Visions & Verses

Meme Challenge

Well, I have been challenged by my dear blogger friend Lorie at Encouragement From My Heart to write a 6-word memoir.  Anyone who knows me knows that limiting my words will be quite a challenge! ;0)

So, here are the rules:

1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Of all my illustrations, I think this one depicts who I try to be the best:

My 6(ish) Word Memoir

1. Sinner (saved by Jesus and currently under construction by the Holy Spirit)

2. Wife (embracing submission daily)

3. Mother (the toughest job that will ever make you feel like a genius and an idiot in the same day (possibly the same minute))

4. Friend (to the most generous and truly loving friends that ever graced the planet)

5. Creative (struggling to capture a glimpse of the beauty and creative wonder of God and put it into picture or words)

6. Student (20 years of school never taught me as much as I've learned in 10 years as a Christian.  Everything I thought I knew about 'life, the universe and everything' changed the day I heard His voice call to me.  Now I learn new lessons everyday, everywhere.  Praise God!

Thank you Lorie, for tagging me and giving me this moment to reflect.  Now I'll challenge a few beautiful bloggers to do the same!

1. ~*Home is Where the Heart Is*~

2. ~The Art of Life~

3. Nicole Caulfield Art Journal

4. Karla Dornacher

5. This Homemaker's Journey

Ok, you've been tagged!  I look forward to reading your memoirs!!

A wife of noble character who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies. ~Proverbs 31:10

Refreshing Others

Blessed are those who thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  ~Matthew 5:6

I just finished my latest illustration for my friend's birthday.  It is a theme that I've been pondering since back in February thanks to several of Karla Dornacher's posts.  And as 12 of us sat feasting together in honor of my friend's birthday, I was thinking what a great blessing it is that God uses ordinary people to bless us and fill us with His message of love and hope.  This has been further reinforced by all the encouraging blogs and blogging friends I have met in only the few short months I've been blogging here.

And as I tried to say in my poem, God can use you, wherever you are, at whatever stage of your faith, even in your brokenness (perhaps because of your brokenness) to refresh and bring hope to others.  As the Apostle Paul tells us, God puts the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus into jars of clay -- our own fragile and cracked selves-- to show that the power is from Him and not from us. (2 Cor 4:7)  So we are all 'crack pots', used and damaged by everyday living, but still able to refresh others with the living water of Jesus Christ who came to redeem us all.  There are no 'cookie cutter' Christians, just individuals who have been saved from their sins, fight with their sinful nature daily, and sincerely desire to share the message of salvation with others.  So whoever you are -- housewife, soccer mom, punk rocker, student, teacher, businessman, nurse, retiree -- there is someone out there who will identify with your struggles and be encouraged by your uplifting words and message of hope.  I know I have been!

Father God, thank you for using each of us as we are now to encourage and uplift others.  Thank you for continuing to work in our hearts to make us more like your perfect Son, Jesus.  Forgive us for our imperfections and sins daily.  And grant us opportunities to share Your refreshing message of hope with others as we walk in Your ways.  Amen

Venture Adventure

Went camping this weekend -- north of Pittsburgh.  A 5 hour trip each way... It rained the whole way there, but held off most of our stay.  It was Nathan's first Venture Scout outing, and I really wanted to make it great, but instead I came down with this awful respiratory virus that's going around, and was just miserable the whole time.  It was also cooooold.  I know that there are many hearty campers and scouts out there who laugh in the face of sub-freezing temperatures and icy winds.  I'm just not one of them.  On the other hand, I'm pretty tough, I dig rustic.  I cook over campfires, but not when I can barely breathe and feel nauseous! 

Luckily, it wasn't about me, and the boys had a good time.  I had my hubby along also, and he really did look after me.  In fact, I think he kept me from getting hypothermia that first night!  We ended up leaving early, which probably disappointed some of the scout dads, but the boys said they were ready to go.  It was the hubby's command decision.  I had mixed feelings until it started to rain as we drove out of the camp. 

