My Videos

by Mindy L. Wallace - 2024

After I moved to Oregon and remarried, I felt an urging in my soul to make another Cross.

My first Cross took me 18 months to finish, and I had actually burned the words on it: “NO TIME TO CRY” a true story. That is what I named my first book, and that Cross is on the front cover. My first Cross   was also 8 feet tall but had a circular stand. Since I had no way of transporting it to Oregon, I dismantled it and left it behind. In a way, I was sad to do so, but God had shown me He had more things in store for me awaiting out here in the Pacific Northwest. 

Thus, began my longing to build another one. I told my husband, Mike, that this Cross would be for us. Or so I thought. God had other intentions. 

At that time, we were attending a small church here in Brookings, Oregon. We’d been going there for about six months when Easter was coming up. I was thinking of asking them, (once I finished it), if they’d like me to share it with them on Easter Sunday. They gladly accepted, although, not knowing what to expect. Here I was, “a woman” making my own 8-foot Cross?! I will never forget their puzzled looks. 

I’d already decided that this Cross would be different. No words on it. However, I did choose to do a simple wood burn design on both pieces to sort of outline it. Since I chose knotted pine for the actual Cross, it was an easy physical burn that made my house smell heavenly! I chose cedar for the base. because it is a very soft wood and also easy to burn-design. It gives off a nice aromatic scent as well. 

Since I was going to be displaying my Cross at Easter, I decided to make a “He is Risen” sign to attach to it. There is a myrtle wood store in Gold Beach, about 30 miles north of us that sells raw myrtle wood random pieces just for people like me who love to carve and wood burn. I found this amazing thinner piece and began working on it. 

Let me tell you something about myrtle wood…it is hard as concrete to burn. My hands would cramp up often because I had to repeatedly go over each burn several times to get the effect I wanted. 

Before I even started to burn these them, I’d mask up in the garage with an electric sander and smooth every inch of them first. I always prefer a nice silky-smooth surface that looks fresh and clean. My final act was to run my hands along them to make sure there was no splintering.

When it came time attach the sign to the Cross, I was stumped. Where was I going to find crucifixion-type spikes? It’s not like you can go down to the local hardware store to pick these up. Believe me. I tried. Actually, Mike took me hundreds of miles away from where we live checking dozens of places in person. Nope. Nothing. I need help with this one, Lord. I prayed. 

Then I finally found a place online. I told the guy I only needed a couple. Saying he was a bit suspicious of my request is putting it mildly. He finally agreed to sell me 10-15 of them. I was thrilled! However, once I got them, I was a tad disappointed. These looked all shiny and new. I wanted them to look like they were a few hundred years old. I wanted rust. I wanted bumps. Now what?

Again, I found my answer online. I found that by mixing some household ingredients together, I could create my own “acid liquid” that would age steel by almost frying it.  I used one of my thick glass bottles and mixed the liquids in it. Suddenly, the fluid began to bubble up and started foaming like a volcano.  I got really nervous, so I put some gloves on and took the bubbling bottle in my backyard and put it up on our wood fence. I figured that if it might explode, or take off like a rocket, at least nobody would get hurt. I have a picture of it in my video. My husband wouldn’t stop laughing. 

Once I knew the contents of my spike’s acid concoction wasn’t going to explode, I put two of my crucifixion spikes into the bottle praying that the raw steel wouldn’t mistakenly ignite it to burst. (I ducked after I dropped them in.)  Thankfully, it didn’t burst, but the foam clouds coming out of the top of it kept getting bigger. I went back into my house and warned Mike that if he heard a loud bang, to call the fire dept. 

I decided to let the spikes sit in the solution for several hours. I really wanted them to come out looking very aged and rusted.  Once I’d achieved the desired look, I picked the one that looked the worse. That was the one I used to nail the “He is Risen” sign to my Cross. I kept praying it wouldn’t split the wood. 

I built the base of my Cross with thicker pieces of cedar wood. Mike helped me with the design. It actually is in the shape of a pinwheel. I was a bit nervous about that. I kept asking him, “Are you SURE it doesn’t look more like a swastika?"  He laughed. Then I went online to actually look at pinwheel shapes and breathed a sigh of relief. 

I wanted the top of the stand to have a simple design. That’s when I burned tiny leaf petals with long stems together like a vine. I wanted it to be about the Bible verse: “I am the Vine, ye are the branches” from John 15:5. 

After I’d finished attaching the sign, and the base, I stood there looking at it. Something was missing. Again, this was going to be displayed in church on Easter Sunday. I needed a Crown of Thorns!  Where was I going to get that? I looked and looked online. Found nothing. So, I decided to create my own. I walked around the corner from our house where there was an empty blackberry bush. I put on a pair of gloves, (which didn’t help), and began cutting a long branch of some very sharp thorns. After much effort, I was able to fashion it into a circle. After seeing my hands a bloody mess, I could not fathom how my Lord and Savior was able to stand them on his head for hours. It made me cry. 

I gently placed the Crown of Thorns onto my Cross. “It is Finished.” I thought. Oh Lord! Do You know what You are doing to me?? I asked. 

My last touch was to drape a sheer white scarf across the arms of the Cross. It kind of made me think of Angels accepting Jesus after he surrendered His soul to the Father and died on the Cross.  Once again, Jesus had made this Cross journey a very personal one for me. Just as He did with my first Cross. I honestly cannot even begin to explain the numerous ways He touched me while working on both Crosses.

Mike and I took my Cross to church the day before Easter to set it up. One of the ladies helped decorate the foot of the Cross with 4 Easter Lillies. It was proudly displayed at the front of the church that Sunday. Everyone loved it.

During the month I was working on it, people at the church were asking a lot of questions. This opened the door for me to share about my first Cross I made back in Florida. It also opened the door for me to share about my book, “NO TIME TO CRY.  They requested some copies for their church library. In the weeks to follow, many people kept wanting to know more. This opened the window for me to share my “Justin Story”, with the Pastor. He agreed whole heartedly that I must share it with the congregation on Easter Sunday. It was an honor for me to be able to testify of how God saved my son from certain death at the age of five.

After church that day, the pastor and his assistant approached me at the after-service potluck dinner. That’s when she kept saying how beautiful my Cross was, and that they’d like to keep it in the church longer. I had no problem with that, sure. Eventually, she said they’d “really like to keep it.” Gosh, I thought. Could I give this one up too?  I’d really wanted this one to be for Mike and me. However, after a week, I decided to let them keep it. They couldn’t have been more thrilled, and I was happy that God had used me literally “through His Cross” to share my story with many people so far from my Florida roots. 

My favorite Bible verse: Romans 8:28. “And we know that all things work together for the good of those that love God; to those who are called according to His purpose.

Inspiration for making my own Cross:  Arthur Blessitt. I contacted him with a few pictures of my first Cross, telling him he was my inspiration. He replied promptly and said how much he liked it. 

IF you haven’t given your life to Jesus, DO SO NOW! He is coming back SOON!