Heads Up!

There's a new release going on at Whimsy starting tomorrow at 10:00 A.M., and at 12 noon, there's a blog hop going on to showcase all the new images and dies!  I'm giving you a head's up, but I won't be involved in it this time.  You'll want to check it out tomorrow! 

So at noon tomorrow, you can start the hop at Lori's blog HERE.  This is Whimsy's largest release ever! You won't want to miss it!! 

Challenge: Flowers

Today I am showing another water coloured image that is part of a series I am doing for my friend.   This is an image I did for Kraftin Kimmie Stamps called Stripes the Zebra.   Stripes is on 140 lb. wc paper and painted with artist quality water colour paints.   The challenge this month over at my Sundays With Crissy challenge blog is flowers.  I thought Stripes would look good with a few wildflowers around him, so I tried to give the impression of Devil's Paintbrush wildflowers among some yellow grass. 

For the most part, I did not paint any colour onto the white of Stripe's body, except where I wanted to show shadow.   I began the painting with a light wash, wet into wet of Windsor Blue for the sky.  The bushes in the distant background were easy to do.  While the sky was still wet, I dropped dabs of various colour off a very wet paintbrush.  When it was a little drier, but not quite dry, I added some darker green shadows to give the bushes some definition.  Here is your close-up:

I hope you will be able to join in the challenge this month.  It's easy - just have at least one flower included in your project.  It can be a flower embellishment, a flower in the image, flowery designer paper, a flower charm, hand drawn or painted, whatever way you wish to add a flower or three or ten, it's up to you! 

Thanks for coming by today!

Blog Hop -- Courageous Carl

Welcome to my blog today!

There's a blog hop on and you have landed near the tail end of it.  

If you have come here from Ellie's blog, you are right on track!

(In case you are new to blogland, a blog hop is a fun little thing where you hop from one person's blog to another.  The blog you hop to next is always highlighted and linked so all you have to do is click on it to get to the next blog that is participating in the hop.)

If you happen to get lost along the way, the entire blog hop rotation is posted at the Whimsy Inspirations Blog for your added convenience. 

This hop will be running from Sun May 1 thru Sun May 8 at noon. 

There will be 2 free digi's given to two random commenters, so increase your chances of winning by commenting on all the blogs in the hop!  The grand prize winner will get to choose 5 digi's of their choice, AND will get a chance to use those digi's as a guest designer for Whimsy for the entire month of May!  How cool is that!
And just to let you know, the digi images that Whimsy is selling to help raise funds for Japan are going on sale at 50% off from May 1 thru 7!  Here is a direct link to the Help For Japan images. 

I'm showcasing one of my latest digi illustrations: Courageous Carl.  He is available now for purchase from Whimsy Stamps.

I printed Carl onto high quality water colour paper - Arches 140 lb cold press.   I used a laser jet printer and had to heat set because of the thickness of the paper.  But once I was done, he was ready to paint!

I got out my artist quality water colours for this one.   I love water colouring as much as I love Copic colouring!  This is actually a commissioned piece I am doing for a friend, who intends to frame it and put it in her brand new nephew's room.  It was fun to make a mini water colour painting based on my illustration. 

I am also entering this digi stamp painting into my own challenge.  The challenge for the month of May is "Flowers".  Here is a quick link to my challenge blog so you can read up on all those details, and join in if you can! 

Why not head on over to Tina's blog to see what's next! 

Thanks for hopping by today! 

God bless you!

The Bible vs. The Word of God

Hello Blog Readers!


I thought I would give you a little insight today on some things I believe about the Bible vs. the Word of God.   Notice I said that as though those were two different things.  I believe they are, and if you read on, you will soon see why.  


I would like to share where I am coming from with regards to how I believe Scriptures ought to be viewed.  Some people hold the belief that God was in full control when the Bible was written and compiled.  My view is that Love does not control.  

God is love.  The very nature of love is that it never controls another. Control is something the enemy seeks to do to people so that they no longer have any power to decide for themselves - so that he can manipulate and use people, like a puppet on a string.  This is not something our God of love would ever seek to do to another human being!  That is not the nature of Love.  

