Apology

 No post this week. Life has been topsy Turvy this week. Here is a recent new image finished between topsy and turvy.

Irish Cherokee is my blog alter ego moniker. Hopefully I can post next week.

May the good Lord Bless and kep you safe. Remember to "Always Love The Details." 

Focus

(Note: I am making cards again to help DW get Christmas and other cards together. I will post some of them as They are finished.)

Last post I posed the question "How would you want to be remembered?" In some respects that was a loaded question. It meant you had to be honest with yourself if you were going to answer it. I really did not expect anyone to answer it in the comments. It was posed to make you think about what was most important in your life. It is most important that we have our focus in the right place going forward in our Christian walk. Important? As we age we realize how short our sojourn is on this earth. The tag at the end of this and every post is "Always Love The Details." It is there for a reason. Everything we do in this life is important. We forget that everything we do influences everything around us and therefore has the power to change the world as we know it. Yeah, WOW? The most insignificant to the earth shattering all have an effect that changes everything on this planet. Not all we do is perfect or planned for that matter but all of it matters. It should matter to YOU what your actions may change in the world around you. There are those in this world that only think of themselves and could care less about others. There are those that care but don't stop to think about their actions as cause and effect. All I can say is wake up and take note because you may find yourself in a world you created that you can't survive in. Caring for this world means caring about what you do. Your influence has a greater effect than you realize. If you read the bible and learn from scripture and Christ you will see that living like Him is more than a challenge, it is a necessity. I fully understand His Comment “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you?”(Matthew n17:17, Mark 9:19, Luke 9:41) Be more like Christ and live not for self but for all. Aim toward the eternity that our father has promised us.  

This card was the first one I have tried in several years. It was created with on hand craft supplies. It is a step card( which means it has several steps when opened like a stairway)

This card was also created using "stash supplies" on hand craft supplies. It was really easy. I did however color the wreath.

The next image was the last one in a series of images created by AI and colored by me. These images are copyrighted and may not be copies without express permission.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Remembrance

 How would you want to be remembered?

This was a subject my dear wife and I had recently. Most people hesitate to answer this question for various reasons. Everyone has secret wishes to be remembered in one way or another. What is your deepest wish for remembrance? Be honest with yourself. My dear wife didn't give her answer to this question, although she obviously did give it some thought. I have heard some desires expressed about what others wanted to be remembered for and they are pretty amazing at times. What are some of your deepest wishes for remembrance? Foremost for me is the desire to spread the Christian word for the glory of our Lord. Next would be that I was a good devoted Christian husband and father. Beyond that would be that what I do further glorifies our lord, my artwork for example. (Another example is included below) There are many of you that would share what some of my hopes and dreams are. It is not for me to say if any of this is true or not but by example it is for others to judge. I am interested in hearing your thoughts on this subject.

This image took 4 or 5 days to complete. The background was difficult for several reasons. The details were obscured and difficult to make out. These images were meant to be printed much larger.(60.5"HX42.5"W) To help with seeing what was out there, a modest 19.5" X 14.25" had to be created. That did not give me full detail but it helped. 

This image is 10"X 7" so the detail is severely reduced in size. I will post images from time to time.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

It is what it is

As life proceeds it appears to pick up its pace in an apparent need to get to its end.  

I would like to apologize for not getting back to those that have visited and personally thank you for stopping by to comment. All of the changes that Google is making have really messed up the way it works. I am still trying to get things working somewhat as they used to. It used to be that when I posted your comments, a notice was sent to my inbox in Google Mail. That no longer works. I have been trying to get it to do that again but nothing seems to work. Thank you again for your comments. They are what keep me motivated to continue. With all that is going on it is hard to create a post that is meaningful.

My thought on life at the top of the post is much the way it appears these days. Funny how when we are young we can't wait to get older to do all of the adult things. Then we become adults and are so busy with jobs, spouses and family we don't notice time passing by. Then we get older only to notice that time is speeding by so quickly that hours and days are a blur, making it hard to remember what day you  are in. The only thing that seems to slow things down somewhat is making ourselves still. It is at these times we can remember the cherished moments, the love, all that is important, all that has become who we are. All else is part of the blur we hardly remember or took notice of for that matter. It would be easy to discard all those blurred, hardly noticed things but they make up the majority of what made us who we are. Life may be a hectic blur, hard to get a clear picture of in our minds. If it has so much as touched the most insignificant part of our life, a port we never even noticed, it is a something that is also a part of the path we are currently on. It cannot be denied or ignored since it is a part of us. Christ is a part of this "hardly noticed" part of our lives. He is always there gently guiding our every action, our every move. (Colossians 3:12)(Psalm 25:4-5)

Today I would like to share some of my favorite images. These images are gorgeous even when they are not Colored, which makes them a challenge and a work of love.

    

The image above is my favorite

They are all from the first few weeks of this blog. They are special to me in many ways. The first two images are from an artist friend in Finland. Her talent is extraordinary as you can see.That about wraps up this post. May God bless those of you who visit and comment. You are truly a blessing to me. 

