CTMH Spring/Summer Sneak Peek

 The 2013 Spring/Summer Idea Book from Close To My Heart will be released for customers on Friday, Feb 1.  Once again, the team at CTMH has created beautiful papers, embellishments, stamps and more!  This layout was made using the Chantilly Paper Pack and coordinating chipboard embellishments.  I dressed up the gorgeous chipboard pieces with a coat of Liquid Glass .  Be sure to check out my website on Friday for the awesome new Idea Book/Catalog!  www.belindak.myctmh.com. 

Joyful Jumping

 

 If you saw the card in the previous post, then you know today's scripture focus is Psalm 28:7.  The NIV says this "The Lord is my strength and my shield;  my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy,  and with my song I praise him." and The Message phrases it this way "Blessed be God—he heard me praying. He proved he’s on my side; I’ve thrown my lot in with him. Now I’m jumping for joy, and shouting and singing my thanks to him."

Do you jump for joy at the thought of your heavenly Father being your strength and hearing your prayers?  I promise, if you do a little joyful jumping, your heart will fill with joy unspeakable and be full of glory.  At the least, those around you will have a great laugh!   I always thought I understood this scripture but it did not become part of my very being until I was weakened by MS and spinal stenosis.

When I can not make it on my strength, He is there with his strength to uplift and strengthen me.  Many days you will hear me tell the Lord that I do not have the strength I need to face the day and He is my only strength.  He hears those words and gives me the portion of power that I need for the day.

My vision of His shield had always been the traditional thought of a "knight's shield" that would be held in front of him but leave his back vulnerable. However, my imagination was sparked a few years back when I was watching the children's movie, "The Incredibles".  The daughter, in the film, was able to surround herself and her family with a bubble shield to protect them from the enemy's attack.  That is now how I see the shield my God uses for me.  He surrounds me on all sides from the enemy's fiery darts!  Knowing God's got my back and every other side makes me jump for joy!

Inspired Stamps Week 4 of Gratitude

 

It's Week 4 at Inspired Stamp's 52 Weeks of Gratitude!  Have you joined the challenge yet?  You can find all the info HERE.  This week's scripture stamp is Psalm 28:7.  It is one of my favorite scriptures and one of my fave Inspired Stamps' Single $3.99 stamps.

I decided to create a Valentine card with the scripture since we are so close to the holiday and because of the sweet heart on the stamp.  Be sure to return tomorrow when I share a devotional on this scripture!  Also, next month will start a new month of scriptures for our 52 Weeks of Gratitude.  You can see them HERE.

Joyful Thanks!

Psalm 47:1 (NAS) "O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy."

<sup>The scripture focus for yesterday's card is one of joyful thankfulness.  I can not read this Psalm without a little excitement sneaking in to my voice!  Try reading it out loud.  See?!  Did the excitement enter your voice as well?    The Psalmist was not depressed when he wrote this.  Something awesome had happened!  God had intervened in a dire situation.  Strongholds had been broken!  Only joyful thanks would do for the Lord Almighty.

The full chapter from The Message emphasizes the feeling of amazement and joy.</sup>

"A Psalm of the Sons of Korah 

47 ^1-9 "Applause, everyone. Bravo, bravissimo!   Shout God-songs at the top of your lungs!   God Most High is stunning,  astride land and ocean. He crushes hostile people,  puts nations at our feet.  He set us at the head of the line, prize-winning Jacob, his favorite. Loud cheers as God climbs the mountain, a ram’s horn blast at the summit. Sing songs to God, sing out!  Sing to our King, sing praise!  He’s Lord over earth,  so sing your best songs to God. God is Lord of godless nations— sovereign, he’s King of the mountain. Princes from all over are gathered,  people of Abraham’s God. The powers of earth are God’s— he soars over all."

^{Have you ever given God applause? If not, next time He does the extraordinary for you, give Him a standing ovation!  He delights in the praises of His people and I believe He blesses us when we give Him the praise He is due.}  

Inspired Stamps 52 Weeks of Gratitude-Week 3

Can you believe we are in week 3 of our 52 Weeks of Gratitude and a new year?!  I hope you are enjoying the journey as much as I am.  This week's Inspired Stamps verse is Psalm 47:1. 