The boys got to fire some guns, shoot some arrows, paddle around in canoes, and other cool stuff.  Nathan really loves the outdoors.  He bugs us to hike and camp every time sun comes out.  I'm glad he got back into scouting.  He gave it up during Middle School because I think he thought it wasn't cool.  But the thing is, you have to do what you love, whether it's cool or not, because that's who you are.  This year he's beginning to grasp that.  It was nice to see him eagerly hauling out the tents and packing up the car, and setting up and breaking down camp.  I only wish my hubby and I were more eager to go backwoods hiking and camping with him, because frankly, we've gotten soft with age.  We'd rather sit on the deck of a warm cabin with soft beds and admire the view of nature than to hike all over it and sleep under the stars.  I'll admit those scouts and leaders are tough -- they shared stories of camping in the snow and rain and in all altitudes.  God bless them, and I hope they can teach Nathan a lot, because that it one trail he'll be taking without his Dad and I (one of many paths he'll be taking on his own as he gets older, no doubt).

Get Well

When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Well, I keep wanting to write happy, uplifting blogs, but life keeps sending me anxiety.  Mom went into the hospital last week. Thankfully it was not congestive heart failure or pneumonia, just some virus that seems to be going around.  She has COPD from years of smoking.  That's their new term for emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma and the whole range of lung disorders.  Anyway, PRAISE GOD, she's back at home and doing fine.  But while she was there I found out my Uncle is in the hospital in Michigan with his heart disorder.  He also has diabetes which really complicates matters.  And my poor Aunt is torn between seeing him and her Mom, who was hospitalized last month, and has been recovering in a rehab center.  Our church's former organist is still recovering in a rehab center, and will hopefully be home soon.  Also, a coworker's daughter is at Hopkins with a weird blood cell disorder that they can't even identify. Besides all that are the other illnesses going around and outpatient procedures, keeping friends home sick.  And we have a bunch of friends and co-workers dealing with recent cancer diagnoses.  It's troubling.

I do think, though, that illness and health scares give us an opportunity to reassess our priorities in life.  It is necessary, sometimes, to put life into perspective and be sure we are 'not so busy making a living, that we forget to make a life.'  It all goes by so quickly.  Also, illness helps us to appreciate health.  As my hubby says, 'would you really appreciate the morning if there were no night?'  And I saw a pithy quote yesterday: it takes both sunshine and rain to make a rainbow.  And that is true.  Without the struggles, we wouldn't grow closer to God and seek him out.  We might become complacent and think we were living for ourselves, by ourselves.  We would not grow from adversity, and would not appreciate the blessings we have all the time, like health, family, the beauty of nature, the miracle of the human body.

Well, I know all that, but I will admit that I dread illness, and the anxiety of having friends and family in the hospital.  I am confident that God has it all worked out for his glory, and that he can bring beauty from ashes and strength from fear.  Still, I worry.  I pray.  I give thanks for blessings God has lavished on us.  And I try to be joyful always, but that one is harder.  So I'm sending out more 'Get Well' cards, and trying to encourage others.

And like a blessing out of the blue, one of my favorite songs just came on to put an exclamation point on the point I've been making: 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.  Don't worry about tomorrow.  He's got it under control.  Just trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will carry you through.' ~Trust by Sixpence None the Richer (from Proverbs 3:5-6)  Well, I couldn't put it better than that!

Thank you Lord for all the blessings of life and health that you give us.  Thank you for friends and family to love and support us.  Thank you for listening to our prayers. And thank you for allowing us to have a close and personal relationship with You through Your Son, the Great Physician, the Holy Comforter, Jesus! Amen.

CONTEST

...remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' ~Acts 20:35

Spring has filled me with the spirit of generosity, and so I would like to announce Visions & Verses' first contest giveaway!  Just sign up on the web site to receive info about our sales, new products and contests, and you'll be automatically entered to win one of the above pictured prizes: A 'Wonders of God' Prayer Journal, A set of 8 Friendship Note Cards, A set of 8 Fruit Themed Note Cards or a set of 8 Everyday Variety Note Cards!  It's just that easy.  And I promise the periodic updates will NOT be daily or weekly like some stores!  No purchase is necessary and you can unsubscribe at any time after the drawing.  The drawing will be held on May 1, 2008 and I'll notify the winners by email. 

So hurry up and visit www.visionsandverses.com to sign up now (then click on the 'contest' tab)!  Or click the button in the upper right sidebar of this blog - "Card & Gift Shop" then click 'contest' tab!!  If all else fails, leave a comment or email me with your name and email address.

Good luck everybody -- I hope you win!