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Friday, August 29, 2014

Paint Party Friday: Legacy of Faith

Here is how I started my painting for today.

"O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim
Your wondrous deeds." Psalm 71:17

Thank you Lord for the legacy of faith
my mother left me.
More than anything she bequeathed,
our business or any material thing,
the most precious was how important
God was to her.

Even when she was very weak, she would
still insist on going to daily mass at 6 am,
and afterwards go to the
Adoration chapel.
I remember having to hold her 
for fear she would fall.
I was the one who had to give up
saying, "Mommy, I don't think you should 
go to mass anymore. 
We BOTH might fall down!"

Her iPad was filled with praise songs and 
bible verses she would listen to almost the whole day.

Yes, my siblings and I were very blessed
to have a mom who taught us about 
God and His love for us, from when we were young.
She didn't teach us to say memorized prayers
but taught us to just talk to God.
And I would talk to God about 
a lost ball pen (that I would find)
and other little things that showed me
that God was real and was watching over me.
God taught me that He was love
and that love surrounded me.

So I try to do the same for my son.
A home should be a little bit of heaven
here on earth.
The principles of God's Word
should dominate the way a family lives.
Children observe parents all the time
and listen to us, and observe the way we 
relate to others.
Being an example is the most effective
way to teach!

 "You are not lacking in any spiritual gift." 
1 Cor. 1:7

In God's perfect plan, we would all know 
and recognize the many gifts He has given us. 
We would partner with Him to develop and grow 
these gifts to build His church here on earth.

Perhaps we can start with asking God 
to make clear what gifts we have, 
or what OTHER gifts we have. 
Or perhaps we can serve or volunteer 
to see what we are good at, 
what we enjoy doing. 
We can also talk to others 
who can see more clearly than we can, 
where our particular capabilities lie. 

1 Corinthians 12:1 reads, 
"I do not want you to be
 ignorant about your spiritual gifts!" 
We are all made with a divine design 
and we can become aware of what God made us to do, 
by discovering our gifts and talents. 
It can be an exciting adventure!

Home
 
Linking with
So many WONDERFUL blogfriends 
to discover here!
and
Thank you for dropping by!
You are appreciated!
Patsy


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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

WOYWW: What ME, a Role Model??

I got back from a trip to 
Oslob and Cebu City,
and here is what my desk looks like-
On the right is a box of art materials which
I brought along. It's got my paints, brushes,
everything I need to paint in the morning.
All except my colored pencils,
which I forgot to pack!

I painted every morning,
and if you'd like to see what I came up with
beside the bathroom sink (!!)
you can visit my Instagram posts.
 
 "We wanted to present ourselves
as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us."
2 Thess. 3:9

It's scary to be a role model,
but the truth is we are ALL models to others
whether we like it or not.
It is said that the Christian's life
is the world's bible,
and we have to be careful about what we do
and what we say.

I recently saw a glaring example of this.
A really cute little boy was imitating
what his grandfather usually did.
He put up his hand as if to drink.
This is what he sees often, his grandfather
imbibing alcohol with friends.
My guess is he sees this as fun
and can't wait to do it himself!

Gandhi once said:
"If Christians would really live
 according to the teachings of Christ, 
as found in the Bible, 
all of India would be Christian today."

 We can either be the influenced 
or the influencer.
We should look for good role models to 
pattern our life upon.
And we should in turn be good role models
to influence others for the better.

My husband Luigi remembers
that he was quite impressed with his classmate
who did not copy during tests.
Peter became a fast friend
and Luigi followed him into the 
Christian covenant community
we belong to today.

How wonderful to be like Saint Paul
and be brave enough to say,
"Imitate me!" as we imitate Christ!

"Cleanse first the inside of the cup..." Matthew 23:26
Catholics have bible readings for each day. 
I appreciate this because you can't pick and choose 
your favorite readings to pray about and meditate on. 
Today's particularly unpleasant reading 
is when Jesus accused the Pharisees for being hypocrites.
 The word hypocrisy comes from a Greek word 
meaning play acting or dissembling. 
If one was called a hypocrite it meant 
you had a counterfeit persona!
The Pharisees studied their scriptures 
and followed the law scrupulously. 
 The word Pharisee comes from 
Hebrew meaning "separate". 
They wanted to be a people set apart for God, holy.
Many of us can be like them 
and not even know it! 
I can never forget when a supplier said to me, 
"You weren't a Christian then, were you?" 
Yikes! I WAS a Christian, a follower of Jesus, 
but I obviously didn't act like one! 
I was probably mean to him, 
bad tempered, too busy to be kind!
It's good to examine ourselves now and then 
and see ourselves through Jesus' eyes. 
 Evaluate how we are growing in love, 
generosity, patience, forgiveness, etc. 
And then knowing we fall short of perfection, 
go to Jesus to be washed in His blood. 
Jesus ALWAYS welcomes us 
like a prodigal son or daughter!
 



Blessings!
Patsy
 


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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

WOYWW: FEARLESS!

 From this picture...
to this!
I needed to draw Jesus as the Good Shepherd,
and I replaced the lady with a sheep.
 After all, we are all sheep!

  If we would like to be FEARLESS
then we would have to meditate, chew on,
read again and again and yet again, Psalm 23.

How can we fear anything at all,
if we know, absolutely know
from the bottom of our being
that the Creator of the Universe has our back?

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall NOT want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: 
he LEADETH me beside the still waters.
He RESTORETH my soul: 
he leadeth me in the paths of 
righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea,THOUGH  I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, 
I will FEAR NO EVIL: 
for thou art WITH me; 
thy rod and thy staff they COMFORT me.
Thou PREPAREST a table before me 
in the presence of mine enemies: 
thou ANOINTEST my head with oil; 
my cup RUNNETH OVER.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 
ALL the days of my life: 
and I will DWELL in the house of the Lord for ever."

 "It is easier for a camel to pass through 
the eye of the needle than for one who is rich 
to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24

There is an urban legend (which I wish were true) 
that this is about a small gate in Jerusalem 
called the "Needle's Eye" at the time of Jesus. 
It is so small that if a man on a camel 
were to pass through, 
he would have to get down, 
remove all the baggage from the camel 
and drag the camel through, 
kneeling on its haunches. 
So for a rich man to enter heaven, 
he would have to divest himself of his earthly goods, 
and kneel humbly before God.
But there is no such gate in Jerusalem 
in Jesus' time and so Jesus did not mean this.

He literally meant it was impossible 
for a rich man to get to heaven on his own merit. 
Wealth was a sign of God's favor in Jesus' time, 
and even today. 
So the disciples were astonished, bewildered, 
exceedingly amazed, dumbfounded, 
when Jesus flat out said that the wealthy had 
no chance, zilch, of going to heaven. 
"So who can be saved?" they asked.

Jesus then says it is impossible for men.
 It is not only impossible for the rich, 
but also for the poor. It is impossible for any one. 
Because we would have to give up not only our wealth, 
but also our children, our parents, our spouses, 
our lands, our work. Everything. 
We would have to put God first.

But Jesus does not leave us without hope. 
He said- "With God ALL things are possible." 
 In Ephesians 2:8 we read, "For by grace you 
have been saved through faith. 
And this not of your own doing, 
it is the GIFT OF GOD!" 
Whew!!!! See you in heaven!



Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 
peek at desks and projects!
 
and 
Linking with

I find a lot of inspiration


http://withlove-simplybeth.blogspot.com/ 

Blessings!
Patsy

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