WOYWW: A Blessed Christmas!

What's on Your Workdesk this Wednesday?

Oh my, even my prayer desk has been taken over by gift wrapping supplies! I haven't been drawing or painting but I did some decorating!...

Have a blessed Christmas, dear blog friends!

WOYWW: Advent

It's that time of the week again! Time for What's on your Workdesk Wednesday. What a difference a week makes, huh?   This is what my desk looks like today. I've been busy wrapping Christmas gifts. There's my box of ribbon scraps and gift wrapper...

In the midst of all the preparations of buying and wrapping Christmas gifts, putting up the tree and other decorations, I have to remind myself to observe Advent, "a season observed in many Western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas... The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming."  After all, as they say, "Jesus is the reason for the season."  

Have a happy week ahead!

WOYWW: A Blessed Christmas!

This day before Christmas is also my birthday! 

And although there is an empty space on my desk, it is only because I have also taken over the floor for my wrapping activities!  This new Christmas book I bought has wonderful quotations...

May this blessed season bring you and your loved ones abundant blessings and like the wise men, may you "rejoice with exceeding great joy!" Matthew 2:10

Wishing all of you from What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, Word Art Wednesday and Inspire Me Monday a very Merry Christmas!

WOYWW: Finally Getting Started

After the calm of last week, my desk looks like a storm passed through because I finally got started with preparing Christmas presents.  But peeping thru all the mess, I found a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.  This is a study I made for decorations for a Christmas party (I decided on something else though)...

Indeed, great and wonderful are God's works...

...and whatever we go through in life, God is with us.  Whatever challenges we face, we can always have our blessed Christmas Hope ...

May you experience the blessings of Advent and Christmas in the midst of the busyness of the season!  God bless you!

Linking up with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, Word Art Wednesday and Inspire Me Monday.

Christmas Blessings!

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel which means "God is with us."  Matthew 1:23

May you experience "God with you"...

...may your life be filled with all things bright and beautiful...

and may the blessings of this Christmas season be yours throughout the coming New Year...

even in the midst of life's messiness and challenges!

Greeting to all my blog visitors and friends from WOYWW, Word Art Wednesday and Inspire Me Monday!

WOYWW: Finding Meaning in the Mess

What's on Your Work Desk Wednesday finds my desk in a state of disarray (so what else is new!) with some gifts waiting for their gift cards...

And in the midst of trying to get at least some of my Christmas list done, I remind myself that in this challenging time, when we are caring for my Mom, Christmas is not really about having my gifts ready on time for December 25 (the Christmas season lasts until Epiphany in January).  It really is all about Jesus who came to save us.

As the Advent reflection from Online Ministries states, "The powerful advantage of Advent is that it offers us light in the midst of darkness, hope in the midst of despair, liberty in the midst of captivity, and peace in the midst of war or conflict. The key to a grace-filled Advent is to begin by identifying where I am experiencing darkness, despair, captivity and war. Recognizing our own unique version of these struggles is the first grace of Advent. We can’t say “Come, Lord Jesus” with any real meaning unless we have a felt experience of what it is we need. Once we experience our need, then the desire can formulate in our heart to ask for what we need."

This Advent and Christmas season is specially meaningful for me because in the midst of my Mom's suffering, I can truly say we need a savior and I am so thankful for Him.  Come, Lord Jesus!

I'm also sharing my prayer journal illustration with Word Art Wednesday.  In spite of the busyness of the season, may we all have a meaningful Advent and Christmas!

WOYWW: Christmas, Finally

Everyone seems to have decorated their homes and finished their Christmas cards and I have only today decided to start wrapping some token gifts.  No creativity here since I did not make these ecobags, just my way of encouraging my friends to use less plastic when shopping.  But they do come in nice colors and patterns, don't you think?

And speaking of colors and patterns, here's a scarf I couldn't resist buying because of it's colors and pattern!

Last Sunday, we went to a wedding and they had a photo booth where you can have souvenir photos taken.  It's popular for weddings and other big parties here in the Philippines.  I wonder, is this popular in your country?

