Top 5 Blog Posts of 2012 - #1

(I apologize in advance for the fonts and the strange formatting. I am having technical difficulties with my blog.)

 

Akiane has been consistently the most viewed subject of any of my blogs. This former child prodigy is still going strong as a young adult. Her story is even more compelling because of the spiritual nature of her art and her childhood dreams and visions which inspired her. Read and look at her artwork and decide for yourself.

Akiane Kramarik - 2012

I've written a couple of articles about Akiane over the past couple of years. I find her art fascinating and her story interesting. Perhaps the most intriguing thing about Akiane is that she's very hard to put in a category.

Is she a Christian? Is she a "New Age Indigo Child?" One thing for sure - she's incredibly talented.

For those of you who aren't familiar with her back story, Akiane shocked her parents when, at age 3, she began to describe dreams and visions from God. Her mother encouraged her to write down what she saw and thus began an incredible artistic journey.

These visions and dreams eventually lead her entire family on an ongoing spiritual journey. I have written previously of my impression that the church didn't know what to do with Akiane and her visions, and a great many Christians "behaving badly" likely contributed to her not participating fully in the life of church. (These are my inferences from what I have read and heard.) She has been told hateful things like "Burn your paintings~ they are the works of the devil'' and ''You are Satan's daughter.'' Nice.

It's interesting to hear Akiane speak of her faith. She says of Jesus: “He is the only way to God — the only way to heaven and joy. My personal views on Jesus have only matured and deepened since age 4.  As I grow I see how vast and unlimited His love is.”

 
  “Jesus remains my highest authority, love, and God,” she adds. “I pray every day that people will one day follow Jesus, His teachings and feel His love.”

 
Because of her isolation - she admittedly has few friends outside of her own family - it's hard to pin down what she truly believes, and maybe that's part of her appeal. She continues, however, to make Jesus a regular subject in her art, he's been featured in 9-10 of her paintings. Below is a recent picture of Jesus she completed called "I Am."

One story that drew attention to Akiane's work was the story of Colton Burpo, the young boy who was the subject of the book "Heaven Is For Real." He identified her painting of Jesus as the image that most closely represented what he had seen when he had a dramatic experience on the operating table. The feature that both of them keyed on was the eyes. "All I remember were the eyes," Akiane says, "and they were like no other colors that were ever created. The closest color I can depict through paints is a sapphire hue." Colton identified the color of Jesus’ eyes as blue-green. I've included the painting below.

For all of her mystery, Akiane remains a prodigious talent, with some paintings selling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Her gifting is obvious, and the source, she insists, is God Himself. I won't argue with that. I continue to watch her career with interest and hope that she can find a church, "the Body" of the Christ she loves so much, because God calls all of us to community.

Related Articles:
Akiane Kramarik
Drawing Heaven
Is Heaven For Real?
Akiane
Book Review - "Heaven Is For Real"

Book Review: "Akiane - Her Life, Her Art, Her Poetry"

Book Review: "akiane - her life, her art, her poetry," Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2006. 136 pages.

It actually seems a little odd reviewing the life story of a girl who was only 10 at the time of the book's writing, but, then again, Akiane Kramarik is no ordinary girl. She rocketed to fame on the merits of her art, which some have found so shockingly good that they assumed she could not have painted it herself. Those doubts have long since been laid to rest, yet she remains a mystery. This book answers a number of questions, but leaves many unanswered.

The book was written by Akiane's mother, and details the early years of Akiane's life as the family journeyed through a series of successes and failures. Foreli and her husband, Markus, born in Lithuania, by all accounts are devoted to their children, creating a nurturing environment regardless of financial realities. Much of the book could be written about any number of children, but other parts recount the kind of stories that make one wonder.

When Akiane was just a baby of three weeks her mother received an odd call from Europe, telling about a strange Armenian Christian lady named Victoria who was telling people about a baby named Akiane, and all the wonderful things she would do. That very woman called later that day to share what she said that God had revealed to her about Akiane's future. Being atheists, Akiane's parents completely rejected her rambling.

However, when Akiane was four, she began to speak about God, which took her mother by surprise because the family home-schooled, did not attend church, had no television and didn't speak of God at all. These "encounters" with God became regular and were accompanied by vivid experiences, which Akiane spoke of as fact. Her mother encouraged her to draw what she saw and Akiane began her art at the age of 4 and never stopped. She quickly progressed from pencil sketches to oil pastels and acrylics, displaying her art at art fairs. People refused to believe that a then 6 year old could create such art. She continued to develop her skills and started writing poetry at age 7.

