There have been many devotional books written over the years, most of them have a central message that is anchored in a small portion of scripture. I have decided to use many of the prophetic words given to me over the years, and anchor these in a scriptural verse. Over the years several of the prophetic words I have received, were encouraging and instructional in nature, so the thought was to include these in a devotional book covering every day of the year. My hope is that the reader will find encouragement, a sense of peace and hope in this book as they read the various words from the Lord and meditate on the scriptures that are used for each of these messages daily.
This book is divided up into several sections of types of drawings of trees that have been of interest to me over the last several years. During the day I have often chosen to draw something and more often than not, it was a tree of some sort. While most of these drawings are realistic in appearance, my inspiration has also spread to creating designs from limbs and trunks and adding other elements along with what was originally just a simple sketch of a tree. It has been said by others that drawing is the foundation of the visual arts and I believe this to be true. For when one excels at drawing then this skill can be applied to painting, sculpture, and any of the other arts. Perhaps a drawing may not seem to be held in such high regard as a painting, but I believe that the qualities found in it can be considered as a finished piece of art as well. I continue to paint landscapes and other subject matter, but drawing will always be a continued pursuit of mine and something that I will always enjoy doing. This will probably be a life long journey of mine, because in my walks and observations, I will keep seeing new and unusual trees around me. My hope is that this little book will give you some small pleasure and that you will join in with me as we see the beauty of nature around us in the form of trees. Stephen Hanson
