Be a Blessing Part 2

This month I am the guest contributor for devotions at the His Kingdom Come community. Their focus this year has been on who God says we are; our Christian DNA. They have explored this theme through bi-monthly "I am" statements. November's theme is "I am blessed to be a blessing".  

TMD-DNA November 18, 2016

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35 

The above saying of Jesus is not found in any of the gospels, but, as the Apostle John says in his gospel, if everything Jesus said and did were written down “the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) Jesus shared many principles with his disciples that point us to live a lifestyle of giving – giving our time, our money, our stuff, and ourselves. The Bible offers us two main reasons why we are to adopt a lifestyle of giving. 

1. Giving imitates God. 

To say that it is more blessed to be a giver implies that giving is a great privilege. It is such a great privilege because when we make giving a lifestyle, we are most Christ-like. Giving imitates God. Look at just a few passages of Scripture that show what a great giver God is: 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—“ Ephesians 2:8 

“ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9 

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3 

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 

“ (Jesus Christ) who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” Galatians 1:4

2. Giving is our response to God’s great generosity to us. 

Giving imitates the Father, who willingly and sacrificially gave His Son. Giving imitates the Son, who willingly and sacrificially gave His life. Through His Son, God gave us life, salvation and the gift of living with Him eternally. Our response to these incredible gifts should be to give to others willingly and sacrificially, out of gratitude and as an act of worship and praise to God. 

“Freely you have received; freely give.” Matthew 10:8 

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” 1 John 3:16-17 

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 

As we respond to God by imitating His giving nature, we trust in Him to provide for our own needs. Sometimes what keeps us from giving, whether it's time or money, is worry about our own provision or that of our family. Read Matthew 6:25-34 this week and see Jesus' answer for our concerns. He begins the passage telling us, "Do not worry about your life....". He then gives examples from His created world of how the Father cares for and provides for them, and then reassures us in verse 32 that our heavenly Father knows what we need. God is our provider and our caretaker. The passage ends with Jesus' call on us to trust the Father for our needs to be met and not to worry. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Many of us have learned this principle when we have stepped out in faith and began to actually tithe. When we trust God and obey His call to live by His ways,He provides. The same principle we learn with tithing is true for giving of our time, our stuff, and ourselves. God has called us to be givers and to be generous and sacrificial in our giving. Our role is to seek Him, trust Him and to obey Him. He's got the rest! The thing about stepping out and being involved in others lives to the extent that you are giving fully of yourself, is that you will find in the end that you will feel even more blessed than they do. We will be pleasantly surprised as we experience more of God’s power and Presence in our own life as a result of obediently responding to and imitating His generosity and love.

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” 

 Ephesians 5:1-2

Worship Video: "All That I Am" by Rend Collective (Click on title to follow link)

Be a Blessing

This month I am the guest contributor for devotions at the His Kingdom Come community. Their focus this year has been on who God says we are; our Christian DNA. They have explored this theme through bi-monthly "I am" statements. November's theme is "I am blessed to be a blessing". 

TMD-DNA

November 4, 2016

In 2002 Rick Warren wrote the book "The Purpose Driven Life" which quickly became a best seller and topped the New York Times Bestseller list for over 90 weeks. The first line of page one, chapter one says, "It's not all about you". That statement is followed by this paragraph: 

 "The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose."

"It's not all about you". This is a great statement to take into our hearts and minds in a culture that is very "me-centered". Even in the church community we can forget that we have been given a call to look to the needs of others. A number of years ago my church community did an extensive search through the Bible exploring God's call on His people. Out of that journey we saw a call for God's people to be focused on others and to be generous in our care and love for other people. There is a saying now that we use in our church community to express all that this call of God envisions: Blessed to be a blessing. 

From the very beginning God has always had a plan that His people would be a blessing to others. In fact, many times it is through His people that God himself blesses others. God's call began with Abram (Abraham) in Genesis 12:2-3 and it is in this passage that the saying can be found. 

“I will make you into a great nation, 

  and I will bless you; 

I will make your name great, 

  and you will be a blessing. 

I will bless those who bless you, 

  and whoever curses you I will curse; 

and all peoples on earth 

  will be blessed through you.” 

