Masterpieces in the Making

Masterpieces in the Making: The Value of God’s Creation

The value of God's Creation

Back when I was a news reporter, the TV station sent me to cover a feature story about a local horse farm.

But this wasn’t just any horse farm.

They raised champion Arabian horses.

A huge fan of horses, I was in heaven over this assignment.

This is my opinion, but I think horses are near the top of the list of God’s most beautiful animals.

Anyway, the owners had just bought a beautiful stallion for the low, low price of one million dollars!

Can you imagine?

How many zero’s is that?

I see you counting in your head over there.

Anyway, the owners had a lot of faith in their new pedigreed show horse – a future star and stud at their breeding stable.

A million dollars is a heck of a lot of money.

Considering the amazing potential of this prized stallion and his future offspring, the new owners obviously felt he was worth every penny.

Amazingly enough, he wasn’t even the most expensive on record.

Did you know that in the year 2000 at least one equine champion sold for a reported 70 million dollars?

That’s a lot of value and expectation placed on a single horse – a Kentucky Derby winner by the way. 

As valuable as these particular horses were, how much more so is our soul worth to our Heavenly Father.

But, there’s a huge difference, the divine love God has for us can’t be measured in dollars or cents.

We were purchased at great cost – Jesus suffering on the cross for yours and my sin so that repentant believers will spend an eternity with Him.

Masterpieces in the Making: Reflect His Glory

We are God’s masterpieces in the making.

He is the Master Artist, and we are His works-in-progress.

We have a long way to go.

In the meantime, challenges and persecutions will come because we live in a dark world, growing darker.

We are in the hands of the Great Maker, the ultimate Sculptor Who created the universe out of nothing, and He has never yet thrown away a rock on which He has begun a masterwork. His tools are Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, His Word, and the preaching of the Word (ED: see 2Co 3:18).” And often God’s Spirit uses difficult circumstances or difficult people to sculpt our character into His “masterpieces” conformed to the image of His Son (Ro 8:29). (See Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ – Page 81) – Precept Austin Commentary.2

Difficult circumstances . . . difficult people.

If you haven’t experienced them yet, you will.

Stay Strong – God is still on His throne.

You are a masterpiece in the making. 

Have I mentioned that God is still on His throne?

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1 Featured image of Arabian Horse. Own work – AI created.

2 Quotation is from Illustration – Kent Hughes, courtesy of the Believers are God’s Masterpiece. [2025] Courtesy of Precept Austin, Web. Accessed 29 October, 2026.

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Midge Swarm: The Lake’s Uninvited Guests

A Midge Swarm: The Lake’s Uninvited Guests

I love taking a vacation, don’t you?

My husband and I just got back from a little getaway to Lake Conroe in Southeast Texas.

Relaxing by the lake without a care in the world: Calgon, take me away.

The only thing not so peaceful was running into some uninvited guests.

It happened every time we walked from our car through a courtyard to get to our condo.

Who (or what) am I talking about?

A midge swarm: the lake’s uninvited guests.

A Midge swarm: The Lake's Uninvited Guests

There were several big swarms of these flying insects everywhere.

No respecter of boundaries, these little pests fly in your face, and sometimes even your eyes, nose, and mouth!

They also follow you, sneaking into your car through an open door, ready to continue their little invasion into your private life.

After several “run, don’t walk” sessions through these insect clouds in the courtyard, my husband and I compared notes.

“I’m pretty sure I swallowed a couple,” he said.

Talk about destroying peace and tranquility.

It reminds me of the uninvited guests (a.k.a. politicians), their TV commercials, and the biased media talking heads in our face every day.

A Midge Swarm and a Flood of Campaign Messages

No doubt, a flood of campaign messages is expected with the Midterm elections looming.

What’s so shocking is the anti-God agenda being fed to the public.

I can’t find the TV remote to click away fast enough.

No political party is perfect, but I question just how far our country has fallen when you compare the party platforms. 

Please pray for God to heal our land.

Make your voice heard, go to the polls, and vote.

There’s so many things to say, but I don’t want this blog to become a constant reminder about the stomach-turning headlines and the latest rants from Hollywood loud-mouths and influencers.

They hate godly values and feeling convicted of sin.

They relish controlling others and want to destroy the purpose of whom God created us to be.

Even so, if the midterm elections (and the future presidential election) turn out to be a big disappointment, we have to accept that it’s a part of God’s plan.

Devastating consequences will come until Jesus returns.

In the meantime, with all of the bending of morals and common sense, God is exposing all of it to anyone who can get past the rhetoric and actually look at what each party platform stands for.

Could it get any worse?

Political party platforms

The fact is, God is going to allow what God is going to allow.

So this begs a question.

Why did God create midges?

