Bible Art and a Snow Picture

Good evening, y'all!!!!     Sure hope y'all are doing well and that you are still surviving the great "snow in"!     You know, kinda like "lock ins" at church, except we are all snowed in, not just a few of us, but most of us.    In my neck of the woods, we just had what would be called a "little" snow, and we are soooo ready to be done with it.    I can't help but think about all our friends up in the north east and all the snow they are having to dig out of.    It could be June before all the snow mounds melt.    I really hope and pray that all the winter weather is behind us.    On my last post, I mentioned my snow boots had blow outs, and my new ones was hung up somewhere because of the snow; well, I got my new ones and just in case we have more bad weather, I will be able to get out and take pics.   So that's a big Yay on my part!!!!     I did get out of my driveway this morning and went to pay a couple of bills that needed to be paid, so that was wonderful getting out for a few minutes. 

Before we get into my project, I would like to take the time to ask all of y'all to be in prayer for the ones around all of us that are hurting in some way.    There are many that are going thru some heavy stuff.    I just pray for God's mercy and grace and blessings on each and every one.    For some, life is in the balance.   Others are healing from surgeries.    Others are battling cancer.    Lots of children around us are sick with various illnesses, but I know that God is very aware of each and every one of these situations.     So as we lift these people to God, we just pray that His will be done in each life.  

So, this is my next round of Bible Art.    I really love doing these small little pieces of art.     It is perfect for me.    Because I am more of "instant gratification" these days with every thing I do.    It takes very few tools and that alone makes me very happy.     So, for the first one here, this is my lion.     And I do have to tell you that I did use a prompt for this one.     I am not very good at drawing, so I did have to have some help to get the face of this lion drawn.    At some point in time, I hope to come back to this and redraw it all on my own.     Until then, I'm still pretty happy with the way it turned out anyway.

I really love how it looks on my Bible page.

I really enjoyed the simplicity of this cross.    Just freehanding it and adding swirls and dot.    It was really fun to do.

It looks nice on my Bible page.

This is the very first one I done, and I used stamps for it.    Then I colored it and added the sun burst up in the corner.    I kinda liked using the stamp, but I decided I wanted to be challenged  a little more, so I started trying to draw everything.    But, I still liked this one a lot.

 I think it looks nice on my Bible page.

 Ok, so this was the funnest of all to put together.    I knew I wanted to use music notes and such, but I also knew I didn't want to try to freehand that many and make them look alike.    So, I dug up a svg and shrank them down and then resized them to the sizes I wanted.     After getting them to the size I wanted, this is where the fun really comes in.     I cut them out of vinyl on my Silhouette Cameo.     I just cut out a 4x5 inch of sticky back vinyl and placed that on my mat and made sure that my blade did not cut thru the backing.     These cut out soooo wonderfully smooth.     Now, the pieces of paper I use for my art is 6x4.5 inches.   With that in mind, you can see how small some of those music notes are.

After I got the page made, I took my white signo pen and wrote joy on each one of the notes.    I really like this page a lot.     I hope I can utilize vinyl and my Cameo in more of my Bible Art.

This is the piece of vinyl that I used and I put my note on it for all the settings I used.    Look at those small notes as compared to the quarter.    This cut just perfectly!     And, as I said earlier, I did place this on my mat.    So, don't be afraid to put your vinyl on your sticky mat and and have fun with it that way.    It is fun and easy to do.

So, this picture was taken the last time I got to go up to my Mom's and spend a couple of days with her.     It was actually the last of January.   It started snowing on Friday before noon and for the most part, it melted as it hit the ground.    Later on in the evening, it started sticking.     We had the front door open, and looking out at about 9 pm and this is what it looked like.     I placed my smart phone against the window pane in the storm door and took this picture.    This is directly out her front door looking out at the circle court.   The trees had just latched on to the snow and it was just amazing and it was also still snowing pretty hard.     I took a ton of pics and this was just one of them.  

I will leave you this evening with the scriptures on my Bible art.    What do they say to to you?    What is your reaction as you read each one?     How has God spoken to you thru them?      I hope as you read them, that they speak to your heart in such a way that makes you want more of the Word of God.     If you haven't tried something like this, I suggest you try it.    It really isn't about being the best at anything.   It's just about sharing your heart with God and letting Him speak to you thru your art.     It really is fun and you end up with all these neat little pieces of art.

