Karla's Korner

Look What's New...

Hmmmm.... God told us to write His Word on the doorposts of our
homes... I wonder if He told us that today if He would include ..."or on
your refrigerator!" 


So by request... I just added "Be Wise" and "Be Joyful"
magnets and 8x10 prints in my Etsy shop!


I've been creating scripture based magnets for women's events for several
years and by including the name of the church or event and the year...
they become a great personalized remembrance of what God did there.
I've even heard from women who still have these magnets on their fridge
from 10 or more years ago!!

So I wanted you to know that if your church is planning a Spring Tea,
a Retreat or other women's event or if you are
having a family gathering or wedding coming up... and you think a
personalized magnet might be a fun gift for those attending... let's talk!

 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them
when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way,
when you lie down, and when you rise up...
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:6-8

God knows our nature... so later in that same chapter...
God says He wants us to do these things "lest we forget Him!"
Oh... that we would not forget our God who has blessed us so abundantly!

Thank You God for being our Father and wanting relationship with us!
Thank You that You speak to us... to our hearts... through Your Word...
giving us wisdom and counsel to live godly lives that bring us hope and joy!
Help us to always remember You... to write Your Word on the tablets of
our hearts that our lives would be a blessing to Your heart! Amen.

Bluebird of Happiness...

Today is the day the Lord has made...
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

And this little bluebird is here to remind you to do just that...
to choose joy!

We don't usually think of joy as a choice though do we? But God does.
And when David said "Let us rejoice... let us be glad,"
he was sending an invitation to you and to me to make a decision... to choose
how we see and respond to the challenges that we face today and everyday.

You see... the Lord already knows our circumstances and how difficult life
can be for us but He also tells us in Nehemiah if we choose to enter into the
joy of the Lord... rejoicing in who He is, His promises and His presence with
us, we will gain the strength we need to face the day and to be glad for it!




God made today and gave it to us as a gift...  and we are told in Ephesians
that He's already gone before us and prepared some things He'd like us to
do... places to go, people to love, ways to serve... to be His hands and His
heart... and we will blessed as we go if we will choose to see our day through
His eyes and perspective and not just our own.

I hate to admit it but... it is our choice if we whine, complain, mumble and
grumble... (I hate to admit because I can be so guilty!)
but it's also our choice to rejoice and be glad.

So...will you accept God's invitation today... to be joyful and glad? I hope so!




Heavenly Father... thank You for the gift of today... for all the hours and
moments that You've already planned for me to live... and to live abundantly!
Forgive me for so often looking at my day and my struggles through my my own
eyes of selfishness and wallowing in self-pity. Today I will choose to rejoice
in You and be glad for You have blessed my life in so many ways... especially
with Your unconditional love and the salvation of my soul. As I walk through
this day may people see and hear You through me and may the joy of knowing
You be all the strength I need. For Your glory... amen.

Spa Party Time... Beyond the Book...

In case you're new here... my women's group has been doing a once a
month outreach as part of our "Beyond the Book" Bible Study format. 
Just last Wednesday we went to Open House Ministries to be a blessing
to the women there in a small but significant way... we hosted a Spa
Party just for them!

Before we began to file, soak, shape and color, I shared a devotional based on something that initiated the Spa Party outreach months ago. I thought you might be blessed by it as well...

I love the entire story of Esther in the OT… she’s an incredible woman and I encourage you to read her story sometime… she has a whole book in the OT devoted to her. But one day as I was reading, God really
spoke to my heart about one particular piece of Esther’s story… the part about her beauty treatments.

You see… when the story opens Esther is just an ordinary young Jewish woman… incredibly beautiful the Bible tells us… but still ordinary… just like you and me… until the day the King set out to find a bride and Esther was brought into the king’s court for a season of preparation. Twelve months of spa time… not just manicures and pedicures but facials, body wraps, and every other beauty treatment you can
imagine… all to prepare her to meet the King face to face.

As I read that… I began to think about how one day we will meet our King face to face and what a joyful day that will be.  And the time we have left here on earth is our season of beauty treatments to prepare us to meet our Lord… but as much as we love a being bodily pampered and having a spa night out… God is all about beautifying our hearts… making us ready to meet our King.  Isn’t that an incredible thought.

In His eyes… you are beautiful right now today…just like Esther was beautiful before she began her beauty treatments. But one of the ways God lavishes His love on us is to offer us a lifetime membership into God’s Heavenly Spa Retreat Center!

Because…  just as we use clippers, and files and maybe a pumice stone to mold and shape our nails and soften our soles… God uses the circumstances of our lives… good and bad and even the most painful… to mold our character and soften our hearts to look more and more  like Jesus. And He won’t waste one single beauty treatment if we’re willing to sit in His Spa and let Him do His transforming work in our lives.

