September 30, 2014 Gone but Present

Believe in prayer. Prayer is believing.

 My last post was on prayer. There is much more to prayer that we never hear about. Do you know why I believe in prayer? It is for the same reason you should. When you pray you become a believer in the most personal way. Yes, you can believe without ever praying but when you pray you are laying yourself out before the Lord and saying "I am in your care and those I am praying for I am trusting to your care". There is nothing else you can offer that would be of value to God. Many have not given thought to why praying is so important and at the same time personal before God. How can prayer be dismissed out of hand that way? I often hear about fearing God and, in fact, I was brought up to FEAR God. YOU CAN NOT LOVE WHEN YOU ARE LIVING IN FEAR. God gave us Jesus and he gave His life so that we could believe in God and have our fear removed from us. Fear means we still have Him on the cross. Praying does not excuse us from life but it makes it possible for us to communicate that we are in His hands and, whatever His plans, we know His hand is in ours and we need not fear. That is why this canvas I am working on is so special. THE LIGHTHOUSE. The light that guides ships to the safety of the port. Again removing the fear and replacing it with trust and ultimately with love. Prayer is our home port. A refuge from all that the world is able to throw at us. The 23rd psalm is what prayer brings us to. How is your prayer life today? Do you fear the Lord or feel the LOVE of the Lord? We were created to Love the Lord not to fear Him. Fear is for those who do not believe. Talk to Him and feel His love fill you up. Prayer is our communion with Him.It is the greatest form of worship.

If we have died with him, then we shall live with him. If we persevere, then we shall reign with him. If we disown him, then he will disown us. If we are faithless, he is faithful still, for he cannot disown his own self.

2 Timothy 2:11–14

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The New Jerusalem Bible. (1985). (2 Ti 2:11–13). New York: Doubleday.

I have two projects to share with you today. First is a CAS card I made. It is a tent style card.

I did not finish the inside of the card this time to allow a note to be hand written. 

The dove                -  Sizzix #659126 die set
The glitter die cut  -  Spellbinders "Fantastic Flourish Thee  Die Set
Sentiment               -  Sweet n' Sassy "The Future" set
Card stock is from my stash. All gluing was done with Sookwang 1/4" and 1/8" tape. 

I am going to break with my no challenge tradition and enter this card at: 


Word art Wendnesday

The second project is something I made some 40 years ago. It sits in the hallway to our bedroom. It is a reminder of the Lord no longer being on the cross. 

 The nails are there but he is not. Hold out your hand and He will take it and be your guide. 


Blessings and remember to LOVE THE DETAILS.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

This is a special edition post. Bibiana at Stamping with Bibiana is hosting a Throwback Thursday every two weeks. If you wish to participate, clicking on the button at the top of my side bar will take you to the rules page. The image I am sharing is one of the very first ones I posted back in January of this year. It is by far one of my favorites. Sorry folks that is when I started to blog. Can't go farther back than that. All three are actually cards. Enjoy.

The next two images are from the same artist that were also colored by me. 

This artist is very talented as you can see. Please visit her site at Imagineanddo.fi. She has some fantastic images. This is a scrap booking site so some of the images are large. She only sells the images as part of a package. Sorry no stamps or digi's. It is still worth a look if you are looking for something unique.

Be sure to stop by Bibiana's blog and see what she is doing. This is one very talented lady. I will be surprised if you don't fall in love with her creations. They are beautiful and unique.

Remember to LOVE THE DETAILS.  

September 21,2014 Prayer

It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart. - Mahatma Ghandi

This past month or so has been a hectic time. As many of you know I keep a book called "One Day At A Time." It is a book for those who request prayers. The prayer requests that are entered run the full range of concerns of people just like you and I. If you feel you can't touch someone else's pain because you are different than they are you are wrong. Because we are all a part of humanity its is always possible we could find ourselves in their shoes. Prayer DOES change things. Many prayers have been answered recently. Some things were a total surprise, some were as prayed for and others not yet answered that we can see. Not all prayers are visibly answered but they are answered. This past several weeks I found myself praying day and night. Even waking up at night and praying for I knew not what but praying in earnest. Even pausing at the feeling that something horrible had happened but not knowing what but praying for it. Some of you, I know, have experienced this. We are all called to pray for one another and support one another in our times of need. Prayer is not supposed to be heavy or light, too much or too little. The Lord wants our prayers to be short, to the point and unencumbered. He already knows what is needed and sometimes just waits for us to ask. Pray with the expectation that there will be an answer. He will provide according to His will. Some of my prayers took 30 years or more to be answered. Some will not be realized as they are not in His will. That is OK. He provides abundantly and cares for us. Pray for others and make a difference in lives.


