Fullness of time. . .

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman,
born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying, "Abba! Father!" Galatians 4:4:-6

All My Heart This Night My Rejoices

Hymn by Paul Gerhardt 1656

translated from German by Catherine Winkworth 

All my heart this night rejoices,
As I hear, far and near, sweetest angel voices;
"Christ is born," their choirs are singing,
Till the air, everywhere, now their joy is ringing.

Forth today the Conqueror goeth,
Who the foe, sin and woe, death and hell, o'erthroweth.
God is man, man to deliver;
His dear Son now is one with our blood forever.

Shall we still dread God's displeasure,
Who, to save, freely gave His most cherished Treasure?
To redeem us, He hath given
His own Son from the throne of His might in Heaven.

Should He who Himself imparted
Aught withhold from the fold, leave us broken hearted?
Should the Son of God not love us,
Who, to cheer sufferers here, left His throne above us?

If our blessed Lord and Maker
Hated men, would He then be of flesh partaker?
If He in our woe delighted,
Would He bear all the care of our race benighted?

He becomes the Lamb that taketh
Sin away and for aye full atonement maketh.
For our life His own He tenders
And our race, by His grace, meet for glory renders.

For it dawns, the promised morrow
Of His birth, Who the earth rescues from her sorrow.
God to wear our form descendeth;
Of His grace to our race here His Son He sendeth.

Hark! a voice from yonder manger,
Soft and sweet, doth entreat, "Flee from woe and danger;
Brethren, come; from all that grieves you
You are freed; all you need I will surely give you."

Inside Close-up

Come, then, let us hasten yonder;
Here let all, great and small, kneel in awe and wonder,
Love Him Who with love is yearning;
Hail the star that from far bright with hope is burning.

Blessed Savior, let me find Thee!
Keep Thou me close to Thee, cast me not behind Thee!
Life of life, my heart Thou stillest,
Calm I rest on Thy breast, all this void Thou fillest.

Thee, dear Lord, with heed I'll cherish;
Live to Thee and with Thee, dying, shall not perish;
But shall dwell with Thee for ever,
Far on high, in the joy that can alter never.

  For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

   and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Project Details

Stamps: Layers of Color Christmas Blessings and Christmas Verses
Cardstock: SU Crumb Cake, Cranberry Crisp, Very Vanilla
Ink: Ranger Distress Antique Linen and Vintage Photo, SU Soft Suede, Always Artichoke, Cranberry Crisp
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels 18, SU Pearls and crochet trim lace, Simplicity Lace, Sizzix Tim Holz Embossing Folder, doily, Stampendous Embossing Powders Garnet and Vintage White, Bic markers, pearl brad.
Challenges:

• Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 120 Luke 2:14
• Little Red Wagon Challenge 112: Inspiration Photo
  

Merry Christmas! jme ~ SDG

The fatness of the earth. . .

May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Genesis 27:27-29

Tis' the season for sharing with your neighbors from the abundance of the Lord's provision. We affectionately call our little plot of land "Club Fred" (long story involving a fat, city dog coming to live in the country, where he became fit and trim but not quite a country dog!).

This year, part of the abundance of our land, thanks to the Lord, included blackberries, manzanillo olives, almonds and persimmons. My parents, bless their sweet hearts, made the most delectable jam from the blackberries I'd picked and stashed in the freezer. Dad also picked the olives and cured them and generously left us a gallon of the green lovelies. The almonds are from this year's crop and the persimmons (Fuyu variety) were picked fresh from our tree.

Project Details

The labels were created using digital images from Layers of Color (the lovely deer offered free) and Stampin' Up's Notably Ornate set. They were cut with Spellbinders Scallop Circle and Rectangle Dies, sponged with Ranger Distress Inks in Antique Linen and Vintage Photo before being adhered to the jars or tags. The paper is white printer paper and SU Cranberry Crisp. Eyelets were added for the tags, and tied on with a bit of twine and embellished with SU Cranberry Crisp ribbon. A bow of twisted paper ribbon adorns the wrapped box. SU Gems were added on the labels for a bit of added bling. The card is a sneak peek of tomorrow's post!

Blessings! jme ~ SDG

Christmas Joy

The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 29:18-20
 

 

"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. . ." Luke 2:10:11

 

Card Details

Crafted to accompany a gift pack of goodies for the neighbors. . (to be posted later this week!)

Stamps: Layers of Color Christmas Verses; SU Northern Hearts
Cardstock: SU Very Vanilla, Cranberry Crisp, Oriental Trading Kraft
Ink: Ranger Distress Antique Linen, Tea Stain and Frayed Burlap; SU Whisper White Craft, Cranberry Crisp
Accessories: SU Northern Hearts Embossing Folder, metal snowflake charm, frayed gingham ribbon, corner punch, glimmer brad, linen thread.

