WOYWW: Blessed are the Poor

Last night I was frantically painting

backgrounds on bookpaper

layered with gesso.

Running out of backgrounds!

"Blessed are you who are poor,

for the kingdom of God is yours." Luke 6:20

In another gospel, Jesus said,

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for the kingdom of God is yours."

This is kind of a difficult passage 

with many interpretations.

I guess it's because we tend to pick and choose

what we want to hear.

I think Jesus meant that we have 

to be poor in spirit, dependent on Him,

empty of ourselves,

before we can have the kingdom 

come into our lives.

You can't fill a bottle which

is already full of water or wine.

But I think this is also about being

really poor, wanting, needing...

when you are poor, you are not content with

the state your life is, and you are

ready to cling to God.

Unlike someone like the rich, young man

in the Bible who was already 

contented with what he had

and did not want to give up

anything for God.

I hope I will never be content with my

life as it is.

I hope I will always be eager to 

do what I can for others.

I think of our prison ministry and how

even though we were the most unlikely

people to serve in the QC Jail,

God "equipped" and provided for us.

What we must remember is

GOD EQUIPS THE CALLED.

Our part is just to trust and obey.

We are all earthen vessels, cracked pots.

The treasure is inside and it is the cracks

in us that lets the treasure shine out.

What is He calling you to do?

What is He equipping you to do?

Our job is to do it to the best of our ability

and leave the results to God.

This is what I came up with

for the first week of the

MADE ecourse.

Anna Tapp asked us to do a page:

"What does safety look like to you?"

Every week I choose one wonderful visitor

who leaves a comment

to receive an ATC from me.

I know it takes so much time and effort

to leave a comment

and I appreciate it soooo much!

This week,

Random.org chose

 #24, Nikki of Graphix and Designs.

Check out her Halloween giveaway!

Previous Posts

Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 

peek at desks and projects!

 

I love blog parties!

Won't you join us?

Sometimes I put on my best pajamas 

and party here:
Count Your Blessings

Laura at the Wellspring, Word Art Wednesday, 

Whatever You Want Wednesday
Winsome Wednesdays, Wednesday's Word

What's It Wednesdays, Unite, WholeHearted Home,
 Rubie Tuesday Link Up, Be Inspired

True Vine Challenge, 
What We Accomplished, Wow Us Wednesdays

Thoughtful Thursday,  Hearts4Home Thursdays

Thought Provoking Thursday

Thriving Thursdays with Serving Joyfully
Thursday Favorites, Desire to Inspire

Creative Things

Blessings!

Patsy

Posted with Blogsy

The Sign of Jonah

Sometimes life is like this.

A jumble.

A mess.

We need to make sense of it.

From the jumble of images, experiences,

challenges that God allows in our life,

we can "pull" meaning, inspiration, encouragement.

We can also "pull" negativity and discouragement.

Jesus was asked by scribes and 

Pharisees for a sign in Matthew 12. 

Jesus answered that he would give no sign

except the sign of Jonah the prophet.

"Just as Jonah was in the belly 

of the whale three days and three nights,

so will the Son of Man be in the heart 

of the earth three days and three nights."

Sometimes we do not understand 

the signs that God gives us.

Our job is to trust Him!

I truly appreciate your visits and comments.

Although I try my best to return your visits,

between family life, work and commitments

to my Christian community,

it's just not possible! 

As a thank you to all of you wonderful people 

who take the time and effort to leave a comment,

I pick one of you every week to receive an ATC

from me or a postcard of one of my paintings.

The RNG picked Jennifer Carter this morning.

I'll be emailing her so she can choose 

from one of the ATCs above 

or the postcard of my canvas.

I love blog parties!

Won't you join us?

On Your Heart Tuesdays,

 

and

Blessings,

Patsy

Older Posts

Tell me whom you love...

This is one of my favorite romantic stories...

John Blanchard stood up from the bench,

straightened his Army uniform,and studied the

crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station.

He looked for the girl whose heart he knew,

but whoseface he didn't.

His interest in her begun

thirteen months before in a Florida library.

Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued,

not with the words of the book,

but with the notes penciled in the margin.

The soft handwriting reflected a

thoughtful soul and insightful mind.

In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name,

Miss Hollis Maynell.

With time and effort he located her address.

He lived in New York City and he wrote her a letter

introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.

The next day he was shipped overseas for service in W.W.II.

During the next year and one-month the two grew

to know each other through the mail.

Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart.

A romance was building.

Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused.

She felt that if he really cared,

it wouldn't matter what she looked like.

When the day finally came for him to return from Europe,

they scheduled their first meeting -

7:00 at the Grand Central Station in New York.

"You'll recognize me," she wrote,

"by the red rose l'll be wearing on my lapel."

So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl

whose heart he loved,

but whose face he'd never seen.

I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened:

A young woman was coming toward me,

her figure long and slim.

Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears;

her eyes as blue as flowers.

Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness,

and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive.

I started toward her,

entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose.

As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips.

"Going my way, sailor?" she murmured.

Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her,

and then I saw Hollis Maypole.

She was standing directly, almost directly behind the girl.

A woman well past 40, she had graying hair

tucked under a worn hat.

She was more than plump,

her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes.

The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.

I felt as though I was split in two,

so keen was my desire to follow her

and yet so deep was my longing

for the woman whose spirit had

truly companioned me and upheld my own.

And there she stood.

Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible.

Her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle.

I did not hesitate.

My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy

of the book that was to identify me to her.

This would not be love, but it would be something precious,

something perhaps even better than love,

a friendship for which I had been and must ever been grateful.

I squared my shoulders and saluted

and held out the book to the woman,

even though while I spoke I felt choked by the

bitterness of my disappointment.

"I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell.

I am so glad you could meet me.

May I take you to dinner?"

The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile.

"I don't know what this is about, son," she answered,

"but the young lady in the green suit who just went by,

she begged me to wear this rose on my coat.

And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner,

I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you

in the big restaurant across the street.

She said it was some kind of test!"

It's not difficult to understand

and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom.

The true nature of a heart is seen in

its response to unattractiveness.

"Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote,

"and I will tell you who you are."