...

Friday, October 16, 2015

Paint Party Friday: Nothing Hidden!

 "Even the hairs of your head are counted!" Luke 12:7
How precious are we to God? So precious He knows how much hair there is on our head. Now I do not know why He needs to know that, but that's what it says in the Bible! If He knows that, then He also keeps track of what we are doing every minute, every second of the day. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says that God has a plan for each of us, not just a mediocre plan, but a really excellent one. So it would be great to get to know what that plan is, to work with God, to make it come true.

 Nick Vujicic was born with the tetra-amelia syndrome. He does not have arms. He does not have legs. But he goes around the world preaching to millions of people. One time, he had a short meeting with the President of Ecuador. A few days after that, the President had to consider a law that would allow abortion of disabled fetuses. He vetoed it because he said Ecuador needed more Nick Vujicics! We may not have as big a challenge as Nick, but certainly we have as important a role to play in God's plan for the world!

"There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nothing hidden that will not be made known." Luke 12:2

When Jesus told this to the crowd of thousands listening to Him, it might have seemed like a threat, but I take this as a promise of freedom. The enemy likes to work in the dark, he likes us to hide thoughts, motives and intentions, so he can have power over us.

When I was young, I liked to read but we only had a few books in the house. Then my aunt went to the US to get married and left us boxes of her books. There was War and Peace and Gone with the Wind that I read innumerable times during my High School years. Unfortunately, the rest of the books were romantic novels by Lucy Walker and Barbara Cartland, mostly Mills and Boone. I kept a stash of my favorites under my bed for years, the ones that did not embarrass me. When I was in college, God told me to throw those favorites away. I did not want to. It was my guilty secret. It was almost as if I loved those books! I wrestled with God for months until one day, I told my sister Meldy what God wanted me to do. She said, "Then throw it away!" and just like that I was able to throw it all away. The hold the enemy had on me was broken.

Now I know if the enemy has a hold on me, all I have to do is bring it to the light!


Home

Linking with

So many WONDERFUL blogfriends 
to discover here!

and


Thank you for dropping by!

You are appreciated!

patsy
Posted by at 5 comments:

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

WOYWW: Celebrate!

 Here is my desk with a painting I made for 
my friend Cristy's birthday.
Above it you can see some mark makers I bought last Monday.
They are actually a non-slip rubber mats that I cut up.

Here's a close-up of the painting and the mark makers.

 "Let Your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication." Psalm 130:2
There are times when I feel confident that God is listening to me. And then there are those times when I feel my prayers are falling on deaf ears. Sometimes a whole year passes and I do not hear from God. When we need advice, we go to an expert, is it not? Sometimes we even pay to learn some skill like calligraphy or bread making. How about prayer? 

 One of the experts on prayer is King David, and what's great about him is he left his prayers for us to study and dissect, but most of all to use to pray ourselves. There are Psalms where David confesses his sin before God, where he labors to see sin as God sees his sin. There are prayers where David pleads with God, where he praises God, where he asks for help, where he is despairing. There are 150 Psalms in the Bible. I think we will find one for every situation we find ourselves in. When we pray, if we cannot find the words, we can start with David's words, and then continue on with our own!

 "Since the creation of the world, invisible realities, God's eternal power and divinity, have become visible, recognized through the things He has made." Romans 1:20
Saint Paul says in this chapter that people have no excuses whatsoever for not knowing God, for God shows His existence by what He created. For me, the most compelling proof that God exists is the amazing, awesome design of the universe, of man, of a butterfly, of an ant, and how life could not have happened without all the details of space, time, and matter colliding. The distance of the earth from the sun, gravity, the position of our solar system, all these and so many more details essential to life, could not have been sheer, random chance! It is inconceivable that life would form without God's prodding if the "the odds of a single protein molecule forming by chance is 1 in 10243 (that is a 1 followed by 243 zeros). A single cell is comprised of millions of protein molecules."

If God took such infinite care with forming our universe, our solar system, our earth, to give life to us, what does that mean? We are infinitely precious to Him! He placed into our hearts a desire for eternity, a desire for Him. Our life on earth is just a stepping stone to a life with the Father who made us. If we can live each day knowing this, we will not merely exist, we will celebrate!



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

I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:

Blessings!
Patsy
Posted by at 11 comments:

Wednesday, October 07, 2015

WOYWW: First Things First!

 Here is what I was working on last night.
I was doing something else when I had this urge to paint.
It was quite late, so I just painted for a few minutes,
and I used a brush I never used before
to make those white "fan" strokes!

 For those following my Shibori journey,
here is what I have come up with so far.
These are hankies.
I am planning to make bags and purses too.
All for a livelihood project.
Lots of fun and quite fulfilling,
although since I do this after work in the office,
quite tiring too!

 "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Luke 11:4
I was just reading the Book of Jonah where Jonah was so mad that God did not punish the people of Nineveh for their sins. Aren't we in a good place that God is not like Jonah? That God is not like us? Isn't it ironic that we can be so condemning of others who are 'not like us'. The politician who is so corrupt he has to run for President so he can escape persecution. God, why don't You punish him?
Or perhaps someone in the office who wronged us, a neighbor who hurt us, a relative who lied about us. We don't want to forgive them because that would be letting them off the hook. That would be freeing them from the consequences of their actions. And Jonah desperately wanted the Ninevites to suffer for the consequence of their actions! But God is as Jonah prays, "...a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger,rich in clemency, loathe to punish." (Jonah 4:2) That is what we can depend on. He will forgive our sins and He asks us to do the same for those who have wronged us. Not only for their sake, but mostly for ours.