The Prince of Peace

Her poetry often goes hand in hand with the theme of one of her paintings, and deals again with spiritual imagery. It's a little esoteric for me, but has been acclaimed by many well-respected poets and critics. What is certain is that Akiane takes what she does seriously, and views her art as a gift from God to the world. She works at it with the dedication of a professional artist, even when she was a child. Her spiritual interest lead her entire family to look for God in the person of Jesus Christ, who became the subject of two of her most famous paintings ("The Prince of Peace" and "Father Forgive Them").

Self-portrait

The book, while it could be seen as self-serving, reveals a remarkable young lady (at 10!) who can speak 4 languages and is an acclaimed artist and poet. Her art is remarkable in its mature themes and its ability to portray concepts that touch on spiritual realities. Whatever you believe of her encounters with God, Akiane is a rare talent. It's an interesting book to read, if only to view that paintings with her stories of what inspired them.

By the way, now 6 years later, Akiane continues to amaze with her talent. She has made appearances on almost all of the major talk shows. Visit her web-site to view her art for yourself.

"I teach, and they run away.

I listen and they come.

My strength is my silence."

-Akiane 

Related Articles:
Akiane
Akiane Kramarik
Akiane Kramarik - 2012
Drawing Heaven
Book Review - "Heaven Is For Real"







   

Top New Blog Posts - May 2012

Here are the top 5 new blog posts for May 2012, beginning with the number 5. Thanks for reading!

#5 Conservatives Turn on Their Own

MP Stephen Woodworth

 

This article was written about the hypocrisy of the Conservative Party of Canada as they turned on their own back-bencher, Stephen Woodworth. Woodworth presented a motion to review Canada's 400 year old-law defining when a baby becomes a human being under Canadian law. For this he received the criticism of some even within his own party. So much for democracy. 

#4 Scott Jackson - My Battle With Depression

This is a guest post by Scott Jackson, president of  Trust Communications and founder of LIFE 100.3 Radio. 

 #3 Reflections on a Wedding

 

The third most popular post was written the week following the wedding of my son Levi and his new bride Amanda. With all of the stresses on the institution of marriage, I felt it would be a timely subject. 

#2 No Justice in Canada for the Unborn

This article was written on the heels of the March For Life on Parliament Hill which went largely unreported in the mainstream media, though it was attended by some 15,000+ Canadians. It deals with a number of misconceptions about the abortion issue in Canada.

#1 Akiane Kramarik - 2012

Akiane Kramarik (Age 17)

Once again Akiane Kramarik takes the top spot. I decided to write an update on Akiane since the old posts I've written about her received so much attention. This young lady continues to attract worldwide attention for her art and her poetry, based on spiritual themes. If you've never seen her work before, take the time to look through the artwork displayed on her website. It's worth the time. 

Top Posts For April 2012

It's once again time for the top posts of the month. There are some that have held their spot and others that are new. If you haven't looked at them before, I hope you enjoy them. Here are the top 5 posts for April 2012, beginning with the 5th most popular.



5. Just Do The Right Thing!
This post wasn't in the top 5 last month but has grown in popularity. It is an article that is a reflection on the lack of integrity in our society and a call to return to living lives with integrity. It was written in the aftermath of a number of very public scandals. 






4. Book Review: "The Harbinger"
This is the only post that was actually written in the month of April that made the top 5. Interestingly enough, it's a book review - well, more of a synopsis actually. The book is written by a Jewish Messianic Pastor named Jonathon Cahn. It documents what he believes are the prophetic warning signs to the United States, many of which are based around 9/11. The accumulation of evidence he presents is very convincing, even for someone who tends to view this kind of thing with a degree of skepticism. Read it for yourself and let me know what you think.   




3. The Truth About Easter
This post holds its spot from the month of March. It was actually written last year in April, but contains some timeless truths and quotes from a number of people on the subject of Easter. I wrote it because every year aroundEaster time we are inundated with stories in the media questioning the truth of the resurrection and the person of Jesus Christ. I decided I wanted to write an article that stated the case from a Christian perspective.





2. Akiane Kramarik
This article, from February of last year, has been one of the top two ever since, if I remember correctly. If you've never heard of Akiane, she is a phenomenon in the artistic world, creating masterpieces from when she was a little girl. She piqued my interest because of the spiritual nature of her art and her claims to have received her inspiration through revelations from God (her family were all atheists). If  you've never heard of her, follow the links in the blog post to her website where you can view her collection of works.




1. Akiane
Once again, Akiane takes both spots number 1 and 2. This piece, written in April of last year deals more with Akiane's spiritual journey. It also looks at the church and how it tends to deal with people who don't fit neatly into categories. Imagine the difficulty of a young child trying to express with her art what she believes God has given her and having "Christian" adults tell her to burn it. How would you respond? I've just written a follow-up piece to this. Here's the link to Akiane Kramarik - 2012. She is now 17.

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Top Posts for February
Top Ten Blog Posts
Top Posts For March 2012