Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Sanctification can seem rather daunting at times. Often when we take a close look at our daily lives, ‘blameless’ is not the word that best describes our conduct. But, we don’t sanctify ourselves. Sanctification is God’s work in our lives, and He is faithful to accomplish everything He sets out to do.

Look at Abraham. God called him out of the Chaldeans and promised to bless the world through Abraham’s offspring, though Abraham had no children. Abraham tried to fulfill God’s promise on his own through his wife’s servant, Hagar. Despite Abraham’s disobedience, God was faithful to fulfill His promise through Abraham’s wife, Sarah, and Isaac was born. Eventually, Abraham obeyed God when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. Abraham was willing because he believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead. God was faithful to complete the work He started in Abraham.

Peter is another example. He followed Jesus throughout His earthy ministry and professed Jesus to be the Christ. But, when Jesus predicted His death, Peter would not accept it and tried to discourage Jesus from this path. Even in the early morning hours before Jesus was crucified, Peter would deny he even knew Jesus. After Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus makes a point to take Peter aside and strengthen Peter’s faith. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter went on to speak boldly for Jesus, suffering gladly for His Name. God was faithful to complete the work He started in Peter.

God is faithful to complete the work He began in us, too. That doesn’t mean we throw up our hands and do nothing, that would be disobedience. God has commanded us to walk like Christ, to be in His Word, and to love Him with our whole heart. It is by His grace that small choices of obedience bring about change in our lives, even if we cannot always see it. God is able to bring about our sanctification and to make us blameless at the coming of Jesus. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!

References: Genesis 12:1-9, Genesis 16, Genesis 21:1-7, Genesis 22:1-18, Matthew 16:13-23, Matthew 26:69-75, John 21:15-19, Acts 5:17-42

Studio Update:

Getting ready for an open house on November 16! Bring a friend, join us for a cup of tea, and enjoy browsing my “Blairfully Made Shop” in person. Email me to ask for the details (blair@blairfullymade.com), if you are interested in coming.

I’ve been making up some cards, recipe cards, potholders and towels… and we’ll have printed copies of next year’s calendar! Most of the new stuff is live (except the calendar download, which will be available soon). So if you can’t join us November 16, feel free to shop around here.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Hope to see you November 16!

Thanks,

Blair

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Romans 13:12

We’re in a war. Sin wages war on us. The war goes so much deeper than we often realize, and we don’t always take seriously the enemy we face. The enemy is strong, stronger than we are. The enemy held us captive in sin apart from Christ. Satan wants nothing more than for us to give in to our sinful desires and fall back into habits of darkness.

But, King Jesus, the Light of the world, has conquered the darkness. By His power, we can stand against Satan’s schemes. It is Jesus, the Word of God, who created all things. It is by His power that the universe holds together. Jesus was tempted in every way, but overcame every temptation by the power of His Word. His death and resurrection conquered Satan and released us from the captivity of sin. Moreover, Jesus will come again, and His Word will vanquish Satan in finality at the end of time.

So, we must put on Christ. It is His righteousness that protects us against Satan’s accusations. His salvation guards our minds. Most importantly, we have God’s written Word, the revelation of who He is. The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword… (Hebrews 4:12). We have been called out of darkness and given His armor to stand against sin and walk in His light.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!

References: 1 Peter 2:11, Romans 7:23, John 8:12, John 1:1-14, Hebrews 1:1-4, Hebrews 4:15, Matthew 4:1-11, Revelation 19:11-21, Romans 13:14, Ephesians 6, 1 Peter 2:9, Colossians 1:13

Studio Update:

Some fun little projects for this month (and a lot of “refining”). I’ve scanned and photographed a bunch of art, and it’s time to clean it up and lay it out for printing purposes! And… we’re planning an open house in November, so stay tuned for all the details!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blair

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…

Colossians 3:12

Sin goes so much deeper than just actions and words against God. God alone is worthy of all our affections and worship. But instead of loving God with our whole heart, our innate desire to please ourselves has divided our affections, making light of who God is. This makes us unacceptable in God’s sight – no amount of ‘good works’ on the outside could remove the rotten core of sin. But, God, rich in mercy, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place and rescue us from this sin. The old self is now gone, crucified with Christ, replaced by a new creation, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of our Creator.

