Karla's Korner

New Year Blessings

I only have a few minutes this morning but I wanted to send you my blessings for a glorious New Year!

This is the time of year many of us take the time to look back over the past year and count our blessings and name them one by one. It is also a time to allow God to search our hearts... to see if there is unfinished business lurking... unconfessed sins... unforgiveness... unbelief we need take care of. It can also be a time to think about what we've learned this past year... spiritually or earthly... to remind us of how God is continually molding and shaping our lives moment by moment and year by year. As we take time to reflect on these things our hearts are filled with thanksgiving for what God has done and hope for what He has in store for tomorrow.

It is this hope in Christ that lays a foundation a faith for the New Year... knowing the Lord God Almighty is our God... our Father... our Provider... our Comfort... our Healer... our Savior... our Friend... our Everything. As you turn the page from 2008 to 2009 I pray, whatever your circumstances, you may know Him this coming year, most of all, as your Prince of Peace.

If you're like me, you will write your list of goals and dreams and desires for the new year but may I suggest that when you're finished, take a moment to pray over your list and give it to Him. Put your hopes and expectations in Him... allowing Him to accomplish in you and through you His dreams and desires... His plans and purposes. And as you do, may His peace... that peace that passes understanding... permeate every fiber of your being and give you great joy as you enter into a new year and new beginning.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6,7

Heavenly Father... thank You for new beginnings. As I look back... I see Your divine love woven through this past year and I give You thanks. As I look forward, my heart is filled with joyful expectation to see what You have in store for me whether it's on my list or not! May 2009 bring You greater glory in me and through me than 2008. Amen.

Monday Musings... All Praise King Jesus!

Because of our wonderfully white Christmas, most area churches, including ours, were canceled the Sunday before Christmas as well as Christmas Eve. You don't realize just how important celebrating with your church family is until it's not there and Christmas was not quite the same without it. Our service yesterday was what would have been Christmas Eve and I just wanted to share something I gleaned from the message.

Our pastor presented a contrast between King Herod and King Jesus and it was wonderful. King Herod was a powerful, self-reliant, independent, in control sorta man. King Jesus was a baby... vulnerable, totally dependent on both His mother and His Father and He came not to do His will but the will of His Father. By nature we are more like Herod but God is calling us to be more like Jesus.

On the way home, I told Michael that what spoke to me the most was how Herod built walls of self-protection... and so do we... so do I.  Herod's walls were to protect his empire... ours are to protect our heart. Michael's response was "yeah... but Jesus came to tear down those walls." That was the AMEN to the message! Praise King Jesus for He came not to build walls but to tear down the walls that separate us... from each other and from Him!

I am a wall builder and I'm very good at it. I'm not as quick to build walls as I used to be and I don't build them as high or as thick as I once did... but I still build. Sometimes when I'm hurt or afraid or confused... I build. But God never lets me get by with it for too long before He gets my attention, turns my heart toward Him, and continues His work to make me more like Jesus than Herod... tearing down the walls... allowing me to be vulnerable... and dependent on His love and grace.

Do you have a wall built around your heart? If so, will you take a minute to talk to King Jesus about it? He wants to tear it down in order to set you free. Will you let Him?

Dear Jesus... You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and worthy of all our praise! Today we surrender our walls to You and ask You to tear them down and set us free to love and be loves more fully for Your glory. Amen.

A Christmas Reflection of God's Great Love!

This was the view from our front door Christmas Eve...
a reminder of God's pure love.
"As pure as the snow He entered this world - no sin in a sin-filled earth.
He took our sins, washed us white as snow... O come, celebrate His birth!"

The snow kept me homebound which was a good thing
as I barely got my gifts made before the big day!

It was fun to see the girls eager to see what Grandma and Grandpa
had given them but having to wait for the camera to capture the moment!


I wanted to make something really special for the girls this year, but painting these two boxes was a much larger undertaking then I had anticipated.
They bring me such joy that it was a labor of love well worth it!


We did an ornament exchange with all the girls in the family
and I fought for this felted snowman ornament handmade by Alexis! Cute!!

Another gift of love... Michelle made me this vintage ornament wreath.
The photo stinks but the wreath is BEAUTIFUL!!
 
And to finish catching up...
I had the privilege of sharing a message of God's great love at our church's Christmas Tea this year and it was a beautiful event... complete with valet parking and all men servers. Aren't they a handsome lot? They even wore white gloves!
My husband is in the center with the beard... sweet!
I commend them all for their servant's hearts...
a reflection of God's love for His girls!

Lord God, thank You for loving us so much that you came to earth and walked among us so we could know You and the great love You have for us. We cannot possibly comprehend the reality that You were born sinless into a sin-filled world and that You were born to die to take our sins upon yourself.
May our hearts be humbled by Your great Gift
not only for this season but every day of the year.
We love You Lord. Amen.

A Colorado Christmas Tea

Last weekend I spoke at a wonderful Christmas Tea at Waterstone Community Church in Littleton, CO. The women were delightful and the hard work and creativity that they poured into this event was phenomenal.  With the good food, fellowship, and a message of hope and encouragement... I have no doubt that those women were blessed for being there! Thank you Jean for the invitation!

When I walked into the hall where the tea was being held, the first thing that caught my eye was the gingerbread style house... built right up there on the stage... it looked very familiar...

