Glad Tidings of Great Joy!

Hello Delightful Friends and Family!
Happy New Year's Eve to you all.  I thought I'd do something a bit different in todays post.  Normally I show a paper craft project or pics of family but this post is a Bible Study that I shared a week before Christmas at Our Daily Bread Designs Forum (formally, Christian Paper Crafts).  For some reason the studies are not being made public as they were before and until they are again I will be posting in both places.  We've been blessed with a Gospel that is free to "whosoever" and I just don't feel right about the studies not being made public. (Kelley - the owner of the site, is checking for me to see if that can be changed).

THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US AND WE ARE FILLED WITH JOY!! (PSALM 126:3)

Joy – Greek Chara; Hebrew – Sameach
Meaning: rejoicing, gladness, merry, glad, merryhearted, celebrate.
This is His eternal and internal(!) gift to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. My prayer is that the eternal would rule your joy, rather than the external!

We’ve been given “glad tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10)

Here are some wonderful gifts the Lord has supplied abundantly to each of us.  It is my prayer that this would be a springboard for you to search the Scriptures for yourselves to see all the blessings that Lord has for us:

Salvation:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,              1 Thessalonians 5:9

PEACE:
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33

TRUTH:
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."       John 14:6

HIS SPIRIT:
"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." John 15:26


"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you."    John 16:7


"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." John 16:13


HIS LOVE:
"And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." John 17:26

FREEDOM:
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 31-32

HIS WORD:
"But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." John 17:13-17


Luke 10:17-20 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."



As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we are encouraged to persevere in the knowledge that the Lord is coming back! I pray that our upward look towards Jesus would dictate our attitudes rather than the hustle and bustle that comes so often with the Christmas season. May our hearts sing throughout the year - Joy to the World!

Amen and Maranantha!

In Christian love,
Natalie

It was a very Merry Christmas!

Hello delightful friends and family!  We had a wonderful Christmas and I was busy behind the camera and of course was focused on the grandkids.  It was a very busy two days but it was so fun to watch the little ones. 

Tucker Lynn (age 1) all ready for the festivities to begin on Christmas Eve!

Our daughter Kelly's family (Addy was excited over every gift, it was so cute!)

Christmas Day at Gee-Gee's (great Grandma's house) - Jakob opening up his new Bumblebee (Transformer) as Riley looks on.

Addy giving Riley a big hug!  Sweet cousins, they are playing so well together.  LOVE this picture!

Showing off their new S.F. Giants jackets.(Riley age 4, Addy age 2-1/2)

Sean, Amy and their youngest daughter, Tucker.  Cousin Will looking on.

Tucker checking out a Christmas bulb while sitting on Poppa's lap.

Thanks for visiting!!  Have a fantastic week & God bless!

Merry Christmas from Mimi (Penny Black)

Hello Delightful friends and family!

Here are a few cards I made for the girls at work this week.  This is one of my favorite stamp lines from Penny Black "Mimi" is the name of this adorable character.  These images are from a clear stamp set called Mimi's Christmas.  All are colored with my Copic markers. 

Paper: My Minds Eye: 12 Days of Christmas;  Neenah Card stock; Distress Ink, broken china; Memento, rich cocoa and fun accents using Spica pens and Liquid Pearls.   Can you tell she going downhill, I've torn the paper for the white to show to look like snow.

Inside of the above card: Stamp, Taylored Expressions, Woodland winter set; Spellbinders, Nestie Oval Scallops.

Same papers as above with the addition of American Crafts ribbon and Polka Dot embossing folder (ProvoCraft) 

Same Designer Paper, Bazzill and Neenah card stock. I've used the Spellbinders Deckled Rectangle and the Christmas Tree Die from Taylored Expressions.

Designer Paper: Making Memories, Twinkle collection; Bazzill card stock; Neenah Bright White card stock; Ribbon (stash)  Distress Ink: Aged Mahogany around edges.

Designer Paper : Memory Box; Embossing folder (ProvoCraft) Snowflakes, Scallop Eyelet border Die and Tiny Twinkles (Taylored Expressions)

Thanks for looking, sorry for the quick post but I've got to go check my list.....again!!  Shopping and baking to finish!  Merry Christmas!

Jake and Miss Addy-tude!

Hello Delightful friends and family!  As promised the pictures that did not get on the Christmas card!  We have here mild mannered Jakob and then little miss Addy-tude!  Can you tell?  I applaud professional photographers and their patience and perseverence with children!

This just makes me laugh!

Silly!

Getting bored with this picture taking!

 

 

Sit still Sissy!

After 83 pictures my daughter did narrow it down to five. I do love the "less than perfect" which truly shows the fun and sometimes exasperating personality of the little ones and these are definitely scrapbook worthy!!

Have a wonderful day and I hope these have brought a smile to your face and a giggle or two!

SNTOBDB48 a Christmas challenge

Hello Delightful Friends and Family!
I can't believe that December is half over and it's been almost a month since I've posted anything here on the blog.  That just shows how extra busy I've been.  I have a couple of things to share today for a Christmas challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs (SNTODBD49).  One is a card I just finished tonight and the other is a mini canvas that I made (actually I made 30!) for our Ladies Ministry Christmas party.  Both items I used ODBD Christmas Door stamp set.