I decided to stray from my typical pinks, blues, purples for this card.  I really like the change as well!  I finished the card off with a non-typical "ribbon" as well.  This roll of gold fine netting was sitting out from Christmas wrapping still and I thought it really added the perfect finishing touch.

If you haven't joined in yet on the gratitude project, jump right in today and get started!  All the info is in this post at Inspired Stamps.

Simple Swing Card w/CTMH Artiste

 

There's a page in the Close To My Heart Artiste Cricut cartridge book that I was always skipping over because I just wasn't sure what  it was showing.  Then, I started seeing examples by other consultants of "swing cards" and discovered they were cutting them using the Artiste cartridge and THAT was the page they were using!  Thank goodness for those brave souls who tried those designs:)

This is one of several swing cards you can cut from page 52 of the Artiste book.  I plan to give this one to my hubby, so made it a bit "plain" and did not use traditional Valentine colors.  The papers are from the lovely Avonlea Paper Pack.  The stamp on front is of course called "Love" and is only $6.95.  The inside sentiment is from the Whooo's Your Valentine kit that is available for a limited time.  I used Saddle ink.

Psalm 92:4 Monday Musing

For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done,I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands. Psalm 92:4 NAS

Psalm 92:4 was the focus of yesterday's Inspired Stamps 52 Weeks of Gratitude project.  When I have read this scripture before, I have usually thought of the statement "what You have done" in the context of what God has done for me personally.  However, I believe the Psalmist meant to convey a much broader definition of the works of God's hands than that narrow view.

When you think of the "works of God's hands", what comes to mind?  His works include the creation of the very ground you stand on.  In fact, His works include the gift of the legs that hold you up on the ground you stand on!  The One, True God created the world and everything in it.  His hands formed your inmost being.  

Yes, He has also provided answers to our little prayers and big requests but even if He had not, we should sing for joy at His creation.  Even if He allows me to be in want, I must be glad for He has given me breath and life.

When I hear Christians say, regarding singing worship songs to God, "I just don't feel it today", I want to tell them to get over it!  Worship is not about You, dear one!  Worship is for and about the author of our Fatih and sung for the Creator of the Universe.  Worship is due to Him regardless of your circumstances.  

I believe Paul and Silas knew this truth very well and that gave them the ability to sing for joy while in prison chains and their sheer gladness in the face of their adversity unlocked those chains and set them free! 

52 Weeks of Gratitude: Swing Card-Week 2

 Welcome to the 2nd week of Inspired Stamp's 52 Weeks of Gratitude.  I know you are loving all of the beautiful projects being shown on the Inspired Stamps Blog. This week I created a "swing" card.  It is called that because the center focal image appears to "swing" as you open the card.  I used the stamp Psalm 92:4.  These single stamps are only 3.99 and can be used many times on so many projects.

 The inside of the card has a sentiment stamp from the versatile Card Ministry Basic Set.

I hope you are joining us in this great endeavor and are making your own gratitude projects.  If so, be sure to post them on the weekly post at Inspired Stamps Blog.  

I hope to have you join me again tomorrow when I share my Monday devotion on this scripture.

Whooo's your Valentine? January Special

Aren't these adorable treats for Valentines?  This kit is the December/January special at Close To My Heart.  The above photos are just some of my creations from the kit.  You receive enough tubes, paper and a cute stamp set to make 12 of these for just $10 when you purchase $35 of product from Close to My Heart.  Click on the photo below to go to my website for purchase.  Don't delay!  We've already sold over half of our supply!  When they're gone, they're gone!

Thankful for Each Day

The card I posted yesterday featured the scripture from Psalm 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it."  I've heard this scripture all of my life both in word and song.  Sometimes, when a song or scripture is so ingrained in your being, you tend to take its meaning for granted. 

I took a harder look today while considering this scripture in the context of thankfulness.  What hit me more than anything was the absence of modifiers in the scripture.  What I mean is, it doesn't clarify what type of day God made.  It doesn't say "This is a good day that the Lord has made" or "Rejoice because God made this day to be a happy day". No, it simply states this is "THE day".  We can conclude the author of the
Psalm purposely left out what type of day God made because it did not matter.

