#: locale=en
## Action
### URL
LinkBehaviour_8123373B_DB7C_AFE7_41D4_2A7E496166A5.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/a-living-sacrifice
LinkBehaviour_850E379B_DB04_EEA7_41E4_2A09272D4F2D.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/ascension
LinkBehaviour_F4F382DC_CB7D_A6A1_41DD_927A994EE242.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/breathe
LinkBehaviour_D23814E0_CB0D_6261_41E9_931E7E547CD5.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/coming-through
LinkBehaviour_E68CB0D0_CB0C_E2A1_41E6_70DD505ECE84.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/conquering-problems
LinkBehaviour_FDB0EA0A_CB05_61A1_41D4_02D85BC01AC0.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/fighting-the-shadow
LinkBehaviour_F79EA0A3_CB0D_A2E7_41DB_1203144BCE38.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/frost-is-given
LinkBehaviour_91518D33_D50D_63E7_41DC_DBD946C2AA5E.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/him-me-you-we-got-this
LinkBehaviour_FE6DB348_CB1F_67A1_41BC_495B271260D8.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/his-strength-is-mine
LinkBehaviour_85AC1C50_DB05_E1A1_41E8_B053FC439F9C.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/hope-on-a-rope
LinkBehaviour_DADCA072_CBFB_E261_41DE_00700D111094.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/hope-on-the-horizon
LinkBehaviour_D446143B_CB07_E1E7_41DA_B42752869157.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/it-counts-to-try
LinkBehaviour_B28CA419_DB04_E1A3_41E7_E0257BC59C3F.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/keep-climbing-1
LinkBehaviour_81BFCF0D_DB1C_BFA3_41DF_F904270C1169.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/pull-up
LinkBehaviour_B5898F64_DB0C_DE62_4198_2C21648B1469.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/raise-the-bar
LinkBehaviour_E8EC1F78_CB3F_FE61_41D7_48DC07C3E286.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/stepping-into-possible
LinkBehaviour_8E1091DC_DB1D_62A1_41DE_29A78128AF60.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/strength-is-ageless
LinkBehaviour_ED81A5EA_CB04_A261_41A0_52DBF88C3242.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/the-burden-shaped-her
LinkBehaviour_9A9F0344_DB0C_A7A1_41DF_BC84421DD5F7.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/the-release
LinkBehaviour_849F78B1_DB0C_A2E3_41A7_E7D41599493A.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/the-weight-on-her-shoulders
LinkBehaviour_F52CF6E7_CB0D_6E6F_4193_4D4D1EE44FC3.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/unstoppable-force-of-nature
LinkBehaviour_8EE0A65A_DB07_A1A1_41CF_B1D56F08BE83.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/verna
LinkBehaviour_8D54AE27_DB05_61EF_41E5_F2E4B7F6E310.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/when-heaven-helps-you-juggle
LinkBehaviour_9A431B1D_DB04_E7A3_41E9_E2E61BCFE854.source = https://jenedypaige.com/collections/feminine-strength/products/with-you-all-the-way
## Media
### Title
panorama_B6856F0E_BACF_4E60_41DA_3C7EAD1C3E5B.label = Women Strong Art (1)
