Comparisons

Comparisons

What we cannot see when we compare ourselves to others!
I’ve been doing an art craft gathering with a group of ladies once a month or so. My beautiful friend who is an extraordinarily gifted artist has opened her studio for these craft classes where we make something...we create something. She supplies the materials and instructions and we craft...
Last night we made these interesting Easter eggs...it required use of a hot glue gun to make the pattern we wanted to make and lots of layers of paint and then removing of said paint by wiping it off and adding more...
Let’s just say that my eggs were the least attractive eggs when finished! I’ve decided I’m not a hot glue gun expert...I have a fear of hot glue when recently I burnt myself with the stuff, it involved my lip and my finger...don't ask!
Anyway, as at the end of each of our craft nights... we look at our finished work...
I’m looking at all the beautiful hot glue designs and colors of these exquisite eggs around the table and honestly I’m thinking that my grandchildren could have done a better job than I had done!
I even had the thought when I got home, I’m just going to throw them away...I also thought to myself, you aren’t an artist Julie, why do you even go to craft night???

I know that this will sound silly but I asked Jesus if I should throw away my eggs? I think He said, wait and sleep on it!
So I said, okay!

Guess what...this morning I was looking at my ugly eggs and I had this thought...
I’m pretty sure it was my friend Jesus asking me this question, “So, what do you see now? Don’t think about the other eggs you saw last night, just look at your own eggs...”
I thought, well they look a little like something a child might have made but I kind of like them...hey, I do kind of like them... I like my ugly eggs...they don’t look so great when I compared them to the more artistic eggs of last night but by themselves I think they are pretty neat...

I think I heard Jesus say...now you’re getting there ❤️
Thanks Jesus for teaching me that comparisons are costly and don’t teach us to see beauty as you see it...

"He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attractct us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." Isaiah 53:2

- Julie DeSear

PS I don't recommend you get a manicure right before craft night...haha

Julie DeSear

Thank you, Julie for sharing a word that God gave you, it was very relateable and refreshing. 

God speaks to us in the most unexpected ways. Sometimes those ways are bold and obvious other times they are quite and simple. Sharing what God speaks to us can be shared in the same way. We can be bold as we are called to be at times or we can choose to share the gospel working in us in a less obvious and more quite way. 

The women's craft night that Julie was refering to is a night of fellowship and crafting that my mother and I put together once a month. These nights have turned into a beautiful bridge between generations. In these few hours together we are able to talk about our different walks of life and get sound advice from many perspectives. 

I am going to share the craft step by step for the month of April. If you would like to join our group or feel led to host your own women's craft night, please contact us and we will get you set up and connected. 

First you will need eggs. We chose to use a solid wooden egg.  

After you chose the eggs also grab the following supplies:

1. Viberent colored acrylic paints 

2. 2 or more metalic acrylic paints

3. Black acrylic paint

4. Hot glue gun and glue sticks

5. Paint brushes

6. Paper towels

* you may also want a canvas as a fun option, read to the end to found out why.

To get started, paint the eggs with the viberent color of your choice, you can use the picture above or below for color reference. 

Acrylic Paint drys fairly quick and once it does start using the glue gun. With it make swurls of glue around the egg trying not to lift the glue gun off of the egg as much as possible. 

Lifting the glue gun will inevinably cause these small spider web like glue stands, you will need to pick them off and may need to use a pair of tweezers to do so. This step needs to be done before moving on to the next step or the web looking glue will become a perminate part of the egg. 

The next step is to paint the entire egg with the black acrylic paint. This part made me a little nervous at first due to all of the work that was already put in and the viberent colors were so pretty. So, take a deep breath, paint the eggs one at time. Immediatly after painting each egg wipe off the paint gently using a paper towel. This will expose the glue and the beautiful color underneth.

Now, for the really fun and pretty messy part. Get ready for some more paint on those fingers as you pull out the metalic paint. 

Paint the entire egg again with one of the metalic colors you have chosen. Wipe off the paint with a paper towel and repeat the step as many times as you would like layering the different metalic paints. 

Let the metalic layer dry for a few minutes, after doing so use some purple or teal paint to make accents or pops of color. The picture below is a great example of the impact this step can make.

In contrast the following picture does not have as much accent paint and therefor not as much demintion. 

Both examples look wonderful, it's up to the creator to chose what look they are going for.  

Let the accent paint dry and the craft is complete.

Juanita Larson

This is were the canvas comes in. You may have some left over paint in your trays as we did during our craft night. Don't let it go to waste. Grab a canvas and dump that paint all over it, use those dirty paint brushes and messy hands and create as a group. Making something as unique as each women in that room and the group they make together.