Prayer

Finally after so much time I have found a way to log back into my blog where I've found unfinished post that I just like so much and would be a shame not to post it... I've started to write this in 2011 and finished it just now. Enjoy it!

"I know, it has been some time since I made something creative and show it off... it's not that I don't think about it really, I do, but at the moment I don't have necessary equipment so I have to put it on a hold, hopefully not for long :)

In meantime, I would like to share with you what has been on my mind lately...

Prayer! It is such a powerful weapon and a perfect tool. But above all, it is a communication with the living God. This statement 'living God' often passes through our minds just as a statement... just another description of God... one of the things we already know (or maybe not), yet somehow we often miss the real meaning of it.

"Living God" means that He is not dead, he is not distant, he is not inactive, he is not sleeping, he is not a fairy tale, he is not imaginary... yes, can you believe it? He is not imaginary, but REAL! Yes, God is real! He is more real then any real thing that you and I can see. He is more real than you and me. He is more real then me typing this right now. And yes, He was real before, He is real now and He will be real forever. If anything/anyone is alive, He is alive. He has absolutely no expiration date and guess what, the Bible says that He is the same yesterday today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So, when I say that prayer is a communication with the living God, that is a real thing... Even though we cannot see Him, we know that He is with us and that He hears us. We know that He is alive!

The other, very important thing is the position that we come to pray from. It is of great importance that we as Christians, since we have given our lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ, whose blood cleans us from all sin and makes us in right standing with God, know these truths; 

We are righteous! (Romans 3:22-26 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.) 

We are holy! (Colossians 1:21-23 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.) We can stand before our Heavenly Father with confidence, without any fear, shame or guilt because we are made holy through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

God loves us! (1 John 4:9-10 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.) 

God is for us, not against us! (Romans 8:29-39 If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.)

....

In all this I believe it is very important to realize that we cannot change ourselves or make ourselves perfect, but it is God who does it as we come before Him willing. He will not leave us to ourselves for he has said that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us! (Hebrews 13:5) 

Don't forget to stick with God no matter what you encounter in your life - stick to His Word and Prayer - for  we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). 

And, don't forget to forgive! (Mathew 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.) Forgiving doesn't mean that you agree with what others did to you, but it means that you are choosing to let go, to not hold it against them, and to remember it no more in a way that causes you to speak/think bitter thoughts/words against them. Remember that God can help you to do that, even if it takes longer to actually forgive completely (that you don't feel bitter in your heart). Seek God's help, for He will surely help you as He is a good Father. I know this from my own experience.

God bless you all!"

FIMO Inspiration

I decided to make some cute FIMO designs that I've found on one of Crafts Beautiful videos. You can see it here. And after making them I thought it would be good idea to make it into earrings :) I think they turned out cute :)

And then I decided to make myself cell phone charm that I was inspired also by video I found on the youtube. You can see it here. 

I think it looks very cute :)

T-Shirt Makeover

I am excited to present you my first T-shirt makeover project!!! I had an old T-shirt that I hardly ever wore anymore... it was too long and it would be pretty hot in it. So I decided to do something with it and create something that I would wear. Additional fabric I used was from my old thin jeans. 

I wanted to do shirt makeover long time ago but what encouraged me was one of the comments on my previous post from STAEDTLER. I was invited to join their facebook page and was encouraged by their warm welcome and interest in my work. 


If you ever wondered what STAEDTLER was, I can tell you that it is one of the world's leading manufacturers of writing, colouring and drawing instruments as well as modelling/polymer clays. 

I don't think that I ever had a one shoulder shirt in my life and I really wanted one. Its exciting that the first one I wear is the one that I made myself :)

It would be cool if this would inspire you to do your own T-shirt makeover :) It's fun :)

I think mine turned out to be pretty cool :) What do you think?

FIMO buttons

I've made FIMO buttons! :)

That was me being creative without any goal or purpose in advance. At the moment I have no idea what I am going to use these buttons for but I know I will use them :) Maybe you could give me some idea?

Gardening With My Boss

My wonderful boss Gill Rowell came all the way from England, and between some important meetings she decided to help making our garden look pretty. Together with my coworker Senada we spent almost 5 hours working on it yesterday. 