Hope you doing great Ladybug, can't wait for the weather to get better so I can visit for a couple of days.    Sweetpea loves you!

I hope y'all have seen something here that has inspired you is some way.    Just know that God loves y'all and so do I.     hugs, Patty

More Bible Art

Good dreary afternoon from my neck of the woods, y'all.      The temp is about 38* with rain now on top of the snow and ice that we've had.      Now we even have flood warnings out around here.      With the melting ice and snow and now all of the rain, it is very likely that some of the low lying areas will be flooded.   I am reminded of a friend of mine up in Boston that has 8 feet of snow now.   She said someone had written in the snow the word "uncle".     I cracked up when she sent that to some of us on a group I belong to.      For some of you that don't know what that is all about, I'll tell you.      For me, when we was growing up, if you got into a tussle with someone, you might get them in some kind of uncomfortable hold and you would tell them you would not let them go till they cried out "uncle".     I don't know why that particular word was the chosen word, but it is what you would have to say in order to be released from that painful situation.      So, if y'all are ready to be released from this painful weather situation, we'll try it.     With that said, lets all say it in unison.     Ready, set, go......"U-N-C-L-E"!!!!       Ok, now all's good, right?       Well, some of us didn't say it loud enough!!!!!        Ok, again, a little louder this time.       "U-N-C-L-E!!!!!!"       Ok, that was better.     We'll see if that does any good.

For sure, some of our friends and neighbors in other areas of the country are really having a tough time with all the bad weather.     Snow, ice, power outrages, roofs collapsing, deaths, sickness and the list just goes on and the weather is just unrelenting.      Pray for these situations.      I pray for them every day.      With the little bit that we have been dealing with this week, it has hit home all the more for all the others across the nation and else where that are in the middle of trying to survive all of this.      We can't be there in person to help all these people, but we sure can pray for all of them.      I DO believe in the power of prayer and it should always be our first line of defense for any situation.     I never want to step out in anything, without first covering the situation with prayer and inviting God to go before me and plan my steps.      So, I ask God to go before all the people that are troubled with the severe weather and protect them.     As my husband leaves every evening for work, I am at the kitchen window watching him go out of sight and praying for his safety in travel and just all around safety and protection while at work, and for health and strength and wisdom and knowledge and skill and every thing he may need to do his job to the best of his ability, as though he is working for the Lord.      And this week I have also been asking God to protect him while out in this bitter cold and snow and ice.     I have also been praying for those who are alone, and for our community at large.  

Sometimes, I think situations like this will happen for the purpose of seeing how and if we reach out to those around us.      Sometimes we may be in situations where we can't do much for anyone, and God understands all of those situations. But don't ever think there's not anything you can do to help anyone.     Like I said earlier, we always have our first line of defense, our greatest weapon as Christians, and that is prayer.      Let's join together and pray for those who need our prayers.      God will bless those prayers, I just know He will.

I have some more Bible art to share with y'all today.    I hope you enjoy it and maybe even get some ideas for some of your own art.

 So, I love pearls and I had been wanting to do a pearl art page.    One of my sisters in Christ calls me Pearl Joy and I love it.      I call her Pearl Love.     So, this is for our love of pearls what they represent to us.     I chose to use this scripture, because I do really love it.     But the scripture that sticks out the most to me is Matthew 7:6   Do not give what is holy to dogs and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.      I may do another one on that scripture sometime, but for now, this is what I done.

This is what it looks like in my Bible.      Wink of stella really helped my pearl pop out and I love it!     I'm telling ya', there's nothing that a wink of stella won't help.    hahaha 

I have always loved this scripture also.     Waiting upon God is soooooo hard to do, isn't it?       It really is, but when we do, He goes before us, and He gives us strength and we don't grow weary or tired and we don't grow faint.   When we do it all in our own strength, we falter and we tire out and lag behind and quit.

In my Bible.    I really love how these pieces look in my Bible.   It really makes me happy to put one more in it and another one and another one.

I have had an image in my mind of a twisted vine heart wreath.      I had no idea of how to go about it.     So, I just shut my eyes and started drawing what I seen in my mind and it really started coming together and I was kinda happy with it.

This is it in my Bible.      I also used a gold sakura pen to do some outlining of some of my words and I really like the finished piece of this one.

