A Beautiful Scripture Verse

I had been looking at this stamp for months, at Agape Gifts, and I finally bought it. I love this scripture. If more people took the hidden advice, there would be a lot less nonsense said and more that benefits and encourages others. The DP paper I used is Basic Grey's Ambrosia Paper.

I just ordered my daughter's High School graduation announcements. It is hard to believe that she is 18 and getting ready to go to college. The front of the announcement has a 3 x 5 of her senior picture, and in an oval overlayed on the corner of her picture is a photo of when she was 4 years old. Boy has she grown. This is the picture of her. We were up on the mountains, during the summer and she and her brother were picking weeds and flowers.

Love Ya Bunches

I got this Changito stamp from my sister for my birthday last year, so I made a card for her. It is a 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 card, which is quickly becoming my favorite size for a card. The background color is Certainly Celery cardstock. The polka dot DP is American Crafts, & the other DP is something I picked up at Michael's. I stamped the monkies on Whisper White & used a Martha Stewart border punch on Whisper White. I used 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon in the colors of Whisper White, Certainly Celery & Rose. The brads are white, Certainly Celery & Pretty in Pink.

Loving Your Husbands

I just got back from our Tuesday morning, Ladies' Bible Study. We have been going through Elizabeth George's book, A Woman's High Calling. The focus is on Titus 2:3-5. Today, we looked at God's admonition to the Older Women to teach the younger women how to love their husbands. It 's interesting that He would say that, because we all think that we just naturally know how to love our husbands. Apparently, that is not the case, because God says that we need to learn how to do it. Another interesting part is that the phrase "love their husbands" is not talking about an emotion or feeling. This phrase is comes from the Greek word, philandros, which means friendship, companion, being a friend and companion to our husband.

We are called to be our husband's friend and companion, and this is regardless of whether our husband is lovable, kind, spiritual, etc. It is made more palatable (or easier) when we remember that the Bible says that Christ set His affection on us and saved us when we were unloveable and unloving. Romans 5:8 says, "God showed His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 1 Peter 3:18 says, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God...." If God could set His affection on us nasty sinners, who am I to say that I can not be a friend & companion to my husband and set my affection on us.

There was a lot more to the study than that, but that's just a synopsis. The next time we meet (we're off for the week of Thanksgiving) we are going to discuss practical ways that we can "love" our husbands, starting with prayer.

Well, I'm headed to Orlando soon to pick up my mom from the airport. Pray that we have a great time of fellowship.

May the Lord be with you & richly bless you!

Lisa

"Walk in Him"

Hi, I am taking a break from housecleaning to make this post. The Lord has blessed me today with the ability to get many things done. I actually made everyone pancakes this morning, before they went to school. After 19 years of marriage, I am finally making breadfast about 4 days a week, relying on cereal. After everyone left, I cleaned up the kitchen, started the laundry, & sat down to pray and read. I read in James 1, where it talks about having joy in the midst of trials and praying for wisdom to walk through the trials victoriously. I also read in Psalms & then had a good time in prayer. Afterwards, I dusted upstairs & picked up the kids' "clean" rooms. They are required to make their beds & pick up their rooms before they go to school, but their idea of clean & mine don't always match. Next, I made the bed in the spare bedroom & cleaned the corresponding bathroom (my mom is coming tomorrow to stay for about a week). I took a break from that to photograph the two cards I made this weekend, of which I am posting one right now. Then I went back to my housework. I decided to take a break from that to post this update & card.

I had the idea for this card Saturday night, but I didn't have the paper. So, Sunday after church I went to Michaels & got the paper & ribbon. Unfortunately, Michaels & JoAnn Fabrics is the best we have here. I so wish we had a Hobby Lobby. I was unable to photograph the card very well, but that is the story of my life. It is one of the many ways God tries to keep me humble. I say try, because I am afraid I still have a long way to go. Anyways, I love the verse from Colossians 2 that is pictured on the card. The recipe for the card is below.

Cardstock: Christmas Red & Tan cardstock (from Michaels). Ink: Basic Black, Really Red, Versa Mark, Clearly Cocoa, Summer Sun. Accessories: Always Artichoke Brads, Antique Brads, Nestabilities, Red & Tan Grosgrain Ribbon, Martha Stewart Scallop Punch. Stamps: Inkadinkado Bird, Clear Dollar Stamps Bible Verses, Refuge & Strength.

Warm Friendship

Hi there!

This is a card I made a couple of weeks ago. I have been playing around with a new color (for me) called Really Rust, by SU. The base of the card is this color & it is accented with Old Olive, Navy & SU Designer Paper. The stamp I used is from one of Inkadinkado's clear stamp sets. A word of warning, there's a lot of break-in for those stamps. When new, you need to get a good eraser & erase the stamps quite a bit to break them in. Otherwise, they do not stamp very well. I hope you like the card!

A Long Time Gone

It's been a long time since I posted anything. The Lord has been putting us through many trials lately that have really tested our faith. That, coupled with the business of life & studying for my Ladies' Bible Study, has kept me pretty busy. I have been going through the book of Hebrews in my personal study & have been spending much time in Hebrews 12. It is a wonderful passage of encouragement & hope for those who are being tested. It reminds us that God disciplines (either as chastisement or the kind of discipline that an athlete goes through to become the best-training) those that He loves, and that if you never experience chastisement or trials in your life, you are not a child of God. We are then reminded that "All discipline for the moment seems not be joyvul, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12:11

This is such a message of hope and encouragement. He then tells us to "strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble". This can only be done through prayer and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. If we are lacking wisdom in these trials, we are told in James 1;5-8 to ask for it and God will grant it. This wisdom is for decision-making, but it is also the wisdom to go through the trial with joy (James 1:-4), patience, endurance and thankfulness, looking to the hope that is laid up for us in heaven.

The trials that we have been going through have been lengthy & rough at times, but I am trusting that God will bring us through with a more mature faith and a deeper love for Christ than when we started.

I hope that this is encouraging to any who may also be going through tough times.

Because of the Love of Jesus Christ,

Lisa