Monday, December 19, 2016

A Servant's Praises


Song of inspiration
"Pour my Love on You"

Over this 4 years, I have learned a lot about God's will for me and His will for His people.
Faith is a spiritual muscle that only grows stronger with the weight being added. When circumstances in our lives change, we can decide to grow closer to Christ or turn away. If we turn away, our faith weakens. If we turn to Him, thanking Him and praising Him through the storm, the act of believing in what we cannot see grows stronger. Our grip on His hand gets tighter. Our dependence on Him gets deeper. Our eyes of faith, the ability to see the unseen, grows stronger. Our spiritual senses get sharper.
As Christ takes us along our adventure of faith, we grow more mature in Him. As we grow stronger, we can handle more weight and responsibility in the Kingdom. Our vision grows grander, beyond ourselves and into a bigger family of faith. We are pushed to take our personal relationship and testimony and share it to grow the Kingdom, the Church, the Bride of Christ.
I am finding out in my journey, that God WILL give us more that we can handle. Look at the assignment he gave to Moses! And Jonah! Neither of these men felt capable to do the will God had set before them. But it's through our weakness He shows His strength. It's through our lack of knowledge He shows His infinite wisdoms. It is a false promise (not in the Bible) that "God will never give you more than you can handle." In fact, I believe that is the whole point of Christ's existence is for Him to carry our burdens to the cross so that we don't carry them
To the grave.  When we carry more weight than we can handle, we realize  how weak we are beneath it. We realize our need for something stronger than ourselves! That is FAITH!
THE REAL PROMISE IS...
He gives Rest for the Weary

Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He wants you to come to Him, surrender control of what's weighing you down and to give you peace in exchange.
After the death of my best friend and husband, Shannon Seaton, over three years ago, I have realized the truth of what is around us. There is more around than what we "see" with our eyes. We believers here on earth are being cheered on in this race of life by the witnesses in the Heavens. I believe they look at us and are entertained by our praise and worship in the midst of our struggles to finish. I believe they want us to be aware of their joy when we grow the Father's Kingdom here on Earth. They applaud souls coming to Christ.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
Hebrews 12

Whatever it is that we are doing to grow the Kingdom (teaching, preaching, serving, creating), keep doing it! Do not grow weary or weak. Keep running the race towards the finish line, the cross. Don't let your circumstances or disappointments slow you down or weaken your faith. It is the greatest sacrifice to Praise God when it's hard to see His hand. Push through.


Isaiah 40:30-31
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.
Image Created by Tabitha Morgan for a friend of faith growing the Kingdom
There have been times where I felt like I was living my life doing the best I could to do what I thought God's will was for my life. I pray before my every step in life for fear of falling. I need Him to show me the way. I'm lost without His light on my path. So, why does the path we run sometime lead to unfairness? I struggled with this. I know God is on my side... (Romans 8:31), so why was I feeling so let down? Where did I go wrong?
I came to God in my quiet time with this question...
He gave me a vision of the cross. His Son Jesus followed Him without fail. He always gave up His desires for those of His Father's... but it lead him where? The cross. Is that fair? No.
Peter and John, faithful disciples that followed Christ landed in prison for healing in HIs name...
is that fair? No.
Job lost almost everything he had been blessed with after being obedient to God... not fair.
But God showed me His plan... That the path does not end where the earthly eye can see. The plan is to strengthen & perfect the runner along the way... to make me and the faithful ones as much like Christ as possible. That means following Him to places that lead to unfair circumstances. These are our crosses to bear.
"And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."
Luke 14:27
Jesus told us, "In the world you will have trouble..But take heart! I have overcome the world"
John 16:33
He told us to expect unfairness.
(Matthew 5:11-12, 44; 10:23, 13:21; Mark 10:30; John 15:20).
He told us that the world would hate us (John 15:18-19).
            
 After God shared this knowledge with me, I had to let it soak into my soul. IN time he showed me this verse to help it make sense...
(His emphasis to me was on verse 13)
Ephesians 4:11-16

 "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. "