God is Love and His nature is such that He DESIRES that we be in sweet fellowship with Him.  And within the context of that loving relationship, He DESIRES that we listen to Him and do what He says because everything He says and does causes light, life, peace, joy and love to flourish.  

He is love and He would never ask us to do something apart from His love.  And so we have the magnificent gift of choice always to allow Him to flow in and through us.   We can choose to lay down our own desires to do what pleases the flesh, and decide to do what pleases Him.  It is a choice we make though, every second, every moment of the day.  

It is not like Holy Spirit enters a man and from then on, that man has no choice but to do good and to love as God loves.   That would be impossible, for as soon as you remove the choice to love, there is no love.  Because love is always a free choice.   And God ALWAYS leaves us with that choice.  No one can say that God ever seeks to control another.  He only asks that we obey and work WITH Him to accomplish His will on the earth.   We get to work WITH, IN and THROUGH Him (what a concept!!) just as He can work with, in and through us. This is a love relationship, not a control dynamic. 

 Just as with any of us who have Holy Spirit indwelling, He is only flowing through us as much as we allow Him to in any given situation.  Each moment, with each breath we take and with each and every thing we face, whether it is a cranky complaining child to deal with, or a grocery list to fill at a store, we have a choice.  We may allow and let Holy Spirit thoughts reign supreme in our minds, and be led by Holy Spirit motivation, and take Holy Spirit inspired action.  Or, we can choose in each of those moments, to think, be motivated by, and to do what pleases our flesh.  The choice is always ours. 

Assuming you are a reader who loves God and wants to live to please Him only, do you think that you have ever lived out a 24 hr period where you were entirely and perfectly led by the Spirit of God, lovingly being filled with His thoughts, His motivations, and doing the work of His hands and feet - I mean for the entire day, not one moment excepted, fully and entirely submitted to God for that 24 hr period?  With not one moment of lapsing into the flesh?  Lets say the answer is no, because I would assume such for myself as well.  

But lets just say you had a conversation with someone.   And you knew, just knew somehow within you, that Holy Spirit was pouring love thoughts of Truth into your mind and the words you were speaking were coming out in a flow of love.  And that you were motivated by Love and Truth.  Perhaps you even surprised yourself at what you heard yourself say.   Would you honestly be able to say, beyond a shadow of any doubt, that God was FULLY and COMPLETELY in control of your ENTIRE conversation with that person?  Did you ever feel at any time, that you had no choice over the words that came out of your mouth?  Or would you admit that you always had the choice to speak, or not to speak - always had control of your own tongue?   And would you also admit that although you felt very led and very inspired, and that you knew Truth was coming out of you, that perhaps there was a bit of flesh mixed in now and then, just because you are an imperfect vessel, still learning and growing in God? 

If you would say that Holy Spirit WAS fully in control of a conversation you had with someone, and that you did ONLY speak His words in a spirit of Love, then you have spoken The Word of God and if you are sure the Word of God flowing out of you is infallible, then you have got something pretty special indeed. (excuse my sarcasm)

I think if we are honest, we would have to admit that there are no solid days of complete and total submission and flowing in God's Spirit for any of us just yet.  Neither are there conversations that don't have a little of "us" mixed into them, no matter how inspiring they may be.  

In order to think that the Bible is the infallible word of God, and was fully controlled by Him as it was written, you would have to believe first of all that "control" is love.  Because God is love, and if He controls people, then that must be what love is and does.   That totally taking over a person's pen as they write, and not giving them ANY allowance to make mistakes would be love in action.  In order for that to happen you would have to believe that God did in fact totally control another person, even for a set time as they wrote the book, not giving them any choice at all over what words were written down. 

Secondly, you would have to believe that there WERE people, many people, as many people as there are Bible book authors, who WERE Holy Spirit controlled while they were writing those books and letters.   Do you see what I am alluding to?  If WE aren't infallible in our writings and speakings and doings, we who have Holy Spirit LIVING on the inside of us, then why should we think that there are "special people", exceptions to the rule,  who COULD write and speak infallibly, controlled fully and completely by Holy Spirit? 

Everything that has come to us through man has been tainted with man's flesh. 

There is nothing man has done, ever, apart from The Man Jesus, that did not have some flaw, some mistake, some weakness, some error mixed in.  

