The above is how lent should be entered. With Hope and Renewal. I am Catholic so when I say I do not like the image of Jesus on the cross it comes as a surprise to many. He is not on the cross anymore. He is only there if we put him there. I have a wooden cross in my upstairs hallway with the nails and foot block but He is not there. Why? Because He has taken up residence inside of me. He reminds me I am his and that He loves me. Yes, I am imperfect and VERY human. I have heard someone say to another person that Gods spirit wants to live in a clean and perfect body. The person they were speaking to was was sick and infirmed. My heart reached out and I wanted to scream "THAT IS NOT TRUE." God will tidy up His dwelling place no matter the condition. The container matters not. The spirit of the person within does. How a person looks has nothing to do with it. I am guilty of feeling repulsed by visual appearance. Anyone who says they have not been is a lier. If you take the time to see the beauty within you will also find a renewed heart......for yourself. Any time we reject outright someone without first finding the beauty within we have put Christ back on the cross. I know, there are some pretty unlovable people out there. How unlovable are we to someone else? Have you ever asked why? Renewal has many avenues to take but few are as hard as love. You might need to go places you do not want to go. You may need to say things you do not want to say. GO! You may be surprised what you find there. Speak your words with Christ and the cross in mind and you will find renewal. I am NOT on a soap box. I am speaking about your place on that cross. When you put Him back on that cross you are there too. If he truly died for our sins then he must suffer and endure our sins again. This is a time of renewal. Use it wisely. In fact, practice it all year long. It is not just for Lent but for a lifetime.
READ John 5:24
It is time again to shine the light on a few of those that visit and are following my blog. A few are those I am following and are not following me. I do not ask for followers because I have a hard time getting around to everyone as it is. LOL. That does not mean my followers are not special to me because you are.
Grace from Thinking of you. This is a blog that if you have not visited it before you really must. The cards she creates are a reflection of her spirit. Beautiful, personal and for the Lord. The gentle spirit she exudes will be felt right away. Be sure to leave a bit of love behind after you are touched by her work.
Desire Fourie at Doing Life. Desire is another South African sweetheart that creates cards you will not see any where else. She has a style all her own. Her cards are never a disappointment because they are unique. I don't know how you feel but I LOVE unique. Give her site a look and drop a bit love love in the box on the way out.
Wei Wei at Wei Wei's Cardmaking Garden. Wei Wei is a fairly new stamper although you would never know it from seeing her cards. She has a delightful oriental flair that often blows me away. Her cards a very artistic and have a sense of the color and flow that only the oriental art has. You are cheating yourself out of a genuine treat if you do not visit this site. It is like watching a flower bloom. Don't forget to leave a bit of love behind. Might want to join her blog too.
Today I want to share a card DW gave me. It is one of those just because cards we give each other once in awhile. She said she felt funny giving me a card with an image I colored. I don't care. She did such a fantastic job with one of my very favorite images that I am truly honored. Love you too.
I have one more thing to share and that is a hanging quilt a neighbor made for us. Last year one of our neighbors knew we were having trouble shoveling our walk on a regular basis. They kindly and without being asked to, used their snow blower to clear our front walk. Since she love to sew, we got her a gift card to a local sewing supply store. Two days ago I went and helped her clear some of the ice from her sidewalk until she got her sons to finish the job. I left my heavy ice chipper with her to help clear the ice away and finished my own walk. About an hour later the door bell rang and it was Janice and her black Lab, Pearl. (Pearl loves to come visit if I am outside and once drug Janice over a three foot high snow pile and across the snow covered street just to say hi and get her loving and belly rub). This is what she brought with her to give to us.
This is the front of the wall hanging quilt. I will have to get a stringer for the top to hang it. Beautiful work. I had trouble getting the back to photograph properly so, for now, it is not included. Amazing craft work. We are so honored to be given this beautiful hanging quilt.
That is it for now. Hope you liked what you found on this post. Remember. Always LOVE THE DETAILS. Love hearing from every one and I will send a personal note back to all who comment.
THANKS AND BLESSINGS TO ALL.
I completely and wholeheartedly agree with everything you say. Once again you've truly inspired me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLove, hugs and blessings
Lovely post and great artwork from others that you have shared. Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteSo true - Jesus in not on the cross!! He is in our hearts - no matter how imperfect our bodies may be. The command to love is not an easy one as some may think - I am being challenged with that at the moment.