God laid the groundwork with Abraham for how he sees the role of his people in the world. “I will bless you and you will be a blessing to others.” Unfortunately, for most of the Old Testament history the Israelites kept their blessings to themselves. Then Jesus comes on the scene and calls us back to God’s others-focused intent for us. Through His words and His actions, Jesus showed us how to live as the people of God. After washing his disciples feet in John 13, a job that in that day would have been done by a servant not their teacher and Lord, Jesus tells his disciples (and us): 

 “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:15 

He goes on to tell them in John 13:34 that the greatest of God’s commandments is to love God and love others, and that by loving others we will reveal God to them. (John 13:35, 1 John 4:12) throughout the New Testament we find 91 verses that call us to a lifestyle of focusing on "one another". God does not bless us so that we will hoard those blessings and keep them to ourselves. 

Paul shared this same message with the Corinthian church: 

“God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, 

He throws caution to the winds, 

 giving to the needy in reckless abandon. 

His right-living, right-giving ways 

 never run out, never wear out. 

This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:8-11, The Message 

Sharing God’s blessings with others shows God’s grace at work in our lives.

Worship Video: Blessed to be a Blessing by Hillsong  

You can join the His Kingdom Come community on Facebook.

Advent Week 4

This week we move into the last week of Advent culminating on Christmas Day with the birth of Jesus Christ. Yesterday we posted our last Advent devotion and playlist on our church site gracetoledo.org.

Today I am posting the devotion I wrote for the Advent devotion project at His Kingdom Come. Each day a different author has written a devotion based on an Advent or Christmas song.

Worship Video: Born That We May Have Life by Chris Tomlin 

No reputation, no stately bearing 
No palace bed for royalty 
But a star in the Heavens, a sign full of wonder 
Announcing the coming of the King of kings 

Rejoice, o world, your Savior has come 
Through the love of a virgin's womb 
Son of God, Son of man, born that we may have life 
You were born that we may have life 

A throne in a manger, the cross in a cradle 
The hidden revealing this glorious plan 
Of a Child who would suffer, a Child who would conquer 
The sin of every woman, the sin of every man 

Rejoice, o world, your Savior has come 
Through the love of a virgin's womb 
Son of God, son of man, born that we may have life 
You were born that we may have life 

Rejoice, o world, rejoice 
Rejoice, o world, 
Hallelujah, the Savior has come 
Rejoice, o world, join with the angels 
Rejoice, o world, rejoice 

Rejoice, o world, for the King of kings 
And the Lord of lords 
Rejoice, o world, a Savior is born 
Who brings us life and brings peace 

Born that we may have life 
You were born that we may have life 
You were born that we may have life 

For centuries before Jesus’ birth, the Israelites were expecting the Messiah to come as a strong, mighty, conquering King; a King who would rescue them from slavery and oppression and who would crush their enemies. But the King of kings came not as they had expected but, as this song says, with “No reputation, no stately bearing, no palace bed for royalty”. Jesus came into our world in a humble manner, as a baby born in a manger. Yet in this baby lay the hope of the world. 

The Magi saw this when they followed the star to the manger. When they saw the child they “bowed down and worshiped him”. (Matthew 2:11) 

The shepherds saw this when they were led to the manger by an angel of the Lord who declared to them, “In the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) 

Simeon saw this when the baby Jesus was taken to the temple in Jerusalem by his parents to be presented to the Lord. Simeon had been waiting for the “consolation of Israel” as promised by the Holy Spirit. He saw this promise fulfilled in that temple. Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms “and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:25-32) 

A prophetess named Anna saw this when she too saw the baby Jesus in the temple, calling him the “redemption of Jerusalem”. (Luke 2:38) 

All recognized this humble baby boy as the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Savior of the world! In this baby was God, humbling Himself to dwell with man. In this baby was the glory of the Lord! 

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) 

In this baby we have life! 

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (John 1:4) 
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) 
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.” (John 6:40) 
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) 
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;” (John 11:25) 
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) 
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) 

Rejoice, o world, your Savior has come 

Through the love of a virgin's womb 

Son of God, Son of man, born that we may have life 

You were born that we may have life!

