The Cat Show and My Trip to Mordor!

I have been working all week getting ready for my big art show at the Cat Fancier's Cat Show at the Idaho Fairgrounds this weekend. I am really looking forward to it. I think this is my favorite art show to do because of the cats, which is my favorite animal. It has been a tough week for me and this show will help rejuvenate me a bit.

It has been a tough week because the mortgage broker business, which is what my husband is in, is under siege right now and is in a type of recession. Banks are trying to put mortgage brokers out of business because they are taking away business from them. There are laws in Congress that would put mortgage brokers out of business. There is definitely a battle of "dirty politics" going on against the real estate and mortgage business. I have found myself caught up in this battle, even though I don't really want to be! It affects me as an artist too. This situation limits me--it limits my budget and what I can spend (if any) on advertising and marketing myself as an artist. It affects my ability to relax, concentrate and be creative, so I can continue as an artist. I find myself thinking more about what I can do to bring in more money instead of being inspired to creat new art.

I am in a group that meets every Wednesday night that is a combination Care Group and Study Group. Several of the members of this group are also artists, like me, so it is perfect for me. We support each other in our triumphs and trials, we pray for each other. We have been doing a week by week study of John Edredge's book, "Waking the Dead." This book has been extremely helpful to me. John Edredge says that, "Your heart is worth fighting for!" and that is what I am doing right now. My heart is in creating art and I am fighting for that. The world is trying to destroy my heart and discourage me with recession and other attacks against the mortgage business and real estate market. Each of us has a calling. Mine is artwork. And whether I become rich and famous or end up a "starving artist," art is what I was put on this earth to do! Sometimes you find yourself in a war, whether you want to be or not. John Eldredge talks about that too. There is a scene in "Lord of the Rings" where Aragon tells another king who is in denial about the coming war, "War is upon you whether you would risk it or not." I am glad I have this little group of friends that I meet with. They are like the "Fellowship of the Ring" friends that helped Frodo on his journey to Mordor. Sometimes I feel like Frodo and I have been given a ring that I have to get rid of and an all expense paid vacation to Mordor!