Rebekkah chose these verses this week.

Mt. 7:7-8 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

The thought that came to me for these verses is a childlike persistance. When my kids were little and were were at the store and they wanted something, they didn't just ASK once. NO... they ASKED and they ASKED until they got what they wanted. When they were looking for their presents around Christmas time, they didn't just look casually, they searched the house top to bottom to find where I had hidden the packages. When they KNOCKED on the locked bathroom door(my only quiet time when they were little), they didn't just KNOCK once and let it go at that, they would stand there KNOCKING until I opened the door. I believe God wants us to have that same persistance when it comes to seeking Him.

The challenge this week was to make a card with a door. My "Door" is more like a gate, but it is what I had. I used the sheet music for "In the Garden" my kids when they were little called it the Minier song. We lived in a very small village in Illinois called Minier. There is a line in the song where it says "and the voice I hear falling on mine ear." It sounded like they were saying the name of our town. So this song has special meaning to me. I just found out recently that a dear sister in Christ from that area, named Bonnie, has breast cancer that has spread. She may be going to see the Lord sooner, rather than later. I wanted to make a special card for her, letting her know I was thinking about her.
When my kids were little and my husband was driving trucks over the road, there were lots of times that I felt lonely and sometimes overwhelmed as the task of raising the kids fell to me. My sister Bonnie helped plan a ladies night out where several of the ladies from our Church showered me with love. One lady, Kathy baby sat my kids, Bonnie, who was a hairstylist, did my hair. Rhonda was my kidnapper and took me to Olive Garden where the rest of the ladies met me for dinner(a total suprise party) and they showered me with gifts. I can't ever begin to express what wonderful friends these ladies are to me. Even though it has been over 6 years since I have seen them in person, I know that the love is still just as strong. God has since blessed me with another group of Christian sisters, who also shower me with love. It is my Stampin' Sisters in Christ. I thank God every day for their friendship.





Check out what my Stampin' Sisters in Christ have created:

Kris Linda Miesje Pegggysue Rebekka Traci Grace

Day 3 of MFP March Blog Hop

Welcome to the MFP March Blog Hop! This month, we are releasing 4 NEW SETS!


Our New Sets are: Just Dandy, African Veldt, Grandma's Boudoir, and Fish You Were Here.For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!

We have a NEW Blog Candy Contest! BE A GUEST DESIGNER!

PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY!

All Blog Hop participants will have the chance to win a Month Long GUEST DESIGNER position on our Senior Design team! That’s right! ONE lucky winner will receive a Guest Designer package that will include April 2011’s Four New Release sets, a selection of Premium Papers, and beautiful embellishments. The winner will also receive a Guest Designer Watermark, Blog Button and have the choice to participate in the April 2011 Blog Hop!


What do you need to do to qualify? Just comment on the Design Team blogs during the blog hop. EACH DAY that participants comment on all the Design Team blogs, their name will be entered once in the random drawing. Each participant has the opportunity to have his/her name entered up to four times. (There are four days of the blog hop, so there are up to four entries per person.) The winner will be announced on the Mark’s Finest Papers blog on Saturday, March 12, 2011.



Thursday, February 10, 2011-Grandma's Boudoir

Lois

Vicky

Dawn L.

Anne

Emily

Karen

Patty

Roxie

Vicki

Liz

Claudine

Dawn M

Nicole

Marilynn (You are here now!)

Geri

Lynn

Neva

Silvia

Guest Designer, Ted

Mark’s Finest Papers

I love how easy it is to make vintage looking cards with this set. I made this card and can for a friend at Church who has a birthday this week. I printed the frame from my computer onto striped dp that made me think of vintage wall paper. I added the old hymn SOFTLY AND TENDERLY. I choose this hymn because there is a line in it that says, "...Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing..." I was thinking Time = Vintage. The sentiment is from MFP set Just Dandy. The stamp in the corner was from MFP set Spring has sprung. I added pearls and lace and ribbons to add to the vintage look.

I took black fabric paint to add little buttons to the shoe.

This week as I was about to open a can of green beans, I decided to cut the top off, instead of using the pull tab. I covered it with matching paper, lace, ribbon and added a flower. I added pearls to the pull tab. I am going to fill it with chocolate and then I am going to glue the lid down. You can see a little gap now, but it won't be there when I add the glue.

My oldest daughter has a friend who is getting married soon. She was invited to a negligee party. She stamped the corset on the tissue paper to wrap the gift.

This is a card I made last week using this set.

