You are more loved than you know

Just a quick post, as I am reflecting on my love relationship with Jesus. Tonight I would like to make one point for you all. This relationship with Jesus is THE most important relationship in all of my life, all of every single persons life. It isn't something to joke about, take for granted, or ignore because....well.... you just don't feel  like it right now.  It is life or death.  Jesus gave His absolute ALL to be in a love relationship with you. He simply wants to do life with you. 

Oh, I understand if you feel the weight of your past choices seem too unbearable to face but try TRUST.  Just give it a try. Open up your heart and ask Jesus to reveal himself to you. Trust him with your heart. Trust Him to reveal His heart FOR YOU! Anything you believe keeps you separated from Him is a lie. There is nothing that keeps you from Him except for doubt.  You can face him. There is NOTHING you have ever done that can keep Him from being head over heels in LOVE with you!  It is an amazing, all consuming love.

He gets it... we mess up. We will always and forever mess up. It is our messing up that is the foundation of our relationship with him in the first place. Our mistakes are what leave us deeply needing to invite Him into our lives.  It is the very thing that leaves us AMAZED at His deep love for us. Be vulnerable and let Him meet you right where you are! He is just waiting to show you the depth of His incredible love for you! Don't wait a second longer.

I loved the quote above and the excerpt below from an article written above by Timothy Keller. See if it speaks to you as well. 

" The gospel is the good news of gracious acceptance. Jesus lived the life we should live. He also paid the penalty we owe for the rebellious life we do live. He did this in our place (Isaiah 53:4-10; 2 Cor 5:21; Mark 10:45). We are not reconciled to God through our efforts and record, as in all other religions, but through his efforts and record. Christians who trust in Christ for their acceptance with God, rather than in their own moral character, commitment, or performance, are simul iustus et peccator- simultaneously sinful yet accepted. We are more flawed and sinful than we ever dared believe, yet we are more loved and accepted than we ever dared hope at the same time."

-Simply Sublime

Family Summer Challenge: DIY Bible Verse Pennant Flag Project

Can you hear the birds chirping? 

Can you smell the the flowers blooming?

Summer is upon us. 

It's the time of year we all look forward to when we can finally get our ahhhhhh on. 

Our schedules relax a bit.

The kids have their eyes fixed on one thing and that is to:

PLAY! 

As much as I am looking forward to this respite, I am also sensing an urgency to press in and grab a hold of God with every ounce of my being. A call to keep our family focused and centered on things with eternal value. This is what spurred on the concept of this project. 

It began with the idea of each family member picking a verse for our whole family to memorize together. My thought was we would memorize one verse a week. Then God gave me this great picture of the scriptures on a pennant flag garland. So as we each picked our verses I designed a pennant shape on my design software and placed the text along with the keyword each verse represented. 

Next I printed them out and cut them in actual size so I could trace them onto a white tea towel. You could use any fabric but I like the texture and rough edges of a washed tea towel. It gives it a lil' vintagey feel. 

I placed the computer printed paper under the tea towel and am tracing the text underneath onto the tea towel with a sharpie pen. Since this will not need to be washed I didn't need a fabric pen - just a regular sharpie pen.

As fabric moves and shifts there are bound to be imperfections but I like the character this adds. You will notice in the above photo the fabric is longer on top than the paper pattern - I was going to have it go over the top of the banner and around the back - but changed my mind (yeah - go figure) I later trimmed it to the same size as the paper. 

Voila - the scripture pennants are ready - now for the colorful backing addition.

Check out the scraps we have on hand, just waiting for a fun project like this.

Now for the difficult part, picking which fabrics you want to use with which verses, making sure they coordinate nicely on the garland. I used pinking shears (because I like the look) and trimmed the fabric about a 1/2" larger then the tea towel panels - except for the top where I had about 1.5 inch larger so I could fold it behind and create a pocket to run the twine through.

Sewing the white panel to the colored backing. 

Now it is time to sew across the top back of the flag so there is a secure place to run the twine through. 

Here they are all sewn ready to be strung.

 I decided to use natural twine. I played with the idea of ribbon, white rope...but decided these would pair nicely with the craft look of the finished product.

I used a safety pin in the twine so that I could easily move the twine through the back pockets of the pennant flags. 

and here they are all strung and ready to hang. 

We hung them in a doorway of our house where we will frequently be reminded to memorize away. The wee ones are SO excited they each have their verse they picked out on display for us to work on. They can't wait to begin.

The kids decided we will be starting with the flag on the right and work our way to the left. Don't even ask me, I have no idea and can't begin to tell you how much this goes against my personal wiring - but I LOVE that they are excited and have a plan for our family to work through this together. 

Hoping this little family project of ours inspires you to channel your inner creativity and make a fun family plan to keep God the focus as you rejuvenate over the summer. 

-Simply Sublime!