365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 348

I heard the news of the outcome of the election and went to the bathroom and cried. I am saddened by the direction our country is in and looks like will continue to be in. But I went to bed and woke up several times during the night with different words of songs coming to my mind. In the end, God helped me to get passed this moment in our history and see the bigger picture of his plan. He is in control and Jesus has already overcome. The war has already been won. Our real battle isn’t getting the right person elected but reaching each individual person out there that doesn’t know Christ or a “believer” whose view is warped or stagnant. If anything, how the vote went shows how much work we have to do for the hurting right here in our country. But it’s not about relying on the government to help the hurting. It needs to come directly from the body of Christ.  We have to be the example and teach that all our needs come from God and our reliance should be on Him. I am praying for the Lord’s guidance in how to reach out to the hurting, the disillusioned, the stagnant Christians and help them have their needs met through the body of Christ and not through the government.

Pslam 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Created us Anew

I created this project because it is something I wanted to be reminded of everyday but it seemed like a good starting project for this faithbooking ministry. If you would like to make this at any upcoming crop, you will be able to choose from other paper packs and find colors that suit you. This layout only needs a photo of you as a baby and either a current photo of you or you can use a mirror like I did. I will be framing mine for a wall so that I can look in the mirror everyday and read the words to remind me that I have been created anew in Christ.

This is from the Roxie paper pack which will be continuing in the new catalog being launched on Feb 1st but be sure to check out any of the other paper packs and stamp sets as most of them are going away.

If you want to make this at any upcoming FTLC crops, the cost will be $12 which will include a full paper pack with 6 double-sided papers and 6 coordinating colored cardstocks. If you are far away and would like to make this scrapbook layout, I can mail you the supplies and instructions for $15 plus shipping or you can order any paper pack directly from my website www.ctmh.com/janinerobertson and I will email you the directions.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 28

Today I am praising God for something that may not seem so significant and important to others but to me it's made an impact. I found an ice pack at Walmart made of clay a few days ago that has a strap so it can be strapped to my shoulder. The clay makes it much more moldable and it also has an even cold through out and lasts longer. So, this isn't really a big thing but this little thing has made my life more bearable the last few days and kept the swelling down in my shoulder. It's a good lesson to see that anything we do or say can be of great significance to others. The impact we make on others by just loving and caring about them and maybe dropping a seed or two about Jesus can make all the difference if this person finally deciding to make the "choice" to beleive in Christ. We may never know the impact a word or action we take can have on someone or someones like the person who came up with this clay ice pack but he did it and it made a difference. So I am praying that today and all the days to come I can be more aware of my actions and words and that what I say or do can make all the difference to someone's hopeful eternal life.
2Cor 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 4

Thanks to Walmart for the good DVD deals, I got the movie Nights in Rodanthe with Richard Gere and Jessica Lange. I had seen it before but thankfully because my memory is so bad I forgot all the details and it's like watching it for the first time almost every time. LOL. This one is a tear-jerker! I already knew what happens in the end so I was balling long before the tearful stuff started. The movie is about two people who come into each other's lives by chance. They are both in very different difficult places in their lives that have to do with relationships to spouse, son, daughter, etc. The main point of the movie was that these two people had changed each other just by being who they are. There have been plenty of people in my life that had an impact on changing me for the better. One of those people is a good friend of mine named Claudine. She prayed for me that I would except Christ someday and I did. She prayed for me and my daughter when we struggled to keep baby inside of me at 20 weeks of pregnancy. She has always been a great support and though she doesn't live within quick driving distance anymore I am so thankful for her friendship, support and love throughout the last 14 years we have known each other. The Lord has worked through her in helping me. My prayer is that I can be that kind of loving supportive person for those people in my life and that my dear friend has plenty of that loving support given back to her from the people around her.

My daughter Faith with Claudine's daugther in Fall 2009 trip to visit them.

Psalm 94:18 When I said, "My foot is slipping, your love, O Lord, supported me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

To Be Still and Listen to the Lord

My new letter of the month pin is with the letter "C". I have been contemplating lots of things that seem to start with a "C" so it seemed to be where the Lord is leading me. I have been reading another book by John C Maxwell called Everyone Communicates, Few Connect. I got it from the library and about half way through I knew I needed to buy a copy to have to go back to again and again. Connection has been one of my worries over the last couple of years since I learned from a personality test that my personality is actually labeled as "idealist healer" and only about 1% of the entire population of the world has this personality type. My therapist at the time said this may be why I feel like I am not making connections to people because a large majority of people fall into 2 of the more predominant personality types in the population. Don't ask me to remember what they are. Google Myers-Brigg to do your own personality test and get the scoop on yourself. Or maybe not! Since this was reavealed to me, I have struggled with it even more but I came to the realization some time last week while I was in bed trying to get back to sleep that my supposed lack of connection is my perception. Our perceptions of ourselves compared to what others perceptions are of us are usually drastically off! So, I decided I needed to let go of my perceptions of how my connections are to people and just focus on some of the things that John Maxwell brings up in his book, one of the biggest being to stop thinking about yourself and think of others and what they need and want. So "Connections" is one of my remember-to-focus-on-things this month, hence the "C" pin. "C" also will remind me of Christ and all that he has done for me. It will also be a reminder to focus on 'caring' for others. The "C" is a huge reminder to be 'courageous', let go of my fears and be 'confident' in the person I am that God 'created'.

Make your own "C" for your mirror, walls or a pin like me and see how awesome having a little reminder is.
I have to tell you that my "A" pin got forgoten this Sunday by mistake but as we were going through the sermon which was about adultery and divorce our pastor brought up the book The Scarlet Letter, I think my face must have gone beet red as I realized that NOT wearing my pin that day was totally a "God" thing so I wouldn't get really funny looks.

In the beginning..

God created the heavens and the earth. God said, "Let there be light." And there was light. I am starting off my journey with this ministry because light is not only very necessary for life but also without light we have no visual, we would not be able to see anything and certainly would not be able to capture anything on film. God gave us this blessing of light and being able to see his creation with all the wonderful colors and textures and he gave us the ablility to capture it on film. Our memories are a huge part of ourselves and the photos of those memeries gives us a visual we can go back to again and again. The visuals in our minds fade away and become gray and distant. So, our photos give us back a connection to where we have come from, where we have been and can perhaps give us a glimpse to where we are going. I have a strong desire to find deeper and deeper connections to my Lord and King. Being a scrapbooker for almost 15 years, I have delved a little bit into tapping into how the Word of God connects with my life through scrapbooking and the day has come to really committ to digging into this and helping others connect to the Lord through this meduim and connecting to other believers. I pray that this ministry will be a blessing to myself, my family and all those that become a part of it.