For The Love Of... All Things Paintable: ALL THINGS

So...if you know me, you know I've been wanting to get another tattoo for a while now. I knew that I wanted it be from Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." I had planned on going on my birthday...back in June...then tried to go mid Sept...but it never worked out and even after all my doodles, I never settled on one that I loved enough.
Well Friday night I had access to a babysitter, had just gotten paid, and had a couple hours to sit and work on my design...so at 7:00 I dropped the kids off and headed to the parlor...
My original design was too small and detailed to still look good years from now, so we reworked the design...and reworked it some more. I had the nicest artist, a perfectionist at heart, and he designed such a beautiful tattoo...it was just like 20 times the size of my original! So that wasn't going to work for me! I kept telling him that it was beautiful BUT it would take up my whole arm.! We did eventually decide on a design that I could live with for the rest of my life. :)

Enough logistics. Some back story...
Before I got my other tattoo 2.5 years ago, I definitely judged anyone who had tattoos. Not gonna lie about it. I never thought I would get one. If you know the story of my 'more mercy' tattoo, you know it was an audible voice I heard and was prompted from there to go and get that phrase permanently put on my body. It's my reminder. It honors my family. It brings me closer to God.

I had no plan to get another one until last year when a lot of things were revealed to me. In my short little life, it's amazing to have already been able to share and minister to people who have been through things that I have. I've sat across the table from people who were telling me the exact same things I was saying years ago. Romans 8:28 has taken on a new meaning in my life...I know it to be true. I've seen it, felt it, lived it! Being able to share experiences and lessons learned with people has been so humbling and rewarding. And now I have a peace that I don't think many people have. I have peace with whatever may happen in my life. I don't fear bad things happening to me or my family. If I or someone I love really fail, there's no fear that our lives would be destroyed... Anything that happens in my life is just a part of my story. I can't write it as a nice, easy life story. God has all authority to write my story (whether by allowing things to happen or by guiding them to happen) and I will be ok with it. Any pain, any joy, anything I experience in my life, I will be thankful for and just accept it as another part of my story.

I decided this year that my life is an open book. Every single part of it...ask me and I will tell you. Satan's tactic of fear and shame is rendered useless when we give up our lives as our own and say whatever happens, God gets the glory. It's not about me...it's about God using what He's put in my story to bring His kingdom and help His children and those not yet believing in Him.

I told myself that if I was going to get another tattoo I wanted it to bring the focus back to God. That's the point in having these tattoos. People ask me what they mean...I get to explain. I see them and am reminded of what God has done for me and my family. I have to live what I've chosen to display on my arm. I try to 'put God's truth' before our eyes. I have several wall decals and signs around the house that we see everyday. This is like taking that to the next level...carrying them around with me wherever I go, visible to everyone.

I don't have great pics yet since It'll be healing for a while and it kind of wraps around my arm so I can't get it all in one pic, but here ya go. My "All Things" tattoo located by my other one: (you see the size difference now)