"And every fear I'd ever had just melted into peace..."
-He's Alive, Don Francisco
A powerful Easter video...be prepared to cry tears of joy...
Happy Easter Sweet Friends
♥ M~
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"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live."
-John 11:25
(I'm out and about doing Easter-y things with my family. This is a re-run from last Easter)
--------------------
I woke up this morning and the first thing I thought was,
"This must have been the saddest day in history."
The second day.
The day that Peter and John, Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Jesus, woke up and remembered what happened.
That Jesus was dead.
dead.
I just started crying. I don't know why
I've never thought about *this* day before. The second day.
You know, I've often thought how amazing it must've been to be one of Jesus' disciples.
Imagine, getting to walk next to Him,
Hear His laugh.
Give Him a hug.
Ask Him questions.
And then this morning I realized that they also had to go through this day. The in-between day. The not knowing day...
...the heartache of thinking that the Man they believed was not only the future King, but God Himself...had been crucified and was laying in a dark, cold tomb.
...fighting the gut-wrenching fear and doubt...
I'm so glad this is just one day in history.
I'm so glad that Jesus didn't stay dead.
That death couldn't keep Him.
That He arose victorious over death, hell and the grave.
I love the relationship that I have with Him now. Even though I didn't get to hold His hand and walk down the beach with Him while He talked about the love of God for me....
I get to do that everyday now. Every. day.
I get to experience a *relationship* with GOD.
Because of what He did.
Taking my guilt and shame and washing it away with the blood of His Son.
Redeeming and restoring my relationship with Himself in only the way He could do it.
He did that for you too.
He wants to know you. To laugh with you and
listen to your heart and share His with you.
You can have that if you want it.
Just ask Him.
Not that there won't be "second days" in your life anymore.
We still have those. The days in-between that we don't know what's going to happen and we're afraid.
BUT
when you have that relationship with Him you can call out to Him on the "second days" in your life
and He's there
with comfort
and peace
and grace.
It is an amazing experience to meet God and walk with Him daily.
I hope and pray that every single person that reads this experiences it.
"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have
believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."-John 20:29
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." -Romans 3:23
"...the wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." -Romans 6:23
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." -1 John 1:9
"For Christ also has suffered once for
sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" -1 Peter 3:18
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if anyone hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." -Revelation 3:20
Grace and Peace,
♥ M~
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"God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our
Master, Jesus Christ.
He died for us, a death that triggered life.
Whether we're awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we're alive with Him!
So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope
so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind.
I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it."
-I Thessalonians 5:9 (the message)
(click play...it's only a minute...)
"He will...fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy."
-Job 6:21
"A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing..."
-Proverbs 17:22 (amp)
"...the joy of the Lord is your strength."
-Nehemiah 8:10
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"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
-1 Thessalonian 5:16-18
(If you missed part one of this post you can read it and see the project I'm referring to {including a tutorial and printable pattern!} here. :)
So why did it take me so long to do such an easy project??
What were the three things that the Lord showed me as I was praying about this?
You don't have to know *everything* before you start
This is actually what prompted me to start this project in the first place. I was trying to figure out how I would even do this. Staring at my kitchen thinking,
"How will I know how many flags to make?"
"What if I don't cut the right colors and patterns out and they don't go well together?"
"How will I attach them to the bakers twine?"
You get the idea. Often in the past I would procrastinate on a project because I couldn't think of *every* detail before hand.
So as I was asking myself all these questions I just felt the Holy Spirit whisper, "you don't have to know everything before you start - just start"
Now those of you who don't know me very well (yet) may think it's weird that God would talk to me about a craft project, but I'm telling you right now, I talk to Him about *everything* all the time and He listens...and He answers (even about craft projects! isn't He cool?). And I try not to make anything off limits.
In fact, it's when I try to "compartmentalize" God (i.e. "this is spiritual stuff/this isn't") that I fail over and over again.
And it's because I hadn't really thought this was important enough to talk to Him about for so long that I had been creatively stuck.
Not to say that I have mastered this and am in the midst of some kind of creative jubilee (creative jubilee that's fun to say...ooooh maybe another blog...*LOL*) by any means, but I am really feeling Him speak to me lately about bad habits that have kept me from creating the home and life that I know He wants for me.
It doesn't have to be perfect
It seems pretty obvious, but if you struggle with perfectionism (which I do and I no longer think of it as a good quality to have, but more of a character flaw) then it is anything but obvious or easy to accept. And actually both of the other two "things that stop me" are really a part of this one.
Perfectionism is paralyzing. It stops you from doing anything and everything, because let's face it, none of us is perfect (even Martha - gasp!). I find myself frozen in the midst of projects frequently because of that feeling that it will not be perfect, it will not be good enough, so why try? This of course is completely irrational and the Lord has really been speaking to me about it and showing me ways to overcome it.
I also believe that perfectionism is a form of idolatry. After all, it drives me to focus on myself, *my* efforts, *my* shortcomings, with nary a glance God's way.
God has been showing me lately that He has called us to be "whole" not perfect. To be complete in Him. Yes, we are to strive towards holiness, but to think that as a human being I will *ever* achieve a sinless perfection is....well...delusional.
{I have to tell you right now that I'm feeling ridiculous for writing this because I *really* really* struggle with this disease of perfectionism *all the time* -seriously - like *right* now
while. I. am. writing. this.
But the Lord has put it on my heart to lay this out there and maybe someone needs to read it or maybe *I* just need to be accountable to all of you! ha!)
I found the most amazing quote by J.C. Ryle from his book Holiness written in 1877! If you have time click over and read it. It will bless you.
So what does the Word of God say about this?
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
-Phil 4:6
What is perfectionism but an all-consuming anxiety?
It is definitely not peace. Peace comes when I take the control away from myself and lay it at the feet of Jesus, where it belongs. What a promise. I love the way "the message" puts it:
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."
I let go of my anxiety, make my requests known to Him and then accept the fact that:
♥ I can make something for my kitchen and it can be crooked, and not match and still be great.
♥ I can make a dinner that isn't a complete representation of the food pyramid and my family can still enjoy it.
♥ I can let my kids do school work in their pajamas - on the living room floor -in between pillow fights - and they will *still* learn something.
♥ I can clean *part* of the kitchen, *part* of the living room, and do *one* load of laundry and it will *still* bless my family.
{this list is making me cringe...I have so much work to do still}
It. doesn't. have. to. be. perfect.
I am a flawed, imperfect, "have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" human being.
And that is o.k.
{could someone email me that tomorrow? ☺ }
Don't hoard the good stuff for later. Use it now.
After I had fought past the urge to know it all and do it perfectly I went looking for the papers I wanted to use.
While I was gathering up all kinds of pretty pink & red scraps & sheets from my stash my inner "hoard monster" was very upset. It really didn't want me to use *any* of my collection of papers.
Picture a cross between the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz (as she's melting) and Gollum from Lord of the Rings...you know kind of a screechy English accent...
"Nooooooo not *that* one it's our last sheet!" (ewww...creepy...i just scared myself)
Ok, not really, but sometimes it feels like that...that fearful desire to keep the good stuff for later.
I have to keep reminding myself that,
"There are plenty more beautiful papers just waiting to be discovered, Let's just make something pretty today. Right now, with what we have."
{umm...I don't usually talk to myself in the third person by the way...well, ok...maybe I do...}
The "hoard monster", that impulse to keep the good stuff for the perfect time, really is the enemy of creativity. It creates a debilitating fear in us that demands that we
share nothing
make nothing
create nothing
"One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time.
Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.
The impulse to save something good for a better place later is a signal to spend it now.
Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water.
Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive.
Anything you do not give freely and abundantly is lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes."
-Annie Dillard
This is one of my favorite quotes, that oddly enough I have to remind myself of pretty frequently. It's about writing a book, but I think it applies equally to any type of creative process. Ideas, supplies (like fabric and paper), photos, blog posts, all those fun, creative things that we scribble down on pieces of paper or in the back of notebooks. Good stuff is supposed to be shared, given, used up...
Jesus said,
"Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
-Luke 6:38 (new living translation)
If you never sow the seeds you will never reap the harvest. You'll just have a big collection of seeds, which by their nature are *dead*. Seeds don't come alive until they're sown, cast into what seems like only so much mud.
But, oh the miracle of Spring! When all that sowing and giving and pouring out of resources, ideas and heart comes to fruition!
I need to trust God that if I use up *all* of everything lovely that He has given me, He will replace it *all*, generously, as He has always done.
"Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion."
-Ann Wells
Another problem with "hoarding" is that life is short. I might not ever *see* the day (the project, the chapter, the time) that I have imagined is worthy of whatever special thing I am saving...
“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is."
-Psalm 39:4 (new living translation)
"Don't brashly announce what you're going to do tomorrow; you don't know the first thing about tomorrow."
-Proverbs 27:1 (the message)
...so it's important to use everything wonderful that God's given me, and to create fun things with my boys, and to try new ideas that would make our little home even homey-er (wow, is that a made up word or what?)...it's important to do it *now*. today. with what i have. right now. now. get it? now.
So there they are, the three things I need to do to actually make stuff instead of just thinking about it.
♥ Just start doing it without all the answers.
♥ Just start doing it crooked and off center.
♥ Just start doing it using all the good stuff.
And maybe read this post everyday. ☺
Peace and Grace friends,
♥ Melissa~
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"And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
-Phillipians 1:6 (english standard version)
I had so much fun this weekend making something I have been thinking about and wanting to make for months. As I was making it and praying about what kept me from it for so long the Lord really spoke some things to my heart.
I hope that I will act on these things on a regular basis because they are essential in being the mama that I want to be. They don't apply only to craft projects either, they apply to homeschooling, learning new recipes, getting organized around the house and lots more of my favorite parts of being a SAHM.
So here's what I made this weekend. It's a spring banner (spring garland?) for my kitchen made from spring-ish, pink & red papers.
{Bunny Trail: My kitchen is pretty old as you can see, but hubby and I really *love* the look and feel of old houses. When we move from here we'll probably look for an even older house!
It's funny how the "non-vintage" people that come over to visit almost always comment that we could "take that old vent-a-hood out and put in a nice new microwave with a built in vent."
Um, why would I *ever* do that??? *LOL* That vent-a-hood is one of my favorite parts of the kitchen! /end bunny trail}
I saw the idea of the banner somewhere online months and months and months ago. The article was about decorating for a child's vintage-style birthday party (I think...actually I mostly looked at the pictures, heh-heh). As soon as I spotted it I knew I wanted to do something similar in my sweet, old kitchen.
In the photo they had used little vintage circus animals with party hats and balloons on the flags, but what I immediately thought of was using all my favorite scrapbook papers!
It turned out to be pretty easy to make. Here's a quick tutorial in case you'd like to try it yourself!
First I made a template for the flags (which you can download here. You may need to enlarge the template if you want your flags to be the same size as mine. The template came out about 1/2 inch smaller when I created & saved online):
Next I just traced it on to the back of the papers I had chosen and then cut out all the flags. (You could trace half the template on a folded piece of paper for less cutting and tracing, but I found I could fit more flags on one sheet of paper by tracing it this way.)
{Tip: If you trace on the back of your paper you won't have to erase pencil lines later.}
Finally I folded them around some bakery twine (so in love with that stuff) and used a glue dot to hold the flag together.
I thought about sewing across the tops of the flags, but the glue dot seemed to work fine and I liked that I could slide the flags around to the position I wanted them in or take them off completely if needed.
Then I hung up my banners and smiled. a lot.
Every time I walk in the kitchen now I smile. It feels like a little party is about to start any moment. I love it.
So why did it take me so long to do such an easy project??
What were the three things that the Lord showed me as I was praying about this?
Well, I think I'm going to have to share that with you on Wednesday because this post is already pretty long and I have a bunch of stuff I want to make today! (sorry to "ryan seacrest" you like that.)
Updated: here's the link to part 2 
See you tomorrow for Ten on Tuesday!
♥ M~
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"That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything."
-Mark 11:24 (the message)
"My grace is enough.
It is all you need."
-2 Corinthians 12:9 (the message)
"But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully];
for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in your weakness.
Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!"
-2 Corinthians 12:9 (amplified)
Push Play to hear the narration - it will bless you!
You may not
know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1…I know when you sit down and when you rise up…Psalm 139:2…I am familiar with all your ways…Psalm 139:3…Even the very hairs on your head are numbered…Matthew 10:
29-31…
For you were
made in My image …Genesis 1:27…in Me you
live and move and have your being…Acts 17:28…you are My offspring…Acts 17:28…I knew you
even before you were conceived…Jeremiah 1:4-5…I chose you
when I planned creation… Ephesians 1:11-12…you were not
a mistake, all your days are written in My book…Psalm 129:14...I determined
the exact time of your birth and where you would live...Acts 17:26… You are fearfully
and wonderfully made…Psalm 139:14
I knit you
together in your mother’s womb…Psalm 139:13…and brought
you forth on the day you were born… Psalm 71:6…I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know Me…John 8:41-44…I am not distant and angry, but the complete expression of love…1 John 4:16…And it is My desire to lavish My love on you…
1 John 3:1...Simply because
you are My child and I am your Father… 1 John 3:1
I offer you
more than your earthly father ever could…Matthew 7:11…For I am the perfect Father…Matthew 5:48…Every good gift that you receive comes from My
hand…James 1:17…I am your provider and I meet all your needs…Matthew
6:31-33…My plan for your future has always been
filled with hope…Jeremiah 29:11…because I
love you with an everlasting love…Jeremiah 31:3…My thoughts towards you are as countless as the sand on the shore…Psalm
139:17-18…And I rejoice over you with
singing… Zephaniah 3:17
I will never
stop doing good to you…Jeremiah 32:40…you are My
treasured possession...Exodus 19:5…I desire to
establish you with all My heart and all My soul…Jeremiah 32:41…And I want to show you great and marvelous things… Jeremiah 33:3…
If you seek Me
with all your heart you will find Me…Deuteronomy 4: 9…Delight in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart…Psalm 37:4…for it is I who gave you those desires…Philippians 2:13…
I am able to
do more for you than you could possibly imagine…Ephesians 3:20…I am your greatest encourager…2 Thessalonian 2:16-17…I am the Father who comforts you in all your troubles…2 Corinthians
1:3-4…
When you are
broken hearted I am close to you…Psalm 34:18…As a shepherd
carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart…Isaiah 40: 11…One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes…Revelation
21:3-4…and I will take away all the pain you have
suffered on this earth…Revelation 21:3-4…
I am your
Father and I love you even as I love My son Jesus… John 7:23…For in Jesus My love for you is revealed…John 17:26…He is the exact representation of My being…Hebrews 1:3…He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you…Romans 8:31…And to tell you that I am
not counting your sins…2 Corinthians 5:18-19…
Jesus died so
that you and I could be reconciled…2 Corinthians 5: 18-19…His death was the ultimate expression of My love for you…1 John 4: 10
I gave up
everything that I loved that I might gain your love…Romans
8:31-32…If you receive the gift of My son Jesus you
receive me…1 John 2: 23…and nothing
will ever separate you from My love again…Romans 8:38-39
Come home and
I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen…Luke 15: 7…I have been and will always be your Father…Ephesians 3:
14-15…
My question is
– will you be My child? … John 1:12-13
I am waiting
for you… Luke 15:11-32
Happy Valentine's Day...
M~
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“Who will separate us from the love of God? Will tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
-Romans 8: 35-39
*Used by permission Father Heart Communications Copyright 1999-2008 www.FathersLoveLetter.com
-1 John 4:8
"This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son.
And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was.
He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it.
And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to Him."
-John 3:16
Today I was going to give you a long list of all the to-do's I have. And it is
one. long. list.
But, I thought that would be:
a. whiney
b. boring
c. whiney
So, I just talked to God about how I've been feeling.
You know, I really *love, love, love* my life. But sometimes it completely overwhelms me. And it's the me part that is the problem. It's not overwhelming to God.
Clearly.
Just a tiny, little piece of cake to Him.
But I won't let Him have it most days, because I'm...well, I don't know why really. It does not make sense not to give it to Him. But I struggle with that anyway.
So today, when I was thinking and praying about what God was saying to me about all this, He just reminded me of that Scripture in Ephesians (another closing scripture by the way),
"Now To Him that is able
to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works in us,
To Him be glory in the church by
Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
world without end. Amen."
-Eph 3:20
And He just said to me,
"I'm able. I can do it for you. And you don't even *have* to know what to ask I'm able to do more than you could even think to ask anyway. Just let me."
How is He so good to us all the time? Just let Him. This is scriptural. I know this. But today it became that much more clear to me. And real.
So this was my response to Him. (click the images for a closer look)
I really love the way this represents how I was feeling, and God's answer. All my messy, sweet, jumbled life, spilling from the top of the tag and the red and white twine of God holding it all together.
"He is before all things,
and in Him all things hold together."
-Colossians 1:17
I love this new way of making things. I really try not to think about it at all and just grab bits and pieces off my desk and start adhering (you may recognize the "grace" bubble from my work yesterday, it was a "mess up"). I feel like more of what He's trying to communicate to me comes out. And then it's the lovely three dimensional reminder to me of what I'm working on in my life.
I cannot say that I'm not going to feel overwhelmed anymore. But I do feel a little more equipped to handle the feeling, or hand over the feeling I should say. :)
My favorite part about today's blog?
God is the red & white twine holding my life all together.
Grace and Peace to you,
M~
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"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known to God; and the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus."
-Phil 4: 6-9
See the post below for the inspiration for this impulse:
Grace, peace, mercy, truth and knowledge to you in Christ Jesus.
M~
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"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves.
This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."
-Matthew 5: 43-48 the message
One of the things I love about the New Testament letters is the greetings the disciples opened and closed their writings with.
Have you ever just gone through the letters and read the greetings and closings only? Try it, it's fun.
Paul mostly wished God's grace and peace on his readers, but when he wrote to Timothy he included mercy.
Peter emphasized God's peace as well as grace.
For John, the addition of joy.
My very favorite closing though, is by Jude, one of Jesus' brothers.
"Now to Him Who is able to keep you from stumbling or slipping or
falling, and to present you unblemished (blameless and faultless)
before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with
unspeakable, ecstatic delight]--
To
the one and only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory
(splendor), majesty, might and dominion, and power and authority,
before all time and now and forever (unto all the ages of eternity).
Amen (so be it)."
-Jude 1:24-25 amp
The message puts it like this:
"And now to Him
who can keep you on your feet,
standing tall in His bright presence,
fresh and celebrating—to our one God,
our only Savior,
through Jesus
Christ, our Master,
be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all
time,
and now, and to the end of all time. Yes."
Yes.
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"And that's about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace."
-2 Cor 13:11 the message
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