[Christmas] It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It's the 1st day of my favorite season of all!

Polymer Clay Christmas Manger
Ornament

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, 

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, 

Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, 

Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

[Bible Verses] The grass withers and the Flowers Fade

Bestsellers come and go but one thing stands forever...

Have a wonderful and blessed week, ya'll!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Verses] A Big God for a Small Me!

How are you my friend?

Have you ever thought that you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders?  That there is no end to your hardship?

That there is no hope for you at all?

Well, I felt all of that last week.

I have this knee-jerk reaction sometimes when challenges come my way and instead of facing it head-on, I tend to withdraw.  

And sob.  And cry... as if it would do me good.

Thankfully, God's word, His promises, the prayers of my husband, family and friends lifted me up.  

It's amazing how God speaks to us through His word, the Church, people and circumstances.  The theme of KHCB's broadcast last week was about worry and anxiety (and me).  Oh yeah, I believe that it was not an accident.  Nothing is.  

Friends prayed for me.  They are truly God sent.  

It's nice to pray together.  Try it if you haven't yet.

Finally, it was and will always be a comfort to know that my husband assured/s me with these words: 

"♥Don't worry, I will take care of you.♥"  

Awwwww....

Then he shared with me this passage of scripture that he read during his Thursday devotion.    

Oh what a comfort to know that God will never give us something that is beyond what we can bear.

He is a BIG GOD for a small me.

Amen.

Have a blessed week, my friend!

Drop me a note and I can pray for you too.

Or better yet, we can pray together.

♥  michelle  ♥

[Focus on Life Week 13] Faith

It is Week 13 at Ms. Sally Russick's Focus on Life:  Faith.  

For Christians, we are celebrating Holy Week, remembering the suffering and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Bible in Hebrews 11:1 (King James Version) says:

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

The Bible is the only inspired, infallible Word of God!  Historians agree as to the authenticity of the New and Old Testament writings.  There are people who try to disprove it but the Bible itself declares, 

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God [by the Holy Spirit]..."

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence if things not seen."  Hebrews 11:1

One of my favorite Bible verse is John 3:16, 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, 

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

God the Father gave up His Son for us.  His gift of eternal life is free to us, but it cost Him crucifixion.  God loves every person with an unconditional , divine love!  He created us to live in relationship with Him, but the Bible says that sin and death entered the world through Adam.  The penalty of sin is spiritual death but Jesus willingly died on the cross, in our place, to pardon us.

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

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central pillar of Christianity and the evidence for its historicity is conclusive.  By His resurrection, Jesus conquered sin and death, thereby offering new life, eternal life, to us!  

Jesus Christ claims to be the ONLY WAY to eternal salvation (life in heaven).

We must trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and receive Him by personal invitation.  Here's how:

1.  Admit your need (I am a sinner).

2.  Be willing to turn from your sins (repent).

3.  Believing that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.

4.  Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your like through the Holy Spirit 

(receive Him as Lord and Savior).

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, my dear friend!

I pray that the true message of Easter will touch your heart and your mind.  

It's not all about decorating easter eggs and buying candies. 

May the good Lord bless and keep you.

♥  Michelle  ♥

[Tejae Floyde] "Shepherd's Heart""

Let me share with you my latest encased heart as taught by Ms. Tejae Floyde.  Learn how to do it HERE.

This piece was colored with shades of green, blue and yellow to signify peace and calm.  
I also used glitter paint in blue to highlight the wavy pattern as in a flowing stream of water.

The heart is inscribed with the phrase:  "He is my Shepherd" and "Psalm 23" 
which is one of my favorite Psalm. 
 I made a base with a sheep (or what is supposed to be one) - haha.  

"Shepherd's Heart"

PSALM 23

1 The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

3  He restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

4  Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil for you are with me; 

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oi; my cup overflows.

6  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Blessings of peace from me to you, my friend.

♥  Michelle  ♥

[Tejae Floyde] Encased Hearts

Hello friends!  I have been a fan of Tejae Floyde for a long time.  I adore her encased hearts and when I came across her class in CraftEdu last year, I wanted to enroll but it never happened until 2 days ago.

CraftEdu is a website that offers tutorials in several fields including jewelry, fiber, wood, fine art and of course polymer clay.  They feature many great teachers and their tutorials are well structured.

Tejae's "Encased Hearts" class was fun.  The video and the handouts were very helpful.  

I carefully followed Tejae's instructions, took out my inks and paints and voila!

I love how soft and nicely blended the colors are.

Join her class to see how nice and fun this project is.

