I am not disappointed.....

I am not ashamed (or disappointed)...for I know whom I have believed,

and am persuaded that

He is able to keep

that which I have committed to Him

against that day.

2 Timothy 1:12

(kippyssomature ACEO art card mixed media using background artwork by Sandy Gordon)

Explanations that don't work

Cannot help those falling hook line and sinker, but CAN throw them a life saver, and try to pull them out........

Hallowed !

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. acts 20:21

Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we much be saved.  acts 4:12

 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. romans 10:13

Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks; for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare. psalm 75:1

Marvel not that I said unto you, You must be born again.   matthew 3:7

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. psalm 34:18

Caught the moment

Caught the Moment 5x7 Metallic Print by OneSixPix.etsy.com

Someone mentioned to me about living in the moment - it sounded ok at the time...but it kept bugging me.
It should -
it isn't about the "moment", although, I have spent anguished and despairing moments in the past, when just to make it through the "moment" was impossible by myself

It is about Eternity - seems so far away, and most cannot understand it - but it is about eternity.  This is the moment to decide, not just where to be for all eternity, but whether to stay dead in sin, or live in Christ right now - now - you can LIVE from this moment on :O) 
Putting off the decision, drops you into eternity with no way out .  And it is worse than you imagine....likewise, in Christ Jesus - is more life, more precious, more free, more hopeful, more joyous than you can imagine.......it is a fact.

Truth is non negotiable.

the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by  Jesus Christ  john chapter 1, verse 17

Teachable...moment

Teachable by beautifuljourney 

 beware the teachable moments by folks who are ever learning, yet never able to come to the knowledge of truth...2 timothy 3:7
the truth... the teacher...MATTER

Commune, and win

Commune Teddy Pendant by ReLoved Designs
This week's post is a shout out to a gal I met on etsy -
Rebecca of ReLoved Designs. Not only is she a lovely woman,
has a terrific one of kind shop...but she is also doing her very first giveaway!!! on her blog--->
ReLoved Designs
just comment on whatever motivates you when...
you have trouble getting motivated :D


He motivates me....and He shines in Rebecca

The times when I wander on the internet,
sometimes her blog or a facebook post comes up..
and it brings a smile to my face,
and joy to my heart........not so much because of what she writes (lol - although it is always excellent!)
                   
            
  I was thinking,
                               there are many reasons
                                                       why I am so thankful to know her,
                        but if I had to put it in a word,

                                              it is because Rebecca is:

                                                                     pendant by ReLoved Designs

Yes - GENUINE...and not only is that exceedingly rare, it is a gift from God, in Lord Jesus as Saviour :O) Thank you Rebecca, simply for who you are in Him - genuine :O)

Hey! Don't forget to comment and enter to Win on her blog! ReLovedDesigns
(you can leave me a comment, too :D)

Unique ~ the designer's hands

Faux Lapis Lazuli Trapezium Pendant by Laura Torster, LauraBijoux

Unique...made unique by the designer, Laura Torster of Laura Bijoux

This beautiful, unique piece is created by cutting and chopping shades of blue and transparent polymer clay, with small flecks of gold leaf.

Then, hand shaped, and on top of that, lots and lots of sanding and sanding to achieve the smoothness and shape, then polishing, and then varnishing...then carefully measured and pierced, so that the gentle silver bail fits exactly right.....

hands...in different hands, the same clay and materials, would not produce this. No amount of extra work, or care or time...could make this. Laura's hands did and do. Gifted hands.
just....right.

Whose hands are you in?

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me:
And I give to them eternal life: and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand
My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand.
I and my Father are one.
john chapter 10, verses 27-30

Key of the Castle

one of a kind badges by SoleDeVita; fashioned of a ticket to the Bauska Castle, Latvia


I wondered...who has the key? Is it me? Do I have the key?88
88
My soul...do I have the key? Everyone has a soul. If you do not think so, guess again.
All people do. and who do they belong to?88
888
"Behold, all souls are mine." ezekiel 18:4**
*
Ok. but read on*
*
"...the soul that sinneth, it shall die" ezekiel 18:4*
*
but - the key - who has the key to life to death?*

These are the words of Lord Jesus,
"I am he that lives, and was dead; and , behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen: and have the keys of hell and death." Revelation 1:18
He was dead, but now is alive evermore. Only Him. He has the keys to hell and death.

but, what about life?

