New Adventure

This is a first for me.  I am going to enter a design challenge call.  This is where a stamp company sends out a request for people to submit their work and if they are picked, they will get to be a guest designer for that company.  I am nervous but am going to do it anyway.  Let's see what happens.  I have to submit three different cards, so here they are:

This card is called "Dream".  I used and Eiffel Tower stamp from Studio G to do the background.  I stamped the towers in two different shades of brown.  I also used a cancelled postal stamp.  I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink to ink the edges.  The DP is from the DCWV Heritage collections.  I tied a deep chocolate grograin ribbon around the middle and matted the focal image on Chocolate Chip SU Cardstock.

This one is a "Tattoo and Teapots" card.  I downloaded an image sheet of tattoos and colored them in using alcohol ink markers.  I used Worn Lipstick Distress ink for the edges.  The title is a tattoo font from my computer matted on black cardstock and pop dotted up for dimension.



This card is made with a cute stamped angel.  I used alcohol ink markers to color in the image after stamping it with Staz-On in black.  I matted on a medium blue cardstock.  The rhinestones are from Recollections.  I sponged a cloud design on the card base itself.  The ribbon is from AC Moore.



This is a card I made for a challenge on Teapot Tuesdays on SCS.  I hand drew the Morse Code panel and the King is from DCWV Heritage stack.  The pig is from a Gina K Designs collection and the boom box is a Recollections stamp.  I used Vintage Photo ink to age all edges. 

Praying for Your Husband

I have begun reading Stormie Omartian's book,"The Power of a Praying Wife".  Wow, what an eye opener.  I am understanding how my attitude toward my husband needs to change.  Loving your spouse is not enough.  You must also respect your husband and support him. 

Here are some of the things I have learned:

The strength of a man and wife joined together in God's sight is far greater than the sum of the strengths of each person.  That's because the Holy Spirit unites them and gives added power to their prayers.

If you pray for yourself and not for him, you will never find the blessings and fulfillment you want.  What happens to him happens to you and you can't get around it.  This oneness gives us a power that the enemy doesn't like.  That's why he devises ways to weaken it. He gives us whatever we will fall for, whether it be low self esteem, pride, the need to be right, miscommunication, or the bowing to our own selfish desires.  He will tell you likes.  He will tell you whatever you will believe because he knows if he can get you to believe it, there is no future for your marriage.

When we are frustrated and angry in our marriage, we see things the way we want to, not from God's perspective.  When we are miserable in our marriage we feel anything will be an improvement over what we are experiencing, but we don't see the whole picture.  We don't see what God wants it become.

Praying for your husband will be an act of unselfish, unconditional love and sacrifice on your part.  You must be willing to make this commitment knowing it is quite possible that he will never pray for you in the same way.  In some cases, he may not pray at all.  Whether he does or he doesn't is not your concern, it's God's.

Your happiness and fulfillment will not ride upon whether he prays, it will depend on your own relationship with the Lord.

The purpose of praying for your husband is to ask God to make your heart right, show you how to be a good wife, share the burdens of your soul, and seek God's blessings on your husband.

Look to God as the source of all you want to see happen in your marriage, and don't worry about how it will happen.  It's your responsibility to pray.  It's God's job to answer.  Leave it in His hands.

So these things are just from the introduction to the book.  I haven't even delved into Chapter One.  Just wait...

Trusting in the Lord

I have discovered that learning a lesson that God has been trying to teach you is much easier learned the first time rather than the 4th, 5th, 16th..time.  Learning a lesson you should have learned years ago is very painful and humbling.  Coming face to face with the consequences of your actions is an eye opener to say the least. 

When you have allowed your self centeredness, selfish pride to rule your life for so long, it's a shocker when you come to the bottom and have only one alternative.  GOD!!

But, thankfully we have God's grace and mercy and forgiveness.  Those three things can see us through any trial we have to go through.  Thank God.

I am such a bad blogger.  I see other's blogs and wonder where they find the time.  I always start the day with the best of intentions of writing on here, but time just seems to slip away.  Between Kierstynne's lessons, fixing lunch, getting Tim off to work, housework and just everyday life, there doesn't seem to be enough hours of the day.