panorama_B0058ED0_BAD0_CFE0_41DE_F21B88C18713.label = Women Strong Art (10)
panorama_B0058AC2_BAD0_B7E0_41C6_CD3DD40AD9C6.label = Women Strong Art (11)
panorama_B005D5A2_BAD1_5DA0_41D1_C531B11A3808.label = Women Strong Art (12)
panorama_B00590EF_BAD1_73A0_41D9_5453862A3A3A.label = Women Strong Art (13)
panorama_B0059CEB_BAD1_73A7_41E0_42EF4F5583AB.label = Women Strong Art (14)
panorama_B00669CB_BAD1_55E0_41D8_7532E26CE825.label = Women Strong Art (15)
panorama_B0068675_BAD1_BEA0_41D3_A785DB1FB6F3.label = Women Strong Art (16)
panorama_B006C33D_BAD1_D6A0_41B2_3D5785B39450.label = Women Strong Art (17)
panorama_B006B071_BAD1_F2A0_413A_70C0978D029E.label = Women Strong Art (18)
panorama_B006DD56_BAD1_F2E0_41E6_52964B644615.label = Women Strong Art (19)
panorama_B017EEC2_BACF_4FE0_41C7_D1D56F226062.label = Women Strong Art (2)
panorama_B006F9A5_BAD1_D5A0_417E_C5653A60CAA5.label = Women Strong Art (20)
panorama_B0066577_BAD1_B2A0_41E5_F1CB17E3EB1F.label = Women Strong Art (21)
panorama_B006A10C_BAD1_5260_41D1_43558427CAEE.label = Women Strong Art (22)
panorama_B0066C66_BAD1_52A1_41D5_DB1AEAED12C1.label = Women Strong Art (23)
panorama_B0067766_BAD1_7EA0_41C9_E460416A87B1.label = Women Strong Art (24)
panorama_B0060287_BAD1_5660_41CD_D54AC958D452.label = Women Strong Art (25)
panorama_B01A996E_BACF_72A1_41D5_2604A040C183.label = Women Strong Art (3)
panorama_B01AA425_BACF_52A0_41DD_8B3D271F273C.label = Women Strong Art (4)
panorama_B005A082_BAD0_B260_41B3_0B7824FD03F1.label = Women Strong Art (5)
panorama_B0057CE1_BAD0_B3A3_41E5_33BBDF87DD36.label = Women Strong Art (6)
panorama_B005D947_BAD0_D2E0_41D7_EE86EF814CAB.label = Women Strong Art (7)
panorama_B005B5D0_BAD0_FDE0_41E3_A6CEE9CE159A.label = Women Strong Art (8)
panorama_B005C259_BAD0_D6E0_41C2_94957189007F.label = Women Strong Art (9)
## Skin
### Button
Button_9157CD32_D50D_63E1_41DA_0FDB282DC248.label = GO TO BUY
Button_D444C43B_CB07_E1E7_41E1_4B8D4ABC65E3.label = GO TO BUY
Button_D23E54E0_CB0D_6261_41D6_B07831853526.label = GO TO BUY
Button_ED8F65EA_CB04_A261_41C2_8A446399C010.label = GO TO BUY
Button_E8ED2F77_CB3F_FE6F_4178_A6375F32AC4D.label = GO TO BUY
Button_B58B4F64_DB0C_DE62_41E8_37F80B1B8E3A.label = GO TO BUY
Button_E68E70CF_CB0C_E2BF_419E_350BA244A4BD.label = GO TO BUY
Button_FE13E346_CB1F_67A1_41CD_05CF9C9329CE.label = GO TO BUY
Button_FE4D5A09_CB05_61A3_41E8_A37ECCFF59D6.label = GO TO BUY
Button_F79CD0A2_CB0D_A2E1_41B4_EE4FBF151847.label = GO TO BUY
Button_F52126E6_CB0D_6E61_41E5_5EAAA6E62ACC.label = GO TO BUY
Button_F4F1C2DB_CB7D_A6A7_41D8_BE85DD9D0312.label = GO TO BUY
Button_7DE3659A_6911_E2E0_41C3_93316288CBE4.label = GO TO BUY
Button_9A3ECB1C_DB04_E7A1_41D6_6A857E533132.label = GO TO BUY
Button_9A90C344_DB0C_A7A1_41E0_A0050A357992.label = GO TO BUY
Button_8509F79B_DB04_EEA7_41D5_8C96C04A29EC.label = GO TO BUY
Button_81A01F0C_DB1C_BFA1_41C0_794011EEF011.label = GO TO BUY
Button_8121773A_DB7C_AFE1_41DD_365B74C8AC15.label = GO TO BUY
Button_85AADC4F_DB05_E1BF_41AE_8B74E9127D8F.label = GO TO BUY
Button_8490B8B0_DB0C_A2E1_41E9_23A6F0B11BDC.label = GO TO BUY
Button_8D56EE27_DB05_61EF_41DF_1E6FEC2D6B19.label = GO TO BUY