Here are a few more Advent Rolodex art cards:

Change and Advent Day 9

For the past year I have been a part of the foundation team for the His Kingdom Come faith art community. Helping to start this community has been a great experience and I have gained many wonderful friends all over the world. I discovered through coordinating the weekly devotional studies for the Take Me Deeper group that I really enjoy writing. However, in the past few months my job responsibilities in  my full time ministry job have changed and require more creative energy. One thing that I have found to be true of myself over the past few years is that, while I totally love being creative, it requires energy. Energy that I can't dig down and manufacture when I get overly tired and stressed out. So I have had to make the hard decision to step back from a few things in order to maintain that creative energy and keep myself from burnout. As you can imagine keeping up the weekly devotions and other duties I have for HKC, along with trying to maintain my own blog and Etsy shop, along with a full time job in ministry that generally will go far beyond a standard work week, has been difficult to juggle. My new responsibilities at my job will require creativity and writing as I take on keeping our church website and blog up-to-date. I have made the hard decision to step down from the HKC foundation team in order to be able to devote more time and energy on my own blog and shop and on the church blog and website. 

In all honesty, I went into the HKC foundation team with some hesitation. Only because I know from past experience that when a hobby becomes work it can be difficult to continue to enjoy the hobby. I managed a cross-stitch and quilt shop for 8 years and when I left that job to go into ministry I stopped both of those hobbies and never picked them up again. I enjoy art journaling and mixed media art too much to let this happen again. They have become more than hobbies to me and finding art journaling when I did was used by God as a tool for healing when I was dealing with issues of burnout. So it seems that spending one year helping the HKC community get started has been a good thing without it becoming something I don't want it to become. 

Today I sent off the last week of Advent devotions for the community and that ends my official responsibilities with HKC for 2015. Change is always bittersweet. There is sadness in leaving something you have put so much time and energy into. There is some melancholy in having relationships that have been daily and weekly experiences change. But there is also excitement and anticipation over the new adventures and opportunities that lay ahead. 

I have selected my word for the year for 2016 as is my tradition over the past few years. This year my word was RENEW as I felt there were areas in my life that needed renewal and restoration. In many ways that has taken place in 2015 and I will write more about that in the weeks ahead. Over the past few years as I have become more connected with the realities of being an introvert, I have partaken in activities of silence and solitude before the Lord. These are activities and practices I want to spend more time in next year. At first I thought that solitude would be my word next year, but after more thought and prayer, it seems that the word REST encompasses so much more of what I am after. And it includes solitude. I don't mean rest as in needing sleep or a break from activity. I am looking at REST more in terms of Sabbath rest, spiritual rest, being still and resting in the Lord. Again, I'll explore that more and write about it in the weeks and months ahead. 

Needless-to-say, my decision to step down from the HKC foundation team is tied up in this also. Next year I have a few art groups I will be participating in and exploring more areas of art and I will stay a participant in the HKC community. But I intend to slow things down as much is possible and explore what it means to REST - body, mind and soul. I will remain open, as always, to going after whatever opportunities that God places on my path. Life is a journey and I am enjoying the process!

My Advent Rolodex art card for day 9:

Today's Advent devotion for the HKC community can be found here

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30 Day Blogging Challenge day 21.

Praise the God of Grace and Glory - Advent Day 8

Below is the Advent devotional I wrote for today for the His Kingdom Come community Advent project. This devotion is based on the song "Praise the God of Grace and Glory".

Worship Video: Praise the God of Grace and Glory by Judy Gresham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiGnsqhQ6fU 

Praise the God of grace and glory 
for the wonders of his love; 
angels tell of his great mercy 
in giving us his Son. 

Through the Holy Spirit's power, 
Christ our saviour comes to birth, 
bringing glory to the Father 
and hope to all the earth. 

Glory to God in the highest heaven, 
peace on earth, mercy for all! 
See how the gift of love is given: 
Christ the Lord is born for us. 

God is veiled in human weakness, 
born to bear our grief and sin. 
Grace and truth draw near to save us 
in Christ the humble King. 

Praise the God of restoration 
for the gift of Christ our King 
Join the angels' celebration, 
come, worship him and sing: 
Glory to God, glory to God 
Glory to God, glory to God. 

