Merry Christmas ...

and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Luke 2:7-15

the reason for the season ...

 

Joy to the world! The Lord is come.

Let earth receive her King

Let every heart

Prepare Him room

(from Joy to the World -Christmas Carol)

I had this big Aha moment when singing this Christmas Carol ... the words that jumped out at me were ... LET EVERY HEART PREPARE HIM ROOM ... so my eyes have seen and my ears have heard and now my Heart has to make room ... Isaiah prophesied talking of his future but now history knows the story thus far ... Jesus was born in Bethlehem ... so lets make room for the things God has prepared.

"What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him—

1 Corinthians 2:9

Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

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Allergy Free Baking ...

Can I tell you again and again and again how fabulous this recipe book is 

One Bowl Allergy Free Baking

Great Christmas gift ideas for teachers and work mates … I made the Melt in your Mouth Moments and they are SOOO GOOD …

… so easy and quick and taste yum … no-one will know all it took was 10 minutes and 1 bowl …  

I am so thankful for my mum telling me about this book …

Being able to give allergy free gifts is such a blessing …

Have fun baking this Christmas …  

Be Blessed and be a blessing

Teena

…

 

Next Step ...

Living my best life … Giving it all I have … Shining the light of Christ … all these things drive my passion.

My aim is to encourage Christians just like me, to stay connected to the people in their life and to reach out and encourage others to come along for the ride.

Communication with others and God.

Good old fashioned communication … friendship based communication … 

genuine heartfelt … God Love.

I do this by making collage postcards … and the next step for me is doing markets in the new year.

(my church has a catch phrase ... Next Step ... so what is your next step?)

My theme is all about Jesus.

But in all this clarity I sometimes get a bit distracted by the buzz of being commercial … of reaching a wider audience … making cards that have a more general theme.

God always brings me home … and reminds me.  He is a good God.  This week’s reminder was listening to a podcast by Jonathan Fields, Good Life Project.

An interview with Brad Feld. 

Some days I am like a kid in a candy shop … I see all kinds of opportunities ... and my creative brain goes bezerk … but all good things are not necessarily what God has planned for me.

My 2% customer is a mini of me … all about a living faith and relationship with God … and reaching out to community … staying connected.

Thanks God for placing a passion in my heart and working it out through my hands.

So if God has done this for me … He can so do the same for you … Just ask Him … then wait to see the opportunity and possibility that comes.

Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

...

Paper Passion ...

 
The other day I was sharing my Paper Passion ... I could feel the excitement rising as I talked about why I loved stationery.

How I just cant go past a card shop or newsagent without going in to have a peak at the goodies inside ... the buzz of a new find or a card that has texture and color ... a lyrical word that captures my imagination or the warmth of a photograph ... and especially my current fave Glitter Sparkle.

I am always buying cards ... some to use but many just to keep and use as inspiration.

There is something special about sending a hand written card ... writing with a really good pen that flows easily ... addressing the envelope ... and sticking on the stamp.

My love is not just for the card but the process ... I LOVE THE WHOLE PROCESS ... from the words to write inside the card ... even sealing the envelope and writing a return address on the back.

As crazy as it sounds in this hi tech world ... I LOVE SNAIL MAIL.


All of this passion talking got me thinking ...

How exhilarating it is to find your passion.

To be able to get absorbed by something you love ... to dream and create and participate.


So I would urge you to spend some time dwelling in the possibility of finding a passion.

Investigate what interests you ... what you are good at ... what makes you smile?

Where do you always want to be ... where does your mind wander to?

Find your passion.

Why stop at one ... I have several ...

Have fun learning about yourself and see where God leads you ... You will be amazed at what He has given you.

Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

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Christmas plans ...

Just remembering a walk to the park I did last Christmas ... thinking about how life has changed ... and how much has happened in one year ...

I went on the walk with my camera and had decided to stop looking at my feet as I walk but instead keep my eyes open to see what was interesting up and about me.

I saw the colors of springs end ... the whimsy of garden ornaments ... hidden gates and secret backyard entrances ... a magic land of long reeds where the kids could play and I listened to the frogs ...

