King of Kings

Christmas is one week from today and we're re-posting a few of of our favorite heartfelt posts from the past.  We hope they warm your heart and kindle a little wonder and awe in your spirit, as you take a moment to settle-in and remember what Christmas is really all about. So take a pause today, pour a cup of tea or coffee, and settle into a place of comfort...then let the God of all comfort bring a little peace into your heart today.

 *A Christmas Re-Post from 2011*

This artwork came out of our hearts several years ago and we thought it was fitting to share it again as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.

Names say a lot about a person.  Parents often spend months selecting a name that will convey the essence of all their hopes and dreams for that child.  They know names are important.  It’s the manner in which a child will be addressed and referred to for life and often serves as a remembrance long after they are gone.

Sometimes a person can have a descriptive name that kind of sums up what their life is all about.  Thoughtful Thomas, Caring Cathy, Insightful Ian, Wise William … you can easily add to the list.

But a descriptive name like the King of kings is an entirely different category.  You’ll notice the dictionary even points out that when using this phrase in reference to Christ, that the first King is to be capitalized.  It denotes an authority that is higher than any king in history.  The KING of kings.

We wanted to weave the historical record of this King’s birth in the background of our artwork, wash it in a symbolic red glaze and crown it with a reference to His royal lineage. We love the way Marybeth took all these ideas and distilled them into this creative birth announcement/name declaration that creates a powerful remembrance.

We have a few more descriptive names we captured in artwork and we will share them over the next few days.  Come back and be inspired this week, as you see just how powerful a name can be.

        The Velvet Lime Girls

You're Covered!

If you're in need of a little "lifting of your head" today, here's a fresh splash of encouragement from Psalm 3:3.  It's a heartfelt expression of just how treasured you are by God.  A reminder that you have Someone who not only promises to lift your head ... or restore you, defend you, give you hope, as some translations reveal ... you have Someone who will actually be a SHIELD for you.

Yeah, you are totally covered by God.

So, slip behind that shield He offers to you today and let Him wrap His love around you ... and watch how your very countenance changes when you let Him lift up your head.

The Velvet Lime Girls 

All is CALM

It's December 1st.  Yes, it's already here.  And if your mind starts rolling-out lists of things to do the moment you hear "December 1st", we have a little gift for you today.  It's an invitation to just pause, slow down, inhale and breathe a little slower...and remember what the upcoming celebration of Christmas is really all about.

It's the birthday of Jesus Christ, the son of God, our Savior.

The snow-capped, whimsical-house artwork, pictured above, was hidden behind stacks of sketches and doodles in our studio today, and we pulled it out, just so we could read the first few words: 

ALL IS CALM.

Don't you just feel better saying that?  We do.

It's a lovely reminder to let one of the last things Jesus said on this earth really permeate our entire being and settle everything down just a bit:    

"My peace I leave with you..."  John 14:27 

So, slip on a little of His peace today, His calm, His Presence, and watch, just watch, as everything turns bright.

All is calm, all is bright,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Celebrating Snowman

                       
Here in Georgia, with our mild temperatures, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...if only in our hearts!  We're grateful for this unseasonably warm weather because we know that chilly times will eventually come to our southern state. We might even have a chance to build a snowman! 

We've also been thinking about what a celebrating snowman might actually look like.  After all, the upcoming celebration of the birth of Jesus is so magnificent, we just knew a snowman couldn't resist tilting his little pointy carrot nose to heaven and lifting his twiggy arms in praise. We think he might look a bit like the snowman above.

The Legacy Publishing Group seemed to agree with us and last year they selected our snowman to grace a set of their boxed Christmas cards for this year and they are in stores now. Thank-you Legacy! 

If you'd like to scatter a little joy with our Celebrating Snowman  this Christmas, he can be found at many Christian book stores nationwide or you can have the cards mailed directly to your doorstep from this online site: CELEBRATING SNOWMAN CARDS

We hope our snowman's frosty little face reminds you that "all the earth" has been encouraged to make a joyful shout to God. Psalm 66:1
The Velvet Lime Girls
P.S. Our Celebrating Snowman is also featured in a 2016 
Calendar @ Hobby Lobby as mentioned in last week's post.

