The Showers of Life

 How is it already the last Wednesday of April?! 

It's Springtime here in the Ozarks. This means we have the most beautiful flowers and the trees are beginning to regain their luscious green leaves. Well, while I am typing this, we are currently under three different types of storm warnings and it's pouring so hard outside I can barely see the apartment across the narrow street. But, that's spring. "April showers bring May flowers" or whatever. 

Photo by Tuesdae Justis, Fayetteville, Arkansas

Anyway, I love Spring. Spring symbolizes a fresh start. The trees and plants died away in the Fall and now they are growing back. Spring brings beautiful colors and warmer weather. A fresh start for everyone to leave behind last year and look forward to this year! (Yes, I realize this is usually what people say about the New Year but Spring is the first season of the year, winter doesn't count!) 

Photo by Tuesdae Justis, Colcord, Oklahoma

When I think of Spring, I think of the Bible verse, 2 Corinthians 5:17. It says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV). You see, in the Fall, the trees turn brown and die away. Everything looks dead and ugly. Then Spring comes and everything is new and reborn! 

Photo by Tuesdae Justis, Lake Wedington, Fayetteville, Arkansas

We people are like that too. Reborn after the ugly times. Have you ever gone outside during or right after a storm? It's beautiful! The smell of rain, the green pops with the fresh drink it just received. In life, we have storms. They can be light rainstorms or they can be massive thunderstorms with a chance of hail or a tornado. Regardless of what the storm looks like, we all have them and after the storm passes, beauty is left behind. Maybe you're in the middle of a storm in your life. Don't let it bog you down because there is beauty at the end of it. A rainbow if you will. The end, the beauty is coming! 

Photo by Tuesdae Justis, Fayetteville, Arkansas

During the sermon this past Sunday, my preacher used the analogy of Michelangelo creating David. (Shockingly, this is the first time I am using an art reference on this blog) I don't know if you have ever seen David, (I will leave a picture below for you) but it's big, it's beautiful, and it wasn't made by adding things to it. See, when Michelangelo created David, he didn't get clay or stone and mash it together. No, the process to make David was one to take away. Michelangelo took a chunk of marble and chipped away at it until he had David. He chipped away all the pieces of the marble that wasn't David until he had it perfect! God is doing the same thing with you! He is chipping you away until you are perfect! 

Photo by Alex Ghizila on Unsplash

*Fun Fact* The marble that was used to make David was REJECTED by not one but TWO other sculptors! 15 Things You Didn't Know about David -- So if you're feeling rejected, remember that God is still working on you!

Have you ever thought about the fact that we are blessed with the beauty of nature? Natural beauty. No, I don't mean people, I literally mean nature. It's so beautiful! God gave us this beautiful nature. He is quite the artist I might add. My favorite thing to look at is sunsets. I often think, "God is an amazing artist. He painted that for me to see."And I appreciate the moment I get to take to look at that beautiful masterpiece God has painted in the Western sky. Not only sunsets but all nature. Handcrafted with you in mind. Take time to notices God's masterpieces. 

Photo by Tuesdae Justis, Fayetteville, Arkansas

We, humans, are like nature. We go through storms. We are pounded and chipped away until we are perfect. We are beautiful. God is working on you! The old is gone, the new has come! 

Photo by Tuesdae Justis, Fayetteville, Arkansas

This week in Creation Corner:

I have been working more on my game and packing up the house because we are moving soon! I will be sharing a video about my game very soon! I am also in the process of reworking my bullet journal to fit my needs and goals better! 

Snow in April: Peace

 Y'all, it snowed yesterday! See this is fine if it's anywhere from December to February, but it's April. It snowed for a few hours and some started to stick, which was crazy! Sadly, the rain washed it away and it was just gross outside after but still, it snowed in APRIL! (The last full week of April I might add.) Not only is it weird and exciting and crazy that it snowed in April, but I live in Arkansas... The south doesn't get snow when it's supposed to.

Anyway, HI! I haven't talked to you in a while, I am working on something big for YouTube and I am super excited about it! I thought today would be a good day to continue with our Fruits of the Spirit. Today's fruit, if you couldn't tell by the title, is peace. Peace is mentioned through the bible a lot. For example, the youth group (that I co-lead) is going through the Full Armor of God. "... and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace..." (Ephesians 6:15, NIV) It is also mentioned when talking about the Fruits of the Spirit... obviously or this blog post wouldn't be happening. I am going to share some scripture with you that has to do with peace. 

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

During our discussion of the shoes of peace (as the youth leader called them), we talked about a Greek word, eiréné(i-ray'-nay), which means peace, quietness, rest. Greek words are always interesting to me. The definition of peace is "freedom from disturbance". Sometimes we find it hard to find peace, we are always disturbed or distracted by something. However, peace is at hand. 