I love the story of Jesus’ birth told in Luke’s gospel, and in listening to today’s song, I felt a connection to the part of Luke’s story about the shepherds receiving the news that a Savior had been born. “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:8-14 

Back in the day of first century Israel, it was common to keep the sheep from multiple farms together in a field or a pen and share the responsibility of watching over them at night. Imagine it is your night to stand watch over the sheep. It’s probably a pretty mundane job with just the sounds of the sheep and the view of the night sky to occupy your time. Yet one must keep alert to protect the sheep from wolves or thieves. 

On this night, the Bible says, an angel appeared to them and “the glory of the Lord shone around them”. I imagine that God’s glory illuminated the night sky, such as it is described by John in Revelation 21:10-11, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” 

The sight of this angel and the glory of the Lord shining around them produced fear in the shepherds, but the angel reassures them: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (verse 10) That good news that will cause great joy for all people is the proclamation that Christ the Lord, our Savior has been born! At the proclamation of this good news a “great company of the heavenly hosts appeared with the angel, praising God and saying” 

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
 and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 

Imagine the glorious sound the angels singing made! Charles Spurgeon called this song the choir of angels sang “the first Christmas carol”. The good news was so glorious it caused the angels to overflow with joy and burst out in song and praise to God. This event, the birth of the Savior, the Incarnation of God coming to earth in human form, the Messiah now here to bring salvation; this event that will bring God’s peace – His Shalom – to men on earth; this event is God’s greatest act of love for mankind – the gift of His Son, who will eventually take our sins upon Himself. He is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) How fitting that at the birth of the Messiah, the Lamb of God, God chose to make His birth announcement to the Shepherds. They go on to visit the baby Jesus in the manger and then, they too, join the heavenly host, sharing the good news of the Messiah’s arrival!

My Advent Rolodex art card for today:

My Advent Rolodex art cards for the first week of Advent;

A devotional and Advent playlist for week 2 is on our church website today. gracetoledo.org

30 Day Blogging Challenge day 20.

Advent Devotion Day 7

During the Advent season the His Kingdom Come community is posting a daily devotion from a variety of authors. We are using music to usher us into the Advent season and draw us deeper into the journey from Advent to Christmas. 

The Apostle Paul instructed the Colossians, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col. 3: 16-17). Music has a way of connecting us with God; "Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day”. (Psalm 96:1–2) Music connects with our emotions. It calms; it excites; it inspires. Somehow it communicates with our hearts more deeply than other avenues do. And music has a way of connecting us to the heart of worshiping God.

Below is the devotion I wrote for the HKC community today based on the song "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus".

Worship Video: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus by Marcy Priest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TedBbU71Qc 

Come, Thou long-expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free; 
from our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in Thee. 

Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth Thou art; 
dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. 

Born Thy people to deliver, born a child, and yet a King, 
born to reign in us forever, now Thy gracious kingdom bring. 

By Thine own eternal Spirit rule in all our hearts alone; 
by Thine own sufficient merit, raise us to Thy glorious throne. 

This Advent song was written by Charles Wesley in the 1700’s for a collection he titled “Hymns on The Nativity of Our Lord”. As you read through or listen to this hymn you see how Wesley brings together the Old Testament promise of the Messiah, “Israel’s strength and consolation”, and the New Testament story of the baby who was also a king and “the hope of all the earth”. Because so many of the songs we are looking at during this Advent season focus on the fulfillment of the Messianic promises found in Christ, I thought I would focus on the repetition we find in this song which shows us Jesus’ purpose and mission. 

Throughout this song the word “born” reveals what the incarnation of Jesus was for: 

Born to set thy people free… 

Born thy people to deliver, 

Born a child, and yet a king, 

Born to reign in us forever… 

Isaiah beautifully paints a picture of the coming Messiah: 

“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. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7 

In Matthew we are told this Messiah, this King who would rule “with Justice and righteousness”, was found in Bethlehem: “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2 

The Bible makes it clear that Jesus came “to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20”28; Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:6) The Israelites expected that the Messiah would free them from slavery, bondage and oppression. 

But God had a greater plan; The Messiah would free men from the bondage of sin and death. “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” Hebrews 9:15 

Paul explains this even more in Galatians: “So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians 4:3-7 

Jesus Christ, The Messiah, would also fulfill the promise of the New Covenant: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36:26-28 

In Christ this promise extends beyond the Israelites to include the Gentiles: “I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:25-27 

Jesus Christ, The Messiah, The King of glory was born “to reign in us forever.” This hymn connects us personally to the joy of the season. We see in it that in Christ we experience freedom from fear and sin, we find our rest in Him, He is our strength and consolation, our hope and our joy.