God was telling me that in order to move forward in my walk of faith, I must grow up. He has grown my for a greater purpose, to lead others to the Grand Finish. It's not all about me and my life walk being fair! It's about my life walk reflecting His. It's about my life walk being used to lead others to
The Cross. To show them the place where they can lay it all down at His feet.  I either had to grow stronger for the walk or go Another path. God has a way of putting us in our place of humbleness with His loving words of truth.
Satan has a way of leading us to a life of pride with pretty lies too...
Here is where I had a flashback of my infant faith...
Flashback of my life in 2008
This wasn't the first time God had brought the subject of "infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind" to me. I had heard it years before when doubting the faith I was raised. I was just about to attend a conference with my Christian friend Micah. It was an event that would totally alter my future faith...See here if interested in reading my non-current testimony in the autobiographical comic, SuperTab
(above, Page of Adult doubt from SuperTab...)
After letting all of this soak into my spirit... I came out with the first drawing you see above.
It is of the church at Jesus's feet. The notes of praise, worship and thanksgiving are opening the Heavens for God to take pleasure in the aroma of sweet sacrifice. 
What I have learned is that Worship is an act of humbling ourselves before Christ and submitting to His will. The true place of humility is as a servant at their Master's feet. Jesus showed us this at the Last Supper.
He said, “Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You are right. That is what I am. I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you. John 13
Also, when the sinful woman came to see Jesus, she went to his feet sacrificing tears of shame, her finest perfume and wiped his feet with her hair. Luke 7:36-50
Mary, the sister of Martha was also found listening intently at the feet of Jesus. Jesus told Martha in her business and worry, that Mary was at the better place. Luke 10:38-42
This is the place to let go of what we think we deserve and give the Savior what he deserves. Once we let go of ourselves, our flesh, we find our Spirit... this is where we can find Him in true worship
John 4:24. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
The church should be at His feet in true worship. From the church should come Praises and Thanksgiving. These are like sweet fragrances of sacrifice to the Lord. The Heaven's open up pleased by the sounds of the Church praising the King. Heaven and Earth are joined in one accord as Christ had taught. "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven!" Let the Heavens and all the angels, the witnesses in the clouds (Hebrew 12:1), open up when we Praise the King on earth as it is done in Heaven.
Psalms 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his name.
Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
I hope these images, words and scriptures have blessed you in your present faith. May God bless you for reading the truth. May you hear the Heaven's singing "Christ" this Christmas beyond all the noise of this world drowning it out.
Tabitha Morgan


Thursday, November 24, 2016

Thankful He"ART"



Often I struggle with negative thoughts within myself that I must wrestle with on a daily basis. Being Thankful in every circumstance is an exercise of faith. Sometimes our "muscles" in faith get weak and tired, inviting negativism and pity to take over. Once we believe these lies and negative words inside our minds, they are sprung from out mouth. Once released, Satan (John 8:44) grabs a hold of them and gets creative, taking us down creative roads of doubt and dread with no hope in sight.
Today is a day that we should be exercising our faith the most. I pray that it be a spiritual fitness boost to prepare each one of you for the hope that is coming. The birth of The Savior from our own Selfish Negativism has come to clean our sinful slates. When Satan has made a foot on our thoughts or actions, it strangles our hope and joy like weeds. Ask Jesus to weed your thoughts and clean out your garden in your heart, so that hope can grown tall reaching for the Truth and the Light. May your garden produce much fruit for others to eat and taste to see how sweet the Truth is (Psalm 34:8).

God shared a Word of Truth to me in one of my states of pitiful faithlessness. He showed me Ephesians 4:13. I read the entire chapter and let it take root in my heart until I really digested the meaning of it in my life at this point I am in.
God was showing me that it's not about ME. He has greater plans for the Kingdom. If I want to be a part of it, then I need to get over myself and focus on greater things. He will pull us through whatever we are going through if we just keep being obedient to His will (being thankful, sharing the Truth, and loving others). I needed to get out of my bottle, break the glass surrounding my comfort, reach out, be a light to others, stop being so immature and use what He has done for me in the past to grow out of the glass. When we take on Christ and all that He stands for, it is no longer about US. It is not longer about trying to make this life on Earth "fair". It's not about "what we deserve"! We deserve NOTHING! We are sinful. Christ was not... but He lived the most Unfair life in history. He hung like  a prisoner and plead guilty for what we did, do and will do. Without Him, we are nothing.




Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ
Ephesians 4
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
    he took many captives
    and gave gifts to his people.”...
 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

SYMBOLISM
Ship in a bottle-
A person in their own bottle of faith, deciding what to take from the Word and what to leave.
An immature Christian. In their own world, not contributing to the Kingdom of Christ, but more subtracting in their lack of faith, not sharing the faith, not stepping out of their comfort for Him.
James 1:6
"But let him ask in faith, never wavering; for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind."
Ephesian 4:14
" Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. "

LIGHTHOUSE
Christ is the source of light from which out light comes from. Nothing can be hidden from His light.
Christ's Light, His word, guidance, searching shepherd
Psalm 119:105
"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden."
Hebrew 4:13
"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
CITY
Kingdom of God, the believers here on earth working together to build the kingdom.
A city lit on a hill for the lost to see. This kingdom includes those working on earth and those working as witnesses in the clouds in the unseen spiritual realm around us.
Biblical Backing

Luke 17:20-21 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

John 14:2
My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
Hebrews 12

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Christ's Comfortable Cottage



 I dream of a little cottage in the woods, hidden behind the safety of tall trees. Safely surrounded by the Creator's work. I cannot wait for the day that this hope becomes reality. I cannot wait for the day I can sit on the shady porch, listen to the birds, sip my coffee and create for my Creator. This day may or may not come, but hope is still present. It is not the physical things of this world that should comfort us... a home is not our comfort just as a pastor is not the "church". It is "He alone that is my refuge, my place of safety, my God in whom I trust." We cannot count on this world to fulfill our hopes and dreams. But my heart is ok with knowing this. I know that when I reach my final destination, comfort with surround me continually in the beauty of His Light.