The Greater One

This past week we've found our eyes drawn, more than once, to this graphic hanging in our studio. 

May we share it with you today as your week-end begins?  Our hope is that it lifts your heart and encourages you in your spirit.  

Live brave,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Velvet Lime Girls' Calendars @ Hobby Lobby!

We almost had a fainting spell when we walked into our local Hobby Lobby last week and saw Legacy calendars with our artwork!  Oh, we were so excited! That's what happens when you are blessed to create artwork for amazing companies like  Legacy Publishing Company.  You just never know where your artwork may go!  
So today, we're sending out a heartfelt thank-you to Legacy Publishing Company.  You all are amazing! Thank-you. This little calendar is popping up everywhere thanks to you.  We're told it's now found in many local Christian bookstores nationwide and at these links:
Amazon
Christianbook.com
Calendars.com
Jet.com
Bizrate.com

Here's a peek inside the calendar.  Legacy is an expert at calendars and they have featured a different piece of our artwork on each month, along with inspiring scriptures and ample space to write-in details for each day.  We've just hung our calendar up in the studio and are ready for 2016! If you're starting to get ready for 2016, we hope you pick up a calendar at your local Hobby Lobby or one of the online sites above!

Thank-you Legacy for making us look so good!

Grateful hearts,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Summer in our Hearts

last late sunflower bloom

Do you just hang on to every bit of summer that you can, even when it's full-blown fall time?  We do!  A few weeks ago, we walked through the sunny side of our studio garden and captured the last remnants of sunshine days. We thought we'd share a few with you today! Perhaps these final flourishes of the season will brighten up your day like they do ours.  Its amazing how a thing of beauty, held in your heart, can make even a rainy, cold day seem like a day at the beach. 

last petite bloom of the salmon colored hibiscus

It reminds us of the thing of beauty we hold inside of us, the treasure we carry around inside of us while on this earth.  The Voice translation describes it quite beautifully like this:

"But this beautiful treasure is contained in us—cracked pots made of earth and clay—so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us." 
2 Corinthians 4:7

purple coneflower fading with grace

We hope our little snippets from the garden remind you to look for the the beautiful bouquet of treasure contained inside each of you.

Holding the beauty of summer and the treasure of God in our hearts,

The Velvet Lime Girls

birth of a late blooming sunflower

spiderwort buds

last burst of color from purple coneflower

                            

Heart Thoughts

Here's a little love note from us to you today.  Just a gentle reminder to choose a treasure place that is worthy of your heart.  We like the way The Message translation sums this thought up:

“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being"  Matthew 6:21.

It's so true, the place where your treasure is, IS the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

Enjoying pink-watercolor-splashed-thoughts of our treasure,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Amazing Day

We've had a rainy, drizzly Monday morning here in Georgia today and all the Velvet Lime Girls had a big choice to make when each of us woke up.  All three of us, perhaps like a few of you out there, had some challenges pop up.  Some changes in our day that we had not expected.  The kind of changes that just make you not want to skip around singing "Zip-A-Dee-Do-Da" all day.

So, we each decided to make a choice.  A good choice.  A choice to remember that the sun is really shining behind those clouds today and with God's help, we can choose to make this day great. 

We remembered that many years ago God offered a group of people a choice.  A choice to live life in a way that would result in blessing or hardship.  It was a pretty simple choice to make, but just in case they missed it, God gave them one more push in the right direction and said, "Choose life!" (See Deuteronomy 30:19 for details)

We believe He's still kind of doing that each day.  Encouraging us to choose life. 

So, we pulled out the most celebratory graphic on our studio walls, one we had planned to save for a fun Friday post ... and we're posting it today, right in the middle of this rainy Monday! A day that will, with God's help, be AMAZING.  And we'll say a little prayer for you too today, that your day turns out to be as amazing as ours. And if you happen to hear a few lines from that Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah song, it's us singing in the studio!

