Picked With Love

SNR A Faith Perspective Blog Hop

2009-11-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine's A Faith Perspective Thankful for Friends Faith Blog Hop. Today, we're out in force on the internet -- showing our faith and giving the glory to God. United, we stand as Christian paper crafters and blog owners to make a presence on the internet for all to see. We're celebrating the theme of friends and we're happy to share our projects with you based on the verse:
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. " Ecc4:9-10a
If you're just joining in on the fun, you can find the start of the train here:

First, we would like to take a moment to thank our generous co-sponsors: Layers of Color Stamps, Gina K Designs Stamps and Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. Together with Scrapbook News and Review Magazine, these companies have donated some wonderful prizes for today's blog hop.
Prizes? Oh, yeah! There will be three lucky grand prize winners for today's event.
To enter, simply hop to the blogs of all of the participating staff members of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine, take note of the staff member's name, and leave a comment on their posts. Then send us an email at
games@scrapbooknewsandreview.com listing each of the staff members who participated in today's hop. It's that easy. All entries must be received by Monday, November 16, 2009 at 12 noon, EST and three winners will be randomly chosen to win.
What are the prizes?
One $100 gift certificate from Layers of Color Stamps AND a 6 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.
One basket of goodies -- four stamp sets from Gina K Designs and a 6 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.
One set of digital stamps from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and a 3 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.
In addition, every participating staff member of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine will offer a free one-month subscription to the magazine to one of their lucky visitors by simply leaving a comment on their blog. That's a lot of chances to win, so let's get to the Hop!

Yesterday was the kick off of the Christian Paper Crafts and Unity blog hop. I hope that you have visitied my Softangelkisses blog to see what is going on there. This Scripture is also the Scripture Saturday over at Christian Paper Crafts and on my Softangelkisses blog. Please play along and link back with your creation over at Christian Paper Crafts.

I thought this verse was just delightful for a wedding card! I am going to take the photographs of the wedding today, but I always take a gift of a Bible along when I photograph people :o)
The next stop on this blog hop is: 42. Diane Noble
http://www.dianesdesigns.blogspot.com/

God Bless You,

Joshua 10:25

2009-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday's Scripture for Scripture Saturday is none other than Joshua 10:25. I do not think this verse had ever spoken so powerfully to me than it has since the death of my Uncle in June due to brain cancer.
I am only going to explain part of the verse, in hopes that you will look at the rest of it on your own. My uncle John and I were very close so this scripture was a difficult page to make on the scrapbooking side of my world (Softangelkisses). I have not done any journaling on the page yet except the verse. Perhaps one day I will be able to write my journaling on there, if not, I think the verse sums it all up. He was very strong and courageous all throughout his fight with brain cancer. He battled it over 4 years before going home to be with the Lord. Very strong and courageous if you ask me for a brain cancer that the medical field only gives a year life expectancy for!!
The section of the verse I am talking about today is the "Be strong and very courageous"! If you look at the particulars of this verse, at first you may think that God is not speaking to us in it, and only talking of the situation occurring in the Bible at that time. We have to know however that we do not serve a God of fear, we serve a loving God who not only wants us to be strong and very courageous, but also gives us the power to do just that!
Proving that He gives us that power, you can look over into the book of Philippians where we are told "I can do all things through Christ who Strengthens me."
Have a wonderfully blessed Monday!
God Bless You,
Mary

Sorry :o(

2009-08-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry. This was supposed to have gotten posted yesterday, however due to some troubles that I have had with Internet Explorer this past week, I was unable to update the blog!
Therefore, you will have a special post tomorrow for this past Saturday's Scripture!
God Bless You,
Mary

1 Samuel 1:27

2009-08-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

Today is Scripture Saturday over at my paper crafting blog Softangelkisses, as well as over at Christian Paper Crafts. Be sure to check them both out, and if you are a paper crafter, you may also want to peep in at His Princess because there is some grand opening blog candy going to be given away there...