Button_8E12D1DC_DB1D_62A1_41E4_D361BAEC3CD1.label = GO TO BUY
Button_8EFF7659_DB07_A1A3_41DF_9ACE6DF12385.label = GO TO BUY
Button_B28E5418_DB04_E1A1_41E6_8A3CE94F4971.label = GO TO BUY
### Image
Image_7DE3B59A_6911_E2E0_41D3_E1AF7DF208C7.url = skin/Image_7DE3B59A_6911_E2E0_41D3_E1AF7DF208C7_en.jpg
Image_81288739_DB7C_AFE3_41EA_62921F6E05CC.url = skin/Image_81288739_DB7C_AFE3_41EA_62921F6E05CC_en.jpg
Image_81A1BF0C_DB1C_BFA1_41E1_13C63B75FBA3.url = skin/Image_81A1BF0C_DB1C_BFA1_41E1_13C63B75FBA3_en.jpg
Image_8490D8B0_DB0C_A2E1_41D8_D7BF13B1D006.url = skin/Image_8490D8B0_DB0C_A2E1_41D8_D7BF13B1D006_en.jpg
Image_8509279A_DB04_EEA1_41E6_627793722059.url = skin/Image_8509279A_DB04_EEA1_41E6_627793722059_en.jpg
Image_85AABC4F_DB05_E1BF_41E8_EF2310061D1B.url = skin/Image_85AABC4F_DB05_E1BF_41E8_EF2310061D1B_en.jpg
Image_8D518E26_DB05_61E1_41BF_B7FF2E265218.url = skin/Image_8D518E26_DB05_61E1_41BF_B7FF2E265218_en.jpg
Image_8E1531DB_DB1D_62A7_41B3_37B02F9FA7C1.url = skin/Image_8E1531DB_DB1D_62A7_41B3_37B02F9FA7C1_en.jpg
Image_8EFF3659_DB07_A1A3_41C2_765A1529654C.url = skin/Image_8EFF3659_DB07_A1A3_41C2_765A1529654C_en.jpg
Image_91562D30_D50D_63E1_41BA_E7653A5A5038.url = skin/Image_91562D30_D50D_63E1_41BA_E7653A5A5038_en.jpg
Image_9A3E6B1B_DB04_E7A7_41E1_F0AC434257E2.url = skin/Image_9A3E6B1B_DB04_E7A7_41E1_F0AC434257E2_en.jpg
Image_9A903343_DB0C_A7A7_41E0_1B15F6DD4C32.url = skin/Image_9A903343_DB0C_A7A7_41E0_1B15F6DD4C32_en.jpg
Image_B28E2418_DB04_E1A1_4199_7D17297DDDC6.url = skin/Image_B28E2418_DB04_E1A1_4199_7D17297DDDC6_en.jpg
Image_B58B2F63_DB0C_DE66_41E4_27EE9505729F.url = skin/Image_B58B2F63_DB0C_DE66_41E4_27EE9505729F_en.jpg
Image_D23DF4DE_CB0D_625E_41AD_E1EE68BAEE3C.url = skin/Image_D23DF4DE_CB0D_625E_41AD_E1EE68BAEE3C_en.jpg
Image_D445A43A_CB07_E1E1_41D5_ECBF4445A6B1.url = skin/Image_D445A43A_CB07_E1E1_41D5_ECBF4445A6B1_en.jpg
Image_E68FF0CC_CB0C_E2A1_41E0_ACA64743A1B2.url = skin/Image_E68FF0CC_CB0C_E2A1_41E0_ACA64743A1B2_en.jpg
Image_E8EDAF76_CB3F_FE61_4186_479C42BD70C6.url = skin/Image_E8EDAF76_CB3F_FE61_4186_479C42BD70C6_en.jpg
Image_ED8CF5E8_CB04_A261_41DB_E76B6472B72F.url = skin/Image_ED8CF5E8_CB04_A261_41DB_E76B6472B72F_en.jpg
Image_F4F092D9_CB7D_A6A3_41D2_CAFF3E257778.url = skin/Image_F4F092D9_CB7D_A6A3_41D2_CAFF3E257778_en.jpg
Image_F521E6E4_CB0D_6E61_41D1_59F581EC8E69.url = skin/Image_F521E6E4_CB0D_6E61_41D1_59F581EC8E69_en.jpg
Image_F79390A0_CB0D_A2E1_41C8_67D3F391201F.url = skin/Image_F79390A0_CB0D_A2E1_41C8_67D3F391201F_en.jpg
Image_FE109344_CB1F_67A1_41E9_06806C7F4DA6.url = skin/Image_FE109344_CB1F_67A1_41E9_06806C7F4DA6_en.jpg
Image_FE4DBA07_CB05_61AF_41D9_AD2913480EAB.url = skin/Image_FE4DBA07_CB05_61AF_41D9_AD2913480EAB_en.jpg
### Multiline Text
HTMLText_8509679B_DB04_EEA7_41D8_16A87B2CCA5A.html = Ascension
Story:
“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?” - Psalm 23:4
