MAKING YOUR MARKS - Creating your own unique stamps from everyday items

Rubber stamps get so expensive these days.  I've learned from my mistakes buying those expensive rubber stamps in the past that I may or may not use again.  So to conserve some funds, I decided to create my own stamps.  I was so elated because I realized that not only did I save a boatload of money, I also made my own unique marks that I can reuse over and over again. 

So without further ado, here is a video I would like to share with you so that you too, can make your very own marks and create some unique and interesting art journal pages!!!

TUTORIAL TUESDAY - MAKING YOUR MARKS! HANDMADE STAMPS

WISDOM

The word WISDOM means the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight.

I believe that true wisdom comes from decisions sent by the heart to the brain.  Whatever we desire, we develop.  For instance, at the age of 10, I decided I would have a career in art.  Drawing, painting, observing how shadows react to certain things, as well as nature in general stir within my very core.

As an adult, life happened.  It was necessary to join the rat race in order to support my family so I did what a normal person would do.  Work at a job that had no purpose whatsoever but to be able to survive.

Along the way, I have developed the skills necessary to do my job and give it 100% so that I could keep up with the competition.  But somehow the tentacles of my inner artist kept wrapping around me.  As my spirit grew in God, the bigger this artist inside grew until it was undeniable.  Wisdom taught me to use the talent that God has given me to further His kingdom.  And so here I am.  Wisdom told me that I would never be a preacher, speaking in front of thousands of people but God found a way for my voice to be heard.  I now write to you about it to anyone and everyone who would stop, read and listen.  It's what I do.  It's what I was born and planned for.  All I do is be obedient.  Critics don't faze me. Haters will always be ever present.  Inspiring you is my lot in life.  I have wisdom to know this.  So I thank you and appreciate your attention to what I have to say, because it does come from the heart.  It is who I am because God spoke.

I leave you with this... "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.  All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.  Praise Him forever!" Psalms 111:10

Until my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

OH CLAY!!

So, I am now into ceramics, and let me tell you, it's the best clay ever!  So forgiving, can be recycled, and repaired if mishaps occur.  It is now at the drying stage which is excruciating because I can't wait to bisque fire these babies!!!!  But patience for now.  This medium is no earthy and natural and it teaches a lot of lessons!

YOUR BEST BODY EVER!

Even after birth, death is inevitable.  It is scary for most everyone.  Before I had a real close relationship with God, I too, was afraid to die.  I honestly believe it is because I was afraid of the unknown.  What is beyond this life?  I can't even begin to imagine.  The things we don’t see as human beings tend to scare us to the point that we would do everything in our power to push that thought out of our minds.  Understandably so.  But death is inevitable.  Every year our bodies, whether we take pristine care of it or not, are slowly dying, but I’m sure that goes without saying.

When Paul the apostle, a tentmaker by trade, wrote to the church of Corinth.  In 2 Corinthians Chapter 4:16  through Chapter 5, Paul emphasized on the subject of death.   Suffice to say, our time on earth is very short.  We are given a very small window to prepare our lives of eternity here on earth.  

Jesus started His mission from the age 30 till He died an earthly death three years later.  So to put it in perspective, in our day that was from 2011 to the present.  For three years, Jesus was out there healing the sick, raising the dead, performing miracles, and teaching about the ways of God.  If I was alive then, that would have been enough time to convince me that such a person is who He says He is.  The stories written in the Bible I am sure, pales in comparison to three years worth of all the other stories and revelations that happened.  Those stories endorsed by God to their authors convinced   them to write with God’s Word in Jesus’ glory days.  I am further certain they predicted  generations would doubt the credibility of the stories written in it, an unfortunate reality these days.  More often than not, doubters arrogantly justify it in their own thinking that it is a book written by regular people with wild imaginations.  But for what purpose though, I ask?  To deliberately mislead us?  What benefit would that be for us?  The contents of the Bible could not be made up.  You have to be a veritable genius to be able to make that stuff up.  So what is is really?  As far as I know, the authors of the Bible were hand-picked by God, normal, regular people!

As a thinking person, there is no justification for doubters of the authenticity of the stories in the Bible.  Even in those days in Paul’s letter to the 2 Corinthians Chapter 5:1-4 NLT he said, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.  We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.  For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.  While we live in these earthly bodies we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us.  Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.” 

So think about the time of your life when you looked your best.   That image doesn’t even match up to how you will look in heaven.  God already has that body prepared for those who believe that like Jesus, who was raised from the dead, and who glowed the whole time he was on earth after He died and came back to life to visit the disciples.  Do you get that God promised us to do the same for us!  How wonderful is that?