ReplyDeleteLove that quilt - it is stunning!
Blessings
Maxine
Such an inspirational post and I just love your card Jill made a great job its just perfect and I love that wall hanging such amazing work such a clever kind lady. Sorry I've not been around for comments been away on a long holiday . You have posted some great things while I've been away but I loved those Dupont estate photos what a glorious place to visit Hope you are both well sounds like you've had bad weather Love and hugs Carole x
ReplyDeleteThank you for your inspiration.. I don't always comment but always read your post. Love that quilted wall hanging! Michelle x
ReplyDeleteWow Jim, you have opened my eyes a wider! I never gave thought to the Crucifixion in that way. I knew too, that I never "like" it but it was because of the cruel way in which it all happened.Violence really bothers me and at times plaques my dreams. But this has me in deep thought now and I have to say makes perfect sense! No Jesus isn't there anymore because he lives within us. I totally agree with you on the person who says Jesus wants to live in a perfect and clean body! So not true!! And if that were true he would not have taken the criminal that was hanging with him to heaven. Yes it is true that we tend to judge a person by how they look instead of looking inside that person to see who they really are-what their spirit is. I have met beautiful in appearance people, gorgeous people-but their spirit made them ugly in my eyes. I've had people say to me that so and so isn't a very attractive person, but to me they were beautiful because their spirit was such a beautiful one. Yes, we have all seen malformations and turn away in disgust, some because they only want to view beautiful people and some because they have never seen anything like that before, I have always been the for the underdog, ever since I was a small child and would go out of my way to friend them. I can truly say that they were the sweetest, most loving people I've ever known. Their heart is in the right place, and Jesus fills their heart. When you see someone for who they really are, it doesn't matter what they look like because they are beautiful in spirit and that is what you will see, not their physical beauty. Physical beauty never has meant anything to me, because like I have said, I know many beautiful people, but to me they are far from beautiful. And Jim, thank you for pointing out that there are unlovable people out there, or at least we think they are unlovable. But they aren't, we just need to take the time to see into their spirit. For some it a "hardness" or "wall" they put up to keep from being loved maybe because of something that has happened to them, maybe something or someone they have lost. We always should love everyone and if we aren't then we need to re-exam ourselves and see why we have put Jesus and ourselves back up on that cross. Never judge a book by it's cover, you have to dig inside that book to find out what it is about. I really loved this post Jim and you can bet it will be on my mind from now on. It was also a post that many needed to read, hear and I am one of them. I love Jill's card to you! She took your colored image and brought it to life!! I think that you colored the image and that she made it into a card for you shows just how special your love for each other is. Makes me get all teary eyed! Real love does that to me. lol How sweet of your neighbors to use their snow blower to help clear your walk! There are so many more good people out there but we just never heard about them, I wish the news would report the kindness that so many people have more often. Some people can't believe that a total stranger would help them. Your neighbor sounds wonderful Jim and it was sweet of you and Jill to get her a gift card for sewing things. I can see in that wall hanging what a talented person she is and what a caring person she is just by the way her conducts herself. She is showing her spirit! Hugs and blessing to you and Jill, Brenda
ReplyDeleteWonderful Post today. It reminds me of Luke 16:19-31 The rich man and Lazarus. The world saw him a beggar, but God saw him as A Royal Priest.
ReplyDeleteYour owl is stunning!
What a great card! The owl is beautifully colored!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the spiritual inspiration!!
Awww, I love that you and Jill exchange cards "just because". What an extraordinary gift your neighbor gave of herself. She has a real talent and obviously loves sharing it. Just gorgeous. We have wonderful neighbors also and appreciate them greatly. Great coloring on the owl.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Sue
lovely and inspiring scriptures. the card that Jill gave you is great and it shows all the love between you both...it is so nice to see. and the quilt is so gorgeous, so many hours and thought put into this. i am so happy to live in california with no snow at all!!! big hugs bibiana
ReplyDeleteThe card is lovely and shows love
ReplyDeleteBut i am totally enthralled by the quilt I do admire the talent it takes to do these and your's is beautiful You and DW are loved
...........Lis
Jim, it's always so lovely to read your words of wisdom and spent some time thinking about what I read!!! I agree wholeheartedly with what you said, Jim and can just pray to always see the beautiful inside and not judge from the outside!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely owl that is - love the embossed bg - beautiful card and the quilt is stunning!!!
