The Sweetest Privilege

The privilege of praying for others is one of the sweetest gifts. When someone you know is struggling, carrying their needs to the Lord is a blessing. Not only is it a blessing for them, it blesses the person praying as well.

Paul, the apostle, with Timothy at his side is writing a letter to their brothers and sisters in Colosse. In the greeting of the book of Colossians, starting with verse 2, Paul asks for God to give them grace and peace. Then the next words from Paul’s hands are words of precious encouragement. He tells them “we always pray for you and we give thanks to God.” 

I had to stop right there. Do I ALWAYS pray for my brothers and sisters? Do I always give thanks to God for them?

He goes on to talk about the hope they have of heaven. He tells he has heard such good things about them and the love they have for others. He then says again “we have not stopped praying for you.” He goes on to say he asks God “for complete knowledge of his will and spiritual understanding.” 

Do I pray like that? Do I ask God to grow my brothers and sisters? 

In verse 11, Paul prays they will be “strengthened, and have all the endurance and patience they need.” Lastly he prays that they will be “filled with joy always thanking the Father.” 

Recently a sweet sister of mine was going through a tough spot. The Lord drew me to these verses. I had been praying for her for a couple of years...since right after I met her. 

Now I had the sweet privilege of praying for her to be strengthened, and have patience. I got to pray for her to have wisdom in some decisions she needed to make. Most of all I prayed that she would be filled with joy and that she would always be thanking the Father. 

Who has the Lord put on your heart today that you needs your prayers? It’s a sweet privilege. Don’t miss your opportunity! Remember the example of Paul.

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father..”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1:9, 11-12a‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Art behind the story:

For the background, I used distress inks and the smooshing tecnique. The flowers are the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps set of the month called Doodle Florals.  Like I often do, I stamped them on card stock, colored them with a water brush and distress ink, then fussy cut them. The word "remember" is from the set called Note This. 

If you're interested in this technique, be sure to join the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps VIP Facebook group.  I'll be doing a LIVE there at the end of March to show how to do this.  Would love for you to join us!

Until next time,

Gayle 

Patio Ponderings

In The Garden

You may not know it by the condition of my houseplants, but I’m a flower child at heart. I even got my degree in horticulture and worked as a florist for many years.

My love for flowers and nature started when I was young and would spend time with my grandmother. Her house was surrounded by gorgeous flower beds and her front porch was adorned with hanging baskets. That love of flowers and plants rubbed off on me. 

As I grew up, I always helped Daddy in the garden and with the flower beds around the house. He wanted the flowers to be nice, so Momma could look out the front windows and see all the blooms. We had a rose garden and a large gladiolus bed. Because I loved my Mam-ma’s hanging baskets, our front porch was lined with hanging baskets of every sort as well.

Living in the south, it would be too hot to work in the flowers mid day, so I often would get up early and work in the flowers. Something about getting up early and spending time in God’s glorious creation, always made my heart sing His praises.

Looking at the delicate petals of the flowers and seeing all the intricate, colorful parts, and watching the bees buzz from bloom to bloom....ahhh...it was just heavenly. Not to mention, the roses had sweetest of fragrances.

Just as those flower gardens beckoned me each and every morning, the Lord beckons now. Every day, if my heart is listening, I can hear Him say “Gayle, come walk and talk with me. Come and abide with me.”

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:5, 9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

On many occasions in the New Testament, we are told that Jesus went off to pray. (Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12) If Jesus needed time to abide with His Father, how much more so for me!

These last few months, as I have shared before with you, I have sensed the Lord drawing me back very close to His side. Calling me to truly abide with Him. He is whispering ever so sweetly to be “in the garden” with Him. To meet Him while the “dew is still on the roses.”

When I choose to meet Him there “the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing.”

Are you listening for His whisper? Are you longing to abide with Him?

If not, you can ask Him to help you hunger for Him. You can call out to Him and He will meet you “in the garden.”

The joy you “share as you tarry there, none other has ever known.”

Art behind the art:

Spring is springing here in Mississippi and the daffodils are popping everywhere.  The page was started with a light watercolor wash.  Using the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps daffodil stamp from Spring Blossoms was perfect on the In the Garden page in my hymnal.  The butterfly from Made New  was stamped on vellum, colored, fussy cut and then adhered on foam tape.  I added the word "abide" with the Typewriter Alpha stamps.  Lastly, I added some visual interest with Texture Tiles 1 and Texture Tiles 2.