So remember... God loves you right where you are… you are beautiful in His eyes no matter if your toenails are painted or not… and just like Esther, you were born for such a time as this so whatever you’re facing in life, God can take what the enemy might intend for evil and turn it around and use it for your good and His glory.

Thanks for letting me share...
and I hope your heart was encouraged!
xoxoxo... karla

A Visual Gift...

I can't express how blessed and in awe I was to see the beauty of
Desolation Sound and the wildlife that greeted us there...  I'm only
disappointed to know how much my photos lack in conveying its splendor!

I am also blessed that you are allowing me to be your eyes...
and I just want you to imagine you were there with me...
the excitement I experience and the joy of the Lord...
to delight along with me in what you see... so here goes...

On our way back to land after the prawning... I could hardly believe my
eyes as we approached this island... do you wee what I see?  Incredible...

I could hardly contain myself...sea lions galore basking in the sun!!


For a moment... I felt like a National Geographic photographic...

it was glorious!!


Even sea lions tell secrets!


Awwww... is that so sweet!


And such personalities... I think he was just trying to say "hello"!

I was so surprised how much the seals looked like big rocks... I'm glad some
of them were laying on the moss or you'd have never seen them!

These cormorants had their backs to us basking in the sun... their coloring is
exquisite... talk about creativity... our God is such an amazing artist.




This was one of my favorite shots... hmmmm... can anyone guess why?  LOL
I may have to frame this one!

Love the twisty  branches growing out of rocky crags... it's called arbutus.


And once we got back to shore I discovered all these shells attached to a
concrete wall... and it was a great visual end to a fantastic day.
I may have to frame this one too!!!

I truly felt as though seeing this island and all the wildlife it harbored was a gift
from the heart of God to my heart... I was in awe... smiling from ear to ear!
But He didn't give it to me just for me... but to share with you!
So thank you again for allowing me the privilege of sharing a little bit of God's
love and creation with you... through my eyes and with all my heart!

Love in Christ and big God hugs ...
xoxoxo
Karla

A Prawning We Will Go...

I loved that Carol commented on the last post that she had to immediately
stop and pull down her dictionary to find out what prawning is...
oh a girl after my own heart!!  Well, I knew what a prawn was...

but until yesterday I had never experienced the adventure of prawning...
and I'm so glad I get to take you out to sea with me!

We spent most of Thursday packing, driving up I-5, across the Canadian
border to the ferry.  Thank you Susan for the offer to have tea in Vancouver
but we took a 2 hour ferry from Duke Point to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island
and then another hour or so to Courtenay where our good friends Kevin and
Bob live. They generously invited us to stay with them and to take us out
prawning... so... no Mama Bear... we didn't take the camper on this trip.

God blessed us with a beautiful Friday morning... yeah... and we headed
out on their boat with Kevin as our Captain and Tour Guide...
you can tell just by looking at him that we were in for a good time!!


We left land near Lund and were instantly greeted by this amazing view...

and the further out we went into Desolation Sound... even though it was
overcast... the more spectacular the view became...


and the more majestic each peak of the Cascade Mtn. Range loomed...

The water was like glass as we made our way out about 16 miles to where
we would let down the baited prawn traps in hopes of a glorious bounty...


We did a little touring around the islands... which I will share tomorrow...
before we went back to pull up the traps.  The first few traps had captured
very few but it didn't matter... look at this face...

is this a happy camper or what?  Yeah!


Here we are cleaning the little critters! Sweet success!


They are called Side Striped Prawns and they are quite beautiful with white
stripes along their sides, bold stripes on their legs and antennae and
iridescent eyes. Can you believe this is me holding the little guy? 
Okay... I confess... it did take a bit of squealing and dropping them
before I got used to holding onto them! Hey... I'm a girl... what can I say!


Isn't this a beautiful sight?  By the end of the day we had about 300 and were
thanking God for gifting us with such wonderful friends, the beauty of His
creation, and an unbelievably gorgeous day!!

Thanks for coming along... but just wait until tomorrow's post...
I felt like a National Geographic photographer and I'm so excited
to share with you what I was so BLESSED to see and experience...
a once in a lifetime... you'll be delighted I'm sure!!

My God shall supply all your needs
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

Thank You Lord for all You provide in every way... from friends who share
their hospitality to friends who come along via blogdom... from the beauty
of majestic mountains and glassy seas to the beauty of the food You provide
in such a variety of ways... and for the way You reveal Your glory to us from
the smallest of ways to most glorious... we give You praise! Amen.