Who of us doesn't need just a bit more courage.     Joshua had been told by God through Moses to remain strong and to not fear those that stood before him because God had put Joshua where he was.      God is still telling us today through the words that He spoke to Moses to tell Joshua, to remain courageous and strong, and to not be afraid, because He, the Lord our God is with us where ever we go!

 This is how it looks in my Bible.     I love the colorful words and how fun the piece actually turned out, even if it is just a bit elementary.      Most of my stuff is anyway.      So, it is what it is, but it sure is fun having another way to spend time with God, in His Word and learning more and more about His character and learning more and more just how much I need Him.     My friend said the other day, "Jesus is enough!"      And my sister in Christ, you are so right, "Jesus is enough!"      "Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else!!!!!"

As I leave you today, I leave you with all the scripture that you have read here.    Think about each one and how they speak to you and how they minister to your particular situation.      The funny thing about scripture, you read it today, and it speaks to you this way.      Read the same scripture tomorrow and it may speak in a totally different way.     That is what's so awesome about the Word of God.     It will minister to what ever your need is, because it is the Living Word!!!!!!!!

Enjoy the rest of your day and evening.      Tell someone you know that God loves them and cares about them and wants to have a meaningful relationship with them.      You won't regret and they won't either.

Hang in the Ladybug, the snow will get gone one of these days.    Sweetpea loves you bunches.

Till we meet again right back here, God loves y'all and so do I!!!!     hugs, Patty

February Card Making, Scones, and a request

Do y'all love that title or what?     I hope that ya' do, and I will share with y'all in a bit about what the title is all about.    I will leave ya' in suspense about it for a little bit.     Sneaky, huh......gggggg

So, how's the weather workin' for ya'?      For me, in my neck of the woods, which happens to be considered "in the south", "it's not workin' "fer" me!!!"    No, it's not!!!!!!     I'm putting in a complaint to the weather department as soon as I can get it to the mail box!     I am!!!     Done got it wrote.     Want to know what my complaint says?     It says "Knock it off!"     hahahaha     Just kidding about the complaint, but I'm not kidding about the weather, it has been something to write home about, but it wouldn't get there.    Not when some of the major cities are shut down.

It really has been a mess here.    Now, I'll tell y'all why I am soooooo ticked off about the weather.     I got out on Monday morning and was checking on my hubby since he was outside getting a vehicle ready to go to work in.    I got my warm clothes on, a warm coat and a boggin on my noggin and my snow boots.    The usual fare that I always donn when I am getting ready to have some fun in the snow.     I went around to where hubby was and there wasn't anything I could do to help, but we talked for a bit and then my feet started getting cold.     I said, "gosh it really is cold out here, my feet are getting cold, I think I need to go back in".     It was cold, but I have  been out when it was colder, and I knew it.    So, back in I went and went to the trouble of un-donning all of my winter clothes and then I got to my boots.     I looked at them when I got them off, and BOTH of them had BLOW OUTS!!!!!!      I'm telling you, my socks were wet from all the broken places in my boots.     I was fuming made.     These junky "old" snow boots, nothing lasts anymore!!!!!     I ought to take them back to the store!!!!    I was hot under the collar.    I kept fuming and stewing for a bit.      I finally started thinking about those "old junky" snow boots, and all of the sudden it hit me.     Those snow boots were over 30 years old!!!!!    hahahahah      My, how time flies!!!!!      It seems like it was only yesterday when I bought those boots!     They were the best boots I ever had in my life.     They were warm and waterproof.     I didn't even have to wear socks with them, they were so warm.     So, as I bid a fond farewell to an important part of my wardrobe, sniff, sniff, boohoo, I just pray that my new ones get here really quickly!!!!!!   As a result of no snow boots, I can't get outside now.    So.....no snow pictures!!!!!!!    I have been really upset over that more than anything.      My old snow boots have been the deciding factor in all of the winter/snow pictures I have taken for more than 30 years.      Alas, I shall remember them fondly as I start making new memories with the ones I have ordered.     They may get here before October, depending on how much more snow we get.     hahahaha      Oh well, if it wasn't for the weather, what would we have to talk about.     You know, most conversations start out with the weather.     With that in mind, we all got a lot to talk about now, huh.

