God Is All Around Us & He Is So Awesome!

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

(Gen 1:20-22)



I am in awe of God's greatness.  His greatness is all around us.  In the fiery sunrises and sunsets....in the beautiful flowers that are adorned in God's palette of colors and heavenly fragrances...in the tiniest complexities of life....all life.


Just look at a hummingbird..among the tiniest of creatures.  This little jewel can fly over 30 mph with their dainty wings, which flap anywhere from 12 to 80 times per second....per second!  They can fly backwards and hover still.  They feed on bugs and nectar from flowers and feeders and are known to consume more than 12 times their body weight in nectar each day.  Can you just imagine the small little beating heart that the Lord created to keep this little bird going.  Only our awesome God can do
this. 

I guess this is why I get so frustrated when people can't see this awesomeness and believe that we are
all just a coincidence of a couple cells or a big bang. 

I praise my one true God for taking the blinders off of my eyes, allowing me to see His awesome creations, and sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for my sins and the sins of my fellow Christians, so that one day, I can see His awesomeness in Heavenly Eternity.

Do you want God to take your blinders off?  What a blessed feeling it is to know your Creator and know that you will live a beautiful eternity with Him.

For more on salvation, check out my husband's ministry at
http://www.settledinheaven.org

The Candle Lighter Award...May God Receive the Glory

I am honored to receive the Candle Lighter Award, but I feel that I need to mention, that God should receive the glory...He is my Creator, Salvation and Refuge.  Without Him, I can do nothing.

My husband, Rob Barkman, has nominated my blog to receive the award.  I am so blessed with being the wife of a great Christian and writer...his blog and website are a constant encouragement to me.  He teaches and applies the Word to his faith-based writings.  Here are his links  Settled In Heaven Blog and Settled In Heaven Ministries

As for the creator of the Candle Lighter Award, they have a blog at Believe Anyway.  Their blog is an uplifting, positive site.   You can read about the award by clicking the above link "Believe Anyway."

I would like to nominate Woman to Woman to receive the Candle Lighter Award.  By clicking on their link, you will read a great blog, based on Scripture...their blog is very encouraging and knowledgeable in the Word, a wonderful teaching tool for women.

The Lord's Loving-Kindness...Forever Flowing

Psalm 42:7-8  Deep calls to deep through the voice of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and Your billows have passed over me.  Jehovah will command His loving-kindness by day, and His song shall be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.


Even in adversity, we as believers, are drenched in Christ's grace and loving-kindness. It is our responsibility to recognize this and not take it for granted.  This is something that may be difficult for us to do since we all tend to be self-absorbed and scared during trials.  The Lord uses these times to strengthen us and teach us to trust in Him to carry us through the difficult times of our lives.  The more that we trust in Him, the more peace we receive for Him.  Christ blesses us in the midst of adversity.  Through prayer and thanksgiving (yes, being thankful for what we learn during these times) we can be drawn nearer to God and freely accept His Will for our lives.

If you are not a believer, you can have all of these things, too...including peace and God's grace and mercy.  All that you need to do is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior....to realize that you can be saved by trusting in the work that He did on the cross for us...to realize that you can do nothing without Him...and to realize that you should trust in Him for His Will in your life.  By doing these things, you can count on living eternally with Him in Heaven.  Why not turn over your life to Christ...you'll never regret it.

Versatile Blogger Award - Casting My Crown to Jesus Christ, My Lord & Savior

Eva Barkman (c) 2012 all rights reserved ~ Holden Arboretum, Ohio

...They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."          Rev 4:10,11

I was recently awarded the "Versatile Blogger Award."  I am honored, but I feel as though I need to "cast my crown" to my Lord God, for without Him, I am nothing.


It is because of Him that I live and breathe, am saved by His agonizing work on the cross, and will live eternity with Him someday in pure love and light.

With all of that being said.....

     Thank you to my husband, Rob, who nominated me for this award.  You will be truly blessed by checking out his "Settled In Heaven Ministries" at http://www.settledinheaven.org ...he has a Wordpress blog, a YouTube, a daily devotion, and all of his links on the SIH website.  Rob has many years experience in teaching the Lord's Word.  He has a true love of the Lord and I feel like the most blessed woman in the world to be his wife.

Ok...now for the formalities of the award....

THE RULES TO FOLLOW FOR THE VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD:
1. Add a picture of the award to your blog post.

2. Thank the blogger who nominated you and include a link to their blog.

3. Share a few random facts about yourself.

4. Nominate other Bloggers and inform those they have been nominated.

Random facts about myself...

1. As most of you know, I am an artist (art, photography, digital, & jewelry design)...I am also musically inclined, although I don't use this talent as much as I feel I should.  I sing solos and duets in church, though I wish I could use my musical talent more often to glorify the Lord.

2. I am generally a humble person. This makes it difficult to "push" my arts...I sell online, but I am no salesman.  I wish I could employ a publicist and marketer :D

3. Prior to meeting my husband, the love of my life, I lived many years of my younger adulthood, in an abusive relationship....I'm not going to elaborate much about this, but I truly realize how much the Lord held me during those dark days.  I also realize how close the Lord is to you during horrendous trials and how those trials make you stronger.

4. I was blessed with two wonderful parents, who taught me about God, and gave me a great childhood.  I appreciate that more now, looking back, than I did back then.  If only we could learn to really appreciate and not take for granted our blessings. 

5. I love to garden, but now, since I have fibromyalgia, it becomes increasingly more difficult to do the kneeling and other physical things you do when you garden....if I have a good day, then I get out there and garden like a crazy person, but I pay for it after.  As you can see, I spend a lot of time photographing my garden and other local gardens....like the Holden Arboretum that you see in the above photo.

