The Visitation

Today I read about Mary's visit
to Elizabeth in Ain Karim
(or in Hebrew, Ein Kerem).

You can read all about it in Luke 1:39-56.
But it is best to read from the beginning
of the first chapter of Luke.

The interesting parts for me are
that John the Baptist was filled with
the Holy Spirit even before he was born (v. 15).
When his mother, Elizabeth,
heard Mary's greeting,
even if he was still in the womb,
he leaped in her womb!
Both Elizabeth and John the baby Baptist
were filled with the Spirit!
He recognized Jesus!

The Visitation by Brigid Marlin

How wonderful that Mary
was such a kindred spirit to Elizabeth
that she hastened to tell her the amazing news!
"While this meeting between Mary and Elizabeth
is unique, there is something here
that we can all experience.
As baptized believers, each of us is capable
of bearing Christ to others.
If our eyes were opened to this truth,
we too would rejoice and be humbled
in the presence of so holy a vessel
as a sister or brother in Christ.

"Even nonbelievers would move us to
great reverence because they too are created
in God's image and have just as much potential
of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
If God has so honored human beings this way,
how could we fail to show them equal honor?"
Word Among Us
May our eyes be open,
may our spirit be sensitive
to all who bring Christ's love
and words and teachings to us.
May we not fall into the trap of thinking
that it has to be a godly person,
or someone we look up to and respect.
It may be a child, a beggar,
a prisoner, a telemarketer,
or even a beauty queen!
Patricia DiBella collage

May we recognize Jesus
when He passes by us,
when He lingers beside us,
or gives us a phone call!

Linking to Spiritual Sunday ,
and Graceful for Hear it on Sunday,
Use it on Monday, and
Soli Deo Gloria.

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday

Here's my desk for your perusing.
It's very crowded as I have a small desk.
One canvas is on top of another.
This is the canvas on top.
It's still a long way from done.
This is the canvas at the bottom.
Did some experimenting with
undertones for the skin
and I'm afraid I just made her look
like she had a rash or something.
I need a LOT of practice!
This is the 3rd canvas,
also a work in progress.
It didn't fit on top of the table and
is lying on top of a magazine,
on top of a box of crochet thread,
which is balancing on top of goodness knows what!

Because there was no space on my desk,
I had to do my journal on my lap.
I was reading about St. Paul,
and how the Jews in Antioch
were so enraged at his preaching,
that they stoned him and
dragged him out of the city
thinking he was dead.
The very next day, he was out
preaching again!!
Now, how does a man do that,
where does he get his fire,
his passion, his conviction?

In Corinthians, St. Paul claims,
"I am what I am what I am
by the grace of God."

And we are what we are
by the grace of God too!

Visit the amiable Julia of Stamping Ground
for more desks and ongoing projects.

Sing!

Sing a new song to the Lord!
Psalm 98:1

Why sing?
Why not just talk to God?

When we are happy, isn't there a
tendency to sing and even dance?
When we are sad, do we not want to lament?
When there is feeling, passion, life,
there is a song that comes out of our heart,
our spirit.

"My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour."
When we lift our voices to God in joy,
we are drawn closer to Him.


Sing when there is reason to sing.
Sing when there is none,
but I find there always is!
How many times have I felt
miserable, hopeless or dejected,
only to sing, hesitantly and rebelliously at first,
and then genuine joy and gratefulness
take over.
"Why should we sing?
Because singing engages our hearts
and emotions as well as our minds,
and God cares about the whole person,
emotions included.
He wants to breathe life into our spirits
and minds and bodies.
Singing offers him entry into
our whole being in a way
that ordinary speech doesn't.
and if we have difficulty opening
our hearts,
singing can open the pathway
for His Spirit to move in us."
(Word Among Us)

Linking to Spiritual Sunday ,
and Graceful for Hear it on Sunday,
Use it on Monday, and
Soli Deo Gloria.

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday

After a wonderful experience
at the art fair during the weekend,
(see my previous post if you're interested)
I started on 4 canvases.

This one is a small simple collage of flowers.
This is going to be,
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
And this is an experiment.
In the new issue of Cloth, Paper and Scissors,
there's a tutorial on how to make faces with a lot of
shading and undertones.

The fourth one is on an easel and
I forgot to take a picture of it.
Anyway it's just a background as of now.
And this is a postcard I finished for a friend.
She requested postcards for her birthday.

Visit the amiable Julia of Stamping Ground for more
desks and ongoing projects.
I hope Blogger will be more cooperative this week.
I was not able to comment on many
blogs last week!