So, we must put off our old self, thrusting aside every weight, and the sin that so easily entangles. We lay down the pride that pushes us to the top of the ladder or the front of the line. We let go of our self-serving motives. We give up endlessly striving for more worldly possessions, positions, and relationships to satisfy our own desires. Our satisfaction is in God Himself, not in pleasing ourselves. But it’s not begrudgingly following a list of rules; it’s a transformed life. When we see the magnitude of God’s grace and the cost of our sin, sin no longer tastes as sweet.

What replaces the old self? The Holy Spirit now lives in us, teaching us to obey God from the heart. We learn by Christ’s example. His compassion toward us stirs us to compassion for others. His kindness toward us spurs us on to kindness toward others. His humility, meekness, and patience draws us to humility, meekness, and patience in our own lives. His forgiveness toward us gives us the perspective to be able to forgive others. His love for us drives us to love others in the same way. So, let His peace fill our hearts and His words fill our mouths. May our hearts be overflowing with gratitude to Him. May everything we do be for His glory, so that others may see and believe.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!

References: Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:4-5, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:10, Hebrews 12:1, Colossians 3:12-17

Studio Update:

We have some tiny salvia plants that haven’t gotten taller than my finger is long. Since they were starting to bloom, I pinched off a bunch of tiny blooms. Not having the heart to throw them away entirely, I brought them in. Conveniently, we had a very tiny pink doll-sized pitcher to put them in. Inspired and excited, I launched into a tiny bouquet series, which now makes me hunt and forage for the runts and tiniest flowers we happen to have. I found rudbeckias smaller than my thumb (stunted by deer nibbles), baby-sized basil already blooming in our ‘kitchen herb pots’, and drought stunted sunflowers barely an inch wide. Who knows what tiny too-small-for-a-normal-vase flowers I’ll find next?

Thanks for stopping!

Blair

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love…

Ephesians 4:1-2

We have been called to belong to Christ. We’ve been adopted as children of God. As such, we are to demonstrate His character here on earth. Throughout the Old Testament, God called his people Israel to live differently than the nations around them. They were to be examples of God’s holiness to a watching world. In the same way, God calls us to live in a manner worthy of the calling He has given.

Humility, gentleness, patience, and love are not attributes that come naturally to us. Humility is not just low self esteem. Humility is putting others’ needs before one’s own. Gentleness is not just being polite or quiet. Gentleness is a tender spirit with quiet strength, rooted in self-control. Patience is not just waiting in a long line to buy groceries. Patience is persevering in all circumstances with contentment and trust. Love is not just a passing affection for someone else. Love is choosing to care for and protect and forgive someone no matter what. It seems as though all of these attributes are rejected or unnoticed by our culture, and our culture actively works to redefine and cheapen what these attributes are.

But, we have an example of all of these attributes, Jesus Christ. Humility – even though Jesus was God, He took on human form to become a servant and died a criminal’s death. Gentleness – when Jesus was reviled and taunted, He did not retaliate. Patience – instead of coming with judgment for our sin, Jesus came with redemption and is even still waiting to bring judgment. Love – to the ones who crucified and disowned him, Jesus extends unconditional forgiveness. We are called to follow in his steps.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!

References: Leviticus 19:1, Philippians 2:3, James 5:11, 1 Corinthians 13:1-7, Philippians 2:5-8, 1 Peter 2:21-23, 2 Peter 3:9, Ephesians 1:7-8

Studio Update:

I’m still trying new things and learning. I started an experiment with watercolor-ing the background of what’s going to be a colored pencil sunflower…I hope. I used masking fluid to reserve the sunflower space and damaged the paper a little bit, so we’ll see how the colored pencil layers on the messed up areas.

The surprise lilies were two weeks early like everything else this year, but I’ve really enjoyed them with our lisianthus and cosmos. I think I like surprise lilies because they’re a limited-time offer, but come back every year (kind of like spring flowers)…and they’re so pretty!

Oh. And pictures of the screen prints that I promised last time.

Thanks for stopping!

