Heart Inspirations
Scripture art….to glorify God…and inspire the heart with His truth!
He Has Made Everything Beautiful in its Time
Hello!
Are you enjoying hopeful glimpses of spring time–where ever you live?
Praise God for the bird song..and peeping frogs…
…for the swelling buds, and springing flowers….
…we are so ready for these signs of the promise of new life…again!
Somehow, we never, ever tire of these springtime rites of passage…..well–maybe all except for the mud….but truly, God has “…made everything beautiful in its time! ” Ecclesiastes 3:11
Some months back, I mentioned that our family’s home was ruined by a fire several years ago….we were never able to go home again…
Neighbours and friends were wonderful to us–strangers showed concern and kindness….
…and through it all, the Lord buoyed us up, unlike anything I can adequately describe…He made the rainbows in that stormy time of our lives!
He does that for all of us as we run to–and cling to Him–as his children! Praise be to God for His immeasureable kindness to us–in the big–and small storms of our lives!!
I wrote the following story about one of my very early paintings…of early springtime snowdrops….which survived the fire in an amazing way!
The Snowdrop Painting
Since I was a little child, snowdrops have brought to mind my grandfather who lived thousands of miles away from us on the west coast of Canada. He and Grandma were good about keeping in touch with their many children and grand children through letters. And I can remember that come late in the winter, one of the details that Grandpa often shared in those letters was that his snowdrops had arrived, pushing up through the snow. As a result, these little harbingers of hope are dear to me.
This stained and damaged painting of snowdrops, with its charred and melted frame, was one of my first paintings…from back when I was a young mother and just learning the techniques of watercolours….and it has quite a story to tell…..
If it could voice its story, it might begin by saying, “Life, even in all of its beauty, is really, really hard ….even ugly and terrifying at times.”
Denying that will simply catch us off-guard, or unprepared, when the hardships do come….because come, they do.
One winter’s day, several years ago, our home was ravaged by fire….
While this painting sat on a shelf in the living room where the fire raged, the flames licked terribly close to it—to the point of actually charring and melting the frame’s surface. Smoke and soot covered it, and combined with moisture from the firemen’s hoses, damaged the paper, causing it to ripple and rust, leaving behind smoky water stains.
But the fire stopped short of consuming it…and the painting was not completely ruined! Amazing!
Threatened and damaged, yes…….but not destroyed!
I love how this little painting symbolizes the strong and courageous spirit–much like the subject itself—the snowdrops!
Snowdrops rise in frigid weather to announce spring is coming–usually through fierce winds, snow and ice. Their strength of spirit—their tenacity to live—thriving in such harsh conditions—are a wonderful example, and, encouragement to us as humans.
And just as with this painting, life can flourish, and beauty can survive…and rise….whether from the smoke and ashes, whether through the ice and snow……or whether in pain and suffering, it’s all possible through hope….
….through perseverance….
….and through faith!!
We never have to give up!! Beauty and life can thrive, even in the face of pain and hardships, and incredibly, even become more precious because of it!!
And that would be the heart of this story, if this little painting could talk.
Damaged, but not destroyed!! Blooming still!! And victorious!!
~Lisa Hains~
Eventually, our burned and scarred home had to be torn down…and on the day before the demolition, which was our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband visited our home, in one last attempt to salvage anything of value….any special things that he could discover hidden in the rubble or debris. (We had been allowed to enter the house to search for valuables.)
Using a ladder to reach from the pile of rubble and charred timbers in the basement up to the living room, (since the living room floor had collapsed), he was able to reach the shelf where this painting still sat, covered in soot and smoke–but still whole!
It’s a special treasure that I’m so thankful he could rescue–and it’s a wonderful reminder of hope..and springtime…courage…and God’s provisions of beauty!
Thinking of you as you courageously…thankfully… look for God’s beauty in your own life!
Hugs!
Lisa
Thanks be to God for His Indescribable Gift!
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Indescribable!!
It’s a powerful word…very effectively expressing the magnitude of something that is so beyond words that it cannot be easily described.
And that word: indescribable, beautifully defines the gift God has given…to us….through His love……
The above sketch is the final one in our Thankfulness Journal Series!
