Karla's Korner

A Well-watered Garden

All this talk about gardens and gardening... I wondered...
did I ever tell you I lived... and gardened... in Alaska for four years
and three of those without running water?
We couldn't afford to drill a well so, in order to water the garden,
I would have to haul water from the community center in 55 gallon barrels
and hand water each and every plant individually.
Every day each one of those plants received my loving, undivided attention!
I knew when something was "bugging" them and could care for their needs.

What a glorious picture the Lord painted for me from that experience.
He reminded me that He, the Master Gardener, knows each of our names.
He knows what's "bugging" us... where we are wilting and weak.
He knows when our heart-soil is dry and parched and why.
And He's always there for us with watering can in hand to pour out His love
on us... and care for our every need.

I'm just like you... sometimes I get so spiritually dry I think I'm going to die.
And even worse, is that sometimes when that happens...
 I run from the Master Gardener rather than to Him! 
You probably never do that though, do you?
But when I stop long enough to just sit in His presence and let give me His
loving, undivided attention... my roots grow deeper down into
His life-giving love and I can hear Him say once again...

The Master Gardener is calling you by name today!
Have you let Him water the precious petals of your heart today?

Love you...

Bloomin' Blessings...

I don't have a lot of flowers blooming right now but what I have I share with you...

a lofty butterfly bush...


a shrub rose...


a stately hydrangea just starting to open...


some sweet alyssum and bright begonias around the base of the birdbath...


a few leftover daylilies...


and my favorite is a wildflower... Queen Anne's Lace!


What I LOVE about this flower is... see that tiny dark center...
at first I thought it was a bug but instead...


it's a tiny single deep red/purple blossom!
I always feel like such a child upon making such discoveries...
giddy with delight!
Our God is so creative... I love that about Him!

May we always have a sense of childlike wonder...
not only in marveling at God's handiwork but also in God Himself
as He reveals Himself... His nature and His will to us
through His Word, His Spirit, and through one another.
Amen.

A is for Angel and So Much More...

My daughter Michelle invited me to join her art journaling group a few
months ago. The women in this group are amazingly creative and passionate.
Recently Teri suggested we all do an Alphabet Journal and I was excited!
I've always wanted to do an alphabet coloring book and I'm lookiing forward
to this fun little adventure being my inspiration.

I didn't want it to be the typical animal/plant alphabet book...


so my A's are about God...


about one of the ways He ministers to us...


what He says about who we are...


how He feels about us...


and how He has formed my heart...
and hopefully yours too!

Hmmmm... want to help me create my "B" page for next month?
Just comment with a "B" image (like Bible)
or a phrase that begins with "B" like I did for "A"!
I'll look forward to being inspired by what you come up with!!

Bless you guys...
xoxoxo

Thanking God for You...

 

A sweet and precious friend sent me a "pass it on" email today that reminded
of this cute little painting I did several years ago and it reminded me of you.
In case you haven't seen it before... I am passing it on to all of you
because you are my blog buddies...my cyber friends... my sisters in Christ...
and I love you all!!!

GIRLS IN MY CIRCLE
(or for me above... my SQUARE)

When I was little, I used to believe in the concept of one best friend,
And then I started to become a woman.
And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up,
God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man.
Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom.
Another will sit beside you in the bleachers
as you delight in your children and their activities.
Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.
One friend will say, 'Let's cry together,'  Another , 'Let's fight together,'
Another , 'Let's walk away together.'

One friend will meet your spiritual need, Another your shoe fetish,
Another your love for movies.
Another will be with you in your season of confusion,
Another will be your clarifier,
Another the wind beneath your wings.

But whatever their assignment in your life, on whatever the occasion,
on whatever the day, or wherever you need them to meet you
with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back,
or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself .
those are your best friends.

It may all be wrapped up in one woman,
But for many, it's wrapped up in several..
One from 7th grade, One from high school,
Several from the college years, A couple from old jobs,
On some days your mother, On some days your neighbor,
On others, your sisters, And on some days, your daughters.

my add...
And on some days it's the women you know who are reading your blog
because they want to... because they like you...
because they share the same interests... the same love for the Lord...
the same desire to live life fully knowing that life looks different for each
one of us... and it's okay...
knowing we are loved by the Beloved and loved by one another...
women who are friends simply because we belong to Him.

xoxoxo

Grace Acres in the Sunshine!

As I walked around through the gardens today, I was wishing you were all here... we could have so much fun together... I just know it!!  So the next best thing was to bring the gardens to you...

I love love love how the lavender and daisies watch guard over the garden!
We are being more water conservative with the lawns this year...
and surprisingly I don't mind it at all.


The lavender always reminds me of how the Bible tells us that to God,
we are the fragrance of Christ. Just think...our prayers wafting up to the heavens
are far more fragrant to the Lord than a whole garden full of lavender!


Beautiful and sweet!



These daisies are gorgeous but I wish I had known when I planted them
that they actually stink!!  As pretty as they are I can't pick them for bouquets!
Heartbroke.


But the bees like them... and they LOVE LOVE LOVE the lavender!


We got the candy corn planted late but it will sweet to eat come September.


