Christ Loved Us First!

Hello!  I have to say, I was incredibly pleasantly surprised to see that I won last week at Word Art Wednesday!  And the prize was from the fabulous Eclectic Anthology site by Avalon Rose.  DROOL.  Amazingly gorgeous vintage images, y'all!  So, of COURSE, I HAD to use one for my project this week! 

I've used an image from the Antique Catherine Klein Watercolor Paintings Graphics Collection.  Say that 10 times fast!  I chose to use an image of two love birds for this week's Word Art Wendsday challenge (John 4:19).  It'll make sense once you see it, I think. :)  I've also used other free digital scrapbooking elements that I felt matched the watercolor fabulously! 

Also, one last thing before I show you the print, I would like to submit this into Little Birdie Blessings' Scripture Thursday link party as well. :)

Here is my designed print~

And now, my thoughts on this verse.  I have often found that in order to find love in someone else, I need to first love them.  It is possible to love everyone--I know it is!  I also know it's incredibly hard.  But I have been in situations dealing with people I deem "difficult" and have been able to have a prayer in my heart that God will let me see how HE loves them.  And I have to tell you, it is one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced.

I work with children who have special needs.  It is very hard to be patient with them at times, and so loving them is the key.  Knowing how God loves them, that they are HIS children, and that their limitations will be for this life only, help me each day to be able to treat them with more Christ-like charity and to form bonds and relationships with them that are pleasing in His sight.

I also come in contact with many different personalities in people on a daily basis, as I know you do.  Where there is a difference of opinion, a disagreement on how things should be done, a dispute on what was said/meant, I know that a basis of love helps immensely.  Loving someone first creates a deeper bond with whichever brother or sister we are dealing with and helps us to remember that we literally are spiritual brothers and sisters.  When we do this, we continue to build God's kingdom on earth and become more like Him.  Which is our purpose here in mortality! 

God is our Father.  Because He loved us, He sent His Son.  Because His Son loved us first, we now love Him as our Savior and Redeemer.  I hope that this Easter season we each strive to do a little bit better each day, that we each try to build relationships based on Godly love, that we find greater happiness and joy in doing so.  Happy Easter!

(PS: Please feel free to use this for personal use--see the bottom of this blog for more details on the privacy clause of my creations.  Make sure to click on the image before saving and printing! :D)

Forget Me Not Booklet

Hello, digi friends! Sorry it's been so long...I've been focusing more on my paper crafting blog!

BUT, I want to share with you what I am going to give to the sisters that I visit teach in November. I promised more, so here you go! Because I'm linking up to an online party, I wanted to explain how this is a scripture. In our church, we are led by a prophet and by apostles of Jesus Christ (as the church was during the time that Christ lived). We believe that the words that they speak are modern day scripture--just like the words that the ancient prophet and apostles spoke. Twice each year, we hold a General Conference and we get to hear from our general authorities. The words on these printables are from a special meeting for the women of the world from back in September. They are not "traditional" scripture, but they are scripture to me, and so this is why I am sharing it with you all! You can find the entire talk here. :)

I've included the original digital print, as I am going to use it as the front cover. There is also a quote page for each Forget Not, a question, and then an answer page that matches the quote/question page. This way, they can take the message into their lives in a more personal way. :)












I'm linking this up to a fabulous new link party at Little Birdie Blessings--join us, won't you?! Click on the image to make it bigger and print--these are yours FREE! :) I'll post pics of my finished project...hopefully. ;D Happy printing!

Forget Me Not by Pres. Uchtdorf

Last night I had the privilege to listen to the words of a modern day apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. His message was 5 things never to forget, and to help us remember, he reminded us of the forget me not and the five petals the flower has. These are the five things he wanted us to remember:

1. Forget not to be patient with yourself.
2. Forget not the difference between good and foolish sacrifices.
3. Forget not to be happy NOW.
4. Forget not the "why" of the gospel.
And
5. Forget not that the Lord loves you.

Because this talk is so dear to my heart, I have made this vintage printable to share with you all. Right click and save--left click for the full sized version. I hope it inspires you and reminds you that you are loved!

Also, I will be making printables of each of the 5 forget nots and going more in depth about them. I hope you'll come back and join me for those! Happy printing!