His Kingdom Has No End

I have never been one to fear national disasters.

That's not to say that I wouldn't be afraid if it happened, I have just never really been the type to worry or dwell on the possibility of something bad happening on a big scale.

Recently though, like the past few months, I have had this little nagging thought about what it would be like if something truly terrible happened and we found ourselves living in a world much different than the safe little America that we happened to be born in that has provided comfort after comfort.

War hasn't reached America's shores in a very long time, and growing up in the 80s and 90s it never crossed my mind that it even could.  I don't mean to say that I was naive, I just didn't think about it.  I don't know what made me start thinking about it recently, but I have found myself lost in thought about what it must be like to live through a war in your land.  I'm guessing it probably has something to do with the fact that I read two novels set in WWII France and Germany back to back. Ha.

My recent thoughts aren't deeply rooted in fear, but I can sense a bit of it creeping in the more I think about it, and that bothers me.  I don't like to be afraid of things that are out of my control.  I don't want to worry about the future or my family's safety.  So I did what I do when my brain gets a little janky and my heart starts getting unsettled.  I looked to scripture and started praying - seeking to combat the worrisome thoughts with the truth of the Gospel. I started thinking about kingdoms and nations and how for as long as there have been humans, there has been war. One kingdom invades another.  Someone wins, someone loses, and lots of people die.  Over and over and over. Kingdoms fall, one after the other.  Once mighty empires have ceased to be, and in this fallen world that will only continue.

But there is a Kingdom that is different.

There is a King that reigns over a Kingdom that will have no end.

For those that believe and have faith in Christ, that Kingdom is our home.  We are citizens of this eternal Kingdom, even now, as we temporarily live in the sometimes harrowing chaos of this earth. While there are many scary things that can and sometimes do happen, we don't live in fear because our hope doesn't rest in the stability of our nation or it's leadership.  It doesn't rest in our ability to care for our families or keep them entirely from harms way.  Our hope rests in our King Jesus who has secured our place at his everlasting banqueting table.  Our hope is anchored behind the veil by a God who promises that not only is He on His throne now, but He is coming back to get us, His bride.  And His promises are true. His Kingdom is one of peace, and it cannot be destroyed. Darkness will not defeat it. IT WILL NOT END. EVER.

As this season of Advent approaches I find it such a sweet reminder that "the whole Bible is telling one big story - that God loves His people and comes to rescue them." (Jesus Storybook Bible)
As we look forward to Christmas and the celebration of His birth amidst the seeming uncertainty of our immediate futures, I pray that we will push back the fears that our flesh reaches for and cling to His promises.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, 

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And He will be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom,

establishing it and upholding it with

justice and righteousness from that time on and forever."

Isaiah 9:6-7 (emphasis mine)

Gabriel, the angel, to Mary: "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.

You will be with child and give birth to a son,

and you are to give him the name Jesus. 

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,

and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever;

his kingdom will never end."

Luke 1:31-33 (emphasis mine)

We are children of the Most High King, and our kingdom will have no end. Let's celebrate and walk in the freedom from fear that truth brings, whatever we find ourselves faced with or called to do.

Summer Sale

Right now, everything in the shop is 25% off when you spend $17!

Some of the prints will be discontinued soon to make room for more goodies so if you have been eyeing a little something now is a great time to stock up. 

The globes that are listed are included in this sale.

Custom orders are excluded.

Use code FREEDOM at checkout.

Happy shopping!

when hope is no more

HOPE:

1- confident expectation

2- firm assurance of the promises of God

I had a conversation with a friend recently about Heaven and how there is no hope there.  

There is no hope in Heaven.

Wait, what?

You read that correctly.  There is no hope in Heaven - because you do not hope for that which you have already attained.

What incredible news!

Hope only exists now because everything in this fallen world is broken.  We have to hope for that which is to come.

Scripture tells us that Christ is our hope - everything is met and holds together in Him - and because He lived the perfect life (for us!) and died the perfect death (for us!) our HOPE is tethered and anchored behind the veil and we have every confidence that what has been promised will be attained.

So often I am tempted to put my hope in something other than His finished work on the cross on my behalf...and far too often it is in a false sense of my own righteousness.  What a joke!  None is righteous (no not one!) - least of all me. 

It is my prayer for us that we would fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, as our HOPE and look for the day that hope is no more.  

Because the day is coming, friends.  There will be no more night.  No more tears. No more pain. No more hope.

Who would have thought that "no more hope" could ever be a good, encouraging thing?

Oh but it is.

So let's fix our eyes, remain steadfast, and hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, because He is faithful.