Paul said that while our bodies our dying, let us not squander that time doing and learning worldly things, but instead grow in our spirit and prepare ourselves for the beautiful and perfect body prepared for us in heaven by God, for ALL ETERNITY!!  You can find that verse in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 where he says, “That is why we never give up.  Though our bodies are dying our spirits are being renewed every day.  For present troubles are small and won’t last very long.  Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs the and will last forever!  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot  be seen.  For the the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

You see, our small minds cannot even as much as imagine what it will be like in heaven.  John gives us a little glimpse of it in the book of Revelation as God gave him a sneak peek.  As I read that book, my mind could not even begin to imagine the beauty that is waiting at God’s door! 

In conclusion, although it is scary for some people, death could be accepted instead as a rebirth to a better life.  Riches are worth more in a life of eternity rather than a life that is short-lived, here on earth.  As long as you believe, there will be hope.  I can’t even imagine going through life not being able to have anything to look forward to after death.  That said, as I sit here writing to you, I can affirmatively say, I no longer fear an earthly death.  I actually look forward to it.

Until my next rant… LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

TUTORIAL TUESDAY - Wall Hanging using Molding Paste

Check out my new video for Tutorial Tuesday!

WALL HANGING USING MOLDING PASTE

JUST BE YOURSELF - EVERYONE ELSE IS ALREADY TAKEN

According to Wikipedia, conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms.  This tendency to conform occurs in small groups and/or society as a whole, and may result from subtle unconscious influences, or direct and overt social pressure.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, everyone cheered because someone or a couple of people started cheering and they conformed with them even though they did not fully know who Jesus was.  Granted that Jesus deserved such welcome, it says a lot about our human nature.  When the majority is in approval of something, we tend to join in and approve of whatever it is in approval.

There is, however, a danger in this type of human social phenomenon.  That is, as individuals, when the norm influences our brain, we tend to push aside our own morals and our own beliefs.  We start to doubt what is proven in our individual lives as already honed by that separate and unique relationship with God.  Conformity can be perceived as a positive force because the majority agrees with it.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves.  Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you are disqualified.”  The bottom line is Jesus Christ in you.  If He is not in you, then you are not saved. 

A lot of people immerse themselves in the ACTIVITIES of the Church instead of immersing themselves in Jesus Christ.  What I mean by that is they do everything that present themselves as Christians.  They conform by going to church, with their whole family, week by week, they worship correctly and outwardly, they get caught up in the emotions of the moment and they had some kind of incredible experience that they may have thought to be significant but it had no connection to the truth or reality.  They sing songs but have no idea what and who it is for.  They don’t have a clue what calling themselves Christians is really about.

It is important to see the underlying reason of all the ritualistic acts associated with being a Christian and that is being Christ-like.  I don’t mean being Christ because that is virtually impossible.  What I mean is that when we praise God, we need to feel Him in our hearts, where our hearts are so filled with joy and gratitude for the sacrifice that is Jesus, the one who gave up His life for us underserving sinners and yet no matter how sinful we are He still loved us enough to die… TO DIE for us!  Every time I think about the marvelous awesomeness He has done for me, individually, I can’t even begin to thank Him.  He is my ticket to salvation, my ticket to all the wonderful future life waiting for me at the end of my earthly life.  We’re talking eternity… that’s a very, very long time!

Until my next rant… LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!

TUTORIAL TUESDAY- Gift Bag In A Pinch

GIFT BAG IN A PINCH

TUTORIAL TUESDAY!  I've launched this event to share some art instruction and life hacks and will be doing this every Tuesday (God and schedule-willing).  Check out my first two!! http://youtu.be/EubV7MqNaPU

YOU'VE BEEN DIVINELY ASSIGNED

One of our erroneous human characteristics is favoritism.  In any family dynamic, there is usually one child who is favored by their parents.  In ours, it was my sister.  I won't say which one, so that she can remain anonymous.  That sister was given the job of a spy.  She was also in charge of delegating chores to the rest of the siblings.  She did her job well.  My parents were very well kept abreast of every little event that happens while they were away.  She was good at what she did.  Often, she used her power as a smokescreen for her own shenanigans.  To this day, we have pretty much just laugh about it and she bears the brunt of the harassment at our holiday dinner table.  It is quite normal for any family, I believe.

Joshua, in the time of Exodus was a slave of Egypt.  During the plight of the Hebrews to the promised land, Joshua became a spy, along with Caleb, for Moses.  Later on he became a very important commander in their military.  Then he finally succeeded Moses as the leader of the Israelites into Canaan.  In the midst of all this, God had spoken to Joshua and told him of his fate.  From rags to riches, from slave to leader, God had given the distinct honor to Joshua.  

God did not pick someone with experience in battle, someone who had a leadership degree.  Why?  because God is no respecter of persons.  This means, He doesn't value any of his redeemed above another.  In short, if God said I will make something special worth in Joshua, He will do the same to you and me.  He is not like my parents, or your parents perhaps who had favored a child.  So whether you are a day laborer, a lawyer, a transient or an ordinary housewife, God can assign you to a task that would give you a prestigious rank in His plan.  There is something touching about this statement, something that reveals the heart of God’s love, so, be aware and be ready.  God doesn't make any mistakes, He is perfect, remember?

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!!