Corrie Ten Boom wrote in her book, The Hiding Place, “Even as the angry vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him....Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness....And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command, the love itself.”


 "One thing is required..." Luke 10:42
What is that one thing that Jesus says is required?
Can you imagine if Jesus visits your home- Your name is Martha, and you welcome Him. Your sister Mary sits at His feet and listens to everything He is saying. You want to listen too. His Words pull You, and you want to learn from Him. But you have to be in the kitchen because you are preparing a big dinner for Jesus and His disciples. You get really frustrated, and you feel it is unfair that Mary is not helping in the kitchen. So you say something. "Lord, are You not concerned that Mary has left me all alone to prepare everything? Tell her to help me!"

I guess this is born out of Martha's frustration that she wants to be at His feet too! I would have thought that Martha would be happy Mary was doing the "entertaining" of their guest! Jesus rebukes her gently, " Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset about many things; one thing only is required. Mary has chosen the better portion and she shall not be deprived of it." Jesus, who knows Martha's heart and mind, knows she is upset about many things. He wants her to sit down at his feet too. Dinner can wait. First things first.


We know that Martha listened. In John 11;40, when Jesus returned to their village because his friend and their brother Lazarus died, he asked that the stone be rolled away. Martha protested, "Lord, Lazarus has been dead for 4 days. There will be an awful stench!" Jesus turned to her, "Martha, Martha,did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"Jesus' conversations with Martha and Mary have not been recorded, but we too can have our own conversations with the Lord. When we are bothered and upset about many things, Jesus knows. He calls us to have a conversation with Him. To sit at his feet. Dinner can wait. Laundry can wait. Worrying can wait. Only one thing is required. That we listen to him. That we believe. That is the only way we will see the glory of God.
Yes Lord, I will listen. I believe! I want to see Your glory!



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

I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:

Blessings!
Patsy

Posted by at 21 comments:

Friday, October 02, 2015

Paint Party Friday: The Joy of the Lord!

In my last post I showed the pile of hankies and cloth 
I tied up in rubber bands and other stuff like sticks.
Here I am dying it.
In the next post, I will put pictures of what I have come up with.
It's been raining though and I have not been able to dry what I have dyed!!!


"His faithful promises are your armor and protection." Psalm 91:4

If our lives were in danger, and we are asked, "Are you sure God will save you?", what will we answer? My answer would be a resounding yes! That no weapon formed against me would prosper! (Isaiah 54:17) Not that I would remember the exact bible verse which I just googled right now, but I do know I can stand on the promises of God. I'm almost 60 years old, and I can say that my whole life, I have lived in the shelter of the Most High and the shadow of the Almighty.  He alone is my refuge, my place of safety. He rescues me from any trap and protects me from the plague. I need not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor fear the dangers of the day. I need not dread whatever stalks in darkness nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Psalm 91 goes on with many more promises, and in the Bible, there is so much more to claim. 



 I know that my security lies not on myself, nor my husband, nor the money in the bank. My security is in God and His promises. God did not promise to bless me and protect me because I am good, but because He is faithful and because He loves me.  But God always gives us a choice. We have to choose to claim His promises. We have to choose to listen to Him.  We have to choose NOT to listen and follow the enemy.  Sometimes God does allow bad things to happen. These may be a consequence of our actions, or it may not be. But if we stay trusting God, He will be sure and bring us through the dark valleys. Father, Your Word and Your promises are true. Help us to always trust in You, even during those times we do not understand why You are allowing things to happen to us. Help us to always stand on the the rock of Your word, and to believe Your promises. 

 "The joy of the Lord is your strength!" Nehemiah 8:10

​​
Ezra the priest read the Book of the Law aloud from early morning to noon on a high wooden platform, even to the children old enough to understand.  Then he and other priests interpreted God's Word to them, helping them to understand.  The people started weeping as they listened. Perhaps they felt guilty, perhaps ashamed that they were not obeying. Perhaps they felt God's overwhelming love. Why do we cry when we read God's Word and understand it? 

Then Nehemiah the Prophet said, "Don't weep on such a day as this! Go and celebrate, share gifts of food with those who have nothing. This is a sacred day before God. Don't be dejected and sad, for the JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!" Then the people went away to eat and drink a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they heard God's Words and UNDERSTOOD them."  Two things. One, to hear and read God's Word, and to understand it, is something to celebrate. Joy is the fruit because God's Word is a seed planted in our hearts and it will bear fruit in due season.  Two, when we celebrate and eat good food, we must share with those who have nothing to eat. When we have parties, we must not forget the people God does not forget.



O Lord, thank you for the gift of Your Word. May I never take it for granted! Your word is my delight. May it find a place in the fertile soil of my heart so that Your joy will be my strength.  May I also remember those You love, those You do not forget-  the hungry, those in prison, those who are sick, the widows and the orphans. May I do what I can, where I am, with what I have. Amen.

Home

Linking with

So many WONDERFUL blogfriends 
to discover here!

and


Thank you for dropping by!

You are appreciated!

patsy
Posted by at 6 comments:
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)