Hardened Hearts

 

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In today's society it seems that the above Brainy Quote is lacking in many ways. It is unfortunate that Martin Luther King's words, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others", are not followed. There are so many hardened hearts these days. Some weeks back I shared that my neighborhood was a place where we help one another when we can. There are those that are not able to do things that we are able to do. The helping hand and kindness shown to them is contagious. Looking at others with uncaring or judgmental eyes is not the way of the Lord. A hardened heart is one that does not accept the possibility that love can change things. It is also an indication that person thinks "I am right and only I count". (Deut 15:7, Prov 28:14, John 12:40, Heb 3:8) Lawlessness will surely follow in the footsteps of this attitude. The only way to become the instrument of peace is through love and compassion. A caring heart will change us into an instrument of peace. (1 John 4:8-9, 4:16) I can change little in this world but by changing what little I can change with compassion and love it will have an affect on the greater community and that will eventually change far more than I will ever see.

The piece I am is a star that has been inlayed with Glitter stock. As with the inlay last week I have no idea where the stock came from. There are 262 inlays in this die cut. Yes there are a ton of pieces left over that I cleaned up to use later. I use my flash on the first image to highlight the sparkle and the second image is without the flash to better show the colors used.

All of the die cuts are mounted on Grafix "Double Tack" to make it easier to set the inlays. When A card is created the back of the double tack can be pealed of for quick and simple mounting to the card being created. The paper colors are red, light gold, yellow gold, light blue, blue gray and dark metallic blue. The dark metallic blue really sparkles with multi-colored flashes. There is a second version of this die cut that I will share next week. 

That will do it for this week. Please stay safe and practice safe distancing and wear the mask if it is required where you are. Remember to always "Love The Details".

Opportunity

 

When was the last time you felt this way? It is a place of tranquility and peace isn't it? Was it in the presence of that special someone or that special place of peace and quiet or possibly both? Have you ever found yourself suddenly at peace when nothing but chaos raged all around you? How do you explain these happenings? The above Brainy Quote can be seen in two ways. From our point of view or from the Lord's point of view. From our point of view there are a myriad of interpretations, the best of which is seeing the Lord Jesus and what it means to be in His care. From the Lord's point of view it is that He gave His all for us, He is at rest with us and He is now in heaven with His father.

There is one more way of seeing this. It is a view of the whole of humanity through the eyes of Christ. To love others as you love yourself, To be at peace with one another no matter our differences and through this feel as though we have come home. All of these things are what our Lord has commanded us to do. Unfortunately this is difficult for humanity to come to grips with. We cannot apply this to one segment at a time but must apply it to all or it will not happen. It almost seems overwhelming but Christ has promised us strength if we lean on Him. (Sirach 32:24, Psalm 125:1, Isaiah 26:4, Hebrews 3:6, Romans 5:11) It is not by our strength (Mark 8:33) but by His strength that we can accomplish this. (Psalm 65:6, 1 Timothy 1:12) Let Christ be your strength. He is our rock, our guide. Turn to Him. 

   

Today I would like to share a craft project that took a little over a day to complete. It is an inlay using glitter paper. The paper is leftover and loose paper that I have no idea where they came from. This is a variation on the images shared on my blog a few weeks ago.

At first glance this does not look very complicated. Considering that the image has 195 inlaid pieces it is not so simple. It was done with leftover pieces of glitter paper. If you have ever tried to die cut glitter paper you would soon find that it does not cut through completely like ordinary card stock. It is messy and often needs to be trimmed to remove edges. FUN! My DW said I am a brute for punishment.😏 That may be but it is satisfying when it is done. This will be made into a card in the future. Here are two pending inlay versions I will be doing in the not too distant future.

  The one on the left is started but the rest is being pondered for what colors to use. The one on the right has a glitter paper frame. All of the inlays are held in place with Double tack from Grafix films. Next week I will share an even more intricate inlay project.

 Thank you for dropping by and hopefully leaving a comment. In the meantime please be safe practice safe distancing and wear those masks. Until then always remember to "Love The Details." God Bless.

Are We There Yet?

Religion is like a map. The route isn't important. It's the destination that matters.

Marianne Williamson

 If the destination is heaven, why do we scramble to be first in line for hell?