6. I'm married to my best friend.  I feel like I am the most blessed woman in the world for being married to Rob....we work as a team...my weaknesses are his strengths and visa versa.  He has taught me so much about the Lord and theWord...I couldn't be more blessed.

7. I was raised as a Catholic.  But, as time went by, I started feeling like I needed something else out of my church.  So I started searching by going to different churches, different denominations, for visits.  About 12 years ago, I started going to Baptist church and I realized that this is where I need to be.  This is where I could truly "learn" about the Word and accept Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I was baptized in Trinity Baptist Church (now know as Shore Fellowship)...I loved that church.  We moved away from New Jersey to Ohio, and I think about that wonderful place where I started to really feel like a Christian...to apply my life to the work of Christ and follow his Will.

Well...that's enough about me.

Now to nominate other blog sites that I feel are deserving of this Versatile Blogger Award. 

http://www.lisaphelps.org/  "A Moment with God" is a lovely, enjoyable blog.  Lisa Phelps shares scripture and the everyday thoughts of a woman of God.

http://asinglechristianmomsadvice.blogspot.com/  "A Single Christian Mom's Advice" is not only a great testimony to God's Word, but also appeals to the mom in all of us.

http://www.w2wministries.org  "Woman to Woman" is a delightful blog inspiring all women to live lives pleasing to the Lord.

Please check out these blogs...they are inspirational and uplifting...something we all could use in today's chaotic world.

     

  

Being Thankful At All Times

Psalm 100:4-5 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.


Being thankful...this is something that the Bible specifies as being very important, in many verses, including Psalm 100. 

We need to always keep in mind all of the things that the Lord has done for us, including salvation by His work on the cross...for those of us who are saved and for those of us who will open their hearts to Him and accept Him as their Savior in the future. 

We all tend to take the good things in our life for granted at one time or another.  We can be caught up in the daily pressures and trials and forget to give thankgiving to the One who is to be praised for all that is good....and even the trials....for we know through trials, we become stronger.

My photo today is of my husband, who is my major reason to be thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ, aside from salvation.  Of course, salvation is the main reason for us all to be thankful to the Lord...think of the sorry state that we would be in without His sacrifice....eternal suffering in a horrible place.  Because of the sacrifice that Christ made for us, including the awful torture and horrible fleshly death on the cross, we can be saved and be well assured that we will spend eternity with Him in a blessed place where there is no darkness, only Light. 

I choose to be thankful to my God for all that He does for me and my family...to be thankful for my loved ones, my home, my talents, my salvation and thirst for the Word.  I hope to encourage you all to join me in thanksgiving of the One who deserves all of our thanks and praise.

"The Hawk Knows the Way"

Job 39:26  Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?


This photo was taken by me one winter day when our hawk friend showed up and decided to sit in this big, old maple tree in front of our yard.    
He is definitely a local resident, for we see him on occasions.  Then again, there are times that we know that he is around, because there is no birds around to be seen or heard.  Our little bird friends are weary of our hawk because he looks for little prey.  


As he sat there, this day, he appeared to be taking a break and I believe he almost knew that I was trying to get a good photo of him.  I've seen him swoop by before, but he is so fast, he catches me off guard without my camera.  


We are lovers of animals and birds....it brightens our day when we get a glimpse of our hawk.


We can be like our mighty hawk.........Job 39:26  Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?............    the hawk flies by the wisdom of our God and the mere stretching of her wings and the direction that she takes is only because of God's greatness.  We can choose to live our lives and take the right path that the Lord wants us to take.  We can spread our wings and fly by the Lord's will....or we can live by our flesh and take the path of unrighteousness, which leads to total despair.


Open your hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him and in what He has done on the cross to save us from eternal agony.  The choice is yours.


If you choose to trust in Christ and let Him be Lord of your life, you will be given the Holy Spirit to indwell in you and guide you.....to take that path which God has provided for you.


You can start by reading the Lord's Word...the Bible....Psalms and Proverbs are an easier place to start....open you heart and pray to the Lord and He will hear you.....ask Him to lead you to the right Church and the right teachers and believers to help you along your new path.


You can also get information from here:


http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com
http://www.youtube.com/settledinheaven
http://www.intouch.org

What Do You Trust In?



"Unbridaled Spring Morn"  by Eva Barkman  (c) 2011


Psa 20:5-7 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.



Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.    



Who do you trust in?  Making money?...building fame?....everything centering around you and what effects you?...political power?...false gods?...if it's any of these or any other worldly item, they will all turn to dust and then, what will you do?  Imagine, putting all of your trust in one certain person or thing, and then when you truly need them, they fail you and leave you alone to flounder.  Now, you're alone without any support.  Alone!


It doesn't have to be that way.  The "Lord saves His annointed,"  the people who believe in Him.  The "Lord fulfills your requests (petitions)," if you're a believer, and you pray to God with sincerity, He will answer your prayer....although, He will answer your prayer in a way that is only good for you (and it may not be exactly what you wanted), but you will eventually see how good His answer was for you.  In other words, He has your back.  You, as a believer, can rest assured that He knows the beginning to the end, and how it affects you.  He won't leave you to flounder.


Trusting in the Lord, Jesus Christ, we can "rejoice in our salvation."  We can know that He is always with us in the form of the Holy Spirit.  He will never leave us.  What a sense of peace a believer has in knowing that we are not alone.  Believe in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and never be alone again. 


If you have questions on trusting in Christ or how you can have salvation, there are many sources to help you.  Leave me a question and I will do my best to answer.  Contact a Bible believing church near you to learn about Christ.  Or, here are a few links to obtain good information on salvation.

http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com/all-about-salvation/

http://www.intouch.org/resources/content/topic/how_well_do_you_know_god 

http://www.lwf.org/site/PageNavigator/jesus/who_is_jesus