Ok, now, back to the title.     What does card making and scones have in common?      Friends, that's what they have in common.     When we had Card Making Ministry at church a couple of weeks ago, there was 8 of us there.    We had an awesome time making cards that night.     One of the ladies there, is a lady that I used to go to church with several years ago and we were good friends.    I hadn't seen or heard from her in a while.      As it turned out, she is the niece of one of the elderly ladies in my church.     I did not know that.     She had come to church with her aunt the Sunday before the Card Making Monday and we invited her to come.     Well, she came, and we talked and we talked and we talked on and on and on.     As the night was over, we said we would get together and have lunch.    So, last Monday, Feb 9th, we did.     She and I met at one of the hot spots in town and got caught up on life and solved a few of the problems of the world and just made things better all around.   hahaha

Back to Card Making, we made three cards again as per usual.    I'm telling ya', the lady that gets this together, she is such a sweet heart and she does such a wonderful job.     Keeping it fresh, new, and exciting.    So, the theme of the cards was Valentines, since it was February.      We made some really beautiful cards, and I would love to share them with y'all.

This is all three of them together.     They are just so beautiful.

This first on is purple!!!!!      And y'all know how I love purple!     Purple cardstock, purple ink, and purple ribbon.     Nothing can be finer than a beautiful purple card.     Yay!!!!

Oh, this is the big beautiful embossed butterfly.      I just love this thing.   Now, I'm gonna tell you that I made a terrible booboo on my butterfly.    Do you see it?    Can you tell where I made it?     Well, I'll tell you.     For what ever reason, I did not get all of the embossing powder heat set with the heat gun.     See the pink heart on the upper wing of the butterfly?      That's where the booboo is.    Under the heart.     I was almost upset at myself, but I just decided that I could fix it when I got home.     And I did!      Yay!!!!     Most everything can be fixed easier than we think.     My new motto!!!!    hahaha

This one is so very fun.     It has the little mini envelope on it with a tag inside it with a heart on it.    Those little colorful hearts remind me of the little candy hearts.     As you can see the, the white base was also embossed.    I just love this card.     But then again, I love them all.     Sure hope y'all do too.

Now, on to the scones!     My friend and I met for lunch and talked and chatted and just had a fun time.     When I placed my order, I said I wanted a scone to go.     I had not had one, but I knew I wouldn't want to eat it at lunch, so I would have it for supper.     So, upon leaving, the waitress brought me my scone with jam and some whipped cream.     So, before I ate it, I did take a pic of it.     I must tell you, it was SOOOOO good!   It really was!!!    

Since it was such a beautiful scone, I decided to put it on my little pink fancy saucer with the pretty doily that they put it on for me.      Doesn't that look so yummy?       Oh my goshie, it was!!!

I have to tell y'all, it was delicious!!!     And I am in the search for the most fab scone recipe.      So, if y'all have a tried and true scone recipe, I would LOVE for you to share it with me.     Leave me a comment and the recipe.     If I get any recipes, I will try to make a batch of each recipe and do a blog post on each one and critique each recipe.    So, for sure, if you have a recipe, I would love to have it.

As I leave y'all this evening, I leave y'all with these beautiful words from the Song Of Solomon, Chapter 4:7   

"You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you."

Most people, when they read the book of Song of Solomon, relates the love between the two in this book, to the love that Jesus Christ has for His bride, the Church.    That's what I do too.    Although the overall book is very suggestive of a wonderful love relationship, so is the love that Christ has for His bride, the Church.    When I think of Jesus Christ speaking these words over me, it is overwhelming!      Jesus does love me with a never ending love.    Jesus does look at me as a thing of beauty.     He does call me "My love".      And He does say that there is no flaw in me.      He died for me, and rose for me, and is sitting at the right hand of Father, pleading on my behalf.     He does love me!     The reason He says there is no flaw in me, is NOT because I am flawless, but it is because He covered my flaws!      When He looks at His own, He sees perfection!  

Lord, help me to see what You see, when I look at myself and even more so, when I look at others.    When I look at others that You see in "perfection", I see their "imperfections" and flaws.   I bet I'm not the only one that see others imperfections really clearly and miss my own.     So, what I/we need to do is to ask God to help me/us see others in the same way that He sees them.    When I can see others the same way that Jesus sees them, then I know that I can love them the way He wants me too.     In human eyes, we are all flawed and come up short in a lot of ways.      But when we can see others the way Jesus sees them, Love will cover the flaws!!!      Love covers the flaws!!!     Love covers the flaws......you my friend, are loved, are flawless and altogether beautiful!!!!!