If God controlled the people who were putting pen to paper, writing the books of the Bible, then He went against His very nature to do so. 

Even if He did control people while they wrote the words, and they took perfect "dictation" from God, then why is it that the writing style is different for each author?  Where did those subtle literary differences come from?  Wouldn't the writing style be consistent throughout, as coming from One Author?  How could man's personality and writing style be included in the Bible (which it is) if God was controlling their pen?

If Jesus had written the Bible, then it would be infallible. 

Jesus did not write the Bible.  People wrote it, under His influence, under His guidance, and under His inspiration.  Just as WE ourselves will write, speak and do things under the same unction.  Yet knowing that there will be flaws, when we do speak, write and do things in His name, that is what keeps us seeking and searching for HIM.  With a perfect Bible, one would never need to seek the Perfect God who wrote it.  One could say he knew it all, just by reading and believing the infallible written word of God.  One could get very lulled into thinking they were "right" or "righteous" because they read it, believed it and followed it.  Isn't that exactly what the Pharisees were doing whom Jesus called "white-washed tombs"?

But God asked imperfect people with flaws to write the Bible.  And in doing so, He has allowed the flaws. Why? So that we would seek HIM.  So that we would seek the One Who inspired the book, so that we would get to know HIM and not just His words to us.  

If you say the Bible is infallible, you have separated God's Word from the Godhead.  You have in essence, said that what He said and who He is are two different things.  But the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.  His name is Jesus.  He is not separate from God, He is God.  

You can trust the Word of God who is Jesus, and by doing so, trust God.  Or you can trust the written word, which are just words on a page.  But you can't trust both.  Its either one or the other. 

Those who believe the Bible is infallible have added another God to the Trinity.   For now there is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and God the written word. 

We are to "test every spirit, to see if it comes from God"
We are to "rightly divide the word".  What are we to divide it from?  To divide it between what words are God's, and what words are man's. 

And we are not to use our own mind to decide where man's messages are mingled with God's as we read the Bible.  The Holy Spirit is the one Who brings us illumination on these things, so that we can rightly divide the word.  It is within the context of relationship with God that we find the Truth.  Not apart from it.    We have the ability to hear Him on these matters, because His sheep know His voice. And another's they will not follow. 

He illumines, through His very character, which is love.  And as we get bigger and bigger revelations of His great love, we see the written word of the Bible more clearly and come to understand what passages mean and what He is trying to say in and through them.  Through His relationship with us, we get excited over hearing Him speak THROUGH the scriptures, as we get closer and closer to Him. 

Some may argue that Satan would love for us to believe that  the Bible is not holy.    But I say, Satan would love for us to believe the Bible IS holy and infallible.  Because then we have no need of Holy Spirit to illuminate what He is trying to say to us.  We can therefore falsely assume that we have no need of relationship with God as we are reading it, and no need to divide the word between the word of man and the word of God.    Whats worse, we get a picture of God as wrathful, vengeful, violent, angry and as someone to live in dreaded fear over displeasing. Because if you are honest, the entire Old Testament and the book of Revelation, believed as written, paints this view of God. 

Worse yet, we then have cause to be prideful - for if we believe the Bible is God's infallible word, then all we need to do is follow it to feel good about ourselves.  All we need to do is everything it says and then we have ticked off the list of "must do's to please God" and we can feel awfully self-righteous about that. 

God's Word is a Person, and His name is Jesus.  God is not printed words on a page.   The Word of God IS Holy and infallible, because The Word of God IS God.  The Word of God is Jesus.  He is our only True face of God and He alone can lead us to see what written words came from Him and what words came from man.  Without Him, we can do nothing.  We cannot understand the Bible, cannot grasp its' meaning, cannot know God. 

When we have Him guiding us, we begin to see the words that are written that contradict His character.   We see how the flaws of man have been mixed with words of truth into the written word.  And He shows us what we are to cast off like chaff in the wind, and what He wants us to keep and digest - the hearty grains of Truth that become our Daily Bread.   The Bread of Life who is Jesus. 

Satan WANTS us to completely trust the written scriptures, for in that, there is no room to trust the LIVING GOD who IS The Word of God, who is Jesus. 