Arts and Crafts Fair

I joined my first ever arts and crafts fair
this weekend
and am ecstatic that I sold 3 paintings
on Saturday morning.

The first one that got sold was "Prayers".

When I was making this I thought
the woman was Mother Mary.
She wasn't. As I was finishing her dress,
the first piece of paper I picked up
was a reading about the
woman who was sick and
touched the hem of Jesus' garment.
This is what I used for her dress.
So I knew who the lady was,
and that the flowers were her prayers
reaching up to heaven.

When I told this story to Cathy,
this tall and thin lady selling
interesting jewelry at the fair,
she said she wanted to buy it
because that story in the Bible
meant something to her.
I was so pleased.
Even if I was sleepy and tired,
I knew I just had to finish it Friday night...
and now I know why.
It was for Cathy!

And here is the husband of the lady
who bought "Bloom".
This is the first time I saw someone
fall in love with my painting
the minute she saw it.
She just kept coming back to it,
till finally she asked how much it was,
and then said she wanted to buy it.

I told her that it was all about pruning,
and how we bloom with God's pruning.

How wonderful to create something
that gives others pleasure!
It made me so happy,
and I knew God was telling me
to use my gift.

Sharing this on Paint Party Friday and
Creative Friday.

What's on my Workdesk Wednesday

This is what's on my desk this morning.
A mixed media piece
on a wall puttied canvas.
The flowers are of paper and fabric.
There is some sewing on it and on the stems.
Have not decided what to do with the veil.

I have been working overtime
as my brother and his friends
organized an Arts and Crafts Fair
and my sister and I are going to rent a table.

I finished my other canvas
and will be selling it at the Fair.
I'm rather conflicted about selling this
and have no idea how to price it!
See more desks and projects at
What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday,
hosted by the very amiable Julia.

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday

Here is my desk early this morning.
I am doing my prayer journal.

Here is a close up of the page I did.
"I will bless the Lord at all times!
His praise will always be on my lips!"
from Psalm 34.

I always try to live with a
grateful and thankful heart.
Sometimes it is not so easy,
but with practice,
with visual reminders,
I am sure it will become a habit.

See more desks and projects at
What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday,
hosted by the very amiable Julia.

Blessed are they who Believe

"Blessed are they who have not seen
and have believed." John 20:29

Jesus is talking about us here!
We have not seen Him
walking, and preaching, and eating
like the disciples did.
We have not seen Him doing miracles
and healing the sick.
We did not put our finger to His side
and His hands.
And yet, we believe.

Today is the beatification of
Pope John Paul II.
In his first homily as Pope,
he said:
"Do not be afraid to welcome Christ
and accept His power...
Open wide the doors for Christ...
Christ knows what is in man.
He alone knows it.
So often today man does not know
what is within him,
in the depths of his mind and heart.
So often he is uncertain
about the meaning of his life on earth.
He is assailed by doubt,
a doubt which turns to despair.
We ask you therefore,
we beg you with humility and trust,
let Christ speak to man.
He alone has words of life,
yes, eternal life."

We have not seen Jesus,
but we have witnessed the power
of His Spirit and His Word.
We are indeed blessed.

The last blogpost David Wilkerson
wrote before he died
was about this same verse.

He wrote, "Blessed are those who believe
when there is no evidence
of an answer to prayer—
who trust beyond hope when all means have failed.
Beloved, God has never failed to act
but in goodness and love.
When all means fail—his love prevails.
Hold fast to your faith.
Stand fast in his Word.
There is no other hope in this world."

David Wilkerson was a Christian evangelist
best known for his amazing book,
The Cross and the Switchblade.

Linking to Spiritual Sunday ,
and Graceful for Hear it on Sunday,
Use it on Monday.

If I Knew I Could, I Would....

Here's 5 minutes worth of writing
for Gypsy Mama's prompt:
If I Knew I Could, I Would...

I would write a book,
and illustrate it.
A book with no rules,
more like a journal,
sketchbook, recipe book....

Oops, I don't cook, so more like
recipes for life.
Promises from the Bible,
Words to Live By,
stories about happy marriages,
and bringing up children
in this changing world.

It would be full of collages
and mixed media art,
with positive messages,
and encouraging and inspiring
quotations.

It would have tutorials for easy to do
projects to make things
to brighten up the home,
or whatever space you have.

And yes, maybe even if I don't cook,
I can come up with a recipe or 2.
After all, If I thought I could, I would!

One day!!!!