I don’t know, but I do know they bug the heck out of us just like politicians and their followers who want to become their own god.

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Amazing Coincidence or a Godwink?

Was It An Amazing Coincidence or a Godwink?

Are you having trouble finding a unique and romantic birthday (or anniversary) gift for your husband or wife?

Have I got a suggestion for you!

Celebrating your love

For my husband’s milestone birthday this year, I wanted to get him something so wonderful and personal that he would never forget it.

I especially wanted an element of surprise, hopefully leading to a few happy tears from both of us during the final “reveal.”

Searching and searching, I wasn’t having much luck until an ad popped up on my computer that immediately caught my attention.

There’s a company that takes your special memories and brings them to life in a professionally-produced song!

Check out: ourmelodystory.com

It was exactly what I was looking for!

Was it an amazing coincidence to find this, or a Godwink?

God only knows.

It was perfect.

I mean, how do you thank the most wonderful guy who, not only helped lead me to Christ, but also saved my life in so many ways?

If you love someone so much that you want to express your feelings in a way that they’ll never forget, this is it. 🙂

The Gift That Brings Smiles and Happy Tears

First, let me say that I’m not affiliated with Our Melody Story at all, but I am now one of their biggest fans.

If you decide you want to do this for the love of your life, here’s a tip:

It’s easier to go ahead and figure out your prompts beforehand so that they’re ready to go when you’re filling out the official song request form.

Prompts?

Think about the fun or cherished memories that mean the most in your marriage.

Prompts like:

“We were high school sweethearts”

“He’s a great dad to our four kids”

“His favorite meal is brisket”

“We got married barefoot on a beach in Hawaii”

“We go to church together”

I came up with over 20 prompts, and the songwriting team used almost all of them.

The genre I picked was “Acoustic” which worked great for my guitar-playing husband.

Amazing Coincidence or a Godwink?

You will be asked later if you want to add a tip (which I gladly did) and also if you want to get an MP3 of your song.

The Reveal

A few days after I placed the order, I got an email back from the company saying that my song was ready.

I waited until my husband was out of the house to screen it first.

Why didn’t I have Kleenex handy?

It was so great that it took my breath away!

The really fun part is seeing the surprised look on your loved one’s face when you finally play the song for them.

When they hear their name and all of your special memories mentioned in a song – it’s a gift that lasts forever.

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When Things Go Wrong, Don’t Quit

When Things Go Wrong Don’t Quit

Here’s a “look back” worth remembering.

Over 30 years ago, Derek Redmond made Olympic History.

A world class sprinter, he was competing in the 400 meter semi-finals at the1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

He didn’t win the race, but he did win something much greater.

On the world stage, onlookers witnessed one of the greatest examples of a father’s love.

The whole scene remains inspiring to this day.

Do you remember this?

Can you imagine?

A painful torn hamstring in the middle of the race.

He could have given up, but he didn’t.

With the love of his devoted father helping him across the finish line, this moment became one of the most memorable in sports.

It’s encouraging videos like this one that gives a beautiful visual of our Heavenly Father’s love (which is immeasurably greater) for us.

He knows our struggles.

No doubt, we too will face painful times – the result of sin in our fallen world.

But whatever you do, when faced with difficult challenges, don’t quit.

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won if he’d stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are –
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

By “The People’s Poet, Edgar A. Guest. Now in the public domain.

Don't quit

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Have Faith In God’s Future Plans

Do You Have Faith in God’s Future Plans?

It’s estimated that the word “Faith” is used approximately 247 times in the Bible.

Of course, that number may vary slightly depending on the Bible translation that you use.

For a word to be used that many times in God’s Word speaks volumes.

As you read through the Bible, you will see that repetition is a big part of it. These are essential teachings that bear repeating.

By God’s grace and through the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior Jesus, God wants us to “get the point.”

Our faith and trust is important to God, and it should mean everything to us.

Have faith in God's future plans

Do you have faith in God’s future plans for your life?

Without faith, it is impossible to please God; in fact, we cannot even begin to approach the Lord and experience a personal relationship with Him without it. Faith is the atmosphere in which the believer’s life is lived. We are called “believers” because we are continually putting our faith, trust, and confidence in God. By faith the Christian life begins, and by faith it perseveres until the end. – gotquestions.org2

There’s an old saying that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Don’t let that be you.

Tough times are up ahead, and your faith will be challenged.

Doubt sees the obstacles,
Faith sees the way;
Doubt sees the darksome night ,
Faith sees the day.
Doubt dreads to take the step,
Faith soars on high;
Doubt whispers, “Who believes?”
Faith answers, “I”!
– Author Unknown

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1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

2 Quotation from gotquestions.org from “What does it mean that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)”? n.d., para. 3. Web. Accessed September 28, 2026. Retrieved from without faith.

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