“The Ascension” is commonly known as Christ’s ascent from earth to Heaven, and our goal is to follow Him there. However, if there is something I have learned from physically ascending from valleys to the tops of mountains, it’s that the ascending process takes a lot of work! It’s physically demanding, mentally rigorous, and spiritually symbolic. You have an idea about the overall direction and destination: up. However, the specifics of how to actually get there can be foggy. You sometimes grasp for rocks that can’t hold you. You have difficulty finding the right spot for your feet. Maintaining balance can require some creative body maneuvering. Cuts, scrapes, and bruises are all a part of the process. Lest we ever think that Christ’s ascension was as simple as the blink of an eye, may we also remember the difficulty of His climb, and be inspired in our own journeys. The ascent may take you to your very brink, but the views from the top are always worth it.
Breathe
Story:
"And the Lord God farmed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." -Genesis 2:7
Breath is automatic, we do it without thinking most of the time. However, when breath becomes intentional, it can be a powerful tool. Choosing to control something as automatic as our breath also helps to control other automatic reactions. The almost instinctive need to yell, fight or be unkind when we are misunderstood, ignored, belittled, or face opposition becomes a choice. If we breathe instead of react, in that moment we have the ability to choose our response instead of reacting. This is one of the highest forms of discipline. God granted all of us the gift of breath, when we use our breath to become better we are giving that breath back to God.
Coming Through
Story:
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
I began this painting in January 2019, wanting to convey the idea of coming through the other side of trials a better person. However, it sat unfinished in my studio for over a year, always taking the backseat to other projects. Then as the world became more and more complicated through 2020 this painting continued to give me hope. I had been through hard things before, times when life was so overwhelming you felt under water and were desperate for air. Yet, as I looked to God through those moments, He helped me to find peace in the storm, and a quiet reassurance that things would get better. And guess what? The sun came back into my life again, the storm passed, and I found a transformed self on the other side. I remember once praying that my life could be normal again, that I could be normal again, but I later realized that God didn’t want the old me, He had a new edition waiting all along. So I know we will make it through the current struggles; storms always pass. However, if we put our faith in God, He can help us find peace in the present and make us into better people in the process.
Conquering Problems
Story:
“Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Luke 3:5-6
I fell in love with climbing through the sport of bouldering, where you climb without a rope. The routes are called “problems”, and they require both mental and physical exertion to solve. Climbing is a gritty sport that involves falling over and over again. It’s not easy, but it is exhilarating to finally solve a problem and make it to the top.
