What is the meaning of drawing a picture? What kind of mental and spiritual exchange can we experience directly through drawing and painting? Is it about maintaining mental and emotional well-being? In this time and age, the impact of art is highly scrutinized and also highly appreciated, especially in the context of a mental and emotional culture. When we take time to understand the purpose and impact of painting and art in general, then we are able to understand the cultural code of the era we are in. Drawing is not just a technical learning process. It is a natural, innate, and creative act.

10 August 1995 started off like every other beautiful, sunny, warm, Montana summer day... until it wasn't. I went to my mailbox and for the first time in my life I received a letter from an attorney from London, England. That's right. All the way across the pond.

Until the late 1960s to early 1970s, it was uncommon for individual homes to have toilets, and people mostly used public restrooms. Even at home, the idea of using contemporary toilet paper was unthinkable, so people tore up newspapers or book pages to use, and in urgent situations, it was common to find a secluded spot outdoors for quick relief.

Macao is located at the edge south China has been known for many aspects, the most obvious one is the numerous luxurious hotels with shimming casinos. Macao is also named as the “Las Vegas of the East” in 2017. Macao is well-known for her East-meets-West cultures and Portuguese customs. This is a tourist city full of exotic colours and vitality. There are both antique traditional temples exuding oriental culture, as well as many solemn Catholic churches and European-style buildings, telling the rich history, culture and changes of Macao. Being a unique historic centre, Macao was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005. Notwithstanding this unique cultural background, Macao was once called a “cultural desert”.

When my daughter was younger, we served in the Healing Rooms at our local Church at the time. They had kids serving alongside of the adults but in a different way. The kids would go into a different soaking room and ask God how He saw the people He wanted to love on. God would show these children, and they would draw out what God had shown them to draw for individuals in the other room.

As I was done ordering at the menu for my Starbucks order, I began to ask the Lord what He wanted the Barista to know. The Lord said about the Starbucks barista as I was driving up to the window that “she was a singer and song writer. That the song of Heaven is rising within her. That she also has been having more and more vivid dreams. That God has been awakening her dream life and speaking to her. Also, that she was going through significant changes in her life. That God was opening new doors before her to walk through. That she needed to trust Him to walk through them and let go.”

But God has the Right Perspective.

We try to participate acts of kindness for others as a way to be generous and thoughtful, but also to show the love of God. Sometimes, we may not want to. My book, “But God, Getting to Know Your Bridegroom in the Old Testament”, has a good lesson on this found in the testimony of Jonah. Here is the excerpt:

“But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’ ‘It is,’ he said.

“And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.’” (Jonah 4:9 NIV, emphasis added).

My earliest dream, or ambition was to draw and tell stories with my artwork and characters. I got my first shot to do this when I was in the first grade. We were assigned a bookmaking project. I wrote an illustrated my very first book titled El Osito, which means Little Bear in Spanish. It was a story about a little panda, how he was born, and how one day he got lost and was later found. I ended up winning first place at the Young Author’s Conference. I remember going to the local high school with my mom and siblings to receive my award up on stage in front of hundreds of people. It was awesome! I still have the illustrated children’s dictionary I got as a prize. I was so happy.