Random Psalm

Consume me from the inside out O God until only You remain.
You and me alone in the stillness,
Shatter the silence with Your love for me,
Fill this place with Your presence
Surround me with Your glory,
Saturate me.
Breathe Your life into my soul,
Pour out Your Spirit upon me,
Let me know You intimately,
Let me hear You speak my name,
There is no hiding place from You, O God.
Find me where I am.
Liberate me into the bonds of Your love.
Break me and remake me into a vessel of honor fit for Your use.
Stir in me the flame of Your passion for me.
Speak, O God to me of Your love.
Let my heart cry out for You and You alone.
I lay my heart open for You upon Your alter O God.
You see me for who I really and still you love me.
Only You satisfy my every need.
You fulfill me in every way.
My All Sufficient One! My Most High God!
I place You upon the throne of my heart to reign forever
I place You high and lifted up in my heart, my eyes, and my life.
Take me over.

Overcoming the Fear of the Hammer

I had always been intimidated by the thought of hammering my own pieces of jewelry. I was worried that it wouldn’t come out right or that I wouldn’t enjoy it, or it would be too hard to do.  I was just content to buy pre-made pieces from other artisans, local stores, or online. Then last year, I met a young woman named Jonah.  After conversing with her for about 10 minutes or so, I decided to have a go at it.

I bought a small Ball - Peen hammer at a local craft store and some cheap metal wire. At first, it was a bit daunting. I had the hammer and wire, now what?! It took me about a week before I actually used it.  The solid concrete floor of my den became my anvil. The cheap wire had a copper core that showed through the steel coating giving my first pieces a very unique look. They were strange looking things, but I was making things none the less. The more I became comfortable, the higher grade wire and metal blanks I began to work with. Finally, I invested in a steel bench block. The very thing I had been intimidated by is now a great source of stress relief. It took a bit of faith in myself to overcome my fears.

Just because something seems hard doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth having a go at it. A lot of times we feel that we can’t do or we aren’t capable.  We are.  We have this tainted view of life that if we do something wrong, we will be a total failure. Not true. Philippians 4:13 says in the Amplified, “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]”.
We have a tainted view of God as this angry deity who has a massive hammer over us waiting for us to mess up so he can smash us flat.  Again, not so. Romans 5:8 in the Amplified says, “But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.”  His hammer is just and swift yes, but it is also gentle. True, He does chastens those He loves (Hebrews 12:6). But out of His love for us, He is gentle and brings healing along with His chastenings.

The hammer we fear may be the judgment we feel others have towards us.  Be of good cheer, for who can be against us if God be for us (Romans 8:31)?  Paul said he felt it a small thing to be judged of others (1 Corinthians 4:3). And so should we.  Yes, our failures are the things that people seem to dwell on and point out to us. Our failures do not define us. It is how we recover from our failures that defines us. If we keep going learning from our mistakes, it make us stronger.  If we allow our mistakes to cripple us and hold us back, then we have just proved all of the nay-sayers right.
We must be willing to fail in order to succeed.

Be Blessed.

Praise God!

Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!  I had a banner day on Etsy today in my store.  I sold 6 items!  AWESOME!  I had one sale yesterday, so the Post Office will get 7 packages to send off for me.  I'm sure it will take about $25 to send it all.  Oh, well, I'm happy!

This week's Featured Shop

This week, we are featuring Sowers of Hope from Etsy.com

Shalom!
We're an entrepreneurial family of five living in the deep Southeast corner of America. As homeschoolers our family is deeply involved in all that we do at home including our business, Sowers of Hope. From the inspiration of the item to it's shipment to our customers, we attempt to give Yahweh (God) the glory and praise for all of our talents and creations. Our lives are dedicated to serving our Mighty King, and we try to demonstrate it in all we do.

We're on Facebook! Take a moment to like our page! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sowers-of-Hope-Headcovering-Boutique/133659983367684 -- Find the link on our blog: sowersofhope.blogspot.com 

Sowers of Hope also has a sister shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChemoHeadcovers

Fire Agate Adjustable Band Ring by RazielaDesigns on Etsy

Fire Agate Adjustable Band Ring by RazielaDesigns on Etsy

Situated on an antiqued gold tone base metal filigree adjustable band, this lovely Fire Agate Cabachon set this piece apart. Natural swirls of brilliant crimson, and soft milky white splash around in this round stone. Comfortable to wear.

Size: Adjustable

Sarai Jasper and Crystal Wire Wrapped Necklace by RazielaDesigns

Sarai - Jasper and Crystal Wire Wrapped Necklace by RazielaDesigns

A stunning combination of large oval Jasper stones and dark amber colored A/B finished crystallized glass beads. The jasper stones are 1.5 inches / 3.8 cm in length. Each of the glass beads are hand wire wrapped in gold plated base metal wire and joined to each other, then connected to a gold plated base metal link chain and finished off with a gold plated lobster claw clasp. Total beaded area is 10 inches / 25.4 cm.

Length: 22 inches / 55.9 cm

Come see our site

Our store is back up and running on Etsy.  http://razieladesigns.etsy.com is the address.  Come check us out and tell us what you think.