What?  Are we to rejoice and be glad about any type of day?  Does that mean the good days? Yes.  Does it mean the bad days? Yes.  Even the "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" days?  Yes.  But why?  Ah, that is always our question when we don't understand.  My belief is you have to find your answer to the why.  For some, rejoicing and being glad in a bad situation will eventually bring them joy and happiness despite the circumstance.  Others may need to make their joy and gladness a sacrifice to learn who God is in their life. 

What I know without a doubt is, despite the circumstances, any day that God grants me breath is a day for rejoicing and being glad.  So I say with the Psalmist, today is the day that God gave me life and breath and allowed me to wake up and rejoice in Him; I will be filled with thankfulness and gladness for His great gift!

Inspired Stamps 52 Weeks of Gratitude-Week 1

 

Are you ready for a year of intentional thankfulness?  Each week, beginning today,  Inspired Stamps will be focusing on a Bible Verse that expresses gratitude to God for daily blessings.  I will be sharing a card every Sunday but there will be examples of  Scrapbooking, Artist Trading Cards,  Art Journaling and more on the Inspired Stamps Blog!  You can read all about the challenge HERE.  

We will be using Inspired Stamps for all the stamping and verses, but this is not a requirement for you to participate with us.  You are welcome to use the verses we have for each week or use another verse or quote that you find more meaningful to you, or just print out your own typed verses.   Here are the stamps and the verses we will use for the month of  January.  Each week this year will have a different Psalm verse:
Jan 6:  Psalm 118:24
Jan 13 Psalm 92:4
Jan 20 Psalm 47:1
Jan 27 Psalm 28:7 
You can find all these stamps for $3.99 each by clicking HERE or going to www.inspiredstamps.com

This is my card for the week using the Psalm 118:24 stamp. I used paper from a coordinating 8x8 paper pad that I had and cut the clocks from one of the pages.  I felt this was a great card and scripture for a new year.  I highlighted the 1st part of the verse on its on tag.

 

For the inside, I added another clock cut out and a sentiment from the Perfect Christmas Sentiments stamp set.

New Year, New Plan, New Endeavor

Happy New Year everyone!  I feel I have been away from my blog for months!  I had intended to post lots of Christmas cards and other cute Christmas gift ideas over the last month but life made other plans for me.

I won't share all the details but suffice it to say we have faced many challenges with my aging parents over the last few months and we have had unbelievable difficulties with our cars since just before Thanksgiving.  In fact, it became a sad joke around here that if it had wheels and was ours, then it would break down-yes, even my motorized wheelchair was out of commission for a week!  We went from being a 3 car family to a 0 car family in a matter of weeks! 

The good news is, God is ever faithful and we were blessed by our church family, some relatives and many friends with a beautiful, accessible van before Christmas!  Isn't that amazing?!!  Advanced Mobility made this possible with a great price!

We have purchased a used car for our college son and are borrowing a truck until we can purchase another car for hubby and repair a car for our newly licensed 16 year old.  The other 2 vehicles were beyond repair.  What a bizarre trial but an amazing victory!

Now, onto my plans for my blog in 2013.  You will want to check back here on Sunday for the card I will be sharing as part of the 52 Weeks of Gratitude with Inspired Stamps!  Every Sunday, I will offer a new card with a different scripture stamp from Inspired Stamps.  On the Inspired Stamps blog each Sunday you will see other examples using the same scripture stamp in journaling, scrapbooking, art journaling, ATCs, etc. 

On Mondays, it is my intention to return to my Monday Musing Devotionals with a different take than before.  I will be using the Sunday scripture as a starting place for a short devotional.

On Tuesdays, I plan to offer a project and/or tutorial using Close To My Heart products.  The 2013 Spring Idea Book  will be released February 1st and has some beautiful new products that have inspired my creative juices!

Finally, I am excited to announce that I am now a Certified Spotted Canary Instructor!  I will be sharing paper crafting classes at a local Michael's store several times a month.  It is my intention to share pictures of those finished projects here with you, probably on Fridays.  It just depends on what my schedule wil them will be.

Well, thanks for reading this far!  I hope you will join me this year and let me know you are here with your comments!  Blessings on your 2013!