Psalm 91

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.

Rest In Him
 
Breathe deep, give thanks, give him your burdens, trust him, ask for peace, be still, rest in the comfort of His presence. 

Psalms 23:1
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5
God of All Comfort
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.[a]





Saturday, July 30, 2016

Doodle Windows

We have these curved windows in our house that I am not sure how to dress.i do not care for the 80's fan blinds much, attempted a stained glass thing (failure), but really did not want it empty. 

When I taught middle school art years ago, we did some really cool window art that let the light shine through the negative spaces of the designs..,

This was my design for classroom window, poster board with cut out designs. 


My home-----
(Above: circles in various sizes with patterns in between)

Inspired my above design. 

I had white acrylic paint and little bitty brushes. I love to doodle... So, I did it. 

The first window I did, months back in kitchen. 

Succulents above entry. 



Laundry room window. 



Monday, June 20, 2016

The Guarded Path

So many times when we are walking in faith, we are tempted to just take the easy wide road... Cause everybody else is, right? Nobody's looking, right?

Whether everyone is doing it or nobody on earth will see you... Father Above will!

The same for doing good things. We may refrain from doing something nice too because nobody is there to give us praise. So, we just don't do it. 

The bible says that God sees everything, good or bad. The good that we do without getting earthly praise is actually the good that matters eternally. The earthly praise we get will be just that, earthly. 

Trust God! When you walk by faith, you do not walk by sight! It's not about the praise we see here or consequences for the unseen wrongs we choose to do. 
It's about God seeing, Heaven's perspective of our earthly life. 

In the end, if we are choosing the right way, God promises in His word that He will guard the path for us. So, if sneaky snakes are hiding in the bushes then trust God has it in His hands. You can walk with ease. 

Related Verses: 
Matthew 7:14 "But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Hebrew 4:13 "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will"

Matthew 6:2-4“So when you [a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you [b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,so that your [c]giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

2 Corinthians 5:6- "So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord"

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Billy Button DIY


I love Billy Button flowers!!!
But they can be very costly to buy fresh and I found them costly to buy faux as well! This girl is cheap... I mean creatively thirifty, so if I can't afford it...
I MAKE IT!!!
These were my flowers in the wedding boquet. I have all sorts, but this time I just wAnted the Billy buttons. 

So I pulled out my supplies. 
Yarn (yellow, whites, holds), scissors. Grapevine wire, fork, and vase. 
Using your fingers, fork, or anything that has a slit in middle 
Wrap Yarn around about 30 times 
(the more times, the fuller the Pom)

Tie a short piece sound the middle of the bundle. Tie tightly more than once. 
Use the wire to tie in with the small piece. 
Fold over wire to keep flower in place. 

You can also use two yarns at once doing less rounds around the fork to have a multi colored Pom. 

After center is tied tight, cut the outside loops of each petal to make into may multiple strands instead of 1 long piece of yarn. 
 If puff is not round, trim ends of yarns to add the round form. 
Put Billy buttons in a vase and you are done!!!


Starting Fresh...

Pray... Change... Adjust... Pray...
Change... Adjust... Repeat until forever! 

The last 2 years have been a constant adjustment. New town, new job, new husband, new church, new home, new pets & new attitude. Though some things change, some still stay the same; faith, family, art, projects, 


Making some art...

Hanging with my hotty Toddy...
Drop the kids off! It's date night!
Date night,  Saw Dr. Dog in Austin... 

Spending time with family...
Getting to know 
Lucy & Ethel (our dogs)...

Painting Rainbows...
Painting g rocks...
Making our new house a home by
Painting cabinets...

Painting furniture...
Painting kitchen furniture...
If the little monkeys won't leave you alone, just feed them bananas to keep them busy. Or, give them a can or paint and a brush?! 
I get by with a little help from my friends...
This barn table was A little to "barnish" for fresh look. Hit it with Sherman Williams privlage green. 
Playing in playroom...

Ughhh... Changed my mind!
Let's try it again

Much better! 
------
Moving to the backyard 
with a paint bucket or two...