2.) Lindsay Isaiah 57:4 Rebuild the Road! Clear away rocks and stones! Prepare a glorious highway for my people s return from captivity.

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2 1.) Teresa Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you hope and a future. The path represents the plans God has for us. There is only one pair of feet because the Lord carries us during hard times. The sun shines as a promise of a bright future. 2.) Lindsay Isaiah 57:4 Rebuild the Road! Clear away rocks and stones! Prepare a glorious highway for my people s return from captivity. I traveled too long down a road fit for my captivity BUT GOD has invaded my life! He s shown me the proper ways to throw out the negative behaviors and mind sets! I live in complete freedom and walk in the way of the righteous! What a glorious highway God has put me on!

3 3.) Ana Psalm 18:6 In my distress I called upon the Lord; To my God I called. From His temple He heard my voice, And my cry came to His ears. The colors of Iran are green, white and red. I am half Persian and want to be a voice for God to the people of Iran. God put it on my heart to let them know He hears their prayers and they are not forgotten. The lotus flower represents my new life blooming at Mercy. 4.) Emily 2 Corinthians 4:6-9 For God, who said, Let there by light in the darkness, has made us understand that it is the beginning of His glory that it is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. But this precious treasure- this light and power that now shine within us- is held in a perishable container so everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not on our own. God has poured His incredible glory into my once dead soul. I ve truly been remade. He is so important, though, for me and others to remember that it is only by Christ that I have been transformed.

4 5.) Amy Psalm 40:1-2 (NIV) I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a Rock and gave me a firm place to stand. These verses speak volumes of what God has done in my life. I was immersed in my own junk before, and it was literally taking me over. I felt like I was being pulled down into the depths leading to death. God always had His hand on me but I truly felt a power when I reached out and accepted His help and unfailing love. I now stand on solid ground through Jesus Christ, MY SAVIOR! Through this project I have made a new positive art memory, no longer full of the negative comments and comparison before. God taught me a lot during this time about pushing through hard times and the old negative emotions of the past. This work is a testimony of my journey from the old to new, death to life. 6.) Brye Psalms 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. I was totally broken before God found me! I worship Him and I receive the freedom He gives me! Also, sign language is a huge part of my life so I put in the sign for I love you.

5 8.) Kimberly I Peter 3:4 (AMP) But let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which is not anxious or wrought up, but is very precious in the sight of God. This drawing represents the inner beauty that God gives us and that only He sees. The faded left side of the woman s face is faded- representing outer beauty. It represents what we see (the outside), which is unimportant to God. 7.) Brye Matt. 7:5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your own brother s eye. I have planks in my eye that could be used to build a house- house of lust, self-harm, coveting, pride and abuse, but I ve overcome with respect, victory, fulfillment, change and forgiveness. The right side was created clear with the colors of royalty. The purple represents royalty and the hair represents the beginnings of our walk with the Holy Spirit. The golden part of her hair represents the Holy Spirit as it s exercised in our lives and the passion of fire He eventually gives us. Her hair flows as the Spirit with fire. The woman s beauty is coming from the gentle and peaceful spirit (represented by the heart of the lamb and dove) which flows from God through the Holy Spirit. God s hand is green to represent Godly wisdom and the blood flows to the charm because without, the charm wouldn t exist. The charm is the centerpiece that represents the spirit of peacefulness and gentleness (the heart of the dove and lamb) and the Cross of redemption that makes it possible to have the inner beauty to begin with. The charm is a heart to show pure motive and Godly characteristic at its finest!

6 9.) Kelsey Romans 12:1-2 And so dear brother and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice- the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don t copy the behaviors and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 10.) Kathryn Psalm 147:3 The Lord has heard the desire of His servant Kathryn, her humble cries. He has opened His heart, and caused my ears to hear the stirrings of His Spirit. Ps. 10:17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear.

7 11.) Kathryn Psalm 98 I will sing to the Lord a song, for He has done marvelous things. In me He has placed the beauty of holiness, manifested in all His greatest creations. He stretches forth His hand to bring rest to the righteous. 12.) Mandie Lamentation 3:23 Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh every morning. Ephesians 3:17b Your roots will grow down into God s love and make you strong. I m growing into God s love, remembering that his mercies are new every morning.

8 13.) Mandie I Chronicles 16:42a They used their trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments to accompany their songs of praise to God. Psalm 47:6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King; sing praises. 14.) Katie Colossians 3:9-10 You have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. Coming to Mercy is my declaration of taking off my old self, along with its practices, and exchanging my rags for a new garment of glory. This image reflects the beauty Christ sees when he looks at me; it is a reflection of who I am because of what Christ did for me. His sacrifice of love transforms me into a new creation and my reflection is a reflection of his glory, revealed in me.

9 15.) Amy 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. The outside stuff represents who we are before Christ. Our lives are filled with heartbreak, turmoil and a shattered image of ourselves. We feel like we re in the middle of a storm. In Christ we are new creations. A butterfly for me represents transformation. Christ through Mercy Ministries transforms lives and hearts. 16.) Lauren Isaiah 49:16 See I have engraved your name in the palm of my hand. Whenever I m having a hard time I look at my left hand and say to myself I can do it! He made me this way. (Made entirely with my left hand.) (Note- Lauren suffered a stroke at age three, leaving her left arm incapacitated.)

