Sunday Musings: One dollar

About three weeks ago, our pastor handed out dollar bills to each family- each member of each family at church. He challenged each of us to put that dollar toward something that would make more dollars, and on November 1, we are going to turn in those dollars, plus the money that they made. The money will benefit our church's building program.

I thought long and hard about what to do with my dollar, and I just couldn't come up with anything good. Everything I came up with would have been expensive and time-consuming to make, and I didn't think anyone would be terribly interested in what I came up with.

I kept thinking about making art prints with Scripture verses on them, like the one I made here:

I downloaded some new fonts, typed out some of my favorite verses, and I got to work. I came up with these:

I'm selling these prints for $4 for a 5x7 print in an 8X10 mat (sorry, not selling them framed), or $5 for an 8X10 print in an 11X14 mat. If you purchase them online, I will send you the electronic copy for $3. I'll do any Bible verse or quote you want, but I cannot do song lyrics (copyright issues). I also won't create a print of anything inappropriate (sex, drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc). 

I am also selling burlap initial prints, like this one: 

They will also not be sold framed and are $4. I can do any initial, but can only do black ink. 

All proceeds will go to Moon's Chapel Baptist Church. Please email adboone5209@gmail.com to order prints or burlap initial prints. 

Sunday Musings: Jeremiah 29:11

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It's refreshing to know there is a plan for my life. Before I was born into this world, God already knew who I would be and what his purpose for my life would be. My four-year-old daughter has a purpose in life and the Lord knew her purpose before he created her. The little girl in my womb right now has a purpose. 

God has a plan for us all. I've said this many times on this blog now, but to those of us who are currently trudging through the valleys of life, God has a plan for you. Those difficult moments in our lives don't make sense at the time, but once we're on the other side, we can see how they made us a bigger person. A better person. 

I've recently emerged from one valley in life and am now trudging through another. So many unanswered questions are swirling in my mind and I'll never know the answer to them. But I do know this- God makes no mistakes and He has no accidents. Everything that happens to us is part of His plan- and he has a reason. A good one. 

I have some people in my life who are close to me who are trudging through valleys far more difficult than mine, but they are people of the faith and they know God has a plan for them. He gives us storms in our lives not to harm us but to make us stronger. If you're enduring one of these trials right now, don't give up. Keep pressing on- He gives us hope and a future. 

I look at my daughter and I know her life won't be without storms. If it were up to me, her life would be perfect and without trials. The flaw in that kind of thinking is that she'd never learn if she had no experiences from which to grow. I pray she lives a life like God wants her to- and that when the storms do come, she'll know her God is walking beside her and will bring her through them. He has plans, hope and a future for her. And I can't wait to see how he uses her life. 

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Sunday Musings: God's promises

Genesis 9:12
And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come.

I always appreciate seeing rainbows- this one was an especially pretty one. It stretched across the sky, arching perfectly over the road as we were driving Saturday. It was still raining when I took the picture. 

In the Bible, we are told that when Noah and his family stepped off the ark, there was a rainbow in the sky. Some believe the rainbow was a sign of God's promise to never again flood the Earth in its entirety, while others believe the rainbow to simply be a sign of God's power and sovereignty. This is what I believe. 

Think about the world Noah and his family encountered when the waters receded and the family stepped onto dry land. All plant life was gone. The only animals still in existence were the animals Noah brought aboard the ark. All people, except those on the ark, were gone. The weather patterns were drastically different from anything they'd seen before and the geography had completely changed. I believe the flood was probably an emotionally frightening experience to Noah and his family. I believe too that God knew they needed a reminder of His love and His protection. 

I wrote about rainbows and the flood to bring about this point- catastrophic events and emotionally frightening experiences are hardly a thing of the past. Things like this happen on a continual basis. Every week, it seems when I watch the news, I am hearing about yet another shooting or evil act. Some people would say it's like God has left. The truth is, no matter how bad things get, God is still God and he hasn't gone anywhere- he's still on his throne. He's still painting rainbows to remind us of His love and protection. Next time you see a rainbow, stop and think about what it really means. 

Here's wishing you all a happy and healthy week. 

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Sunday musings: Romans 8:28

This past Friday, a good friend at work approached me in the hallway and said, "It's 8-28. I LOVE 8-28." At first, I thought she was literally talking about August 28, so I wracked my brain trying to figure out what was special about that day- a birthday? an anniversary? Then I realized what she was talking about. Romans 8:28.

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THAT 8:28. I love this verse, too; in fact, it has a lot of meaning to me. 

