Rubber Stamping : From Maya Indians To Scrapbooking
Who would have thought that your scrapbooking and card making had a connection to the Maya Indians? Rubber Stamping is certainly one of the fastest growing hobbies today, and for good reason. With its inexpensive materials and creative versatility, rubber stamping provides millions with hours of fun and creativity. How did it all start?
• Spanish explorers were the first to talk about a "sticky substance" that bounced, used by South America Indians. Though it didn't revolutionalize the world at that time, these same Indians were using a primitive form of rubber stamping to "mark and tattoo" images on men and women.
• In 1736, Charles Marie de la Condamine, a French scientist studying the Amazon, sent a piece of "India Rubber" back to France.
• Rubber got its name in 1770, when the scientist Sir Joseph Priestly made a comment about a substance "excellently adapted to the purpose of wiping from paper the mark of black lead pencil." Hence the "rubbing out" of pencil marks gave it the term "rubber". Up until this time, people wishing to erase pencil marks had to use bread crumbs.
• Rubber Stamping owes much gratitude to a hardware store owner who decided to quit his job to solve the "sticky problem" he had heard about. Though his persistence was tested time and again, even filing bankruptcy and going to jail for failure to pay debts, Charles Goodyear eventually discovered that heat was the secret to rubber's "curing".
• As early as 1866, a man carved information in a flat piece of rubber and mounted it to a curved block of wood. This 4"x 6" mounted rubber stamp was being used to print information on bath tubs.
• Early rubber stamps consisted mainly of words and phrases used to mark packages and manufactured products. Stamping suppliers began to spring up in Ohio and the West.
• Rubber stamping as a hobby took off in the early 1970's with companies such as All Night Media (1974) and Hero Arts (1974). Soon the craze had caught and many other companies decided to cash in on a hobby that would last for decades.
• It wasn't until a boom in the 1990's that rubber stamping became so popular with millions of crafter's worldwide. As thousands of companies begin to produce rubber stamps, the availability and unique designs become common everywhere!
It's no wonder why rubber stamping has turned into a worldwide crafting phenomenon. Women and men alike have found hundreds of creative uses for rubber stamps, from scrapbooking and cardmaking, to gift bags and 3D artwork. Give it a try, you'll see!
You Are What You Think
One of the first things you will find that God will start to do with you if you have decided to enter into a true sanctification process with Him is to try and put right thinking into your thought process.
What you choose to think about and dwell on in this life will make or break you as to what type of person you will end up becoming in this life. Leave it to God the Father to perfectly capture, in one simple short verse from Scripture, the secret to being able to have good mental health in this life. When I first saw this verse way back in the Old Testament, it literally blew off the page at me. As soon as I saw it, I saw incredible amounts of revelation behind it.
Many Christians have never heard or found this verse since it is back in the Old Testament in the Book of Proverbs. This verse should be memorized by all Christians, as it is giving us a major spiritual secret in being able to acquire good mental health in the Lord.
Here is the New King James Version of this verse:
"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7)
The key word in that verse is the word "thinks." The word "thinks" is telling you that God is targeting your thought process - what you think about on a daily basis.
Interpretation - You Are What You Think!
This principle is easily seen in our world today. You can really tell who is operating on this principle in the way that the Lord has intended for us to operate with it and who is not.
The people who always seem to be more upbeat, more happy and more fulfilled with their lives are the people who have a good sound mind and who are always thinking about and dwelling on the more positive things in this life. They choose, with their own free wills, to dwell more on the the positive side of this life.
The people who are not happy, who are not fulfilled, who are pessimistic and half-depressed all the time and have negative attitudes towards anybody and anything are all choosing to think about and dwell on the negative side of this life.
Granted, this cursed world in which we live in has a mixture of life and death in it. Jesus Himself said that we would all have various trials and tribulations that we would have to go through from time to time. Storm clouds are a part of this life, and no one gets by not having to go through various storm clouds from time to time.
However, there is a lot of good and positive things that we have going on in this life. It is not all death, doom and destruction. Even in the worse case scenarios and situations - there is always a hope and a light at the end of that storm cloud tunnel. As Christians, we all have God Almighty Himself on our side to help us take on any storm clouds that may come our way.
The difference between these two types of people is in their thought life. The people who are always positive, happy and upbeat have chosen to look on the bright side of things - even in some of the worse case scenarios possible. The negative type of people have chosen to think and dwell on all of the bad things that can happen or that can go wrong in this life. No matter what good may come their way - they will always have a comment that something better could have come their way or that the good thing that did come their way did not meet up to their expectations. Nothing makes them happy or content because nothing is ever good enough for them.
The Bible is very clearly telling us in the above verse that we can all choose what to think about and dwell on. We don't have to become slaves to negative and pessimistic type thinking. In other words, we can choose to think about what we want to think about!
Our thinking and thought process does not control us - we control it! Negative type thinking can be broken. For many, it has become an actual mental stronghold, because they have been mired down into that type of negative thinking for such a long period of time.
The Bible tells us that we can take "captive" what we think about. The verse that talks about that says we have to bring "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." What this means is that we are directly responsible for choosing what we think about and dwell on - and then make sure that our thinking lines up with God's Word and how He wants us to think. The power lies with us. We cannot blame anyone else - including God Himself - if we have chosen with our own free wills to constantly being dwelling on the negative and darker side of this life.