I believe Satan wants us to doubtfully question God's Word (not the written word, but the Holy Living Word) - in other words, to question Jesus - and to question His Stellar Character.  

I believe God wants us to read the Bible with the understanding that it has flaws, just as each of us do.  And with that in mind,  to turn to Him for help as we read.  We are to let our reading of scripture be a time of sweet fellowship with Him.  We have the privilege of reading the scriptures and to picture Him reading over our shoulders, pointing to this and that, whispering His Truth to our hearts, helping us rightly divide the word. 

The written word is a wonderful gift to mankind.   It is a pathway TO The Word of God.  It brings us TO Jesus.  But it is not on equal par with God. 

You and I are a wonderful gift to mankind.  We also are pathways for others to find God!  We also bring people TO Jesus!  But also, we are not God, we have flaws too. 

We are living epistles.  Imperfect as we are, yet we carry the Living Word of God to people.  

So too is the Bible -- imperfect, as it was written by imperfect man, yet it too carries the Word of God to people. 



I love to read the written word, the Bible.  But I want to listen as I read.  I listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit because I know I need Him to discern what I am reading.   I want to find the Living Word as I read the written word.  For He is all that I seek and long for.  He is Love and He is Good.  And He always has something life-giving and encouraging and kind to say to me.  He can't help it, for He is love.  :-) He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him!  And He is our reward!  How wonderful to receive Him - to be embraced by Love Himself.  He never ceases to amaze me!


Thanks for coming by Precious People! God bless! 

Winner!

I have a winner from last week's blog hop!  Rhonda Miller was chosen by Random.org and she receives "Come Fly With Me" rubber stamp from Whimsy Stamps!  Rhonda was number nine on the list of people who signed up for the draw using the Inlinkz option on my last post.  Congratulations Rhonda, contact me and I'll get Denise to send you your blog candy!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

9

Timestamp: 2011-04-23 15:19:26 UTC

New Rubber at Whimsy! Blog Hop is on!

You have arrived in the middle of another blog hop for Whimsy Stamps!  If you have landed here randomly and would like to do the "hop" with us, then hop on over to the beginning at Annika's blog.   If you have arrived here from Denise's blog, you are right on track!

Today Whimsy is releasing 3 stamps by Crissy Armstrong (yours truly) 3 stamps by Meljen's Designs, 4 stamps by KennyK,  2 new sets and 1 new background by Raindrop Echo Designs as well as 2 new dies.    

And, my blog is a prize stop, and you'll have a chance at winning a new rubber stamp if you put your name in the Inlinkz option at the bottom of this post.   This is the image Denise is offering as a prize.  Its one of mine, and I call it, "Come Fly With Me"... yeah, sorry about the subsequent ear worm, lol! :

I coloured "Cupcake Bliss" with Copics (sorry, forgot to write them down -- again!).  I used Ann's Ticket Die and Ticket Sentiments.  Such a cool set, and so easy to use!

Spellbinder dies were used to cut out the main image and the hearts.  Cuttlebug swirls folder on the pink piece behind the oval.   And a Cuttlebug die for the corners, which was 2 squares that I simply cut in half.  This was my youngest daughter's birthday card and she loved it! 

Your next stop is Chris Olsen's blog.  I would not miss continuing if I were you!  There is so much eye candy along the way, not to mention opportunities for blog candy!

And speaking of, don't forget to add your name to the Inlinkz option below.  You don't even have to have a blog to join!  Just click on the blue button and you'll be directed from there. Thanks for coming by today! Be blessed!

2nd Special Hop, plus last week's Winners Announced!

Last week we ran a special blog hop to help raise money for the recovery efforts in Japan.  Well, we had so many who volunteered to host the hop that we are putting on a second one!  I am not involved in it, except to pass on the word that it's happening and to encourage you to check it out.   It all starts at Ann's blog.  The teams from Ann's Sentimental Sundays and the Kenny K Girlz are hosting this one.   Please consider taking the time to go through this hop and tell your friends!  We need to spread the word!  It would really help if you put the button on your blog, and link it back to the page where people can find the images that are being offered. Here is the button and here is a quick link to the Whimsy Store:

If you do choose to add this button to your sidebar, you get another chance to win some or all of the special images that are being sold for this purpose. Be sure to check out Ann's blog for all the details. 