Let me show you my first encased heart:  "You are loved."  The reverse side of the heart says:  

"John 3:16" which reads

'For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that

whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.'

You are loved, my friend!

♥  Michelle  ♥

Gifts for the ladies [Christmas 2010 Gospel Bracelets]

This was a "handcrafted filled" Christmas for me.   I combined jewelry making with paper quilling and handmade packaging... yup, labor of love lots-of-love ♥.  This was a Gospel bracelet comprised of 2 pairs of  7 colors of Swarowski crystals:  yellow, black, red, green, blue, white and lavander.  Why these 7 colors you ask?

Yellow:  represents GOD'S PERFECT LIGHT.  1 John 17 says:  "But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Black:  represents SIN.  Romans 3:23 says:  "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Red:  represents the BLOOD of Jesus Christ shed ont he cross for us.  Romans 5:8 "God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Green:  represents ETERNAL LIFE.  John 3:16 "Fod God so loved the world that He gave Hhis one and only Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Blue:  resresent obedience in BAPTISM, being immersed in water to show the "death and resurrection" in Christ.  Baptism does not save you, but we do it to follow Jesus' example.  (Matthew 3:13)

Clear:  represent RIGHTEOUSNESS, a new or a clean heart.  Once we accept Christ, we become a new creation (2Cor 5:17).  God saves us instantly through our faith in Christ, He washes away all of our sin and makes us white aas snow before Him (Psalm 51:7; Isaiah 1:18).

Violet:  represent the CROWN OF LIFE.,  The Bible says:  "Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Rev. 2:10)

It is nice to be able to share God's word and be a blessing to other people.  To complete the gift, I made copies of the gospel message and glued them to a #1 envelope.  To make the dimensional envelope:  I started with a 5 1/2 x 5 1/2" Bazzill cardstock and scored 2" on 2 opposite sides and 2 1/2" on the other 2 opposite sides.  Cut the corners then fold the sides and trim the edges using a corner rounder.  I then added brads on the lower half of the envelope and a paper quilled daisy on the top flap.  I added embroidery floss used to close the envelope.  

Oh, it's so dainty and very girly.  I love it!

10-10-10: THE DATE TO MOTIVATE - B.A. CHICAGO MARATHON

It's been more than 2 weeks since I witnessed my very first marathon and I just had to write about that awesome experience.  First of all, let me give you a brief definition and history of what is. 

According to the Wikipedia,  "The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), that is usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon (the namesake of the race) to Athens. The historical accuracy of this legend is in doubt,^[1] contradicted by accounts given by Herodotus, in particular.

The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 500 marathons are contested throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes. Larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.^"

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is one of the most sought after event in this category.  "From a struggling road race of 4,200 runners in 1977 to a world class event with a record 45,000 registered participants, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon has come a long way."   

My husband and I arrived early at Moody Bible (4th and 11th mile marker) with a group of family and friends to support and cheer our good friend, DC.  The weather was nice - cool and breezy, a good day for running.   Preparing for a marathon takes months of long hours in the gym, cardio and strength training, careful diet plus tons of love and patience for the sport.  As the saying goes, "no pain, no gain." 

We stayed at the 4 and 11 mile marker by  Moody Bible Institute.  It was inspiring to see him and the other runners endure the course.  I know for a fact that training for a marathon is not at all easy. Here he is at the 4 mile mark (La Salle Blvd.), all smiles and no sign of  fatigue ☺.  Or maybe, he was just overwhelmed by our presence and support. 

Us spectators had to do our own version of the marathon too.  We had to walk here and there, trample on shrubs, and squeeze our way in the bleachers just to have a good glimpse of the runners on the finish line. 

In contrast to the "fresh" faces of the runners at the beginning of the course, some of them seemed to be panting on their way to the finish line.  Imagine running for 3.5 hours, starting with cool weather and ending with a "HIGH" alert system described as "potentially dangerous conditions."  It was about 1230 noon and it was hot!  We didn't get to see DC at the end of the course because to our surprise, he finished earlier than expected!  Yay for him!

It was a festive reunion for both runners and supporters.  There are those who run for a cause such as World Vision's team; some run in support for a loved one.  Most run for personal and health reasons, to have a sense of achievement.  I truly admire them all!

Our group was just so happy for DC and his great achievement.  I asked if he would run the marathon again, and he answered with a smile and a "NO."  Congratulations! 

Here's something to remind us about the Amazing Race that we are in...

Pressing on Toward the Goal  Philippians 3: 12-14

v. 12  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 

v. 13  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.

v.14  I press toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.