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

The mountain top

 

(Matthew 19:23-24 & Mark 10:25) I have watched when well to do individuals have done things to to add to their coughers at the expense of others or donated sums to the church to be held up as generous in the eyes of others while looking down on the less fortunate. They expect others to be of service to their family when they have made it clear anyone they perceive to be less well to do than they, are nothing. It is rare that the well to do are willing to have compassion on the weak, impoverished or the needy. I also know that there are those that sacrifice much to do for the less fortunate among us.

(Matthew 19:16-32, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30) I don't know what being rich feels like other than with the things that are owned. Most of that would be considered "junk" by others. I guess I am a pack rat since I keep what might be useful to repair something later. In this way I am rich. None of those things are so important they cannot be trashed or given away. I have often used some this "junk" to repair things for others. Very few in this society that are wealthy would willingly give away all they own to the poor or needy. It is usually what they see as overage or wealth they have no immediate use for that they will donate. It is the poor widow that gives her last penny that is truly blessed. (Mark 12:42-44) I wish I could say I have always been free when it comes to alms giving but I cannot. The Lord gives freely to everyone, Saint and sinner alike. If we gave according to the way He gives to us there would be little to no starving or destitute in the world today. I do not wish to be wealthy since I am not sure I would give all or most of it away. I see those who win the lotteries who, in short order, spend it all on trivialities and are left in worse shape than before their lottery win. I consider myself rich in ways that being wealthy cannot provide. Take stock of where your wealth is and count the blessing you have been graced with. Remember Job and what he lost. It could be you that experiences the loss of everything with no guarantee of any of it being restored. Blessings are the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God in our lives. They are eternal.

May the good lord bless and Keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Abandoned?

 

Last post was an admission of going through many trials and difficulties. Throughout my life this has been the way things have been. Saint Paul often referred to the difficulties he endured in his letters to the churches. He did not hide the fact that the trials he endured also made him stronger in his faith. It is the trials that strengthen us and prepare us for our walk with our Lord. I have never lost faith that the Lord was there in the worst of times and the best of times. Scripture teaches us that those times of desert experience are a time of preparing for what comes next. The apparent absence of the Holy Spirit is not abandonment but a time of preparation, unseen by us, in the background. We need to thank the Lord for EVERYTHING. Yes, even when we feel abandoned. We are never abandoned. He is always with us. Just because we are not able to see or feel His presence is not a reason to abandon your faith. I have often heard it said that the gifts have been taken away at these times. That is not true. The gifts of the Spirit are always present when faith is present. Where faith is present the Holy Spirit is present. Where the Holy Spirit is present Jesus is present. Where Jesus is present our Father in heaven is present. There is no exception to this. When one is there all are there for they are one. 

I have seen the hard times when out of work, no money coming in, a wife and baby at home with one can of soup on the shelf. Jesus was there. Family and friends provided food for the family, a job was found soon after. Our first nine years of marriage was a slippery slope. Then the Lord provided the way of reconciling things through marriage encounter. God was there. I could go on and on but through all of these seeming desert experiences the Lord was preparing the way (in the background).

Through faith and belief the Lord is always faithful and there, even though we are not aware of His presence. He is a loving Father who is true to His promise to always be there and protect us in our times of need.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Chaos

Recently it has been difficult to concentrate long enough to write a post that is easy to follow. My attention is divided in half a dozen different directions at once. Taking the first step, not knowing where it will take you, is not ideal for writing this kind of post. The heat, sleep, financial concerns, family health problems, house and property expenses and upkeep have made it hard. Some of the above mentioned concerns have been temporarily addressed but much still remains. Through all of this our Father in heaven has been in charge and taking care of things as needed. He sees the whole staircase even if we do not. It is a matter of not only trust but belief that we are in His hands. 

      The story of Joseph and his life and trials from being sold into slavery, to being the head of the captain of the pharaoh's army to prison to the sole head of the pharaoh's house. Joseph always trusted God's presence in his life. The trials were severe but he always placed his trust and his live in God's hands. It was not a time frame of just a few days, weeks but years of waiting on his God. Even when his God seemed absent. If we find ourselves in situations where we are in pain or things are not going well, have heart, keep the faith and remember that our God is working in the background to provide for us when we are ready and at His appointed time. Need more encouragement? Read about Job or David. The answer may not be what we want or expect but it will be proper for us.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Respect

There is a difference between respect for ones self and love of ones self. It can be readily seen in the world today in the actions of people. Love of ones self means you feel entitled and often leads to horrible treatment of others.  Respect of ones self results in respect for others in most cases.

2 Tim. 1:13  “Beware that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: 8 all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

“Hold the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me in faith, and in the love which is in Christ Jesus.” 

John Gilmary Shea, Pictorial Lives of the Saints (New York; Cincinnati; Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1887), 334.

Persecutions Foretold

(Mk 13.9–13; Lk 21.12–19)

9 “Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Washington, DC: National Council of Churches of Christ, 1993), Mt 24:4–14.

Respect for others should not open the door to complete trust but should be tempered and tested. This is not disrespect but wisdom. 

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Why the plagues of Egypt?