These last few weeks have been very interesting.  Since March 3rd, my life has been turned around.  I am learning and seeing things that I never thought possible.  God has been so good to me.  He is revealing things to me from my past that I thought I had dealt with, but were holding me in bondage.  He has been showing me how my prideful, self centered attitude was destroying my life.  It's been a hard lesson to learn.  I have come to the conclusion that it is much easier to learn the lesson the first or second time around than to be stubborn and not learn until time 15 or 16.  The lesson is much harder because more time has past and you become more entangled in the deception.  Thank God we have a God who is infinitely patient with us and doesn't give up on us.

I know that right now, I am in the valley.  It is hard making my way through.  There are boulders, snares, and learning opportunities.  The Word tells me that even though I walk through the valley that I do not have to fear because God is with me.  Sometimes I still think it would be easier to go another way, but that way leads to death and destruction.  Yes, it is easier, but no where near as rewarding.  Learning how to depend completely on God has been hard at times, but it is also enlightening.  I have also realized that when I finally make it to the top of the mountain, I will be able to look back and see how far I have come and I will be able to see God's footprints right beside mine, showing that He never left me while I was making my way through the valley.  Praise God!!!  I am not alone.  Even when I feel alone, I am not alone.  God is always right there beside me, urging me on, encouraging me, helping me press on to the top of the mountain.

God has also shown me that I am not who my past said I was going to be.   I do not have to be held in bondage because of my past.  God has set me free from the generational curses that stem from my past.  I have a choice..I can stay in bondage or I can choose to walk in the freedom of God.  I choose freedom.  We have the ability to curse with our words.  Not curse like a sailor, but curse as in bondage.  What we allow to come out of our mouths can either cause damage or encourage.  When we speak about a person, we can choose to speak forth blessings or curses.  When someone hurts our feelings or says something that cause anger to well up inside us, we can choose to say, "God, forgive them, because they don't know what they are saying", or we can say, "Dang that person.  He/she is an idiot."  Which do you think would be the right choice.  I know that it is hard to choose the way Jesus would take, but it's the right way.

 Now, I have to warn you.  When I began to notice changes in my life after March 3rd, I was on cloud 9 for about 3 weeks.  Then, slyly, discreetly, the devil moved in.  I began to read the book, "The Power of a Praying Wife," and to do the study guide that goes along with it.  I was reading the Word everyday, and doing another study about humility and seeking God.  Within 2 days of beginning the Praying Wife book, Tim and I were arguing over stupid stuff.  He got mad at me and I didn't even know what I had done..so I got mad at him for getting mad at me.  Sounds rather childish right?  Well, that's how the enemy of our souls work.  He doesn't come right out and say, "Look, I am going to cause havoc in your life today.  Just sit back and watch what I am going to do."  No.  It's sneaky, it's sly and it can be very damaging.  He comes like a thief, seeking to see who and what he can destroy.  Marriage is ordained by God and it is the first thing the devil will attack.  When it dawned on my lightening fast pea brain what was happening, I was able to mount a counter attack.  I prayed and asked for help.  I knew I couldn't change Tim's anger so I asked God to do it.  Two days later, I found out what had made him get mad at me and it was something that he thought I had done that I hadn't actually done.  So we were able to work it out.   The more I draw closer to God, the harder the devil is going to fight against me.  I know that God has a plan for me and my husband and it is going to knock that stupid devil for a loop and he is trying to destroy us before we can even get started walking out the plan God has for us.  Not going to happen..We have to be aware of his schemes at all times.  The Bible tells us that he sneaks about like a lion just seeking out those he can devour and destroy.  We have to be on our guard at all times, making sure we have put on the Armor of God everyday in order to defeat him.

As we walk out God's plan for us every day, we must make sure we are ready and able to fight against our enemy.  We must make sure we are well prepared.  How do we do that?  We spend time with God each day.  We must pray without ceasing.  That doesn't mean we have to into our prayer closets and spend the day.  It just means that we are in a continuous conversation with God all day.  We must read the Word each day.  Get the Word into your memory and your spirit so that when you need a flaming arrow, you know what to use.  We must allow the Holy Spirit to live large in us.  We must decrease so that Jesus can increase.  The more of the Spirit we have living in us, the better we are able to defend against the devil.  In times of trouble, when we are in a place where we are stuck, the Holy Spirit can step up to the front line and defend us.  If we don't allow Him to have that much leeway, we are going to be attacked and beaten down.  Don't allow that to happen.  Fill yourself up every morning. 

I pray a special blessing upon each person that reads my blog today.  May the Spirit of God live largely in your life.  May God lead, guide and direct your path.  May you feel God's arms supporting you, encouraging you, and loving you throughout this day.  God bless  you.