Blair

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2

The Bible is God-breathed, given to us by the God over all the universe, the only true God. The author alone makes the Bible worth reading. Not only that, God’s Word contains the words of eternal life. From cover to cover, the Bible recounts God’s sovereign hand through human history to bring about redemption and salvation. In it, we see God’s character, His standard, our own inadequacy, and God’s mercy and grace toward us. Every command, every promise, every deliverance points us to what God desires for us.

We must be made new. The patterns of this world draw people deeper into sin, brokenness, and ultimately death. We, too, used to live this way, serving ourselves rather than our Creator. But, in Christ, God has given us new hearts to serve Him. God desires that we be different from the world He saved us from, and God transforms us by renewing our minds in His word.

As we meditate on God’s Word, it seeps into our being and becomes part of us. It turns our eyes to God’s will and shows us who God is. It points out our sin, and leads us to repentance. God’s Word gives us a glimpse of God’s perspective, and changes our own perspective and focus. It points us to an eternal view of life, rather than our present circumstances and reminds us to turn our gaze to Jesus, rather than ourselves. God’s Word becomes the lens by which we see everything around us. As our desires become conformed to God’s desires, we start to walk more and more in obedience.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!

References: 2 Timothy 3:16, John 6:68, Ephesians 2:1-3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Hebrews 12:1-2

Studio Update:

Some snapshots of my projects as of late. Rudbeckias seem to be a common theme for my projects in the last week or two. We have had some with giant yellow blossoms that perhaps inspired some of my obsession. I finally found a sunny afternoon to expose some screens for screen printing. Hopefully, I can get some more pictures on that when I’ve tried out the screens to see how they print.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Blair

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:4

Baptism is a picture of our salvation. The water reminds us of the judgment we deserve for our sin – we deserve to die in the flood of God’s judgment just like the people in Noah’s day. But, like Noah was rescued out of the flood by God’s provision and grace in the ark, we, too, are rescued from judgment by God’s provision and grace in Jesus Christ. Noah’s only hope was in God’s promise of deliverance from the flood and the directions God had given to build the ark. In the same way, we believe God’s promise of salvation in Jesus Christ – He is our only hope. When a believer comes up out of the water in baptism, we are given a tangible picture of being rescued from death to walk in new life.

We were dead in our trespasses and sins, but Jesus died our death to bring us back to life. All of our sin was placed on Jesus, our old self died there on that cross, so that by God’s grace we would be set free from sin. Sin no longer has dominion because our old self is gone, dead, crucified with Christ. Not only that, Jesus’ resurrection seals the promise of freedom from sin. Now, Christ, the conquering King, lives in us. We walk in His victory, no longer enslaved to sin!

Even though we have been set free from sin, our daily choices reflect our true master. If we choose to continue in our old habits of sin, we are submitting again to our old master. It’s as if Christ’s death carries no weight to us, and we ignore the price of our freedom. By God’s power and grace, we now have a choice to say ‘no’ to our sin and walk in holiness. Is it a one-time choice to deny self and pursue righteousness? No. This choice must happen daily with our eyes fixed on Jesus, our only hope.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!

References: 1 Peter 3:21, Ephesians 2:1-6, Galatians 2:20-21, Romans 6:1-14, Luke 9:23, Hebrews 12:1-2

Studio Update:

Took a few garden pictures last Monday. The snapdragons are going to town, some of our dahlias overwintered and are blooming now, and David Austin roses are the best! We just got the tomatoes out last weekend, so hopefully they’ll get going with a little rain. The peas are setting on, the beans are headed up the arbor, and the garden is filling up.

And in the art realm… some doodle-y dahlia bouquets and colored pencil foxgloves…

Anyway, that’s all for now! Thanks for stopping by!

Blair

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

What does it mean to be in Christ? Included in, counted part of, but there’s also an element of being ‘inside’ or surrounded by Christ. I think of the picture in John 10 of Jesus’ sheep. He is the door of the sheepfold, and those who come in through Him find safety in the fold, becoming part of His flock of sheep. Jesus, the Shepherd cares for and protects each one. Each sheep knows His voice, follows Him, and trusts Him.

In Christ, we are cared for and nurtured. Day by day, we are renewed inwardly by God’s Spirit¹. God hears every prayer, and cares for us². God knows what we need before we even ask³, and every good and perfect gift comes from Him⁴. By God’s power, we have been given everything needed for life and godliness⁵. In Christ, we have been given every spiritual blessing⁶. We are seated with Christ and have received an inheritance with Jesus – eternal life⁷.

