Scrapbook Challenges - Flashback Friday Sketch 237

It's Good Friday... an awesome day in the Christian calendar... we had a good message today, all about Jesus's words on the the cross "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands". Powerful words with lots of truths in it. I can trust my Father in heaven with every unseen thing and its solution. His hands are big enough to handle all my problems. WOW!

Today has also been a good day in that I managed to do some scrapping as well... nice to be creative. And to top it off, we also have a sketch reveal today... one of the layouts I did last week.

There are lots more great ideas with this sketch on the blog.... go take a look see.

Dining-room scrapping

For the whole of the Easter weekend my scrap-room has been out of commission.... and it looks like it will be for the next week still too !(  But I reckon the upside of it is.... it's being lovingly painted by hubby.... thanks!  Also the ceiling cornice has been fixed so hopefully it will keep the birds/flies/dust out as well!

So the whole jist of this post is that now I'm scrapping in the dining-room with only some of my stuff....  the rest is all packed into the spare bedroom and now and then I scrounge out something that I need.  But even with this "hardship" I still managed to scrap lots of the weekend... and here is what I produced.

Oh and one more that I can't show you yet as it's for my design team submission.

That was the last of my planned layouts from a few months back, so last night I planned the next 20 (the last one above was one of those).  Now I'm happy to note that I'm once again ahead of schedule on my layout-a-day goal... whoo whoo... it's so nice to get a batch of scrapping done.

Ascension Day

Today commemorates the day that Jesus rose up to heaven (see Acts 1) ... and for the first time in many years I plan to go to church tonight.... our church hasn't had a service for as long as I've been a member, but our new minister, Brian, has instituted one for tonight.

Our minister raised a very interesting point on Sunday.... who gave us Ascension Day? God of course... before the government made it a public holiday and then subsequently took it away again.... so that doesn't mean that we CAN'T celebrate.

Will report back tomorrow (hopefully) on how it went.

God be with you today and in to the future.... I worship the risen Saviour.

April's photos

I've been wanting to show off my photos from April but hadn't had a chance to make all the collages.... so today I did... now be prepared for LOTS of pics....

We went to the sunrise Easter service at our church... a very special time and even more so watcing the sky change


After church we discovered that the Easter Bunny had visited the house and left little parcels all over the garden... Aaron had a ball finding all the eggs... even Mommy & Daddy got in on the hunt and found a few. (They are still all being eaten nearly a month later!)

Another awesome sunset... April the 15th

On the 18th my scrap friends came over for a fun day of scrapping... we try do this monthly and have a chance for "kidfree" scrapping... well being at our home Aaron was around... and then Charmaine ended up bringing her little girl too.... playmate for Aaron. Judi also spoilt Aaron (like normal) with a clown sucker (note: some of it is still in the fridge waiting to be eaten).

The kids decided that the jungle was the place to be... they dragged the table and chairs up there to eat their lunch... too sweet to see.

Election day came on the 22nd... perfect day to get some odd jobs done around the house... Keith, assisted by Aaron, painted the front security gate... Keith had eventually replaced the lock after months of hassles with it.

Just an average afternoon... the 25th... Aaron played on his jungle gym and Mommy took some pics

And then there is yet another breathtaking sunset on the 30th... such a different view that then one that Papa & Granny see at the caravan park (see previous post)

Right that's April done... now to do May... so beware of another photo filled post coming up.

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

The Easter Story

I just received this most beautiful email.... just had to share it...

"Still He Walked"
He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices,
These were his chosen people.
He loved them,
And they were going to crucify him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened...
His heart was broken,
But still He walked.

He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, every laugh, and every shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger
His heart broke,
But still He walked.

Was he scared? You and I would have been
So his humanness would have mandated that he was.
He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face and he saw very few.
Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered
And he knew that he would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd...
At the people who were spitting at him
Throwing rocks at him and mocking him
And he knew that because of him,
They would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.

The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through the crowd.
The sounds of his cries echoed even louder,
The cheers of the crowd, as his hands and feet were nailed to the cross,
Intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice
Inside his Heart that whispered "I am with you, my son",
And God's heart broke.
He had let His son walk.

Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead he asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.
As he hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And his heart filled with love.
As his body was dying, his heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love he feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.

When I forget how much My God loves me,
...I remember his walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
...I remember his walk.
When I need to be reminded of how to live like Christ,
...I think of his walk.
And to show him how much I love him,
...I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him,
.......And I walk.

Now this really sums up my whole belief and faith... in Christ I walk because without Him I just could not. Thank You Lord for my life.

A prayer for every day

Okay guess I'm just not that busy today... but I've just received my "Catch of the Day" newsletter and this one really really spoke to me and I want to share it with the world:

Sunday, any day
by John Fischer

What do I need to worship You Lord? Do I need some religious icon set in stained glass to carry my spirit up out of this earth's vain pull? Do I need music to lift my soul to another plane? Do I need to have someone tell me how I should think about You, and what I should say to You? Do I need someone else's words to communicate with You? Do I need someone else's song?

Do I need to be religious to worship You, or can we just walk along and talk like You did with Your disciples? Do I need the proper prayer order — you know, thanksgiving first, then confession, then protection, then petition, then praise — or will "Help!" suffice? Can You fill in all the rest? Aren't You here, anyway? Right here? I have the feeling I have Your attention all the time; the bigger question, I suppose, is do You have mine? I have to honestly say You do not.

Not always, and certainly not enough. Forgive me Lord for forgetting — for missing You breathing down my neck. I worry so much about things that You already know about. You know how this is going to turn out, anyway. If I could just trust You….

Hear me today, O Lord. Accept my worship today even though it's just an ordinary day. Teach me something today that will change me tomorrow. May I bring You pleasure as much by walking through my day today as I would singing in church, or reading my Bible or praying in a fellowship group.

I'm not a religious person, O God, and if You want the truth, I don't want to be. I just want to know You and know You are with me. I know You are, in my head, just help me to see You with my heart today. All day. Any day.
[Adapted from an earlier Purpose Driven Life daily reading by John Fischer.]

Amen... let's all pray this prayer today and everyday and worship God in everyway.

Convention Photos

Gayle & I... all dressed up and happy before the day started!
All the helpers... this was us waiting for the room to open up (about 6:30 in the morning) so that we could get organised
Our first class was given by Donna Downey... my absolute favourite scrapper! Here is Nicki, myself, Donna and Gayle before the mad rush began.

This was our last class on Saturday... Retha from Scraptifity (my local scrap shop!) and the Comstocks from Cosmo Cricket... lovely couple.... their range of papers rock!

And of course there was Wilna Furstenberg toooo... a South African now living in Canada... very inspiring in her style of scrapping... and our own celeb in that Wilna is a Creating Keepsakes Hall of Famer and also Making Memories Idols winner.

So there you have it... or at least some of the photos from our Scrapbook weekend (8&9 Sept 2007).