"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Zip-A-Dee-A

My oh my what a wonderful day

Plenty of sunshine heading my way

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Zip-A-Dee-A"

Choosing Amazing,
The Velvet Lime Girls

No Worries

"It's wonderful what happens when Christ replaces worry at the center of your life."  

Phil. 4:7 The Message 

The center of our life is a pretty important place to guard.

Wow, it is so easy to let it fill up with worries.

In fact, for some of us, it actually seems like the responsible thing to do.

You know, to make sure that everything's thought of that could possibly go wrong and then worry about it.

It's what responsible people do, right?

Actually, wrong.

There's a much better way to live and for all you 

professional worriers out there,

here's a little nudge in a more peaceful direction. We can offer this advice because we were highly experienced, professional worries at one time.  Yeah, we all came from long-lines of worriers.

Then, one day we really let this quote sink into our hearts:

"Don't worry about your life.."

Matthew 6:25

It wasn't a suggestion.

It was more like a loving command meant to protect.

And when we did it, stopped worrying, we had some amazing side-effects.Things like: 

PEACE

CALM

SERENITY

RESTORATION

JOY

Yep, trading worry for all these was the best thing we ever did.

Today's graphic kind of sums it all up for us around here.

It's kind of how we did it.  It's called prayer.

We thought we'd share it with you all today.

Our hope is that, like us, you'll just once-and-for-all, toss all those worries out the window.

Then open-wide the doors of your heart and pray, 

letting God replace all those worries as the center of your life.

 "Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

Philippians 4:6-7

No worries,

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. We hope you'll pass along some of your favorite worry-busting verses, quotes or thoughts.  We just may weave them into a new graphic or art collection to share with others. Thanks!

Paths

We're taking a pause from posting one of our regular whimsical pieces of artwork that are used by manufacturers for various gift items or products.  We love creating those light-hearted designs, but in our studio we're often surrounded by totally different styles of art, and on many occasions, it's a work-in-progress by James Rhodes, the husband of Laura, one of the Velvet Lime Girls.  When he's not busy at Rhodes Design Group, he often slips into the studio, and as he says, "picks up his crayons and starts coloring again".  We like the way he colors and it brings us such inspiration that we wanted to share it with you today.  This piece is not yet signed because it's a work in progress, but those bright-faced daisies in the foreground, that weathered barn, and those billowy clouds just had to be shared with others outside of our studio.  We gave you a peek at some of James' other pieces that grace our studio walls in these posts:  Color of Light and Work of Art in Progress. 

The path in this piece of artwork, with it's grassy mounds of wheat, goldenrod, and bright-faced daisies, waving their tousled heads in the breeze, just seem to whisper over and over to us thoughts about paths. Paths are so important in this life. It's important to choose the right one. When you have Someone to walk with you, guide you and encourage you on your path ...it is a beautiful gift.  Here are just a few of the path promises that have carved themselves onto our hearts lately, like a well-loved path in a grassy field.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path .." Psalm 119:105

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and He will make your paths straight." (or direct your paths) Proverbs 3: 5-6

"The path of the righteous shines brighter and brighter". Proverbs 4:18
To us, those words brighter and brighter always convey the idea of  better and better...and those joyful little daisies in the foreground of this picture just seem to be shouting this...as loud as their little petals will let them.

We'll be writing  more about this grassy path as the work is completed and would love to hear what comes to your mind when you see the grassy path, the barn, the clouds, the green expanse, or that little peek of aquamarine-blue sky in the left hand corner.  Oh, this one is going to be fun to follow!  Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Walking on the paths prepared for us,
The Velvet Lime Girls 

Grateful Hearts

We're not exactly sure where this great quote came from, but when we saw it we just had to capture it in a Velvet Lime Girl's graphic to share with you!  It drew us in like a magnet from the moment we first read it and it seems to pull our hearts back to that place where miracles often begin.  A place called Gratitude. 