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf,. He has become a High Priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." Hebrews 6:19-20

burn & shine

I read a quote the other day that resonated with my heart and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.  When that happens it's a safe bet that it will eventually be lettered and hung on my wall for me to see often.  Sometimes these little quick sketches turn into the artwork I offer in my shop!


"Does the sun ask itself, 'Am I good? Am I worthwhile? Is there enough of me?' No. It burns and shines. Does the sun ask itself, 'What does the moon think of me? How does Mars feel about me today?' No, it burns and it shines. 'Am I as big as suns in the other galaxies?' No, it burns, it shines."
- Andrea Dworkin

The day that I read that happened to be a day (one of many) that I was in a funk of comparison.  A day of struggling to view myself through the lens of the Gospel.  Sometimes the other lenses I see through are called Not Measuring Up, Never Enough, and the popular Their Opinions Matter.  If I am not very careful and diligent it is easy for me to forget what the Gospel says is true of me and start to only care what the world (or let's be honest - what that one particular person at any given time) thinks about me and my character/worth/____fill in the blank____. After a day or so of unchecked thoughts and laziness in the Taking Every Thought Captive Department my mind can become a veritable landfill of garbage and suddenly I have no worth and everyone hates me and so on and so forth. UTTER GARBAGE.

Maybe you sometimes struggle too?

Here's some truth for us:

-In Christ, we are a new creation.

-Our security and significance are found in Him alone.

-He is working everything for our GOOD and He will complete the GOOD work that He has started.

-ANYONE'S opinion of us (for good or bad) is insignificant - we are the beloved bride of Christ - children of the Most High King - and NOTHING can separate us from His love...least of all the opinion of man.

-We are all in this together!

So, friends, let's remind ourselves and each other often of the TRUTH, and let's keep growing together.

I'm putting on the lens called Work in Progress - the one that helps me preach the Gospel to myself daily and reminds me that I am NOT perfect, but He is perfecting me, and what He says about me is all that matters.  I'm praying that for you, too.

Let's take our cue from the sun and just burn and shine.

SHOP LAUNCH

The Moonpie Designs Shop is officially open!

It did not occur to me until just now that this is one part of my dream for this business come true! All the praise hands!

It has been my prayer all along that MPD will serve to uplift and encourage you through words and The Word written beautifully.  I believe in keeping scripture and things that point us to the Gospel in front of us at all times, and I'm honored to play a roll in helping you do that through the artwork you choose to place on the walls of your home and workspace. Thank you for your encouragement to keep pushing forward to make this a reality.

To celebrate the launch of the shop and Mother's Day that's coming up, use promo code MOTHERSDAY at checkout for 15% off your ENTIRE ORDER! Promo runs until midnight April 28th.

Place your order by April 28 to ensure delivery in time for Mother's Day (May 10).

LOCALS: Leave me a note at checkout and I will refund the shipping charges if you want to come pick up your goodies.

Spring Craft Market 2015

Yesterday I participated in my first Craft Market. It was a fundraiser for Christ Community Church's summer mission teams to Romania and Kenya. The Market went really well and was so much fun!

Since it was my first one I had a lot of prep work to do to get ready and since I am a Master Procrastinator, this meant that I was literally working up until set up to get everything completed. I don't know how to do things any other way. :)

Two days before the Market I called my friend Ange to see if she could come help me organize my brain and run some errands.  She ended up being such a blessing and single handedly got all of my prints packaged and ready for display/sell, and kept me from going completely insane.  She also calmed me down when I was completely freaking out about my booth and display and how on earth I was going to make that happen.  Staging and styling are NOT my gifts, but they are her favorite part and she shared her wisdom and inspiration with me and helped me make some ideas a reality and basically just convinced me to calm down because it would all come together.
Thank you, Ange!

At this market I had 4 products: canvases, globes, banners, and prints.

The canvases, globes, and banners are all hand-painted.  The prints are reproductions - my original lettering and design with some graphic elements added and offered in 3 sizes (5x7, 8x10, and 11x14).

Unfortunately I only took one picture - I was busy talking and running the booth and just forgot that I should probably do that!

I'm pleased with how the booth and display turned out and am already looking forward to the next one! Thank you to Kiley Rikard and the CCC Romania team for doing a fabulous job organizing inaugural Spring Craft Market!

Stay tuned this week for the launch of the Moonpie Designs online store!

