Easter

Happy Easter!

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

May you live the message of Easter and of Christmas in your life, each day.

We serve a living Savior, who is very much in the world, today.

God does NOT cause our problems, nor does He lead us to problems to teach us.

God does allow us to reap what we sow, because we have been given free will.

We make bad decisions, but NEVER does God tempt us with evil.

We are given mercy, and grace by a loving Father, who more often, than not, gives us far better than we deserve.

We MUST extend this grace to others, and, yes, to ourselves.

The blood of Christ made us worthy.

Eternal life is offered to everyone.

Please ask Christ to live in your heart --to make you a new creation.

Yes, you will still make mistakes, and this doesn't exempt you from the troubles of the world, but living for Christ offers you better decisions when following His words of truth.

Easter marks a new commandment to love as He (Christ) loved you.

Let's truly love each other.

May our lives reflect the eyes, ears, hands, feet, and heart of God.

I pray to help with the harvest~~That I will be willing to go where He sends me, and to follow His plan for my life.

I pray the path will be plainly laid in front of me.

I ask forgiveness for my sins and short comings and for the times I was harsh and unkind, and responded with anger.

I ask that my life will be a better reflection of my many blessings.
I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

Click here to download the pattern

Give me Jesus

This has been hanging out in my head for awhile, so those that think my head is empty- na na na na na.😁😂🤣😃

I love my regular decorative painting, but I have to admit, Mixed Media calls loudly for me to #create! 😉

I have shared so many times that I think anyone can learn to paint, if they are willing to put in the practice.

To me, Mixed Media makes art accessible for anyone to create. I am not saying it takes no skills, but it is so wide open, that one can bring their own special talents to it, without having to know the basic strokes of Decorative Painting, or tole painting.

I continue to share my process, in the hope that it will inspire you to pick up your supplies.

Again, I encourage you to USE WHAT YOU HAVE.

I am a DecoArt girl, but that doesn't mean you can't use other things--I just don't want to think about it, though.😉😊😂🤣

To begin, I used DecoArt Decoupage to glue on a piece of tissue paper to a 6 inch wooden canvas.

I used my catalyst to smear Prussian Blue onto the piece.

Now--my catalyst. A fun silicon wedge to move paint around.  Don't have one? Then use: an old cash card, palette knife, finger, or spatula (yep, artists often raid their kitchen!😉)

I repeated the process with Aqua Sky.

I printed a map from The Graphics fairy and painted a "sun". The butterflies that were added, also came from The Graphics Fairy.

If you have an ink jet printer, spray them with a clear varnish before adding paint to them, or the ink will smear.

I glued it onto the bottom with my Matte Decoupage.

I grabbed a sheet of deli paper --yes, it is what they use to wrap sandwiches-- and stamped my saying. I hand-wrote the word "Jesus".

I used stencils by Decoart to add texture to the background.  That is my favorite thing about Mixed Media--texture! 😁😊

The above stencil was used to create the sun rays, using the 4 colors below.

Another stencil I used. My thought with this was direction. That no matter what road we travel in our journey, Jesus is with us. I think the journey is better, and much easier, when we Rise with Jesus.

Now, a lot of what we do to build layers isn't often seen in the final design, but each element plays a part.

It is just like life --we each carry scars and tear-stained lives, but we get an opportunity to heal...to become a new creation. The old is past, and needs to stay there, but we must learn from each encounter. It is part of life to be hurt, but we have the choice to forgive, freeing us from the chains that bind us. We get to SHINE...to bloom into a new and improved version of us!

How cool is that!

Maybe that is why Mixed Media calls for me...maybe...

I used oil pastel around the edges and around the sun.

I also used my charcoal pencil to shade, too.

For some reason, I glued the square of the graphics, instead of cutting around it. Ok, I was lazy, but no problem, I added the elements of the background, and they melded together--oh, a cure for the lazies! 😁😂🤣😃

I hope that you make room and time to create! It will feed your soul and make you a happier, yes, easier person to be around.😉

I am simply blessed
to create~charlotte ♡

Serendipity Sunday

It has been a while since I have posted a SERENDIPITY SUNDAY.

That certainly is not because I haven't had any blessed surprises. I just find myself posting something on fb.

I am blessed to most always get good views on my blog, but I find myself at a struggle with what I really should post.

