Aidan says: "I like medieval times--dragons, castles, swords, spears, snakes, and armor. I really like eagles."

Sophie says: "I like to read. I like Christmas. I like to play the violin. I like chocolate chip cookies with milk and Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I love my family and my friends. And I also love God and flowers. My favorite colors are purple, green, blue and pink."

Mommy (me) says: "I wrote four things that represent me. 1. Bloom where I'm planted (represented by flowers). It's been a difficult time learning how to bloom in France, but God has been good to produce flowers in me even in the hard times. 2. Give God all my praise (represented by a rainbowed music staff, representative of singing and God's faithfulness). I'm learning how important it is to celebrate God and the life He's given me. 3. Serve God with my words (represented by a book, cross and heart). Whatever words I speak or write, I want them to be a service to God, something He would delight in. 4. Love my dear family (represented by Patrick, Sophie, Aidan and Julia). My heart is to serve them, love them, make them a priority.

I wanted the whole illustration to look like a stained glass window, so I outlined everything with a Sharpie marker. I added a lot of color because I believe every person is a composite of more than one medium. The black gives the color dimension, just like trials make our lives stand out.

One thing that struck me as I read Esther (in preparation) was how long the King's court took to beautify her. The Lord has been transforming me in respect to femininity so this was an encouragement to me.

What's in a Name

So, instead of reading the entire [Esther] account, we watched the Veggie Tales version [Esther: The Girl Who Would Become Queen] and then compared that to the real scenario. (Naughty folks in the Bible were killed, not sent to the Island of Perpetual Tickling as the Veggies suggest.) Then we started our artistic interaction by illustrating the first letter of our names. Just like Esther, we learned we are uniquely made to face each day, for such a time as this. We were able to talk about how the Lord brought us through a rough first year in France, how He uniquely equipped us and sustained us.

Each of us is unique. Each of us have different skills, fears, likes, dislikes. But God sees us all and will empower us if we ask Him.