Happy New Year. Join the fun!

Blessings, Fellow Traveler!

As we get set to begin the new year, I want to invite you to join in a 52 week Bible Study at His Kingdom Come called Take Me Deeper. There will be a monthly focus and weekly Bible Studies. I'm so excited for this to begin!

We start January 2, so there is still time to sign up.

Click here for the His Kingdom Come website.

I've got my journal ready...I'll be posting my weekly responses here - starting tomorrow!

#tmd2015


And don't forget that my Good Grief course begins January 23. There is more information under the Good Grief tab above.









Prayer: Dearest Father, Thank you for Your blessings throughout 2014. You were faithfully at my side through the 6 surgeries this Spring. You provided Daughter with a job/career she loves. You protected my family during their house fire. You restored my mother's independence. You blessed us in a myriad of small ways each and every day. I pray that You make 2015 an unforgettable year filled with blessings that are so amazing that the source - YOU - will be evident to everyone who sees. In Your Son's precious name.

Appointment Update

Blessings, Fellow Traveler!

God is Enough.

I must report mixed feelings over the past few days. It has been tough to spend Christmas alone. It's engrained in me that this is a family time. But God has been here with me. In fact, He is faithful to always be with us. All we have to do is show up.

A Different Kind of Christmas

Christmas Blessings, Fellow Travelers!

The season that celebrates my beloved Jesus' birth is my favorite time of year. I want to surround myself with family and just...love them.

So this is the wrong time of year for the flu.

Calendar Preparations

Blessings, Fellow Traveler!

So, my primary crafty gift of the holiday season is the SheArt Girls calendar I'm making in the style of Christy Tomlinson. This was a random idea that attacked my brain at the end of October. Yes, that's right. The end of October. So let's make 12 canvases, 12 girls, and design 12 calendar month pages in time for Christmas. Then let's make multiple copies and put them all together. And let's do it in less than 12 weeks. Because that sounds sane.

Okay. Not so sane. Because...I also made 2 advent calendars during the same time period.

Think big, or go home.

Well, the girls are done. The months are ready. I'm down to the "make multiple copies and put them all together" part.

And that's when I learned I have the flu. <insert sound of tires screeching to a stop here.>

Oh, and they have to be ready to go before Sunday. And it's Tuesday. Late Tuesday.

Life is an adventure. Enjoy the journey.

I'll let you know how it goes.


But here is November. *She's my favorite.

Prayer:  Dearest Father, Bless my intentions. Help me to heal in time for our holiday plans. Complete healing in this time frame will surely be from You. Thank You for doctors, medication and rest. May all the glory be to You.

Get Up

I was looking at quotes on Pinterest and found this one:

              Fall 7 times. Get up 8.

I like that. Almost.

Under my own steam, I fail. I falter. I stumble. I have to get up and try again. But I accomplish more if - before I get up - I stop and pray.

I mean, I'm on my knees already. And my efforts will ALWAYS be more effective if I apply God's strength and don't rely totally on my own.

This is a page in my new Good Grief Journal for the course I'm starting in January. Colored pencils and a pic I found on Google images credited to tomstuart.org.

So, today's "Lesson Learned" is:
Pray. Then get up - again. The work isn't done.

Dearest Father, Thank you for being a source of amazing strength that is there for the asking. Thump the back of my head and remind me to plug in BEFORE I get up. May you always get the glory. Amen.

Bible Study Relieves Stress

Okay, Fellow Traveler, it shouldn't be a big leap that doing a Bible study on a regular basis would be a stress reliever. But, duh. It's been a crazy week with MIL's fire and such, and there are only so many hours in the day. So, there have been several days where I don't get to my Advent Bible study until 10:30 pm.

But, I've worked hard TO GET TO IT. And it's made all the difference. I posted Days 1 and 2 here. Guess my art work isn't your typical "Christmas-y" type of thing. But that's not where God led me during my art time with Him. I'd thrown around several ideas on how I wanted to do the study and record it in a new art journal, but when the time came...

