"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteous, for they will be filled."  Matthew 5:6


It is through the grace of God, that we can even aspire toward righteousness.

• Acknowledge that life is meaningless without God.
• Read the Bible, hunger for its teachings and inspiration.
• Put God's Word into practice, and celebrate the freedom that comes from building our lives on the "Rock."

This is a drawing I did for my Dad's book that I made him.  It went with the page for the song, "I'll Fly Away."  I miss you Dad but now I can talk to you every day.

1. 

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."  Matthew 5:5

• Trust God completely; affirm what he "has done  for us" already and decide to trust him for the future.
• Turn control over to God, knowing his plan for us is absolutely perfect and that all things happen just as he decided long ago.
• Be totally confident that God will protect us-that even if we experience pain and loss, he will be right there giving us the strength to survive and grow through the experience.

This does not mean we are to be a "doormat."  If we are truly "in Christ and Christ in us,"  we have the power, love, strength, talent, peace, faith and self-control through our Savior.  To God Be The Gory.

" Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
Matthew 5:4

These pictures are from a book that I made for my Dad a month before his death.  It contained favorite hymns, verses and art to comfort him after he found out that he had stage 4 cancer.

Yes, Jesus did comfort me and my father.  He led me to my father's bedside to pray and comfort him in his last 3 days on earth.  My sorrow was indescribable.  He died at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, Sept. 25, 2010.  I returned to Md. the next day to mourn with my family.  He was my last remaining parent, my children's last remaining grandparent.  My mother had died many years ago.

But again, this particular part of Jesus' sermon was referring to being vulnerable, recognizing and acknowledging our sin...mourning the sin that hurts us, others and God.  The Bible helps us identify particular sin and encourages us to confess our sins to one another and repent.

There is great joy when we repent not only to Jesus who bore our
sins but to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

"find out what pleases the Lord."  Ephesians 5:10

"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God."
Matthew 5:3


I used to think that this meant Christians were supposed to be very sad, serious, with no self confidence.


Now I call these the beatitudes of JOY!


Jesus is speaking of our dependence on him for our best in life. ..to be humble enough to realize how much we need him, to take pride in his gifts to us and be utterly grateful for his ultimate gift.


Yes, I eagerly seek God and believe that if I keep trusting God and seeking his way, I will find the fullness of life that he promises.  We, as Christians and disciples of Jesus have every reason to be joyful in spite of circumstances.  Because Jesus took the consequences of our sin, we can come before God in his holiness.  We no longer have to sin for we are not under the power of evil.  We're still human and yes, we still need Jesus and his forgiveness, but do not have to be slaves to sin and are free to grow in character and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Pick-me-ups

Today, I scanned directly from the little book that I made myself and carried in my purse.  I wanted you to see what it looks like.  All the pages are different and I had fun making it.  That's part of it's power, too.  

These are all things I could pick from to "pick-me-up."

Organize studio desk and closet is one that's harder but once I get into it, I always feel better.

Hopefully, this will give you some ideas or remind you of ones you already knew.  Have a great, fabulous, stupendous and wonderful day and smile more:)

      "PTSD"
post traumatic stress disorder
                     or
Loving the Beach
       Again. 






I like jazz and the Rolling Stones,
Playing with others, playing alone.
I can play every instrument except trombone
But my kidnapper played the saxophone.
I love the piano, I've struggled with violin
I bought myself a trumpet
And sold it again.




I love the beach, haven't been for years
It brings back nightmares and terrifying fears.
But, I'll envision Georgie in his adventure by the sea
I sure hope he loves it as much as me.
The bruises are gone, rape was the crime
Kidnapping is brutal, the memories, still mine.
But, surf and sand will cool my toes;
Sun and wind will burn my nose.
I'll be cleansing my spirit of the vicious past,
Finding real freedom, at long, long last.
Loving the beach, again.

I Like...

An "I like....poem" is another way of feeling gratitude and concentrating on the positive.  I wrote this in a very difficult time.

I like purple, music and poetry.

I like horses, dogs and cats.

I like books and time to read,

Mystery, Christian, stuff like that.

I like James and Chris and wearing God's ring.
I like to paint, and play and sing.

I like to eat but not to cook. 

 It shows on me, when I look. 

 I like to paint and draw and stuff, 

Watch movies when my life gets tough.  

I like to dance and laugh with friends.

Georgie and Riff are two loyal friends.  

They love me no matter what I look like and snuggle with me every night.

I say my prayers and read my Bible.  I go to church, more as I'm able.

I'm loving retirement and hope to travel.

But best of all, I'll be a grandmother.

I'll carry on a fine tradition of teaching them stories and Bible verses.

I'll write them songs about God's love and tell about my own grandmother. 

Mom and Dad, they all loved God.

One day, I'll be in heaven with God, 
But we'll always be watching and singing our love.

I love you so much before you're even born,
I love my kids at church, too
 and I leave you these gifts:
My faith and songs and stories 'bout God.
God Bless You!             Grandma Fran