Karla's Korner

Thinking Blog Award!

I've never been tagged before so.. thank you Jenny for the Thinking Blogger Award!  I am honored! Bless you! I am sometimes accused of thinking way too much so I'm just blessed to be able to pass on some of my thoughts and know that some of you are really reading them!

So let's see... now it's my turn to tag five other blogs that make me think. It's funny how I've really had to think about this because being new to the blogging world and with a schedule that does not allow much time for perusing the blogosphere... I wondered if I would be able to come up with five blogs that really make me think. I started off thinking they should be deeply spiritual (aren't I just funny?!?) but thought I have books and websites that do that for me... but not blogs. But then I realized that the Thinking Blog Award is for relevant content and that is subjective.. so the few blogs I do visit definitely qualify... they do make me think.  Some inspire me to think about art and creativity... some about the art of homemaking... some about the art of writing... and all in one way or another lead me back to thinking about how wonderful our God really is and what He means to me.

So... having said all that... I bestow the Thinking Blogger Award upon the following blogs...

1) My daughter Michelle... makes me think about how blessed I am to be called mom and so much  more.

2) My friend Audrey ... makes me think about the blessing of friendship and being an artist.

3) My new blog friend Clarice... inspires me to think about the blessing of being a keeper of my home.

4) Boomer Babes... makes me think about the joys of being an author and a woman of influence.

5) Sommerset Designs... inspires me to think about the business of being creative.

Jesus Painting

Someone sent this link to me in an email.  It is a powerful expression of drama and art that truly glorifies the Lord. As an artist and a believer... I was blessed... hope you are too!

Click here: YouTube - Jesus Painting

The Power of Beauty

Without a doubt, God has woven a longing for beauty into the very fiber of our beings... and I wanted to thank Vanessa in Haiti for her comment on yesterday's post. She shared that in John & Stasi Edredge's book "Captivating"... in the chapter "Beauty to Unveil", they write... "Beauty is powerful.  Beauty may be the most powerful thing on earth.  Beauty speaks.  Beauty invites.  Beauty nourishes.  Beauty comforts.  Beauty inspires.  Beauty is transcendent.  Beauty draws us to God....The soul's inclination to love beauty is the trap God most frequently uses in order to win it....Women want to impact their world for good...one of the key ways we influence our world is in making it a more beautiful place to live."

The question then is... how can I make my world a more beautiful place today?   I'm not sure what the book suggests but I believe the choices are many. But true beauty... the beauty that we as godlly women want to influence our world with... always begins with a love for God and a love for others. We can make our world more beautiful through the words we speak, the hugs we give, and the smiles we generously share. We can make the world a more beautiful place by cultivating a merry heart... learning to laugh out loud... and inviting others to laugh with us!  We can bring beauty into this world through our kind deeds... generous giving... caring deeply... and helping the needy (just like Vanessa).

I do THANK GOD for the beauty of this begonia that hangs on my front porch and all the flowers He's given us to enjoy. I thank God for the beauty of my home and my belongings. I thank God for these outward expressions of what is pleasing to the eye. But even more... I thank Him for the beauty He has created in my heart and the hearts of all who love Him.

However it's good to remember... that when God seeks beauty in this world... He's not looking to see who has the finest china or designer clothes... He won't be checking to see if our houses are decorated or if there are weeds growing in the garden.  He won't be looking at the earthly objects of beauty... even though He's given us all things to enjoy.  But He'll be looking for a much more glorious beauty... He''ll be looking at our hearts!

Father God,
Thank you for surrounding us with beauty... and for creating us in Your image with the ability and longing to create beauty in the world we live in. Thank you for the ways you've given us to express beauty in our homes and in this world through art and crafts and cooking and gardening and sewing and so many other avenues. May we see these talents and abilities as opportunities to express your extravagant love and beauty Lord.  May we be women who create beauty not to impress... but to bless. And would you stir our hearts to influence our worlds through beautiful living and creative loving... on purpose and with a purpose... being Your heart and hands and voice wherever we are!

The Beauty of the Lord

I am having a great time this spring capturing the beauty of many of the flowers here at Grace Acres. This is a CAMELIA that grows out by our chicken coop that will soon become my garden shed... the chickens flew the coop last summer! I took the photo off center... knowing I wanted to add words to it and gladness truly did my fill my heart as I considered the beauty of God's handiwork in the color and pattern and design of this incredible flower.

As much as I love being creative, nothing compares to the beauty and creativity of our God! Just as our handiwork... whether it's painting, crafting, sewing or any other creative endeavor... is an expression of who we are... so it is with God. When you are caught up in the beauty of God's handiwork... whether you're taking in a panoramic view of a sunset or in awe of the delicate veins of a single flower petal... you are being blessed by an expression of God's own nature... evidence of His love and His glory.

I love the verse in Genesis ch. 2 where it says "the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were PLEASING TO THE EYE and good for food." I had read this many times before I "pleasing to the eye" jumped off the page and my eyes were opened to see a new facet of God's character within this short sentence. The Lord designed us to not only need food for our bodies but to need nourishment for our souls through the windows of our eyes! And He loves us so much that He surrounded us with beauty from the very beginning. Understanding this just made me love Him even more!

God does care about what we see. We were created with the capacity to delight in beauty... isn't that incredible? Sometimes, however, we can become so caught up in our troubles that our eyes become downcast and all we see is the ugliness of this world and the weight of our worries. We forget to look up and see the incredible beauty God has created just for us. We allow our worries to rob us of the joy of delighting in God's glorious handiwork.

Today... no matter where you are... God's creation is not far from you... even as close as your own backyard... or maybe even the potted plant in your windowsill... or a short walk to the park. Take a few moments to stop and enjoy this incredible gift God has given you and GIVE THANKS... not only for the beauty of God's creation but also for the capacity to delight in beauty and even moreso... for the amazing God who created it all!

Heavenly Father,
I thank You today for the beauty that abounds in your creation... and for the amazing way you designed me to enjoy it and even be nourished by it. Help me to not take this gift for granted but to look up... to delight in what Your hands have made and give you praise and the glory due Your name!  

Because He Lives

I wanted to give you all a special Easter gift just for visiting and encouraging me to keep blogging! And I wanted to create something Easter that would lift up our Lord and help us focus on the true meaning for our Easter celebration. I am so grateful for the life God has given me through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and delight in every opportunity... great and small... to share His love and lift up His Name in my own little world!

To help do that I designed these two eggs and formatted them in a png format which is new for me. If you enjoy digital scrapbooking, you already know that this format enables you to layer them in your pages. But if you don't digital scrapbook, you can still print them, cut them out and use them however you'd like. You can click here and a new window should open with the art.... go to file and "save as" to your desktop.

One thing I did... was to print three copies of the same egg on photo paper... fold them all in half... and then taped the halves together so they are three dimensional. I don't have time to draw it out right now... so I hope that makes sense. Before I taped the last two halves together I glued a ribbon down the center so I could hang it. I'll try to take a photo in the next couple of days to show you.

If you'd like to visit my website, I just added an Easter "basket" download as well as one that has a design that you could either use for egg stands or as napkin holders!  I pray they will be a blessing to some of you! Please tell your friends who might like to have an Easter project to do with their kids... one that will remind them of the true meaning of why we gather together and celebrate!

My friend Audrey has a fun "Chinese Take Out" Easter Basket Box she's offering on her blog... if you decide to download it from her... please tell her I sent you!

Dear Lord,
As we walk through this coming week... will you prepare our hearts to truly celebrate all You've done for us... not only on Good Friday and Easter Sunday... but all year long... day by day... moment by moment... giving You the glory You alone deserve.