Saturday, January 31, 2009

Tag, your it!

I've been tagged by my a flickr friend Pia who I just discovered has a blog. This seems to be spreading super fast around the blog world... All you need to do is go to the place where you keep your pictures, choose the 6th folder and the 6th picture, post it onto your blog and explain. Easy as that!

Here is mine.

God is truly the ultimate artist!! (I have added this comment from Nancy as I totally and utterly agree with her!

France has so many of these gorgeous fields full of sunflowers! I hope this will bring sunshine into your day!

For those who would like to do the same, see yourself as tagged!

Friday, January 30, 2009

Art Creations Friday

This was quite a difficult image to work with and I'm out of inspiration!



The challenge can be found here.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Background stamp and vintage

So I HAD to try a vintage card with the Hero Arts Misty swirl background stamp!


I just had to find something small to stamp above the girls heads.... I think I made an error there... Never mind, these cards give me the most joy to make! I love these colours and I love these images and I love experimenting. And it was ready in no time to.



This is a card with the same background but more whimiscal.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Meditation Monday

A little while back I thought I would start a little testimony section on my blog called Meditation Monday. The monday's would come round and go again... Last week I was asked to share something at our house group. I knew this was the chance to share it also on my blog so this is the first MM of 2009.
I am deeply encouraged myself to read testimonies from people who I can relate too, it helps so much. I hope those ladies who visit my blog and know the Lord Jesus will be blessed and can relate to what I go through in their own daily walk in faith. I so hope you will share your own testimony too! I would appreciate feedback if it is too long or whatever, thanks! It won't be every monday, but now and again.

OUR EXPECTATIONS

Isaiah: 55:
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways, saith the Lord.
9 As the heavens are high above the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

One of the most difficult areas in my life and one which has caused the most confusion and hurt has been that of my expectations of God.
Having a Heavenly Father who created the whole universe, is omnipresent, who knows everything, sees everything, I believed that a life with God should be dynamic, full of beautiful adventures and constant joy and peace!
It has not always been the case. We all have to admit that many things we hoped and prayed for have not been fulfilled. I had this kind of reasoning, o.k. God, You invite me through your Word to pray and believe and when I do, it seems to take ages for a reply – why Lord?
I have to add that when I gave my life to Jesus who was sacrificed on the Cross for us – I had my prayers answered every day – I was amazed at how God helped me understand the Bible, how He cared for my needs and gave me joy and peace beyond understanding.
Years later I had to learn that God was treating me as a child that had to grow up, that the dry periods in our lives that seem to tire us, wherein we have to persevere in the faith are so necessary for our growth to stand when the going gets tough!
To give you some examples, we lived in a little village in France about six years ago (we have since moved) and I really tried to talk about Jesus to the people around me and tried to make friends with the neighbours. It took six years before I managed to win the trust of one neighbour lady, who also came to put her trust in the Lord. I had expected so much more when we moved to France as missionaries, it hurt!
We have been praying for twenty years for our eldest son, who in fact has left home and is living with his girlfriend in another town, filled with humanistic thinking from his school days and closed to our way of living. Of course we still believe that God will touch his heart, but my expectations were that he would be in the Ministry before he was twenty!
In fact I have always wanted things around me change for the good, in the church, in the village and so on but I have learned that God wants to change things on the inside of us first, and mainly our character! If everything around me changes and I don’t – I won’t have gained anything!
Looking back, I have seen how God has met my expectations in ways so much higher than I ever could have fathomed with human reasoning and although I have adapted my expectations I still believe that when God says He can do beyond that which we can imagine or pray, He means what he says!
If God had done everything I asked of him and prayed for, I would never have learned to persevere, to have patience, to love, to care, to Love God for who He is not for what He does and have deep roots in Who He is!
Today I feel that God has created a desire in me to expect Him to do a deep work in this region. I am batteling to stay in this expectation of God, for our work to serve and build up the church, in praying for the villages around us as the spiritual darkness is overwhelming here.
God has taken away the frustration and pain I had as I have learned to trust Him as the above verse says – His Ways are so much higher than ours and His thoughts are so different!
In conclusion, prayer is an investment in the Kingdom of God everyday which pays off in God’s time and it is good to walk in obedience to His Word. God will honour our expectations if we honour Him!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Misty Swirl pattern stamp



I wanted to post yesterday but we had a power cut because of stormy gusty winds for 24 hours! I had a coupon for 25 dollars still open to spend at Hero Arts and received some gorgeous stamps just a couple of days ago, and have been experimenting! I LOVE experimenting! New stamps give new inspiration and I find I use more of the paper I don't find a home for with new images.





