You are His BELOVED - You have CAPTURED His HEART

How often do you listen to God? Are you afraid of what He is thinking about you -or- what He will say to you if you should choose to listen? Did you know He is constantly speaking to you? He thinks you are precious. You are the apple of His eye. His treasured child who he looks at with love and admiration. He simply can't ever get enough of you! 

Do you get that? If you have a false belief of who God is (Which most of us do or have had) it can be difficult to fully receive how it is He feels about us. After all, we mess up like...EVERY.SINGLE.DAY! 

He gets it though - He knows we are learning and he wants to walk beside us, encourage us, and love us through the chapters of our life story. He wants his name right beside ours on every single page. He isn't critical, negative or condemning - He is in fact just the opposite. He jumps for joy over us! We are his most treasured prize. 

How can He stand the mess-up's that we are you ask? Ponder on this...when He looks at us He sees us through the filter of Jesus, completely forgiven of sin. Isn't that amazingly good news? He already solved the problem of all that could make us look unattractive to Him. Now through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on our behalf, He can look at us and truly delight in us. 

You are His BELOVED. You have CAPTURED His HEART!!!

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. -Zeph. 3:17

-Simply Sublime

Beloved, Delight & Love - God's Speaking Straight to our Hearts

There are certain words that seem to resonate deep within my soul. Words that can come in the form of a whisper and still leave me breathless. Words that are hard for me to fully, or to be completely honest even partially, receive and yet I deeply long for them.  I believe I was actually created for them. 

Thinking back through my early faith building years I remember a very profound instance where God opened my eyes to my desperate need to not only hear these precious words of love he was speaking over me but to receive & believe them as well. 

It was about 10 years ago, we had a few dear friends that met in our home every week for small group. One of our Pastors was a member of our dynamo group. I am telling you, this guy has a way about him - he LOVES Jesus! When you are around him you want just a smidgen of his passion for God - he knows Him and he LOVES HIM - no doubt about it. 

One evening as we were going around the room sharing our stories our dear Pastor friend turned to me and he spoke words that would forever change my view of who God truly is.  He turned to me and spoke these simple words: 

"Kim, God LOVES you, He DELIGHTS in you... He thinks you are SMART!"

I literally could not take it. The impact these few words had on me were like an earthquake cracking the wall of a dam... the floodgates were opened and my bound up need for a desperate kind of deep abiding love was visible for all to see. Tears began to stream down my face and the reality of my false beliefs centered in insecurity were exposed. That evening, and far beyond, I would ponder on why those words spoken in that moment, by that person would be so powerful, so deeply meaningful to me. 

Somehow the voice of a friend speaking God's truth into my very personal, longtime hidden, thought/heart life opened up a hunger for more of God's word. It was like a balm to a long festering heartache that had been fiercely protected in secret. The love of the Father identified & located the unspoken pain buried deep within me, it broke through the protective barrier and ministered straight to my long awaiting broken spirit by words from the truth of His word. Simply  B E A U T I F U L ! What a love story. 

He literally came after me and pursued me in complete, trusting love - and He still does. His word never disappoints. He LOVES us and is just waiting to show us that He is the rescuer of our souls. He is where we find the desires of our heart. His word brings us LIFE! It is POWERFUL! It will even meet us in the areas where we aren't aware there is a hurt yet. He is our comforter and our strength. He LOVES to come to our rescue - His words show this over, and over, and over again. That is why I LOVE IT! 

One of my very favorite things to do is pick a theme and make out scripture cards. Give me some index cards, a fine point sharpie & a Bible and I am on my way to some quality Jesus time. Digging through the words to find the treasure waiting for me...ahhh.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy this process - searching up my favorite version of the verse and writing it out - maybe even adding in a little doodle factor.  For me this is an adventure - it keeps me in a place where I am excited to see what God has been waiting to show me. 