Ladybug, I know that you are staying warm and I hope to see you soon.    Sweetpea loves you!

I hope y'all enjoy the rest of the evening and remember, if you have a tried and true scone recipe, I want it.     Take care, stay warm and remember that God loves y'all and so do I.       hugs, Patty

My Journey into Bible Art

Good evening y'all!!!!!     I hope and pray that where ever y'all are tonight that you are warm and settled in for the evening.     We are expecting an arctic blast in my neck of the woods that could bring some precip in the form of snow and lots of frigid temps.    At 9:30 pm it is 19* here.    So, check on your elderly neighbors and bundle up and stay inside if at all possible.     The upper North Eastern US is being battered hard by all the snow.     I have a friend up there and she has said roofs have started to collapse.     So, while we can be thankful we won't get 7 feet of snow, we sure need to being praying for those that are being pounded over and over.    Take care my friends, and know prayers of safety are heaven bound.

One of the things that a precious sister in Christ and I have started this year is Bible Art Journaling.     We are each others cheer leader, cheering each other on to do more and more.     As I have progressed and put my pieces in my Bible, I decided I wanted to share mine with all of y'all.     Just bare in mind that mine is not all that good.     Just want to share with y'all and maybe give you ideas of how you can do your own art.      As a general rule, the art is actually done on the page.      I'm not comfortable enough yet to do mine directly on the Bible page so.....I modified it to suit my own needs.   

Here's what I do.     I got a tablet of tracing paper.     The size is 9x12 inches.      I cut the sheets down to 4.5x6 inches, giving me four small sheets from one large sheet.      It is just about as thin as a page in my bible and I use washi tape to put it on the page that the passage is from.      With it being tracing paper, if I need to get a basic shape of something, it's no problem to do that.     I have only used a prompt on one of my bible art pages.     It is the one with the lion on it.     I just got the basic shape of the face and then went from there and finished the drawing.     I may go back and re-do that one when I feel I can draw it on my own.     The lion will be in the next upload of my Bible Art.   But, anyway, I have a few I want to share with you and I hope you enjoy them.    They are a true labor of love and a piece of my heart.

On this one, I just wrote out the scripture on the full page in red and then stamped this really frilly heart and key over the writing in london fog memento ink.    I really like the way it turned out.

This is what it looks like in my Bible.    You can see the zebra striped washi tape.  Zebra stripes=By His stripes I am healed.     I tape my little pieces of tracing paper over a sheet of lined notebook paper, that makes writing in a straight line easier to do.

This is the one I done today.    A little emotional about this one.    This was the hardest one for me so far.    I was really proud of this when I got finished with it.

This is what it looks like in my Bible.

My friend had done this one and I so loved it.   This is my version of what she had done.     I love hers more than mine, but I do love mine too.    The pen is beside the page to show the size.     I really love this passage of scripture from the Message translation.       Just beautiful!!!!

What it looks like in my Bible.

I really love this one.    Are you a "whosoever"?    I sure hope so.      If not, it's not to late.

This is what it looks like in my Bible.

Well, there you have it.    This is some of the first ones I have finished.     I have about 5 more and will get them up soon.    And hope to do many more in the days, weeks, and months to come.     I hope if you haven't yet tried this, that you will give it a try.    You don't have to show it on your blog.   You don't have to show it to anyone.     It's just a way of helping soak in the Word of God.    It's not about being the best artist out there.     It's just giving what you have to God and spending time with Him while you are being creative.    Your creativity came from Him after all.     So do it, and enjoy it and let Him direct you in it.    You won't regret it.

Since today is Valentines Day, I have a special Valentine to share with all my favorite people; all of Y'all.      This is a special Valentine from God to us.     Thank you God that You "so loved" us enough to give us the best that You had to give!

There you have it.     The most special Valentine you'll ever receive from the One who loves you more than you could possibly know.      Enjoy!

That's it for the night.     I hope y'all enjoyed what you seen here.     I do love it when you leave me a note.     Take care, be safe and stay warm.

Ladybug, sweetpea loves you bunches!   Stay warm!