Douglas Horton

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com

It is always a surprise to find the course leads to an unexpected destination. The two Quotes above and the heading for this post are truly tied to the way we view our journey through this life. It seems we are in a hurry to get to a destination we can't even see and yet we think we are getting somewhere we are not. When we stop, look around and note where we are, we realize we don't know where we are. Confused? It is a little like the Three Stooges with Curly going in circles with one foot planted, unmoving! WooWooWooWoo! GnyaGnyaGnyaGnya!  😁 The destination is the culmination of the learning experience more than a travel experience. The destination is a place that is not physically visible to us. If we are blessed with occasional glimpses of our destination it should not distract us from the journey. Scripture is the guidebook, the road map for the journey. All of the signposts are in the scriptures. All the directions are in the scriptures. Everything is in the scriptures. Genesis to Revelations is a marvel of our God's glory unlike any other book. Personally, I don't just hope the destination is real, I believe it is real. (James 1:4) Life is a gamble, full of disappointments and pain. Faith in Jesus and Yahweh is not. (Romans 4:20) Just because we do not see immediate results does not mean the promises are not kept. (Gen 15:6, Heb. 11:20, Mat. 9:21-22, Rom 4:14-17) Abram (Abraham) never actually saw the promise God made to him come to fruition but it was kept. (Gen 12:7) It is not the destination but the journey that matters here on earth. The destination will be what it is meant to be and the promises kept if we follow in the footsteps laid out in the scriptures.

This is a card created just before New Years day. All of the materials were from my stash and were leftover scraps and pieces. The image was done some time ago and is one of my favs. It is from Squiggly Digi Designer projects (now defunct).

Image coloring was done with Copics Pens. They are as follows:  

YG13 - standing vines, T2 pavers and W3 mortar, C1 shadows, YG07 hanging vines, G40 & G0000 birdbath decorations, C1 birdbath, V01-R81-R32-RV10-RV23 Petunias, E08 small Flowers, V12 small flower spike, YR15-Y15 Monarch Butterfly, Y11-Y15 swallowtail butterfly 

The mesh is a leftover piece from stash, the black jewels are from my stash as are the butterfly stickers. The green paper used for the edge on front and back are also leftover pieces from my stash.

This card folds open along the white and green border on the front of the card. The inside is not finished on this card.

I hope you like the card. Next week I will share a project that took close to two days to do. It is fun doing the cards and sharing them with you. If you stop by and are able to please leave a comment. Thank You for stopping by. Remember to always "Love The Details". Please stay safe, wear your masks in public and practice safe distancing. It protects you and me. Thanks and God Bless.
 

Becoming

 

With the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus it is time to reflect on the path we are on in our lives. For some the journey is only begun. For others it is half over or possibly in the twilight of life. The future is never known or guaranteed. My dear wife shared with me that the word for this year for her is "hope". (Rom 8:24-25, 15:13) It is where we all start not only in our physical endeavors but, most importantly, our spiritual endeavors as well. In most cases hope does not hold any promises but for those in Christ there are assurances. As long as our faith and beliefs are centered on Christ we are promised a place is prepared for us in heaven. (John 14:2-3) It is not ours to say who is or is not among those who will be called. It is our place to be sure we are the ones being seen as belonging to Christ. How we are seen may be the difference with someone who has been turned off by those pretending to be Christians that have appointed themselves as judges over others. Jesus was our example of how to conduct ourselves. Yes will be pain and trials in doing so at times. Yes you may even be persecuted for it. It is what Jesus said it would be for Him but it could very well happen to us. (Matthew 20:28)(Mark 9:12 & 9:31) 

Today I would like to share 2 cards I made for two very special people. The first one was sent to Darnell. The second was sent to Em. They were both done slightly different one from another.  The image was a die cut from Hunkydory Moonstone Die Set "Peace on Earth". I considered doing both as a clear window but didn't have the required clear plastic. Maybe a later project. First Darnell's Card.      

Copic Colors:  Y15, Y17, E000, Y13, E99, E55, Wink of Stella 102 Silver & 101 Gold, Y02, T2, Co, E03, B21, B41, T0, T4, YG0000, G03, B06, BV13, BV17, BV25, B41, BV01

As you can see there are a few colors in this image. There are as many on the next image as well. This is Em's card.

Copic Colors: Wink of Stella 101Gold & 102 Silver, BV0000, BV000, BV02, BV08, BV34, R02, R29, R39, YR31, Y08, Y11, Y17, Y21, Y35, G17, B23, B29, B32, B41, E31, E34, E35, E42, E50, E95, T3, T7, C00, C0, 100

The bead stickers are from my stash as were the cardstock. It is hoped everyone has had a wonderful, safe, holiday. Please be safe and come back soon. Remember to always "Love The Details". GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU SAFE.