Have Passport... Will Travel!

I FINALLY got my passport!!  Yeah! And just in time...


because hubby and I are heading north to Canada to visit some friends
and go prawning!!  I'll take you with me as we go... of course!


You know... it is true that life really is a journey and we are traveling through
it every moment of every day whether we ever leave home or not.
And my hope is that as I travel... whether through time or on the road
that I truly will... LOVE passionately... LIVE abundantly... and LAUGH heartily.
And I hope the same for you!

May God's love fill and overflow your heart with kindness.
May you live each day as if it's your last...
and may the Lord tickle your funnybone and bring a giggle to your life today!

xoxoxo
Karla

Fun Little Celebration Giveaway...

 
To simply CELEBRATE YOU... and the BLESSING you are to me...
I want to do a little giveaway!
So... how many Karla Dornacher books do you own... or do you own any? 
Would you like the chance to win one or win another one
to either add to your collection or give as a gift?

If so... hurry over to my Facebook Friend/Fan Page...
answer the question there... and next Monday you could be a winner!

This is the day the Lord has made...
I will rejoice and be glad in it!
Psalm 118:24

Remember... "I will..." implies making a choice... a decision...
so let's choose to trust God with today for He has made it and given it to us
as a gift to be embraced and enjoyed!!

Blessings and hugs in the Lord...
Karla

A Sweet Sunday Outing...

After a fabulous church service...
the worship was divine and the message hit home...
Michael and I headed off for a Sunday afternoon drive to downtown Camas.

My precious friend, Gwen, has a booth at Camas Antiques so that was our
first stop...


The front window display was phenomenal... set up by Joe and Jermonne
from the BARNHOUSE.


This is Gwen's space... very creative and fun...


and not only does Gwen LOVE vintage but she is an incredibly gifted artist...
she painted the sheep in her booth signage...


and the three roosters... you should see them close up!
And I love the birdcage on the wall! I have a similar one outside...
I'm now thinking I should hang it in my studio for a bit of whimsy!


Here they are a little closer up... they are soooo charming!


Those are her roosters in black & white... very elegant.


There was much to see and so much I would have liked to have brought home!


I love how the downtown area is embellished with such artistic features and...


spring flowers!


I'm not sure what made me look up... but I'm glad I did... isn't this clever?


And I love this shop... especially during the Christmas season.
We had to window peek since it wasn't open but it's filled with the most
gorgeous eye candy... and even though I can't afford anything in it...
I still enjoy the creativity and inspiration... such as...


this awesome pillow in the window display... is that so cool or what!!


We had lunch at the quaint little Natalia's Cafe
and then it was homeward bound to take advantage of the sunshine!!!

Thanks for coming along with me... and if you live close by... 
please go visit Gwen's booth at Camas Antiques...
and when you sign her book... tell her I sent you!

God love and big Hugs until next time... xoxoxo...
Karla

Better Than Gold...

I've had such fun working on this new art for my Bird & Word design series...
and I hope you LOVE it!
I'm not sure where, when or why the owl became associated with wisdom
because I've heard he's not so wise... but he poses well so it's all good!

Oh how I lack wisdom... I've certainly been known to make some dumb
decisions and respond to life's challenges in ways that often lead to confusion
and despair.  I'm sure that's why I have memorized... and remind myself often
of one of my favorite passages in the book of James:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously
to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts
is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
James 1:5-8

I LOVE the part about not finding fault! God doesn't hold it against us that
we're not smart enough to figure things out on our own. In fact, He loves it
when we do come to Him and humbly admit that... apart from Him... we don't
have a clue how to get along in this life. It's a great comfort to know that we
can go to our heavenly Father and not only seek His wisdom and counsel but
know that He will give it to us if we will trust Him to... and not doubt.

I know all too well what the "tossed to and fro by the wind" part looks like
but I also know the peace of mind and joy of heart that comes from asking
and receiving the precious gift of God's wisdom in times of need... there's
nothing that compares to it...it truly is more precious than gold!

Heavenly Father... thank You for your unconditional love and for not finding
fault with us who have so many. We come to You today acknowledging our
need for You and Your wisdom. Increase our faith Lord so that we will believe
and not doubt... and that You will be glorified through our testimony. Amen.

Happy Easter

My heart is happy this morning...
to know that we, as believers in Christ, all over the world
are thinking about, rejoicing over, and celebrating Jesus!!

May your heart be filled with hope and your day with joy because...

Thank You Father for sending Your Son Jesus...
for Him willingly dying to pay the price for my sins...
for conquering death through His resurrection...
and giving me new life both now and eternally!!
Be glorified in your children today and always!
amen