New "Hope" Card

Hi Y'all!    How are y'all doing today?    I hope and pray that everyone is doing well.   It has been a really wet few days!!!    I mean "really" wet, y'all!"    It has been raining for about week now, and we are water logged.    We had tornado warnings in our neck of the woods last night.    It was a pretty scary evening to say the least.    As of the moment, it's misting, just really fine, but there is moisture in the air.    I don't have any idea how long this wet spell will last, but I can tell you that the local farmers need our prayers in hopes of getting their crops out.  Some of the crops may already be washed down the river somewhere.    I also pray for those affected by the tornadoes and strong winds.    We just never know how fortunate we are till we start seeing the news and other people having lost everything in the bad weather.

In the Kraafters Kommunity there is what is called "Word of Inspiration Wednesday", and we have a hashtag for it, #WIOW.     Last Wednesday, the word was "Hope".     Each week there is a word of the week and you create a piece of art; a canvas, a card, a drawing, a scrapbook page or what ever your art it.    I  created a card based on that.    Since it is "Pastor Appreciation" month, this is the card I am sending to my Pastor and his wife for the sacrifice they make every day for the Lord and for our church and for our community.

I used a black card base.     Then a card front that I cut on my Silhouette Cameo. It was a base created by Penny Duncan.   (Thanks Penny!!!!  Love you lots!!!) And then I used a stamp set from Our Daily Bread.    I stamped the anchor image and colored that in and the put the sentiment up in the left hand corner.

On the inside, I put a liner of just plain printer paper cut to size and then punched around the edges with a Martha Stewart punch.    It's not perfectly punched, but I say that adds to the overall character of the card.   I then used a Stampendous stamp that I got from Paper Wishes and stamped that in Momento London Fog.    It is a light gray and when I wrote my personal note inside it, some of the writing went over the stamped area and it looked really good.

I usually do a lot of grungy inking and put lots of bling on stuff, but I left this one somewhat plain.    But overall, I am pretty happy with this card of Hope for my pastor and for the #WIOW.

Being a Pastor is hard work.    Everyone has their own ideas of what their pastor is supposed to do for them.    I do "challenge" every one of us to ask ourselves if we have unrealistic expectations placed on these men and women of God.     We have no idea of the sacrifice they make for their congregations and communities.   It really takes someone having the calling of God on their lives for their families to survive the pressures of being on call 25 hours a day, 8 days a week.    You noticed the exaggeration of the hours and days.    Well, to them, it's not an exaggeration.    The thing about it is this, they will keep being on call!  They will keep being there for their congregations and communities.    They will keep making the phone calls, and making home visits, and coming to hospitals at all hours of the day and night.    That's what the really great pastors do.    That's just what they do.    If you have a really great pastor, thank God!     If you have a really great pastor, thank him, the pastor!    If you have a really great pastor, thank his wife!    If you have a really great pastor, thank his children.    Every call that we make, for our pastors to come to our aide, is taking him away from family time.    The older I get, the more I realize that and think about that.     Now, my pastors children are adults now, but I'm sure if I asked them, that they could tell me of all times that they needed their dad, while he was being someones pastor.

The reason I say this is to encourage everyone to send their pastor a card thanking him for his service to you personally, for your church and for your community.    Just thank your pastor.    They are human, they have feelings, they like to feel appreciated.    Yes, they work for the Lord.    Most of their encouragement comes from the Lord!    Every time one of us thanks our pastor, it encourages him all the more.    Your pastor and mine, needs to know that you are appreciative of him for all that he does.    You know how good it makes you feel when someone notices something you have done, don't you.    Well, they need to feel that every once in a while.     So, this is the month set aside, dedicated for pastor appreciation.    Take the "challenge", thank your Pastor!!!!
  
As I leave you, I leave you with a bit more of Psalm 23.    Today we will look at Psalm 23:5   "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.   You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows".

We are looking at God as a Host.    He has prepared a banquet of plenty.    God is meeting the needs of the flock, although there are enemies around that would destroy the flock.   David knew who his provider was!    David pictured God as being the Host at a very sumptuous banquet, set only for him, in the midst of his enemies.    God provided an abundance to meet all the needs of David.    God is still the Host!!!!     God is still meeting our needs today, in the midst of our enemies.     We may not think we have any enemies.     Don't worry, WE DO!!!   If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have enemies!!!     God is meeting our needs in the presence of our enemies!

Anointing the head with oil was a custom of the day.    A gracious host would anoint a welcomed guest with perfumed olive oil as a sign of being an honored guest.    A prophet would anoint someone that had been called out by God, set apart for the service of the Lord; such as David.    As Christians, we are called out and set aside by God for His service and we need the fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit over our lives every day.

My cup overflows.    God not only meets our needs, but He meets our needs with over abundance.    That may seem wasteful for our cups to overflow.    In reality, if our cups are over flowing it means that we can graciously share with those whose cups are almost empty.    Sometimes that may mean sharing material possessions.    But, it may also mean sharing what we know about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ with those who haven't heard about Him or who has never heeded the call of Christ on their lives.     Just know that if your cup runs over, it is simply because God has blessed you!     Tell somebody what God has done for you!!!!

Well, I hope and pray that you seen something here today that you liked , if you did, share it.    Tell someone that God is the Host of a banquet and He is waiting for them too, at the banquet table.    Tell your pastor "thank you" sometime this month.

Ladybug, it was awesome to see you and my cousin on Saturday!  We had a great time together and look forward to another visit, soon!   Sweetpea loves you!

Goodnight Y'all.    I hope and pray y'all enjoy the rest of the evening.    Check back again real soon, you never know what you'll find here.   Remember, God loves y'all and so do I!    Hugs, Patty