Thursday, June 28, 2012

Quick card share

Hello! I am not so inspired lately and the heat doesn't help. We don't have air conditioning here, so I am content watching the Tennis (Wimbledon) and swimming in our pool which is a wonderful 30 degrees at the moment, which is 86°F. Nice to work out a bit in a different way and being outdoors is lovely. Still working in the mornings at the office and this weekend I will be travelling with DH once again to Holland to pick up our two sons who graduate from the Bible School, after two years.
Looking forward to that!



So this is an effort to make a Birthday card which I will be taking with me to give to one of my friends who I will meet.



And.. a flower from my garden.
Hope to see you all again next week. Sorry for my slow reactions to your blog posts!
Jacqueline x

Friday, June 22, 2012

The third 'A' and a card

I am sharing a card I made using some pp I purchased as a digital download here.


I used Walnut Stain distress ink to stamp the Floating Meadow cling stamp from Hero Arts straight onto the PP. I also stamped and cut out a Butterfly from the same paper.

Secondly, my beautiful Christian friend Maria reminded me that I still had to share the third of the four 'A's, which is: ADAPT. 


So, for those that are interested:

It is never easy to adapt and especially the concept male/female can be particularly trying!
Carrying on with the book 'The Total Woman' by Marabel Morgen on this subject, I will highlight what she has to say because I couldn't say it any better. Bear in mind we are dealing with the general Biblical principles for everyday life.
Adapting to our husbands does bear fruit - although maybe not always visible short term. When I choose to live sacrificially I choose for the long term commitment - and it pays. We have already handled ACCEPT and ADMIRE. So if we accept our husbands as they are (trusting that God does the changing..) how do we ADAPT...Without further ado:

Quote:
Diana was feeling lonely, neglected and unloved. Should she put her foot down? Insist that he quit football? Demand that he spend more time at home? Threaten him? She had already tried that for two years, but of course nothing had changed. Should she withhold her love? Make him come begging to her? Play the martyr? She had tried that too... no change! The advice I gave her was to ADAPT as that was the only thing I knew would work. Adapt to his way of life wholeheartedly, even if nothing changed. When he is home, make life so attractive he won't want to leave. Don't make him feel guilty and don't complain. Instead, treat him like a king and cater to his needs.

What causes most of the problems in your marriage? I find that conflict between two separate egos is usually the culprit - your viewpoint versus his viewpoint. If they happen to be the same, fine. If not, as so often is the case, conflict results.
For instance, your weary man comes home from the office longing for a quiet evening; You have been cooped up in the house all day and want to get out. There's instant conflict with two egos, each shouting, "Me, me, me." So how can two different egos fuse their two different opinions into one? Some don't. It often results in two people going their separate little ways.

The biblical remedy for marital conflict is "Wifes, submit to your husbands' leadership in the same way you submit to the Lord". Ef.5:22
Before you scream, hear me out.... No one says you have to get married. If you do not wish to adapt to a man, stay single. If you are married but not adapting, you probably already know that marriage is not the glorious experience you anticipated.
You may think, "that's not fair, I have my rights. why shouldn't he adapt to my ways first and then maybe I'll consider doing something to please him?". I have seen many couples try this unsuccessfully! Unless the wife adapts to his way of life, conflict is certain to occur.

God originally ordained marriage. He gave certain ground rules and if they are applied a marriage will work...
Man and woman, although equal in status, are different in function. God ordained man to be the head of the family, its president and his wife to be the executive vice-president. When the order is turned around, the system breaks down... there is enough evidence of this in the world today!

We don't have to nag or be a doormat - we have our dignity, opinions and spunk, but we leave the final decisions over to our Head!

Unquote

We all can find creative ways to adapt and see what a relief it brings to our husbands. I have found that the times I have adapted and followed René (instead of thinking that 'my' way was better) and kept my mouth shut have been the times that I was refreshingly surprised how things worked out - I usually would think things would only go well if they went how I thought they should - WRONG!! We can be such control freaks! I thank God I am learning! On the other hand if I suggest something in the right attitude, I notice that my DH really thinks it over and actually a lot of times he has said, yeah, I think you are right this time!! It's just the way we say things sometimes! For me the key is: my relationship with René is also a mirror of my relationship to the Lord - that helps me stay in the right attitude.

I'm stopping here, not to make it too long. It might be helpful too to make this practical with some real issues.
God bless and have a lovely weekend!
Our weather is beautiful at the moment.
Jacqueline

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

News

Hello from France. A huge thank you once again for all the lovely and uplifting comments you left me on my last post, it was so encouraging!
It has been a very busy time. The funeral of my MIL took place last week - it was a beautiful good-bye to her, although very sad, and the thought of having to miss her.. just for who she was, is hard. I have visitors staying in our home until tomorrow for meetings for the Missionary work we do here in France. A time of sharing and prayer but also enjoyment and laughter... for everything on earth there is a time, says Proverbs in the Bible.


I did manage to make a quick card from the scrap basket that I can share today.


 And I was very lucky that this butterfly stayed sitting on this flower without moving while I took a shot.

I will try my best to visit the blogs in the coming days!! Hope you are all well!
Jacqueline x

Friday, June 8, 2012

Thank you

Yesterday evening at 10:30 my dear MIL passed away. René was able to be with her and hold her hand until the end. His other brother was there as well so they could comfort each other.



Thank you so much for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

The lavender is blooming!

I'm sharing some pictures from the garden today, especially the lavender that is attracting some rather beautiful visitors!


This Butterfly is called the L'Echiquier d'Occitanie in French.


This one is called Chatoyante Mélitée orangée.


Then I have a beautiful Hybiscus that gives me huge yellow flowers which brightens up the patio.


News about my MIL - she could go today or tomorrow, it is very close now. I haven't been too motivated to create a lot, but will share a card with the lovely Hydrangea from Hero Arts, above. Thank you all for the most heart warming comments on my last post, for your prayers and kind thoughts! I know that everything helps and only in Eternity will we know how much.
God bless
Jacqueline

Friday, June 1, 2012

Sharing

Hope you are all well! I had a very good time in Holland with DH. My MIL was very weak and tired but we had some good times together, with René's brother's family as well. It was beautiful weather too. As her liver is sick she looked very yellow, but she was able to be up and talk with us. She will be moving to a Hospice next week, bless her.

Here is a picture of her with our youngest son, Michaël.



 I have posted some cards this week and don't usually like to repeat myself by posting the same card on two different medias, so I will show you my second butterfly grid above, which just might be a Wedding Present for my son.


This is a grid card I made yesterday, love making these puzzles, pure therapy!
Have a lovely weekend!
Jacqueline x