 For in this use of the Holy Spirit Jesus became a model for all Christians. Philippians 2:7 tells us that Christ Jesus laid aside (emptied Himself of) His divine privileges when He became a man; so Luke 4:1 indicates that He conducted His earthly ministry in the power and enabling of the Holy Spirit. His ministry thus becomes a model that all the regenerate can emulate, for He conducted it as a man, not in His power as God.

Mills, M. S. (1999). The Life of Christ: A Study Guide to the Gospel Record (Mt 4:1–Lk 4:13). Dallas, TX: 3E Ministries. Also Mark 5:25-34 


Many thanks to all who dropped by to wish me a happy birthday. Mary H. of Carolina Cards by Mary H sent a card of thanks for participating in the TCBH. Thank you Mary. That was very thoughtful and appreciated.

Included with the package was a red rubber stamp. It is very appropriate since it is for Thanksgiving.

I actually retreated for several days and just painted and talked with the Lord in prayer. Therapeutic and filling. I did visit a few people that commented and returned the kindness. A bit more got done but most of it was the larger areas. It is beginning to look more like the image on the box. Jill said what was done was beautiful. I am inclined to agree. There is a lot of finer detail left to do that I'm sure will take some time to do. Here is what is done so far.

These were the paints used this time to bring the painting to this point. 11/61 is the one currently being used and the most used color of them all both for being on its own and in combinations to get some of the other colors.


There are areas needing to be blended together but they are being saved until near the end. 

I will be taking a few days break and visiting everyone I can and commenting probably starting tomorrow. No card making this time around, sorry! I just want to catch up with what all of you are doing and let you know Cherokee and I are still around. I am pushing to get things done before winter really sets in. Remember to always LOVE THE DETAILS.

September 13, 2014 Knowing

Even if something is personally experienced, all experiences are unique to each individual.

In a universe that is full of differences and change is there anything that is without exception? Yes! God's love. That is the only thing that is never changing. All else is wrapped in vagaries. We all age and we all have our issues whether physical, emotional, mental, relational or what have you. Seeing so many of our friends with problems and loved ones that are seriously ill is heart breaking. It is also part of life. Every incidence is different no matter how much it is identical. Our experiences are a strengthening process. It is a place where a kind of common ground is reached to allow the heart to understand what only the heart can understand. The ability to feel the hurt, the emptiness or grief of loss let alone the power of love is only possible from the heart. Because you experience these things only means you can understand what someone else is going through. It does not speak for the uniqueness of their situation or condition. Only they know what they are living through unless you are living through it with them. Even then it is still unique to each as two separate lives and individuals. It is the feelings and the emotions that you can connect with and experience with someone. It is where bonding, comforting, sympathy and many other things including love happen. I know God loves us. He is the connection to and of the heart. Without that connection there would be no hope. Without it we cannot exist. Without it everything would count for nothing.

My dear friends, let us love one another, since love is from God and everyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever fails to love does not know God, because God is love.

The New Jerusalem Bible. (1985). (1 Jn 4:7–8). New York: Doubleday. 

I would like to amend this post to acknowlege that I have won the "Cherry on Top" Giveaway at Kristi Schurr's blog, Paper Creations. She will be redesigning her blog with more content and tutorial videos. She expects to begin about the beginning of the new year. Stop by and see her work and share some comments with her. You will not be disappointed. Thank you for the gift certificate. It will be put to good use.

I have done some painting but not as much as I would like. There has been some progress though. Here are the colors used.

Some were used by themselves and some in combination. Some were very thick but not completely dried out. A drop of water or more to hydrate the paint. Here is the current progress of the painting.

As you can see it is coming right along. The cliff area will be pretty much done with the next update post. This represents the largest numbered areas. From there it will be harder. Hope you like it thus far. 
That is it for this week. Thank you for stopping by and if you leave a comment it will be appreciated greatly. It is also a sure way to get me out to look at your current creation and I will comment. I love returning the courtesy.

Remember to LOVE THE DETAILS.