I am so excited to introduce you to Kathleen Rousar, the artist of the Ballerina series of paintings entitled God’s Compassion - Our Dance With Him, featured on the cover and interior of A Woman’s Heart That Dances. You can see her beautiful painting here that was used for the cover design of A Woman’s Heart That Dances. I love this painting - can’t you just imagine this dancer with her eyes on her Lord, poised and ready to dance! I invite you to read more of the story of these amazing paintings at Kathleen’s website at www.klrousar.com. You will discover the meaning behind her painting including why she painted the shoes pink. And prints of four of her Ballerina paintings are now available for purchase at Imagekind. I first met Kathleen when I traveled to Minnesota to speak at a Women’s Retreat. The topic was A Heart That Dances. While standing at the book table during the conference, a young woman walked up and introduced herself. Kathleen just shined with the love of the Lord. Once home, I received a package from her, the first of many packages I’ve since received. It was a small book filled with prints of some of her paintings. I have to tell you I was just blown away with the beauty of her artwork. How can so much talent be in one person!! Kathleen is a gift from the Lord and she uses what God has given her for His glory. And so, when you get a copy of A Woman’s Heart That Dances, you will see her work on the cover and also at each section in the book.
A Woman’s Heart That Dances has now been out for about a month and I am already receiving notes and emails about its impact in lives. This letter in particular touched my heart. A woman from South Carolina wrote, “From the cover to the title to the illustrations throughout the inside, this book called out to my spirit from the moment I spotted it on the bookstore shelf. Having been a ballet dancer for six years, this book has touched me in a way no other ever has. I have never cried so much while reading a book! I do not usually respond that way, but the Spirit has been moving so tenderly within me with every chapter of this book that I am consistently moved to tears. I even shared some about the book with my small group because I just could not keep all the things I was reading to myself.”
I loved this woman’s comments because God does work in us this way sometimes. I don’t know about you, but there are certain books that God has used to move me to a new place in my relationship with Him. My prayer is that He will use A Woman’s Heart That Dances to do exactly that for others - that as a result we will lean into the Lord’s embrace, follow His lead, and dance. I want us all to say, “Yes Lord, I will dance with you!”