Good night y'all, God love's y'all and so do I!!!    hugs, Patty

Oil Painting for January

Good "cold" day y'all!!!     Sure hope y'all are as snug as a bug in a rug that's close to the fireplace today!      Gosh, it just stays cold here in my neck of the woods!!!!      It will warm up for a bit and you'll see people out in shorts and sandals one day and then the next day you'll see those same people bundled up like they are dressed for the coldest part of Alaska or something.     It makes me laugh sometimes.    I want to do "before", "after", "before", "after" and see if they could get the picture.   Oh well, I'm certainly not the fashion police or the "seasonal" fashion police.    Just an observation that I think is kinda funny.    So, as I bundle up for the day, there's no telling what I will have the honor of seeing, once I leave the warmth and comfort of my home.     But, no doubt, it won't be anything new, so...............on to something that is new and that's my Oil Painting for January.

Yup, I went to Oil Painting Class in January and it was so fun.     There was 12 there that time and it was so fun for everyone to paint and just see that all 12 were different, yet beautiful, at the same time.    It will soon be time for this months painting class.    It should be a real beauty this time.     It is really more like a "real" painting with the kind of scenery and everything.    Kinda like looking at a lovely view from the back yard into a woodsy area.    Can't wait, but till then, I'll share what we done in January.

 The pic above is our instructors pic that she used to paint her pic by as we all painted ours.      She does a step and walks us through ours.    She really has the patience of Job.    She wants everyone to be successful.     I just love her!!!

 Ok, so the above pic has the white base all over the canvas.     We just put that on and then spread it all over the whole canvas.      Going left to right and then up and down to assure an even layer.     After that we started with yellow, and she said normally we would not start with yellow like we did, but she said that we needed to get a lot of yellow down now, even more than we wanted the pic to end up with, because once we get started, we can't go back and put more yellow in because it would get muddled with other colors.    So we used two diff yellows and then we put in a bit of orange.

Next we put in some red, I believe it was red.     Blended with the other colors it looks more rosy colored, but we just streaked it in and wow, I really love it.   

We used a bit of brown also for this.    Just a bit here and there, streaked around.

Here we was done the sky and started putting our trees in.     My trees look a little like stick people trees, hahahah.

On this one, we took the fan brush that we all love using and made clusters of leaves on our trees.      Just tap, tap, tapping in the clusters; kinda makes you feel like a real artist.    hehehe

Then on this one, we tapped in more background trees and undergrowth.    Then for the most part it was finished.     She wanted everyone to put in birds made like the funky check mark, but for the life of me, I could not do it.    I could not get a good bird painted and I wasn't about to ruin my painting by putting something that didn't look very good at all on it.    I had wished I would have saved my black paint from that day, I would have practiced more when I got home.     But, if I would have, and made a mess, I would have been stuck.     So, glad I didn't.

This is the finished and framed piece.      I took the pic flat on its back and the coloration looks a little different.     It is more truer to color in the above pic than it is in this one.     Kinda wish I would have noticed that before I got it on my blog, I would have taken another pic of it.     I do love the beauty of this sunset in oil.     As a matter of fact, a few months ago I was coming home from having been out town and when I turned on my street, which is facing direct west, this is the sunset I seen.     Just absolutely beautiful with all the swirly pastel colors.     God is good!!!!!

I had said January 1st, that my theme word for the was "rejoice".      I'm still rejoicing!       Sometimes is a little harder than other times, but there is ALWAYS something to rejoice about in every day, whether you feel like it or not.      There really is.

1 Thessalonians 5:16      King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ Rejoice evermore.

Such a simple verse, isn't it?       Well, not really.      Although it is beautiful in the KJV, it is nonetheless, NOT very simple.      Paul wrote this letter to the church at Thessalonica.     He loved these people dearly.     

At the end of this letter he gave the "Instructions for Holy Living".     This is my quick gist of what Paul was telling these people.     Love each other; be at peace among themselves; encourage those not as strong in their faith; stay away from evil but follow that which is good; rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing; give thanks in all things; don't put out the fire of Holy spirit; hold no contempt for prophecies; test everything; hold on to that which is good; and avoid all appearance of evil.