And it’s scripture, from 2 Corinthians 9:15,
reminds us of the amazing gift of God!….and of His love!…of His plan to buy us back from our own sinful choices!…..through His beautiful gift of grace and mercy!…through His plan to give His own beloved Son Jesus–for us!!…to pay for our sins!…at the moment we are buried with Him, baptized into Christ…making us new!…and putting us into His family at that time!…as we submit to, and obey God, following closely to Him…in thanksgiving for His indescribable gift!!!!
Such an indescribable gift!!!!
Thank You–thank You–thank You Lord.!!!!
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
I hope that you will enjoy using the above graphic for writing down your thanksgivings to God–Who is so worthy of our thanks and praise!!!
(As a note, if you choose to copy and paste this graphic, in order to print it–I’d suggest that you situate the graphic at the top of the page, which will leave plenty of writing space below it for your thanksfulness journaling…)
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And speaking of journaling…
….I’ll show you just how to make a journal…though, if you are short on time…you can always print the graphics from today and the last 3 posts, and gather them all together in a binder or folder, just as well.
I began this journal construction….using of all things…cereal box cardboard–for covers…
–just be sure to cut your covers about 1/4 of an inch larger than your pages–on all sides, except the left, to create the cover’s overhang which will protect the page edges!
You can see this illustrated in the pic below..as well as catching a glimpse of the finished, printed pages, ready to go inside the covers–they’re printed on pastel-coloured papers–and turned out so pretty!
Much thanks to my husband, who copied and printed off all the pages for me–he is a such a sweetie!
Thirteen copies of each of the 4 thankfulness sketch designs makes enough pages for one full year of journaling–at one page–front and back–per week—-or for two years, if using just one side per week….but don’t let the number of pages limit your thankful and expressive writing!
You…
….can
always….
…add
more…
…..pages!
I punched all the pages, and then, using one as a template, marked where the holes on the cardboard cover needed to go–to line up with the pages. I used the sharp tip of my scissors to create holes in the cardboard–since it was a little too thick for the hole-puncher.
Next, you can simply glue on some pretty paper or fabric to cover the outside of the cardboard.
If you like, you can do each piece of cardboard separately, but if you do, the left edges of your paper will show as well—or you can use just one piece of material for both covers, laying them side by side on the material, separated by about 1/2 of an inch of material.
Make sure to cut your material about 3/4 of an inch larger than the cardboard covers on all sides, to fold in over the cardboard.
I chose to use just 1 piece of fabric, as mentioned above–calculating for the size of the 2 cardboard covers–plus 3/4 of an inch of extra fabric on all sides to fold in, and then allowing about 1/2 of an inch of extra fabric between my 2 cardboard covers (which will be the spine of the book, when closed.) I used spray adhesive–on the fabric–doing the spraying outside, and immediately bringing my fabric back inside to work on the kitchen counter before it could dry. It’s a good idea to have your work space completely ready, with all your components and tools at hand, before spraying on the adhesive–because once you spray it, you want to work quickly! BTW: rubbing alcohol works well to clean this glue off your hands or work-surface.
Immediately after applying your glue to the cover material, lay out your cardboard covers. Remember to leave the 1/2 inch space between them if you are laying them side by side on one piece of material! Clip the corners of your cover material, at a 45 degree angle, close to the cardboard’s corners, and quickly fold over your material to the inside of your cardboard cover, in order to hide the cardboard’ edge.
Like this….
If the corners are a tad messy, (sorry that this pic is fuzzy–but trust me–my corner was a tad messy!) use a wee bit of white glue on your fingertip to dab the corners, manipulating the paper, or fabric threads, to push them into place, and tidy them up. Once the white glue has dried, you can come back and use your scissors to trim off anything you may need to–to create neat corners.
As you saw…a couple pictures back up the post…I included a pink ribbon for a bookmark for the journal, by pressing it into the spine area while the glue was still damp, and then reinforced it with another strip of fabric, gluing it over the ribbon.
Next, using glue and card stock or heavy paper, line the insides of the cardboard covers, to hide the cardboard, and the raw edges of the material you used on the outside of the cover after folding it inside. You’ll need to punch holes in the paper first, before gluing it in place. See how tidy the inside of the cover appears after covering it?