Speaking of winning, here are the winners from last weeks Special Blog Hop for Japan: 

Winner of my Heartfelt Angel image: Makiko Jones

Winner of Kenny K's Anime DJ: Maureen (docrafts)

Winner of Kimono Bear: Lynette

Winner of Help For Japan Sentiment Set: Karen from the UK

and the Grand Prize winner is...Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

2

Timestamp: 2011-04-11 14:08:05 UTC

Congratulations to Marie-Ann, you were number 2 from the Inlinkz list on my blog so you have won the grand prize, which consists of all the images in the set, as well as a ten dollar gift certificate to the Whimsy store!

Note to all the winners: Please contact me so we can get your contact information and get your prizes to you!

Help For Japan

Hello and welcome to a very special blog hop today!  The illustrators of Whimsy Stamps have come together to draw a special set of digi images for the purpose of raising money for the relief effort in Japan.  All proceeds from the sale of these images will be donated to that cause.   Kenny K, Raindrop Echo Designs, Meljens Designs, and Crissy Armstrong all contributed art work. 

For the whole month of April, you can purchase the images as a set or individually (your choice)  by visiting this page on the Whimsy store site.  Please consider helping this special cause by purchasing one or all of the digital images we are offering.  

This is the first stop on the hop today.    I have the blog rotation order posted below if you need to refer to it. 

The amazing ladies of two design teams have come together to host this blog hop for you!  Crissy's Crew from Sundays With Crissy and Denise's DT from Whimsy Stamps have joined forces to design some amazing jaw dropping creations for you.  You have seven days to hop through all the blogs and enjoy all the lovely creations from these talented people. 

The hop runs from now through til Sunday April 10 at noon.  There will be several opportunities to get some blog candy!  Four random commenters will get a chance to receive one of the three individual images or Ann's sentiment set.  So be sure to leave comments all along the way for your chance at a free digi!  Also, if you post the "Help for Japan" button on your blog's sidebar, you can enter into the draw for the grand prize!  The grand prize will consist of the entire digital set made just for this cause as well as a gift certificate donated by Ann of Raindrop Echo Designs worth 10$ to use at the Whimsy Stamps store! To enter, you must help us advertise for this cause by posting the "Help Japan" button on your blog's side bar (just grab it from my side bar or from the top of this post) and then get your name on the Inlinkz option near the bottom of this post so we can be sure to find the winner.  

Now on to my project: 

I must tell you that I was totally inspired by a card Claudia of Pretty Pressings posted in February.  I found the contrasts just stunning and I wanted to copy a lot of what she did because it really caught my eye.  I used my Heartfelt Angel and coloured her with a mix of Tombow Pens, Distress Inks and Twinkling H20's using water colour techniques.   My sentiment is from the set that Ann made that is part of these special digi images.  I wanted to shorten the saying a bit, so I brought it into Photoshop and cropped the second sentence off.

I used white crackle paint along the edges.  This curled the paper a bit, so I couldn't tape it down flat.  So I worked with it and gave it some dimension by using foam tape. I thought you would see it on the side view but apparently not.  The black layer is hiding the shadow I guess. 

Here is your close-up.  The bubbles turned out cool I think.  I just used some Glamor Dust glitter on them.  But I think the light washes of background colour around them makes them pop (pun intended, lol). 

Next you'll want to visit Maria's blog to continue hopping.  But before you go, make sure you enter your blog (or just your name if you don't have a blog) so you can be entered into the blog candy!  

Thank you so much for stopping by, and for your support of this very worthy cause. 

