Pray Big

PRAY BIG

thinking alot about these words

and ABUNDANTLY-

a very great quantity- 
considered to be MORE THAN ENOUGH
great wealth

1 Timothy 1:14

The grace of our Lord was poured out 

on me abundantly, along with the

 faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

About putting a BIG GOD in small boxes
when He wants to give me Abundant Grace

Faith Hope and Love

 Last week I was invited to a friend's house for lunch.

When driving there I was thinking about how special the gift

 is to invite someone into your home.

LET them into your life.  Flaws. Dust. And all. 

 At least that is the way I have begun to see what hospitality

 REALLY IS......

 It is not about the perfection of how we live, 

but the offering of the wholeness of WELCOME.

It is preparing my heart to be vulnerable.

To be willing to give something of myself.
It is an offering.

My friend Bonnie 

 (whoops, now you know)

  is incredibly talented and a delightful hostess.

 Yummy soup

Warm Kitchen

Tasty salad

And catching up

Girl stuff

Parent stuff

Life stuff

Heart stuff

And as time came to depart she handed me a gift bag. 

She said, "You inspired this. 

I learned how to do some of these techniques 

at church at the Keep the Faith Event."

Creating visual faith reminders.

Telling the story.

Faith Hope and Love
Mixed Media Canvas

Create Joy

French New Testament- 1848

Moving a few things around the house--really don't remember where I got this

 very old New Testament- cover gone.

small Create Joy sign 
from my friend Michele

Been thinking alot of how Joy comes and goes in our lives- 

 sometimes it is whisked away and "nothing we do"

 replaces it or pulls in back within us.

In the realm of heavenly choices I have a God who can only build up - 

create.

Because of His Goodness- any time there is destruction. it is with the ultimate purpose

of "building up" or making stronger or causing us to turn back to Him.

His very nature does not allow him to belittle, lessen or diminish us. 

 He is Wholly GOOD.

So, in my day to day transformation process of becoming Christ-like-

 that He is in charge of directing in my life--

He is Creating...

He has opened the door to JOY every day.

My daily mantra in moving forward is this very essence.

  What will be my open mindset?

  Create or Destroy? 

 Build up or Tear Down?

 Each and every reaction, response and word of the day....

In Quietness

a sunset this week- February 2013

Springfield, VA

Lenten thoughts from today's reading in 

Jesus Calling- by Sarah Young

for those a little under the weather this weekend-

"Thank me for the conditions that are requiring you to be still.

Quietness and trust enhance your awareness 

of My Presence with you.

Do not despise these simple ways of serving Me. 

 Although you feel cut off from the activity of the world,

 your quiet trust makes a powerful statement

 in spiritual realms. 

My Strength and Power

 show themselves most effective in weakness."

Evelyn Seidel's Valentines

Part of the treasure- Evelyn's Valentines

On a cold Winter weekend of early 1980,
 I attended a sale in Kendallville, Indiana. 

Auctions were my thing back then and I loved the hunt and the bidding

 and the thrill of "the find". 

And now some 33 years later I write the story

 of the box of Valentines found and purchased that day.

It is a silver box.....oblong and a bit shiny. 

 Nobody paid any attention to it pre-auction. 

I had not spotted it during the "look-see" 

or I would have already known the treasure. 

 So as it came up for bid-

 I went top dollar at $5.00- sight unseen.

Buyer Number 34  and total- $5.00
article- Valentines

Early on I made a note inside the lid
 of the box as part of the story

Layers and Layers of Valentines

A few a bit ragged but mostly pristine condition

Some made in Germany
standup die cuts

delicate and yet sturdy enough for the test of time

I saw one very similar to this one on Etsy a month ago
 and it sold for over $500.
my jaw dropped.......don't tell my hubby.

Looks like the same style and decade

Many like these have moving or hinged parts

Birthday Blooms

Ah yes-  a birthday today--

 another year of blessings...

Been watching some blooming stories around the house--

Not a small feat to get the bulbs to bloom-

My friend, Lee, has the touch.

 In many Christmas years there is a gift of a bulb in dirt

 and a promise of a bloom.

Lenten Journey Beginnings

The past two years I have used Lenten calendars provided by my friend Sybil MacBeth to focus my Lenten readings and thoughts for each day.....

The small squares have been doable, finite and add to a visual picture of my Lenten Journey...
Here is what the past two years have looked like:

Sybil has graciously provided some more calendar choices at:

prayingincolor.com/lenten-calendar-templates-2013
They can be downloaded and printed from this site.

A pathway version

Hexagon

2013 Lenten calendar

Still deciding what my Lenten Journey will look like.

  Should I try something else beside the calendar format?

This year I will be using the Devotional- 

Good News for All of God's People-

written by Michelle DeRusha- 

a member of Southwood Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.

It is a beautifully illustrated Lenten book of devotions.

 It can be downloaded and printed from this site:

michellederusha.com/2013-lent-devotional/

May your Lenten Journey be Blessed.

Let me know if you choose to join
 this Lenten visual journey.

Heart Receptivity

In this month of heart talk I hear:

God quietly whisper- "Be Mine"

As some of the readings I am doing right now--

 seem to connect in unusual ways--- 

always a God Surprise when that happens.

 Never anything that I could ever master to connect myself.

Reading in Devotional Classics compiled by Richard Foster

 in the works of E. Stanley Jones-  about Receptivity and Response.

looking at Col 2:6-7

 "As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord,

 so live in him, rooted and built up in him an established by faith."

received- receptivity

so live-  activity

rooted-  receptivity

built up by him- activity

There is a rhythm to this

 back and forth

living.

Hearts are made ready by LOVE

Eveyln Underhill speaks about how these fruits of the Spirit - 

joy and peace come into our lives-- not by our own striving-- 

but when we mind more about God than we do about ourselves...

not a small feat in our ego- centric world.

So my life is meant to give Him Glory- 

to bring Him praise.

Underhill states-

 "My objective is unearthly delight in God's action

(in my life and in the world)

 and the privilege of being caught up

 into God's action- whatever the cost may be."

Heart Tugs

  

An old candy box gently stores

 the Valentines from years ago-

probably 1967-1969.

February and all that meant in

 upper elementary grades in a Lutheran School.

so heart strings and vintage hankies

and assorted trinkets join to

adorn the tree

 with the

heart and verse cutouts

and there were eleven of us in my class

 7 girls and 4 boys and the odds

 were not in our favor on Valentine's Day.

and 3 of the boys 

had the last name

Meyer- 

and I was at least distantly related to them

 and the other was Myers

and I gently place favorite and special ones 

in the tree branches dripping with red

and the story goes---

  there was this "older" boy who moved in from the city-

 DH- John was a student those days in that school 

 and I have Valentines from every other boy in the school

 except HIM.

and he has given reasons and forged stories

  but none the less-

NOT ONE VALENTINE

Vintage Valentine's

It is February and I can finally

 not feel guilty about the hearts

 and things around the house...  

never mind there are a few snow people in the village

 and some favorite Christmas ornaments and lights up.. 

 January calls for those kinds of things and- 

hey it is legit now that Feb is here to say--

It is just a mixed up world and I LOVE IT!!

Will share some great old Valentine postcards- mostly dating from 

about 1906-1912

got that at least a century vibe going on...