I encourage you to take some time and walk in the garden with Him.


Until next time,

Gayle
Patio Ponderings

Editor's Note:

In The Garden Lyrics by Charles Austin Miles (1912)
Source:  HymnLyrics.org

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
Refrain

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

Refrain

I’d stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

Refrain


Words: Charles Austin Miles (1912)

The Lord Heals

This is a blog post in which the words from Scripture need to do much more speaking than me. Right now, I have several friends in crisis situations with either having lost a parent very unexpected, or are watching a parent age and decline rapidly. This is one of those times where there really are no words.

Also, I have a few people close to me dealing with either their own serious health condition or that of someone they love. Again, so much pain and brokenness that words escape me..

However, the Bible tells us in Psalm 147:1-3 that God bandages and heals!! When the walls are crumbling, and all seems lost, we are told to sing praises and that they are fitting.

“Praise the Lord! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting! The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing the exiles back to Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭147:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In verse 5 of the same chapter, we are told that He has power and understanding beyond what we can comprehend.

“How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭147:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So with these words, I encourage you my friends when life is hard...and it will be at times...know that He understands, He himself bandages wounds and He heals broken hearts. Lean in to Him today.

Art behind the heart:

The set Healer of my Heart from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps was used here. I started with a light watercolor wash on the background and then stamped the words.  The heart and bandage were stamped separately, fussy cut, and then added. A few paper pieces and a ribbon clip completed the page.

Until next time,
Gayle
Patio Ponderings

Need Wisdom?

James is one of my favorite books in the Bible.  It has such straightforward, practical advice.  I'm not sure about you, but I like it all spelled out for me.  I love it when the answer is right in front of my face.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love digging in His Word for truth and information.  I love reading to gain knowledge about who God is and what His character is like.  

There are times when I just don't know what to do or where to turn in situations.  Anyone else ever been there?  I'm sure we all have at one point or another.  In the first chapter of James, he tells us all we have to do is ask God.

"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.  He will not rebuke you for asking."  James 1:5  

The word "ask" in the Greek can be defined as "to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require." 

Wow. When I want to know something do I crave the answer?  Better yet, do I crave to hear God's wisdom?  Do I require His knowledge?  Or do I ask five different friends before I even think about going to the Lord? 

 

Did you read the all of verse 5?  James tells us that not only will God give us wisdom, He is generous and He doesn't rebuke us for asking.  He doesn't say "that's a stupid question!"  He gives us what we ask for...what we crave for.

In this season of choosing to truly abide with my Lord, my heart is craving Him and his knowledge more and more.  I desire to hear from Him.  My heart's cry is to get to the point that every fiber of my being requires that I hear from God.

I know my God is a generous God and He will give me wisdom.  I just have to ASK.  

Where are you today?  Are you hungry for His knowledge?  


Art behind the story:

I was excited to use some of the bold patterns and alphas that Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps has in their collection for this page.  For the background, I started out with some acrylic paints and built a pattern of color.  I added flowers and branches from the  Itty Bitty Blossoms set.  The words were stamped with Happy Alpha and Script Outline Alpha.  I stamped the arrows from the Send Me set on card stock, colored them, and then fussy cut.  

Pray this post encourages you!

Until next time,

Gayle
Patio Ponderings

Prayer 101

It’s great to know that when we need answers, we have a great textbook readily available to us. In the book of James, we are told if we need wisdom, all we have to do is ask. 

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Learning about prayer is the same way. It’s all laid out for us in the gospels. Jesus teaches a model prayer often referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. We often want to jump straight to it, but Jesus prefaces it with some specific instructions.

He tells us in Matthew 6:6:

“Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.” (MSG)

I love that He is so specific.

“Find a secluded place.”

“Just be there simply and honestly.”

Then, when our posture, position, and place is right, He tells us that “the focus will shift from you to God.”

Without the preparation, our hearts and minds will still be on #allthethings instead of where it needs to be: on Him.

With my word of the year being “abide”, I knew that prayer would be an integral part of it. Not only is the Lord teaching me to draw near and abide with Him, He is showing me clearly just how to do that.

My hope is that this will challenge you to examine your posture, position, and place as you spend time with the Lord in prayer.  

