june giveaway

Yikes! I am late with this one! Only one week to enter the drawing :) Sorry so late but your chances to win should increase since the drawing will be so soon! This is a beautiful wall hanging from Heritage Lace featuring my mix-media painting "Dream". They really make a fantastic product and the colors are beautiful. All you need to do to enter is post a comment here on my blog or on my facebook page. Good Luck!

believe

Isn't it amazing......God loves us so much He gave us the most beautiful place to live.

a great summer weekend

SHOUT! a Fabulous Tribute to the Fab Four

at East Jordan Freedom Fest

Kevin and I started the weekend together in East Jordan, MI for his band's concert. The folks at East Jordan came out in droves to support and enjoy the incredible show that SHOUT! puts on. Directly following the concert was an awesome fireworks show! It is was really beautiful...it amazes me every year to see how they keep coming up with new fireworks! 

Sunday morning, Kevin and I drove around Petosky soaking up the view of Lake Michigan. If you have never visited Michigan, you must do so! The great lakes are awe-inspiring, the weather was in the 80s and the little towns in northwest Michigan are so quaint; full of gift shops, galleries, restaurants wineries, breweries, campgrounds, bed & breakfasts, beaches and parks. I am glad to have been born and raised in Michigan and hope some day to live "up north".

After our drive around Petosky we headed home to celebrate Father's Day at my folks house. I have an amazing Father and was so happy to spend time with him and the rest of my family. Mom made southern fried chicken (my Dad's favorite), mashed potatoes, gravy, steamed carrots, green bean casserole, salad and buscuits........topped off with chocolate cheesecake! Yummo!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MY DAD AND KEVIN!

Kevin & his beautiful children, Briahnna, Kyle & Ryan

reap what you sow...

"Be Happy"

©Teresa Kogut

(I've posted this painting before but it fit so well with the below topic)

"Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.  This is but saying that nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles." - As A Man Thinketh

Most everyone understands the biblical concept of sowing and reaping because we can grasp the simplicity of the logic. If we were to plant corn in our backyard garden we wouldn't expect spinach to come up. But even though we can grasp the logic, we don't always act as if we understand the power of this principle. And we certainly don't act as if this principle will affect us.

An example: For many years my morning ritual began with a thorough reading of the newspaper, most days spending an hour or more before dashing off to the office. I did not know then that our minds are most impressionable immediately upon rising in the morning and just before sleep in the evening.

Fresh from the reading (and thoughts) of the day's murders, indictments, invasions by foreign dictators, and all other manner of "news", it shouldn't have come as a surprise to me that my sowing of these thoughts would reap an "attitude" toward the rush hour drivers who were "conspiring" to slow down my arrival at work. Thus, by the time I did arrive, I had set the tone for my day, and it was not a positive one.

I gave up my morning ritual thirteen years ago and replaced it with a ritual of reading and meditating on some works that will sow "good thoughts" and thus reap "good results." I wasn't aware at the time that this was some sound advice offered up by the Apostle Paul, who wrote, "Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about."

We always reap what we sow and that is especially true with our thoughts. As Emmet Fox writes, "The secret of life then is to control your mental states, for if you will do this the rest will follow. To accept sickness, trouble, and failure as unavoidable, and perhaps inevitable, is folly, because it is this very acceptance by you that keeps these evils in existence. Man is not limited by his environment. He creates his environments by his beliefs and feelings. To suppose otherwise is like thinking that the tail can wag the dog."

(Excerpt from Vic Johnson's June 17th emeditation)

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Over the past few years I have been reading books, such as, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The Secret by Rhonda Burnes, The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale and a few more. They all have the same message.......the power of our thoughts (be it positive or negative) determines our future. Our mind is like a garden of rich soil....we choose what we plant in it......plant negative thoughts and you will get negative results, plant positive thoughts and you will get positive results.....it is a natural law. The bible speaks of this same law!

So go about every day thinking good thoughts, visualize good things happening, and hold true to the fact that with faith and action, those thoughts will bring you a bountiful harvest of blessings in your life.

a great loss

It is with a heavy heart that I write my thoughts and feelings about the loss of Americana Folk artist Mary Beth Baxter. I am sure most of you are familiar with her talent. She painted wholesome Americana-themed paintings. She also was a wonderful gift shop owner of primitive and Americana folk art on Cape Cod with her daughter's bakery next door.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mary Beth in Atlanta a few years ago. She was so full of joy and laughter, telling jokes and stories that kept us in stitches. Her art made an impression on me long before I met her, but after meeting Mary Beth, I was even more taken by her. I am sure she touched more lives than she ever imagined.

She suffered a heart attack 5 weeks ago and never fully recovered. I have faith that she is at rest with the Lord now. The art community and her local community will miss her greatly and my sincere condolences go out to her family.

another beauty....

"Love is Everything"

16x20 acrylic

©Teresa Kogut

more snippets....

"God is Love"

16x20

©Teresa Kogut

Another collage angel......I would love to paint these every day!! I enjoy the entire process of creating these paintings. From the sketching to the layering of paper, the painting and finally, the distressing. Each one is unique and turn out so different than what I originally think when sketching. I hope everyone finds this kind of joy when creating :)

pretty, pretty princess

Isn't she sweet! Having fun painting some whimsical, magical, fun-loving characters :)

and the winner is.......

Congratulations to Julie Driver Grau!! You are the winner of the May give away!! All you have to do now is pick out a 12x12 or 11x14 print on wood from my Etsy shop. Email (teresakogut@yahoo.com) which print you chose along with your mailing address and I will send it out asap :)

A BIG thank you to all of you who entered the drawing! I will continue doing give aways so make sure to stay in touch!!