The Heart House

By Wendy Horvath

We all have seeds of dreams lying hopeful and patient in the soil of our hearts.  Some seeds we knowingly anticipate, and other seeds are mysterious-- dormant and unknown, but nonetheless hopeful and patient.  When conditions are right, something begins to happen, and the seed begins to grow.

One such seed has been sown in the garden of my spirit for The Heart House-- a home where the whimsically lavish, playfully extravagant love of the Lord is demonstrated to children and their families.  The Heart House is a safe place where children can come after school for healthy snacks, help with homework, hugs and smiles.

It's a place where everyone learns and everyone teaches, everyone studies and everyone preaches.  Cooking lessons, laundry procedures, making messes, laughing while cleaning, budgets and mad money, gardening and crafting, games and sports, goldfish feeding....  A place to learn the joy of living a life of love.

Everyone at The Heart House is family-- volunteers, children, moms, dads, uncles and aunties, granddads, and grannies.  Hearts have been knit together through the everydayness of sharing time, love, laughter, and knowledge.  It's a place for exchanging life skills and training, support, love, and prayer-- equipping each generation for their purpose.

There are children upstairs learning how to build blanket forts, make beds, and fluff pillows.  Others are learning how to make the mirrors, toilets, and floors sparkle.  Granddad is teaching children how to change oil and flat tires.  Sister is outside too, helping children plant seeds.  Grannie tastes the sauce her girls are stirring with wooden spoons.  Geometry and spelling swirl around the kitchen table before dinner.  The whole house is abuzz, and yet, there's an underlying peace, quiet and still.

The Heart House is the remarkably bright spot in the neighborhood, luring those born to live in the light of their creator.  It's brightly colored and whimsically decorated.  Of course, the art in the house is done by the children.

For now, The Heart House exists in the seed of a dream lying quiet, hopeful, patiently expectant.  But watch out friends, when conditions are right, this dream will sprout.

Wendy Horvath is the adminstrative assistant and start up childrens' pastor at Awake Church in Winston-Salem, NC.  She is an aspiring children's author and keeper of the lost and found.

Paint Big, Love Bigger

By Kimberly Humphrey

What if we could impact the destiny of nations by picking up a paintbrush? Bill Johnson notes, “[the enemy] is terrified that the Creator would create again, but this time through you.” Art prophesies, declares, commands, CHANGES, restores.

Leaping past cultural and language barriers, art goes straight to the heart without asking permission. It is the universal language; eyes listen, souls experience, spirits understand. Transformation is sparked in the spirit;

when hope happens, there is an internal shift with external manifestations.

Art is the first component to leave a war-torn society and the last area to recover. The extravagance of God and the ability to dream seem like unobtainable luxuries in the survival-centered existence. Africa 180 is a Christian non-profit located in the bush along one of the two major highways in Mozambique. A diverse group of believers from many nations, they are committed to using a multi-faceted ministry to display the reality of His extravagance, the truth of His goodness, and the necessity to dream. Reaching into many realms of society, the missionaries are walking out the Gospel in the prisons, preschool, government, high school, and a feeding program for 900 babies.

My mural missions experience began in churches and an orphanage in El Salvador but became focused in a prison in Mozambique. On a two week trip in 2010 with a few bottles of paint and lots of enthusiasm, God literally multiplied paint to create a permanent message of hope where it is hardest to hold on to. He proved His desire to see light in the darkest places, to comfort and save His favorites. Art is a gift which continues to speak long after mission teams have left the premises and words have faded from the air. From June to December of 2012, I will be partnering with existing ministries of Africa 180 to create murals that support His vision. Along with murals completed independently, we’ll be embarking on the adventure of community art classes and mural-making—creating space to prophesy hope for this nation recovering from violent civil war.

If you would like to find out more about what God is doing through Africa 180, please go to www.ireachAfrica.org.To stay in touch with me or for more information, feel free to contact me at humphrey.kimberly@gmail.com. Currently under construction, my website, www.GiantDandelions.com, will be launched before I am in June so please come visit!

Love BIG. Dream BIG. Paint BIG.

A free-spirited artist from North Carolina, Kimberly Humphrey has a passion for connecting people with the presence of God through painting.