An apology...and a few digital prints!

Well, I didn't make the deadline to share all the prints from last October's General Conference!!!  I've just got two weeks to share them all with you, so I'm just going to post them without any thoughts, sorry!  Although some of you might prefer that, lol!  I'll share 5 per post over 4 posts and then we'll be ready to start over after the April meeting convenes! :)

From Elder Oaks' talk~

From President Eyring's talk~

From President Packer's talk~

From Sister Burton's talk~

From Elder Gonzalez's talk~

Feel free to save and use these prints for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  For more information on printing policies and disclaimers, see the tab up top! :)  Happy printing!

My life is NOT my own...

I'd like to talk today about our lives, but first I'm going to share with you a print that I've made using this week's sketch at Inkspirational challenges.

The sketch~

Here's the print~

I hear a lot of people saying things like, "It's MY life." I'm sure I've said it myself a few times!  There's just one problem.  That's a lie.  Our lives are most definitely not our own.  We were created by a loving Heavenly Father who has given us life and everything we have. Our immortality was bought with a price--the Atonement of our Savior.  We read in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 23 that we are all bought with a price and then are commanded not to be servants of men.  Whom do we serve then?  God.

We also learn in the Book of Mormon more in depth about the huge debt of gratitude we owe our Father in Heaven.  King Benjamin, a prophet in ancient America, explains it much better than I can.  Here is what he says in Mosiah chapter 2 verses 20-25:

"I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you."

When I read this passage of scripture, I realize how selfish I am when I choose to serve someone or something other than God.  I do this whenever I put my wishes ahead of His work that I've been asked to do.  Whenever I do not keep my covenant to follow Him and to do as my Savior would in all situations.  Whenever I feel that I need to watch the television instead of visiting the member I feel needs to feel of God's love.  Whenever I use my money to purchase things that will not help in building God's kingdom instead of paying my tithing.  The list goes on. Each sin--whether or omission or commission--is an example of how we can be an unprofitable servant. 

While none of us are perfect, I truly believe that we can all  try to serve God with our whole souls each and every day.  We do this when we repent and try to do better every step of our journey here on this earth.  We are bought with a price--do we realize what this means?  We can utilize the Atonement each and every time we prove ourselves to be unprofitable servants and then strive to do better!  The hardest part is the striving and trying to do better continually.  We are never truly repentant until we root out our sins--and this is also the only way to gain true happiness and peace in this life.  More about that in another post coming soon. :)

I am so grateful to be a servant of God.  I feel so blessed to know that I am bought by my Savior's Atonement so that I can gain eternal life if I repent continually and endure to the end.  I hope that each and every one of us will strive to do better each day and to remember and give thanks to our Father--we owe Him everything for He has given us everything.

Please feel free to use this scripture printable for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  For more information regarding printing policies and disclosures, please see the tab up top.  Happy printing!

Being Thankful

I'm doing it again!  I've used another digital project as a DT project for this week's CASE challenge at Inkspirational! Maybe this will turn into a regular thing...we shall see! ;)

Here's the CASE inspiration~

Original artwork by Vicky Hayes found HERE.

My digital print~

(I was inspired by the layout.)

I used digital paper (textured white) by donakat and a digital flower by One of a Kind Design Studio.  The fonts I used are Birch Std and Channel.

I have always found in my life that gratitude is something incredibly important.  When I saw this quote on Teresa Kline's blog, I just knew that I had to make it into a digital print to make for my home!  I find that when I am most grateful for things, I am the most happy I've ever been.  We have so much to be thankful for each day!  In the midst of trials and hard times, gratitude helps us to keep our heads above water and continue on in hope.  Isn't that we all want?

Thanks for popping over and taking a peek at my digital artwork!  If you'd like a non-watermarked version of this quote for PERSONAL USE ONLY, please email me!  HUGS and hope you join in our fabulous challenge this week at Inkspirational! :)