Art behind the story:

With the release of Filagree Hearts this month as the stamp of the month at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, I knew I wanted to use this set everywhere!

The background was done with a wet on wet watercolor technique, and then the additional visual texture was added with stamps from that same set, as well as another favorite Grunge Elements 2.

I stamped several Filagree Hearts on paper and fussy cut them.  I wrote the verse out on some patterned cardstock, and then added the "aged" look with the Grunge Elements 2 and pens.  

Lastly, I added the title with the Happy Alpha and finished it off with a fabric clip and some washi tape.

Hope you enjoy all the new releases this month, but mostly, I pray that using them to create for Him will be precious time well spent.

Until next time,

Gayle

Patio Ponderings

Abide

Abide isn’t a word we use regularly these days, but the definition is very clear. It indicates a choice. It suggests an action. It’s not something that just happens.

For my word this year, I really feel the Lord pulling me close to Him. I’m sensing He wants me to spend even more quality time with Him. Heart time. Also, more quantities of time...abiding in Him.

When Jesus called the disciples, He asked them to “follow Him.” It was used as an imperative, not just a comment in passing. “Follow me!”  In Matthew, we are told the disciples immediately left all behind and followed Him.
  
“One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4:18-22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I’ve been a Jesus follower for many years now. For that I’m so thankful. This year, God is drawing me even closer and calling after my heart to really dig in and abide. To dwell. To linger. To encamp.

As I began to ponder and pray over what this year should like like for me, I kept hearing the Lord whisper “abide. Just abide with me, Gayle. Don’t be making your own plans, let me guide your steps. When you encamp with me, when you draw ever close to me, when you truly dwell with me...that’s when you’ll know exactly what those plans, goals and dreams should like like.”

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭NLT
‬‬

For me, I don’t want to miss one thing the God has in store for the coming year. My heart is all His. If you are looking for me, I’ll be at His feet...abiding with Him.

Art behind the story:

For this entry, I knew the focus would be two fold. For the word “abide” I used the Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps new Happy Alpha. All of the others words are from the January release His Love. The second focal point would represent my heart. For it, I used one of the pretty hearts from the January stamp of the month Filagree Hearts set. I stamped it twice on card stock and fussy cut them. I glued the center of the flower down but not the petals to give it a little depth. Next I created the background by applying distress oxides very lightly with a makeup brush. Lastly, I positioned the heart.

And that’s what our job is. To position our heart near Him...and abide. 


Until next time,
Gayle
Patio Ponderings
https://www.instagram.com/patioponderings/nalim

Immanuel

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  Isaiah 7:14

Immanuel. God with us.

God with us. You and me. This world. Your neighbor. Our children. Us. 

God loves the world. (John 3:16) There isn’t anyone too far away from the love of God. When Immanuel is defined as God being with us, it means He’s available for all of us.

God with us. Alongside us. Always near. Never out of reach. With. 

When Jesus tells His disciples that He is leaving, He reassures them not to worry because He was sending a Helper to be with us. From then until He returns, we have Holy Spirit alongside us. (John 14:16-17)

God with us. God...the God of the universe. God the creator. God the Father. God the son. God the Holy Spirit. God.

It amazes, humbles, delights, thrills, and a million other emotions, that God is with us. He is not an unknown far off God. He wants to be with us. He tells us over and over again in His Word that we can know Him. My favorite passage is Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Do you know Him today? Have you asked Immanuel to be with you? Seek Him. He’s waiting for you.

Art behind the story:

The Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps O Holy Night set was the perfect silhouette for this page. I used the Rebecca Script Alpha to create the word “Immanuel”, with the exception of the letter “I”, which I hand lettered.

Like I do often, I used Distress Oxides for the color on the page. The color was applied with a makeup brush. While the background may look random, it has several elements in it that mean a lot to me. 

There is a dove (Doves of Peace) stamped several times to represent the Peace that comes from knowing God. I used the Wood Backgrounds set and stamped partial images to look like a fingerprint. God’s fingerprints are all over creation. 

There are some music notes (Texture Tiles 1) mingled throughout because knowing Jesus makes my heart sing. Also, there is some text (Typewriter Text) stamped to remind me that He has the words of life. Lastly, I used the hearts from Grunge Elements 2 to show His love.

This is my last blog before Christmas. I wish each of you the sweetest time with family and friends as you celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Merry Christmas,

Gayle
Patio Ponderings