10 17.) Lauren I m surrendering things I ve held onto for so long to You, because I can t do it myself. And there is peace in having these things lifted from my spirit. I m alive. He made me this way. (Made entirely with my left hand.) (Note- Lauren suffered a stroke at age three, leaving her left arm incapacitated.) 18.) Ileanna Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

11 19) Katie Ps 1:3 Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper. I love the autumn because of the beautiful foliage. It s such a good representation of how we can always anticipate change and change can be beautiful. 20.) Kimmie Is. 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me to bring the good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be free. Broken on the surface Deep down we re perfect because of God s grace

12 21.) Kelly God loves me with an everlasting love 22.) Kelly Acts 12:7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up saying, Arise quickly! And his chains fell off his hands.

13 23.) Lindsee Isaiah 61:4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins. They shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities. The desolations of many generations. I made this picture because I have a really big heart for Africa. I want to be a missionary and travel the world speaking the gospel- especially to Africa. 24.) Lindsee Psalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruits in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. I did this because this is what God has been saying to me I that I m like a tree planted by streams of water. When the tree is planted by the water it sucks up all the water and grows until it flourishes and dominates its territory.

14 25.) Abigail Isaiah 43:18-19 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. 26.) Marian Ephesians 3:16-19 That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with the fullness of God.

15 28.) Lauren Hosea 2: ) Marian Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart a put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them. In Hosea, God talks about His love for unfaithful Israel. He says, I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her heart. I will transform her valley of trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to Me there as she did when she was young. Like Israel, I ve been unfaithful to God. But I believe He has led me to Mercy to bring me back to Him and his everlasting love. God speaks to my heart through music and I especially love the piano.

16 29.) Lauren Philippians 2:15-16 Become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine as stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life. 30.) Tasha Psalm 107:29 He will calm the storm and still the waves. No matter how stormy and hectic the world is around you, in and through Jesus Christ, your spirit can be calm and peaceful.

17 31.) Tasha Psalm 107:29 He will calm the storm and still the waves. This piece was inspired by Psalm 107:29. I was trying to convey that even in the storms that may encompass your life, you can abandon your stresses and find peace in Jesus Christ. 32.) DeJon Isaiah 1:18 Come now let s settle this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. Psalm 139:18 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together on the dark of the womb.

18 33.) DeJon Psalm 127:3 Children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from Him. This artwork was inspired by my two beautiful girls. 34.) Shirley Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control Originally, my painting was depicting Galatians- the fruit of the Spirit. But as the painting emerged, I became the fruit.

19 35.) Rachel Ps. 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth. I grew up singing in church. When I was 20, I found myself choosing the world instead of Jesus. By the grace of God I found out about Mercy Ministries. God has been so faithful to me and has been restoring not only my soul, but my voice. The closer I get to God, the more He increases the passion in my heart to sing to him. When I lived in the world, nobody appreciated my voice, so I lost the desire to sing. Now, God has truly Put a new song in my mouth! I love to sing to Him and allow Him to minister to my heart through worship. 36.) Shirley 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (The Message) Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. The veil is lifted and her eyes are open to the goodness around her.

20 37.) Katie Psalm 65:8 Where morning dawns and evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. 38.) Katie When Jesus died, His blood was poured out for my sins. I bask in the freedom that His blood brings me.

21 39.) Katie Isaiah 24:17 Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of the earth. Psalm 40:2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, Out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock, And gave me a firm place to stand. 40.) Candace Faith, hope, love. The greatest is love. I learned not to worry about being perfect but to show what s on your heart. The day I created this piece was my 28 th birthday. It was the first good birthday I had in twelve years- no strife.

22 41.) Candace Psalm 86:9 All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord. And they shall glorify Your name. I wanted to incorporate music, hands and worship. I decided at the last minute do a blue keyboard and white hands because when I got to Mercy, I was quiet, mannerly and unsure. However, I learned that I have a quite a strong spirit! In other words, expect the unexpected. The yellow represents the Light of the World and the red represents His blood He shed for us. The hand prints represent hands worshipping from all nations. 42.) Rena Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. The color of the dancer means it s open to change and healing. The words represent the way God sees us. The yellow represents the presence of God and the dancer is praising Him.

23 43.) Danielle I am 20 years old and have suffered from major depression for three years. My painting describes how the Lord has taken me out of the darkness and into the light. The devil has kept me down for too long. It is time for me to shine. I CAN and WILL change the world with God in my life. 44.) Ps. 23:1-4, 6 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me besides quiet waters, He restores my soul; He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For you are with me; Your rod and your staff they comfort me. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life

24 ? 45.) Elizabeth Hosea 2:14-15 But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her out into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to Me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt. This scripture from Hosea was given to me just before arriving to Mercy. The verse stood as a promise of what God was going to do in my life. I felt that coming to Mercy was like God leading me into the desert, separating me from my distractions and addictions. God is leading me into the desert, separating me from my distractions and addictions. God is revealing to me that I am worthy of love and that He is always there for me in my time of need. 46.) Hope Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they and they did not love their lives to the death. I don t paint or draw because in college I failed an art class. This is me overcoming my fear of failing art.

25 47.) Amy 2 Corinthians 5:17 When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun! As God renews our heart, He renews our mind and gives us new sight. Psalm 40:1-2 (NIV) I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. These verses speak volumes of what God has done in my life. I was immersed in my own junk before, and it was literally taking me over. I felt like I was being pulled down into the depths, leading to death. God always had His hand on me, but I truly felt the power when I reached out and accepted His help and unfailing love. I now stand on solid ground through Jesus Christ, MY SAVIOR!