Daffodils

We've been gathering daffodils from our studio garden lately.  They're plunging into vases,  taking big gulps of water and saying thank-you with fragrance kisses.  

We've found ourselves humming lyrics from this favorite song whenever the daffodils glance our way or blow a fragrance kiss across the studio:



"Your latter will be greater than your past,
You will be blessed, more than you could ask.
Despite all that has been done, the best is yet to come.
And your latter will be greater than your past."

Our daffodils just seem to reflect the essence of this song. They arrive each spring dressed in absolute beauty and become more magnificent each day.  We used to long for them to never leave, until we realized how beautiful they become with age.  Their soft, pale yellow petals that begin life with a tissue-paper fragility become vivid, golden yellow petals, crisp with fortitude and strength.  Their latter state is actually greater than their past. 

 Which is why we often find ourselves humming the song above when they arrive in spring. We know that as beautiful as they are, "the best is yet to come" for these golden creations. Their "latter will be greater than their past",  as they adorn our weathered containers, stretched out in permanent poses that last for years.  Unlike their former days when they needed water and daily care, they now display an effortless, eternal beauty.  Life is so simple and rich in their latter state.

Daffodils are golden examples of what our lives can become as we trust God and believe his promises of greater things. 

Simple, rich lives, expecting that "the best is yet to come".

Humming with daffodils,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Sing along with us @  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpDsh2M5IqI

Spring in the Studio

Springtime sightings in our studio garden...

pansies unfurling their petals 

 eyes blinking open with wide-eyed wonder

 silent games of peek-a-boo 

freesia fragrance

                  aroma from heaven

soft petals landing on hard places

filling the world with grace

" all earth brims with His glory" 
Psalm 72:19


Inhaling all the joys of Spring,
The Velvet Lime Girls

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

Transformations

Mounds of freshly washed celery stalks with colorful, leafy heads of celadon, sulphur springs and soft as summer green are glistening in our studio today. Earlier, they frolicked in a kitchen sink water bath and then stretched themselves out on a long wire basket, like sunbathers on a beach, to let the final drops of water evaporate one by one. They were just too beautiful to ignore with their green reflections in the morning sun and we had to snap a photo to capture their colors and shapes!

As beautiful as these firm, strong stalks are, they were destined for something much more magnificent. Along with onions, garlic, parsley, peppercorns and an array of vegetables, they formed the base of a hearty stock that now simmers in our studio.  
The aroma is absolutely divine and wraps itself around everyone with a deep culinary fragrance hug.

This stock that will nourish our bodies and souls later, in a savory soup, was quite a transformation story. The firm, hard stalks softened and became a smooth, savory, epicurean delight as they yielded to the seasoned broth around them. Their flavor was brought to an entirely new level as they allowed themselves to be changed, enriched and re-created. It's hard to believe that the final creation, a luxurious, silky, smooth stock, was anything like the hard, original celery stalk.

It's a metamorphosis that parallels our own lives, when we yield to the master Creator and allow:

                our hard edges to be softened by grace

                our rough exteriors to be smoothed by love

               our flavors to be enriched by embracing others. 

Like stock, we'll develop a deeper, richer, well-matured, full-bodied quality. What a flavor we can become in the hands of a Master Chef. Little pièces de résistance! 
It's a recipe of divine proportions that we'd like to share with you:
"If anyone is ingrafted in Christ, they're a new creation (a new creature altogether);
the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away. 
The fresh and new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

We hope our stock story simmers in your spirit today and reminds you of the total  transformation that is possible for all of us.


Sipping on soup in our studio,
The Velvet Lime Girls

LOVE

Love never gives up.


Love cares more for others than for self.


Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.


Love doesn’t strut,


Doesn’t have a swelled head,


Doesn’t force itself on others,


Isn’t always “me first,”


Doesn’t fly off the handle,


Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,


Doesn’t revel when others grovel,


Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,


Puts up with anything,


Trusts God always,


Always looks for the best,


Never looks back,


But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies.

The Message – 1 Corinthians 13

Celebrating an Artist

Last week we celebrated Marybeth, our art director, on the wonderful occasion of her birthday.

Whenever we celebrate a birthday for someone special we often use this expression. "We're so glad you were born!" And this was a sentiment expressed to Marybeth last week from our hearts.

If you happen to have a creative person to celebrate here are a few of our gift ideas:

  

1. Find arty, inspiring journals that just beg you to start sketching, doodling and writing.                     We loved these journals with embossed phrases on leather. Notice the pops of color in the text. We were thrilled to find these at TJ Maxx!

2. Fragrance their life with luxurious scented candles. Marybeth is a packaging connoisseur, so this ginger mango candle by Aquiesse was a visual treat filled with a little aromatherapy.

Who knew a candle could come wrapped so elegantly? Half the fun is just unwrapping the package! These lovely candles can be found at Armour and Co.
@ http://www.armourandco.com/

Just visiting their site is like stepping onto a luxurious beach in the middle of the day. Stepping into their store is absolute paradise.

(In a pinch, you may find these candles
at selected TJMaxx stores, but then you'd miss the 
experience of Armour and Co!  And the memory of the
visit, the essence of the candle and the uplifting feeling
you come away with, will just light up your spirit each time that 
lovely candle is lit.)

3. Finally, wrap up all celebrations with artistic edibles!

We gathered up these little treats from Alon's Bakery, a savory, culinary art museum itself!  You just have to go! @ http://www.alons.com/

With all the celebrating and singing that goes along with birthdays, we couldn't help to remind
ourselves that we're being celebrated everyday. In fact, there's a little bit of singing that occurs over each of us on a regular basis.

"God takes great delight in you...he rejoices over you with singing" Zephaniah 3:17

So, even if it's not your birthday today, just tell yourself, "Hey, I'm being celebrated! Someone is singing over me!" 

Cake and candles are optional for you today, but the singing ... it goes on forever.

Celebrating,

The Velvet Lime Girls