Here is the hop order for your convenience:

1. Crissy - that's me!)
2. Maria
3. Lisa C.
4. Mary Lou
5. Melanie
6. Sylvia
7. Pattie G.
8. Donna
9. Lori:
10. Vicki
11. Debbie E.
12. Ellie
13. Jackie
14. Deb R.
15. Marley
16. Linda
17. Erin
18. Sandra
19. Tina
20.  Annika

Entering the following challenges:
Paper Sundaes: Spring Blossoms
House of Gilli: Ribbons and Pearls
Kaboodles Doodles: Lets Get Girly
Paper Playtime: Anything Goes
The Crazy Challenge: Flowers
Craft Your Passion: Anything Goes
There's Magic In the Air: Lets Use Flowers

New Digi's Out

Hello everyone!  I am so glad you stopped by today.  I have some new digi's released at Whimsy Stamps this month and they are available right now.  In fact you have landed in the middle of the blog hop for Whimsy!  The Whimsy Digi Design Team has some lovely creations to share with you today, so I encourage you to hop from blog to blog taking in all the beauty they have created.  Along the way, there is blog candy to be won, so as you hop  be sure to leave a comment on everyone's post so that you will have a chance of winning.  Two random blogs will be offering a free digi to one lucky winner.  Then on the last stop of the hop, there's a grand prize up for grabs - the winner will get their choice of five digi images from Whimsy Stamps AND a chance to use those images in a guest spot on the Whimsy DT for the entire month of April!  You have from now til Friday April 8th at noon to complete the hop and be eligible for blog candy!

If you have landed here from Dawn's blog you're right on track.  If you wish to start at the beginning of the hop, go to the Whimsy Inspirations Blog, where they have a complete list of the hop links for your convenience. 

 This is "Lilly Filly".  She comes separately from the background.  And when you buy her, you get two images for the price of one - one with her spots and one without.  I thought it would be convenient for those who didn't want the added detail of spots.  I put her in the background I created called, "Meadow Background" by merging the two images together in Photoshop.  I printed the image onto watercolour paper with a laser printer, heat set, and coloured it with my Tombow Pens which are water based, and spread the ink with water on a paintbrush.  I explain this colouring method fully in my Water Colour tutorials which are linked just under my blog banner at the top of this page.   

One additional thing I did was to paint white highlights using white acrylic paint.  I don't normally do that when I water colour, but I had lost some of the white of the paper by overpainting, and so I had to get them back with white paint.  It is a method I can use when I make that mistake. 

For my card, I made the yellowish layer by printing off Ann's digital sentiment from the "New Beginnings" set onto white card from Staples.  I then sponged on "Scattered Straw" and "Tea Dye" Distress Inks for some colour, then tore the edges.  The little white flourish on the right is from the "Fleur de Lis" die by Spellbinders.  The darker blue background paper is by Basic Grey.

I got into quite a drawing roll this time around and am really happy with what I have to share with you today.  These are my new digital images. Just click on any that you are interested in and it will take you right to their listing in the Whimsy store:

From here, hop along to Debbie's blog to see what she has created for your enjoyment! 

Thank you for stopping by today!

Blog Hop Winner!

37

Congratulations to number 37, chosen by Random.org.  And the winner is...

Jenny V. 

Jenny, please contact me with your mailing address and Denise of Whimsy will get your stamp to you!  Congratulations!

Some thoughts I believe...

For the Whimsy Hop, please scroll down to the post below this one!

Hello Dear Readers;

I'd like to share my perspective on the recent happenings in Japan if I may.  Reader beware: these are my personal thoughts and beliefs.  You are free to have your own.  I am simply choosing to share mine with you.  Read on if you dare!

First I'd like to say what I do not believe.   I do not believe that the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident are God's judgements being poured out on the earth.    I do not believe that God wanted, willed or allowed those disasters to happen to those dear people.  If God was free to prevent those disasters, He certainly would have.

My dear readers, I believe evil, no matter what form it takes, whether that be in the form of natural disasters or man's inhumanity to man, is the result of the fall of mankind.  That is where it began, in the Garden of Eden, when man chose to sin rather than to stay in loving relationship with God.  And our continual rebellion and hardness of heart is what perpetuates it.   We cannot blame the presence of evil in this world on God.   We are the ones who opened the door to it.

God does not send storms, calamities, sickness, earthquakes or any other natural disaster.  This fallen created world has been tampered with.  When we opened up the door to evil, the paradise man knew for a short time became a place of death, destruction and where the struggle to survive became the norm.  This was not God's will for us nor for any of His creatures from the beginning.  This natural earth has degraded from the peaceful paradise God meant it to be because mankind, by choosing sin, allowed Satan the destroyer to enter into it.

