I love encouraging women to love Jesus more! I love the gift of art God has given me to share! That's why I share it with you!!!!

 Thank you to every lady who entered Free Art Friday this week! YAY!!!!!

If you didn't win this time, just keep entering, I have LOTS of fun stuff coming down the pipe this summer! And one of them is gonna be my biggest giveaway yet.....A manger scene! More later on that! So stay tuned and tell your friends about this great stuff I share on the Joy Treasure Blog!!!!

Here are the precious ladies who threw their name into the ring this week on the Joy Treasure blog. I tried to give enough time for everyone to enter on the blog. That's why I only took names from the blog. There were 24 hours to enter your name here. 

Winner #1 gets the Green background with gray chevron cross..

Congrats Leslie!!!!!!

Message me on the Joy Treasure Facebook Page about how to get this painting to you.

Winner #2 gets the Warm Grey colored background with the pink Chevron Cross.

Congrats Stephanie!!!!

Message me on the Joy Treasure Facebook Page so I can find out how to get the painting to you.

Winner #3 gets the turquoise background with the blue chevron cross on it.

                                                                   Congrats Kim!!!!!
         Message me on the Joy Treasure Facebook Page so I can find out how to get the painting to you.

So thrilled for these ladies!
Thanks again for your support here on the Joy Treasure Blog and Facebook Page!
I love y'all!

FREE ART FRIDAY, June 20-21, 2013

Hey y'all! 
I'm so glad we can do this again today!

I am almost finished with these three paintings. They are mixed media paint and paper along with scripture. They are 6X6 in size and  1 1/2  inches thick. You will not need a frame.

They look great in a laundry room, bathroom, on an office desk, or girl's room. Some of you may have colors in your living room where they might look awesome too!

To Enter:

1. Type your first and last name in the comment box under this post on the blog (ONCE only please!!)
2. Winners will be drawn from the pool of names I receive in the comment box on the blog, not on Facebook. IF you have a problem leaving your name in a comment box here on the blog, please message me on the Joy Treasure Facebook page and we will discuss the issue.
3. The first name my son draws will go to the green, the second name he draws will go to the gray and third name he draws will go to the blue background.
4. Winners will be announced on Saturday morning June 22nd no later than 10:30am.

Happy Free Art Friday!!!

You enter NOW, Thursday June 20th at 7pm and comments will be taken here until Friday June 21st at 7pm. Then, I will close the contest.

The Need for Friendship (Tearing Down the Invisible Walls)

I have a need for something more, for deeper connections outside of "hello" and "how are you?" Are you like me? Do you find it difficult to move beyond those typical introductions with other women? God continues to call me to keep my walls down that keep me from meeting other women outside my comfort zone. It's hard making new friends when you are an adult because it's easier to stay where you are comfortable. Where the women you "hang" with are the "only" ones you hang with.

But are you missing something outside those invisible friend walls you put up around you?"YES!"

Other women have a lot to offer your life. Do you ever think about that anymore? Or have you even written off that truth? Think about it: Maybe she is a good organizer or has creative ways to discipline children and you need help. Maybe she is a woman who is deep in her walk with the LORD and you could be greatly encouraged by her passion pursuing Christ and learn to follow too! Maybe this woman has battled an illness and has learned "what really matters" and you could benefit from her embracing each moment of life ways. Maybe....just maybe you could benefit from meeting new friends.....

But you will never know if you keep your walls up. Your invisible walls that no one knows except you. You see, other women can walk right by those walls and never know why you seem closed off or distant. They don't know your hurt. They don't know your comfort level. They don't know that you think you don't have anything in common with them. They just see you don't want to get to know them, barely say "hello" and never seem friendly.

You may not even know you are coming off in this way. That's what invisible walls do. Sometimes they have become such an intricate part of they way you "do" life that you aren't even aware you are putting them up anymore. They just are there. 

I am not saying ditch the old and bring in the new! It's very good to keep your old friends, but it is important to be open to make new friends. To be welcoming of new women in your church, bible study, Sunday School or neighborhood. To almost have an alarm in your brain that goes off saying, "ALERT, A WOMAN TO YOUR RIGHT IS ALONE. GO INTRODUCE YOURSELF."

Why We Stay in The Same Groups!

• We stay in the same groups because we like to be comfortable. It takes energy to try something new like go to a new bible study where you don't know the women. It's easier to stay where you are and just  "be." It's hard to meet for coffee with other women who are not your "normal" group. You have to start over and feel vulnerable and be on your best behavior.

• A second reason we stay in the same groups is that we know the women who know us, know our stuff. We have been "real" with them and they have been "real" with us. So to move past that invisible walls with other women seems like a whole new mountain to climb. We just look at it and write it off saying, "I just don't have it in me."

• Other reasons can be past hurts where you trusted someone too much and she was hurtful and insensitive and just threw your heart on the ground. That can be a hard one to move past a friendship that was hurtful. But just because someone was hurtful doesn't mean every friendship will turn out the same way.

1. Pray. Ask the LORD to show you if you are putting up an invisible walls toward other women who could bring a lot to your life. Ask Him to show you why you have placed these walls up when around other women. Ask Him to give you courage to befriend other women.

2. Try something new: Go to a new bible study where you don't know the women. Say "yes" to a girls night out invitation from other women you don't know. YOU... invite another woman to your home for coffee or meet her for lunch and let the kids play.

