Encouragement Post – Coronavirus Distancing Day 18 (Thursday)

Encouragement Post – Day #18 (Thursday) Really, really familiar words... but no less powerful because of their familiarity.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, (He takes responsibility for me)
I shall not want. (I have everything I need)
He makes me lie down in green pastures; (this allows me to rest in a wide open and beautiful space)
He leads me beside quiet waters. (among some of the most soothing sounds of His creation)
He restores my soul; (He makes the broken places in my heart and soul whole again)
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. (Because He desires honor for His name, He leads His children faithfully toward right paths)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me; (wherever I am, in whatever situation no matter how perilous or difficult, there is no need to fear because You are WITH me ...and not just *with* me but as Immanuel You are *IN* me)
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (You are perfectly equipped with the ability to prod... a gentle nudge with the rod, to lead... with a hook around my neck if necessary, and to protect me by using the rod or staff as a weapon)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; (because I am Yours, you feed me from the abundance of Your own table, the King's table, even when my enemies would seek to do me harm)

You have anointed my head with oil; (You cover me with gladness, with a pleasing fragrance before the Father, with salve for protection from disease and pestilence)
My cup overflows. (You freely give me abundant life beyond anything I could imagine)
Surely goodness and lovingkindness
will follow me all the days of my life, (Your goodness and lovingkindness will always, always, always be with me)
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (I will live in Your safe and magnificent abode forever.)

Thank You and A Christmas Tour

I want to thank you all for your kind thoughts, prayers, and wishes for a speedy recovery! I am well now and back to good health. Though it took a while to shake this and the timing was inconvenient, I am thankful to be better. Hope you are all managing to dodge this round of nastiness.

I am working diligently on commissioned artwork which must be completed in a timely fashion in order for my clients to have them before Christmas. So, blogging is taking as dismal backseat to getting those things done. I will be posting pictures once the artwork has been gifted and sent away to new homes. For now, I will try to do a series of posts showing some of my Christmas decor.

First, we'll begin with "my" tree... this one is in our living room and is decorated with gold, silver, white, and crystal ornaments. It has many heirloom ornaments and a few that I made specifically for this tree which you'll see in the last few photos.













The pinecone ornament is made from two small pinecones which are sprayed with gold paint and hot glued to either end of a gold braided cord. The seashells above are spraypainted gold and silver. I then hot-glued a small ribbon to the top. Once the glue dried, I used hot glue to attach strung pearls spiraling around the looped ribbon and covering the glue. This has proven to have held for many years now.

Thanks for joining me for the tour!

From Charm & Grace Cottage