Maxam Made

 In First Corinthians 1:4-9 Paul teaches on the gifts given to us by the Lord - gifts given in abundance to keep us in the long walk of life until we see Him.  That he knows what we need when we need it.  What a comforting thought.  Of course, this hinges on our trusting him.  If we don't trust, we won't be able to navigate the narrow path. The narrow path would be the easier one to navigate; it would be if there were no obstacles lying in the way of the flesh. We have to trust him to hold our hand and direct us on that path. If we stumble, He is faithful to help us up and onward.  The broad path requires no assistance, and everything dangerous is hidden until a person falls so severely that they can not get up again and realize their ruin too late. I wanted to emphasize all the gifts needed in my journal entry. So, I used a stamp that came to me in a "lot" of rubber stamps.  At first glance, I thought it was a Magenta stamp.  It is an Art Impressions stamp from 2002.

 From  2 Corinthians 9, a lesson on giving and not giving.  These verses speak about financial giving, how to do it, and why to do it,  the point being that  God's economy is perfect.  A Cheerful giver is a person who is not owned by his or her bank account or possessions. Paul encourages us to be free in our giving, loving others as Christ loves us. Banking the freedom of righteousness, which through us produces many thanksgivings to The Lord! I used an old Impression Obsession wood-mounted basket stamp. I love the quality of "IO" stamps. and a few markers to make the seeds. It was a restful journaling session. I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with Thanksgiving to the Lord for his many blessings in your life, with family and friends and great food! Ginny M

 Hello everyone; it's  Word Art Wednesday once again, and we are now at challenge 623-624. As always, it is anything family-friendly goes!  We have our sweet devotion by Karen Letchworth, a digital scripture gift from Karen Murray, design team inspiration, and a sweet prize from Pretty Little Studio !  Check the website out. They have some awesome crafty stuff, including Digitals!! This week I made a folded card using an Anna Griffin fold-over die and a beautiful digital of a painting by Victor-Gabrie Gilbert titled 'Flower Seller'.   This die was a new experience for me, and I could not find any instructions for its use anywhere, so I winged it more or less.                              Here is the lovely painting The Process: I used the die on a piece of scrapbook paper and then thought I would use it for the card base. I used Microsoft Publisher for my printing and measuring  I eyeballed and used a grade school ruler, nothing fancy. The rulers in the program make this v

 My Bible journaling for today is John 10:9                                                                                                      Jesus Said:  I am the door: by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. This passage has been lingering in my mind all day; I shared it with the sweet 94-year-old that I care for several days a week. We talked about that door and how, when you look at it from afar, it seems very small and plain and nothing that you would run to and desire to enter.  It is not like Door Number One or Two or Three.  Even though plain, it is the most important door a person can pass through. Here is the finished page, and I will share the process: The digital is from Charlene Warwick's Art Doors of Hope .  Her work is truly beautiful and I am happy to share this link.   I cut the doors open with an exacto knife I used an image from the  'Beautiful' journaling series by Open Journey I used T. Holtz Tea-Dye

  Today's title is a quote from our assistant pastor, Andrew, as he was walking past a group of us as we were talking about tithing after a service. There was a small debate about whether this was an NT-valid practice.  This post is a little different from my normal, but I felt like it was important because while I do tithe now         (with a cheerful heart), that wasn't always my case. The root problem was much mire serious than I realized. A long time ago, in a land far from where I am spiritually now, I struggled with tithing.   I was a single mom with two kids and making an income that was well within the poverty zone. I struggled with my 30.00 a week tithe offering from my regular job and the 10.00 a week from a part-time job I did from home after the kids went to bed. Eventually, I just stopped - Now I know that was the worst thing I could have done financially. This was for an 8-year period. There were all kinds of reasons that I justified it with, but honestly, I felt