It's Quiet

Three of my children have gone to Florida with my parents. I miss them and hope they are having a very nice trip. I have the two younger one's here at home and who would have thought how quiet it has been. All this quietness has let my brain and body recharge a bit. However I must admit I'm really missing my daughter's help with her little sister. Lillian, my least one has asked me over and over when will her siblings be home. On a brighter note her and Simon have fought very little:)

Being an artist reminds me so much of our creator. Sometimes when I make a piece and it turns out the way I planned I take such delight in just looking at the item. Other times I make a piece that isn't what I wanted and I will post it for a while hoping that someone else finds beauty in this piece. Occasionally they do and purchase it. Most of the time I become impatient with having to look at that ugly piece and I will remove it, either to take it apart or redesign it.
Being the Presbyterian that I am, with a heritage of Baptist raising, I will attempt to explain where this post is going. Romans 9. Yep, any artist with half a brain cannot argue with Romans 9. I recently had a discussion with my father about the call to salvation. He still believes that God is just begging for all those unsaved people to choose salvation. How could God make people that are not to be saved. First of all I am a sinful person and the things I make don't always come out just the way I envisioned them, God is perfect and creates all according to his will-no mistakes here. Secondly, I created the piece I have almost total control over what I will do with this piece of jewelry, sometimes I have the patience to look at it for awhile hoping that it will do it's intended purpose(make someone else happy and make me some money) other times I will remove the piece and take it apart or redesign it. God doesn't have to sit around and hope that his creation will do it's purpose. He has full control and knows exactly for what purpose and why this person was created. Thirdly, how can we as sinful people tell God that this is unfair. Who are we to question God? I'm guilty of this and when I start questioning God as to if he is fair or unfair with my circumstances I find that it stems from pride on my part. I then go to Romans 9 for a reality check.
You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?"On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory

It's not because we are so great that he made us for salvation, it is by his mercy that we are not cast into hell. All have sinned and fallen short. It is only by his choice that we are saved. Our duty to Him is to honor and glorify him in all that we do. Continually thank him for his mercies. At best this can also be a way we deal with those around us. Be patient with others. Pray for your brother or sister in Christ. Share the gospel with them. Encourage them. Show others that Christ lives in us by not always wanting to be noticed by how different we are(such as in our dress and appearance) but by always giving him the credit and glory for all things. Many times my children will ask how is it that the unsaved can do good deeds. Sometimes the unsaved can do better deeds than those whose claim to be Christians. I struggle with this myself. My only answer would be that many do things to feel better about themselves, to have people give them praise, to have the focus and eyes upon them. Any comments??

By the way the necklace above is not one of my ugly pieces, it's one of my favorites:)