The Creator Making His Masterpiece

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. -Genesis 1:1

² The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. -Genesis 1:2

³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. -Genesis 1:3

⁴ And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day. -Genesis 1:4-5

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” -Genesis 1:6

⁷ And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. ⁸ God called the space “sky.”

And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day. -Genesis 1:7-8

⁹ Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. -Genesis 1:9

¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. -Genesis 1:10

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. -Genesis 1:11

¹² The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

¹³ And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day. -Genesis 1:12-13

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. ¹⁵ Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. -Genesis 1:14-15

¹⁶ God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

¹⁹ And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day. -Genesis 1:16-19

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” -Genesis 1:20

²¹ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”

²³ And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day. -Genesis 1:21-23

²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. -Genesis 1:24

²⁵ God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. -Genesis 1:25

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings^[b] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” -Genesis 1:26

27 So God created human beings^[c] in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” -Genesis 1:27-28

³¹ Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day. -Genesis 1:31

Broken but Beautiful

¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me....¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. -1 Corinthians 13:11 and 13

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. -1 Corinthians 13:4-7

⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. -John 6:40

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you." -John 17:1

²⁸ “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. ³⁰ And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? -Matthew 6:28

³⁴ “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. -Matthew 6:34

¹² I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. -Leviticus 26:12

³³ Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. -Deuteronomy 5:33

¹³ For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. -Psalm 56:13

**How fitting this verse is as Abby is the one walking in the picture.  She was delivered from her pain and suffering and is walking in God's light of life!

 

 

⁸ I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children;  -Psalm 69:8
**This is how I felt during my feelings of suicide and depression; BUT...

³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. -John 8:35
**This verse shows how strong the ties between a son and his family are.  You may have heard the saying "Friends may come and go, but family is always there."  In my life, it's been true.  My family stuck with me even when my friends betrayed me.  But even greater than that, as God's daughter, I belong to HIM forever, and He has definitely proved to be the Father I always needed.  And He will always be there for you too.

³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. -1 Peter 3:3-4

¹¹ Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. -Psalm 45:11

¹⁴ Your fame soon spread throughout the world because of your beauty. I dressed you in my splendor and perfected your beauty, says the Sovereign Lord. -Ezekiel 16:14

The Sun

³² That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. -Mark 1:32

⁴⁰ At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. -Luke 4:40

⁴ His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.

-Habakkuk 3:4

⁴ he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth. -2 Samuel 23:4

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good...

-Genesis 1:3-4

²⁶ The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted. -Isaiah 30:26