We went to a large Baptist church in my hometown when I was a teenager. While we were members there, the church conducted a large remodeling project. Around that time, a close family member was fighting cancer. When the church members were invited to write their names and favorite Bible verse on the subflooring, that family member and her immediate family chose to write Romans 8:28. Not too long afterward, that family member left us to join Heaven's ranks, but many people were touched as a result of her life and death. Romans 8:28. 

Fast forward a few years and my husband and I were struggling with infertility. We were told by a doctor that without fertility treatments, we would likely not conceive a child. It was painful to hear, but we decided to just go home and trust God. Three months later, we were pregnant. Romans 8:28

Fast forward three years later and my dad went to the doctor for a routine colonoscopy he'd been putting off for a year. Several blockages were found, and one was found to be cancer. From there, he had several surgeries, radiation, and chemo. He even underwent a hospital stay from septic shock from which he could have died. His illness has led to renewed and strengthened faith for all of us. Romans 8:28. 

Nine months to the date of my dad's cancer illness, my husband and I experienced a devastating miscarriage. One which left me extremely depressed and probably in a darker place than I have ever been. It took many months for me to emerge from the pain and depression, and while my walk with God suffered during that time, I realized he had  never left my side. Once I began to seek him again, I could see how he used this experience to bring me closer to him. Romans 8:28. 

Three months later, we learned my dad's cancer had spread from his colon to his liver. He would have to have yet another major surgery, one that our hometown hospital couldn't handle. We were able to schedule his surgery at a major hospital an hour from our home with a new, state of the art cancer center. A nationally renowned surgeon would perform the surgery. Once again, we decided to let our faith be bigger than our fears, and following the surgery, we realized how God had been with us throughout the entire event. Romans 8:28. 

Two months after my dad's liver surgery, we were excited and nervous to learn we were expecting again. Though I have been on pins and needles through all of this pregnancy, I've tried to pray rather than worrying. There has been plenty of worrying as well, to be honest. Every check up has revealed a strong, healthy baby, and each day, I'm reminded of how the Lord wants us to trust in him and his timing. He knows what he's doing, and even though we go through heartbreaking events in our lives, he uses each one of them for the Good. Because he loves us. Because we have been called according to his purpose. 

If you're going through a hard time, understand that even though you can't see the outcome yet, He can. He has a plan. He's going to use your hardship for his glory. He's going to use it to grow you.

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Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Sunday Musings: Come to me and I will give you rest.

Lately, I've been praying a lot about finding a way to use my writing talents to honor God. I knew I wanted to do this, but I wasn't sure how. Then, one day, the Lord reminded me that I have this blog and I should certainly include Him in something that is such a big part of my life. After all, didn't He give me this house? Didn't he give me my family? 

Today I'm going to talk a bit about the verses Matthew 11:28-30. 

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I started off my week this week with these verses. They appeared in a devotional I read Monday morning about feeling overwhelmed as a mother. I don't know about you guys, but I often feel anxious and overwhelmed, even when the things I'm worried about aren't big things. 

Some of the things worrying me lately are money (isn't it always?), going back to school, where to send my child to school next fall, whether everything is OK with our baby...and the list goes on and on. Worry is certainly an area where I struggle, and I've been praying about it a lot. I know that it goes without saying that I should just trust in God and know he'll take care of all mine and my family's needs. We won't have everything we want, and that's OK. We will have what we need. 

Christians go through struggles- God never said just because you're a Christian, life will be easy and the trials will be fewer. He did say this: 

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Just because you're a Christian doesn't mean you won't face hardships, but it does mean you won't go through them alone. The Lord is walking with you and he will never leave your side. I don't know what tomorrow holds for me, but I know God and he knows. He also knows what's best for me even though I sometimes question His plan. 

I've been through many trials and while a lot of them hurt and a lot of them I didn't understand, I can safely say there has been a lesson in each of them. In almost every case, I've been able to see the good that came out of them and know that God knew all along what he was doing. 

Yes, Christian, sometimes our road is rocky. This is when we have to remember that God knows what he is doing- he didn't put those rocks in our path so we'd stumble, he put them in our path so he could help us across them. 

Later this week, I'll be sharing my testimony. This has been a difficult thing for me to do- not because I am embarrassed or ashamed, but because it is hard to be that transparent. It is my hope that someone who is enduring similar circumstances will read it and know that they too will emerge from the trial with the Lord's help. 

Thanks for reading :) Happy Sunday. I hope you enjoy your week.

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!