We cannot say exactly why, spiritually speaking, those disasters are taking place in Japan.  And if we try to pin it on them and say "they must be so sinful" we are making a grave mistake.  If you make such sweeping judgements, understand those same judgements could very well come back to hurt you.  But we can know generally, that it is because of the fall of mankind, when we gave Satan access to what once was paradise.

I believe that through the cross of Jesus, God forbids all evil, and has given us the antidote to all evil, in all its' forms.  Potentially now, because of the cross, we can overcome every evil we are confronted with the same way He did when He walked the earth.

 I see that on the cross, Jesus took the brunt, full force, of all the evil in the world that was brought about by man's sinful rebellion against God - past present and future - for all time.   His death purchased a way for us to live under Psalm 91 protection - where no evil would befall us, nor any plague come near our dwelling.  Jesus death not only gave us a way to spend eternity with Him but also gave us back the authority we lost to Satan in the Garden.  So that now we can say to the wind and the waves, "Peace be still" and they will obey us.  We can say to the sick man, "Be healed" and he will be.  Because now, the Life of Jesus can flow through us!  This is the potential for every man; if we would just give Him total access to our hearts and let go of our own selfish wills and foolish pride.

I believe God is love.  Right now,  always and forever, He is doing the highest good that we allow Him to do.  It is our trust in Him and our humbly turning to Him that opens the door to Him so that He can protect and deliver us from evil.  He is willing and able to do so, but first we must let Him.

God stands at the door of our hearts and knocks.  He does not go where He is uninvited.  Nor does He use His power to force His will on the earth.  It is up to us to want His will, to agree with it and allow it to flow in and through us.  I say "it", but really I mean "Him".  His will is Love and Love is a Person -and Love's name is Jesus.

Satan roams about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Jesus said the devil comes only to kill, steal and destroy.  When I see death, sickness and destruction, immediately I know who is the author of that.   That is Satan's M.O., not God's.

But the Good News is, Jesus has paid the price to set us all free from the evils of this present world!  I believe He is at work in Japan, and anywhere evil strikes, doing whatever He can do to overcome the evil with good.  He is ever ready to save, to heal, and to renew to life any who call upon Him.

And there's more Good News! There is no condemnation or judgment on us for ever failing to trust Him.  He will never judge or condemn us for allowing evil through our sin.  For all our sins are now forgiven and paid for - past, present and future.  Jesus took them all on the cross!  We are now clean and free before God! And His perfect love and righteousness is available to all!

If you think God is judging Japan through these disasters, then don't bother to pray for the suffering men, women and children, and don't help them with donations or any other means.  Otherwise, you will be praying and working against what you believe is God's will.

If you think God allowed it, that He stood by and could have stopped it but didn't, that makes Him an accomplice.  And by default, that would mean He willed it.  If that's the case, then don't bother to pray for them or help them in any way either, as you will also be praying and working against what you believe to be God's will.

I realize those are some tough thoughts. But dear Readers, if you believe these disasters are God's judgments and/or His will, then you need to be honest about what that implies.  I seriously hope you will step up and help.  I am just trying to stir you to think.  And to show you the harsh reality that results from such a stand.

But if you believe God is love, and that these awful events are the result of Satan's work (which is where my heart is) then lets ask God how we can help.  Let's find out what He does want now, and see if there is anything He wants us to do.

Just as we opened the door to evil through our sin, we can now open the door for God to come in to our world to spread His love and goodness to all!

He may ask you to pray and if He does, ask Him how to pray.  You may feel an inner nudge to donate some money.  Or to head up a fund raiser.  Just be available, and be willing to do whatever He tells you.  Keep your heart open to Him, and believe He will show you.  He is already willing and already wanting to save, heal and deliver ALL.   Lets set aside our own wants and desires, and freely offer ourselves to Him.  Let's be willing to join with Him in what He wants to do.  Its about what He wants to do through us.  So lets let Him love Japan through us!

I believe God is good!  He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.  He is Love and far kinder than the kindest Father you could imagine.  He only wants to bless, heal, protect, save and deliver.  He loves you!

If you have read this through, thank you for taking the time.  God bless you and know that I am grateful for you.