You’ll need to create holes on the outside of your cover–for fastening it all together–through your fabric or paper. The very tip of a craft knife works well for this–just make a tiny X–that’s all you’ll need…then tie up your copied and printed journal pages with ribbons, strings, or brad fasteners…
I used a bamboo skewer’s blunt end to push ribbon through the punched and pierced holes…starting at the base of the journal…and bound it in a criss-crossed fashion, first lacing it one way….
…..and then lacing it in the other direction…finishing it off by tying a bow at the top.
I coloured the cover graphic, below–printed onto sturdy card stock–with Crayola Watercolor Pencil Crayons, which I love!…then used a slight amount of water to blend the colours…then let it dry and trimmed the paper to size. I was asked if this cover could be copied and printed, since it’s already coloured–and yes–by all means, you may use this coloured image if you’d like…but unfortunately, I’d already glued it to the journal cover with the buttons, so…those little buttons may be in you way….though if you rounded the corners of your copy, you could cut them out…..but the graphic quality is not as crisp as I would like it to be…I’m sorry….I had to photograph it, instead of scanning it, since the buttons would mess up the scan results, causing shadows…*sigh*
But here’s the journal’s cover graphic in colour:
Using spray glue again, I glued the above graphic onto the cover…
…and I have to confess …that I ran outside onto the deck….dusted in snow and ice….to do the adhesive spraying onto the back of the graphic…….barefooted! I knew it would only take a few seconds…and I figured I didn’t really need shoes for just a few seconds, right? I was wrong! It was too c..c…c…coooooold!
Lastly–I embellished the cover graphic and ribbon bow by gluing on these genuine antique shell buttons for an extra special finish!
And ta-da…the journal was finished!!
Below is the black and white version of the cover graphic, if you’d like to have it…and if you don’t want to colour it–it would look nice just printed onto coloured paper instead.
Remember–you may print as many copies of these graphics as you want–just like all the graphics on this blog–as long as they are for personal use…and not re-sale!
I hope you’ll have fun journaling your thanksgivings to God!!
If you make a journal…I’d sure love to have you send in pics from your project to share with us!
But most importantly, remember to thank the Lord each day for His myriad blessings!!!
Hugs!
Lisa
Magnify Him with Thanksgiving
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Have you ever thought about the significant value of your thanksgivings toward God?
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In the very act of thanking Him for all of the goodness He gives to you–and showers down on you—each and every day–you are magnifying–and esteeming–His Holy name!
He is so worthy to be praised for all of His kindnesses…
….and you….
can do…
just that…
through…
your….
active….
and on-going praise and thanksgiving!!!
“I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving .”
Psalm 69:30
Hugs!!
Lisa
Oh Give Thanks to the LORD
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1 Chronicles 16:34
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
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Hope this finds you well today!
This is the second sketch in our Thankfulness Series. Please enjoy printing it to add to the previous sketch…..in order to create your Thankfulness Journal!
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Are you finding yourself more focused on gratitude….
….looking for the special blessings which bring you joy…and cause your heart to turn to the LORD in thanksgiving!?
That’s such a great way to live…..
….and we know that the Lord, the Giver of every good and perfect gift, is surely worthy of our praise and thanksgiving!!!
You saw a new day today…Oh give thanks to the LORD!
Your life was filled with myriad blessings today….Oh give thanks to the LORD!
You enjoyed freedoms, abilities and choices today….Oh give thanks to the LORD!
Perhaps a child gave you a smile…you saw a fresh bloom…you were able to show kindness to someone else….Oh give thanks to the LORD!
He is so worthy to be thanked…please enjoy the gift of seeing your life through thankful eyes!!
Hugs!
Lisa
In Everything Give Thanks
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If you’re like most people, it’s just so easy to see the things that are going wrong in our lives–the things that need to be fixed because they are broken–improved because they are inefficient–edited because they don’t work–healed because they are hurting!
I’d guess you know what I mean!
And those are realities we live with everyday, right?
BUT–and this is big–
–if we ONLY FOCUS on the NEGATIVE, that’s what we’ll see! And then we will fail to see all of the good–all of the positive –all of the beautiful things God has provided in our lives as well!