I know, there can be too much of me! 😁😂🤣

I guess, I think, I should always post an inspiring project for you,  but every now and then, I just feel called to share some thoughts...

Oh, no....she is thinking again! Watch out.

Yes, watch out indeed! 

AND that brings me to my first SHOUT OUT to God for safe keeping through the storms. 

While I was sleeping on Saturday afternoon (yep--days and nights are mixed up, again), a tornado touched down, without a warning, and destroyed one house and heavily damaged another. It was about 3 miles away, as the crow flies. 

One house that was destroyed belonged to a family whose husband died recently.  My heart goes out to all.

I have to admit, I sometimes think we ARE given more than we can handle. Nope, I don't think it is HIS doing this. It is just a result of mankind having choices. I don't doubt that God is faithful, because He is, but I do think sometimes, some people get hit way worse than they deserve! 😔 I hope y'all understand what I am saying. I still love and serve God, but it breaks my heart to see people suffering.

Oh, and on the flip side, lest you think I am drinking that half empty glass--we most often get WAY better than we deserve! ♡

Another man was also killed trying to put up covering on his house. Praying for his family.

Our storms of the night have just passed, and I pray peace for those still in the path.

I offer Praise for a friend whose husband is sick for an unknown reason, because one reason for his illness was ruled out--it was an ugly possibility --but now, the search for the cause still evades them. May peace settle on their home and May they be led to the right person to help heal him completely!

The beginning of the year brought news of a fb friend's unexpected death! She was a quirky and a bright spot in this world, and our lives are dimmed by her death, but it inspires me to try to shine just a bit brighter, in her memory. My heart breaks for her 2 puppies, who were her great Joy. Judy, you are missed.

Another fb friend was admitted  to the hospital on Friday night because she has been battling mono and great exhaustion. Join me in praying for a clear biopsy on her liver! Get better, Cheryl! There is much beauty waiting for you to create.♡

Oh, I give a huge praise for a new $15 keyboard.

Yep, you think this is a crazy one, but it extends the life of my slowly dying laptop. Somehow, God will make a way for me to buy a new one, that actually connects to my slow dial up internet...yes, high speed internet remains on my prayer request,  but when the time is right,  it will happen. I remain hopeful, and feel blessed for what I have. As Mother said, sometimes, it is like Slugo's house, here, with things pieced together! 😁😂🤣😃

I am most grateful for all of those "pieces"! 😉😊

As I am finishing up a deadline project (almost done), I sit here listening to my sweet Charcoal snoring, and my heart if filled with good thoughts of those I love, and of things I love to do. 

Yes, I most certainly could do more and do better, but I want to give myself a break and give thanks for what I have done.

I hope you will do that for yourself, too.

We live in a world where people have "bad hearts" and do bad things. 

Our screaming at each other on social media does nothing to solve this problem, and, yes, in my opinion, creates a bigger problem, because, we are just fostering more "bad hearts".

LOVE is the only answer.

If what you post doesn't promote love, then stop posting it.

If you don't have a solution,  then pray for what you can do to help, instead of inflaming others.

What can you do to promote love?

Be kind.

Pray.

Promote Art.

Paint pretty things.
Sew whimsical creations.
Write uplifting music.
Create poetry in any form.

Dance!

Sing...🤤

Accept that others might be right.

LOVE yourself so that you can love others.

Bite your tongue, or, scroll on by...

Sprinkle Love and kindness everywhere you go...

Smile

Thank you for being in my little corner of the world.

I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

What if NOTHING ever changed? Serendipity Sunday

Am I the only one having trouble keeping up with what day it is, much less what the date is?

It seems that I have spent the entire year just figuring out how to get to such and such date, and now that I am here, I’m not sure that I am really here, or even where HERE is!  LOL

I’m not going to lie—it has been a tough year.

All of the craziness around me hasn’t helped, either.

I have discovered that my heart hurts when my friends hurt or argue.

We ALL think we are right and we have no clue how someone can’t see things as we see them.

You know, it is called LIFE~~Plain and Simple.

We believe the way we believe because of the way we were raised and with the experiences we have had.  We all were raised differently, and we have had different experiences, and THAT simply is WHY we are unable to see things as others see them, and sit down for this one~~PEOPLE are thinking the same way about YOU that YOU are thinking about THEM.

I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you that… =) (nope, not really.  It made me giggle. Yes, there is still much work left to be done on me!)

