Lifely Designs

08/27/2026

St. Monica, pray for us! +

Today is the feast of St. Monica: the mother of St. Augustine, one of the most influential saints in Church history.

Before he became the Saint we know, he spent most of his time breaking his Catholic mother's heart. Maybe you're a parent who can relate.

My sister painted this image of her. In traditional iconography, Mary is often shown at the foot of the cross as if cradling a baby, but with empty arms. My sister depicted Monica the same way: arms empty, praying for the conversion of her son.

For years, Monica followed him, worked behind the scenes to connect him with holy people, and above all, prayed for him.

The fact that her feast day falls the day before Augustine's is no accident. The reason we have a St. Augustine is BECAUSE we had a St. Monica. She gave birth to him a second time, through her prayers and tears.

She died a happy woman. In his Confessions, Augustine describes the two of them standing at a window, looking out over a garden, talking about what heaven would be like. His mother turned to him:

"Son… I do not know why I am still here. I did have one reason for wanting to live a little longer: to see you become a Catholic Christian before I died. God has lavished his gifts on me in that respect… So what am I doing here?"

Within days she was gone. Her last request:

"One thing only I ask you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you may be."

Monica's persistence is a reminder of a few things:

1.) Nothing matters more than the holiness of our children. Nothing. How we raise them needs to actually reflect that.
2.) The prayers of a holy mom (and dad) WORK.
3.) If you're a praying parent, never give up hope. Ever. Even if you don't die with the consolation Monica had, your prayers for your children don't stop in this life.

As a bishop told her while she wept for Augustine: "it is not possible that the son of these tears should perish."

God can't ignore a mother's tears.

St. Monica, pray for us!

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06/27/2026

At the recent gallery show I participated in, a guest told me I wasn't charging enough for my work.

He was right. But also, the market dictates what it will. I can ask a price that pays for my time and talent, but if the market favors "free" AI images, I'll never be paid it. So instead, I "undervalue" my work.

This is just one of the pitfalls of generative AI in creative markets.

Please support real, live artists and writers, especially when it comes to sacred arts.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EJGHecWJx/

06/24/2026

"He must increase; I must decrease." — John 3:30

St. John the Baptist, pray for us! +

06/19/2026

Last night, we had an excellent showing at the women's art show! I was blessed to share some of my work, including some mixed media, photography, and the painted portrait of St. Rita I teased a few days ago.

I'll be returning to my regularly scheduled iconography soon, but it certainly has a gift to focus on these other projects recently.

06/15/2026

Sneak peak at one of the pieces I'll have included in the upcoming Bakhita Arts show, Thursday, 6/18! Any guesses who she is?

06/08/2026

I'm thrilled to have work included in the upcoming Bakhita Arts art show at Saint Mary Catholic Church —

No Boundaries: Women and Their Art

Women’s art show featuring paintings and pottery by Magda Braun, Katrin Breitkreutz, Julie Ann Cook, Harriet Goode, Susannah Hayes, Heather Johnson, Mary Sanders Lazenby, Sandy Mills, Marie McDow, Connie McKeown, Betty Plumb, Ann Reynolds, Betsy Rock, Stephanie Simpson and Marilynne Speed.

6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 18

06/07/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/julieanncook/p/communion-of-mothers-milk

A reflection on the Eucharist for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi

06/04/2026

True story. Me too.

I had a toddler on my hip, and a tug at my heart. Logic warned that the little guy would make it difficult to veil. My introversion warned that people might be distracted by my veil because maybe one other woman regularly veiled at the Mass I attended.

But another voice told me to humble myself and just do it. I did it as a devotion in union with the Blessed Mother for the month of May 2017. And I didn't stop.

And what a gift it has been! By veiling, a door was opened for me to receive unexpected graces. It is a tactile reminder to myself that I am in the presence of God. And more than once it has been a silent act of witness that I learned later inspired deeper devotion in other women.

THIS is exactly why I began to veil, after having an ‘experience’ last August before the tabernacle…

One Sunday morning I finally swallowed my pride to just ‘do it’.

I can barely explain what happened in human terms, but this imagery is the best I can provide.

Everything changed.

Everything…

06/04/2026

It might be VBS season if you are commissioned to build a 6-foot-tall monstrance.

Doorway for scale. 😆

05/27/2026

Multitask win.... painted St Philip Neri while listening to a "why your house is trashed" webinar. 😆

I mean, I can tell her why. I just thought she could tell me how to untrash it. Spoiler: Procrastinate less.

I think St. Philip, humorist he us known to be, is laughing with me. 😉