used to unlock current situations. God has always given us the keys from the beginning of His plan. Old keys to unlock the new.
The next day after painting this piece, a woman came up to me with a gift she wanted to give me. On a trip to Israel, she had brought home old keys she had got. Beautiful old keys from Israel that were hundreds of years old. I almost cried. I felt such weight in the spirit receiving this gift; there is significance to these keys, keys to Israel. For any of you who following Time to Revive and Kyle’s messages, one of his missions is to prepare us for going to Israel. He received one of these keys as well. I feel what I wrote above applies, “old keys to unlock the new.” We are preparing for the New Jerusalem.

 
I painted this on a night where instead of a nightly worship service as usual, everyone split up into teams and went out to pray for people, sharing the love of Jesus on the streets. In our prep meeting before it began, in prayer I heard the Lord say, “stop for the one” “stop so you can listen to my voice.” I pictured a read stop sign. I felt like He was trying to tell me to remember to stop, wait on Him to give direction, rather than always going about things my way. When we simply take time to stop, call on the Holy Spirit and then wait to listen, we will hear what He is trying to tell us. If we don’t stop to hear Him more often, we could be missing so many opportunities that could potentially change someone’s life, or even our own. Sometimes we literally need a stop sign in front of us to stop. God is always speaking His directions to us.

 
There are a lot of layers to this painting. Probably one of the most challenging paintings I’ve done so far on stage, because of all the elements I wanted to incorporate in such a short period of time. But I was up for the challenge. That day I went out on a team; all of our encounters were with people who are experiencing bondage to addiction. In prayer before we went out, I saw a picture of a butterfly. I felt like it was more for the idea of transformation. It totally made sense for all the people we prayed for that day. They all can be transformed into their true identity, set free from the bondages that hold them hostage, and flying into a new future. In Christ we are a new creation.

 
I love play on words. All day I couldn’t get the picture of oranges on a tree out of my mind. I know as cliché as it is that I am in Florida and oranges are fruit the state is known for, I had to paint it. I love it! Florida is known for their oranges.
We all know that, see the orange juice commercials, etc. I heard the Lord say, “and they will be known by their fruit.” He was referring to their spiritual fruit and the fruit of their harvest.

 
This was our final night in Sarasota. What an amazing night to end 4 weeks of reviving the city. I could see a ripple in the spirit as Sarasota celebrates and continues on revival in the state. The pastors all gathered and ceremoniously passed on the “oranges” to the next reviveFLORIDA city, Manatee County. (Bradenton and Palmetto) We must never forget the ripple effect that can change a nation, all beginning from a single drop. The purity of the Gospel is always worth pursuing.

I wanted to thank The Harvest Church in Sarasota for hosting us for an amazing 4 weeks, you guys’ rock. Join us March 6-19, 2016 as revival spreads to Manatee County.  If you want to come and see, register at www.reviveflorida.org.  Would love to see you all there!

All Glory to Him,
Mindi

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