I have come to this place,
not by my will but by the coercion of my spirit.
That is, the Spirit that lives in me -
set forth a light that my soul could not deny but,
was compelled to step forward and into.

It is as simple as that.
And daily the confirmation comes and
daily also the opposition.

No force shall take me from here, however,
the Force that resides in me may lead,
or beacon, or inspire me to yet move on.
But never to step back.
To not turn my face away but to face this wind
of change with hope, and courage and fortitude.

I know that my Redeemer lives and
in the End - HE - will stand upon this Earth and
His glory,
His will, and
His way will be revealed to all of mankind!

Oh! glory.
and Hallelujah
!!!

Amen.

Oh to be so BOLD as to preach the Gospel the way these men do! It really blesses my heart EVERY time I hear them! Blesses AND convicts.

*Must go pray now.*

I need to have perspective.
For, to me? It seems no great thing to continue on
in these circumstances.

How would I view my friend, who has lost her dog, her marriage,
and her father in a twelve month period?
What view of her would I have if she moved 100 miles from home?
No friends, no family, no work?
What would I think of a nearly fifty year old woman
that insists she is an artist, a seamstress, a craftsman and yet -
earns not enough to pay even her rent.

And what of THIS! She says her faith is in a God she cannot see!
That she relies not on man for her provision but to this God
she hungers to serve!

OH! and there's MORE!
She moves to a city with unbelievable crime?
And doesn't even bother to turn on the news!
Relying instead on the protection of her Invisible God!

Here's what I think.

The woman must be CRAZY.
Just that simple.
She obviously has more faith than I can account for!
Her daughters look to her for training and guidance.
What maniacal  beliefs she must be teaching!

And yet. She sits here daily -
while the sun slowly warms an Eastern sky and
cries out to the God she trusts with her life and
believes He hears her!

What foolishness!

To believe He creates desire and then fulfills it?

The woman is a sideshow!

The
woman
is ....
me.

Much of my blogging these days has been rather
timid and trivial. You know I'm about making things.
Selling them. And taking pictures of all this activity.

But, there is a deep river running through that I haven't
shared with you. It's always hard for me because my
relationship with Christ is so intimate. However?
The Word encourages the sharing of GOOD NEWS!

So ... I'm going to give you a piece of my heart today.

I devote a portion of everyday - mostly early in the day -
but, with all the powers of hell continually fighting me to keep
me from the Truth? Sometimes it is LATE in the day before
I come to that place of Rest and seek the Mind of Christ!

Now granted. Even if it is late - I am continually lifting my voice
to the Father. For mercy. Grace. Strength. Wisdom. I am still
training my daughters - and that is quite a job with which I need
ALL of His help and guidance!!!!

I usually start with a wonderful little devotional book called -
"Daily Strength for Daily Needs" by Mary Wilder Tileston

Then I turn to the Word.
This year I decided to not read the Bible cover to cover.
I have done that 3 years in a row - and I wanted time to
just meditate on a verse, on a passage or on a book. I've
read through quite a few books. Been led to Joshua, Habakkuk,
John, Titus, Proverbs, the Psalms. And more.

Now you may think "big deal".  It's a bird. A turtle. A deer.
But, let me tell you. I live about a quarter of a mile from the busiest
highway in NC!!!! Behind the MALL for heaven's sake!
This is NOT a Bird Sanctuary or an Animal Refuge!!! All of those
beautiful creatures? Were seen by me while I was walking around
the perimeter of the apartment complex I now live in!

Then. Just this week. My neighbor invited me over to witness the blooms
of a MoonFlower!   It grows in a pot on her pretty little patio! It was spectacular!!!

Which means all of my photos will be of things I'm
busy making/doing right?

Right .....

Here ya go.
This is last week's haul .....

All of this - of course - is for Sale over on my Etsy!

Be Original - Shop Betriska.com .....

Coming soon? More make and do .....

The Market - from my Point of View

I'm just not that great when it's HOT -
and I'm anxious -
and I'm just not that great with my camera!

B.U.T.

I think you'll get the idea!

The End.