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."

Increased Love

 

You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am.

Jn 13:13

The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985)

How wonderful a Teacher we have! Sometimes we seek Him in the house, but He is not there. We go forth seeking Him and find Him perhaps in the wilderness or on a mountain praying, or leading some poor blind man by the hand, or eating with publicans or sinners, or asleep in a storm, or conversing with a Samaritan woman, or surrounded by wrathful men, or bearing a cross. It is not merely His words that instruct. His place, His occupation, His companions, His environment, His garment, His silence, His submission—all teem with instruction. And they that learn of Him are made like unto Him.

George Bowen

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997)

How does God cause our love to “increase more and more”? By putting us into circumstances that force us to practice Christian love. Love is the “circulatory system” of the body of Christ, but if our spiritual muscles are not exercised, the circulation is impaired. The difficulties that we believers have with one another are opportunities for us to grow in our love. This explains why Christians who have had the most problems with each other often end up loving one another deeply, much to the amazement of the world.

Warren W. Wiersbe

 The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996)

The words of the Lord are life. He spoke them and there was life. If fact, He speaks today, and there is life. Live by that word and you live the eternal life.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Cheeful Christians

 

  Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord

        1 Cor. 15:58

Activity in doing good is one recipe for being cheerful Christians; it is like exercise to the body, and it keeps the soul in health.

Bishop Ryle

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

The body is of this imperfect world and must perish. Our soul is not of this earth and will not perish. Our body will be replaced with one that is eternal. The belief in Christ is food for our soul and sustains us to be with Him forever in heaven. What is there to not be cheerful about? 

Choice

(Each week I try to bring a message that will cause thought and something to meditate on. If there is something you would like me to comment on, please feel free to ask.)

There can be no greater mission in life than to love God and those around us. (Mark 12:28-34) If we do this all we do will fall into place. Our very thinking process will change from self to others. Our lifestyle will change and become fuller. Our problems will become less debilitating and important. We become aware of what life is really all about. 

Surely our problems are important but are they all there is? The world is in turmoil. Entitlement, greed and hate are on the rise. Crime follows close on their heels. Call all of this what you may, it is not love of God or of those around us. Love does not produce hate but subdues it. Love does not produce entitlement or greed but a giving heart. We have the choice of living a life that makes others our focus or ourselves the focus. Making ourselves our focus makes for an unhappy existence. Focusing on others may not make us rich or famous but it will result in a satisfaction that mirrors itself in the happiness of others. The key to this is not just family or friends but those outside of family and friends. Some of the best and most profound reactions are from those who were strangers. It is these "others" that need to see that Christ is alive and well on earth. It might just be that it is what they need to begin to love God and those around them. If the world is to change it has to begin with you and I. Mother Teresa was a prime example of this.

Today another of the Moontear images.

The Copic colors used are:

That is it for this week. May The good Lord bless and keep you safe. Remember to "Always Love The Details."