El Que La Hace, La Paga

 Hello!  ¡Hola!  We had floods in the State of Texas last week, which damaged many homes and resulted in at least 2 deaths.  Fortunately, they weren't as severe in Del Rio and the surrounding areas.  Regardless, I've spent time assessing the situation, to provide financial help through the church to a few needy families whose homes were affected.

For my first project, I have a watercolor of a hydrangea that I did for a dear friend of my wife and mine, who's a gardener.  She lost her husband last week, and asked me to officiate during his funeral.  They had been members of our church, so one of my parishioners asked if I could make a card for all of us to sign.  I am submbmitting this card to Inspired By Hydrangeas #IB397, AUD Sentiments Challenge #339 Hobbies + Sentiment, Try It On Tuesday Summer Blooms, and Word Art Wednesday.

 

    

                 

Next, I have a card I made just for fun.  I made a Kawaii popsicle with scraps of paper; old EK Success corner & heart punches; an old Martha Stewart Drippy Goo Edge Punch; googly eyes; a mini popsicle stick; and markers.  The background and sentiment were done with scraps of paper; a Kscraft ATC die; & Sizzix Tim Holtz Alphanumeric Cutout Thinlits.  I used a Lzbrdy bumble bee die for the finishing touch.  I am submitting this to The Dream Factory Challenge #152 - Beekeeper (Thanks for the Top 3); Shopping Our Stash SOS578 Popsicle (Thanks for the Top 3);  I Spy With My Little Eye Something with Wings (Challenge No. 39); Atlantic Hearts Sketch #69 by Michelle.

The Jesus line drawing above was done with China Markers and Watercolors.  It's another exercise from the Playing With Sketches book by Whitney Sherman that I'm reading.  I love the exercises, because they're open ended, so I'm free to take off in any direction intuitively.  I am submitting this to What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday 894/114, Friday Face Off 07/24/2026, and Mosaic Monday.

Saturday Critters #658

T Stands For Tuesday 07/20/2026 & My Sunday Best #491

               

I took these last 2 pictures at Mesquite CreeK Outfitters, here in Del Rio, Texas.  This is a casual, but nice place to get together with family and friends to have a drink.  My wife and I like go there occasionally, especially if we have guests from out of town.

In closing, I want to leave you with a summary of my sermon for last Sunday, based on Matthew 13:24-30,36-43:

“El que la hace, la paga.” I grew up listening to this Spanish proverb, which is the equivalent of "you reap what you sow."  At first glance, these proverbs seem to support the parable of the wheat and weeds, but not as we'd expect.  Jesus compares the world to a place where both good and evil coexist.  He says that at the end of the age, the righteous will be separated from the wicked.  But why until then?  It seems that Jesus is more interested in growth than extermination.  First of all, he wants us to learn to forgive the weeds in our lives, just as he forgave us.  Secondly, he may also be wanting to give the evildoers time to repent and redeem themselves.  Remember, the Gospels are countercultural, they make us think, and they always challenge us.  So, forgive, serve your neighbors, and love like Jesus loved us.  That’s how our wheat roots  disentangle themselves from the weeds, and may help the weeds be transformed into wheat.

Thanks for visiting!  ¡Gracias por su visita!  Please leave a comment, and I'll be glad to reciprocate, so we can get to know each other.

Shalom,

Arnoldo+