Love swiss chard... pretty and tasty too!


This will be our first year for grapes... isn't this little cluster of baby grapes cute?


And we just planted three blueberry plants this year... so very few berries.
Michael and I ate these as soon as I snapped the photo... yum.. yum!

Okay... enough for today... I'll try to show you the flowers tomorrow!
Love you guys... wish you were here...
 even though there weren't enough blueberries to share we would have fun!

Lord... thank You for the beauty and bounty of a well-watered and well-tended
garden but we thank You even more for being the Master Gardener of our
hearts and that Your desire for us is to be beautiful and bountiful in the Spirit...
fragrant and flavoring this world with Your love and grace and goodnes.
Amen

 

Walking the Path... at Lewisville Park

One of the places I walk to train for my half-marathon is Lewisville Park.
The loop I take is a little over 3 miles which is perfect for one of mid-week walks.
I thought I would invite you to walk with me today to see what I see
and take a peek at how you might look for the Lord
and be reminded of His Word on your next walk.

 
I love how the sun shimmers through the trees early in the early morning
hours illuminating the path and casting playful shadows along the way.
Just walking this path reminds of the spiritual journey God leads us on,
and how we are called to walk this path... one step at a time... in faith.


Doesn't this place make you think of solitude... a place to stop and rest...
to be still and know that God is God.
Psalm 46:10


Oh to be like a tree planted by rivers of water... whose leaves never wither...
quenching our thirst with living water.
Psalm 1


Most of the flowers there have already bloomed but there were a few single
blossoms lingering here and there and each time I saw one it made me smile...
this burst of color smiling at me.  Do you remind yourself regularly that God
smiles at you?


I just love pattern and I love rocks so this picture captured my heart.
I actually did see something of the Lord here...
I saw His body... many members... different sizes and shapes...
building on the Rock of Ages who is our foundation!


The brilliance of the early morning light piercing it's way through the trees and
glistening it's way across the water made me think of how Jesus is the Light
that pierces through the darkness of this world and lights our way.
John 8:12


There is only one way!
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me."
John 14:6


Okay... this is just one of the potty stops along this trail... this makes me be
thankful that God provides for all my needs!!  LOL!

Isn't God good? And He is everywhere around us just waiting to reveal Himself...
sometimes we just have to take the time to look for Him.
I hope and pray you will see Him today and let His love and glory make you smile!

xoxoxo

Creative Days... New Website

 I can't even begin to tell you how many creative days I've spent
at my computer lately... redesigning my website!  Sweet!
I'm so excited for you to see it... especially the speaking page!! 
I do hope you'll go visit there and then
leave me a comment to let me know what you think!
(In fact, if there's anything you'd like to see there, that's not... let me know!)


It's not quite finished...
I still have to add the downloadables to the Kreative Korner
but they will be so much easier to access than before.
There are a couple of other things yet to be done as well but for now...
 I love it... and I hope you love it too!

And would you consider doing me a huge favor?
I truly do LOVE encouraging women in the Lord through my speaking so...
if after watching the videos... you think I might be a good fit for your church's
next women's event, would you consider calling or emailing the women's ministry
director or pastor at your church and giving her the link to my new website?
Wouldn't it be awesome if I could come meet you in person and give you a hug!!
God knows the plans He has for me
and it just might be coming to a church near you!

"I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full."
2 John 12

Heavenly Father... thank You so much for the gift of creativity You've given to us Your children. I'm especially thankful today Lord for the ability and creativity to design my own website and pray You will use it to bless countless women and bring You endless glory!  I pray for all the women who are reading this and ask You to increase their creativity and bless the work of their hands in the same way Lord... together may we bring great blessing to others and great glory to Your Name Jesus. Amen.

Don't forget... I REALLY would love to know what you think about the website.

Looking Back... and Loving It

It has been a touch more than a month since I've posted and I've missed our visits! Check out this list of all that has happened in the past month and I'm sure you'll understand why I've been so quiet...

1. Hip Hop Recital... they did great... aren't they cute?

2. A Trip to Montana where we visited friends...

went sapphire mining... I wish I had found a sapphire that big...

and caught huge fish... okay mine wasn't quite this big but almost

3. Started training to walk the 2009 Girlfriends for a Cure Half Marathon in Oct

4. Lots of yearly doctor and check-up appointments... everything's okay so far!

5. Alexis' 8th Grade Graduation...

 

6. Trip to Illinois to for our 40th Class Reunion...

Janice (left) was my bff, Tim's now a Dr. and Patty was my bridesmaid...

here's Mike with two of his bff's Tom and Rex...

and we visited family...
here's my sis Margie, her friend John, my niece Amy & super cute Aden

7. Jessica's Brithday Party... wow... our 4th of July birthday girl turned 9!

And besides all the events of the past month, I still managed to garden, make some raspberry jam, and worked... I'll tell you about what I've been up to in my studio in my next post!

Oh yes... and we're leaving tomorrow to take the granddaughters camping at Lake Billy Chinook in eastern Oregon... fun... fun... FUN!

Love you all... and hopefully I'll have more time to stay in touch this month!