And lastly, a page from my prayer journal about God's great love for his children.  After all, I think that is what Christmas is really all about...

Sharing this in What's on your Workdesk Wednesday and Word Art Wednesday.  Be blessed!

WOYWW: Advent

The year has flown by so, so quickly and now, it is Advent once again, a season we celebrate as a time of waiting and preparation for Christmas.  Last Sunday was the First Sunday of Advent and we had a big "Catchfire" prayer rally.  I designed the theme for the event and on my desk for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday is a ticket and t-shirt that I designed for the event.  

Every Christmas, I plan to buy an Advent wreath but when Advent "suddenly" arrives and I haven't bought one yet, I turn to my makeshift one made out of a wooden/wire fruit bowl, a wreath and some candles. Turn the bowl over and voila...

my Advent wreath!

All year round my Advent project is displayed on our wall but every Advent, it has special meaning for me.  It is made up of twenty five ATCs which have Advent symbols to make an Advent Calendar.

For me, Christmas is all about God's love and this verse from Romans 8:38 is one of my favorites.

Sharing this in Word Art Wednesday and Inspire Me Monday.  Be blessed, dear blog friends!

Emmanuel, God With Us

Two years ago, I made this set of twenty five Artist Trading Cards for each day of December until Christmas.  It was a sort of Advent calendar based on the tradition of the Jesse tree.  Each ATC has a symbol (like Jesse tree symbols) for a bible character and story which can be read and reflected on for the day and the ATC put in it's place until the whole picture comes together on Christmas Day.

The Bible characters and stories and their symbols for each ATC, from top to bottom row, left to right,

Day 2. - God, Creation, Gen 1:1-2:3 - Tree 
Day 3. - Adam and Eve, The First Sin, Gen 2:4-3:24 - Tree with Fruit or Apple
Day 4. - Noah, The Flood, Gen 6:11-22, 7:17-8:12, 20-9:17 - Rainbow and dove
Day 5. - Abraham, The Promise, Gen 12:1-7, 15:1-6 - Field of Stars
Day 24. - Magi, Worship, Matt 2:1-12 - Star

Day 19. - Habakkuk, Waiting, Hab 1:1-2:1, 3:16-19 - Stone Watchtower
Day 7. - Jacob, Assurance of the Promise, Gen 27:41- 28:22 - Ladder
Day 22. - Mary, The Hope for a Future, Luke 1:26-38 - Mary
Day 20. - Nehemiah, Return and Rebuilding, Neh 1:1-2:8, 6:15-16, 13:10-22 - City Wall
Day 14. - Samuel, The Beginning of the Kingdom, 1 Sam 3:1-21, 7:1-8:22, 9:15-10:9 - Crown

Day 12. - Joshua, The Fall of Jericho, Josh 1:1-11, 6:1-20 - Ram's Horn Trumpet
Day 21. - John the Baptist, Repentance, Luke 1:57-80, 3:1-207:18-30 - Scallop Shell
Day 17. - Hezekiah, Faithfulness and Deliverance, 2 Kng 18:1-19:19, 32-37 - An Empty Tent
Day 25. - Jesus, Birth of the Messiah, Luke 2:1-20 - Jesus
Day 23. - Joseph, Trust, Matt 1:19-25 - Carpenter's Hammer

Day 6. - Isaac Offering of Isaac, Gen 22:1-19 - Ram
Day 9. - Moses God's Leadership, Exod 2:1-4:20 - Burning Bush
Day 8. - Joseph God's Providence, Gen 37, 39:1-50:21 - Coat
Day 18. - Jeremiah The Exile, Jer 1:4-10, 2:4-13, 7:1-15, 8:22-9:1-11 - Tears
Day 10. - Israelites Passover and Exodus, Exod 12:1-14:31 - Lamb