I didn't have a plan. [gasp] 
I just jumped in and went for it. [double gasp]

Promises Fulfilled

Blessings, Fellow Traveler:

So, the dust has settled. 

--Perhaps I should say, "The SOOT has settled." My mother-in-law's house is burned beyond our ability to repair. No people injured. Two pets lost. Most contents unrecoverable, but some things did survive. All that remains is to regroup.

Sometimes the Holidays Are Just Hard

God is good. All the time. But sometimes the holidays are just hard.

Thanksgiving is never my best day. I do try to be more grateful and express my gratitude on a daily basis. But having a miscarriage on Thanksgiving Day years ago makes it a tough thing to get through.

This year, on Thanksgiving Day, I faced Dad's grave and the new gravestone for the first time. I have not processed losing him because I was in chaos with Mom's broken leg at the time. And of course, she broke her leg at my sister-in-law's funeral, so that's another thing to deal with entirely.

So, here we are on the Sunday after the holiday. And we've spent most of the day dealing with the fire at my mother-in-law's house this morning. This event changes so many things. I'm certain we don't have a grasp on just everything that must be done.

Yet, God is good. All the time.

My mother-in-law and niece were in the house at the time and got out safely.

Prayer: Dearest Father God, thank you for Your watchful eye over my extended family. Guide us in the days to come as we make a mountain of decisions. Give us wisdom and patience. Grant us peace over what was lost, and let us not lose sight of what could have been taken from us.

Being Deliberate in Faith

As one year rushes to an end, it is my habit to begin preparations for the next. (I am, by the way, the Empress of Planning.) I am determined to become more deliberate with my faith. So I'm toying with various ways to do that. I've located several online groups that may prove helpful:
1. His Kingdom Come
   This group has a WEEKLY Bible study planned called Take Me Deeper.
   They also have a "One Word" program called Logos365 - a YEAR-LONG focus.
2. Documented Faith
    There is to be a focus word each MONTH.

Advent Update

No pictures of the advent progress today, but I will get some up this week. The weekend was very arty for me. I now have angels on Mom's advent calendar - the basic scrapbook paper shapes anyway. Yes, a different angel for each day. Next I'll paint their hair. Then I can move from the table and start the outlining, doodling, embellishing... Remind me why I decided to do this...

Because of Christ Jesus I am...

I also finished 3 more backgrounds for the 2015 calendar I'm making, and did a challenge page in my art journal:
 I used watercolor pencils in my Dylusions Journal and finished with my waterbrush. I don't usually do pages this quickly, but the prompt really spoke to me.

We had a great service in church this morning, and now I've got a dozen ideas for pages and such swirling in my head. There is not enough time in the day! 

Hubby and I also got a special word from a church member: his - he will see the doors that have been closed come open because he has FAVOR from God; mine - I have a destiny that will be fulfilled; I was almost destroyed but I have come through.

Wow! I have come through a bunch of stuff, and that was the message today: coming through the storm & that God has a destination for us.

Prayer: Beloved Jesus, because of You, I am alive, saved, loved, free, healed. I am a child of the King, forgiven, made clean and heaven-bound. I am at peace. I am whole. There is no other who can offer so much to one so unworthy! Help me to live each day in full appreciation of the marvelous gift Father God gave us - YOU!

Just a quick update

While my advent calendars are still works in progress, here are a couple of things I've been working on lately...

I've been learning how to make She Art Girls from Christy Thomlinson's class online.

This was my 2nd girl. She reminds me of my daughter Beth.

Scripture Art Journaling

I've been working on Scripture Art Journaling in Psalms. This is from Ps. 40:2 - He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

My 13 Prayers for You:

Welcome to 13 Prayers!

This is a place where we can pray, art and grow together. These are my prayers for you:
1. That you will choose Jesus as Lord and Savior.
2. That you will develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.