Grateful hearts in Georgia,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Grace-Full

We've been thinking about the old story of a very sick woman who tried everything she knew to do medically and still came up short.  She still suffered.  She still had to face her medical challenge every single morning.  
Then she decided to get BRAVE.
Apparently, she had heard about Jesus and the miracles he had done and she told herself, "If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed." So, she bravely came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. And she was healed!  Right then. 
What kind of bravery does it take to interrupt Jesus' schedule?  (He was on his way to an important man's house.)  And what kind of bravery does it take to risk ridicule? (By law, she wasn't even supposed to be in public while sick.)
It takes a bravery that believes in the compassion of Jesus.  A bravery that trusts in his grace.

We created this graphic to remind us of this grace-full story.  The whole story is found in the book of Mark in the Bible and we hope you'll take a moment to read it and be inspired to live bravely in His grace.

Living brave,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Little Bird, Big Song

This cute little bird fluttered into our studio this morning with a BIG song in it's heart.  
It was a song so big for such a little body that it just had to come out! 
When your soul really sings, that's what happens.  
You get so big on the inside, that a song of praise just has to come out!

Singing in the studio,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Royal Blood

  

Hi girls!  This one's just for you today.  A little reminder of the royal lineage you step into when God becomes your heavenly Father.  It's a regal bloodline and you've been invited to become a part of this family. It's a family that backs you all the way and loves you like no one else.

The Message translation says it this way:

“I’ll live in them, move into them;
    I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people...

I’ll be a Father to you;
    you’ll be sons and daughters to me.”

2 Corinthians 6:18

So let this amazing truth sink into your heart today.  You have a heavenly Father who promises to be with you and go before you as you walk through this life.  That brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "have no fear".  You've have God with you! 

For all you guys out there, this promise holds true for you too. Just replace the word daughter with son on the graphic above, and then run out and play with the rest of the kids! 

The sons and daughters of The King.

Grateful to be in the family,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Rainy Day Promise

We've thought about just "singing in the rain" lately to brighten things up a bit, since it's been raining for over a week here in Georgia.  Then we remembered this refreshing little promise that always showers us with joy. It's a perfect rainy day thought for you and we couldn't resist turning it into a graphic to share. 
So, as this new week begins, go pull out the brightest umbrella you can find, sing in the rain a little bit, and let each tiny raindrop splash fresh new joys into your heart.

Playing in the puddles,
The Velvet Lime Girls

A Door of Hope

If you're in need of a little hope today, here's a promise just for you. God has a door of hope. Right in the middle of any valley you may be walking through. The Message conveys this promise so beautifully:

And now, here’s what I’m going to do:

I’m going to start all over again...

    I’ll turn Heartbreak Valley into Acres of Hope.

Acres of Hope is a lot of hope.  And that's what God is offering. So today we're sending this little graphic out to encourage you to look for that door of hope that God has promised to provide just for you.

The Velvet Lime Girls

Chosen

Lately we've been thinking about the beautiful word chosen.  The dictionary definition alone is pretty amazing... one who is the object of choice or of divine favor.

When you take a look at how God uses this word though, it takes on a new radiance.

He chose us before He began creating the foundation of this earth.

He chose us to be a treasured possession.

He chose us first.

We're chosen.  Picked by God. And He wraps us in words like treasure, royal, and special possession.

That is amazing love.

To remind ourselves of just how chosen we are, we created this little graphic inspiration, splashed with shades of radiant gold, to remind us that God calls us a treasure and that we are very, very chosen. It's not just a love expression for us though, it's for anyone with an open heart.  So take this little treasure for yourself today and begin to call yourself "chosen". 

Feeling quite special,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Inspirations from 1 Peter 2:9, John 15:16, Ephesians 1:3-4 & Galations 1:5

We've been thinking about how beautiful the word chosen is lately.  The dictionary defines it as one who is

FAITH

Faith DOES thank God!  Right smack in the middle of the story. 

