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The Maker of The Masterpiece

Published May 9, 2013 | By Life Palette

Mona_Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouchedSo how do you see yourself? I’m asking about more than just how you would describe yourself to some on line dating service, I mean, how do you really feel about yourself when it’s just you and your thoughts? Why is that so important and who cares? It’s important because everything begins with our thoughts. Thoughts turn into feelings and feelings lead to actions. In other words you will act the way you think. That’s why it’s so important that we learn to think like the masterpiece God created us to be.

(Check out this brief excerpt from chapter 1 of my book Life Palette, You are a Masterpiece)

If I asked you to describe a masterpiece painting, the first thing that likely comes to mind is Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Hanging in the Louvre behind bulletproof glass in a controlled environment to preserve the pigment and the canvas, the Mona Lisa is well protected.

What makes the Mona Lisa a masterpiece? It’s certainly not the subject matter. There have been millions of portraits of beautiful women painted throughout the centuries that would never be considered masterpieces. Did Da Vinci have some secret paint or brushes that no other artists knew existed? Actually, the material available to every art student today is much more advanced than what was available to Da Vinci and his peers. Fact is, the Mona Lisa is a masterpiece because of Da Vinci’s extraordinary skill and intellect.

With that in mind, it may be hard to describe yourself as a masterpiece. It somehow feels vain, arrogant, even haughty to look at yourself that way. Maybe the opposite of self-pride is the problem. You don’t believe you’re beautiful enough on the inside to possibly be considered a work of art. You know who you are and what you’ve done. You know the ugliness of it, to the point that it even defines you.

But here’s the key. It’s not about your extraordinary skill, intellect, or lack of both.

 You’re a masterpiece—not because you’re a Da Vinci who has painted every brush stroke of your life perfectly, or because every choice you’ve made was the right color for your life’s canvas. You’re a masterpiece—not because you stood before your life’s canvas at a young age and created a perfect composition that would fulfill your every dream, hope and wish.

You’re a masterpiece because God, as the artist, created you as His masterpiece.

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The Truth About You

Published May 7, 2013 | By Life Palette

You are a masterpiece.  How do I know? Because God says so. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10) You may not feel like it at the moment. You may look at your life and see yourself as someone whose life is out of balance, headed in the wrong direction, or even a complete failure. Or perhaps you have a sense of agreement with being a masterpiece, not so much because you truly believe it, but know it’s at least the right thing to believe. Perhaps you’re like  Stuart Smalley, the Saturday Night Live character, looking in the mirror and trying to convince yourself, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and, doggone it, people like me!” Wherever you are, it’s tiring trying to recognize your own priceless value when you don’t feel it inside or see it in how your life.  (from Chapter one of Life Palette)

Glacier Painting

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Dr. Jeffrey Love

Jeff Plein Air Oil Painting

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