Day 1. - Introduction of the Jesse Tree, Isa 11:1-10 1 Sam 16:1-13 - Stump
Day 11. - God, Giving the Torah at Sinai, Exod 19:1-20:20 - Tablets of the Torah
Day 13. - Gideon, Unlikely Heroes, Judg 2:6-23, 6:1-6, 11-8:28 - Clay Water Pitcher
Day 16. - Elijah, The Threat of False Gods, 1 Kng 17:1-16, 18:17-46 - Stone Altar
Day 15. - David, A Shepherd for the People, 1 Sam 16:1-23-17:58, 2 Sam 5:1-5, 7:1-17 - Shepherd's Crook

We, too, have our own faith stories and are part of His story - Emmanuel, God with us.  Wishing all of you, my dear blog friends and visitors from PPF, Studio Sneak Peek, Faith Filled Friday and Inspire Me Monday, a very blessed Christmas season!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Awesome Christmas Blessings!

If you didn't get to visit me before Christmas day, I wish you a wonderful and blessed Christmas season.  After all, just like Theresa said, Christmas isn't just one day.  It's a whole season.  And if the days before Christmas were so busy and full, perhaps for the rest of the season we can remember that "Jesus is the reason for the season".

On my desk for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday is a whole jumble of Christmas goodies.  I will have to do some reorganizing to fit my new stuff in!  An artist's box...

...scrapbook paper, clear stamps, a travel watercolor set, distressing kit, Prismacolor pencils portrait set, gel medium...

and of course, you wouldn't have missed the awesome new laptop, still in it's box...wow, jackpot!!!

 

For a peek at more desks, go visit Julia.  And I leave you with a lovely reminder...

So remember while December
Brings the only Christmas Day,
In the year let there be Christmas
In the things you do and say;
Wouldn't life be worth the living
Wouldn't dreams be coming true
If we kept the Christmas spirit
All the whole year through?
-unknown

May the blessings of this wonderful season be yours throughout the coming new year!

Christmas Greetings and a Giveaway Reminder

I didn't have anything new to show you for today but I didn't want to miss the opportunity of greeting my dear blog friends from Paint Party Friday, Studio Sneak Peek, Show and Tell Saturday and Brag on God Friday,  a very joyful and blessed Christmas season!  You have been an encouragement to me this past year and I just want to thank you and wish you all a wonderful holiday season.  My painting is an ATC I made some time ago but since it is a Madonna and Child, I thought I would share with you.  After all, in the midst of all the busyness of the season, Christmas is really all about the birthday celebrant, Jesus Christ.  

Today I celebrated my birthday (December 24) in the Quezon City Jail.  It is my way of celebrating Jesus' birthday too.  Jesus said, "But when you give a feast, invite the poor..." (Luke 14:13)  and "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40).

Most of the inmates here are innocent but are waiting for their hearings.  They cannot afford bail.  Sometimes even their families don't visit them anymore and they are so happy to have us come to visit them.  Sometimes, when we are so comfortable, when we have everything we need, we easily forget people like these.  But what joy there is in bringing joy to the poor, the sick, the aged, the lonely, those in prison.  And how inspiring to see their faith in the midst of their trials.  May this Christmas season be a time of love, hope, generosity and joy for all of us.

And, a reminder that if you haven't yet, there's still time to join my giveaway for a chance to win my original art!  Just leave a comment on my giveaway post.

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: A blessed Christmas!

 

It's the last Wednesday before Christmas day  (can you believe how time flies!?) and so I'd like to greet all of you a blessed and joyful Christmas!  For What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, my desk is relatively clean but of course I didn't show you the floor!

On my desk today, some goodies I received in the mail!  I joined Kimberly's Merry Christmas ATC Swap over at ArtJoyStuff  and here is the absolutely beautiful fabric ATC she sent me.  Even the envelope it came in with the vintage Santa embellishment is gorgeous!

 

I also received two lovely pendants from Kimberlie when she had a giveaway in her B.B. Bellezza blog.  I won a gift certificate and got to choose from Kimberlie's Etsy shop.  I chose upcycled domino and scrabble tile pendants.