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord oh my soul, let all that is within me praise His holy name. When things are going good in my life it is so easy for my to Praise God, but what about when things are not going how I would like them to? I will still praise Him. I love this verse from Psalm 146:2 "I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live." It doesn't make any other conditions except that if I am living I will praise Him. This has been a hard week because our youth pastor-music director has resigned and he and his lovely wife are moving. I have served with Pastor Mitch on the Praise and Worship team for 6 months. I know that God has a plan for them as well as a plan for our Church, but it is hard to say goodbye. Tonight is the last night with the youth and my heart has been heavy all day, but I will still Praise the Lord. The old hymn on this card was written by Frances J. Crosby and publish in 1869. That was 142 years ago. The part of this hymn that I love is this... "Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children, In His arms He carries them all day long. Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!" I know that He carries me. It is the only way I make it through my days. I made this card for a wonderful lady who has blessed my life. This last fall, my mother in law gave me a devotional called GRACE BY THE CUP. It really blessed my heart to read it. My daughter also has been reading it. The other day I found out that the author makes cards and also is a member of SCS. I sent her a note letting her know how her book blessed me, and she continued to bless me because she sent me her next book called Faith-dipped Chocolate. I made this card to thank her for her generosity. I used the sketch challenge from SCS for my layout. This card came together really quickly because there was no stamping, no fussy cutting and no coloring. The papers were from the DCWV Mariposa stack. They were very similar to the colors from yesterday's color challenge.

Give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Sunlight, sunlight in my soul today....

The Friday free for all challenge was to use warm and fuzzy on our card. The warm on my card is the colors orange and yellow and also the hymn... Sunlight by Judson W. Vand De Venter. The fuzzy was the orange fibers that came in a big box, of blog candy, from my friend Grace. This hymn was a favorite of my youngest sister when she was really little. I would sing it to her at nap time and bedtime.

Sunlight

I wandered in the shades of night 'till Jesus came to me, and with the sunlight of His love bid all my darkness flee.

Though clouds may gather in the sky, and billows 'round me roll, however dark the world may be I've sunlight in my soul.

I cross thew ide extednded fields, I journey o'er the plain, and in the sunlight of His love, I reap the golden grain.

Soon I shall see Him as He is, The Light that came to me; behold the brightness of His face, throughout eternity.

Sunlight, sunlight, in my soul today, sunlight, sunlight all along the way; since the Savior found me, took away my sin, I have had the sunlight of His love within.

I Trace the Rainbow through the rain...

Close up of butterfly.

The ways to use it challenge today at SCS was to make a card with a rainbow. The StampinB's challenge was to make a card inspired by a song. This is the result of both of those challenges. I made my rainbow by taking acetate and scribbling markers side by side. I then took a coffee filter and sprayed it with water. I then carefully laid the filter on top of the acetate. The markers slowly mixed giving me this great rainbow. When it was dried I printed this hymn onto it. I picked this hymn because of the line "I trace the rainbow through the rain".

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go (George Mattheson pub 1882.)

O LOVE that will not let me go, I rest my weary sould in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer fuller be.

O LIGHT that followest all my way I yield my flickering torch to thee; my heart restores its borrowed ray, that in thy sunshine's blaze its day may brighter, fairer be.

O JOY that seekest me through pain, I cannot clos my heart to thee. I TRACE THE RAINBOW THROUGH THE RAIN, and feel the promise is not vain, that morn shall tearless be.

O CROSS that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from thee. I lay in dust life's glory dead, and from the ground ther blossoms red Life that shall endless be.

George Mattheson the author was engaged to be married and at the age of 20 started going blind. His fiance left him because she didn't want to spend her life with a blind man. After he was completely blind his sister took care of him. He wrote this song in 5 mins the night before his sister was to get married. This hymn was based on the following scripture:

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Psalm 13:5

Hold to God's Unchanging Hand

For this card I used the sketch challenge at SCS. I love how it turned out. I lowered the butterfly panel just a smidge so that you could see the title of the hymn. I made this for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge to make a vintage style card. I used colors and papers that look vintage to me. I think the lace and the pearls also add to the vintage look. The butterflies are from the Mark's Finest Papers set called DAFFODILS and ANISE. The sentiment is from another Mark's Finest Papers set called A WALK IN THE WOODS. I made this for friends of mine from church. Their house was broken into last Saturday. The theives took their car, tvs, computers, money, camera with the sd cards still inside with photos that hadn't been downloaded yet.... but what the theives took that made me feel sad was their peace. They have been very anxious. That is why I wish them Peace. This hymn HOLD TO GOD'S UNCHANGING HAND has a line that says..."Covet not this world's vain riches... that so rapidly decay. Seek to gain the heav'nly treasures. They will never pass away." I hope this thought will encourage them. (side note... I usually edit my photos using Picasa 3. There is a new feature that connects to Picnic. It allowed me to frame my photo in picnic then send it back to picasa. I really like how it looks)