Because of our differences, we have to work a bit harder to learn to live Compassionate Lives.

Today I am 54.  54!!

I am now OFFICIALLY an old maid.

My Aunt Lattie (Daddy’s only sister) was the measuring stick for me being an old maid, because, you see, she was 52 when she got married and was happily married for over 25 years to one of the kindest men that God placed on this earth.

I guess, really, I have been official for a while, now.  I just felt the need to confirm what I suspected…LOL

It’s ok, because thinking back over the Frogs I have kissed (sorry frogs—I don’t mean to use you as something evil), I am pretty happy to be right where I am and to have escaped some close calls~~whew!  Thank you, God, for protecting me when I was foolish.

It is tough not to look back on my life on days like this, especially when the world outside is so calm and quiet, so my mind can walk down the trails I have journeyed.

Yes, some tears have fallen, but that is nothing new.

It is so easy to go to the “poor pitiful me” parts and look around and feel lonely.  Time has a way of changing things, as it should, for where would we be if we stayed stagnant and didn’t move….if things never progressed, or yes, even digressed?  What if we had no serendipity moments…no moments that took our breath away (both for the good and for the bad)…how would we learn if we didn’t have experiences?  If we stayed in the past, where it might not necessarily have been safe, but comfortable, how would we revel in the goodness of mankind…the beauty of nature. 

What if NOTHING ever changed?

Boy, howdy, wouldn’t THAT be awful?

As I reflect on the changes I have been trying to make in my life, I still feel the old me constantly emerge, and it takes a sledge hammer on many days to wake me up to ME being a big ole brat.

I have worked on being compassionate~~to realize that I MIGHT not always be right (I said MIGHT)…to acknowledge that the times I want to share that I am RIGHT is not nearly as important as having PEACE in my life.

I cannot do one single thing about anyone else.  I don’t possess the power, and really, we should ALL be very happy with that fact. =)  BUT I do have the power (on most days) to control ME and how I react to others and how I treat others.  I can only hope that I will make a difference for someone, and let me be clear, THEN, I want to be certain to point them to God, the maker of Heaven and Earth, as the EXAMPLE to follow, and not me.  I just pray that my life will not turn people away from God.

You know how hard it is to change YOU?  Then image the impossibilities of changing someone else!!

I have lived the most blessed life.

You have patiently walked with me as I have retold the journeys I have made.  You have encouraged me when I felt as if my world had fallen apart.  You have lovingly given words of support when I needed them, and most of the time, when I did NOT deserve them or expect them.  You have listened to some crazy ideas that I have had, and either laughed and said, “there she goes again” or some have actually heard my heart’s cry for change and have made the efforts with me.  You have bought my patterns.  You have bought my hand painted items.  You have gone “oooo and aaaahh” when I have shared what I am doing. Yes, some have even told me when I was wrong.

You have been a family.

So, as I reflect on the past year of my life, while I have fought to stay positive and to keep the faith through trials, you have been there with me and for me.  I hope I have learned some lessons to make my life easier, but then, maybe I will make some of the same mistakes, BUT one thing is for sure, I know many of you will be right here cheering me on, and praying for me.

I have written down 10 items that I would like to ask you to join me in praying for in my life as an “unspoken prayer” because God knows, and if the time comes for me to share, I pray I will be willing to do so.  They aren’t frivolous items, but real needs.

I look forward to living each day to its fullest~~ To LIVE…to THRIVE…to PARTICIPATE!

I hope to remain Thankful.

As I look back to this day in 1962, I am THANKFUL for being placed in a Godly home with a Father and a Mother who led by example. ..Who allowed me to grow and to make mistakes...Who taught me what was important, and allowed me to have fun adventures.

I am grateful that I had two brothers, who loved me for part of my life, and I can only hope, who are thriving and living their lives to the fullest and are clinging to the values that our parents taught us and are passing them on to others.

I am so glad that Daddy was able to get that $500 loan to pay for me!!

I laugh as I remember the stories of Mother telling that she was not allowed to let her feet touch the ground for her 10 day stay in the hospital—10 days, folks!  LOL

I pray that I will continue to develop a heart of Christ.  That the things that break His heart will also break mine, and that I will do what I can to HELP.

Thank you, for continuing to stop by my little corner of the world.

I am simply Blessed to Create~~charlotte♡