The plagues God brought on the Pharaoh of Egypt and Egyptian people were to show the Egyptian deities were no match for His power. It was also a way to show the Israelites he was in charge. None of the gods of Egypt were of consequence to the God of Moses. In the time the Israelites were in Egypt they were indoctrinated to these deities and subjected to the ways of their masters. (I researched the deities of Egypt and was amazed at the number of them listed. There are 490 deities plus 19 groups of deities. I don't see how they could have kept track of them all.) Hapi was god the Nile - Heh was god of the frogs - Apis was the god of calfs - Geb was the god of the earth - Nut was the god of the sky - Ra was the sun god -Seth was the god of storms, disorder and violence - Atum was god of the first born - Anubis was the god of death -Resheph was the god of pestilence. These names were gleaned from Wikipedia. I make no claim that these were the gods Yahweh was dethroning in the 10 plagues. It was His purpose to show pharaoh and the Hebrews that He was greater than any Egyptian god and His power was second to none. It is hard to believe the Hebrews were so stubborn in letting go of the gods of Egypt or complaining about Moses and Yahweh after the demonstrations before Pharaoh, the pillars of smoke and fire, the parting of the sea and all of the other signs and wonders. The time spent in slavery did a job on them to be sure.

One other Fact that escapes most readers of exodus is that when the Lord set up what was clean and what was unclean. All of the clean animals were the ones Egypt used as sacrifices and all of the unclean animals were the ones the Egyptians worshiped. Talk about throwing this in the faces of the Egyptians. I am sure the Hebrews knew full well that this was to let them know what was taught was false information about gods that were false. The ways of the Lord are amazing to behold.

I hope you enjoyed the little insights presented here.

May the Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

From December of 2015

 

The Amazing Thing about Scripture is that it Is Timeless. It is accurate and relevant more than 2000 years after it was written.

There are times when reading the scriptures and the gospels that I stop and ask why is that happening this way. Has This ever happened to you. There are some things that the scholars are trying to explain but find it difficult if not impossible to explain and prove. Others are relatively simple to explain. Much of the new testament is fairly cut and dried, or is it? The star of Bethlehem is a mystery and probably will always be so. There are many theories and suppositions as to what it could have been, none of which are proven or universally accepted.

For me there are many questions. Two of them are:

1. Why did Herod send troops to kill children from 2 years of age and younger if Jesus was in swaddling clothes?

2. Why is there no record of the deed in historical records?

Interesting enough the answer can be had by knowing the conditions and times that Jesus lived in. First of all is the slowness of transportation at the time, mostly by foot or camel. Until the wise men traveled to Israel, stopped and queried Herod of the birth of Jesus, found Jesus and left Israel without returning to tell Herod what they found and the time it took Herod to realized they would not return, it is most likely that the better part of two years had passed. Jesus could have been more than a year old when the slaughter of the children took place. As to why the deed is not in any records, Bethlehem was only a small village at the time comprising only a thousand or so inhabitants. unlike today, this was not an uncommon occurrence in ancient mid eastern civilization. The deed would not necessarily have been taken note of for a small settlement such as Bethlehem in historical records. 

What is my point? Knowing some of the history and living conditions at the time of Jesus brings the reality of the life of Christ into vivid focus and brings better understanding of some of the things Jesus and the others mentioned in the bible said and did. It is not a lessening of the reality of Christ but an enrichment of it. It creates a feeling of being there. It gives an understanding of the conditions and what the purpose of the actions and words were at the time. For me it is astounding that to this day the words of Christ and God are still very much alive. By understanding the reality of the living conditions then it becomes even more wondrous.

After the holidays I need to find out who is still blogging and who is no longer following. At that time I will once again start giving shout outs. Tank you for your patience.

I have two Christmas cards to share with you today. I do not remember whom they were sent to but I know they have been received. They are both created from Stamps Happen stamp company. Sorry I could not find these stamps for sale anywhere so no link is provided. The Company owning the rights is Custom Rubber Stamp Company. Many of the stamps are discontinued.

The Copics used: C2,Y11, Y28, BG18, Y02, E000, E43

The image was fussy cut fastened with Sookwang tape. The halo was tricky. I left a small strip of card stock to connect the images and used a razor knife to cut it off after it was fastened to the card face and silver halo. The silver and the gold for the halo and star were scraps from my stash. The Noel was created in Word, cut out and attached with Sookwang tape. The card face was also scrap from my stash.

The next card does not have a Copic list with it. It was about the time I first started to note the colors used ( Several years ago ). This image is called Angel of Light. Again there is no Image for sale to refer to and is more than likely discontinued.

This was one of the harder images to color because of the fine detail. It was fussy cut and fastened to the card stock with, what else, Sookwang tape. Smile. The Stars and snowflake are Starform glitter stickers. I didn't have a star to use as the star of Bethlehem so a snowflake sticker was use to represent it. 

A delicate gold "Stamponit" sticker was used at  the fold inside the card for a little extra interest. Not very fancy but effective.

That is it for today. I appreciate your stopping by to visit. Have a SAFE Happy New Year. Remember to always Love the Details. See you in 2016. (BOY THAT FEELS STRANGE)