Our lives then become just too dark–too heavy–and too hard to take!
There is a powerful antidote to all of this negativity–can you guess what it is?
It’s GRATITUDE!!
Did you know that in EVERY difficulty there is something to be grateful, and thankful for? In EVERYTHING! Yes! Will you dare test that concept to see if it’s so?
You break a nail, and you have nine other good ones! (I’m kidding!)
The boss yells at you, but the kids still love you. Money is tight, but laughter is free. You wreck the car, but you survive! You are seriously ill, but you have amazing people who support and care for you!
There is always…always something to be thankful for–in every negative situation—and so, having eyes of gratitude to see it will definitely, most certainly, completely change our perspectives, and our attitudes….and that’s powerful!
God–the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) certainly deserves our thanks!! Always!! And when our hearts are full of thanksgiving–then our eyes will be fixed on the Giver! How powerfully that lifts our hearts…because He loves us so tenderly!!
To that end—I have a project idea for you—
If you are interested, I’d like to supply you with black and white sketches that you can copy: you can use one or two images per page, then print, cut and gather them into a hand-crafted book, or a small binder or folder to create a THANKFULNESS JOURNAL. I plan to create about four different images for you, one each week for a month, Lord-willing.
I finished this one for you yesterday…Lord-willing, it will also be included in an inspirational gift book that I’m working on right now…and I’ll plan to tell you more about that later on….
And so, if you are interested, please feel free to use the designs and jot your thanks to the Father, each and every day, if possible…..you’ll be on your way to a more positive, grateful, happy point-of-view, while you glorify God for every good thing!! I think He’d be pleased about that, don’t you? And remember, He sure deserves our thanks!!
I’d love to see pictures of your thankfulness journals once you’ve compiled them.
Happy journaling!
Hugs!
Lisa
p.s. I created this image in black and white to keep your costs down on printing multiple pages. For a pretty little zip of colour, why not print onto coloured paper–pink, green, lavender, or yellow would be nice, or you could use an assortment of colours to create a rainbow effect. Enjoy!
You’ll have to tweak, stretch or shrink this image to fit into your page, after copying and pasting it into Word or other program.
Cause Me to Know the Way in Which I Should Walk
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Do you remember how you felt as a wee little child…when you were going somewhere and didn’t know the way–how that you would look up with trusting eyes and confidently slip your little hand into the large hand of the big person you could trust—-who would lead the way?
It was a wonderful feeling!
You knew without any doubt that you were completely safe! And you could be completely confident of that big person who loved you so!
Ahh! Security and contentment!
You knew you’d get where you needed to be!
Have you considered that the God Who loves us so much; Who has invested in us immensely; Who wants to bring us home again…..is willing to guide our steps?
He is!
He is the very One Who we can trust—positively—completely–without doubt—to guide our steps—home!
The question is–do we want Him to guide us? Will we allow Him to?
He’s just waiting for us to ask, so that He may show us “the way” in which we “should walk.”
What a blessed thought of security and confidence—He will never lead us wrong!!
Hugs!
Lisa
The Heavens Declare the Glory of God
While visiting with dear friends recently, I was able to capture the beauty of these azaleas blooming just outside of their home. Aren’t they a pretty harbinger of spring? Each petal–each leaf–is intricately detailed–and follows the lovely pattern created for its species.
No doubt, you can discover beauty in some form, just outside of your own home, too, whether it’s a dandelion, a chirping bird, or even a snow-scene.
Have you considered how that such beauty carries the signature of its artistic Maker….isn’t that an awesome thought?
All of the earth and the heavens can’t help but shout and declare the glory of God! He is truly amazing!
For He is the One Who designed and created all the natural beauty around us!
Psalm 90:16-17
“Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.”
As you are impressed by, and appreciate the beauty of His creation up-close, I encourage you to draw close to this awesome Creator!
“Draw near to God,
and He will draw near to you.”
James 4:8.
Hugs!
Lisa
My Heart Stands in Awe of Your Word
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God’s precious words! Our hearts can’t help but stand in awe and rejoice in the amazing treasure that His truth truly is!!!