"...I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.." Matthew 16:19

Lord Jesus, God. and He also tells us,

"I am the Way and the Truth and the Life". John 14:6
And, "No one comes to the Father, but by me". John 14:6

So, He has the keys, He has the Life, He has your soul....and yet, it is our choice.

To choose Him and what He offers - Life, here and now, the keys to the kingdom heaven, here and now...

or hell and death.

Your choice.

Choose wisely....rejecting Jesus, is choosing death and hell for eternity - dead spiritually now, and dead unto sins your soul suffering eternally for the choice you make...you know who has the keys.

And yes, a simple prayer cry out to God. You are saved by the free gift of grace from God, through faith in His Son, and what He has done for you on the cross - paying for all sins, dying, resurrected from the dead so that you could LIVE and ascending into heaven. He alone overcame sin, overcame death, overcame the world. If you confess with your mouth and believe with your heart: Pray out loud to Him:

Father, I am a sinner. I have sinned in my life. And, I have sinned against you God Almighty. I do not want to die in my sins eternally under your wrath...and I do not want to be dead now, in my sins. I try to be good, but I cannot be good enough. Lord Jesus you came and lived the perfect sinless life that I could not live - that no one can live. And you did it for me. And you suffered and bled on the cross for me. That was my punishment you took - you suffered for all the sins of the world...past, present, future...for all my sins personally. I receive you as my Lord and Saviour, please come and live in me, live your life in me in exchange for my sinful life I have been living. I turn from my sin, and turn to you. Please lead me and guide me by your Holy Spirit. And make me a new creation , the me you created me to be, in You. Amen

And, grab a Bible. God longs to speak to you through His Word. Need a Bible? I will send you one. Just ask, ok?

Marshmallows, the needle felted kind

Listing in my shop - needle felted animals and flowers...which remind me of marshmallows... they do not have the color, nor the scent...nor even the taste of marshmallows...but they are kind of chubby, fluffy and cute like marshmallows ~
well, at least to me :O)

prove all things; hold fast that which is good...And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it. 1 thesselonians chpt. 5, verses 21, 23-24

Barley the Barn Owl and the real deal

I have been attempting to needle felt. I have a selection of note cards, one of which bears the precious face of Barley.
So, I started to felt a little owl sitting atop a rock, with Barley as my model.
The photo of Barley is by the extremely gifted Catherine Patek of CatCanPaint. Cat not only photographs, but paints, and her artwork is available at her shop, printed on high quality cards - just lovely and joyous.
Her art, the paintings, the photos, as I hold them in my hand, it is a glimpse of the real deal...the real deal....♥

Wise Old Owl

"In Western cultures owls are typically seen as symbols of wisdom. Like other creatures in God’s creation, they perform the tasks that God designed them to do and bring glory to His name in the process (Psalm 148:7–13).

This magnificent bird with all his unique features is a clear testimony to the wisdom and care of the eternal Creator God, who designed the owl for success in a fallen world...." excerpt from article by Dan Breeding, read more here.

I did not know the real deal, until I went looking...and then He had been with me all along....but, had let me do my own thing, until it was time to accept His gift, His life in exchange for my life, my way.

He saved Barley - Barley has always been innocent, but suffered for sin. We are not innocent - and we can't escape it ~ we need someone to do it for us. He did.

Peacocks Dream, The Designer

When you see something designed, such as these beautiful, simple and lovely earrings, you see the distinctive mark of the designer. Here, it is the gifted and talented artist Renata Gebauerova


This is her design; it is available on fabric
the "mark" ~ the " fingerprint", the design, is unmistakeably hers -


The design on this tee shirt, also her design, which is on fabric as well, is unmistakeably
Rencha .....:) cheerful, joyous, chic and lovely - her designs are one of a kind......


