Where's Your Focus?

Take a minute and read Esther 5:9-15. What an amazing situation. All that he had! Yet, there was ONE thing that was not as he wanted and that ONE thing caused him to build the very gallows that he would hang on! The title of these musings is "Focus". Despite all his blessings, the ONE thing Haman focused on took his life and the lives of those in his family. What we FOCUS on determines the course of our lives and that of those we love. What has been the FOCUS of 2015? What should be the FOCUS of the years to come?        Colossians 3:2 tells us where to focus. “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Heb. 12:2 tells us on Whom to focus, "looking unto Jesus". Matt 24:42 tells why our focus needs to be correct: "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." Each of us has been given a race to run called the Christian life. As in any race, we cannot be looking to the right or left to see how our competition is doing (John 21:21), and we certainly cannot be looking behind us to see how those trailing are doing, or to see how far we have come. Philippians 3:13-14 says it so well; the Cunningham translation says, "We ain't there yet. Focus on one thing. Forget the past. Look to the future. One day we will see Jesus and it will be worth it all." When we were first saved, someone said to us, "Keep your eyes on Jesus,” and although we have heard that many times since, it is still as important. So many things have happened, so many people have come and gone in our lives , so many wonderful miracles and so many very trying times have been experienced, but there is a constant, a Rock on Whom we stand, Who has promised us, "I will never leave thee." So when we determine to focus on Him, He will always be there to see. Haman's one wrong FOCUS took his life. Our one FOCUS gives us life and that life more abundantly. --Pastor Jim Cunningham

“I want to be the voice of those who are unheard.”

This month is Priority One at SFB.  The weekend of October 25-27 we will be focusing on our number one priority which is to bring people into a life-changing relationship with God and each other.  Over the next three weeks our Focus articles will be related to Priority One 2013.  Today we have an interview with Karisa Keasey, “The Least of These Project.”  Karisa has her art exhibit displayed in the CLC.

An interview with Karisa Keasey:  “I want to be the voice of those who are unheard.”

Where were you born?

“Portland Oregon and I also lived in La Grande and Salem.”

Tell us about your family?

“My mom and dad have been married for a long time.  I have one older sister who loves math and science.  Quite different than me, but we are still very close.”

Where were you trained as an artist?

“I went to college at George Fox University and majored in studio art, but before college I was self-taught.  I began to sell my art in high school.“

When did you first discover your love for art?

“I have been painting and drawing since I can remember.  God gave me a love and a gift for drawing.  I would use the bulletin in church to draw some of my first pictures. “

What is the type of art you do?

“Stylistically I do impressionistic paintings that lean toward realism.  What does that mean for a non-art person like myself?  Impressionism shows the process of art so that people see the brush strokes.  The realism side comes from the use of lighting and the depiction of real-life images.”

Did you always want to go to the orphanages?

“I had a love for children that drew me toward orphanages.  My first desire to use my art for more than just art-sake was a passion to cross lingual and cultural barriers.  The images I drew could share a message that words could not.  I want to be the voice of those who are unheard. “

Why India?

“I have always had an interest in India.  I did a lot of research on orphanages both nationally and internationally.  I began to notice that many orphanages focused on one of two areas, either being the hands and feet of Jesus or sharing the gospel.  What drew me to the orphanage that I work with in India is they make a concerted effort to focus on both helping the body and the soul.

Do you see your art as a profession or as a ministry or both?

“My purpose is not going to help the Indian people because they do not specifically need art help.  My mission is to stand hand in hand with a far off neighbor.   I go to India to learn about their culture and the ministry of the orphanage.  I then come back and through my art tell their story.   My mission here is to inspire people to stand hand in hand with a close or far off neighbor. “

Your paintings give special attention to the eyes.  Why? 

“There is something special about eyes.  They are the window to the soul.  When you look at a person’s eyes you can know them without speaking to them.  This is important when you cannot speak the same language.  Something struck me about the Yanadi people.  They have a strong resilience and a beauty that comes out of their suffering.  I first saw this in their eyes.”

Describe some of the unique elements of your art that the viewer might first not see?
“I put a lot of texture in my art that uses elements from India.  I also use cloth from India.  I integrate the impression of rain to represent the tsunamis that the Yanadi people have faced.  Every year they experience tsunamis and are forced to rebuild their homes.    Thousands of Yanadi people die every year and are not counted because they are not considered human.”

  

Interview by Pastor Mark Hanke

Seasons of Serving

Could it really be that only a week or two ago we were basking in hot sunny days?  The changing of the seasons has happened rather abruptly this year, and here we are with cold, rainy, windy "stay indoors" weather!  The four seasons are always welcome, and I look forward to what autumn, winter, spring and summer bring every year.

So too, with the seasons of life.  They come and go quickly, and change faster with the passing of years.  It seems like yesterday that I was a young woman, serving alongside my husband in our ministries, caring for our three young children.  Now Bob is with the Lord, our children are grown, and so are most of our grandchildren.  Six great-grandchildren now fill my heart and life!  I'm in the autumn of my life, with winter closing in.

There is a changing of the seasons with ministries too.  For various reasons, what I formerly was able to do in serving the Lord is no longer on my to-do list.  Health issues, financial limitations, responsibilities at home, family concerns, etc., loom large as one's seasons of life change.

But I have found JOY in serving the Lord in two nursing home ministries.  For the past ten years I've helped with a Bible study on Wednesday afternoons at Tierra Rose Care Center, and more recently, a new opportunity has opened up at Orchard Heights Care Center.  On Tuesday afternoons I'm able to read Scriptures to dear folks in the memory-care unit, and will start playing hymns on the little organ in their "living room."  It has been joyous for me to see how the residents connect to Scriptures that they learned many years ago.  Other memories have faded for them, but I have seen, first-hand, that the Word of God is alive in their hearts and memories. One woman, who was not anxious for me to read the Bible to them, corrected me when I read a verse from Psalm 100 out of my New King James version.  She said, "Stop! Wrong word!  It's NOISE, not 'shout'!” as I read the first verse.  I smiled and told her that she was correct, and so I re-read it, from memory, in King James Version.  She was beaming when I finished quoting the chapter - being reminded of God's precious Word that she had learned many years before.  It was a confirmation that God's Word is "quick, powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword", and I am privileged to be able to read it to residents who sometimes don't remember their families, where they are, or if they've had a recent meal.  They DO remember and LOVE hearing the Scriptures read, and that is my joy at this season of my life.

Perhaps you have had ministry opportunities in the past that are no longer possible for you.  God will open doors for you, to other much-needed ministries, if you will make yourself available.  Just ask Him.
Every season of life comes with its own blessings - just look for them!
--Sue Compton


First Baptist website: www.fbcsalem.org
to respond to this email: fbc@fbcsalem.org

First Baptist website: www.fbcsalem.org

to respond to this email: fbc@fbcsalem.org