Here's a better view of my pendants.  Aren't they lovely?

 

Some beaded charms from a craft fair called 10a Alabama...

A bag charm made out of leather that I bought from our shop, Papemelroti...

A bottle of newly bought Transfer Medium and a Christmas Thank You card from World Vision, a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.   Sponsoring a child helps fulfill the verse written on the card, "...and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12:3.  World Vision also provides emergency aid, like for the recent big typhoon in southern Philippines.  If you want to donate, you can go here.

And, a painting I made some time go, inspired by early icons, a reminder during this oh so busy time, that Christmas is all about Jesus being born into the world because of God's great love for us (and on my computer screen is my post about my Advent Calendar made up of 25 ATCs.)

And, you still have time to leave a comment on my giveaway post  for a chance to win my original art!  

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Advent ATC Set

I thought I would share with you an Advent Calendar I made last year in case you haven't seen it.  After all, Christmas is all about Emmanuel, God with Us.  It is a mixed media piece made up of twenty five Artist Trading Cards, one for each day of December until Christmas. Each ATC has a symbol (like Jesse tree symbols) for a bible character and story which can be read and reflected on for the day and the ATC put in it's place until the whole picture comes together on Christmas Day.

From top to bottom row, left to right,

Day 2. - God, Creation, Gen 1:1-2:3 - Tree
Day 3. - Adam and Eve, The First Sin, Gen 2:4-3:24 - Tree with Fruit or Apple
Day 4. - Noah, The Flood, Gen 6:11-22, 7:17-8:12, 20-9:17 - Rainbow and dove
Day 5. - Abraham, The Promise, Gen 12:1-7, 15:1-6 - Field of Stars
Day 24. - Magi, Worship, Matt 2:1-12 - Star

Day 19. - Habakkuk, Waiting, Hab 1:1-2:1, 3:16-19 - Stone Watchtower
Day 7. - Jacob, Assurance of the Promise, Gen 27:41- 28:22 - Ladder
Day 22. - Mary, The Hope for a Future, Luke 1:26-38 - Mary
Day 20. - Nehemiah, Return and Rebuilding, Neh 1:1-2:8, 6:15-16, 13:10-22 - City Wall
Day 14. - Samuel, The Beginning of the Kingdom, 1 Sam 3:1-21, 7:1-8:22, 9:15-10:9 - Crown

Day 12. - Joshua, The Fall of Jericho, Josh 1:1-11, 6:1-20 - Ram's Horn Trumpet
Day 21. - John the Baptist, Repentance, Luke 1:57-80, 3:1-207:18-30 - Scallop Shell
Day 17. - Hezekiah, Faithfulness and Deliverance, 2 Kng 18:1-19:19, 32-37 - An Empty Tent
Day 25. - Jesus, Birth of the Messiah, Luke 2:1-20 - Jesus
Day 23. - Joseph, Trust, Matt 1:19-25 - Carpenter's Hammer

Day 6. - Isaac Offering of Isaac, Gen 22:1-19 - Ram
Day 9. - Moses God's Leadership, Exod 2:1-4:20 - Burning Bush
Day 8. - Joseph God's Providence, Gen 37, 39:1-50:21 - Coat
Day 18. - Jeremiah The Exile, Jer 1:4-10, 2:4-13, 7:1-15, 8:22-9:1-11 - Tears
Day 10. - Israelites Passover and Exodus, Exod 12:1-14:31 - Lamb

Day 1. - Introduction of the Jesse Tree, Isa 11:1-10 1 Sam 16:1-13 - Stump
Day 11. - God, Giving the Torah at Sinai, Exod 19:1-20:20 - Tablets of the Torah
Day 13. - Gideon, Unlikely Heroes, Judg 2:6-23, 6:1-6, 11-8:28 - Clay Water Pitcher
Day 16. - Elijah, The Threat of False Gods, 1 Kng 17:1-16, 18:17-46 - Stone Altar
Day 15. - David, A Shepherd for the People, 1 Sam 16:1-23-17:58, 2 Sam 5:1-5, 7:1-17 - Shepherd's Crook

I'm joining Paint Party Friday, Studio Sneak Peek , Show and Tell Saturday and Brag on God Friday!  Don't forget to join my giveaway for a chance to win my original art!

