PROVIDENCE

My favorite definition of Special Providence is that it is God's extraordinary intervention in each us and  I believe that God's providence usually appears when we arrive at major crossroads in our lives. Blind faith is difficult to achieve.  After all, we are used to hearing "I'll believe it when I see it with my own two eyes."  So it takes commitment to achieve true faith in God.  I was fortunate enough to have had a close relationship with God ever since I can remember in my childhood growing up in the Philippines where the large majority of the population believed in God.  In my own experiences and later testimony, God has shown providence in my life time after time.  As I matured, I have learned to express my testimony when asked why I am so vocal about my Christian faith.  I believe that something as powerful as blessing, grace, and providence should never ever be kept to oneself no matter if one is judged by others.  This is part of God's plan.  We have been given free will.  I don't aim to please people because in the end I am only accountable for my own actions in my own life.  I have heard people blame God for divorce, death and suffering in their lives.  God doesn't bestow pain on us, he is the God of Love, but in the same token, God is not trying to win a popularity contest either.  He is and always will be more powerful than anyone or anything.  We need to come to terms with this and submit to His love.  God tolerates evil, sadness, etc. because of free will. He doesn't want to force us to be on his side, instead he wants us to WANT to be on his side. It seems easier said than done but it really is easy.  God loves you unconditionally if you just go ahead and hand him your problems to solve, never look back and let him do the rest.  Maybe it is time for us to submit to God's unconditional love so we can experience providence. My favorite mantra is God is God, I am not. You'll never know that God is all you need until God is all you got.!

HAVE AWONDERFUL WEEKEND EVERYONE!

STAMP COLLECTING - THE FORGOTTEN HOBBY

      So tonight I decided to create ephemeras out of my stamp collection that has been sitting in my closet for the longest.  I haven't touched it or even looked at it in so long because I knew that it would be an inundating task.  So now that I am semi-retired/actively creating pretty art, I thought well maybe it's time to go through them and actually organize them.  The best possible way to do so is to set it up so it would be in alpha order according to countries and maybe each one separated according to themes, maybe animals, events, flowers, etc. 

       Whew! I started with Bangladesh.  It wasn't too hard, I didn't have too much.  Then Hungary was next.  I wondered why the stamps said Magyar.  I've never heard of it. The curious fox that I am, I looked it up and it led me straight to Hungary.  Yikes, I had so much.  There were stamps in there that had the Olympic theme.  Well, I heard of the olympics being in Hungary, but it dawned on me.  Stamp collecting was a dying hobby.  However, I wondered why? 

    Looking at these stamps, I now understand what I didn't before.  People collected stamps because it really does tell a lot about the history of the country.  What happened in that year, the important events like the Olympics, pretty much their claim to fame at the time.  I didn't understand it before today because no one I knew collected stamps.

     I remembered as a child I used to collect stamps. But of course since I was in the confines of the small country of the Philippines, the most exciting ones were the ones from America.  I also had a pen pal in Israel and as much as I looked forward to his letters, I equally looked forward to the stamps as well to add to my collection.  I don't know where the collection is! 

    The point is, stamp collecting should really be brought back, maybe suggested by teachers to their students?  Maybe they can do a pen pal type thing, get in touch with kids at another random school in Malta or something.  The possibilities are endless.  Just saying, maybe if this generation could mimic our generation, perhaps they would grow up in a better world and fantasizing about what is our there, the beauty of the world as we know it, instead of everyday life that they are subjected to in the confines of their homes, gaming and running the streets.  It would be nice to know that kids could grow up in a normal world like we did, excited over the simplest thing like stamp collecting.

YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO LAUGH!

Why, Why, Why,

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

If people evolved from apes,
why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses
are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

And my FAVORITE.......
The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

A MOTHER'S LOVE

No other love but a mother's love so special to make us feel more than a human being.  It makes each of us feel as if we matter.  A mother's love is there forever, guiding us through the storms and watching us in the side lines when we achieve anything in our lifetime. A mother's love knows no bounds.  When the world has turned against us, a mother's love is always felt whether in flesh or in spirit.  A mother's love is forever!!!

WHY ART?

Every artist bares their soul in their creation, a piece of her is captured raw in her art.  Therefore each artwork should be shared and celebrated.  This is why I am an artist.

Media destroys the soul if you allow it.  Children need to get back in touch with their creative selves.  This could be why I do art.  It occurs to me that I aim to get kids back to the way life used to be for me as a child.  Good ol' fashioned art and interaction with other kids inside or outside.  STOP TEXTING TOO MUCH! Encourage the bliss to come out. Life is too short to be wasting away on repeating the negative we learned from the negative people in our lives.  Most of all, LOVE AND BLESS EACH OTHER.  God will appreciate that.  The circle goes round and round.  Where it stops nobody knows.  Decide whether to be in a good or bad circle.  REFLECT....

EXCITED AND BLESSED!!

Ok so I got invited by createmixedmedia.com to submit 7 artwork depicting the week of Feb 12th through the 18th, one for each day. I have done the 14th and pretty happy with it. One down, six more to go. I have so many ideas swimming in my head right now. I am sorry I can't post the photos yet because it should really go to the website first but don't worry, I will blog about it as soon as it comes out and post the link as well. Toodle-loo!