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him. - 1 Samuel 1:27
What a powerful testimony of prayer we have here that can be used in the lives of so many today. In my life personally, I can attest to this. When I was pregnant with my (now 2 year old) daughter Abigail, if something could go wrong, it almost seemed as if it did. I know that it was not that bad and could have been much worse, but our difficult time was with the pregnancy rather than the delivery.
While pregnant with Abby, my labs came back that she had a 1 in 10 chance of having Down's Syndrome. In the world of medicine, those are some pretty high numbers. Many women I had spoken with had gotten false positive results of 1 in 1,000 or1 in 5,000, but nope, ours was 1 in 10.
Before we go on, please let me make it clear that if she would have had Down's Syndrome, we would have still had her, loved her no less. It was all of the complications that we were being bogged down with such as heart disease, intestinal complications, spinal cord complications, that were our biggest fears.
Throughout this difficult pregnancy we prayed and prayed and when Abby was born very healthy, we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt He who healed her!

God Bless You,
Mary

Jeremiah 28:11

2009-07-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11

Good Saturday morning! This really is an exciting morning for many reasons! My mom and I are headed out for a girls day out to celebrate! Today is the grand opening of our new venture together:

Please stop by and visit us and tell all the Paper-Crafters you know. We are a Christian business and appreciate the support!
Today is also my first day hosting my Scripture Saturday as a challenge over at the Christian Paper Crafts website! You've definitely got to check that out too!
However, this blog is not entirely about either of the last two items. I could say that they have nothing to do with one another, but they actually do. They are each different gifts and ways of expression the Lord has provided me with. For that and many other things, I am grateful to Him.
As I have been trying to become more organized and looking at what all I have on my plate, this verse has jumped out at me. In order to not feel overwhelmed at all of my obligations, I continue to remember it and place it upon my heart. The Lord knows the plans He has for me. He did not place my life in front of my in order to see me fail. I pray continually that I am doing what He wants me to do, and I feel I am moving in that direction with each step I take.
I also placed this Bible verse upon my heart after giving birth to Abigail and being so ill. The doctors did not know (an still do not know) what happened, but I am a living miracle every day. I prayed this verse knowing that the Lord has plans for me to prosper so He may receive the glory from it. Perhaps that is why I have ITP (low platelets for no known reason), so that someone may see me and see how God works through me!

God Bless You,
Mary

Peace Be Still

2009-07-24T05:16:00.000-07:00

"Be Still and Know the I am God..." - Psalm 46:10
We had a bad experience last night with a local business. I prayed as I sat through the remainder of the evening praying that I would do what Jesus would want me to do during the situation. As it is still lying heavily on my heart, I am still praying about it, knowing He will lead me in the right direction. If you wonder why I am mentioning this, it is because last night's event really played a role in this blog. You see, most often, these devotionals are written as they are revealed to me throughout the day from God. However, once last night occurred, the only thought in my mind was "Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord"! Yes, way too extreme! I really prayed for the Lord to place something on my heart for today and received this Bible verse.
Now, I will grant you that I am a very busy little girl and my time is valuable to me. I suppose that is why this verse spoke to me. In all the hustle and bustle, then with an added stress on top, I just need to slow down and remember the Peace that comes only from God. We need to savour this Peace for it is the only true Peace there is on Earth. Then the later part of the verse - Be Still. How often do we just run around in circles when the Lord is telling us, "Be still child". The the ending of that phrase - Know that I am God! What a reminder that we all need sometimes. He is God. There is nothing too big, too little for Him to handle.
I know many times I try to work things out on my own and just seem more and more covered up by a load of never-ending work. However, when I hand it over to God, it seems to all fall into place! I may not be the perfect nurse, scrapbooker, or even mommy, but in the eyes of my God, I am awesome, fearfully and wonderfully made! Sometimes it takes those "Peace Be Still Moments" for me to remember that :o) Have a wonderfully blessed day!

God Bless You,
Mary

Who God Is?

2009-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

"I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me." -Isaiah 46:9

Today's devotion is not very long. It is just a plain and simple one that has been on my heart. Often times, non believers ask who God really is. Knowing they have already heard the everyday answers, I find it most important to answer with scripture.
This verse from Isaiah speaks so truthful and boldly in just a short sentence. I interpret it as this also: God says "I am who I am, I am the I AM, there is no one else that is me, only me!" He really is our everything!