They reflect her -
renule etsy
rencha redbubble
renule fabric designs
rencha zazzle
Her designs are quite intricate, and beautiful - they do not happen in a blink and yet - she creates them ~

The peacock's feathers detailed and intricate more than one can imagine just by looking.......
Excellent article on the design and engineering of peacock feathers
by Stuart Burgess, Professor of Design and Nature, Head of Department, Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol (UK) here
(figure 2; Stuart Burgess)

Your way

"Your Way" print from digital illustration by Mimma/Mimmaart.etsy.com;



less...well, "me" oriented...just the day by day, in every single thing -
Knowing....everything I do is wrong, but....everything He does is right... right way... it is a choice...
Your way, or not....we are the same in God's eyes - we both have a DNA problem: sin.
- our will is under sin's control...and Lord Jesus, Son of God broke that control forever...he paid ...it is a gift to accept - to take
Your Way ♥ the way...free to you, to me, because He paid with Himself - His Son - because He says you are worth it
The value is what someone pays for it - God paid for you with His perfect blood, perfect life. It is finished♥
except...do you accept the gift of God? Your Way, God, not mine...His life in me, and you?

one baby step in Him

These beautiful, entirely handmade button/badges by SoleDeVita.etsy.com, in Latvia -
The flowers she uses are real :D


Update on I♥ Latvia June 10, 2010


So, I had no money to give other than my meager donation - I did, however, have an etsy shop filled with items I made....that's it! The light (of Him) went off and now I have boxed and shipped every single item in my shop to Northern California, to aid in fund raising for the mission trip to Latvia.
"But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth" 2 corinthians 10:17-18

and that is, my glorious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ - to Him be the glory and the honor and the praise forever and ever amen.

So - my shop is empty!~ soon to be filled, the Lord willing :D Thank you God, for saving me, from me and from my sin -- I couldn't do it, so you did it for me.

Encouraging contributions still :D see previous blog for the clickable links
and special thanks to you who have given, and to all you for your continued prayer for the Powers and the Petriks, and for Latvia♥

Someone took the time to

Click on the following Calvary Latvia link, scroll down the page and you will see on the left hand side "March Prayer Requests" and directly on the left (under three crosses a little bit further down) a small button saying Make a Donation - click that button after you click here:

Calvary Latvia


The adorable hand made, needle felted bear in the photo above?.
Made by Latvian designer and artist Rudu..

I ♥ Latvia

Update: As of June 6. 2010, I am offering any item-of your choosing- from my store to individuals who donate $50 to this mission, and, any three items - of your choosing- from my store for donations of $100.

I love Latvia - I have never been to the European continent. But I love Latvia.
I have met two of the kindest, most hard working, gifted women on etsy....they are both from Latvia.

I'd like to buy out their shops, if I could, yet....
To give Him, to lead someone to Him - and teach through His Word
is the best gift you could ever give anyone,
anytime, anywhere....



There is someone who is in Latvia, teaching and leading.
Calvary Chapel Latvia.


I learned that there is a young family in Santa Cruz, California who are going to Latvia, to assist Brenten with his mission. The Petriks.



I thought," how can I help?"
I pray, and donate, and ask...

I ask, please make a donation to help send the Petriks to Latvia
I step out, in faith , and ask for donations.

you can donate online through CCSC's online-giving.

(under "budget" choose "special missions" and under "notes" write "Petriks-Latvia")

ANY AMOUNT HELPS ! and PRAYER is always greatly encouraged and welcomed :D


Perhaps this will be an extra nudge to get people moving and helping....because, well,
I ♥ Latvia


Thank you :D
my friends in Latvia are:
filigreecreations
filigreephotos
rudulatvia

Sunlight and Cheer

Sun and light, yellow and amber, a cheerful necklace that brightens....
I enjoy using vintage materials that I have - unused stock, usually made in Japan - and combining that with components that I purchase from different artisans on etsy.

This necklace is such an example...the necklace chain is vintage Japan made textured steel links,
embellished with beautiful borosilicate glass beads, crocheted delicate blossoms, and handmade stainless steel closed loops.