SO what will this Christmas bring ... what treats and treasures await ... mostly I am looking forward to hanging out in the sunshine with my nieces and nephews by the pool ... getting to know them better ... learn what it feels like to be a teenager through their eyes ... and maybe take some new family photos ... simple but true ...

Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena


P.S.  Amazing but true ... after I had written this post and saved it into my drafts, I received a newsletter from one of the bloggers I follow ... Liz Lamoreux ... and these are the inspired words she wrote ... and here is her Water Your Soul ...

egg free - dairy free Fruit Slice

Two days ago I received a new cookbook in the mail.  ONE BOWL ALLERGY FREE BAKING.  The idea of cooking in one bowl is my style.  Because I was SO excited I jumped straight in ...

 

I struck the jackpot on my 1^st go ...

Fruit slice that has only basic simple ingredients and is easy to make... and cheap.

The only trick is do not over bake it because it gets dry and tough

And don’t be surprised as the batter is runny but it works

I liked this recipe so much I ate the first batch so fast I had to bake a second batch the next day ( I know I should not confess this out loud)

It is not overly sweet … and it takes all of five minutes to make … and tastes great

So thanks Linda because this book is now my new best friend.

P.S.  This book has all my childhood favorites 

(that i thought with my diary/egg allergy I would never eat again) 

melting momments

lemon slice

cherry ripe slice

chocolate caramel slice

Definitely worth putting on the Christmas list if you know any allergy families or anyone who wants to eat good basic ingredients.

This is a book your family will keep and use everyday.

Linda is a genius and I cannot speak highly enough about this book ... this weekend I am trying choc caramel slice.


Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

...

Who are you investing time into?

(photo from Su Blackwell)

When I think back to my school years I can remember the teachers I loved.  I remember them not because of the high grades they gave me ... far from it ... I was so not good at school ... and my grades barely scraped through.  I remember them because they encouraged my good points and watched me shine.

An English teacher that encouraged my love of creative writing ... a primary teacher who oozed care and compassion and music ... a home economics teacher that supported my creativity ... stretched my commitment to being better and aiming higher.

SO for me today is about keeping my eyes open and when I notice someone doing something they love ... smiling at them ... have a conversation about how it feels to be in the zone ... asking them how they discovered their talent ... letting them know how special it is to do something you love ... and before leaving making sure to encourage them to continue.

Take time and invest into someone ...  encourage and support the people around you ... to live out there dreams.  I have always had this desire to help people realize their own potential ... to walk beside people as they grow in their relationship with Jesus and grow up into their own Christ heart ... watching as they discover what it is that God has gifted them to do ...

Opportunities have come my way many times and although at the time I often don't realize what is happening ... I just go with the flow of a friendship ... it is not until after a period of time has passed and when looking back do I see the process.

It is very similar to watching a caterpillar cocooning into a butterfly.
'Let go and Let God'... His Hands can do unbelievably amazing things ... and I am just Thankful that I get to be part of His plan.

Blessed beyond Belief.

Teena

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interconnected stories

I am loving the interconnectedness when reading my Bible.  Oral stories that are passed down for generations within families and local churches.

Jeremiah was the son of a priest, so he would have access to scholars and priests ... and the conversations that he would have heard.  Stories of a passionate King David would have been told to him through a grandparents eyes. 

His life stories have become my faith ... my jewish past ... a story of how my God relates to His people ... and my Christian present ... of how God continues to hold tight to His people for eternity.

Jeremiah 1:1-10

 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.  The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah,  and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

The Call of Jeremiah

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.  See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

^{These words take me straight to my heart ... they speak to me of a God that knows me ... a God that Loves me and sustains me ... a God that chose me to be exactly as I am ... to fulfill a need in this world.}

 

Psalm 139

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.

You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

Be encouraged ... to stand tall in your strengths ... to discover all of who you are ... strengths and weaknesses ... celebrate your life's journey and keep on keeping on. You are loved!

There is SO MUCH MORE to come!

Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena


...

Listening for God ...

How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!

Psalm 139 : 17

I have decided to practice my listening again ... this is something I focused my attentions on last year but I feel the need to do some more active listening again ...

I am trying to break my asking continually habit ... and get some balance back .... to be more praiseful and intercessory.

Active listening by reading my bible and hearing God in His word.

Listening and writing ... Listening and waiting.

I am finding it all very refreshing this time around ... I seem to be more observant this time.


... so if you are feeling the need to change the speed a little ... get onto the latest and greatest ...

... say it , pray it and listen ... 

Try it out for yourself and let me know how you go.

Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

...

stay grounded in your truth ...

songs like this bring me back to reality ... and remind me what my reality is ...  My reality is not from the world but from God ...

Thanks Casting Crowns ... be blessed.

Christmas is coming ...

Just a glimpse of what is coming for Christmas ...

 ...

... awe ... word cloud

...

Building Trust ...

Building trust starts with counting your blessings.

For me ... trust begins with praise and a thankful heart.

So I am thankful for God's saving Grace  ... for health and youthfulness ... to have inherited 50% of my Mum and 50% of my Dad ... great genes ... to have a real sense of a living God in my life ... fabulous friends that are constant ... an abundance of food ... a clear mind and active imagination ... for the car I drive to work ... and a church that feeds my faith ... for books that I can read ... that I live in freedom to practice my faith ... and freedom to make my own choices ... that I have a huge tree outside my window that houses possums and rats and birds ... that the leaves fall and new growth comes in spring ...

Building trust ... some days it is as easy as reading my bible and meditating on the words ... and others days it can be a hard dredge to even open my bible ... but building always comes with immersing my thoughts in the one place I can find a piece of God's heart ... trust comes with getting to know my God.

And he has never failed to reveal himself ... everytime I find a gem ... a piece of hope ... a fragment of my future revealled.

So the Trust is building ... step by step.


Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

...

secret for success ..

It is so true  ... all of these things help lead to success ...

passion

work hard

focus

persist

ideas

push on

serve

Be good at what you do

For me the strength to do all of these comes from God ... my passions and talents ... my strength and constant companion ... my compassion to serve ... my beginning and end.

Without Him none of this would be possible.

All of this comes with Trust ... being able to trust God with my Life and all it's details ... so begins my journey for this week ... to investigate where and how do I build trust?

I will keep you posted next week with what I find.

Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

 ... 

security and significance ...

My most valued needs ... security and significance.

Having someone believe in me and stand in my corner.

Knowing I am loved and accepted.

Trusting that when I fall, someone will be there to pick me up.

The support and encouragement to step out and be courageous.

These are all right there in the person of Jesus ... but it is my choice to believe it and really put that belief into action everyday.

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. 

  John 7 : 37-39

I heard someone say today ... We decide when we are strong what will be when we are weak.

If I want my belief to be strong ... then i need to work on it ... spend time getting to know Father, Son, Holy Spirit ... have a good solid daily prayer time ... make sure to worship and praise God ... get in His corner and be where He is.

Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

...

just like a chocolate box ...

GodTags is all about telling the people in your life they are loved and valued.

That is why I make and sell postcards ... an easy way to write a quick note and send them out into the world ... with an encouraging word.

My latest postcard packs come in a chocolate colored glitter box.  A little bit of sparkle that can be kept and reused as a keepsake box once the cards are all sent.

Feel the smile these bring to your face ... now think of someone who needs your love and encouragement ... send them a note or give them a call.

Now you have just passed on God's Love ... it's as easy as that ... DONE!

Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

...

all things are possible postcard pack ...

Moving with the times ...

Thanks to TED I had a chance to see this amazing video about Janet Echelman, an artist who has adapted and moved with times.  Her sculptures are all about 21st century technology.  She must be very courageous and willing to experiment with new things.  But more than anything watching this talk has shown me the power of collaboration ... Janet's willingness to ask for help and seek out people with knowledge.