God Bless You,
Mary

In Prayer and Supplication...

2009-07-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" -Philippians 4:6

WOW! Just looking at the first part of this scripture can give you chills! We are being told to not be anxious about anything! Now let me tell you, I can be an anxious person. If the bills need paid, I get anxious, if Abby acts the slightest bit out of normal or a little too normal - I get anxious, you get the picture here I am sure. But here we are being told in the Word, do not be anxious! What a powerful command.
However the Lord gives us further instruction on this. We are not to merely be not anxious and haphazard about it, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. Now this part, I am working on. Really, let me tell you, I told a lady that we attend church with that if someone was to come by my house when I am supposedly home alone, they would either think that I am a) crazy or b) had someone else in the house with me! Want to know why? It is because I carry on conversations with God just like you and I would. I feel Him speaking to me in my heart and the visits we have in this quiet time are perhaps one of life's best blessings!
So, whether it is talking to God about Abby, her big moments, and little moments, or talking to him about the electricity bill, we chat. I recommend these chats with him to you too!

God Bless You,
Mary

Fear Not

2009-07-17T05:13:00.001-07:00

"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." - Isaiah 41:13

The other day during a Bible discussion, I told someone, "I just love the book of _________." But I had to follow it up with, "I say that about every book of the Bible. Today's verse as you can see is from the book of Isaiah, which really is where I draw a lot of inspiration from.
Just look at the verse with me. "I the Lord thy God", He is letting us know plainly there that He is the one there for us, He is the one going to do it, we are not alone - "will hold thy right hand".
"Saying unto thee fear not" - WOW! How many times have we saw fear not used it the Bible? It is always in situations of greatness - think of the angel spoken of in the book of Luke chapter 2, "fear not, for behold I bring your good tidings of great joy..." when speaking of the Savior's birth. God uses fear not to let us know just that - not to fear, but I also think it is because the news following it is always so spectacular that it is almost unbelievable and would cause someone to fear whether or not it was the truth...
"I will help thee" - is there anyone in the world that you would rather have tell you that they will help you than the Lord Himself? There shouldn't be. Man may and often will fail you, but the Lord, He is always there.
This verse is getting written on an index card to go in my prayer box today. My husband goes to the dermatologist this evening to have a mole checked and by human nature, I want to fall to pieces out of fear and the "what ifs". However, I have a God that is bigger, stronger, and mightier than anything in this world! My prayer is a praise already in knowing that throughout my day, the Lord is going to be with me telling me to "Fear not"! How awesome is that!

God Bless You,
Mary

The Golden Rule

2009-07-16T12:00:00.001-07:00

I give the devil the blame - what for you might ask? If you look directly below this post, the next one is from Sept of 2008. I have had the most awful time trying to even log in to this blog. Even when I could, my posts failed... I will not cease though, and perhaps the problem is fixed this time...

(Note: Much of this post was originally shared over at my Paper Crafting blog Softangelkisses, because I am seeing it happen all too often in the world of paper-crafting and scrapbooking lately. I know there are many other areas of life this lesson may relate to also. I hope it blesses you.)

Good afternoon everyone. Today I wanted to share a Bible lesson with everyone about the Golden Rule. I constantly "preach" this and pray that my actions help to teach this. Many times in the Bible, the Lord tells us and gives us examples of how to and not to treat one another, yet somehow, it often gets so messed up! I think what hurts the most is either when a Christian hurts another Christian due to not obeying this rule or when a Christian hurts a non believer. How hard it is to win someone to Christ when they have been mistreated by a Christian. On the other hand, as Christian brothers and sisters we are supposed to work together for the Lord, to encourage one another, and lift one another up. Sisters, how sad is it that many have let paper-crafting and scrapbooking - a topic that could bring us all together in the Lord closer - become an envying topic and a stumbling block. God truly does give us all unique gifts, and we all function at different levels of our gift, but everyone deserves a fair try. Everyone starts somewhere, all things must have a beginning. Do not criticize yourself or try to measure up to someone else's standards - God loves you very much just the way you are. The same holds true on the other hand, if someone is not quiet at your level, love them the way they are. If you can't say something nice about their work, it's often better to not say anything at all. Remember, to ask not only "How would I want someone to treat me?", but more importantly, "What would Jesus do?"