I've colored the door scene with Copics and the ribbon is from my "stash".

I used a green and pink Spica pen for the glittery look.  The picture isn't showing the details but the bow is a very pretty and sparkly.  The garland also has a touch of bling as well.

Inside of the card.  The designer paper is Making Memories and the card stock is Bazzill and Neenah. Memento Rich Cocoa ink and Spellbinders Nestabilities Die were also used.

I really should do a quick pictorial tutorial for these because they are really fun.  These canvases come with the easel and each canvas is 2.5 x 2.5.

The verse is from Psalm126:3 (ODBD Christmas Door) the other stamps are from Taylored Expressions.  I've used Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint, Stazon Ink, Mod Podge, white tissue and Ranger Liquid Pearls, Tiny Twinklettes, American Crafts ribbon and Snowflakes (stash)

Thanks so much for looking!  I plan on another post very soon of the kiddos and pictures that you WON'T see on their Christmas card this year!  Have a blessed day and truly "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with JOY!!

Go Metallic! - ODBDSLC84

Hello Delightful friends and family,
Just a quick post:
I'm participating in the challenge to Go Metallic!! at Our Daily Bread Design.  And those two words inspired this card.   I kept it pretty simple in design, I hope you like it.

The stamp set I've used is called Christmas Verses (ODBD) which I've stamped with Versamark and embossed with Ranger Gold Embossing Powder.  The beautiful gold and cream designer paper is from K&Company (a couple of seasons old, I'm not sure the name of the collection - it came in a 12x12 pad) the holly leaves and berries are a gold foil embossed into the paper. The card stock is from Bazzill and the ribbon is American Crafts.  I've used the Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 22.  I've embellished with Tiny Twinkles, gold (Taylored Expressions).  The EK Success border punch is called Scallop Diamond, the Corner Punch is also from EK Success.  I've used the Cuttlebug to cut and dry emboss.

Thanks for looking and commenting, may you have a blessed day!

Thankful Blast from the Past

Hello Delightful friends and family!  Glad you've come to visit and I'm sure you are here for the Blast from the Past Blog Hop featuring the fun stamps from Taylored Expressions! The theme for the November hop is "Thankful". We are to create a card or project to show our thankfulness. It can be a card to send a friend or a simple 'thank you' for the always needed stash of thank you cards!

 The stamps are older sets released before September 2011 and it's exciting to be able to participate again this month! We have a fabulous sketch to work from, it is optional but it sure is a great way to get the creative juices flowing (thank you Sankari)!  I'm using the stamp sets In the Park and It's In the Bag, today. I've paper pieced the leaves using BoBunny (Forever Fall collection) designer paper.  It was a great way to use up some of the scraps!  You will find the list of participants at the end of this post. Enjoy!!

Taylor Expression Dies:

 Other ingredients:  Bazzill card stock; Inks: Memento rich cocoa; Distress Ink, Aged Mahogany, Shabby Shutters; Bic Z4 0.5mm liner pen; EK Success Corner Rounder; Darice, Hemp cording;  Copics: E25, E35, YG95, YG93, BG93, BG96; Cuttlebug

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Looking forward to your delightful comments, I am thankful for them!

I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

Sketch Challenge at ODBD

Hello Delightful friends and family!

'Tis the season... This is the card I've made for the sketch challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs (ODBDSLC83).  A random drawing determines the winner of a $15 gift certificate to be used at the ODBD store and I'm just going to confess this: there is a stamp set I'd really like to get for a project I'm doing for our Ladies Ministry Christmas Party.  Do I NEED it? Probably not a need but...  it has a Scripture verse with it that would be ideal for what I'm doing.  So I'd best get this posted so I'll at least have the opportunity to win!

Ingredients:  Stamp: Our Daily Bread Designs, Luke 2:11 set; Designer Paper: Girls Paperie;  Card Stock: Bazzill; Ribbon: American Crafts; Inks: Archival: Olive; Distress Ink, Shabby Shutters; Memento: Tuxedo Black; Adhesive Pearls: Kaiser Craft; Glimer Glam (Organic Garden), Tattered Angels;  Image colored with Copics: R37, R46;YG95, G97.  Spellbinders Nestabilies: Labels Twenty-Two, Cuttlebug.

Thank you for looking and may you have a real blessed weekend!

Happy Birthday, Cupcake!

Thanks for visiting today.  I only have pics of my youngest granddaughters birthday to share no crafty card, today!

The baby version of "Rub your head and Pat your tummy" (Chew on hand and Pull off sock)

She was fascinated by the noise and lights on her new toy from Grammie and Poppa!

She loved her new blanket from Gee-Gee (great grandma) "so cozy" (as cousin Addy would say!)

Cupcake time!

Delish!! (The pink marks on her forehead is lipstick from Gee-Gee!)

Kisses for her new baby!

Big sister enjoyed her cupcake and the celebration, too!  Fun day!