Some pretty good guidelines for everyday lives, I do believe.     They hold as much truth in them today as they did the day God breathed those words thru Paul!     The two words I am focusing on is in the center of all theses is "rejoice evermore"!    Simple, right?     Well, that depends on the momentary situation I'm in, right?     Well, that depends on what side of the bed I woke up on this morning, doesn't is ?      Well, that really depends on how the religious folk treat me, right?      Oh, that really depends on what kind of day I had on the job, right?     Or, that depends on the news I got at the drs office today, doesn't it?     Oh, well, that really depends on my child's behavior at school, right?     Well, I'm really not expected to rejoice after the fender bender I just had, am I?     How in the world am I expected to rejoice over the death of someone important to me?     What about the victim of abuse, are they supposed to rejoice in that, really?     What about all the trouble that our world seems to be in right now, rejoice, really!!! 

Can you relate to any of those scenarios I mentioned?     Of course you can!     At least one or two and maybe even more.     Do you have the mindset to rejoice in and thru any of them?      This is where the rubber meets the road.     Sometimes, I just make the conscious decision, that I won't.     I'll be willing to say that you have too, at some time or the other.     We rejoice or we don't.     This is one of those things that we have to consciously think about and make ourselves do till it becomes second nature.     Till it becomes as easy as our heart beating.    Our heart beats and we don't even think about it, because we can't control it by the way we think.     So, when we get so accustomed to rejoicing without even thinking about, because it is so engrained in us that it has become a part of our spiritual dna, then we can say that we are "rejoicing evermore".    Paul wasn't saying rejoice when it's something worth rejoicing over or convenient.    NO!!!!   He said "REJOICE EVERMORE" as the KJV says.     So, even if it isn't something we would consider worth rejoicing over, do it anyway.     

Every day that you and I are blessed to have a part in is worth "rejoicing evermore" over.     If your eyes opened this morning, rejoice!      If you had the ability to get out of bed, rejoice!     If you have a job to go to, rejoice!      If you have a child, rejoice!!!     If all you have is memories of your loved one, rejoice because you have those sweet memories!     If it sounds like I'm preaching at ya', I'm not, this is just what I have to tell myself sometimes when it seems there's not a lot to rejoice over.       But.......when I look with the expectation of seeing something good and worthy of "rejoicing evermore", Oh my friend, it's always there!!!!!     Just being alive and being a part of God's plan, oh, that's something to "rejoice evermore".     Having Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior is what gives me the ability to "rejoice evermore".     If you know Him as your Lord and Savior, then you, my friend have an eternity that began the moment you accepted Him, that is also worth "rejoicing  evermore" about! 

I would ask you to be in prayer for all the sick, those with recent diagnoses of not so good stuff, those that are carrying a lot of burdens, those that have had surgery recently, and all the other stuff we know people are dealing with.     Sometimes we look at prayer as the last resort, don't we?     But I challenge us to look at prayer as the very first line of defense at our disposal any time, day or night, no busy signals, no put on hold and God is always happy to hear from us.

I hope the rest of your day is totally spectacular.     Look for the beautiful sunset where you live, see if you can see one that looks like what I painted.     I'll bet you will eventually see one just like it.    Remember to "rejoice evermore", it won't be real easy just starting out, but it will become easier.

Ladybug, I hope you are having an awesome day and I know you have been a blessing to a lot of people today.   For that, I am thankful.    Sweetpea loves you!

Always remember that God loves y'all and so do I!!!!   hugs, Patty

Couple of things to share

Hello everyone!     Hope y'all are enjoying this lovely day.    It sure is a beauty here in my neck of the woods.    It really is a keeper.    Actually, it got up to 65* today, pretty awesome.    I hope where ever y'all are that you are having a lovely day too.    My hunny has the weekend off from work, YAY!!!!    So, we are just chillin' and enjoying being in the same room.    Most of the time, at this time of the day he is getting ready for work, so we just enjoy days like today.

I have a few projects to share with y'all.    I got so far behind on stuff I wanted to share, so I am doing double and triple time just to get a lot of stuff up on here so y'all can see.    I had posted a pic of a bookmark and mentioned that I made several, but hadn't shared the pics yet and one of my pals was interested in seeing them so that is what I'm gonna share first.  

I am just so tickled with how they all turned out.   On most of these, I took a tag and tore it in half with interesting edges and inked the torn edges and then glued the top half to a tag and the bottom half to another tag and then inked the edges all around.   I had gotten a small EK Success punch at Wal Mart for about $3 and punched a bunch of crosses from scrap cardstock and used those and stamped images and used ribbon from the Dollar Tree. 