Have a lovely Friday and enjoy the weekend!!!!
Yes, I would be intimidated to give you a card I colored as well because you are the coloring champ! D's card is quite spectacular though.... giving you a run for your money. Fabulous quilt--what a heartfelt gift!
ReplyDeleteJim I just love your reflections! You often make me look at things in a different way! What a gift and a blessing to me! I love the beautiful card Jill made with the image you colored! What a true blessing it is to be loved! And that beautiful quilt - such a heartfelt gift between neighbors who care for each other! My heart is smiling tonight after visiting here with you! God Bless!!!! Jill2
ReplyDeleteJim what a gorgeous card - so lifelike with it's colors and vibrancy! I love the quilt - what an incredible gift for you both!
ReplyDeleteYour post is thoughtful and insightful - especially the comment about the cross :)
Have a blessed week, friend ♥
Good afternoon. Saw your link somewhere else, so was a quick effort to click & hop over to see what you were up to. Always get some good spiritual inspiration from your thoughts, as well as the good crafty kind! I am another that does not like to see the Crucified Christ. It always hurt me as a child, and even as an adult, when I understand better..I still find it painful. Perhaps even more, as I see how our world seems to reject this painful but necessary suffering & sacrifice. Your thoughts are giving me a lot to ponder about first impressions of someone's appearance. Yes, I do know you shouldn't do that, but I'm guilty of it, so thank you for a timely reminder! And yes, Christ came to save the sinner (which we all are). He already had the truly righteous. (not many qualify for that either!!!). Loved your quilt. Your neighbor has a wonderful eye for color & pattern, and what a lovely way to say thank you to you both. So pleased to see that you're sharing links to some great blogs too. Good idea & helps us find new crafters to enjoy. Your card from Jill is most impressive too. I always love seeing how you folks can combine your skills to turn out such beautiful projects. What a partnership! You're both very blessed. TFS & off to enjoy some posts that I missed. Ya'll have a grand day.
ReplyDeleteI think I've seen that pretty owl card before, but the quilt is such a warm, thoughtful and wonderful gift from your neighbor! I love the 3D effect and colors!
ReplyDeleteIt is so sweet that Jill gave you that card. It is so masculine and beautiful. Sounds as if you have a fabulous neighbor. The wall hanging quilt is beautifully done. Kindness begets kindness.
ReplyDeleteOh, Jim, praise God that Jesus is no longer on the cross and no longer dead but risen...defeating sin and death! And now we are assured the same resurrection with Christ as our Savior! Thank you for sharing and encouraging us to remember to see others as God seems them and not to look down. We are all still sinners covered by the righteousness of Christ so we may be acceptable to the Father. I am so grateful. Thank you for sharing Jill's beautiful card for you! I so love her work, and I love the quilt too! Hugs to you both, dear friends!!
ReplyDeleteJill did a beautiful job of giving your awesome owl a home! You are truly a team! Love the quilt hanging and hope none of you will be having to shovel snow much longer. How nice to have neighbors that accept help as well as give it and show thankfulness. Enjoyed your words to live by. Excellent points!
ReplyDeleteAnother beautiful post Jim! Your wife's card is beautiful!!! The quilt hanging is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteJim, what a lovely card to receive! I love the design and embossing. Fantastic colouring too.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great weekend!
Nick
Beatiful projects, absolutely beautiful x
ReplyDeleteWow! I am glad I visited today! The words, the card, the quilt! ALL BEAUTIFUL!
ReplyDeleteWow...Love your card of the owl...awesome colouring!!!..and love you scripture, and verses on the cross!! awesome on both!!
ReplyDeleteOops................and the quilt too!!
ReplyDeleteWow first of all, thank you for the wonderful inspiring message you started off your post with. You have put it so beautifully that for you Jesus does not belong on the cross as He has risen for us and are amongst us.
ReplyDeleteThen you are truly so special in that you give these amazing shout outs to your bloggy friends and I am humbled and honoured by the shout out given to me, blush blush - thank you so much.
Then last, but not least, your DW has coloured that our so gorgeously in the warm autumn hues. Hope the card has a special place now and so too the beautiful quilt from your amazing friend and her 4-legged friend.
Hugs
DesÃre
{Doing Life – my personal blog}