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Wednesday, December 17, 2014

WOYWW: Who are They?

 I had all these scrap paper that was piling up,
so I decided to paste them on bookpaper.
After I will put wall putty on them, and
paint them and use them as backgrounds.
Wish I had more time to do this!!!

 "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ..." Matthew 1:1-17
I don't know how many times I've skipped this first part of Matthew. It's at the very start, and already is boring! All those names! But when you consider ALL THOSE NAMES, it's actually very good news! There are men and women there who, if I chose my family tree, I wouldn't want them! But God chose them!
There's Rahab the prostitute, Tamar who slept with her father-in-law, Abraham who lied, Terah who was an idolater. We all know about King David, who although he was a man after God's own heart, and was Israel's greatest king, was a murderer and committed adultery! Then there's Manasseh who became king at 12 years old and reigned as an evil king for 55 years ! And who were Azor, Zadok and Eliakim? Who in the world are they?

 So why are all these sinners and nobodies good news to us? Just as they were chosen by God to be part of His family, so are we chosen by God to be part of His family! God chose these imperfect people, imperfect vessels, to bring His light and grace to a dysfunctional world!
Thank you Lord for choosing me, a nobody, a sinner, yet You chose me! Thank you for making me part of Your family, for showing me I am important in Your plan, that I have a place in Your Kingdom! May I bring light and grace to my corner of the world!

 "He changed his mind and went." Matthew 21:29
Today's Gospel story is about a father and his two sons. The father went to the first and asked him to go out and work in their vineyard, but the son said no. After a while, the son changed his mind and went off to work. The father also asked the second son and this son did the opposite. He said yes right away but did not appear for work.
I started working in our family business when I was 11 years old. Sometimes my siblings and I hated having to work and we called it Siberia. It did feel like indentured slavery especially compared to my classmates who were playing all the time during vacation. But once my mom asked us whether we wanted the business to continue. We all agreed that yes, we liked the business and wanted to go on. After all, sometimes we did have fun, working together as a family.

I got reminded of this because of the first son. Although he didn't want to work, he thought better of it, and went to the vineyard. Sometimes being a Christian is hard. Too many rules. Too much giving of your time, money and whatever you have. Can't do this, can't do that. No easy way out. But then I think of what I get in return. Blessings. Fulfillment. Guidance. Love overflowing. Grace filled relationships. A clear conscience. A good night's rest. The list goes on. But the best part is the retirement plan that is OUT OF THIS WORLD! I get excited just thinking about it! I wouldn't exchange my life for anything this world has to offer!


I thank God He called me to work in His vineyard, the same way I thank my parents for training me when I was young, to work hard. To appreciate what I have. Life is a series of decisions. But when we make the wrong one, there's always God calling us back. Waiting for us just like the Father in the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. We can always change our mind and turn back and go to Him.
Lord, thank You for calling me to be with You in Your vineyard. Help me always to appreciate the place I have beside You. And please always call me back when I stray, if even my eyes stray to another vineyard!



Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 
peek at desks and projects!
I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:




Blessings!
Patsy

23 comments:

  1. Beautiful paintings you've created :) hugs Nikki

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  2. Thanks for a lovely post again this week, Patsy. I'm doing a BS on Matthew and finding it fascinating. I'm with you - I might not be wealthy materially, but I wouldn't swap my blessed life for anything! Hugs, Chris # 8

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  3. Look at all this paints and colours on those pages on your desk?!! So pleased your doing something with them. Lovely pictures too :)
    Georgie 35

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  4. Lovely paintings as ever, Patsy! I do love the way you create them from the background forward.
    Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and all the best for a wonderful blogging 2015!
    Hugs, LLJ 20 xx

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  5. Yesterday I read a post about when our mess ups become our ministry. You reminded me today that's what God has in mind with our imperfect selves. Thanks for linking up with #ThreeWordWednesday.

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  6. I have never tried using the putty - but I love the idea of that technique! All your work here is gorgeous. And I agree...those names are very important to all of us. Happy WOYWW! Sandy Leigh #41

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  7. Beautiful paintings! Thank you for sharing you art with us. Happy WOYWW. #25

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  8. What a wonderful weaving of words and images. Your reflections on Scripture are inspiring and full of joy.

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  9. I love your art and look forward to reading your reflections every week. Yes, we are blessed.
    Have a good week,
    Lisca#18

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  10. You never know what is going to be the inspiration of the day. Thanks for sharing

    Pat #49

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  11. Wow! 'Amazing' is the only word I can think of to describe!

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  12. I really like that you're using up all of your scraps, especially when you turn them into such amazing artwork. Socks are not too difficult, I was making plain square wash cloths and went from that to socks! The first couple of pairs were not so good, but like everything, the more you do the better you become. Have a wonderful Christmas.

    Hugs
    Brenda 38

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  13. I'm really late getting round to all my blogging friends today...it's been one of those days :-)
    Thanks for calling by on me earlier. Love your paintings this week.
    Hugs,
    Annie x #21

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  14. I've been thinking about you, your sister and your families, hoping you all are safe and out of harms way. The Phillipines really got hit hard, from what I see on t.v.

    I always enjoy reading your posts and seeing how your art reveals itself. The genealogy book sounds interesting.

    Happy WOYWW
    Peace, Kay (43)

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  15. Great way to use up scrap paper Patsy and I love your paintings. Happy WOYWW :o) Annie C #28

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  16. What a beautiful message for us today, Patsy, and how well you've interpreted it in art, as usual! That passage at the beginning of Matthew is so important - the legal pedigree of the Messiah! I know a Jewish man who was converted just by reading that. God can use even those passages we might at first describe as boring! I so agree with you, it gives us hope to see so many sinners gathered together in one family tree!

    Love the papers you are creating, too. I love making backgrounds and now have a whole folder of them. My problem is using them!

    Happy WOYWW,
    Shoshi #52

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  17. I love how you use toss-away papers and make them into art. It reminds me of how the Lord takes our mistakes and makes them into life art.

    Beautiful paintings, as always.
    Hugs,
    Teresa

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  18. Praise God that he came to save us sinners! Thank you for your insights into the genealogies. I always try to remember these were real people, not just names on a page.

    As always your artwork is inspirational and brings out the truths of scripture.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and for the nice comments. :-)

    Happy creating and happy woyww,

    Sandy #30

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  19. Merry Christmas Patsy, thanks for visiting my blog this week.
    What a great post and painting you have for us this week.

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  20. Creative works ~ delightful!

    Happy Holidays,
    artmusedog and carol

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  21. Beautiful post Patsy we are indeed privileged to work in our Father's vineyard and may we truly shine for Him in all we say and do.. thanks for the belssign fo the word each week.
    Happy WOYWW and every blessing of the CHRISTmas season. Shaz in Oz.x #4

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  22. Hi Patsy, thanks for visiting and sorry they weren't pencils! I have pencils, I will have to get them out for you sometime. I love how you used scraps to end up with your brilliant backgrounds.

    Have a wonderful Christmas.
    Cazzy x

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  23. Hi Patsy...These projects are really awesome...Each color combination and lay-out are perfectly execute...Love them! Thanks a lot for joining our Challenge last week at Word Art Wednesday. There's still time to enter more projects in this week's Challenge so, I hope you come back and join us again. Want to share God's Word with you found in Psalm 27:14 which says, "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." A Blessed and Happy New Year to you!

    JO ANN
    http://jatterburycreations.blogspot.com

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I am so glad you dropped by! You are a blessing!
:^) Patsy