This is the one that is orange and blue inked in purple.    The orange looks more brownish in the pic but it really is orange and it has my fav verse on it, so I have latched on to this one.   One thing that I don't want to forget to tell y'all is that when I started making these tags/bookmarks, I threw all tradition out the door.   I put color with color that you would not NORMALLY put together and then used ink on the edges and none of the colors would usually go together.    So, for me, this was really freeing.    Tossing out the color wheel and just going with what I had wanted to do for soooooo long, but didn't want to break the color rules.    I just found out for myself that when we are doing what we love, "THERE ARE NO RULES!!!!"   And I love it!!!!     Look at some of color combinations.    In real life they would never go together.   

These here are all rub ons.   I picked those up at Mighty Dollar when I was up for a visit at my Mom's.   That is a great place for crafting supplies.   It's kinda like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, "You just never know what you'll find".   But I really love how those turned out too.

These here are double embossed.    I used embossing folders in my Cuttlebug and the I used my Versa Mark and Embossing Powders and heat embossed them also.   They turned out quite nice.   I may do that again.   I had wanted to try that and see how they turn out and I liked it.

These are some of my all time favs.   I just love using the sand dollar stamp and then embossing it.   These really makes me happy.

These here were two different cross dies that I used.   The top ones I cut of of patterned cardstock.  Don't know that I will do that again.    They were ok, but they were not my favs.   The two bottom ones are better, I think.   And again, that's just me.    But.....the ones on the bottom have "goosebumps" spray on them, so I really love the feel of them.   Just little shiny glossy spots on them.   For me, it makes them fun. 

The first batch of about 35 or 40 I did not photograph.   I could really smack myself silly for that.    But I won't bother, one good smack is all it would take and it's just not worth the effort!   hahaha    Anywho......this batch had about 33 or 34 in it.   It's really fun and a great way to spend time in prayer while I am making them.

I wanted to show y'all something really neat I snatched up from the Dollar Tree!   It is supposed to be for your nails, but.......hey, I know I can use it on cards, bookmarks, just anything.    The really neat thing about these little vials is that they are glass with a plastic stopper.   They are so small (click on a picture and it will bring it up larger) and cute and they can be used as a decoration once they are empty.    How neat is that?  They have all these little shapes, aren't they cute?    They have chunky glitter that is really great and they have a fine glitter, plus micro beads.    They all come in these little vials and they are sooooo great.    Don't tell anyone, but I have a collection of 32 now.   hehehe   I love 'em and I bet y'all will too.

As you can imagine, the little pieces are really tiny, so I have these tools that I will use to apply the tiny little bits.    One of them is the Silhouette tool that can be gotten at Joanns and the other is a Quick Kuts product.   They are the same thing, exactly.   One has green sticky and the other one has white sticky.   Very valuable tools for working with these tiny little things.   Also very helpful for arthritic hands.   Anyway, next time you are in your Dollar Tree, look for these little vials of goodness, they are so great.   I'm gonna go back and see what all the shapes and colors are.   They had several racks of them.

Anyway, this is just a "partial piece" or a little bit of a little bit of what I have for y'all, but I'll try not to burn y'all out in one setting.    Besides, if I post everything all at once, I might run out of stuff to show.   I have some weather shots to show soon and that's what I was gonna actually show you today, but I'll show them later.   Maybe this summer when it's so sweltering hot and we are wishing for something cooler and I can share them to cool us down.   gggg   Oh well, it's all good, whenever we get to 'em.

I pray that y'all will have a great rest of the evening.    Don't forget to thank God for the day.    No matter what your day looked like, God was in it and has gotten you thus far.   I was at Wal Mart just a bit ago and was checking out and I ask the young lady how she was doing.   "Ummm, I've had better days", she said.   I said, "In the name of Jesus, it just got better".   The smile on her face was priceless.   She said, "It did, it just got better".    That's what Jesus does, that's what Jesus does.  

Anyway, it has been fun getting this together to share with y'all and I hope you have enjoyed it.    See you back here real soon with some more good stuff and probably more bookmarks.   gggg

Ladybug, can't wait to see you soon.   Sweetpea love you lots!   

 Always remember, God loves y'all so do I!!!   hugs, Patty