...hmmm... I wonder why???  This is the painting from my Heart & Home of Christmas book that inspired them! How fun is that!!! Can you see all the details... the gifts, trees, even the bluebirds on the roof and chimney!

Is that amazing... or what!!!

And check out these table settings.  I love the creativity and personality that shines in each one... some were so simple, some elegant, some whimsical... some china, some paper, some stoneware... and this is only a sampling.  I sure gleaned some ideas for myself... I hope you do too!

Notice the "placemats"... I'm curious.
Notice the centerpiece... there's a close up at the end...

I don't do blue... but this is beautiful!
Whimsical and FUN!! I love the bucket of whimsy and the peppermint swirl under it.
Who would have thought black.. but it's elegant... and married to crystal and silver made me think of "silver bells"...

 And I love this centerpiece!!  Three ornaments turned upside down... same color but notice the contrast in texture of each ornament... filled partly with water for weight and a few sprigs of greenery tucked in and tada... beautiful!

I love to inspire and be inspired... to bless and be blessed!  These women were such a blessing to me... and I can only believe... in the Lord... that I was to them as well!!

May the beauty of the season fill your heart and overflow out onto all those you see and meet along your way!

Lord bless you and keep you focused on Him as you celebrate His coming this Christmas season!!

Giving Up... at Least For Now!

Thank you... thank you... thank you... to all of you who have purchased and enjoyed creating with my digital art collections. You have blessed my heart and encouraged me greatly... so much so... that it is with great sadness that I must announce the CLOSING of my Karla's Korner Shoppe but I have no choice right now.

If you know me, you know I don't give up easy... and usually not without fight...and that is true in the case as well.  After trying to work with my server people and the designer of my download manager, while still trying to keep up with my obligations and deadlines, I have no choice but to put the battle on hold... knowing however that I have not lost the war! (said with a smile!)  I know there is a program out there with my name on it that will work for me... I just have to find it.  So I am confident Karla's Korner Shoppe will re-open in due time... and God's timing is perfect!

Until then, you can find most of my digital kits for sale over at Aimee Asher... they're great people!

 

In fact, I just uploaded a new kit to their store called Christmas Angels.
Hope you like it!


Lord bless you and keep you...
in His love and for His glory!
Karla

All Work and No Play... or Play and Just Call it Work!!

 
I'll be leaving here Friday morning for Colorado to speak at a Christmas Tea,
so this may be my last post for a few days.
I was wanting something else Christmas to put in the Gift Bags I'll be giving
away there so what a great excuse to play... and I get to call it work!

I was striving for a vintage look... do you think it worked?
 I thought the glittery pipe cleaner around the outside edge did it!
I had fun taking one of the images from The Heart & Home of Christmas
and first, reformatting it in Photoshop, and then, using my new water soluble
 crayons and pencils to add a fun bit of dimension to it!

You can't really tell it but the red lightbulbs each have a touch of glitter
and there's a little dusting of mica snow here and there as well. How fun!

Sure hope the ladies who win these at the Tea will love 'em as much as I do!

FOCUS ON JESUS THIS CHRISTMAS!
Every time you see the twinkling of Christmas lights,
the flicker of a candle, or the stars in the sky...
be reminded that Jesus truly is the Light of the World
and the Light of your Life!

Still looking back...

...and trying to play catch up!
I know we're way past Thanksgiving, but I wanted to share
how beautiful these caramel apples came out!
I've never made them before so I was delighted!!
My daughter and her friends played Girls Turkey Bowl the Sunday before Turkey day
and I had the honor to be the Team Mom for her team.
It turned out to be a double blessing for me because it gave me a good reason
to make this tray of caramel apples and a batch of yummy pumpkin bread
(those are mini pumpkin muffins in the background).
I not only had great treats for a fantastic team (even though they did lose),
but I also got some great photos to paint from, as I will be including these
two goodies in the new book I'm working on!
Sorry... you'll have to wait for the book to get the "special" recipes!

She who refreshes others, will herself be refreshed.
adapted from Proverbs 11:25

Thank You Lord for the opportunities you give us to be a blessing
to others... and when we do... we are blessed by You!

A Belated Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for!  My list is truly never ending.
And even though I wasn't able to post closer to Thanksgiving, I still thought of you
and thank God for you and the blessing you bring me
through your visits and comments!

I am also thankful that, even though it took much dedication of time,
I was able to send off the first 20 mocked up pages for the new book
just yesterday, most affectionately titled (at least for now) GIVE THANKS!

I am thankful for my family and the joy they bring to me!

I am thankful that I have a God whose mercies are new every morning...
who forgives my sin, loves me, and continues to be my friend
through the good times and the bad.

I am thankful for the new art style that He has opened up to me
and am excited to see how He will use it for His glory in the coming days.

I am thankful for His Word that brings me hope and encouragement...
teaches me, leads me, guides me, feeds me...
nourishes my soul and lifts me up into heavenly places...

I could go on and on... I told you the list is endless... but I gotta go for now.
Love you all!!  Be blessed...
Karla

Going... going... gone... GRAY!!!

Okay... I had to have this photo taken for my publisher and thought I would share it with you too. A couple of you noticed and commented earlier about seeing a touch of gray peeking through but now it is official... I've gone gray!  I've wanted to go gray for a long time but finally got brave enough to do it... thank You Lord! I cut it really short hoping it would make it easier to transition and it really did.  You can still see a touch of coloring at the tips but it won't be long til even that's gone. Personally... I LOVE it!! What do you think?