Occasionally, my church picks a verse to focus on for the year. This year the verse we are focusing on is John 20:21 which says, "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me even so I am sending you.'"(John 20:21, ESV) He said this after appearing to His disciples in a locked room after He was resurrected from the dead. Let me say that again, Jesus appeared to His disciples in a LOCKED ROOM after he was RESURRECTED from the DEAD. If someone you knew to be dead suddenly appeared with you in a locked room and said, "Peace be with you" What would your first reaction be? Think about this now, what if it was Jesus and He wasn't asking. Notice He isn't making a suggestion or asking His disciples to do something, He is telling them. Jesus had died and they were terrified they were going to be next so they hid in a room with the door locked. Then Jesus was suddenly in the room and simply says "Peace be with you". Jesus gives us the peace we need in all circumstances. 

Photo by Javardh on Unsplash

Likewise, in John 16, Jesus is teaching His disciples, telling them what is to come (His death and resurrection) when he says, "I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation but take heart, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33, ESV) He is telling The Twelve (and those to come after) that things are going to suck and they are going to get hard but we need to look to Jesus for peace that He is freely handing out. Then He says why we should look to Him for peace; because HE HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD! He has already defeated death! Who else would you look to for peace? He says you will have trouble. Not you might, or it won't be that bad, no He says it will happen and it will be terrible! When this happens, not if, look to Him who gives you peace because God will not let you be tempted by anything you cannot overcome! (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

Jesus left us to go make us a home in Heaven so that we may be with Him to the ends of time. He will never abandon us! Again, in John, Jesus is telling His disciples of His coming death and He says to them, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." (John 14:27, ESV) Jesus is giving you peace! He is handing it to you. Whatever is on your mind that you're worried about, take it to Jesus and He will give you peace.

 

 

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

This week in Creation Corner:

I have been working on some fun stuff the past couple of weeks! I have put up TWO YouTube Videos since I posted a blog post! I am attempting to post a video every Saturday. This week I have been working on a game to be featured on my YouTube channel! (next week?) I am super excited about this video and this game! I hope you guys enjoy it as well! I also have been working on some fun paper crafts such as avocado dying some paper! My YouTube channel is called The Craftea Cottage so I drew this adorable little drawing of a teacup cottage! 

Change Your Perspective

Think of a time when things were tough, or it seemed you were doing your best but it just wasn't good enough and it bogged you down. Now take a minute to think of that same situation from a different perspective. Maybe you made some plans with a couple friends and you're really excited about it but the day before one of them cancels for personal reasons. Your first reaction is probably anger and then you're upset because you were really excited to hang out with them. Come to find out they're really sick. Maybe you're having the worst day and nothing is going your way. Sometimes things suck, simple as that. Instead of letting it get the best of you, look at it from a different perspective. 

Everyone goes through a time in their lives when they start putting on more weight and start needed new clothes. That time is currently happening for me... and it sucks. Like most, I don't have the money to go buy a whole new wardrobe, so I tend to get hand-me-downs from the people around me. This is where I first started thinking about perspective and looking at things from a different point of view. See, I got some pants from a friend. To her, these were considered her "skinny pants" but to me, they were my new "fat pants". What changed between this pair of pants? Did the size change between her having them and me having them? No! Our perspectives are different. 

"Okay Tuesdae, what does a pair of pants have to do with my bad day?" 

I am glad you asked! That's just it. It's a bad day. Look at it as such. Pinterest is great because it has all these great and funny motivational quotes. Once I saw one that said, "It's a bad day, 

not a bad life" and it made me think about how it really is just a bad day, maybe a bad week. In comparison to your life, it's not a big deal. You have to change your perspective on how you look at things, big and small. You can look at your bad day and mope around and hate everything, OR you can look at it from a different perspective. Life has so much to be thankful for. Don't waste your day feeling sorry for yourself. 

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head and you have to listen to it over and over again until you're sick of it then you listen to it ten more times? I have a few that I am alternating between. One of them is Just Be Held by Casting Crowns. It's been on KLRC a lot lately (which is why it shocked me to learn it was released in 2014). This is another thing that has made me change my perspective on things. The song itself is one that is from the perspective of God (which usually I think is weird but I like this one). It talks about letting go of the things we feel we are responsible for. We often get overwhelmed because there is so much we feel we are responsible for. This song says stop holding onto all that stuff that's weighing you down. Jesus is there to take your worries; He is there for you!

There is a line in the song that says, "your worlds not falling apart it's falling into place". Isn't that beautiful? God's got this! When everything seems to be going wrong and you're overwhelmed, good! That's by design because God is showing you something else. Change the way you are looking at the problem. Maybe God is trying to point you back to Him. Maybe you're missing the bigger picture and He is pointing you in the direction you need to go in. 

Try changing your perspective. Look at things through a different lens, through someone else's eyes. It might seem like it's the end of the world, but I promise, it's not. Stop, Breathe, Pray. Change how you look at the problem. 

This week in Creation Corner:

I realize I've been going back and forth between Creation and Creative corner... Which sounds better to you? I can't decide. 

Anyway! I've finished Titus' birthday present! There is a video flip-through of it on YouTube! This week I spent most of the week editing pictures from a couple shoots that I had the week before!