Grace Greater than Our Sin

The Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge this week was to make a vintage card to remind us of God's unchanging love for us. I used the VINTAGE hymn GRACE GREATER THAN OUR SIN. This may not be the first song or thought that might come to you when you think of a love song, but what shows love more than a God who loved us while we were still sinners. He loved us so much that he gave his only son for us. I have 4 kids that I love, and I can't imagine "Giving" them for someone who didn't know me or care about me, but that is what God did. Before I knew him, HE LOVED ME. Before I wanted a relationship with him, HE LOVED ME. Before I repented of my sins, HE LOVED ME. HE LOVES ME STILL AND ALWAYS WILL.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord. Grace that exceed our sin and our guilt! Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured, there where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
Sin adn despair like the seawaves cold. Threaten the soul with infinite loss. Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold, points to the refuge the mighty cross.
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide. What can we do to wash it away? Look! There is flowing a crimson tide. Brighter than snow you may be today.
Marvelous infinite matchless grace, freely bestowed on ALL who believe! You that are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive?
Grace, Grace, God's Grace, Grace that will pardon and clease within. Grace, Grace, God's Grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin!

This card was also for the Technique Lovers Challenge at SCS. We were to make faux tiles. I made my faux tiles with the hymn page that I printed on dp. I added lace, pearls, and ribbons for the vintage look. I stitched the panels on to the card. I used the butterfly from Mark's Finest Papers TAKE A PEEK set and the sentiment is from Mark's Finest Papers HAPPY PANSIES.

Does Jesus Care?

Does Jesus Care?

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deep for mirth or song

as the burdens press, and the cares distress and the way grows weary and long?

Does Jesus care when my way is dark witha nameless dread and fear?

As the daylight fades into deep night shaes, does He care enough to be near?

Does Jesus care when I've tried and failed to resist some temptation strong?

When for my deep grief there is no relief, though my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care when I've said "goodbye" to the dearest on earth to me;

And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks. Is it aught to Him? Does he see?

OH YES HE CARES I KNOW HE CARES! HIS HEART IS TOUCHED WITH MY GRIEF!

WHEN THE DAYS ARE WEARY, THE LONG NIGHTS DREARY, I KNOW MY SAVIOR CARES!!!!!!

I made this card for the free for all challenge to have a word or phrase repeated over and over as part of the background of the card. I used my computer to print, OH YES HE CARES over and over. I printed this old hymn on blue cardstock. I added a photo cut from a calendar that my aunt gave me. (It was from last month's picture) I stamped the lighthouse from Mark's Finest Papers set called WELCOME HOME. I added twine and brads and sewed around the edges. I made this for an older friend from church. He hurt his back this week and had to go to the emergency room today because he couldn't move at all. I hope that it will encourage him and remind him that JESUS does indeed care, and so do I.

Brighten the corner...

Brighten the Corner Where You Are

Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do. Do not wait to shed your light afar. To the many duties ever near you, now be true. Brighten the corner where you are. Just above are clouded skies that you may help to clear. Let not narrow self your way debar. Though into one heart alone may fall your song of cheer. Brighten the corner where you are. Home for all your talent you may find a need, Here reflect the bright and Morning Star. Even from your humble hand, The Bread of Life my feed. Brighten the corner where you are. Brighten the corner where you are, Brighten the corner where you are. Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar; brighten the corner where you are.

The words to this old hymn were going through my head this morning after a friend posted the title as her status on Facebook. I looked up the hymn and was really touched by the part of the verse that I have in bold letters. It so describes my desire to use my talents to praise God and to encourage others. So many times Satans whispers to me that I can't do anything... I can not cure diseases, fix world hunger, manage the economy... so many things I can't do. Then I am reminded that what I can do is... make a card, write a note... send some mail so that someone has a happy moment at their mailbox.

Today's challenge was to use a gradient ink pad. I didn't have one so I stamped several colors of ink onto a sheet of acetate. I then stamped my heart onto the acetate and then onto the paper. The result was a little softer and faded than if I had inked it directly. I stamped over the top with versamark and heat embossed UTEE. I printed the hymn onto green cardstock. I added lace, ribbon, buttons, and a quilled heart. The base of the card was embossed with my cuttlebug using the dotted swiss folder. I wanted the dots to compliment the dots on the ribbon.