Summer Plans...

Hello!

Happy Sunday!

How has your summer been going...or winter, spring or autumn depending on where you live and are reading this blog post from!

We've been very busy putting in some camping time at our seasonal site, fishing, and doing some work around the yard at home.  The kids have finished swimming lessons, are preparing to go to Bible camp and before I know it the summer will be over and we'll be preparing to get back into routine!

This week at Mustard Seed Faith Challenges we have a new devotional and theme for you this week!

Our theme is "Summer"!

That leaves so much open for interpretation when it comes to creating!

I can't wait to see where your creative side leads you on this challenge!

Our dear Diane has written today's devotional which you can find on the Mustard Seed Faith Challenge blog.  

The verse she chose is...

"Ants are creature of little strength, 

yet they store up their food in the summer."

Proverbs 30:25

Sounds very much to me like how we as people like to do planning in the summer...vacations, sightseeing, lots of traveling, etc.  That got me thinking about another passage as I reflected on the way ants work.  Ants rely on one another because they are creatures of very little strength...they find food together and bring it back to the colony.  If an ant had to rely only on itself, I'm not sure the large task of storing up food would ever be completed!  That's like us...we can't do everything on our own...we need God's help!  

"I lift my eyes up to the mountains-

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth"

Psalm 121:1-2

This verse was also one of the verses in one of the FaceBook groups I belong to where we were paired up with a Soul Sister...we were to create a Bible Journaling Tip In with the verse and send it off to encourage our Soul Sister!  I thought that concept tied in perfectly with our devotional here at Mustard Seed Faith Challenges.

I decided because my Soul Sister does not journal in her Bible but rather in a journal, I would stray from the typical style tip in.  I decided to go with a large tag that she could use as a book mark in either her Bible or her scripture journal.

Here's how it came together...

I loved this stamp from Unity Stamp Company as it looks like this gal is looking up to the mountains. I thought it tied in with our summer theme as it also looks like she could be sight seeing!

The bright blue sky, the lush green grass with a beautiful sight in the distance...just how we picture a perfect summer day!

The scripture verse I printed out from my computer and cut randomly and adhered it to the tag.  

I've used distress oxide inks to do all of the coloring on this tag, and have then sealed it with a matte medium.  I've also adhered a second tag to the back of this one so my Soul Sister could journal on the back if she decided she did want to use the tag as a tip in.  This way she had a clear slate with no ink smudges on the back and the tag was also a little more stiff! 

It was a quick and simple project, but I like how it turned out!

I'm not usually a tag maker...but perhaps I'll try to do more in the future!

That's all for me today!

Be sure to pop by the challenge blog to read what God layed on Diane's heart to share with you, as well to see the other stunning projects created by the rest of the design team!

Until next time...

He Has Made Everything...

Happy Sunday!

I hope you've been having a wonderful weekend!

As I am scheduling this blog post today, the sun has decided to shine all day!  This week has been extremely cold and we've had snow and rain!  May is just around the corner and our family is looking forward to camping season so we are quite ready to be done with this crazy mix of weather...but it isn't up to us is it?  Nature has a way of reminding us that we're not in charge, doesn't it?  We know that God tells the wind where to blow, the rain where to fall and the sun when to shine.  I find that spending time in the great outdoors often leads me to praising and worshipping God.  To look around and take time to soak in His creation is a humbling experience.  God our creator has created everything....from light to darkness, water and land, animals and humans...to sit and ponder all that He has created makes you realized how big He really is!  And, what creativity!  

You can find the whole story of creation in the Bible in the first few chapters of Genesis.  I'm often amazed that people think that this could have all come together through an explosive bang, or that we evolved from monkeys...all has been planned out perfectly by our Creator.  To look around nature, to hold a new born baby really makes you realize that we are here on this earth for more than to just exist with no purpose.   

 This week on Mustard Seed Faith Challenges we want to meditate on God as our Creator. 

Jeanne came up with this idea through the praise and worship song by Big Daddy Weave called "Overwhelmed"...and that is exactly how I feel when I think of all that God has created and done for me when I wasn't deserving.  

Here's the link to the video of this song...we had a chance to see Big Daddy Weave live last summer at the praise and worship time with them was amazing!