This weeks set of cards was made up of :

Psalm 51:6 esv

Psalm 139:17 msg

Psalm 52:16 net, esv, the voice & Young's Lit

Psalm 52:8-9 amp

Matt. 6:30 msg

Rev. 3:19 msg

Psalm 27:5 msg

1 John 4:18 msg

1 John 4:16 esv, cev

Psalm 54:4 net, esv, living Bible, Names of God Bible

Matt 28:18-20 niv

Read through them and see if you can figure out what my theme was. 

Now get creative and start having fun digging in God's words. If you are like me and love to doodle this is a great activity - fun for the kiddos too. 

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. (Psalm 51:6, ESV)

-Simply Sublime

Retreat Treats 101: Framed Love Quote Designs DIY Project

Oh, how I LOVE me a good retreat!!! I love taking time away from the hustle & bustle to refresh, renew and re-focus. One of my favorite things in the WORLD is to help create these fantabulous and much needed getaways. Give me a day or a weekend and I start dreaming of themes, conversations to be had, decor to doll it up, goodie bags to bless. 

Budget can be one of the biggest road blocks in the move from dreaming it up to pulling it off. The smallest of trinkets or party decor can end up blowing a hole in your budget in no time flat. At this point disappointment and discouragement can begin to settle in dashing all of your previous hopes for an amazing event. Don't you fret.... I have a couple of great ideas to share with you. 

Let's get this ball rollin' with Framed Quote Art. 

The Quote Art I am sharing in this post came from a recent retreat we had focused on what it looks like to... 

I have an entire post coming soon that will be wrapped around the theme of this retreat. For now let's focus on one of my FAVORITE elements to add in: fun Quote Art focused around the retreat theme. The reason I really love this idea is it packs a punch that reaches beyond the event. The framed art is multi-purpose which really gives you a bang for your buck...literally. 

• 1. They beautify in any location, no matter the style of the venue.
• 2. They encourage more thought or conversation on the topic being taught
• 3.They are great give-aways for participants to take home
• Once brought home they are great reminders of the message & the special times shared.

You can find quite a few chalkboard background freebies out in web-land, along with free fonts and design elements (swirls, doodles, etc). You may even find some royalty-free graphics with quotes or verses that are already to go. To really keep the cost down I decided to keep the designs I was creating at either a  5x7 in overall size or 4x6 because I knew printing and frames would be cheaper.

Once I had a good variety of designs I was ready for the next step which is converting them into a .jpg image that can be easily uploaded and printed at a photo developing establishment.

I have a favorite 24 hour neighborhood drugstore with a photo developing section that typically will whip out whatever I send them within an hour or two. I uploaded my .jpg designs on their website as I would any digital photos I would have printed, selected the sizes I wanted them, along with how many copies and VOILA! Super-peasey-easy.

Next step would be to find cheap-o frames that were cute, wouldn't take away from the graphics and had a glass front, not plastic. Check dollar stores or inexpensive box stores - the other option would be to think ahead and go hit some garage sales.

For these designs I was on the hunt for the simplest of frames. I am a believer if you have a lot going on in the graphic design / art then the frame should be next to nothing as far as design. In that case the frame should put the spotlight on the artwork it beholds. If you have an artful, detailed frame let the art contained by it be simple and highlight the frame. It is like a good make-up artist will tell you - choose your focus - pop your eyes or your lips with intense color - not both or it is overdone. 

As you can see these designs are pretty busy or text heavy...yep, keeping the frame simple is a must.

Our retreat was located in a log cabin up on a mountain by a river. Yes, it is okay to be jealous... it was GORGEOUS! The beautiful sunshine greeted us with a warm welcome and lit up the - oh, okay it is hard to call this place a cabin, it was more like a lodge or house.  Our nature rich surroundings were a reminder to us that God loves us, that his creation is something beautiful for us to behold, find rest in and praise him for.

The framed art was placed in different locations throughout the home with flowers and candles to create cute little groupings that would attract the eye and warm the space. 

