Be Still

Hello friends, it is so great to be back here sharing my Bible with you all. Today my baby is seven weeks old...how is that possible?! I have been slowly finding time between the marathon nursing sessions and cuddles to journal and dig back into the word. Over these last few weeks the words "be still" have been resonating in my heart. God has been reminding me it's ok to just rest in His presence, and allow Him to fill my tired, weary heart. what better way to illustrate this then with the latest stamp set coffee and Jesus.

I used the sunshine girl alpha, some tiny alpha stickers and hand lettering to create the title for the page. The fun coffee rings and splatters were created using a brown watercolor paint. I painted the bottom edge of the cup and stamped it, so it encircled the verse. The rest of the page I simply stamped a few of the coffee images in brown or black ink and colored then in with watercolors.

The message translation often has a new fresh perspective I enjoy reading. Psalm 46:10 says "take a long, loving look at me, your high God." I so needed to hear this, maybe you need these words this week too! It's ok to slow down and rest in the grace and goodness of God. I find it so easy to get caught up in the busy work of being momma that I forget to take time for the relationship that really matters...my heavenly Father. I invite you to sit down, put on the praise music, open your Bible, pour a giant mug of coffee or tea and let the grace of God fall fresh on you and revive your heart.

Father, help me stop and meditate on your goodness. let my focus rest on your insurmountable greatness, grace and love. Amen!!

Hugs and prayers, Jenn @creativegurl85

Refresh

When’s the last time you needed refreshing? Last year? Last month? Yesterday? If you’re like most people, it was perhaps even today.

We are such a go go go society, that we are often just worn out and exhausted, running on empty most of the time. We don’t know how to say the word “no”, or at the very least know how to pace ourselves.

Last week I had the sweet privilege of hosting a friend from out of town for a few days. We also had a couple of my local girlfriends join us for much of the week. We even face timed for a couple hours with another out of town friend.

My goal was to spend time with them, craft together, learn from each other, fellowship around the Word, talk about the Lord, and just overall encourage them.

We had the best time. We made #allthethings. We taught one another how to create felt flowers, work with watercolors, put napkins in our Bibles, make lots of clips and much more. We shared Bible verses. We prayed together. We poured our hearts out to one another. We did lots of listening...lots of talking...lots of giggling.

The end result? We all agreed we need another Patio Ponderings retreat soon! Time...quality time...with girlfriends is contagious. And filling. And rewarding.

Most of all, it’s refreshing. My cup is overflowing and my heart is full. My hope was to encourage and refresh my friends, instead, I was the one reaping all the benefits. Thank you, Lord!!

Take time out from the busyness of life and invest some quality time in others. You will certainly be glad you did.

“The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11:25 ‭NLT‬‬




Art behind the story:

One of our projects last week was to start our own boxes of repurposed rolodex cards. They are a quick way to be creative, use up bits of paper pieces, and fun to make as gifts for happy mail.  Look up the hashtags #rolodexbiblecards, #memorydex, and #rolodexart on Instagram to see some great ideas.  

The Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps set Fill Me Up was a popular set last week among all my coffee drinking girlfriends! I stamped the large cup several times onto patterned journaling cards, fussy cut all the pieces apart, and paper pieced them all back together to get the various patterns. I stamped the words on the bottom right directly on to the card. This card was cut the normal rolodex size of 4” x 2.5”. On the back, I wrote the Proverbs 11:25 verse, a little note to each friend, and then signed and dated it. These cards will be sweet to remember our time together. 

Until next time,

Gayle
Patio Ponderings