WIP: Madonna and Child

I have done a number of Madonna and Child pieces and when I started this one, I was thinking of putting it away for a while since it seemed to be somewhat uninspired.  But I received so much encouragement from my visitors these past few days (who seemed to see things in this piece that I hadn't seen) that I decided to continue working on it.

Starting out with watercolor and colored pencil, I added some stamping and bits and pieces from magazines, gift wrapper and an old devotional magazine, with a quote from a familiar Christmas carol...

"What child is this, who, laid to rest,

On Mary's lap is sleeping?

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,

While shepherds watch are keeping?"

I am liking it now!  Thank you so much, dear blog visitors for encouraging me.  I am blessed to have you!  Today, I am linking up with Jennifer's Studio Sneak Peek and Artists in Blogland's Show and Tell Saturday.

Christmas in Difficult Times

Christmastime is my favorite time of year; a time of celebration, of family and friends, of love.   It is a wonderful time to recall the blessings of the past year and to be grateful for them. But at times, when we undergo challenges and trials,  Christmastime can also be the saddest and loneliest time.  I know of many people having a difficult Christmas this year.  My friend's father and my sister's mother in law both died recently.  The parents of my sister's friend were both killed in a car accident.  A baby (due in January) of a young couple I know died because of placenta abruptio.  Heartbreaking.  In this season of joy, it is even harder to deal with grief and sadness.

Let me share with you about a difficult Christmas that I had and how I was able to celebrate it.  It happened a long time ago and all is well for me this Christmas, but it is still one of my most precious Christmas memories.  

As the Christmas season of 1993 approached, I started to feel depressed about the thought of Christmas.  My husband, Jing, died that year and I did not feel like celebrating at all. “What do I have to celebrate?” I would say to myself. “What blessings do I have to be grateful for?" 

One early morning, after another one of those seemingly endless sleepless nights, in my heart, I sensed the answer to my question - "What do I have to celebrate?"   I realized that indeed, I had every reason to celebrate, and I had much to be grateful for.  Christmas is much more than gifts, decorations and happy get-togethers.  Christmas is about how God loved us so much that He sent His beloved Son to be born as man!  To be God with us.  Because of this I had the Hope of eternal life for my husband.  The Lord and His promise of eternal life had been my greatest consolation and comfort.  I wondered, "Where would I be and how could I survive this greatest trial if Christ were not born?"  How grateful I was of this realization.

Then, the thought of a trip to Singapore sometime in November of 1989 came to my mind.  The Christmas decorations were already up and at the time, I marveled at the many lights, at how beautifully they had decorated the shops and streets.  And as I remembered the awe I felt while looking at all those decorations, in my heart, it seemed God was telling me that the most beautiful decorations and celebrations in the world are nothing compared to the beauty and splendor of Heaven.  I thought, how wonderful it must be to celebrate Christmas with the birthday celebrant (which was what my late husband, Jing was going to do)!  After this time of reflection, my heart, which was filled with dread and gloom, was suddenly filled with such joy.  This is the real meaning of Christmas, I thought.  And that first Christmas without Jing (which I dreaded) turned out to be perhaps the most meaningful I’ve ever had.

Reflecting on the joy I felt at that time, I realized God had given me the gift of true joy, a joy not based on circumstances, but just a gift.  Perhaps, it is a joy we cannot experience when all is well, because then, we would have a reason to be joyful.  But when we feel that our reason to be joyful is gone and yet we are able to experience joy, then we know, it is a gift and God can truly "turn our mourning into dancing" (Psalm 30:11).  For me to have experienced this joy strengthens my belief that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).   And although we never want to experience trials, this Christmastime experience of mine is precious to me.