Good Friday...

"He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 

By his wounds you have been healed."

1 Peter 2:22-24

Faith...

 These are my own designs so please link back to this post if you'd like to share them! Thanks so much!

My Portion Forever...

Your Love is Better Than Life...

via 'tank and tink'

Merry Christmas...

A quiet post today... As I think about Christmas... And what it really means... That God became MAN... Left His heavenly home... And came to this earth, knowing exactly what He would have to face... And yet He came anyways... Lived a perfect, sinless life... To face the death of all deaths... To take my punishment... Your punishment... So that we might live again... That we might have life and have it to the fullest... That's CHRISTmas... That's the gospel...

So Merry Christmas... May you know the Christ of Christmas today...

{Above Image 'Christmas Print' from "Type Type Type"}

30 Wonderful Years...

I'm thirty today... It's hard to believe... Really hard! But as I look back over my life, I can't help but wonder at the joy that has filled it! From a wonderful childhood to four enjoyable highschool years followed by the adventures of University... Then marriage to the man of my dreams... And now two lovely daughters... And the Lord has been guiding my steps each and every day... Full of common grace and then saving grace... "He's always been faithful to me..." {Sara Groves}

'"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' {Jeremiah 21:11}

And for your enjoyment... Some pictures from those wonderful years... Enjoy and Happy Christmas Eve!

Why "The Ardent Sparrow"?

Many people have been asking me the question... "Why the Ardent Sparrow?"... Well... Here is the story...

When I first began planning my store on Etsy, I knew I wanted a name that was rather unique... I had spent the whole day looking at supplies on-line and constantly found myself drawn to the antique brass birds... Birds are very symbolic... For me, what comes to mind when I think of a bird, is a text from the Gospel of Matthew:

Matthew 6:26
"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (ESV)

In this context, Jesus is reminding His followers not to worry about what they shall eat or drink... He is reassuring them that the heavenly Father will take care of all of their needs, just as He does for even the smallest bird...

When I was a child, we used to sing a song in Sunday School with the lyrics, "God sees the little sparrow fall, It meets His tender view; If God so loves the little birds, I know He loves me, too." (Lyrics by Maria Straub, 1874)

So... When I think of the sparrow, I reminded of a Sovereign God's care for all of His creatures... Including me... And this calm's my heart!

With images of lovely little antique brass birds and the words of that simple children's hymn running through my head, I settled on something to do with a sparrow... But what kind of sparrow? I knew it needed a word before it... And for some reason I thought that word should with the letter t... Why? I have no idea... But not just any word would do!

After much discussion with my husband Jay (He has quite an infinity for words) and much time spent on an on-line thesaurus, I stumbled upon the word ardent... I word I had always liked (I wanted you use the name Arden for our little girl... I was out-voted)... Ardent means being characterized by intense feeling, passionate, fervent, devoted, eager, or enthusiastic... All words that I felt described my love of making and creating jewellery... And the type of emotions that Etsy began to stir in my heart...

It also reminds me that I need to be a passionate, devoted and eager follower of a Sovereign, all-knowing Lord who remembers even my smallest need... A Lord who has guided my steps to this point... To a small little shop on Etsy...