:::mandy dawson:::

I've been busy this week recording 4 new songs, and painting a gift for a very good friend's birthday present.  I'll be posting my new songs periodically throughout the next week.  I'm leaving tomorrow to sing with the worship team for a conference in Cincinnati!  Yay!  Its gonna be a great time.

This painting is for a woman who has let me inside her life over the past year and absolutley showered me with pure and true love.  Every time I leave her presence, I am filled with awe that she loves me.  She is 73 (I think).  My heart has been so wounded over being abandoned by my grandparents when I was 7.  Through the years, I was so aware of the grandmother shaped hole.  God has used this beloved grandmother to heal my wounded heart.  I'll be forever grateful to have known her and experienced her love.

When I found out it was her birthday this week, I wracked my brain of how to express myself.  As I thought about writing her a song, these words popped into my head.  *I know they sound a little corny, but I like to think of it as more poetic*  "Because of your love, my heart has bloomed."

Instantly, the picture of this painting was formed in my mind.  Because of Your Love, My Heart has Bloomed.