Forgiveness

Forgiveness.  It's a word that goes right to the heart of Easter.

When Katie Wydock, Marybeth's youngest daughter, created this artwork for a school assignment, we immediately knew we would share it on Easter morning. We love her simple graphic style that portrayed forgiveness as a beautiful flower, filled with petal descriptions of the benefits to the body, mind and spirit.

It's a lovely reminder of the beautiful forgiveness purchased for us when Jesus Christ died and then rose from the dead on Easter morning.

Katie's artwork displays some of the benefits of forgiveness such as joy and happiness, but the forgiveness God has extended to us is far beyond these benefits.  God enabled us to have a real relationship with Him again.  All the things that separated us from Him, all the mistakes, wrong- doing, rebellion, bad decisions, attitudes and anger were wiped away through the death of Jesus and His resurrection.  God forgave us.  For everything.  And then paid the penalty due for all this with his only Son.  It's an amazing story of love and great forgiveness.

We're reminded of just how far God removed all the wrong things in our life in this passage:
" As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."  
                                                             Psalms 103:12

God gave us the gift of a clean slate, a fresh start and a new beginning with life connected to Him.
And forgiveness paved the way.

Celebrating Easter,
The Velvet Lime Girls
Marybeth, Laura and Rebecca

Home

"There's no place like home." 

This familiar phrase, often said after a long trip, a long week or just a long day, seems to soothe your soul and wrap itself around you in a cozy, quilt covered calm, reminding you of the goodness of home.  
                      The place where you belong.
            The place where you rest, refresh and are loved.

Homes come in all shapes and sizes and whether a home is a humble abode or a luxurious space, it simply pales in comparison to the home that's begin prepared for you.  It may come as a surprise to know that there's actually another home being prepared for you.  Here's the personal note about it left behind just for you:
"In my Father's house are many mansions, dwelling places, homes ...I am going there to prepare a place for you."  John 14:2

Heavenly dwelling places are rather indescribable, but we do know that the one for you is a place filled with LOVE, because God lives there.

We think it noteworthy that the home being prepared for you isn't on the backside of the universe, in another galaxy, or stuck away on some far away planet.  It's in God's own home because that's where you bring people you really love.

As a cheerful reminder of the joys of home here and the home that's being prepared for you, Marybeth created this light-hearted little bird and his "home tweet home".  The artwork has found a "home" with Custom Decor, Inc. on door mats, flags and mailbox covers, so perhaps you'll be seeing more of this little message in stores that carry Custom Decor products. We hope it will remind you that there really is "no place like home."

The Velvet Lime Girls