Bottom line - we all have to learn how to develop right thinking in our thought process. Our part is to do the best we can to try and think and dwell on the things that God wants us to be concentrating and focusing on. However, as we all know, most of us only have a certain amount of mental and psychological strength in this area. Some will naturally go farther in this realm than others will.
This is where the Holy Spirit will be coming in big time to help get your thinking process straightened out and grounded in the Lord in the the way that He wants it to be. This is all part of the sanctification process that God wants to start with each one of us. As I said in my article titled "Sanctification," this process will not be accomplished overnight. If you have been operating in a negative type mindset for a long period time - God will start to gradually and progressively move you out of it into a better, more clearer and more healthier type thinking.
Your job will be to work very closely with the Holy Spirit once He starts this sanctification process within you. You will see Him start to target specific areas of your thinking where you are really off at. Once that revelation has been given to you - it will then be up to you as to whether or not you will choose to do it. If He tells you that you are too judgmental and too critical of others - then your part will be to do the best you can trying to curb those kind of thoughts and replace them with thoughts of a more positive type nature.
The Holy Spirit is the Master Surgeon and He will be attempting to do inner spiritual surgery on you to take out what He does not want operating in your mind and thought process and put in what He does want to be operating in you.
Your job will be to choose, with your own free will, to work and cooperate with Him once He makes it very clear to you what specific changes He wants to make with you. He will not force these changes on you. He will let you know very clearly exactly what it is He wants to put in your system and exactly what it is He wants to take out. If you choose to move with Him on what changes He wants to make with you - then God the Father will allow the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to truly begin to sanctify you in the way and manner that will most pleasing to Him.
In the next several articles, I will be giving you specific areas that God will want to target in getting you cleaned up. And one of those areas is going to be in your thinking process - what you choose to think about and dwell on on a daily basis. In other words - God wants to clean up and straighten out your thought life. With all of the different types of lusts that are operating in our world, such as all of the sexual and material lusts competing for our attention through the media - for many, this will initially be a very big battle.
But if you are really wanting the Lord to help clean you up in some of these areas, especially in your private thought life, the Lord will only be too anxious to help get you over some of these hurdles through the incredible supernatural power of His Holy Spirit. This kind of inner sanctification can be accomplished in this life if you are willing to do your part by fully cooperating with the Lord once He starts it up.
About The Author:
Article written by Michael Bradley of Bible Knowledge Ministries. Their website is a resource of Bible knowledge and commentary . They currently have over 100 in depth Bible articles. All free of charge
The Truth About Christmas
Every year, as Christmas approaches, you hear Christmas carols everywhere. Sometimes to the point where another Silent Night would make you want to silent the sound system.
Everyone is scrambling to buy Christmas gifts for everyone in a list that seems miles long. The queues to pay up and the queues for a parking lot seem endlessly long too.
Christmas cards are sent out to friends and family, some of whom you might not have seen for years.
Beautifully decorated christmas trees pop up every where. Buildings are dressed in lights, mistletoes, bells, and other Christmas decorations. Santa Claus, his elves and reindeer are seen every where. Kids get more and more excited as Christmas approach. Even grown ups prepare for the onslaught of Christmas partying during that time of the year. Party dresses are purchased. Everyone gets ready to dress to their nines.
In all this excitement, do you know what you are celebrating?
What is Christmas actually? It sometimes seems like a brillian invention of the toy makers to push sales of toys to all the parents around the world. A sales marketing ploy of the retail industry.
Actually, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Long ago, a little baby was born to a girl who was still a virgin. The baby was born in a manger, among the animals, yet angels proclaimed his birth. Wise men followed a star that marked his birth and presented him with precious gifts, to pay homage to him. It all seemed so beautifully sweet.. until you realise the reason why this child was born.
This baby was born to die. To be crucified on the cross while still in his prime. Killed alongside murderers, on the insistence of the crowds, even though he had not committed a crime... days after being welcomed into Jerusalem by crowds of people waving palm leaves, shouting Hosanna, praising him.
It was a gruesome death. He was whipped and then his body, all covered with blood, still a live, was nailed to a cross and left to die. Upon his death, the skies turned dark. There was an earthquake The curtain separating the holiest place in the temple in Jerusalem from the rest of the area was torn in two.
3 days later, his tomb was empty and the heavy stone was rolled away. His disciples and those close to him saw him. He spent time with them, ate with them, showing he was alive and not a ghost. Later, while talking to a crowd of people, he rose up in the sky disappeared into the clouds.
All this happened for a reason.
The first man and women, Adam and Eve disobeyed God. That was the first sin. From then on, every one of us sins. A tiny white lie, doing what we know we shouldn't do... The penalty for sin is death. The only one who did not sin is Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God. Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus. Jesus had to die on the cross to win forgiveness for anyone who chooses to accept his gift. The real Christmas gift.
Sounds far fetched? That's why they are called miracles. Miracles are still happening today. All over the world. Check out Lighthouse which has miracle services every Saturday. You can read the pastor's latest sermon each week there too.
A good resource that explains every detail of the Christmas story is http://www.answersingenesis.org/ Actually, that site explains the creation vs evolution theories, dinosaurs and a lot more.
So the next time the pressures of Christmas preparations drive you up the wall and you wish you could kill the person who invented Christmas, don't worry. You already have.
The writer is the webmaster of Christmas giftshop .
