Rebecca and I stare transfixed by the Thomas Moran painting. I scout out the ceiling above in search of a light shining down, but there isn’t one. The light shines from the painting itself.?An early American artist best known for his paintings of the American West, Thomas Moran painted light and contrast in profoundly unique ways.

How does one use color and tools to create light such as this?

Not only did Mr. Moran posses an amazing talent for painting light, but he was also gifted at removing clutter from a scene so he could paint a landscape’s natural beauty. In the painting above, entitled Green River Cliffs, Wyoming, he removed signs of the town’s commercial development so he could focus on the colorful buttes rising from the water.

In his ability to strip away all excess – the insignificant – and drench the heart of the scene in light, he was able to show us a landscape picture that reflected God’s image, His holy creation.

As I walked around the gallery, I couldn’t help but think how the most inviting people do the same. They see you the way Jesus does, beyond your hurts and imperfections. They minimize your insignificant and highlight your good.

They use tools – their words, their heart, their service, their presence – to create a light that reflects the best parts of you. They see you as the gift you are, part of God’s holy creation.

I want to be that kind of inviting person, too.

Holley Gerth writes like Thomas Moran paints. She uses the Word to drench hearts in Light, to help us see ourselves the way Jesus does. And today? Well, today she invites us to a celebration because she’s having a baby girl! A book?baby?girl named You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream: Opening the Door to All God Has for You. This beautiful book not only shows you how to give wings to your dream, it will personallly speak to you as it brings you to rest straight into the heart of God. It’s spiritual, practical, inspirational, and it will bless the livin’ daylights out of you like nothing else you’ve read.

{And I’m not just saying that because I’m in it, but because Holley really is our nation’s encourager-in-chief and her books are the next best thing to having her in your living room.}

Won’t you celebrate her book’s birth day by visiting here?or?here??And if you order You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream from DaySpring, use the code holley25 for 25% off! That makes the book around $8. Woot!

I hope you always feel welcome here, friends. Wish we could all hang out in my living room today.

Have a wonderful weekend!