In Christ, we are protected. Jesus already bore God’s wrath for our sin, and we are safe from God’s wrath and condemnation⁸. As such, we are also protected from Satan’s accusation⁹. We are given strength in Christ to resist sin and the devil’s schemes¹⁰, and fight our daily battles with confidence, knowing that Jesus has won the ultimate victory over sin and Satan¹¹. Nothing can separate us from His love¹² and no one can snatch us out of His hand¹³.

To be in Christ also means the old is gone, and the new has come. No longer do we walk to please ourselves. No longer do we return to our sin. We must consciously choose to put our sin, our old self, to death and pursue godliness. This is not done in our own strength, but in Christ’s strength. The Shepherd goes before us, and we follow him for we know His voice¹⁴. We look to God’s Word to reveal our sin, point us back to Jesus, and lead us in the path of righteousness¹⁵.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!

References: ¹2 Corinthians 4:16, ²1 Peter 5:7, ³Matthew 6:8, ⁴James 1:17, ⁵2 Peter 1:3, ⁶Ephesians 1:3, ⁷Ephesians 2:6, ⁸Romans 8:1, ⁹Romans 8:33, Revelation 12:10-11, ¹⁰Ephesians 6:10-13, ¹¹Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14-15, ¹²Romans 8:38-39, ¹³John 10:27-30, ¹⁴John 10:4-5, ¹⁵1 Peter 2:24-25

Studio Update:

Mom and I took a quick garden tour Saturday morning to capture a few snapshots of what’s going on in the garden. Irises are blooming profusely, peas are up, and a vole’s eye view of strawberry plants. Peonies (not pictured) are starting to bloom. There are so many things coming up, getting established, and setting on blooms, and a handful of pictures just won’t capture how exciting spring is!

And as for art… most of my time has been consumed with trying to capture everything that’s been blooming in watercolor. Somehow, this is taking quite a bit longer than I expected, but I’m making progress. For the last two weeks, I’ve had a fridge full of ‘specimens’ that come out for an hour at a time to keep working on this picture. Too bad paint doesn’t capture the smells…I’ve really enjoyed having the lilacs and irises on my desk.

Anyway, thanks for stopping!

Blair

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

In the beginning, God made people to bear his image. Humans are not creatures of instinct, but have a spirit and a conscience. God set mankind above every other creature in the garden, to care for them and tend them. People were created to have perfect fellowship with God, like Adam and Eve in the garden. We were made to reflect God’s own character, his faithfulness, his holiness, his love (among a good many other attributes).

But, that image has been marred by sin. Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, people are no longer a perfect reflection of God’s character. We cannot uphold every promise, we are no longer holy, we do not love the way God loves. Thorns and thistles began to grow, and work became hard. Death entered the world. Sin separated us from fellowship with God.

But, Jesus came and lived among us. He is more than a perfect reflection of God’s character, Jesus is God. He perfectly fulfilled the purpose for which God created mankind. Because of His obedience, at the cross, Jesus took away the sin that separated us from God. He bore a crown of thorns so that one day no more thorns and sorrows will ever grow again. He died and rose again, defeating death forever.

Now, in Christ, we are being restored to reflect God’s character. We are His workmanship, being made new to do what God originally created us to do. God prepares the works, and gives us what we need to do them to reflect His character and bring Him glory.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!

References: Genesis 1:27-28, Romans 1:20, 2:14-15, Genesis 3, John 1:14, Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 3:10

Studio Update

Well, I think you might say it’s been a productive month for me. Lots of spring flowers and colors in my “studio” this month. I am so, so happy I got to bring in fresh daffodils from the garden and draw them. There’s basically one or two daffodils from each week in March that have made their way up to my desk and eventually into my picture. Colored pencils and fresh “specimens” are definitely my favorite way to draw…even if I don’t always make time for it. The plan for this year is to make more time for this type of drawing (even though, I probably won’t stop the other doodles, too).

