Introducing Providence 365

Providence 365 defined:

Providence \ˈprä-və-dən(t)s, -ˌden(t)s\
1 : a often capitalized : divine guidance or care

b capitalized : God conceived as the POWER sustaining and guiding human destiny

2: the quality or state of being provident

365 = Days in a year

2011= A Full Year of His Blessings

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Providence 365:
"By the Shore Designs" and "Precepts and Promises"are excited to introduce Providence 365 for the 2011 Calendar Year. Providence 365 is the opportunity to journey through the year, growing in your individual faith walk and discovering His blessings that surround you. Each Sunday at Faith Sisters, we will provide a Bible Verse – His Word - as your weekly prompt. From there, we encourage you to use that verse as your guide for the week. Reflect on the verse, open your eyes and use all of your senses to find how that verse is truly applicable in your own life. Grab your camera and capture a picture or two and create a layout as a tangible reminder of His Love and Providence.

Your layouts:
The options are unlimited. Simple & Clean, Shabby Chic, Grunge, the choice is yours. Each week’s layout may be unique or you may choose a single template to use throughout the year. Let this journey reflect your personal style. (If you digi-scrap, while certainly not required, we encourage you to use the wonderful papers and elements that Faith Sisters offers in our store)

Your photographs:
Take at least one picture a week on this journey and use it on your layout. Some of you may choose to take a picture each day. Let the bible verse lead you throughout the week. Open your eyes to all of His blessings. His Hand is everywhere. We pray that our Bible Verse and prompt will guide you and allow you to see even the smallest of blessings in your life.

Your journaling:
Your layouts should again be reflective of you. Maybe you are gifted at the written word. Write away. Let the focus of your journey be in print with only one or two pictures. Perhaps you are a gifted photographer that has the eye to capture those perfect images that tell the ‘whole story’. In that case, you may choose to keep your journaling to a minimum.

A few Journaling Prompts to get you started:
• I saw God’s hand of Providence this week in:
• I was blessed this week by:
• Today, God blessed me with:
• We will share more ideas for journaling throughout the year.

There is no right or wrong. Providence 365 is your journey. Allow us to provide a starting point each week for personal reflection and the opportunity for you to open your eyes and see His Hand – His Providence in your life.

We encourage you to subscribe to the Providence 365 Forum for weekly updates. (forum and gallery will be available shortly) If you are an email subscriber to the Faith Sister Blog, you will receive an email update with the current week’s Bible Verse and Focus.

Throughout the year we will share a freebie or two with participants to use on your layouts. But even more than a freebie, our hope and prayer is that through Providence 365 you will grow in your walk and your faith while creating a legacy to pass on to others.

Your first Bible Verse prompt will be provided on Sunday, January 2nd . So the obvious question is, what about January 1st. Your layout for January 1st will be your cover page. Take a picture (or use a favorite photo) that shares a glimpse of where or how you see God’s hand in your life. Have fun with this layout.

Here is my layout; "For me, I always feel closest to God when I am sitting on the shore; the roar of the ocean reflects His power; the gentle breeze is when He kisses my cheek and whispers in my ear, the solitude is my special time with Him. "

You may download our introductory Providence 365 word art as our freebie to you. Here (box.net) or Here (4Shared). Feel free to use this word art on your cover layout and throughout the year.

Post your cover layout (and future layouts) in our Providence 365 gallery at Faith Sisters.

The journey is yours – the blessings are His. His Providence.

Barbara (Precepts and Promises) and Pam (by the Shore designs)

DECEMBER 1,2,3 Scrap!

by the shore Designs hosts the Designer Challenge at Faith Sisters on the third Thursday of the month. Please join me this month! The challenge follows.

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What a wonderful time of the year! During the season of Advent we prepare for a celebration of the birth of Christ. The hustle and bustle; decking the halls, Christmas parties, shopping and the sharing of family traditions are all part of our daily lives in December. Taking time to reflect on the TRUE meaning of the season is something that we each need to do – as often as possible. God’s gift to us came in the form of a newborn Baby Boy.

This week, an email arrived in my in-box. It is one I have seen for the last few years during the Christmas season – and it still moves me…please let me share this message with you :

The "W" in Christmas

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six-year-old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant."

I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.

So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row-center stage -- held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."

The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down -- totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a “W." The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W." Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

"C H R I S T W A S L O V E"

And He still is! I hope this special message is one that helps you reflect on CHRISTmas and the reason for this celebration!

AND HERE WE GO!!!!

Our December 1,2,3 Scrap! challenge is about Celebration

1. The theme of your layout is Celebration! Perhaps you can share how your family celebrates Jesus’ birthday. Perhaps it is the celebration of a milestone, a family birthday, a promotion. The choice is yours.

2. Use three photos. (Try to make them all close-ups – really zoom that camera – or crop tool – in close)

3. Use only 3 different papers and only 3 different elements (but you can use these as often as you wish on the layout.

For those that participate in our December 1,2,3 Scrap Challenge, my gift to you will be my just released “Bethlehem” quick page.

Simply post your layout in our 1,2,3 Scrap! Gallery and provide a link to the layout in our 1,2,3, Scrap! Forum

Are you ready? 1,2,3 Scrap!

Nativity Collection and Quick Page

Just released - Nativity Collection - Richly textured papers and elements for your favorite Christmas layouts. The options are endless and the papers and many of the elements can be used year round! You will love the subtle colors. Check it out - here

And also released today - a Quick Page. This quick page is ready for your favorite 4x6 picture. Add a little journaling and your layout is done. Scrapbooking at it's easiest! You can get it here

Praying you are enjoying this "most wonderful time of the year". Take time to enjoy the Christmas season with family and friends.

Till next time...Merry Christmas....