Professional climber, Kyra Condie had just started climbing when at 11 years old she was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. The 72-degree curve required the fusion of ten vertebrae and permanent rod to be placed in her spine. Despite this enormous setback, Kyra trained and worked through the problems of her new limitations and eventually qualified for the United States Olympic climbing team.
Sometimes boulders can be seen as obstacles, but they can also be something that propels us forward and helps us climb to new heights. I am thankful that my faith in Jesus Christ helps me to work through all the problems I face, and His grace is sufficient for where I lack. He is helping me to climb mountains and smoothing out my rough place.
Fighting The Shadow
Story:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12
So many of life’s battle grounds are within our own head. So many wars wage on unseen. However, I have found that it is in the resisting, engaging in the wrestle, that we build strength. It’s in the resisting of gravity that we build muscle, pulling against the downward force acting on a weight. And similarly I find that we build emotional and spiritual strength as we resist the forces acting upon us.
C.S. Lewis said, “You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. … We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it:”
I know the battles we all face are varied and the mental fortitude with which some of us must carry on from day to day is intense. Some may wonder why they must struggle so, and while I don’t have all the answers, all I know is that the battle can be a catalyst for growth.
Frost Is Given
Story:
“May you sit with discomfort like it’s a dawn, not a death.” -KJ Ramsey, This Too Shall Last, 215
God sends flowers in the spring, but also snow in the winter. God allows for things to die and to be reborn again. He knows that sometimes growth requires a cold season. And likewise in our lives, sometimes the cold comes, the winds blow, and it may seem that God sleeps, but in reality He is giving us the experiences we need so that we may bloom on the other side.
So how will we face our winters? Will we resist, run, hide? Or will we walk bravely into them, surrendering to the discomfort and breathing in the cold air, trusting that the same God that brings us flowers, also brings us snow, and knows that all these things will be to our eternal benefit.
Him. Me. You. We Got This.
Story:
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." -Philippians 4:13
Tia Stokes stole the hearts of so many as she invited us into her very personal struggle with Leukemia. Not only was Tia going through the unthinkable, she was a mom to five children and it was 2020. Yes, Covid. So she had to take on this journey isolated from her family in a sterile hospital room. She miraculously found a way to dance through her trial and her motto, "Him. You. Me. We Got This." encouraged us to find a way to dance through our own challenges. She is living proof that with Christ we can do all things.
His Strength Is Mine
Story:
Trials can be divided into two kinds: those that we have for a season and those which we will have for the remainder of our lives. Sometimes we fast and pray and we get the answer we want and God removes the burden and life goes back to normal. Other times we are given a burden that cannot be removed, but after much fasting and prayer, God can strengthen us through His Son to be able to carry that burden through our "new normal".
"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." -1 Peter 5:10
I have felt this strength as I have carried on after the death of my son. People always say, "Oh, you're so strong!" And to them I reply, "His strength is mine."
I have also pondered the nature of the soul as a dual being, we are both spirit and body. I've found that as I strengthen one, it enhances the other. The Monday morning after my son passed away, the first thing I wanted to do was to go for a run. As I watched the sun rise that day, I remember having this feeling of grit inside me that I wouldn't give up, I would keep going. I would be steadfast and immoveable. I realized this spiritual grit was similar to the physical grit I felt while going on a long run, and I had a sense that the physical endurance fed my spiritual endurance. I know these bodies God has given us to house our spirits are such gifts, and that we can use both our body and our spirit, in partnership with Christ, to carry on through this mortal journey.
Hope on a Rope
Story:
“The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that
hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.”
- Job 17:9
Just keep holding on. Your hands are getting stronger.
Hope on the Horizon
Story:
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” – Phillipians 4:7
Sarah Frei Mills was a 17-year-old cheerleader spending a weekend with friends at Bear Lake. Her world was turned upside down when their car was hit head on by a drunk driver on their way home. Sarah immediately underwent several surgeries, and her parents worried how they were going to break the news to their daughter that not only was she a paraplegic, but her legs were gone as well.