Anyway, here’s the photo dump from the month… and oh! The garden…is about ready to be planted. We have oodles of voles this year, so we’re trying our best to get as many tulips as we can (seems like every day, I go down and find a new tulip with the bottom missing, “picked” by the voles). I’m hoping that this doesn’t carry over into our veggies and flowers for the rest of the season, but I have a feeling we’re going to struggle with them all season long.

Anyway, thanks for stopping! Hope you enjoyed it and were encouraged.

Thanks,

Blair

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

David wrote this Psalm, and I can’t help but think of the humility and repentance David shows here in contrast to his predecessor, Saul. Both King David and King Saul disobeyed God. David committed adultery and murder and Saul failed to execute God’s judgement on the Amalekites and instead took the spoil that God had commanded him to destroy. But their responses are so different.

When Samuel first addresses Saul’s sin, Saul claims to have kept God’s command and blames the people for taking the spoil. Only after Samuel reveals that God has rejected Saul does Saul realize that his sin was actually sin. And what’s more, when he asks for forgiveness, he asks so that he can still appear righteous before the people, but doesn’t seem to recognize the gravity of his sin. “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the LORD your God.” (1 Samuel 15:30)

When Nathan addresses David’s sin, Psalm 51 is David’s response. He recognized that his sin was not just against Bathsheba and Uriah, but against God himself, and that God was the one most offended by his sin. He asked for God’s mercy, for God to take away his sin and give him a new heart. He repented of his sin and did not want to continue in it. God gave David a new heart, and allowed David to continue his role as king.

A contrite, humble, repentant heart is the heart that God listens to, a heart that recognizes the severity of sin, and the mercy and grace of our God. We must recognize that our hearts are lead astray into sin and that we need God to make us new. We must turn from our sin and look to Jesus to be made new.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!

References: 1 Samuel 15, 2 Samuel 11, Psalm 51, Isaiah 57:15, John 3:14, Colossians 3:1-4

Studio Update:

Spring is coming so fast…I’m going to blink and miss it! So much stuff is green in the garden and the daffodils are starting to bloom (though only our earliest ones, the bulk of them will probably start up in a week or two). Mom and I both got a nice surprise walking to the garden yesterday…all our super-short, super-early, mini dutch irises just popped overnight and there was a whole row of purple!

I got out my colored pencils for some fun projects (which naturally take a little longer than watercolor, but I enjoy them very much)…and then I had a craving to make something purple one afternoon, so plopped a little sketch in my sketchbook.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blair

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:27

When this was written, Ezekiel was living in Babylon. In this passage, God made it clear that Israel’s stubborn disobedience, as they followed other gods, was not acceptable. A holy God cannot tolerate sin. Sin’s just compensation is death. But, God’s mercy would bring Israel back. God promised to restore them in repentance. He promised to make them new, and to change their hearts of stone into tender hearts of flesh. He promised to cleanse them from their idols, and to bring them back to the land he promised them.

We, too, have hearts of stone. Our hearts are stubborn, unteachable, not tender toward God’s desires and commands. Disobedience may be an obvious outward opposition to God’s law, like lying or stealing. But often, disobedience goes deeper than that. Often, we obey the letter of the law but miss the intent behind the law. “Do not murder.” That sounds easy on the surface, until Jesus says in Matthew 5 that whoever is angry with his brother has committed murder in his heart. Even when we constrain our actions, our hearts still run rampant in wickedness. The intent behind the law, that we should love one another, is violated when we harbor anger in our hearts. This applies to so much more than just anger, and we tend to scrape by, following the letter of the law, instead of loving God with everything in us and desiring to follow God’s ways.

We need hearts of flesh that desire to follow God’s ways both in spirit and in deed. But how can dead, hard, hearts be made tender and soft? No amount of water softens a rock. We need totally new hearts, and God must work the transformation. At that point, a person goes from dead to alive.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!

References: Ezekiel 36:22-27, Romans 6:23, Exodus 20:13, Matthew 5:21-26, Matthew 22:34-40

Studio Update:

Just a few projects. I’m getting close to wrapping up the floral Christmas painting (then will be on to scanning and layout for fabric, I hope). Then, I took an afternoon and played a bit with carving a dahlia stamp. You can see the pencil on the left and the stamped design on the right. And, the last picture is something new I tried…stars. I learned a lot, and next time I have a few ideas to make the stars (and letters) stand out a bit more.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blair