 

The old saying 'it takes a village to raise a child' can be applied here.  It takes an open heart and open hand to create amazing Giant Billowing Sculptures.  None of this could have happened without Janet. 

Maybe I need to be a bit more willing to ask for help.  Thanks Janet for your inspiration.

Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

...

God's creative heart ...

Can I just tell you how excited I am that I have a God created me with a creative heart.

Sometimes I am intense and frustrated ... other times I am bursting in the flow ... today I am living in the moment and accepting what comes.  Every day is different.

But that is what I love about creative energy ... it isn't consistent ... it isn't neat and ordered ... it is chaotic and messy and unpredictable ... but the results are exciting and fulfilling and make me smile.

I have been reading a lot of blogs about creativity versus productivity, it seems to be a hot topic at the moment. How to overcome procrastination and turn on the creative tap.

And it has got me thinking ... what does God say about creativity? ... lots and lots actually ... not only in what he has said through his word but also what he has done.

God spent the first 6 days creating ... so his first act was creation ... and much of his word speaks of putting our hands to good and honest hard work, that is productive and builds up his people.

Proverbs 31 talks of a woman making good use of her time ... making good choices, working with eager hands and being generous.

'From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands brings them reward.'

Proverbs 12:14

' In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.'
Genesis 1:1

'So God created mankind in his own image,'
Genesis 1:27  

So my intention is that my creative endeavors build and encourage faith ... that they point to my creator and shine the light on LOVE and JOY and PEACE and JESUS.

... and I become more and more like the woman of Proverbs 31.

 Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

 ...

Reading Bliss ...

Reading can be like like taking a holiday without leaving the house.

I can travel to places all over the world, move through time and feel the heart of someone's highs and lows.  All this would never be possible without getting myself lost in the pages of a good read.

Chatting at the Sky suggested 'A Sound  Among the Trees'  by Susan Meissner, as a good read and I wholeheartedly agree ... so loved the mix of current day and civil war scenes. 

Another book I am chewing my way through is 'C.H.Spurgeon - The People's Preacher' by Peter Morden.  I have previously read a few of Spurgeon's collated sermons and prayers and I love his true heart for God.  Now reading a biography about him I have a clearer picture about his life and trials and the man behind the sermons.

"Let God send the fire of His Spirit here, and the minister will be more and more lost in his Master.  You will come to think less of the speaker and more of the truth spoken; the individual will be swamped, the words uttered will rise above everything."

 These words spoken by Spurgeon in 1861 are as true today as they were back in the 1800's.

So I am ever thankful for Christian Authors who continue to fill my bookshelf.

... because not only do I have more good books to share but my heart has been enriched by good stories ... fact or fiction ... beautifully woven tales that take me beyond the pages ... introduced me to new characters that feel like old friends and put a smile on my face.


I pray today has shown you a glimpse of who God Is.

 Be blessed and be a blessing

Teena

...

Inspire Me corner ...

My little Inspire Me corner is what keeps me keeping on with my postcards ...

This is my inspire corner …  all my Etsy buys for May … 

 

I love the color and texture of Angie Vandenbogaards' print …  the way her prints show the texture is fabulous.

Love Love Love the layering in Kate Masons' Collage with words.

Words are key to me … so SprinkledJoy word art is such a great reminder.

As always Kelly Rae is everywhere … she was my catalyst and constant inspiration

I have placed my inspire corner directly opposite my desk so every time I turn around I see it .. it makes me smile and reminds me that there are other people following there dreams just like me.

Etsy gives me access to the world of handmade art … such creative people … it is such a wonderful platform to work from.

Arise and Shine keeps going around and around in my head this week.
 

Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

 “Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
 

Isaiah 60:1-5

I know this verse is talking about Zion but the greater context being us as a generation of people who need to shine the light of Christ ... Me needing to use my God given gifts to shine His Glory.

God speaks to my heart in so many ways.


I hope your God size dreams are blooming with the colors of the rainbow ... never let go of His promises ... keep on keeping on ... and lift up your eyes so you can pass on God's Love everyday.

Be blessed and be a blessing 

Teena

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