However, Sarah was blessed with a gift, a compensating blessing that I believe came straight from Heaven. Sarah was granted hope. She told me that the instant she regained consciousness she was overcome by an incredible sense of all the great things that awaited her in life. She knew it was going to be okay.
It's now been five years and Sarah has gained the independence of being able to drive her own car. She’s graduated from college, began teaching at an elementary school, and just this summer she married her sweetheart. Five years and already so many of the things she hoped for have come to pass. Sarah’s gift of hope not only blessed her and her parents, but her contagious smile and optimism has inspired thousands of people. I can only imagine the good she is going to do in the lives of the students she will teach. For Sarah, there is always light on the horizon.
It Counts to Try
Story:
“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” - 2 Cor 12:10
Annie Ogden has been one of my ninja students for a couple years. I’ve admired her tenacity to keep trying obstacles even when they are challenging. She’s taken fall after fall, yet she continues to try because she knows that it’s in the trying that we eventually get to doing. Annie says that she has found strength in her weakness, because despite her weakness she keeps trying, and that’s a true strength. I couldn’t agree more. It counts to try.
Keep Climbing
Story:
“Behold, we count them happy which endure.” - James 5:11
You may not believe it, but these hands and arms belong to a 73 year old woman. Ginny Maccoll is in the Guiness Book of World Records as the Oldest Competitive Female Ninja, so she knows a thing or two about enduring. She is a beautiful example of not giving up, and not letting your age define you. She is a champion of, “just one more,” encouraging others to do just one more rep when they think they can’t go any further and she’s also one of the happiest people I know.
Living Sacrifice
Story:
“I beseech you,... that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” - Romans 12:1
I climbed a mountain and I built an altar. I knew that God had asked His people in the Old Testament to offer sacrifice as a symbol of His Son. I knew that Jesus Christ came in the New Testament to fulfill that law and that mankind from that time forward was asked to make their lives a living sacrifice to their God. I knew something intellectually about sacrifice, but to build an altar, and then to put myself on top of it, this was a new experience. I felt so incredibly vulnerable before the Lord. I stared up at the sky and felt like crying as my love for God really was such that I wanted to live a life honoring Him. This life, this art, this work I do everyday, every stone I lift, is to bring glory to His name.
Pull Up
Story:
“And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. …” - Nehemiah 2:18
“I need you to pull up.” The words came so clearly to my mind and I understood. God’s children live in a world acted upon by gravity. Downward forces both physical and spiritual are acting on us at all times, and God needs us to pull up. When we resist those downward forces, we get stronger. When we are strong we can help lift other people. Let’s pull up!
“Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.” - Psalm 25:1
Raise The Bar
Story:
“By small and simple things are great things brought brought to pass” Alma 37:6
The term “raise the bar” was coined in the early 1900s from the sports of pole vaulting and high jumping, where a bar was incrementally raised. I love the pattern of incremental growth and have seen a bar move in my own sport of ninja. When I first began my ninja training, to swing 6’ through the air and catch a bar seemed impossible! However, as I practiced, fell, and got up again, eventually I succeeded in catching that bar. Then the bar moved: 7’, 8’, 9’, 10’, and just this past year I was able to clear 11’!
This same principle holds true for Katrina Rasmussen, an Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit athlete and coach. Trina holds multiple state and national records in her age group and weight class. She began with just a 45 lb bar, but a few pounds at a time, over the years, she has grown to be able to put 265 lbs above her head!
Little repeated actions, little habits over time compound to great achievements. Raise the bar, try, fall, and grow. More is possible than you know.