My Advent Rolodex art card for today:

30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 19

Advent Day 5

We are moving right along in the month of December! Today is the 5th day of Advent. I missed a post yesterday so I'll post that card as well. If you are interested in the Advent devotions at His Kingdom Come, this link will take you there. Each day during Advent there is a devotion written by different authors from within the HKC community. Here are my Advent Rolodex art cards for yesterday and today:

30 Day Blogging Challenge day 17.

Advent Day 2

Day 2 of the Advent devotion project at His Kingdom Come was written by Alicia Feaster. You can find her blog here. If you are looking for additional Advent resources, I put together a list for our church website here.

I'm participating this year with art on Rolodex cards. I'm keeping it small and simple to better ensure that I can actually complete the project in this busy season! Here is my Rolodex art card for day 2:

I used up a few scraps form the background of the page I made for the HKC devotion yesterday. I love using up scraps! I also liked how the navy paint worked on my Gelli plate.

I hope you are finding ways to slow down and engage in Advent practices this year to help you prepare for the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Please feel free to share what you are doing for Advent in the comment section below.

30 Days of Blogging Challenge day 16.

Advent Day 1

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. The theme this week is hope. At His Kingdom Come you will find the first of our daily Advent devotions. If you are looking for Advent resources check out this post for a list  I put together for our church website.

My art journal page for today's HKC devotion:

"And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

Isaiah 25:9

My Rolodex art journal card for Advent day 1:

30 Day Blogging Challenge day 15.

Advent Season

Tomorrow begins the Advent season and our journey toward Christmas and the celebration of the birth of Jesus - Savior, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel...

I'm participating in a number of ways this year:

1. In the His Kingdom Come community there will be a daily Take Me Deeper Advent devotion. For the past year we have had a weekly devotion which our members have used as a prompt for making art in the medium of their choice. One does not need to make art to participate and so we will be posting the devotions on the home page so anyone can participate without having to sign up to become a member - though it is free to join! I will be posting a link to the devotion each day from my blog as well. I have been very busy this past month writing devotions, editing and coordinating our schedule of devotion writers, and getting everything in place for this Advent project. I think you will enjoy the variety of talented authors and artists!
2. I am also coordinating a weekly devotion with my friend Jean for our church site. Each Sunday during Advent we will post a devotional, an Advent playlist and Scripture readings that lead us through the Advent story. We began today with an introduction and an Advent resource guide.
3. To keep things simple this year I am using cards from my Rolodex art journal and intend to fill the "A" slot with an Advent art card per day. With the busyness of my schedule these past few weeks and again in the weeks ahead I needed something quick and easy. I can make a card or two per day since they are only 3 x 5. My Advent divider card is here:
   
   
   
   
    

How will you participate in Advent this year?

There are a few hours left for Small Business Saturday and a sale in my Etsy shop runs through Midnight tonight.

30 Day Blogging Challenge day 14.

Advent 2015

The past two weeks have been very busy for me with outreach events for my job and preparing for the upcoming TMD Advent project for the His Kingdom Come community. I have been busy prepping, writing and editing devotions for a daily blog post and challenge beginning on November 29. We will be featuring the Advent devotions on the HKC blog so people can participate whether they are TMD members or not. I will also be linking to the Advent posts daily from my blog.

I am going to continue to use the Advent journal I made a few years ago for this year's Advent pages. I only make a handful of Advent art pages each year so there's room in this journal to cover multiple years.

Here are a few sneak peeks of the art that will accompany the Advent devotions I wrote.

We have a variety of people from the HKC community writing the devotions. Each day's devotion is based on a song of the season or on Scripture that the song is based on with a piece of the author's art accompanying it.

In my busyness I got off-track on the 30 Day Blogging Challenge, but I determined to finish it and will continue on now that I have slowed down some.

30 Day Blogging Challenge day 11.

His Kingdom Come Birthday Blog Hop

Welcome to a very exciting blog hop. This week His Kingdom Come is celebrating its first birthday. Can you believe that we only launched our community on November 1st 2014 and we have grown to over 2000 members. This week we have a special blog hop and event to celebrate. Keep reading!