"Like an arrow that's already been shot, it reaches forward to grab hold of God's promises." Rick Renner

If you're in the middle of a story right now, facing a challenge, an impossibility or uncertainty, we're sending this graphic out today to encourage you.  To remind you that your faith in God is powerful.

While reading Sparkling Gems From the Greek, we found out that the Greek word for faith is pistis, a word that "denotes a force that is forward-directed and aggressive - never passive or backward-reaching, but always reaching forward to obtain or achieve a specific target or goal."

Wow.  Faith is never passive.  It's always reaching forward to obtain a goal. It's actually the evidence, "the confident assurance, that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead."  Hebrews 11:1

When you let this confident assurance, this evidence, this faith, really build up in your spirit, it becomes a powerful force.  A force that enables you to believe God for the impossible, and thank Him in advance.

So take your confident assurance, your faith, and let it fly like an arrow today, piercing through to the promises of God.

Walking by faith,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Friday Fun Day

It's Friday!
Do you still get a thrill when Friday rolls around?  We do!
Fridays are fun days here in the Velvet Lime Girls Studio.  We explore new colors, talk about new design ideas and just have some creative playtime.  Surrounding yourself with fun, expressive colors and design is a great way to start the weekend.

So, we'd like to share a bright little promise with you today as you slip into your weekend!

We washed this day-brightener with piñata-type colors. A fun fuchsia background, vibrant-white type and a few tangerine splashes.  Just looking at it creates a little celebration in your heart!  And if you let these words soak into your spirit ... you really will feel like celebrating on this Friday afternoon!

Have a great weekend,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Strength, Wisdom & Peace

Strength, wisdom & peace. 
If you need one of these today, it's reassuring to know they're available to you right this very minute.  They really are. They're just waiting for you to take them and use them, for whatever challenge you may be facing. So go ahead, take this little word of encouragement, placed on a brushed crimson background with goldenrod type and let it strengthen you today.
The first brush of fall is in the air around here, so the goldenrod color was a perfect fit for this graphic day-brightener.  Goldenrods are waving their buttery, yellow heads all over Georgia this time of year.
When we discovered the botanical name for goldenrods was Solidago canadensis, and that the word Solidago  means "to make whole",  we knew the type in goldenrod hues was the fitting color for this graphic encouragement. It's a color that reminds of The One who makes us whole.
So receive the strength, receive the wisdom, receive the peace offered to you today by God, and let this graphic be a reminder of just how equipped you are for whatever you may be facing. 

"He gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak... But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." Isaiah 40:29-31



Walking in His strength, wisdom & power,
The Velvet Lime Girls 

LAUGH

We've had this uplifting graphic hanging in our studio for a couple weeks and we wanted to share it with you today. 

The idea of laughing without fear of the future is absolutely liberating.  A really-good-laugh, that spontaneous sound that rises from the heart, spills out through a smile and fills up your whole being with a carefree, uplifting, lightheartedness, is so, so good for your soul.

When was the last time you had a really good belly laugh?

You know, those kind that little children always seem to have just under the surface of their cute, flushed cheeks. 
The kind that are barely contained and about to spill-out into endless episodes of non-stop, hearty gales of laughter. 

Oh, a deep, heart-felt laugh is so good for your soul.
And so good for your future.

What a refreshing way to look at things in the future. 
          To laugh, rather than fear.  
          To smile, rather than worry.
          To rejoice, rather than dread.
When you're clothed with the strength and dignity that God offers...you can do this.  You can laugh without fear of the future.

With love & laughter,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Trust Him

We had a tiny thunderstorm sweep through our area of Georgia last night. Those majestic slices of lightening and the reverberating thunder-bells in the distance were a beautiful sight.  
We can enjoy this display now as adults, sitting in the safety of a home, because experience has taught us that as ominous-sounding as those thunder-bells may be...we're going to be okay.  
For little ones though, it still takes some reassurance that a big, loud sound is not going to hurt them. One of the little grandchildren who often pitter-patter around our studio recently blurted out, with a fresh-faced honesty, "I'm afraid when I hear thunder."  
After some tender, heartfelt discussion and reassurance, this little one was given an ANCHOR to hold onto and to SAY OUT LOUD over circumstances that try to make her be afraid.  It was this powerful passage from the Bible.