The beads are the artistry of http://www.Gillianbeads.etsy.com
the blossoms are the artistry of http://www.TheHighPlainsKnitter.etsy.com
the closed rings are the artistry of http://www.mailliceinwireland.etsy.com

This necklace reminds me that the sun always shines...even when I can't see it, ...it is there. And that the Light of Lord Jesus shines always, through it all...even, and especially, when it doesn't feel like He is there...He is.

Pearl and Poodle Light Blue Collage Loli Necklace

Congratulations to Deb Davey of dspdavey.etsy.com and TwoCheekyMonkeys.blogspot.com for winning the collage necklace featured last post during the giveaway!! And thank you to everyone who entered! Work has been terribly busy...homework, housework, schooling work, yard work, that is... I did find some time to make this newest collage necklace, which I really, really like - it features vintage and new:D

The Basket charm is vintage, silver plated and I have several of them - they are all blank (no stones), so that I hand fill them using a "wax drop stick" to hold the small crystals or pearls, and gently place them in the flower centers. This basket has vintage Japan made glass pearls; another basket necklace in my etsy shop has vintage Swarovski chatons in it.

As always, much Joy to you all!

Rose Collage Necklace GIVEAWAY!!!

This NECKLACE is my GIVEAWAY!! From today through Tuesday May 4, please enter to win in this necklace, made by me, at www.christiecottage.blogspot.com !!
To ENTER, simply choose an item from my shop

www.kippyssomature.etsy.com - your favorite, one you like or just an item :D ~
THEN, go to www.christiecottage.blogspot.com, and POST a comment under the WIN-IT-WEDNESDAY post: comment + your chosen item and you will be entered to win~~~!
Entries must be posted by Tuesday, May 4, 2010, midnight EDT...winner will be chosen via random generator, and announced May 5, Wednesday!!!

Cheer up!

Cheerful , and jOY! that is what inspires me to make what I make in my shop!
I lived most of my life without Joy in my heart - and I looked everywhere for it.
I found it in God, and the way to GOd is through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Each item, just about, in my shop features a component purchased from another artisan/seller on etsy, which I have used in my own item.
I like to do that - I like to help others by purchasing from them, using their "supply" and making something Cheerful and Joyous!
Or, just purchasing from them to support their shop! The more I give, I always receives three-fold back!

My items are not run of the mill..each and every item is the only one I make of it's kind, and I know there is not a huge market out there for my items, but that is OK. :D

This item features a "Rudu Bear". www.Rudulatvia.etsy.com is an artist, fashion designer, student ,mom, wife and seller! Yes - Latvian women CAN do everything! I saw her bears and I asked her to custom make me some so I could use them in necklaces in my shop -I really, really like these bears! They are needle felted, 100% wool, with little bead eyes... they are just the right size to hold in your hand, or a child's hand...and the texture is welcoming and, well, cheerful!

I also think it is so neat that I can have a friend (actually I have 2!) who live in Latvia, while I am here in California! Thanks be to God! The internet and etsy.com have put me in touch with kind folks that have enriched my life greatly. (my other friend in Latvia is www.FiligreePhotos.etsy.com / www.FiligreeCreations.etsy.com )OH! I would also like to add that the beautiful fibres with which I made this necklaces are from one of my friends in the UK, www.cardsandcraft.etsy.com ! Isn't God amazing?

SO, there you have it! A one of a kind, international, cute necklace!

Thank you for stopping by!~Send me a convo if you have a question or if I can make you anything and I will do my best!

Joyful March !

I am still verrrrry new at this!! Working on a blog is not just new for me, it is well - intimidating! But, not to be daunted, I press on! I spend time learning the ropes, so to speak, of basic internet networking through my shop on etsy - please visit me there, and thank you for staying tuned to this blog -it seems like it is never updated...but, not true!! it is a work in progress ~
Thank you to my followers!! what special, faithful ones you are! I appreciate it ~

Roses Pink and Blue, Darling Collage Necklace

This is one of the items from my shop on etsy ! I started making jewelry like this because it had the style and innocent elegance that I could readily find in upscale shops in Japan, but could not find any in the US...so I decided to make some for sale - using quality materials and techniques, but keeping them affordable ! They look upscale...but they are handcrafted by me for any Gal of any Age who like timeless elegance, gentle innocence...and the heart of a child!