faith – Page 3 – Through My Eyes

Moving Forward

I try to begin and end each day with prayer. It is not something I have always done but during the last year in particular it has been something I have tried to maintain to cope with life.

For the most part I have always been faith driven but there have certainly been times when I questioned God’s intentions. Last Thursday was certainly one of those days. It was later that day that I had to remind myself that it is not always about us! It is not our will or plan that is important. It is God’s will that is important.

We have to set aside our own personal feeling and let Him lead. The evil that caused the events on Wednesday to take place is still in this world.

It is time for God to take the reins because what man has put in place cannot easily be undone. There is still hope but peace will not come easily. Things will get worse before they get better.

Our part in this is simply to be patient. Don’t be swayed by mass media and corrupt social media. When we are quiet God has an opportunity to do his best work.

For me and my house, we will serve the Lord. This country can be great again but it will suffer a lot of birth pains before it reaches that point.

Be quiet and listen to the whispers of God for direction. For me moving forward I will be less concerned about the state of this country and more concerned about my own spiritual health. I will leave the hard stuff to God.

Fear not for the things you cannot fix…it is not meant for you too. Rejoice in your faith and family and everything else will be taken care of.

We truly do need to be “one nation under God” and that begins with each one of us. Have a truly wonderful day.

Crosses In The Sky

In the aftermath of Wednesday’s disaster I was unsure whether there was any future left. So disgusted by our cowardly Congress, antifa, and the loss of life. None of it was President Trump’s fault contrary to what the media would have you to believe. Anyway, it really made me question everything

Any chance we had left of reviving this country was lost to two people who are not worthy to even cross President Trump’s path. I know there will be a few of you that will disagree…and thats okay. I had asked God for a sign that all was not lost…a few minutes ago I got the sign.

I sat down in my office like I do every day for prayer and looked out the window. There were a lot of clouds but at the bottom almost at the horizon line were three crosses lying on their side.

You may not readily see them in these pictures as the clouds were still moving:

Just to the right of the building. Even when this was shot they were not as clear as they had been.

Just a reminder that just when there is nothing positive left God reminds us that he is here for us. Excited now to see what is coming.

Have a blessed day.

Fear Not

In a previous post “Standing In The Storm” I touched on the subject of fear. There are two things that are crippling this country 1) lack of faith and 2) fear.

This year more than ever this country has been driven to fear: fear of the pandemic, fear of political unrest, fear of radical groups and for a lot of people life in general.

God says “FEAR NOT”. As early as Genesis 15:1 in the Bible he begins to tell us to not be afraid. Fear can lead perfectly normal people down a path of destruction. By getting rid of your fear you take hold of something more powerful.

Fear not only affects us spiritually, it can have devastating affects on our body. Think about it. You experience high blood pressure, headaches, elevated heart rate and multiple other symptoms.

What do we really have to fear? The pandemic is real but the fear and paranoia over it is far worse. Loss of jobs and income are real but they are fixable. You can’t fix evil but being fearful won’t make it go away.

God and his son Jesus Christ both said FEAR NOT. Fear not for those things you may not have power over anyway. Fear not..because God is in control! Fear not because when you release the fear and have faith you become the warrior not the wimp!

Just think about the things you are fearful of and replace that fear with faith. I put this into practice a few years back during a hurricane when my husband expressed concern and fear of the storm. I was determined I was not going to be fearful and gave my fear to God. I immediately felt a sense of calm and peace and had no fear. When the storm was over, there was no damage not even a twig was out of place.

As we start 2021 make your first resolution one of having no fear. God has the power to “wipe the slate clean” and give us a fresh start but only if we release our fear and follow him.

Have a blessed and powerful new year.

Merry Christmas!

This year has certainly been one for the books. Dispite all the negativity I have tried to remain positive, devoted my time to the arts and my spirit to my Lord.

My wish for you is that you and your families will remain safe and well and that the future will be full of hope.

More importantly, keep Christ in Christmas.

Choose an amount

Or enter a custom amount

The Meaning Behind Gifts

Typically I am not very good at choosing gifts for other people. While I try to choose gifts that are unique I sometimes feel that is not enough. This year while so many thousands of people have been affected by the pandemic, I feel the choice of the gift could be very important and those people feel particularly pressured to provide gifts.

This year I chose to make my gifts, not for lack of money but more for meaning. So many times in the past I found myself buying just to check off a name on my list. This year I thought it was more important to really give a gift. Here is an example.

When I made this earring I made it in a simple design but the colors I chose were the colors of the Magi’s gifts. The outer edge is gold, the lighter gold represents frankincense and the dark center is for Myrrh. When I gift this I will include a card explaining the colors.

With the complexities of this year, it will be nice to give the simple things like time, friendship, and most of all LOVE.

While wondering what to give your family and/or friends consider what you already have. While material things are nice, there are things you can give that you can’t buy.

Consider what you real gifts are and give those. For example if you are a photographer consider photographing a family that cannot afford to have their picture taken and gift them a photo that they will always cherish. The money you won’t make from it will gift you a memory as well. If you are a crafter, make a gift for a child or a single mom or a person in a nursing home that is shut in. The time you spend will be well worth it. Give a blessing and receive on in return.

The true gifts of the Magi: a baby could not use the physical gifts they brought but they brought the best that they had. Think about it when choosing gifts.

God bless you all.

Connecting With Clouds

Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, extend to the skies, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.

I was working in my office when I looked out my window to see these clusters of clouds which from my window seemed to be glowing. I grabbed my camera and got these few shots.

Days like these when I look at the sky make me wonder, can Heaven be any more beautiful than this?

Have a blessed day.

The Right Path

As the picture implies there is a path. It can be simple or misleading with lots of treacherous detours. While this is election day it is not just any election day but one that will ask that question…not just who is the right man for the job…but more importantly who can lead us down the right path.

Don’t close the page yet my focus is not on politics! Pathways can lead us to many things: a career, education, romance. During your lifetime how many times have you had to choose a path? If your life has been like mine there have been quite a few pathways.

Don’t find yourself in that uncertain space. A bad decision may have consequences but no decision will leave you stuck in a place where moving forward could be difficult at best.

So the moral of this story is choose wisely the path you walk down. The results could be life changing!

Have a great day!

Keeping Faith Alive

Good morning friends. This week I have again been reminded to keep my faith alive. While I know where my own personal faith lies, I try very hard not to judge others for what they believe.

Earlier this week I had an opportunity to visit the Freschoes of West Jefferson, NC. These paintings are not just pieces of art that are overwhelmingly beautiful but they relay such a strong sense of peace. See for yourself!

For more information visit the following wesite: https://www.ashefrescoes.org/churches.php

Surviving The Storm

While we survived another hurricane, more importantly, we are reminded of God’s power and love. Gratefully, we suffered no damage, we lost no power, and we awakened to another beautiful day.

While some people fear the storms, they may have far worse storms in their own lives. We cannot give into fear. While certainly there are times when we all experience fear but it is important not to let fear overwhelm us.

The Bible repeatedly tells us DO NO FEAR. Regardless of your chosen faith, it is important to know that we can take control of most situations and those that we cannot control we have to be willing to give to a higher power.

In the song “Standing In The Storm”, the Sharps relay this point that we are not alone during these times of fear and helplessness. Whatever your personal situation is like last night’s storm and the following pictures shows…the sun will come up again and life will continue!