Some Art from a Fragile Heart...

So lately I have turned creative to calm my mind and my spirit.
Art helps me to centre back on God and to calm and focus.
I always try to find a verse to go with my pieces, and almost always God brings one to my mind as I work on them.
Here's this weeks works with the verses attached.

 

Psalm 139:3

You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am.

1 Kings 19:11-13

 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Psalm 23: 1-3

The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.

Many Blessings!

A Blessed Year!

So I've finished...

            

Teaching Scripture for the year and due to my University commitments and suburb change I will not be returning.

However, I feel so blessed to have been part of my class' lives. Being the first teacher to last a whole year with them.

Here are some links that helped me along the way:

Fervr.net

Biblegateway.com

My life is about the Change dramatically.

Last night I said goodbye to my Church of 12 years. I am attempting to change degrees and I will soon be in a completely different suburb quiet a trek from most of my friends.

              

Sometimes I don't understand God.

The first thing I thought about all this was - 'Why would God bless me with so much ministry and such close friendships and then take it all away.'

But then I remembered a conversation I had with a great friend of mine earlier this year. He said 'Heather, maybe God is preparing you for harder stuff later in life.'

At the time I didn't like the thought but now I understand.

           

God has blessed me with so much to leave that I can leave knowing that I am always loved and supported not only by these wonderful people but also by my Wonderful God.

We don't always understand what God is doing with us and often life feels like a random string of events but we can be confident that we follow a consistent, all powerful God who knows exactly what he's doing.

So as I attempt to cast my anxieties on God, I will leave this part of my life to start the next with sadness but also joy. 

God is in control, what more can I ask?

Some picture I created for me beach mission team this year. So blessed to be spending 10 days with people who Love God and who Love me before I begin my next phase of life.

Many Blessings!

Big Changes

I often have no idea what God is doing in my life. Most of the time I don't mind but lately I really have.
You see this year has been one of massive growth for me. For the first time I have attended church regularly for the whole year. However, I will be leaving my current and loved church (where I've been for the last 12 years of my life) because my family is moving house and therefore moving suburbs.

Here's something I say often: "Be careful what you pray for!"

I have once again not been taking my own advice.
Earlier in the year I was praying: "God send me wherever, I am your servant"
I was also praying for a feeling of safety, security and consistency in my life. Three things I haven't felt often.

But here's the catch...

God is giving me a sense of safety, security and consistency in this life but it's not the way I wanted. God is teaching me to find these things in himself only and NOT in my life situation. And God is obviously taking me wherever he wants me to go.

So instead of kicking and screaming  I will go with a sad but glad heart. I will allow myself to trust my creator, the most consistent being in my life and I will move house and find a new church with the knowledge in my heart that God is watching over me. God has many plans in store and though I can not see them, once again will I follow his lead.

I will also allow myself to feel sad, because sadness is an emotion and a proper one when you are leaving one church family to find another.


Romans 8: 18-30 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208&version=NIV)

Present Suffering and Future Glory

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Here is my current Work in Progress.

This one is for my beach mission leaflets.

The sand is made of raw sugar! 

You might recognise some of them from my previous post entitled "Breathless" which is also here: 

http://little-thoughts-on-a-big-book.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/breathless.html

Many Blessings to you all!

Freedom

Come to the bible and you will meet a God who will set you free!

I was open at Psalm 139.

Light Box Love final

I woke up this morning and an image came to my head. A wonderfully colourful one and so I had to try it. These are the fruits of this... almost exactly the image from my head.
Here are my pictures from today:

While I was working on the the final images a bible passage that came to mind. After some investigation I found it:

Luke 18:15-17

New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Blesses the Children

15 One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him.

16 Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

Here's what I thought when I chose these photos:

The first set of the girl and man make me think of how sometimes it takes a child’s faith to really get us to see the wonder and mystery of God.

The second set of the man and his son look to me as if they are hesitating. The father doesn’t know what to do with the cross and so he shelters his son from it. It shows us the profound influence our parents can have on our beliefs and our knowledge about what’s true in life. I thought "Don't hesitate GO FOR IT! You don't know what you're missing out on!"

Listen while you look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whv1DojfIWA


Many Blessings!

Light Box Love continued...

So I continued with my challenge today.
This week I am on mid-semester break (only for this week).
I challenged myself to make something with my light box everyday - however to be more realistic I've decided to change it to three scenes.
Here are some from today:

I put this verse to them, because I just enjoy doing that:

Matthew 5:14

New Living Translation (NLT)

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

And I found this quote which I LOVE as well:

“There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”

—	Vincent van Gogh

I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did making them.

Grace and Peace to you all!

Light Box Love

Some art I did today!

With the light box my stepdad and I made about about a year ago - before he was my stepdad.

Inspired by a picture a friend gave me and it had this verse:

Isaiah 40:30-31

New Living Translation (NLT)

30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
    and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.

    They will walk and not faint.

Blessings!