Also I have been busy editing the book DH and I wrote about our marriage..as René is Dutch, his english, although outstanding, still needs editing, which is only normal. We will be presenting it to a Publishing House in America soon, so we are praying for God's favour that it will be accepted.

This is a card I made on the same day just one year ago, 25/01/2008. In 2007 I didn't post any cards on this day.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

What did I make the same day last year and the year before that?

I made this little patchwork card today from three stamps from Hero Arts which each gave me 6-8 little squares.



I was thinking to myself, I wonder what I made on this same day last year and the year before. So I looked it up. I don't go as far as January 2006 - but I thought this was a great exercise to do just to remember cards that have been sent or sold or whatever.

This is from Jan 21, 2007

This is from January,21, 2008

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Art Creations Friday

My sand and pink colours didn't scan well at all on this card, neither is the photo very light - but I couldn't seem to get a good shot this time. The photo was given as theme for a card on the Art creations friday challenge blog.



The challenge can be found here. Thanks!



This image brought back memories to me of a gothic arch I did way back with the same image but a different photo- must have been part of the same photo session.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Couples - Theme thursday

For the challenge at Theme Thursday the theme is 'couples' and as I had a picture of a couple I had a good start.



Another picture here of a place somewhere in a village in the South of France, near to the Pyrenée Mountains.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Dreaming of far-away places - CHALLENGE - Vintage Veranda

My challenge for the second half of January with the theme 'Dreaming of far-away places' can be found here at the Vintage Veranda.
The challenge is to create a grid card! It can be in any form or size - you can use big or small squares, a card full of squares or just a couple - anything that in some way applies to the theme.



In this card I have put two faces inbetween the squares who have a dreamy look on their faces and the music and script have a liason with Paris. Please get your inspiration caps on and join us in this final challenge for January. I am offering four beautiful pages of vintage images to the one whose name will be randomly drawn from the hat at the end of the month. Looking forward to seeing what you create!! Please tag your card JAN09GA1 and enter it here in the Vintage Veranda gallery.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Treasures

I had one page left of this K&Co paper which I had been saving.



Just enjoying a little collage.


A picture taken of wooden clogs in a Dutch garden. I rather like this idea of painting them and hanging them with flowers on the fence!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Art Creations Friday

I really look forward to the challenge on Friday - gives me some unexpected material in hand to work with! The background this week was made by Hermine, she always does beautiful backgrounds.



The challenge can be found here.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Hero Arts weekly challenge - LAYERS

Received a Cupcake stamping set (Hero Arts - see below) from Andi (Rrlscrapgal) just before the New Year! I know it's not my usual kind of creating, but I am actually enjoying using these! This card is for a little girl's third birthday. I found a link for the gingham paper (all in pastel colours) on the Internet here.




I wrote to Andi to ask her how I could combine vintage and cupcakes?? I came up with these mini cards.


Once again a big thank you Andi (if you see this) - because they are fun stamps for birthdays etc. and for children.


This one is made with materials and stitching.
Jacqueline

Monday, January 5, 2009

New Years Arch

We received a box of nougat for Christmas in a box with a fancy window - and the shape of this arch was the shape of that window. It is a smaller size and I like creating on it.



The challenge at Gothic arches this week can be found here.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Art Creations Friday # 7

ACF provided a beautiful background to work with this week.

Guest artist at the Vintage Veranda

HI! Happy to announce I am the guest artist at the Vintage Veranda this month. Thanks to Pam, Louise and Sarah who invited me.


This is one of the cards I made.

If you want to see what I created, click on the link here to the right 'Guest artist VV' and it will take you to my gallery. The theme this month is 'Far away places' and the country I chose was France... well it's far away for you! I chose Paris and also a bit of London, and the South where I live.
There will also be a challenge the second week of January and would love anybody who reads this mail to join in - there will be a little prize too.
Thanks!