God Bless You,
Mary

Serene Sunday

2008-09-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

As I sit here at work, outside the window it looks cold and the rain has been drizzling all mornin.g The leaves are starting to change, but the majority of them are still green. I love the feeling of Fall of the year. Perhaps it is because I know that without my Lord, Fall would be such a depressing time in my life with the trees becoming bare. But the Lord gave ys sycg veaytiful colors as to savor while this transition is taking place and we have the promise of knowing that in the Spring it will all become new again. Remember the video I shared before of "All Things New Again".
Many of you may not know that I am in school now. After much prayer and thought, I have decided to persue my dream of becoming a Nurse Practitioner. It is amazing to look at the course I have thought of when it comes to a career. All through school I wanted to be a teacher, then I decided by the fate of the Lord to go to Nursing School. I finished my associate's degree and thought that's all the Lord wanted me to do, but now I know better. My Lord has allowed me to have my dream of teaching, whether it be the students that I teach as an instructor at the college part time or my patients. He is also allowing me to do more. Once I finish my Bachelor's Degree, this program should bridge right into the Master's and I will be able to have a whole new teaching relationship with my patients and with future students.
As I balance the roles of wife, mother, daughter, nurse, teacher, and student with being a Child of the King, tenacity is a key word. "Tenacity is more than hanging on, which may be but the weakness of being too afraid to fall off. Tenacity is the supreme effort of a man refusing to believe that his hero is going to be conquered...Remain spiritually tenacious. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest"
This type of tenacity comes from the Lord, the Heavenly Father who is the only one capable of this type of gift to his children.

Verse of the Day: "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. " - James 1:12
The verse of the day is dedicated to a special friend of mine. Natalie, I am fighting for you the best I know how, through my prayers to our wonderful Lord.

2008-06-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

"Fear not, for I am with thee, and I will bless thee" - Genesis 26:24

As I sit here in the Dr's office, the devil is trying to take over and place fear in me! I guess it figures, if you are a Christian, that's what it going to happen!
THANK GOD, I have this blog to turn to. I can log in and praise the Lord and that just makes that old devil fight harder, but that doesn't mean that he will win! Oh no, my LORD is taking care of me.
You see, my God can do anything. I do mean anything. If you are down and out or even outright convinced that things are just awful, my God can change them. Everytime I have lab work drawn, I remember this. I always think of it as - my blood work could very well be x even when they draw it, but if my Lord sees fit, when they get the results back in that short amount of time - all can be well.

Isn't God's Word wonderful? How nice is it that when we need something, we only have to go so far? I wanted a Bible verse as I sat here and the one up top is what I go!

We're Home and HOT HOT HOT

2008-06-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

"For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23).

First of all, I would like to thank God for not only giving us traveling mercies, but a WONDERFUL weekend together as a family. We ended our weekend yesturday with the Sunday School picnic where I managed to get a lovely sun burn after going the whole weekend without one! Although it is pretty uncomfortable and has my skin feeling tight, a thought went through my head as I was lying in bed awake last night... "Hell is hotter than this!"

That really did come out of no where, but it sums up the hot weather that we have had and the burning feeling that is on my back and shoulders! On Saturday our car thermometer read 109 for the outside temperature at the lake! Still, Hell is hotter that that!

How wonderful that since we have the gift of God, we may have eternal life instead of the never ended death and torment that come with the wages of sin!

Thank You God that you have delievered us that we may have eternal life through you. You have delivered us from the wages of sin and saved us once more! ~Amen.

God Bless You,
Mary

Thank God It's Friday?

