Tag Archives: art

Let us Remember!

13 Feb

God mercies are new

Have you ever gone through something that just seemed so horrific that it felt as though you weren’t going to make it this time!  Well, I have, more times than I can count!   Maybe you are still going through something like that.   Today, I hope to encourage you by pointing out the fact that I had gotten through it and am now on the other side!  You too can get to the other side! Sometimes, the easiest, but most effective thing we can do to begin seeing victory in our lives is to simply remember!

I am sitting in a place of such restoration that I am in Awe of what the Lord has done for us! I do not say that to boast, but to really encourage you that God is not a respecter of persons! I guess the thing that keeps coming back to me is the fact that the Lord has continued to be so faithful to us even in times when we were a little shaky. There were times I must admit that we wondered if we were going to make it this time.  We didn’t know how he was going to do what we were asking of him, but just kept holding on to the fact that the Lord has been faithful to his word to us in the past!

Our Pastor preached a message when I was going through a devastating time in my life that absolutely stirred my heart.  The message was basically this: “Miracles erase options for the believer!”  What he preached on was the fact that once the Lord performs a miracle in your life, that it is something that is concreted into your spirit.  You are never the same, and hopefully as Pastor preached “You will remember!”  You will remember the miracle when the next trail comes or the next obstacle comes, because if the Lord did it once for you, he’ll do it again….Always!  That settles it! There is no changing in God.   God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  What he has done, he will do again…

My husband and I are living proof of the miracle-working power of the Lord.  But you know sometimes we forget what the Lord has done for us. Recently, I thought that I would begin writing down all of the miracles that the Lord had performed for me.  Honestly, I became so overwhelmed. He had done so much that I had not even thanked him for or realized it was him!  It is our nature sometimes to forget, but as I began thinking back of all of the times when the Lord came through for us, I suddenly realized, if he did anything for me before, He is the same God!  He will do it for me again just as he had done it over and over again in the past!  So, I want to encourage you today, right now!    Take the time to REMEMBER what the Lord has already done for you.  You know all of those good things that happened before that we sometimes call coincidence!  Realize that those good things were not coincidences but God was working on your behalf.  Oh what a faith builder it is to take the time to simply remember!   It could be the very thing you need that will thrust you forward like a catapult and land you right into the miracle that you are believing the Lord for right now!

Feeling all Rosy!

7 Feb

Feeling all Rosy!.

Feeling all Rosy!

7 Feb

http://www.lakeviewtimes.com/U/2.htm

Feeling All Rosy Inside!

Hewlett-Packard

I wanted to encourage someone today with these rosy benches.  You might be saying to yourself,” This gal has gone off somewhere.” When I found these old benches at a flea market, they looked like they once were possibly stained red, but they were so weathered that it was hard to tell for sure.  I shook them and they were pretty wobbly, but I bought them for practically nothing and took them home.  I remember asking my husband if he could tighten up the legs to see if they would become sturdier! Well when he had done as I had asked and tightened the screws that were in them, the benches were as solid as could be.  They were really sturdy and stable.   I then sanded and repainted them with a base paint.  I found that I honestly liked them just with the base color.   However, I could see something else in them.  I began painting the first rose and then the second until Viola! I had two matching rose benches that I received awesome money for at an arts and craft show!

“Okay, okay, you’re still wondering, what does that have to do with me?  How could that possibly encourage me?” Well, I once was like these old benches. I had been through some things that really made me look and feel pretty wobbly.  You might say I was very unsure of my purpose and wasn’t the least bit stable in my mind, will, emotions, spirit, or even in my body.   Life is a rough game to play sometimes, and especially if you play it hard!  Eventually the life you’ve led catches up with you.  But one day, when I thought I was no longer useful, or was so ugly that no one could ever want me, The Lord Himself bought me with the highest possible price!  He didn’t just slap a coat of paint on me, but he cleansed me from the inside out and totally remade me. He tightened up every” loose screw.” I was stable again and had new purpose and meaning.   I was in HIS eyes as beautiful as any rose….like these benches, He seen something more in me!