"When I am afraid, I will TRUST in you."

We thought we'd pass this little anchor on to you all today.  We dressed it up in a cantaloupe-colored, patterned background.  You may be all over the fear of thunder, but still find yourself facing a lightening storm of sorts in your life.  God's Word is just as powerful for you, just as reassuring for you, as it is for a little granddaughter.  It's because these words are living and active.  These words change things. But you're going to have to SAY them to activate them in your life.

So, print out this little art expression and hang it up somewhere today, so you can use it to speak to your storms, or your challenges. You're going to love the way TRUST drowns out fear.

Trusting,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Gray Hair Promise

You know you're loved when someone tells you they'll stick with you until your hair turns gray.  That's a long time.  That's an amazing amount of love.

And that's what God says about YOU.

Here's a free printable for you or someone who may need to be reminded that God loves them. 

Gray hair and all!

Just click on the link below for your free printable:

Gray Hair Promise :-)

The Velvet Lime Girls

Healer

Sometimes a name says it all. With God though, one name simply can't encompass all of His nature, His attributes, and the many ways He loves us.  The early writers of the Bible had several names they used to describe God and the many facets of his nature. You may have heard of a few like Jehovah-Jireh, which means the Lord will Provide, or Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord is our Peace.
There are many more and you can read about them at sites like this - Names of God.
One of the names of God we've been drawn to lately is Jehovah-Rapha.  Just listen to a few of its meanings:

I Am the God who heals you.
Great Physician.
The God who heals.
The Great Physician who heals the physical and emotional needs of His people.

The word Rapha actually means to restore, or make healthful, become fresh, completely healed, purified, repaired.  Amazing.  And this is just one of the many descriptive names of God.  Oh, how He loves us.
We wanted to capture the essence of this name of God and hang it in our studio, so, we filled our brushes with a crimson-fuchsia watercolor wash, swept them across some grainy paper and then layered a couple meanings of Jehovah-Rapha on the top. What a beautiful facet of God to reflect on throughout the day.
Here's a copy of our simple expression for you to print out, tape up somewhere, or pass along to a friend.  It's the last in our series of 7 faith-seeds we wanted to plant into your life this past week. A perfect ending to 7 days of celebrating the One who loves us the most. Our God. Our Great Physician.

The Velvet Lime Girls

His Touch

A Touch.  
Sometimes that's all you need to brighten your day.  
A touch from someone who loves you.  
A touch from someone who cares.  
A touch from someone who can just soothe everything away.

It's comforting to know that there is a God who is still reaching out to touch us, to care for us, to love us, to heal us.  He revealed this caring nature through His Son, Jesus, who walked on this earth for a short time, and the historical accounts of Jesus' life are moving.

The historical account referenced in the artwork above records multitudes came to touch Him. That's a whole lot of people coming out to touch Jesus ... because power went out from Him and healed them.  Healed them all. Not just one or a few. ALL.

He still heals today.  Yeah, that's right, because according to another historical document, He's the same yesterday, today and forever.  (Hebrews 13:8).  He's still reaching out in love to touch our lives, comfort us, and heal us.

We hope our simple artwork moves you to reach out and touch Him today.  Maybe in a prayer or maybe in reading from that vintage collection of love notes to us, called The Holy Bible.  There's a book inside there called John that's a beautiful place to begin and to feel His embrace.


His touch can change everything,
The Velvet Lime Girls


P.S. This is the 6th in our series of 7 faith-seeds this week. These are just for you.  Just for you to print out, tape up somewhere, or pass along to someone who may need a little lift in their spirit today.  One more tomorrow :-)