Perkinson Adoption Auction

The Perkinson family will journey to China soon to bring home Esther. Esther is a special needs 4 year old who was abandoned at birth.  They are holding an online auction as a fundraiser to help the get to her. This is a fun way to shop, and there is a Moonpie Designs item up for grabs! You can find the auction on their   Facebook page: Perkinson Adoption Happenings Please like the page for auction details. 
Auction starts April 15 and runs to the 21st and will be at http://on.fb.me/1HvhMTd.  

You can follow their story on the blog:  perksofbeingaperkinson.blogspot.com 

Give them a follow.  This C.S. Lewis quote, "Courage, dear heart" banner in black, white, and metallic gold is one of the items being offered.  Below are some of the others items available for bidding.

A Birth Story: Isla Joy

She came on a Thursday.

The day before she came we saw our midwife for what I hoped would be the last weekly check with her in my tummy.  I got my wish.

All day Wednesday I had contractions that were annoying - mostly because I had a ton to do to get the house ready for baby and house guests. You see, we decided to do ALL THE THINGS in the 2 months before she was born.  Those things included planning a vow renewal ceremony (read: mini wedding) for our 10th wedding anniversary and completely renovating our kitchen. We had been living in complete chaos and disarray and our new flooring had finally been installed which was the last major part of the renovation and this momma was in full nesting mode.  My sister and brother in law were there keeping Evie while we went to our doctor's appointment and they stayed and helped me get the nursery and guest rooms cleaned and prepped just in case baby girl decided to come a week early - unlike her older siblings (Silas came right on time and Evie was a week late).

I timed a few contractions while I was cooking dinner, but by the time dinner was over they had tapered off a bit so I decided to go on to Bible Study at a friend's house. The contractions kept me uncomfortable, but they weren't steady enough to time. I asked everyone to pray specifically that real labor would start that night and said that I would be pissed if I was able to meet with them the next week (which was my due date).  I was ready to have her in my arms.

On the way home I had the first contraction that made me cuss.  It's a 20 minute drive, and I had 4 contractions. Apparently those ladies did some praying. :)

I got home and the big kids were asleep and I told Justin that we should probably pack for the hospital just in case they didn't taper off this time.  I took a shower and fixed my hair (between contractions) while he got our bags ready and there was a palpable energy in the house.  We were both excited and hopeful that this was IT. They stayed steady at 5 minutes apart for a couple of hours, and I got in bed to try to get a little rest. Justin was trying to sleep but I couldn't so I just looked at Pinterest and mentally willed my body to keep going. All of a sudden, with one contraction they went from 5 minutes apart to 2 1/2 minutes apart and grew in intensity with each one.  I called the on-call midwife with my practice and she confirmed that it was time to go to the hospital.  As soon as my mother in law arrived to keep the big kids, we took off.  We were so excited and happy.  We listened to Rend Collective Experiment and sang along all the way there (except for when I was breathing through contractions). It was midnight, so there wasn't any traffic, and it was a strangely peaceful drive (unlike Evie's labor drive, where I thought I was going to die before we got there).

We parked where we usually did at the hospital only to discover after we had walked all the way to the door that it was inoperational and we had to get back in the car and drive to the other side of the building and go up in the elevator to The Birth Center. They put me in triage (thankfully we were the only ones there) and got me hooked up to everything and did a check.  I was at 3 1/2.  Leslie and Magda had arrived (they were to be present for the delivery) and Justin went to make sure they were comfortable (as much as possible) in the waiting room until they could come into a private room with us.  While he was gone I had a very scary contraction that was incredibly intense and that caught me so of guard that I wasn't handling it at all. I was alone, and couldn't get on top of it.  Usually I could just focus my mind and breathe/pant/sway/hit something enough to maintain some management of the pain, but this one was different and I could barely breathe.  Suddenly the door flew open and 3 nurses came running in to me.  It was obvious that something scary was happening and they rolled me onto my left side and moved me all around and I was being so mean and ugly because it was incredibly uncomfortable and I was scared and out of breath.  The head nurse said that the baby didn't like that contraction and wasn't handling it well so I had to do what they told me so they could try to get her heart rate back to normal. They gave me oxygen and made me stay on my side.  Justin got back in the room and that was the first time I cried. I suddenly felt not ok, and was still scared that they were going to send me home since they hadn't put me in a room yet.  Irrational fear, but it happens to me at some point with every labor. I was being super snappy and mouthy to the nurse, but in my defense her bedside manner left much to be desired.  Justin kept gently reminding me to show grace and he prayed over me several times.  That calmed me down.

After that scary contraction, they stayed intense and I started having a weird pain in my hips.  With Silas' labor all of my pain was in my tummy and with Evie I had insane back labor.  This was different from those, and I remember being frustrated that I was going to have to figure the pain management out as I went yet again. 