Thank you, everyone of you, for making this journey with us. We had no idea what we were taking on when God called us to build a new Christian creative online community. And it is totally thanks to Him that we are where we are today.

 If you have been with us the whole time then thank you for your support. It has been most appreciated by the Foundation Team. If you have joined us during the last few months then you are very welcome. To find out about our history visit the His Kingdom Come website where you can read our story.

The Foundation Team are already planning new classes and new products for 2016 and we hope you will continue to belong to the His Kingdom Come community.

To celebrate our first birthday each day this week the Foundation Team is blogging about their experience of HKC and showing some of their faithart.

Each blog has the complete list of participants so if you miss a day you can go back and read our blogs.
Monday 26th   Diane Marra
Tuesday 27th   Shonna Bucaroff
Wednesday 28th   Merri Dennis
Thursday 29th   Mary Brack
Friday 30th   Bernice Hopper
Saturday 31st   His Kingdom Come

As you visit each blog please leave a comment. Each of us will choose one person at random to win a prize. Please leave your comments by noon PST (8pm GMT) on Tuesday 3rd November.

 This past year has been a lot of fun as we have built up the HKC community. I have enjoyed the new friendships I have made with the foundation team members and the members in our community. HKC is so blessed to have so many wonderful artists and creatives! I'm continually blown away by the art and the expressions of faith made by the members of our community. In the past year I have grown as an artist, gone deeper in my walk with the Lord, and have discovered a knack for writing devotions that I didn't know I had.It's been a good year! It has been such an honor and a blessing for me that this community has become a place of encouragement, support and friendship for so many people. Thank you all for being a part of this!

 A few of my art projects for HKC

And there’s more! 
To celebrate our birthday on Sunday November 1st we are offering you a discount of 25% off these classes: Faithart 101 5 class bundle, Faithart 102 God’s Aviary class, The Zigzag Postcard Book and the Altered Books: The Promised Land 3 class bundle. These will be discounted on the shop site so you do not need a code at the checkout.
You will be given a full refund if you buy one of these classes on Sunday 1st November and then win the class from your comment on a blog.  

You can also receive 10% off any faithart products you buy from the HKC shop by using this code: bday2015.
You will be given a full refund if you buy one of the products on Sunday 1st November which you then win from your comment on a blog.

These discounts apply between 12.01am PST and midnight PST on Sunday 1st November. (Sunday 8.01am GMT to 8am Monday)

Prize winners will be announced on the His Kingdom Come Blog on Wednesday 4th November.

Prizes to be won by leaving comments on the Foundation Team members’ blogs:
Diane Marra A God’s Aviary Dove stencil & a set of Doves stamps
Shonna Bucaroff Faithart 102 God’s Aviary class
Merri Dennis Faithart 101 5 class bundle
Mary Brack A God’s Aviary Eagle stencil & a set of Wings stamps
Bernice Hopper Altered Books: The Promised Land 3 class bundle
His Kingdom Come A set of Promised Land stamps & a set of Sparrows stamps

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a prize!

Monday Meandering 9.21.15

This month's theme for the HKC Take Me Deeper devotions is the promises of God. I had made background pages in advance last month when I was playing with my new 4" round Gelli plate. Doing them all at once created a theme.

September Week 1

September Week 2

September Week 3

Last week, after reading about breathing exercises in The Creative Call, I determined to start taking photo walks in nature. I took two last week and found them to be both relaxing and stimulating. I saw so many types of birds. I wrote about breathing exercises and the birds I saw in my last post. Today I took another photo walk at the park along the river. Today I spotted a Green Heron for the first time. He was in no hurry to go anywhere and didn't seem to mind my getting close to him. The Green Heron is so much smaller than the Blue Heron's I typically see. He was only about 14 inches when he extended his neck.

I only saw water birds today: Blue Heron, Egret, Sandpiper, and female Mallards with their pretty blue stripes. I purchased a Moleskine watercolor notebook to begin keeping notes and pictures from my photo walks. Any excuse to start another journal! I'm even trying some watercolor in this one.!

I hope you have a good week and are able to make time to breathe. :)