Zephaniah 3:17

I posted this scripture on someone's blog today. It's one of those verses that I had never noticed before, but came across it from two different sources within a week. I knew that it meant God wanted me to pay attention, though it captured me the first time I saw it!

Here is the translation:

"The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

Why is it so hard to recognize how deeply He loves us? He saves us, he delights in us, He calms our fears - real and imagined, and sing songs to us. Those are not things a careless friend, or unfeeling diety, does for us.

We tend to think like this:
He is mighty to squish us like an insect.
He gets totally disgusted and frustrated with us.
He will wound you with rejection,
He will lambaste you with criticism.

No way.
Never.
Impossible.

Romans 8 says that nothing can separate us from His love. Psalm 139 tells us that we are irrisistible to Him.

He loves us even beyond the cross. Amazing.

NOTE 6/1: I was delighted this morning when I discovered that Our Daily Bread designs just came out with this scripture! It's in English, of course, and I know that many are going to be blessed to receive this scripture on a card! Definitely a stamp I hope to purchase soon!

French Thank you

I discovered something by accident in photographing cards. The colors of the papers used in this card usually show up steel gray in a photo. However, I had the "wrong" setting on the camera, and the resulting picture looked completely blue, even the background, which is more of a white with minute blue speckles, was a very strong light blue. I used Picassa photo editor, and it restored the photo to almost exactly to its natural colors!

This is what I call a "quilt card," made with strips of various papers then sent through my cuttlebug for texturing.

This I recall, and therefore I have hope:

I love this passage from Lamentations 3:21-23

21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

French Greeting

I took strips of neon paper, cut at angles, and covered an entire piece of 8.5 x 11 paper with them. I cut several large stripes, then used my cuttlebug for the rest, some with the puzzle die, and others with the squares as you see on this card. Very time consuming, but I had a lot of fun with the cuttlebug part!

Pensées

Another French card. Translation: you are in my thoughts.

I asked my former French professor from Houghton College do my translations for me. I haven't sat under his teaching in over twenty years, but some people you just know will help you if they can. I went through a difficult time my third semester, resulting in my leaving the campus, and I remember his concern for me. College professors are in such an incredible place of influence; I wish parents really understood this when they sent their seemingly independent children off to school. I saw it as a teen, and I certainly see it as a parent and one who has regular contact with other college students. Young people are very, very vulnerable to those men and women who are a huge part of their lives for four years....

Merci

I am working night and day, literally from when I get up until I go to bed on preparing cards for Houghton College. I got in the first batch last month, but I like to switch whole inventories in and out - it makes life much easier for organization, especially when distance is an issue. It's definitely stressful, though, so I'll be glad when this week is over (I plan to do the switch when we pick up our daughter from college next week.

I made a couple of French cards for the current set of cards at the college. This is the first one. I came up with this design months ago, for an English thank you, but never completed it. It had more "summery colors" so I just adjusted the colors for fall.

Encouragement for a friend

I have a friend who is going through an extremely devastating time. I recently discovered that this is her favorite scripture, and as it was perfect for what she is going through now, I made this card and mailed it to her where she works.

The flowers are not so bold and bright as they appear in the photo; they actually come much closer to matching the muted pinks in the card.