Since we are a youth organization (Novi Most International) we cannot say that gardening is really something that we usually do. Both my boss and I are the ones who mostly work in the office and Senada works directly with young people. But yesterday, we were gardeners. :) We've taken out most of the weed, cut the grass, planted some flowers around the trees and surrounded it with rocks. It looks wonderful and we are very pleased. We were especially pleased because we managed to finish all up before Klub opening and youth coming in. 

There is still some work left, more weeds to take out, more seeds of grass to put in the places where needed, obviously watering it... but what we did so far is great and it was great that three of us could work on it together. 

My boss is the best boss, she is humble, loves people and enjoys investing in them with love and patience. So it was really nice to spend time with her. Not many people can say that about their bosses, I think. I am blessed :)

This is me after finishing the work. All dirty and tired, but happy!

There are few things I learned yesterday about gardening: It requires a lot of patience, weeds need to be kept under control otherwise they could take over the whole garden and make it ugly and smelly and not really nice to see or come near. 

Our soul is a garden that, together with God we work in. It is a process, but we must never stop working with our Boss (God is our ultimate boss, besides being our father, best friend...)

That reminds me on the conversation between Sarayu and Mack in the Shack:

"Mackenzie, you are such a delight! Thank you for all your had work!"

"I didn't do that much, really", he apologized. "I mean, look at this mess." His gaze moved over the garden that surrounded them. "But it really is beautiful, and full of you, Sarayu. Even though it seams like lots of work still needs to be done, I feel strangely at home and comfortable here."

....

Sarayu stepped toward him untill she had invaded his personal space. "And well you should, Mackenzie, because this garden is your soul. This mess is you! Together, you and I, we have been working with a purpose in your heart. And it is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process. To you it seams like a mess, but to me, I see a perfect pattern emerging and growing and alive - a living fractal."

Over the Rainbow

I love that song! I call it "my song". I sing it often and love to hear it often. So much that my friends at work are sick of it. Once I had all different versions of this song and was playing it OVER AND OVER again, which of course drove all crazy. 

So, even though she is probably sick of this song (by me singing it often) my friend from work and team leader Rowan decided to buy me this awesome single now when she was in UK. Thank you Rowan! :)

Rowan makes some really cute and unique Amigurumi dolls which she sells in her Etsy shop called outoftheframe. She is very talented. She makes a story about each doll she makes so you are not buying just a doll, but a doll with a character. Its awesome!

Now, let me tell you a little bit of what this song really means to me.

 

"Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby..."

To me, this song is a song of hope. It reminds me on the hope I have in Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven. "There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby." And there truly is a land that I heard of. It is the best land that anyone would wish to live in. It's a land where all your dreams come true. It is a land full of joy and peace. No worries, no problems of the world, no war, nothing that harms us. It is a land where my king Jesus lives and where we can fully experience all the good gifts he has for us. It is a promise land that God intended me to live in. Not just me, but all my brothers and sisters who believe and trust Jesus as their Savior and the Lord of their lives. All who intentionally turn from their ways towards God and believe the good news - that Jesus Christ, son of God, came and died on the cross and resurrected and with that sacrifice He redeemed us from the sin that we were born into. He came to give us life - life in abundance. After we receive it, we do no longer belong to this world, but to His Kingdom... and until it comes, we are being ready for it.

Jesus said in Mark 1:15: 

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

He also said in Luke 17:20-21: 

"Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

 "Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true..."

And yes, dreams that we dare to dream really do come true. It is a promise which God promised in Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." and in Mark 6:33 after saying how we shouldn't worry about what we will eat or wear "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

I could go on and on about what God's word says about His kingdom and wonderful things He has for us, but for the sake of not making this a HUGE post, I am letting you to find that out for yourself by reading and searching the treasure book - the Bible.

Hair Bow

Today was my cousin's 17th birthday and I thought to make her something. I figured out that cool hair bow would be a nice gift. So I made it. 

To make this bow I've used dark blue denim and pink sewing thread. I wrapped around the middle sewing thread (ideally would be if I had ribbon or something else in that color). 

As I was wrapping it in the middle of the bow I also wrapped it around hair clip. I've also made little 'stars' with the same thread.

After doing that I secured it to hair clip using glue gun and tried it on to see how it looks :) Its a bit blurry picture, I know, but I think it looks cool :)

I just hope that my cousin likes it as much as I did and that she will have opportunity to use it as I would :)