And we can fill the empty, unsure, troubled or painful places in our hearts with His truths–as well as seek life-giving direction from it!
There is no limit–there is no shortage of His truth–we can feast on it!!
Such an amazing gift!!
Thank You–Thank You Lord, for Your beautiful word!!
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Today, as a treat, I’m sending you a matched set of paintings, in case you’d like to print and use them…with Valentines just around the corner….
…..along with a crafting idea…
Please feel welcome to print and use these –perhaps to frame or to create a set of cards or stationery, or to make the super-easy and simple gift cannister, as illustrated at the end of this post–as gifts for someone special….or for yourself…
As always, these scripture art graphics, and others on this site, are free for you to use personally! (But not for commercial use.)
And if you enjoy Heart Inspirations and think your friends would too, please feel welcome to share this site with them.
Hugs!
Lisa
Below is a photo of the gift cannister, filled with Valentine goodies tucked into tissue paper inside….
This is perhaps the quickest paper craft that you can do–and with Valentines Day this week, you may want to make a basket full! It makes a great place to tuck sweets or a small gift.
Simply copy and print the scripture art graphic onto regular copy paper or light card stock….roll the paper into a cylinder/cannister…overlap and glue the opposite sides. I found that inserting a water bottle inside the cylinder made the gluing a snap.
Centre the seam at the back of the cylinder, and glue one end closed. If you want to trim the edge as I did with pinking shears, just be sure your line of glue is about 1/2 inch in from the edge to prevent getting glue on your scissors. I love Alene’s Tacky Glue! A glue gun could work too.
Now, wrap your treat(s) in a little tissue and nestle inside the cannister.
Here comes the interesting twist.
Instead of gluing the other end in the normal way, with the seam at the centre back, instead, roll the seam to one side, and glue as you did the other end. This creates a strong and creative package, almost forming a type of triangle effect. The picture will help explain what I’m saying.
Now if you’d like to embellish your cannister, you may glue on buttons, ribbons, lace or dust it with some glitter….have fun!
This technique can work with most any of the other scripture art graphics…just pick one that you like…to make a treat for….Sunday school students, or great teacher’s gifts, favours for baby showers, children’s parties….a basket full by the door for drop-in guests….
Enjoy! And have fun with your imagination!!
What Does the LORD Require of Thee
The Lord’s requests are simple…and make for simply the best life!
Justice.
Mercy.
Humility.
And those who live this way are invited to walk with God! Amazing!
We’re not left to guess what God defines as justice…mercy…or humility–His thoughts are found in His word, the Bible!
Folks who walk this way are truly the most beautiful and successful of all people!
Hugs to you!
Lisa
p.s. This painting was inspired by the gift of a lovely fresh camellia from a beautiful friend…in the warm south…many winters ago.
The bloom faded, but the friendship is vibrant and precious!
For of Such is the Kingdom of God
Pure.
Precious.
Innocent.
Trusting.
Dependent.
Humble.
This child is such a beautiful gift…..of hope and promise….from the Father above! As is each child!
Jesus states that unless we become as a little child, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven…the kingdom that He so wants to include us in!
Matthew 18:2-4:
“Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
So how may we become as a little child?
Can we pause for just a moment, and remember back to the days of our own childhoods…the days of purity?
The days before our own self-will, selfish ambition…and stubbornness?…before our pride and self-seeking?…before all of our tragic attitudes and actions and sins?–which separate us from God….
But all is not finished–God offers us new life–yet again! He offers us rebirth!
By God’s sin-shattering grace–through Jesus’ amazing gift of love–we may become His again!—like an innocent, precious little baby…when we willingly submit to God–in humility–in obedience–to be changed, converted! How beautiful! How hopeful!!
“…for of such is the kingdom of God”, Luke 18:16.
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15.
Verses you’ll want to consider:
John 1:12-13:
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 3:1-22: The account of Nicodemus coming to Jesus, Who taught him how to be born again…you’ll be blessed to take a Bible and read the entire text!
2 Corinthians 5:17-18:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ…”
Galatians 3:26-27:
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
God’s Word delivers such hope-filled, life-changing truths! Praise be to God for His just, sweet, and tender love!
Hugs!
Lisa
Heart Inspirations 