3. Give yourself a break and not be so hard on yourself about why you put up invisible walls. The only problem about invisible walls are the ones you never tear down. Having the courage to tear them down is where freedom can begin. 

Prayer is not a one time thing. Why do we think that when we pray and give it over to God, that we are done and we shouldn't be bothered by our burdens? Who are we kidding? The Bible says we are like "sheep" (Isaiah 53:6). Do you know how skiddish sheep are?

In his book, "A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23", W. Phillip Keller (A Shepherd himself at one time) describes how we are like sheep saying, 

"Sheep do not "just take care of themselves" as some might suppose. They require, more than any other livestock, endless attention and meticulous care. It is no accident that God has chosen to call us sheep. The behavior of sheep and human beings is similar in many ways...Our mass mind, our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, our perverse habits are all parallels of profound importance."

So when we fear things, are burdened by troubles, feel friction and become angry, or whatever the case may be, we are in NEED of continuous care by the Shepherd. Praying continually is NOT letting our burdens get the best of us. It is giving our burdens over to our great Shepherd. He knows we need continual care. And it is not easy for sheep to be carefree. In fact, that hardly ever happens. It takes a lot of work for sheep to become that way.

Today, give yourself a break.
Whenever you are bothered, pray.
It's not a sign of weakness.
It's a sign that you are trusting your good Shepherd.
And learn how to let him care for you continually instead of bearing the burden all by yourself.
He knows you need Him.
So need Him!!!!

OK.
The moment is here! Here were the wonderful ladies who entered Free Art Friday's Tween/Teen contest.

Thanks to everyone who entered!!!!! I LOVE giving away ART!!!!!!

                                                       Ready to be placed into the ole' bowl!!

                                                    My little helper picked...... AND....................

Congratulations Jennifer!!!! Message me on Facebook and let me know how I can get this painting to you!!! So happy for ya!!!

I said it. I took it back. I was indecisive. UGHHH!!!!!!!
Why did I make commitments stacked on top of one another in one day? Even if it killed me, I was gonna finish. That's the kind of girl I am. I struggle with saying "no." Why didn't I just take my time and figure out my answer in the beginning before I opened my mouth and said "yes."

This five foot girl thinks bigger than her height. That's the problem.

So as I like to share my joys, my struggles, my life and my victories on Joy Treasure, today I share a struggle I deal with internally, I can be wishy washy sometimes.

Yes, it's true.

But you may never know it because I will always try to finish something I start even if I am over committed. If I give my word, I keep my word. There have been days when I have gone from one birthday party to the next, and the next and the next. Not wanting to say "no" when we are tired, when we need rest. I don't want to miss out. I don't want my son to miss out. I am just being honest. I don't want for other women to think I don't care about them. So I go. Even when I need to stay home and rest. This is not good ladies. This is not good.

Do you feel like me? Have you ever done this before?

This wishy washy-ness can come in different forms for women. I don't know, but I think there are many factors. Busyness, the need to be liked, the fear of saying "no" and thinking you may be rejected by another person. Thinking you have more time to do it all when you really don't. Sometimes wishy washy-ness can be because you are fearful of something new. You feel uncomfortable and you don't want to try it out so you sit on it for a while. What makes you wishy washy? I really want to hear from you about this!!!!

The Bible tells us how to be clear and direct and NOT be wishy washy. And I admit, there have been times when I re-read this verse and it is like a dagger to my heart because it is SO true!!!!! (Yes, I know this passage is talking about faith. But the imagery of doubt being like a wave speaks to my wishy washy-ness.)

"...for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind." James 1:6

Anytime when I have been indecisive, I have either wanted to not miss out on something, wanted the other person to still like me if I couldn't do what they were asking me to do, and sometimes just needed to get still to think about my monthly calendar and not be so quick to say "yes."

I think the remedy for this struggle I deal with, is learning to be open and honest from the start and tell the person as quickly as I can, "I need to think about that. I am interested. I am not going to commit until I know for sure." That other person I think would rather hear that instead of feeling rejected by my "no" in the end or at the last minute. And then there are sometimes when life happens and someone gets sick and it just CAN'T happen. (Stomach Viruses and Strep always trump everything!)

We women are wishy washy. I am guilty of it. You are probably guilty of it, too. Even not saying a word to someone is being wishy washy. Omitting your answer or being silent can be wishy washy too. Have you ever thought about that before? It's true.

I want to be a woman who makes a promise from the start and keeps her word. Don't you?
I don't want to secretly kill myself in one day by over committing to too many things. But I don't want to miss out on something that could be a big blessing to my life either. It simply takes a few minutes to really think and ponder the best thing to commit too.

James says it best....we will be just like a tossed wave if we have doubts. And if we are wishy washy in our answers, other people will come to think we are wishy washy. That's not the kind of witness I want to portray? No woman I know sets out with a goal to portray wishy washy-ness. But without a clear direction from the start, she may can come across this way unknowingly.

Sister, we need to get to the root of our doubts and hesitations quicker. Doubts are there to alarm us to hold off and take time to think and consider. We need to get to what is best for us and for our family from the start and know it' OK to pause before you press play.

I want to hear if you struggle with this. Please leave a comment!!!!