So, take a few minutes to listen to this beautiful song...rest and allow your spirit to soak in the lyrics and reflect on all God has created...

While our theme this week for the challenge is God as Creator and creation, we have made it simple for you to create by including a sketch challenge!

Here's a peek at the sketch...


I've kept my project very simple this week!
I had a few images in my Silhouette library and thought they would be perfect for this challenge.
I love my Silhouette and it's print and cut features...it makes creating very quick and easy!

Here's how my project came out...

I've always loved Precious Moments and I just couldn't resist using one of the print and cut images from the Silhouette Design Store.  I'd owned these files for quite some time and just hadn't had the time to use them.  I printed the coordinating background from the Precious Moments collection as well.  I've popped it up off the card base.  I've adhered the sun and little girls image onto a simple oval die cut and popped the oval up off the card base as well.  Don't they just look like they are admiring God's creation of flowers!  I've stamped the sentiment (which comes from one of my Illustrated Faith stamps) onto white card stock, trimmed it and inked the edges with a light pink and adhered it to the card.  Not exactly as shown in the sketch...but that's the beauty of a sketch challenge...you don't have to follow it exactly!  Some glitter and a few yellow sequins and this little creation came together in about a half hour, including print and cut time with the Silhouette.

I do hope you'll join us in our new challenge!  Following a sketch allows for freedom of interpretation and also helps you out when your creativity has taken a hike!
We'd love to see your favorite project featuring some of your favorite creations God has blessed us with!

Until next time...

Traveling Mercies...

Happy Sunday!

It's a very special Sunday at that...Easter Sunday!!

He Is Risen!!!  He is Risen Indeed!

As you share time with friends and loved ones this Easter weekend, remember to take time to thank our Lord and Saviour for the sacrifice He gave that we could be reconciled to God!

On Good Friday we watched "The Son of God" on Netflix...it's always so powerful to watch the crucifixion story at the movies or on tv as it brings the story to life and we are drawn back to remember how awful it must have been!  And then comes Sunday...He is no longer in the tomb...He has conquered death and now we may have eternal life through Him!  Amen!

Today brings a new challenge at Mustard Seed Faith Challenges!

 Jeanne has a short devotional about traveling mercies up on the blog...and it gets us thinking about where we place our trust!  My husband spends many hours on the road as we own a SnapOn Tools franchise and he's out with the truck all day.  I always ask God to keep him safe, to have His angels surround that truck....just as I do for the bus that takes our children to school and as I cart the kids from activity to activity!  

  Asking and praying though is not a guarantee that something will not happen.  Things do go wrong on the road...my hubby and I learned that very well on the way back from a missions trip so many years ago.  We were in a terrible car crash and were very lucky to have walked away with just minor injuries and our lives.  Trusting in God means that we will trust Him no matter what the situation...believing that His hand is in every situation...trusting that He is in every situation with us even if it turns out differently than we were hoping or expecting.

...this brings us to our new challenge...

For the next two weeks our challenge for you is to include a mode of transportation on your card, scrapbook page or mixed media project!  Easy peasy!  That could be a bike, car, truck, boat, hot air balloon, motorcyle...I could go on and on....but for me and my creation it's a rocket ship!  LOL

I wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary and chose space travel!

Here's a peek at my creation...

I knew in the back of my mind now for weeks that I had been wanting to use this cute stamp and die set for this challenge.  I found the cute background papers in a boys paper pack by DCWV in my stash and paired it up with the stamps and dies.  A quick bit of coloring, some pop dots and some addition of glitter and this card came together super fast...you can see there is nothing complicated about it!  I hope you'll find a little inspiration in it's simplicity!

So the next time you travel, think about the traveling mercies you have been given and often take for granted!  As Jeanne has pointed out in her devotional on the Mustard Seed Faith Challenge blog, our circumstances may not always turn out as we expected and yet we are to pray without ceasing and to be thankful in all situations...that calls us to trust in someone larger than ourselves!

Who are you trusting in the journey of life?

I do hope you have found encouragement here today and I hope that you join us in our travel themed challenge!  I can't wait to see what you create!

I also wanted to let you know that for this challenge we have a wonderful prize up for grabs...

...it's a custom string art piece created in the version of any state of your choice!
Unfortunately due to postage and shipping costs, this prize is only eligible for United States entries.

Until next time...