Jeremiah 18:2-4 (KJV)

2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

He is looking at you right now with the piercing eyes of the great Creator, The Master Potter and Artist.  He is remaking you and creating something so beautiful in you.  I just wanted to encourage you to know that you are of great value, worth and purpose.   He has paid the ultimate price to purchase you.  He loves you so much and considers you His finest piece of art!

It Came to Pass

31 Jan

It Came to Pass.

It Came to Pass

31 Jan

Check out this published blog post at  http://www.lakeviewtimes.com/U/10.htm

“It Came to Pass!”

the-four-seasons

 

Ecclesiastes 3 (KJV) To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

In Georgia, this year, the winter seems to be exceptionally long and cold.  Normally in the South, the winters are very mild and we may have one winter event when we actually have snow or ice. I call it an event because many Georgians are thrilled to see snow; however this winter for many that I’ve talked with this winter season seems to be wearing down a lot of folks with sickness and just plain bone chilling cold! I know that compared to the Northern States that we do not have anything to complain about, but if you’re not used to the cold then it is very difficult.  I think we are definitely suffering from “Spring Fever!”

After Christmas is over I personally crave the Spring!  I can’t wait to see my crocuses peek out of the ground, which are usually followed by my Daffodils.  It’s not long before my whole yard is awakened to Spring and is splattered with brilliant colors such as yellow Wisteria bushes, vivid fuchsia and white Azaleas.  As if they are ordered, here come the pinkish white blooms of twenty-one Dogwood trees, along with a splash of deep purple Rhododendrons, red Tulips and blooming fruit trees that burst forth in all their glory!  Song birds fill the bushes and trees with their sweet melodies as the warmth of the Spring season marches in like royalty!  I love it, Spring seems to warm the soul of the weary!

What Season are You in?

The seasons are wonderful in that they are truly only supposed to last for a certain amount of time.  However, some people seemingly become stuck in a dark, dismal winter season that last way longer than a season should last.  Many feel as though their winter season will never end?

I can relate to those of you that may feel like you are stuck in a winter season! I can especially relate to those of you that may have been driven into a winter season because of a chronic sickness or maybe grief or loss of a loved one.  Sometimes things can hit our lives that absolutely knock us to our knees, but I am here to encourage you, that it is possible for you get back up! If you have ever read Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.   In this scripture, it plainly states that in everything that there are seasons, whether good or bad.  I once had a Pastor years ago preach a message that I’ve never forgotten and has encouraged me through many winter seasons in my life.  He preached “It came to pass! It did not come to stay!”  Regardless of what it looks like or feels like right now, again whether good or bad, “It came to pass! It did not come to stay!

Your Spring is waiting for you!  It’s time for you to stand upon your feet again.   Start living again and looking forward!  Yes, much easier said than done, but it starts with a made up mind.  In order for me to come out of my winter, I had to make up my mind that I was going to begin walking forward, even if it meant I took tiny little baby steps!  The great thing about being a Christian, is that my Heavenly Father, just like a natural Daddy held out his arms and encouraged me “Come on you can do it! You can make it!”  I hope that if you are a Christian that you can hear him tell you the same thing.  However, if you not a Christian, then I hope that you hear my heart and hear my cheers for you, “Come on you can do it!  If I walked out of a dark winter season, so can you!”

Welcome Spring Season!  The Winter cannot hold on forever! “It came to pass!  It did not come to stay!”

 

Resolution

22 Jan

Resolution.

Resolution

22 Jan

 

Resolution-A Call to Action!

stainless steel trash can

Luke 6:45

 For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (KJV)

                       

          You may think it strange that I would have Scripture from the Bible and a trash can in the same blog, but I inserted the “pretty little purple trash can” to make a point! That although the trash can is all dressed up and looks like a designer’s special on the outside, it still holds trash! Regardless of how pretty the color, how sleek, or thin, it still holds trash.   Now that we are taking steps into a brand new year, many of us have made resolutions in hopes of changing something in our lives for the better.   We wish we could lose weight, we wish we could get that new promotion, make more money, or we wish we could be a better person etc…Well frankly we can wish all we want, but a resolution is not simply a wish, it is a call to action!  If we truly want change it must be in our hearts to want to do something to affect change!  How many times do we make the same resolution year after year but in a week or two, we have moved on because we feel hopeless that real change will come.

