Think On These Things ~ I John 2

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 

but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 

whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 

At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 

Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 

Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

I am writing to you, little children,

because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, children,

because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

because you are strong,

and the word of God abides in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

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Think On These Things ~ Psalm 33

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
    Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
For the word of the Lord is upright,
    and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
    he puts the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.
The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
    the plans of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
The Lord looks down from heaven;
    he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
    on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
    and observes all their deeds.
The king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
    and by its great might it cannot rescue.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death
    and keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
 For our heart is glad in him,
    because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.
~Psalm 33:1-22

Think On These Things ~ Psalm 37: 10-20

In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
    though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land
    and delight themselves in abundant peace.

The wicked plots against the righteous
    and gnashes his teeth at him,
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he sees that his day is coming.

The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
    to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose way is upright;
their sword shall enter their own heart,
    and their bows shall be broken.

Better is the little that the righteous has
    than the abundance of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
    but the Lord upholds the righteous.

The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
    and their heritage will remain forever;
they are not put to shame in evil times;
    in the days of famine they have abundance.

But the wicked will perish;
    the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
    they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

Think On These Things ~ 1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 

If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,

but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 

or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 

but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.  

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Think On These Things ~ Philippians 2:1-11

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 

complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 

but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 

so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Think On These Things ~ Colossians 1:9-17

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 

so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 

being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

Friday Favorites ~ The Etsy Shop

Today’s Friday favorites comes to you via a wee bit of unapologetic self promotion.

For the longest time I would have people look at my photography and encourage me to make cards and other things with it. Then with the advent of etsy people would suggest starting my own shop so in September or October of last year I did just that.

And of course we promptly moved to a completely different state in November and I put the shop on hold because that is just the way we do things around here. But as I started the new year part of my prayer was asking God if that was an avenue I needed to keep investing my time in because honestly that is the biggest part of it. Posting the items is a minimal cost, it’s the time and work put into creating images and making something out of them that is the bigger commitment.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the process and obviously I would still be creating the images at least whether I have an etsy shop or not. I cannot seem to help taking pictures and my post a few days ago gives some insight into what motivates me that way.

And to be perfectly honest, I do love seeing people buying and using my cards and images to encourage their family and friends. It’s a bit of a thrill.

All of that is to say why today’s post is a glimpse into a few of my favorite things in my shop and I hope it will entice some of you to pop over and check out what all is available. Sure, go ahead and make a purchase too (obviously 😉 ) but also, I would love to hear ideas and suggestions of things you would like to see in the shop…maybe a particular Scripture reference in a card or thingamabob. But don’t worry, just because you suggest something doesn’t mean you are obligated to purchase it.

I hate buying commercial greeting cards because typically I might like the picture on the front but hate the words or just cannot find one that says what I want to say. Making blank cards to personalize for the person I wanted to send the card to became my answer to that problem. I offer an assortment of cards that may just have a picture on front and others include a Bible verse but the inside is always blank so you can say exactly what you want. There are a variety of sizes and styles and, I believe, something that will suit you.

A few of my favorite sets are the wisdom trio and this duet I call floral reading.

And the sunflower tea is a popular set.

In the last year I have fallen in love with the landscape of Louisiana and two of my favorite tiles in the shop are watercolor versions of pictures I took of a bayou in Monroe. I’m really looking forward to exploring our area with my camera and I am sure you will be seeing more offerings that capture the beauty of our new home state. For now Solomon’s Porch and Down By the Bayou are available and make lovely accent decor.

And I only have two sets left of the new premium flatlay Valentine’s Day cards and there is still time to ship your order before February 14th!

Go ahead and nose around and see what you like. All of the images can be made into prints of various sizes so if you see something you would like hanging on your wall let me know. As always shipping is free and I work to get your orders shipped or hand delivered as quickly as possible.

And for those of you who have bought something from me already, thank you. Your patronage is appreciated! Leave a review and spread the word 🙂

Happy Friday, y’all! Have a great weekend!

Think On These Things ~ Psalm 77

I cry aloud to God,
    aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
    my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
    when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
    the years long ago.
I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
    let me meditate in my heart.”
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
“Will the Lord spurn forever,
    and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

 I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
    What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
    you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

When the waters saw you, O God,
    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
    the skies gave forth thunder;
    your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    your lightnings lighted up the world;
    the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Think On These Things ~ Psalm 19:7-1

The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the LORD is sure,

making wise the simple;

the precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the LORD is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the LORD is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the LORD are true,

and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

Psalm 19:7-10

Think On These Things ~ Ephesians 4:29-32

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is 
good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to thosewho hear. 

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed 
for the day of redemption. 

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put 
away from you, along with all malice. 

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God 
in Christ forgave you.

~ Ephesians 4:29-32