Blog Hop is On! Offering prizes!!

Hello and welcome to the Whimsy Stamps March new rubber release BLOG HOP!

We have 13 fabulous new Whimsy Stamps plus 2 new wonderful dies to show you today! These new goodies are available to buy right now from the Whimsy Stamps store along with all your Whimsy favourites. We also have our wonderful special guests joining us for this hop - Beate Johns, Deb Routledge, Jacque Beddingfield and Elaine Hughes!

The Whimsy Stamps DT have been sneak peeking these fabulous stamps for the past 4 days, so if you missed them be sure to hop on over to the Whimsy Inspirations Blog for some more inspiration!

Here is a full list of the wonderful new rubber stamps and dies being released today:

4 stamps from Crissy Armstrong

Benny And Joon Have Cake ~ Celebrate Big! ~ Tippy By The Tail ~Valerie And Kitty sitting Pretty

2 stamps from Meljen's Designs

Rainy Day Duckling ~ Little Puddle Duck

4 stamps from Kenny K

Brooklyn Babe ~ Club Kid ~ Strong Island ~ Let’s Party

3 stamps/sets from Raindrop Echo Designs

Treasured Moments Tickets ~ Time Flies ~ Spring Letter Seals

2 dies/sets from Raindrop Echo Designs

Banner Pennants Die Set ~ Double Scallop Border Die

If you would like to participate in the hop and you didn't arrive here from Marley's blog, please CLICK HERE to return to the beginning of the hop at Crystal’s blog.

The hop starts today (Wednesday March 16th at noon EST) and ends on Wednesday March 23rd at noon EST.

For this hop we have 6 different prize draws! We have not one but TWO grand prize draws, so two lucky hoppers will win a large selection of new release stamps. Grand Prize 1 will be for those who help us advertise the hop, and Grand Prize 2 will be for those who hop along with us. Also, we have 4 mini candy stops throughout the hop where you can enter to win a new release stamp! I'm not going to tell you where they are, so if you haven't found them you'll just have go back to the beginning and start hopping! *wink*

And my blog is one of the places offering a prize!  If you add your name in the Inlinkz option at the bottom of this post, you will get a chance to win "Benny and Joon Have Cake" pictured here:

This is a deeply etched high quality red rubber stamp that Whimsy is offering.  It comes with that cute saying stamp too that you can trim off and use however you want (or should I say "wish", heh-heh).  All Whimsy stamps come already mounted on EZ foam and untrimmed.   Be sure to enter your name, and if you don't have a blog, let me know in a comment and you'll be added at the end of the list!

For my blog hop creation I used my own illustration I call,  "Celebrate Big!"  It is sold in a set along with that cute saying that Ann created to go with it.  

I stamped "Celebrate Big!" using Versafine Onyx Black ink (it is water proof) onto 140 lb cold press water colour paper by Canson.   I coloured the image using water based ink markers, namely Tombow Pens.  Really it is just the same method as painting with water colours.  The only difference is that you can colour the ink directly onto the picture and then spread it with the water.  And the results are different too; I find the inks to be much brighter and vibrant colours than water colour paint.  You don't need Tombow Pens to do this method though; any water based ink markers will do!  I have two tutorials on how I colour like this if you are interested.  Just click HERE and HERE 

or look under my blog banner for the tabs that take you there. 

Here is your close-up:

I have entered this card into the following challenges:

Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge: sketch

Sugar Creek Hollow: Hand made flowers

Secret Crafter: Flowers for Mum (or a female)

So now it's time for you to continue the hop by hopping on over to Donna's blog.

Finally, here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order:

Crystal Irwin

Jacque Beddingfield

Ann Vento

Erin Bailey

Vicki Parson

Chris Olsen

Marley van der Heijden

Crissy Armstrong (that's me!)

Donna Smith

Iris Wiechmann

Stephanne Maraver
Vanja Stevanovic

Beate Johns

Simonne Clay

Deb Routledge

Annika Ryan

Denise Lynn

Lori Pachkowsky

Patricia Garcia

Elaine Hughes

Debbie Eastman

Thank you so much for hopping with us today and I hope you enjoy the new releases!

God bless each and every one of you!

Crissy