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Precious friend, I am reminding myself that no matter the season I find myself in, I can find rest, comfort and even happiness in the precious promises from Psalm 23. A sweet sigh of relief washes over me when I read the words, “Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow me ALL the days of my life”.  

HE is The Good Shepherd. 

I am His beloved sheep and HE is my beloved Shepherd. I pray you can find comfort, rest and reassurance from this Psalm. And that you can find JOY in knowing that His sheep, no matter the season, have the secret of happy life, death and eternity.

I have been blessed to share beauty with truth-filled words of encouragement through my artwork for more than twenty years. But in all honesty, this monthly Encouragement Kit — Lemonade Reminders — was born out of a stress-filled big batch of lemons! 

The Kit became the beautiful result of a big stack of misprinted calendar art pages + a LOT of prayer + a calling to encourage women with scripture reminders + an open heart to try something new!

When I asked Pam about this design, she recalled painting the bird first, then searching for a hymn to go with it. The black and white bird resembles a black-capped chickadee, which is in fact a songbird. 

She then researched the backstory of this particular hymn and after reading about it, just soaked in the fact that suffering and sorrow is not new! People have been walking through it since the Garden. There have been countless people who God has worked through in the midst of great sorrow as they used words and songs to process their pain and write of His faithfulness in the midst of their storm... and there are countless more people who have come after them and are continuing to receive the blessing of their honesty and obedience. God continues to use their stories for our good and His glory! This gives tremendous HOPE!

Just like the bird keeps singing with hopes of his future days, and just like Bridgers wrote in his hymn, we can keep singing knowing Jesus is always with us! In all of life's ebb and flows!

We are including several products with our Fullness of Joy Path design since that is our theme design and verse, which will help you decorate for Fall.

But as we prepare to usher in Christmas, we wanted to include extra presents for our subscribers! One of the products is a flour sack towel with one our newest Christmas designs, the Wise Men. We are most excited about the reversible ornament with the Adonai Manger and Names of Jesus on it. 

The best thing about using products like these to decorate is that they are also USEFUL! I've basically created my own little space to enjoy. And this part is my favorite. Now I can pull out a journal, notecards, and our mini shareables. And enjoy some quiet time to do something that is a stress-reliever for me, writing.

Being surrounded in a space with scripture and God's Word makes any daunting task enjoyable. Because I know God is always looking out for me, always there for me, no matter what I am doing. Whether it's on my knees asking for help or asking for help trying to write out a grocery list. 

David had repeated encounters of having his enemies on all sides. He had been surrounded by danger. He knew tragedy. And David knew the depths of great sorrow over his own sin and the grief over the weight of the consequences birthed from those sins. And yet, he could write this psalm with great confidence!  

“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.

Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, endure forever -

forsake not the works of Your own hands”  Psalm 138:8

Proverbs 3:5 & 6 gives us these reminders that almost seem like steps in a recipe. Reminding us:

1. WHO to put our trust in 
2. The need for a FULL commitment of spirit, soul and body
3. To Trust God not only in salvation, but ALL areas of life
4. A healthy distrust of self is acknowledging that we don’t know what’s best
5. Turning over every area of our life to His control… laying down our Self-will to embrace His will

Psalm 139: 23 & 24 can be used as a prayer as well, asking the Holy Spirit to sort through our motives and intentions. We aren’t always the best judge of our own heart, but He is! “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.”

All of these verses bring reassurance to my heart and mind, especially when I am praying for direction. I’ve often asked Him to make my heart, my mind and my desires line up with His. Basically, to make me want what He wants for me! And to give me a distaste for anything that is not of Him.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2:3-4

For most Christians, I believe it's natural for us to want to share; share love, share kindness, share time and especially share what God has done for us. We naturally feel the calling on our hearts to share, which is what God wants us to do! He wants us to share His Word, His Truth, and His Love. You never know what opportunities He will have for us, so we encourage you to take every opportunity you can!