2008-06-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” –James 1:17

I just heard one of the students at the college where my husband works walk by and say, “Thank God it’s Friday”, and it got me to thinking. We hear people say Thank God that it is Friday or that the weekend is here, but how often do we hear, “Thank God it’s Monday”?
God gave us 6 days of the week to work, play, and enjoy, then the 7th to love and serve HIM. How sad is it that we sometimes do not stop to thank Him for our gift of a new day. It is a common mistake and we often overlook it, but each DAY is from him. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” –James 1:17

Thank you God for this day. Although it is Friday and the beginning of the weekend, Lord we praise you for no matter what day it is, you made it and gave it to us! In your glorious name – Amen.

As a side note – my husband and I are taking our little girl on a small weekend trip and desire your prayers for a safe trip.

God Bless You,
Mary

His Shield

2008-06-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

"He will shield you with His wings. He will shelter you in His feathers. His faithful promises are your armor and protection." - Psalm 91:4 (NLT)

I can feel this verse. Have you ever just felt something after you read it? It's like you don't just read it, but it sinks into you deep down...The Lord truly watches over us, doesn't He? The following verses:

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints...." Ephesians 6:10-18

talk about the whole armor of God and this verse tells us that His faithful promises are your armor (and protection). Now really read that, not just His promises, but His FAITHFUL promises! You and I can promise with good intentions, even with the best of intentions, but our Lord - He FAITHFULLY promises.

Thank you God that you cover us with Your wings, that You give us an unwavering calm. Lord we know that calm can only come from You. Help us to remember where to turn when our faith begins to weaken - for it is us Lord, not You that is weak. In Your Holy name - Amen.

God Bless You,
Mary

Short Thought

2008-06-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

I love this quote and wanted to share it with you:

“When I stand before God at the end of my life,I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say: ‘I used everything you gave me.’ “
Erma Louise Bombeck

Have a wonderful day - remember..."This is the day the Lord has made...Let us rejoice and be glad in it..."

God Bless You,
Mary

Coming Back!

2008-05-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

Due to some technical issues, Picked With Love has been down for a while. I hope to have things up and running again by the first of June!

God Bless You,
Mary

Faith In Prayer for Miracles

2007-10-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

Can you sit back and think of many days lately where we don’t hear about sickness ad tragedy in some way or another? The news is more than ready to bring us these stories, but as Christians, do we combat them with faith believing prayers or do we give them a passing “help them Lord”?
Brother Darvin said something in church today that made a lot of sense and stands true for a lot of Christians, shamefully, myself included at many times. He said that as Christians we are bad to pray for a prayer request that someone has one or two times and then stop regardless of if that person we are praying for has received their miracle yet.
Hebrews 11:6 in the NIV says this, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” The key word that I am wanting you to see here is earnestly. If we are only presenting our requests to the Lord once or twice, is that really earnestly seeking Him? Now granted it is hard to remember every single request made in the church house to be able to pray them again once, let alone more… But, do you think that the Lord would be mad if we take “notes” during prayer requests in order to help us remember and be able to pray the requests more earnestly – me either.
Before we go on, let me add that I am in no way saying that the Lord is going to do what you want just because you keep praying it over and over. The Lord sometimes answers our prayers with a no and sometimes with a not right now.
As far as faith believing prayers leading to miracles, our church has seen more than our share. For instance, little Abby who the doctors were sure was going to have complications and doesn’t, little Ryan’s eyesight getting better and better, and sister Ruby being cured of her breast cancer. Since it is still October and Breast Cancer Awareness month, I would like to elaborate on Sister Ruby a little further. She continued with her treatments as the doctors told her because she believed it was part of her healing – rest assured she knows who did the healing and held the cure in His mighty hand! She is such a faithful and faith filled woman that I can picture Jesus talking to her when he said in Matthew 9:22, "Take heart, daughter," He said, "Your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.
If you have any prayer requests that you would like to share, feel free to add them in the comments, or send us an email. We will be more than honored to help you in praying and to add you to our prayer list at church. We have some great prayer warriors there who are so faithful in lifting the names of the sick up in prayer!

God Bless You,
Mary

2007-05-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

Picked with Love is a Women's Ministry that the Lord has placed upon my heart to start. We are still in the praying stage, so please pray for us as we plan to begin this journey for HIM!

Also, any tips on how to make the blog look nicer would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks & God Bless You,
Mary