Her heart rate stabilized, and after a couple hours in triage they checked me again and when I was at 4cm they moved me to my room and ordered the epidural. Praise sweet baby Jesus for epidurals. It was a couple hours before I got it though, so I asked for something to help me cope while I waited for it.  They gave me a little drug cocktail (Staydol and Phenergan, I think) and it made me feel drunk.  I couldn't open my eyes because they were too heavy, but I was aware of what was going on around me so I kept trying to talk to Magda and Leslie but my speech was super slurred.  I'm sure that was entertaining for them.  They let Justin nap for a while and held each of my hands and let me squeeze during contractions.  The drugs didn't work nearly as well this time as they had with Evie's labor.  

Finally the anesthesiologist arrived, and he was all business. I like when people will joke and laugh with me - especially when there is pain involved, but he was having none of it.  He did his job, and the epidural gave me some relief for about an hour.  We all tried to sleep in the FREEZING room.  I never slept.  I tried to manage the contractions on my on for a couple hours so everyone could rest because both Leslie and Magda had to go to work the next day and it was 5am at this point. 

At some point the contractions got too painful for me to manage on my own, and the midwife on call came to check me.  I was getting close.  She broke my water, and I braced for the intensity that would follow that.  My hips felt like they were breaking in two.  Not too long after that they checked me again and it was go time.  The door flew open and all of the lights came on and in came DeeDee - the midwife on call (there had been a shift change at 7am)  and she was like a bright ray of sunshine and the energizer bunny rolled into one. She said, "Who's ready to have a baby?!!" and all of us screamed and the energy level in the room jumped up several notches with that one question. We were all so exhausted, but DeeDee ushered in a rush of adrenaline for everyone with her upbeat personality.

It was time to push.  

By that time the epidural had mostly worn off, and it was too late to give another dose, so I knew that this might really suck. But I was ready.  DeeDee said that she would let me deliver her myself if I wanted to try.

I wanted to try.

We forgot to ask for the mirror so I could see what was going on, so Magda held my phone up for me and it served as my mirror. Thank you Apple. :)

I pushed with the next contraction, and knew immediately that this was going to be much much different than my other two deliveries.

I felt like she was stuck.

I was pushing harder than ever before, and was actually legitimately concerned that something very bad was happening to my hips.  They felt like they were splitting, and it didn't seem like she was coming.  

Everyone was cheering me on, and I just kept pushing.

Leslie was standing on a chair at the foot of the bed so she could take pictures and at one point she was actually jumping up and down and cheering. I don't think that I laughed, but had I been able to I would have.

After the 4th or 5th push I remember yelling (as much as I could in my out of breath state) that I just wanted her OUT. 

There was no relief between contractions at this point.

I was so confused - I pushed 3 times with Silas and Evie and they were out and that was that.  I didn't understand why this was so hard or what I was doing differently that was messing things up.

Finally her head was born and it became clear what the problem was: she was sunny-side up.

Babies are meant to be born head first, face down - that's how they naturally fit through the birth canal.

She was face up.

DeeDee told me that I was delivering a baby in the most difficult way possible, and just knowing that it wasn't something I was doing that was making this harder was enough to help me rally and get ready for the next hard part. 

All of that was happening very quickly.

The cord was around her neck so I had to wait until they slipped it over her head to push.

I was certain that my hips were broken.  That pain was from her facing the wrong way.

When it was finally time, DeeDee told me I could deliver her so I reached and pushed and she finally came and I put her on my tummy.  

She was crying before she was all the way out.

Amazingly enough, my hips stopped hurting the moment she was out.  

I have never felt such relief.

I wanted to look at her, and I did, but I had to lay my head back and just breathe for a few seconds and recover from the hardest work of my entire life.

She laid on my tummy until the cord stopped pulsing, and then Justin cut it and I moved her up to my chest.  She was loud. :)

Eventually they weighed and measured her.  I thought for sure that she was going to be the biggest of my 3, but she was the smallest at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and 18 inches.

It was 7:39am on Thursday, September 25th when she finally arrived.

Leslie and Magda left for work, and eventually we were moved over to the Mother/Baby side of The Birth Center.  We rested for a few hours (after we ate!) and then the big kids came to meet their new sister.  It was adorable.  They were both smitten right away.

We had a party in our room with our dearest friends - at one point there were 12 of us in there!  We loved it and were happy to have people there to celebrate her first day with us.

We went home the next day and began life as a family of five.

She is our beautiful surprise baby.

She is a physical reminder that God redeems.

Beauty from ashes.

Isla Joy Moon

The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:3