Sistine Chapel

Travis Thompson, one of the studio artists here at Living Word, sent this to me - to share with artists. Enjoy deeply. Grace & peace, deAnn
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Have you ever been to the Sistine chapel? I have had a awesome opportunity to see it. It is about 1,000 time more impressive then any picture I have seen. Some interesting facts are that the Sistine chapel follows a belief common to Byzantine churches. The outside of the chapel is plain and has virtually no interest. All the beauty is inside. At one point the Italians held this virtue so high that this is how they built their churches. The Sistine chapel is a chapel not a gigantic church common in Italy. The ceiling is 131' x 43' so if you were to get 100, 150 or so people in this room it would fill up fast. It was just a chapel but Michelangelo (the sculptor) still poured his heart and spirit into this painting. It took him 4 years of standing (not laying down) to complete this project. He only accepted the commission when he was allowed to paint what ever scenes he chose. I wonder how many millions of people have walked into that chapel and have felt the power and omni-presence of God? I wonder what it would look like if we lived with that kind of dedication, passion and love?

Sections form Psalm 103

"Praise the Lord, my soul,

and forget not all his benefits- ...

For as high as the heavens are above the Earth,

so great is love for those that fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us. ...

for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust. ...

But from everlasting to everlasting

the Lord's love is with those who fear him,

Praise the Lord, all his works

everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul."