Lamentations 3:22-23 WORDart

 

Leftovers.  I have a refrigerator full of them.  If you are like me, you wait until you can’t cram another thing in there before cleaning it out.  I usually wait until just before I go grocery shopping and then clean it out.  I like to have a clean fridge for all the fresh stuff.  In my family you either like leftovers or you don’t.  My husband rarely eats leftovers, but my kids and I often enjoy having them for lunch the next day.  Leftovers are a funny thing.   There are the leftovers nobody eats, and then there are the ones that are claimed before we ever leave the dinner table.  It is not even uncommon to find someone’s name on a container of leftovers in the fridge staking their claim.  Then there are the foods that just don’t taste good at all as leftovers or maybe they are just overlooked or forgotten all together.  My refrigerator full of leftovers had me thinking about how grateful I am that I don’t have to depend on leftovers from my Heavenly Father.   The Bible said his mercies are new every morning and that his compassions fail not.  I don’t have to clean out yesterday’s garbage before I can start enjoying his mercies today.  I think it’s hard sometimes to comprehend that we have fresh mercy daily.  A lot of mornings I wake up still facing yesterday’s problems, but God is offering me a fresh clean day with fresh clean mercy.  He never offers me leftovers!  The problems may still be there, but He is extending hope and grace and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  God is so good to me!   I am so thankful for His faithfulness.

 WORDart download available here

If you are interested in the print ready WORDart featured above, you can download it here or click on the picture above.

The Frame-it WORDart is a separate download from the WORDart download, you must download them separately.  This also applies to last week’s WORDart, so if you downloaded the WORDart and wanted the printable you need to go download the printable separately. 

 

May you feel the fresh mercies of God in your life today.

~Karen

Another Birthday Card

I made this card using Soft Stone and Royal Velvet cardstocks.  I have found myself using Soft Stone a lot lately.  I stamped the Text Style background in Charcoal ink.  I wanted it to be more muted so I rubbed New Canvas ink all over it directly from the ink pad.   I then layered the flowers from Botanical Silhouettes on top.  I used Palette L’Amour Red and Momento Grape Jelly inks for the flowers and New Leaf ink for the leaves.  I used a strip of vellum to stamp the sentiment and then scored two lines on the top and bottom and adhered it to the front of my card.  I finished off the card by adding some pure poppy grosgrain ribbon to the top of the card and some clear gems to the flowers.

So what is everyone up to?  It has been busy in our household lately.  We celebrated my husband’s birthday yesterday and we will celebrate my youngest son’s birthday on Saturday.  There always seems to be a birthday to celebrate, but that is one of the fun things of having a big family. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.

~Karen

3 John 4 WORDart

 

The WORDart this week is a scripture I have had on my wall for many years.  I love this scripture because it reminds me every day of what my mission is as a mother.  God has blessed me with six children and nothing blesses me more than to see them live their lives serving Christ, walking in the truth and dedicating their lives to Him.  Being a mother is one of the greatest joys I have ever experienced.  Motherhood is not an easy task.  It can be very challenging and there are days of frustration, loneliness and even heartbreak.  Motherhood has driven me to my knees in prayer more than anything else in my life ever has.  God has really been speaking to me lately about not seeing motherhood as a “job” but as a ministry.  When I think of caring for my children and their needs as a ministry, it really makes me think of how I act and what I say.  If I want my children to walk in truth, I need to show them the truth by more than just reading devotions every morning.  They need to see it in my life and feel it in the way I interact with them (and others).  Shouldn’t I minister to them as I would minister to Christ if He were in my home?

You can download this WORDart here.

I also created the frame ready art above and you can download that here if you would like to use it.

I pray God richly blesses you and your home.  If you are a mother, I challenge you to view motherhood as a ministry and see how that changes the atmosphere in your home.

~Karen

I Heart You

This is a card I made for my husband for our 23rd anniversary back in July.  I used this really wonderful paper called Stone Washed Denim for the background.  It has great texture and I love the color.  I then die cut some Blueberry Sky paper with the Half and Half die and the Take Three die for the focal point.  I wrapped some red Baker’s Twine around the end and adhered it to the card front with foam tape.  The “I” and the “U” are stamps from Technique Tuesday called Large Provence Capital Letters and are stamped in Palette Prussian blue ink.  I used a heart scalloped die from Spellbinders for the heart and added glitter to the center using a glue pen.  A very simple card that makes a big statement.

Have a wonderful day!

~Karen

Psalm 29:11 WORDart

 

I finally have new WORDart to share.  I know it has been a while.  So much has happened since my last post.  My computer is still not working.  I took it in for a professional to look at it and they told me it needs a new hard drive…not the answer I was looking for.  My sweet, wonderful hubby is letting me use his computer since he is home recovering from his surgery.  Thank you all so much for your prayers, the surgery went well and his recovery is going very well. 

These past several weeks have probably been some of the most difficult weeks I have ever experienced, but yet I can see the hand of God in it and feel His grace.  I have had a LOT of Jonah days these past few weeks.  I am not proud of it, but it’s true.  (Confession is good for the soul, right?)  It just seems like life has been relentless.  It is very scary to hear that if your husband does not have surgery asap that there is a possibility he could be paralyzed.  It is also very frustrating to have that same doctor postpone his surgery for a week.  I was very upset and scared, I’ll be honest.  The Bible says that we are to give Him thanks in everything and that is what I tried my best to do.  It turned out to be such a blessing that the surgery was delayed.  God always knows what is best for us! Our dog got very sick and died the day his original surgery was supposed to happen.  I was so glad my children did not have to deal with that on their own while I was with my husband at the hospital, and I know I could not have managed without him there.   I never knew that losing a pet could be so hard!  Seeing my children grieve and feeling totally helpless to console them has got to be the hardest thing I have ever experienced as a mother.  It broke my heart.  You just want to be able to suck all that pain into yourself even as you, yourself, are hurting…to protect them from their pain.

There are times in your life when you know all your strength is gone and you can ONLY lean on the strength God gives you.  I was reading my Bible on one of my Jonah days, saying “Lord, I need something here from you to get me through this day” when this scripture I am using for WORDart  just popped off the page at me.  Don’t you just love it when that happens?!?!  It’s like God is right there beside you, speaking to you and letting you know how much He cares.  That He is aware of your situation, your feelings, and He will supply all your needs.  This scripture is exactly what I needed to get through that day…and many since then.  How wonderful to know, that He knows where I am and what I need at the immediate time. I am so thankful for His strength and His peace!  The strength and peace that only He can give. I know that is what has kept me going.  God is so good and I am so thankful for His Word!

You can download this WORDart here.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog.  May God richly bless you and give you His strength and peace.

~Karen