Stepping Into Possible
Story:
“For with God nothing shall be impossible” - Luke 1:37
It’s actually easier to say, “I can’t.” It you can’t, then you have an excuse to not even try. But in my experience, I have found that we are all so much more capable than we are willing and ready to believe. The seeming walls of impossibility are really more a fragment of our minds than anything else. We are daughters of God, who are we not to be amazing? Who are we to put up walls of impossibility? Believe that you can, put in the work, and watch miracles happen. Watch the walls of impossibility fall. For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Strength Is Ageless
Story:
“As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
Now therefore give me this mountain…” – Joshua 14:11-12
I love the story of Caleb in the Old Testament who at 85 felt as capable as ever to go out and use his strength to serve the Lord. I am also inspired by Ginny Maccoll, who was watching her daughter compete on American Ninja Warrior, and decided that she herself wanted to get stronger. She got a pull up bar for her closet and started working, it took almost a year, but at 65 she finally got her chin over the bar. At 73 she is now in the Guiness Book of World Records as the oldest competitive female ninja. Yes, at the age when most people succumb to a rocking chair, Ginny is taking on ninja courses. Her motto, “Strength is Ageless,” is inspiring millions of people as Ginny is redefining what aging looks like.
I believe this is just another example of the divine nature that is in us as children of God. Our Father is limitless, so why do we, as His children, put so many limits on ourselves? More is possible and strength is ageless.
The Burden Shaped Her
Story:
''For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to
lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;" Acts 15: 28
I continue to see all these parallels between strength training and life. In order to see growth, you have to progressively overload your muscles, if you always lift what's comfortable you'll never get stronger. I'm realizing that God does this with me spiritually too. He purposely gives me challenges that feel heavy. This is because He wants me to grow. The good news is, He's always there to empower me along the way. So be grateful for the burdens you carry, they are shaping you into the person He needs you to be.
The Release
Story:
I was holding on so tightly, but I had to let go.
These hands are a symbol. They point upward but are also turned outward. As I gave all my grief and anxiety over to God, He taught me that I would only find healing as I looked to Him daily and as I sought to serve others. For it is only through God’s grace, made possible through the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ, that we are able to let go and find peace. And it is only by keeping our hands facing outward that we are able to find joy again through service. I also realized that it’s only when we let go, that our hands are then free to use them to do what God intends us to do.
The Weight On Her Shoulders
Story:
Sometimes we would wish away the burdens we carry, but often it is those very burdens that are shaping us into the people God needs us to be. It is the weight that makes us stronger.
Unstoppable Force of Nature
Story:
"...Be strong, and do it." - 1 Chronicles 28:10
Larissa Cottle is a beautiful example of consistent effort, choosing to show up every day despite life's set backs. Her husband has been in different branches of the military and when I met Larissa she was a single mom while her husband was overseas. Even still she would make time to build in her garage. When she felt discouraged she would just tell herself, "You are an unstoppable force of nature." and show up anyways. I find this grit and tenacity so inspiring. There will always be excuses, but be strong and do it anyway.
Verna
Story:
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." - Matthew 25:40
When Verna's life fell apart in her twenties, she found healing in the service of other people. The word "wait" can mean to just pass time or it can mean to serve. While Verna "waited" to be reunited with the ones she loved, she also "waited" on other people.
When Heaven Helps You Juggle
Story:
"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." - Psalm 91:11
The struggle is real. I think most moms know how difficult it can be to keep all the balls in the air. We feel pulled in so many directions between taking care of our homes, managing careers, chasing dreams, and raising kids. However one thing I have seen time and time again, is God stepping in to help me do it. So many times the hands of a friend, the hands of my mother, the hands of my husband, or angelic unseen hands have helped me to keep it all going.
"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." - Isaiah 41:13
With You All The Way
Story:
"And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee..." 2 Kings 4:30
A patron reached out to me from California and told me he had been studying the pioneers from early American history. He discovered the story of a woman who had a small child who refused to stay in the wagon unless his mother was holding his hand. The story struck a chord with the man because he and his wife were the parents of six children, three of whom were neurodivergent, and they would require a lot of hand holding. My heart was so touched by these devoted parents who are in it for the long haul. This patron was kind enough to give me permission to share this painting as a print with any other parents out there who may feel that the journey seems long. I hope you know you're doing a great work.