If you are one that makes the same resolutions year after year, obviously you have identified areas in your life that need to be changed. You have actually made the first step, which is to be brutally honest with yourself and say “yes I need a change.” In order to stop wishing to change you must on purpose resolve or began action to implement change.  No I do not have a blueprint, or a formula to implement change, I only know that nothing happens if the first step is not made, than the second, third etc.   If you do not make the first step, then you remain in the same place…You cannot get somewhere if you do not move….THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION!

Webster’s online definition of resolution:

1.The act, operation, or process of resolving.  2. The state of being relaxed; relaxation.  3. The state of being resolved, settled, or determined; firmness; steadiness; constancy; determination. 4. That which is resolved or determined; a settled purpose;

I personally love the definition of resolution, because it is a close definition to how I would explain my faith !  Faith is not just a noun, but it is an action verb!  Faith is believing and then acting on that belief.  Too make a resolution is a call to action!  We must take action by first believing that we can change and then making a firm and determined decision to do things differently toward that change!

Okay, now it is my turn to be brutally honest! I am going to be very transparent.  I have been like these “pretty little trash cans.”  I am constantly doing an examination of my life to see if my motives are pure.  They have not always been pure, and my heart has not always been kind toward others! I sometimes let things fly out of my mouth and when that happens, I am surprised myself.  I have literally said, “Where in the world did that even come from?  I didn’t think that was even in my heart!” I might have dressed myself all “pretty on the outside” but on the inside there was something that I needed to deal with. According to the Bible in Luke 6:45  if we listen to what comes out of our mouths, it is a sure-fire way to see what is in our hearts!  If we are kind and speak words of encouragement and love than our hearts are in good shape, but if our words are always full of bitterness, hurtful and resentment then “trash” needs to be dragged to the curb. It only takes us to hear our own words to know what is in our hearts!

Now, maybe what you have to change in your life would not be classified as “trash”, maybe you just need to make some small adjustments to help you be better, however I would say to you that if what needs to change is constantly hindering you or causing you to not be happy, or causing hurtful, harmful things to happen, then it is time to truly make a determined life choice.  It’s time to resolve or act to implement what it takes to change!  If it is not benefitting you, then resolve to throw it out, resolve to get rid of it, drag it to the curb. I also realize that I am making it sound rather easy, which believe me, I do not mean to make our actions of change sound like a walk in the park!  There is a saying that “nothing in life worth having is free,” I have found this saying to be so true in my own life. A life full of happiest and contentment comes with a great price, but I have found that every change that I have made to obtain this kind of life has been worth it!

www.lakeviewtimes.com

22 Jan

www.lakeviewtimes.com.

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www.lakeviewtimes.com

22 Jan

www.lakeviewtimes.com

Meet Christine Gilliam Hornback
  Christine Gilliam Hornback is a wife of thirty three years and a mother of two young boys, ages thirteen and nine. She homeschools her children and is an author,meet our newest contributor tomorrow in www.lakeviewtimes.com

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Lakeview Times Online Paper

15 Jan

Lakeview Times Online Paper

I am so excited about my blogs being published in the Lakeview Times Online Paper!  In order to read my blog, you must click the link and scroll down!   Please Check out the paper with Greg Hetherington.  My new blogs will be posted every Wednesday!  

….Lakeview Times is a great online paper that has great resources that will inform and encourage.  The paper features many local community events and helps to promote them, great ideas to promote community in your town, city, school, church etc. The paper also has encouraging short stories, poems, great classifieds at very reasonable prices. 

I actually have my latest Juvenile Fiction book listed in the classifieds! If you are an author, artist or have items to sell, the classified ads are a valuable resource!  Check out the papers low advertising fees!

http://www.lakeviewtimes.com/U/Class.htm

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