The total cost for each of these was between $1.20 to $2.49. Yowza! I also had extra 4x6 prints made up @.19 cents a piece that they could grab n' go with to frame for themselves or switch out if they were in love with one that was already taken - and extras were taken. 

It was such an inexpensive idea that added a substantial punch to the party! We ALL know a good retreat has a party atmosphere at some point in the weekend, am I right? 

I have more Retreat Treats 101 ideas coming over the next few days. Hope you enjoy!

-Simply Sublime

LOVE Wins.

GIRLFRIENDS! So..so important aren't they? A couple weeks ago my life was beginning to feel a bit dry, dull and disappointing. I needed to pull out of my rut and start a new groove. The great news was it was the beginnings of the Holiday Season and with that comes Craft Show Weekends. Well, wasn't this the perfect opportunity for fun with friends? 

So first thing Saturday morning what did we do? A group of us packed ourselves like sardines into a van together and hit the road. We were armed and ready to enjoy the local HOLIDAY Pizzazz.

It wasn't long before we were laughing our heads off. This group of girls always gets me giggling - okay no one close to me would call me a giggler really. I am more of the LAUGH OUT LOUD start to snort kind of girl. Once I start it is hard to get me to stop. I find laughter so stinkin' contagious. Oh this was just what I needed to lighten my heart and mind. 

As we approached the doors of the MEGA Craft show in our neck of the woods I began to feel a bit overwhelmed. It was SO crowded - there would barely be any opportunity for girl chat while we tried to maneuver through the herds of people. I really had not chosen to spend my day shopping as much as hangin' with the girls. This was proving to be a challenge on my state of mind.

About half way through I was D O N E. I could see what I thought should be the finish line ahead and I wanted out of this rat race. SOMEBODY get me FRESH AIR!!!!

Well as life would have it my friends were not anywhere near the finish line. They couldn't even see the finish line from where they stood. So onward we went. Even deeper into the mayhem. After about another hour of meandering there was only one room left in the VERY back of the building. Oh for certain they would want to skip this one. Everyone knows they would be sure to stick the pot pourri booths in the Back 40. I am almost sure my cranky face was on, my head was pounding. I was not IN THE MOOD any longer! Enough was enough and I was leaving. Or so I thought...NOPE!

Boy these girls were determined to take in EVERY SINGLE sight there was to be seen, every sniff there was to smell within the walls of the building. So into the final room we strolled. 

As we approached the very back of the room I would find the real TREASURE God had in store for me to discover. A lesson to be learned. A dear friend manning her booth. 

As we began to catch up there was some awkwardness in the air. You see we had a mutual friend we had both lost contact with. Neither of us knew the exact details of her disappearance from our lives. She had faced hardship and the enemy came in and stole her faith from her. Along with the enemy taking her love for God away, he also took away her desire to spend time with us. Perhaps because we represented all she had lost faith in. I know as we stood there chatting our hearts were reminded of the pain of losing someone you love dearly. As we continued to discuss the good and bad of life I looked up above her booth on the wall. HUGE LETTERS read "LOVE WINS".

It was the perfect picture. I wish I could have snapped a quick pic of her sitting beneath the lettering. What an AWESOME reminder that no matter what challenges we face, losses we experience, suffering we endure, battles we must fight... LOVE WINS! 

I will never forget this image in my mind. In this very moment God burned it on my heart and filled me with a passion for 

HIS LOVE. 

My entire journey of the day came down to this one single interaction where God would OPEN my eyes to what on earth I am doing here. And by that I mean WHAT on earth am I doing HERE...on this EARTH? I am here to LOVE. I am here to love despite how I feel. When circumstances leave me feeling less than effective - less than kind - less than loving. When I am feeling what is fighting against me is winning in the moment. I must remember... LOVE WINS!!!

What a BEAUTIFUL way to finally reach the FINISH LINE!

Isn't that just like God?

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.  -Romans 8:31-39 The Message

-Simply Sublime