Blessings! jme ~ SDG

You are a blessing. . .

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

Welcome to the first Our Daily Bread Designs Forum Featured Artist Challenge, or what we’ve nicknamed the CASE challenge!

What is the CASE Challenge? The first Tuesday of every month, we pick a different member to honor by crafting cards, scrapbook items, altered art and such, influenced by items in her gallery. We share a bit about our featured artist, provide a sample. . .and then open it up to you to join in by "Copying And Sharing Everything" CASE! Because we're motivated and influenced by what we see in the gallery and not just copying something, there's always something for everyone!

Our featured artist for December is someone everyone knows and loves. She is a gifted designer and paper crafter, with an incredible eye for detail and precision. Everything that comes from her hands is a work of art, and a blessing to behold. And if that weren’t enough, she writes the most instructive and thorough tutorials and has now embarked into the world of video tutorials (well, at least her hands and her sweet voice have as she is as camera shy as glimmer mist!) She also is a member of the Our Daily Bread Designs Design Team and hovers over the gallery to spot the next “Customer Card of the Day.”

What you may not know is that our dear Angella Crockett has also been a part of this forum almost since its inception and has provided tremendous support and guidance through the transition.  She has been an encourager, a mentor, a friend and a sweet, gracious sister in Christ to all who enter.  We are thankful to the Lord for His gift of Angella and her sweet, gentle, humble and encouraging heart!

CHALLENGE DETAILS
Please join with us in honoring Angella with a card or project of your choice inspired by her lovely gallery: Angella’s ODBD Gallery. Be sure not to copy exactly: make it your own!

If you’re using Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps, please upload to the ODBD Gallery. If you aren't yet registered, sign up only takes a couple of minutes. If you do not use ODBD stamps, then just leave a link in your comment to your blog or another publicly viewable online gallery. Better yet, take a few minutes to sign-up and become a member of the ODBD Forum. When uploading your card or project to the ODBD gallery, or posting anywhere else online (your blog or another public gallery) please use the keyword ODBDFA01 (no spaces or commas).

And don't forget there are challenges every Saturday, every other Thursday plus a monthly scrapbook challenge on the ODBD blog!

CHALLENGE SAMPLE
My CASE is based on a “clean and simple” card of Angella’s entitled “Clean and Simple Butterfly Birthday. “ I chose this card because even Angella’s CAS cards are exquisite and I also wanted something that conveyed her sweet and gentle nature.  I also thought the sentiment was perfect!

Supply List

Stamps:  Our Daily Bread Designs Mini Tags 1, Serve the Lord

Card Stock:   Early Espresso

Designer Paper:  Prima Madeline

Ink:  SU Craft Chocolate Chip, MS Ocean Breeze

Accessories:  Simplicity Ribbon, EK Punch, Zva Creative Pearls, scrap ribbon, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Spellbinders Scallop Rectangles Die, Tattered Angels Pearls Glimmer Mist

Size: 6x6

Challenges:  

• Our Daily Bread Designs FORUM Featured Artist Challenge ODBDFA01

Blessings! jme ~ SDG

Worry not. . .

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26

 Reading through the Gospels recently, I was struck my how many times our Lord exhorted his disciples not to worry or to fear. For Jesus to devote lesson after lesson to this subject, it is apparent that this is a condition common to man. I know most certainly it is a condition common to woman! This woman, in particular! However, to be precise, it is not a "condition," it is sin and it is something we CAN overcome, our Lord would not have commanded us to "not be anxious about tomorrow," and to "fear not." And. . .for those trusting in Christ, we have His Holy Spirit, and He gives us the strength and desire to do what is honoring to the Lord. . and that leads to the next point about fear:

We are, of course, to fear the Lord, and as sweet Laura pointed out, "Fearing and respecting the Lord's greatness and all His attributes brings security and peace. and yet with the Lord there is nothing else to fear as any other fear is not of the Lord." 

For a full discussion of this topic, visit the Stampin' Sisters in Christ blog. This week's challenge focuses on this passage, which I've included below.

In Matthew 6:25-34, we are instructed:

 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:24-35

  
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  

 Card Details

Stamps: SU! Holiday Best & Northern Hearts; Layers of Color Christmas Verses 
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Soft Suede 
Cardstock:Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso 
Accessories: SU Northern Hearts Embossing Folder, Snowflake punch, SU pearls, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, VVanilla Seam Binding. 
Tools: Spellbinders Labels 18 
Challenges:

• Stampin Sisters in Christ #117 ~ Make a project that features a bird.
• The Shabby Tea Room: Winter Picnic #90

 Blessings! jme ~ SDG