Handmade Favorites for March 1, 2009

I hope that, throughout the short life of this blog, my love for and faith in God has not been a secret. Being surrounded by beautiful reminders of our eternal future and our calling while on this earth really brightens my life and also "keeps me in line".

We've entered the season of Lenten and so it seems the perfect time to find and share some beautiful, inspirational handmade items that would definitely serve as reminders of our faith in our daily lives.

Mark and Stef at Home Studio create beautiful scrabble tile pendants. They seem to have one that would match any outfit you would ever need to accessorize. The one I chose to share with you this week was based on Joshua 24:15, "Chose this day whom you will serve, but for me and my house we will serve the Lord." What a beautiful scripture to focus on daily. I've seen this verse in many homes, but why not wear it around your neck?! Mark and Stef have made that possible with this PINK Choose This Day Pendant!


Image used with permission from Stef at Home Studio.


The next item this week was inspired by Exodus 3:14, "God said to Moses, 'I am who I am. This is what to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" This Rustic Nail Cross by Totally Crosses would be a welcome addition to the walls of any Christian home. The cross is made with forged metal nails that are wrapped with a heavy gauge wire. Totally Crosses actually has many beautiful crosses to choose from, but the verse attached to this one, along with its rustic style, spoke to me and that is why I picked it.


Image used with permission from T.C. at Totally Crosses.


Renee from Renee's Funky Country hand paints some of the most adorable signs. I love the bright colors and fun font of the one I've chosen to feature here. This sign also references that beautiful verse, Joshua 24:15. She is willing to do custom orders to feature your favorite bible verse. This As For Me and My House Hand Painted Art relays the message of a very important verse in such a joyful way. Seeing this every morning would remind me to serve the Lord and to do it with a joyful heart.


Image used with permission from Renee at Renee's Funky Country.


Lynn at Sissy's Pretties has created this beautiful hand stamped Be Still and Know Necklace. I believe that Lynn's description is wonderful, and any description I could come up with wouldn't compare, so I'll just share what she has written here; ""God is God and I am not" We are reminded with this pendant to rely on God. To be still in His love. Not to worry. The peacock colored pearl is not perfect, like us. But the sterling cross is perfect. His perfect love. It stretches from the east to the west and from up (heaven) to down (earth)." I find this piece to be another one of those "simple is best" pieces. You should really check out her store for many great items! She donates 10% of her sales to Casa De Esperanza Children's Home in Honduras, so any purchase you make will go to a good cause.


Image used with permission from Lynn at Sissy's Pretties.


I am aware that spring is almost here and that we are probably all tired of the winter, but I find such beauty and serenity in images of country churches after a fresh, white snow. Paul Young, who goes by artworm on Etsy, painted this beautiful Country Church Print. He has captured such peace in this print. I really would enjoy staring at this for hours, even on the coldest of days.


Image used with permission from Paul Young at Paul Young Studio.


I love to collect journals; work out logs, food logs, emotional journals, not to mention blogging here. Perhaps the most important of those journals would be my prayer journal. Krista at noteworthy has created an elegant prayer journal that is as beautiful as it is useful. This journal was truly created with the fervent prayer warrior in mind. The Royal Flourish journal contains spaces to keep track of who you want to pray for each day, record answered prayer and things you are thankful for. Every page is stamped to keep you on track. All of the profits from Krista's sales are going towards her missionary journey to the Czech Republic. Krista has offered to let me ask her some questions regarding her prayer journal, so be sure to look for a post about that in the future. (I'm hoping to also ask her many questions about her missionary plans and calling!)


Image used with permission from Krista at kristaleadiaz.


I didn't have to look far to find a baked treat to feature this week. This custom cookie was made by my dear friend, Heather, at ImageIn Cookies. Heather has a huge amount of talent for decorating both custom cakes and cookies. I love this image of the three crosses on the hill that she chose to decorate this cookie with. I haven't gotten a sample yet, but I hear both her cakes and cookies are delicious!

Image source: ImageIn Cookies.


I want to extend a hearty thanks to all of our artists this week, who so graciously granted me permission to feature their items and use their photos. I hope I did your pieces justice!

I'll leave you tonight with the bible verse that was part of our scripture reading at church this morning. It is a hard verse to take, considering our earthly desires, but I am reminded again that our rewards will be many.

"...Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." ~Mark 10:43-45

Blessings to you all and thank you for reading!

I'm not sleeping, but at least I'm being productive...

I did end up coming home from work early this afternoon to attempt to sleep. I got a good 3.5 hours in, but had to get up to do some grocery shopping. That's all done for the remainder of the week, so now I can focus on other things.

Since I knew sleep would be elusive again tonight, I decided to tackle the pumpkins Jason grew and harvested. I've been putting them off because I knew it would be a lot of work, and it was. They had to be cut up, seeds removed and washed, stringy mess removed, baked for 1.5 hours, pulp removed from rind, pureed and canned. I'm not so sure that it's worth the work. I love that his first pumpkin plant was so successful, but it's a lot of work for something that cost $0.79. It does look nice and fall-y sitting on the counter, though. I'm just hoping that whatever I decide to make out of it turns out nicely.




I did do my devotional last night. The scripture of focus was Psalms 139: 13 - 14; "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." The subject of the devotional had to do with all of the parts of the egg and how most of us don't think about what the egg would have turned out to be if we had allowed it to be fertilized and hatched. I think the parallel is a good one; that God has that picture in His head every time a child is conceived. It reminded me of an online argument I was reading that involved an acquaintance from another church I attended. She was voting on a particular candidate and a friend of hers asked how she, as a Christian, could vote for someone who was pro-choice. The voter responded that abortion was okay if the mother was raped, forced to conceive by her parents/spouse, or if it was medically necessary to save the mother. I understand the reasoning on the latter, but it BOGGLES MY MIND that a born-again Christian can honestly believe that an abortion is okay simply because the child was conceived under unfavorable circumstances. God allowed that child to be conceived, for His own divine purpose, and I feel it is a direct attack on His good and perfect will to condone such abortions. A child is a child and murder is murder. God loves us and has a plan for us, regardless of how we were conceived.

Well, that was my rant for the day. It was not meant at all to be political, but sorry if it was. If you're offended because of my biblical viewpoint of abortion, that's okay with me. You're entitled to your opinion and I to mine.

On that note, I'm off to do another devotional and then see about this bed thing. I hear that it's marvelous!!