WOYWW: SCRAPbooking

I am facilitating a
"Scrap"booking workshop this weekend.
Now don't go thinking I'm an expert!
It's a free workshop, and it's for the

women and children in our Christian community.
So I have been looking through my many scrapbooks
for examples I can show.
I do not use expensive materials,
and do not buy scrapbooking embellishments.
I use mainly magazine pages,
and drawings of my son!

This was taken in Thailand.
Angeli the monkey was quite memorable!

This was taken in Schenzen.
Our tour guide was annoying and told us lies.
My parents were covering their ears
because she talked nonstop.
The drawing is of my father when he was so bored
during one of the many stops at tourist traps.
The background leaf is a magazine page.
The frame is made by drawing
by marker on a cardboard,
putting glue and sprinkling sand on the glue.
We had a drawing session one New Year's Day.
I like putting hands in my layout,
and drawings.
The drawing is Luke Skywalker.

My son was crazy about Buzz Light Year
when he was young,
so I put his head on Buzz!
My son is now 16 years old,
and he loves looking through his scrapbooks!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday
is hosted by the very amiable Julia.
Visit her for more desks and projects on display!

A Blessed Easter!

We had a joyous and exciting
Easter service last night.

Because of the empty tomb,
because the Lord is alive,
because He is risen,we can celebrate because we know that what He said is true!
It's as simple as that!



Luke 18:27, NIV. "Jesus replied,
'What is impossible with men is possible with God.'"

Philippians 4:19, NIV.
"And my God will meet all your needs
according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

John 14:2-3, TLB. "There are many homes
up there where my Father lives,
and am going to prepare them for your coming.
When everything is ready,
then I will come and get you,
so that you can always be with Me where I am."

Revelation 21:4, NIV.
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain,
for the old order of things has passed away."

Philippians 4:6-7, Phillips.

“Don’t worry over anything whatever,
tell God every detail of your needs
in earnest and thankful prayer,
and the peace of God,
which transcends human understanding
will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds
as they rest in Christ Jesus.”

I John 5:14-15, RSV
“And this is the confidence
which we have in him,
that if we ask anything
according to his will he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us
in whatever we ask,
we know that we have obtained
the requests made of him.”

Linking up with Bonnie Gray's prompt @ Faith Barista,
"What does Easter mean to me?"
Then Sings my Soul Saturday,
Spiritual Sunday. ,
and Graceful for Hear it on Sunday,
Use it on Monday

Good Friday?

In my journal for today:

What's so good about Good Friday????
It's good because it's all about love,
love of the best kind.

After Jesus taught the disciples
during his last supper with them,
how to love-
by SERVING,
by putting others FIRST,
by washing His disciples feet
like a servant,

He now finishes His lesson with the
ultimate example of
giving His life for others,
for us.

"This is how much I love you.
I am willing to give my life for you."

If you think about it,
who are we, that the King of the Universe
is willing to die for us?
I guess that's why it's so difficult for many
to understand this faith we have.
It's ABSURD, ILLOGICAL, INCONCEIVABLE,
UNIMAGINABLE....

But Jesus was a real man,
and He did many miracles.
He was wise and learned,
and many believed in Him even to the point of death.
He claimed He was God in so many ways
that was clear to the Jews at that time.
That is why He was put to death,
for blasphemy.

Our choice is to believe Him,
that He is who He says He is,
or to dismiss Him as a
charlatan, a lunatic, or worse,
the spawn of the devil!

He said, "FOLLOW ME,",
and He said if we followed His teachings,
we would be blessed,
because His teachings
were all about loving God,
and loving our neighbors.

Linking with Emily-

and

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday? Judas!!

Judas Iscariot has been on my workdesk
the past two days.
In my journal actually!

Here he is betraying Jesus.
Although he was one of the privileged few,
accompanying Jesus as He gave teachings,
healed the sick, raised the dead,
multiplied bread and fish,
Judas turned his back on Jesus
and chose money!
Thirty pieces of silver!

It may be unimaginable,
but I've "walked" with Jesus
ever since I was a child,
and I know He answers prayer,
guides me, saves me in the nick of time
from some disaster,
and yet, sometimes,
I still choose to turn my back on him!
The good news is
Jesus is always after us to come back to him.
Judas chose not to return,
even if he took the bread Jesus offered him
for the last time.

We can choose differently.

Oh, I don't know if you've noticed,
but I decided to organize my desk a little,
inspired by all those wonderful tidy desks
I see on Julia's Stamping ground link party, WOYWW.
I decided to get my embossed metal planter
and use it instead on my workdesk as
a place to put my scissors, brushes, pens, etc.

Linking up with Laura for Playdates with God,
Lora of Abundant Life,
and Word Filled Wednesday.