Landscapes

"Split-Second" Morning Glory in Velvet Lime Girls ' Studio Garden

"In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life."  James 1:21

We've been busy in the studio lately...dreaming about spring.  Seed packets are scattered everywhere and little seedlings are beginning to sprout.  We're so eager to fill our landscape with fresh, new life and color!  It always amazes us just how drab the winter garden can be, just before it transforms seemingly overnight, into an explosion of color, life and joy.

Raindrops on Geranium Buds in Velvet Lime Girls' Studio Garden

Spring buds in Velvet Lime Girls' Studio Garden

The hours we spend planning, dreaming and imagining our garden landscape made us think about the landscaping God can do in our lives.  His landscaping can create a transformation that lasts forever.    A  transformation that doesn't fade with any earth-bound season. And like a well-tended garden, our lives, so very loved and tended by God, can become a salvation-garden for all the world to see.

Velvet Lime Girls' Studio Garden in June

So, if the landscape of your life looks a bit drab at the moment, or perhaps you're in a winter season of sorts, we hope you'll pause a moment and let the gardener of your soul begin to landscape you with His Word, His promises, His expressions of love for you. Just a glance of Psalms 139 will show you how much He adores you.  He probably dreams about how beautiful your true colors will be once you let Him water you with His fresh words from the Bible.  Oh, how He loves you and wants to see you bloom. And we can just imagine how beautiful the landscape will be once you let the master gardener carefully nurture the garden of your life.

Anticipating spring in gardens and lives,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Iris announcing Spring's arrival

Be My Valentine!

Here's a little Valentine for you today!  A heart embellished graphic that carries a reminder of just how valuable your heart is!  

It's so important to guard your heart because, as we discovered in a beautiful passage in the Bible, that's where life starts, that's where the issues of life spring from.  We like the way Proverbs 4:23 says it best:

"Keep a vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.

We've been learning just how important keeping a watch over our hearts really is and it led us to another beautiful discovery... our hearts will follow what we treasure. It's true!  Just listen to the way a man named Matthew said it:

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:21

So we're choosing to re-evaluate what is really important in this life and with God's direction we're discovering true treasures and blissfully letting our hearts follow.

Happy Valentine's Day,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Thank-you to Evergreen Enterprises and FlagsRUs for choosing our Valentine's Day themed artwork BE MINE - My Heart, My Treasure to grace their garden flags and Sassafras Doormats. 
We appreciate you all!

Love Recklessly

Love recklessly.  It's a phrase that surprisingly is found in the Bible and recently inspired us to create this artwork. Here's the source of our inspiration: 

“Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal."  John 12:24-25  The Message             

"Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” Luke 10:27 The Message

Loving God with reckless abandon,

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. Thanks to Embroidery Online, Embroidery Design Studio and Embroidery Janome for including this artwork in the Lovely Sentiments by Velvet Lime Girls Collection!

You're Loved

We're sending you a Valentine sentiment today to remind you of just how very loved you are. It's a tender, heartfelt expression from God, the one who knew you before you were born and who has promised to never leave you.  Just listen to the way he talks about you:

"You are precious and honored ... and I love you."  Isaiah 43:4

Whoa...precious, honored, loved.  That beats any box of chocolates, flowers or sweet sentiments you may or may not receive this Valentine's Day.  YOU are LOVED by GOD.

So tuck this little Valentine in your heart today and let it's sweetness just melt-all-over-your-soul.

You are so loved,

The Velvet Lime Girls 

P.S. Thank-you to Legacy Publishing Group for the Valentine's Day gift to us of this coaster ... with our artwork!  They've also featured our artwork on calendars, cards and stationery.  Love working with this great team!