Of Lent and Another's Art

I love when two worlds collide. I work for a Lutheran church in a neighboring town. The season of Lent is upon us and the pastor wanted to do something different for the community. 

In her words: 

 "Lent is a time in the church year that we take time out for reflection. It’s a season of quiet, somberness, and introspection. It’s the dark before the light of Easter. Our lives are so busy sometimes it’s difficult to carve out time for Lenten practices. So this year at Peace, every Wednesday from March 13th and ending April 10th, the sanctuary at Peace will be open from Noon until 7:00 pm for a Self-Guided Lenten Journey.   

Each week, 3 stations of the cross will be displayed with artwork, music, and a self-guided devotion. Peace has obtained permission to use prints of art created by artist Lynne Kiefer Kobylecky. Ms Kobylecky’s work is on permanent display at the Trappist Monastery in Carlton, Oregon and her work portrays the last hours before the death of Jesus. Each station will have a scripture reading and prayer, along with the artwork display.  

All are welcome to come during the open hours and stay as long desired. On the fifth week on April 10th, there will also be a station concluding the journey with candles for a time of meditation." 

 The original pieces are hanging in a Trappist Monastery in Oregon. They are sculptural images, so the pieces are three dimensional.  Pastor Lu wanted to showcase this artwork and provide a meditative atmosphere. I was asked to help showcase the art. After finding out Pastor Lu's vision, I went to work using my "art" to showcase another's art!

We had permission to create photo prints of Lynn's artwork, but due to the file size of our originals the largest we could print was 8 x 10. After printing out matte photos of the artwork, I attached them to 8 x 10 canvases. Before attaching the photos,  we sponged several different colors on the sides and edges of the canvas choosing colors similar to our photos to give the illusion of textured stone. 

The canvases were then attached to foam core board. The boards were placed into frames that we had antiqued black with goal crackle. Because each photo is a station we need to designate the stations. To do this we created 2 x 2 mini canvases using the same color scheme as the larger canvases and masking numbers to designate stations. The display turned out reminiscent of pieces in an art gallery. Exactly the look that was hoped for.  

Three stations of the cross will be on display each Wednesday during Lent. The church has Gregorian Chanting playing softly in the background and a prayer and scripture guide accompanies each piece. People are free to come sit, kneel or stand as long as they desire. The whole atmosphere of the display allows participants a place of quiet reflection to prepare their hearts for Easter.

If you are in the Morris, IL area and would like to participate in the Self-Guided Lenten Journey. It is happening at:

Peace Lutheran Church. 

101 Candlelight Ln.

Morris, IL 60450

Hours are Wednesdays Noon-7:00 pm 

 The program runs the duration of Lent beginning March 13 and ending April 10. Three stations will be available for viewing each week. 

We would like to thank; Lynne Kiefer Kobylecky for permission to use her artwork and Plaid Crafts for providing paint, brushes, and mediums to use with this project. 

Check out the photos below for a sneak peek on the behind the scenes of this project: 

Supplies used: Photos, Canvases 8"x 10" and 2"x 2", Plaid Folk Art Paint, Plaid Folk Art Crackle Medium, Brushes, Sponge, Mod Podge Ultra, Hazel and Ruby Number Masks, 

Easter Jelly Beans

Easter is a time to CELEBRATE the resurrection of Jesus! This year with my children at church, I have tried to help them create reminders about the true meaning of Easter. While the eggs and candy are fun, Jesus is the real reason we celebrate! Yet who can avoid all the candy of the holiday? The result is telling the Easter story using the colors of jelly beans.

There are several version of the "Jelly Bean Prayer" floating around out there but our kids have learned the colors of the wordless book and I wanted the jelly beans in our lesson to match closer to that. The result is the poem "Easter Jelly Beans"

Easter Jelly Beans

Orange is for the sun He made,

to give us light and heat.

Green is for the grass He made,

soft beneath our feet.

Black is for the wrong we've done,

filling our hearts with sin.

Red is for His precious blood,

that cleanses us within.

Purple is for the time of sorrow,

He suffered for me and you.

White is for a precious life,

By His grace has been made new

Yellow tells of heaven,

and streets paved with gold.

Pink reminds us of the promise,

of the greatest story ever told.

This little bag of jelly beans,

is not just an Easter treat.

It is a picture of a promise,

of Jesus' work complete!

The kids enjoyed learning about the real meaning of Easter (while getting to much on a few jelly beans) We also wanted to share what we learned with friends and the members of our congregation. So the kids packed individual bags of jelly beans for all the members of the congregation, (tip; Brachs' jelly beans have all of the above colors) we then stapled a copy of our poem. The result was a fun (and tasty way) to share about Jesus this Easter.

Have a very blessed Easter!

The blooming cross!

Being the daughter of the one in charge sometimes has it's advantages. One being you get to make all the fun projects twice! Our Easter dish gardens were no exception! My daughter was excited to be able to give her duplicate garden to her grandma!


Imagine her surprise though when the grass in the dish garden wasn't the only thing growing! To make the crosses I cut down branches from a shrub in our yard. Most of the branches were dead and those that were not had all buds removed and then were cut down to 3 and 4 inch lengths. We tied these together then with hemp twine.

When mom had my daughter trim back the grass yesterday they were both in for a surprise. The center cross (the one representing where Jesus died,) made of twigs that had their buds removed and then cut into 3 or 4 in lengths and tied together with twine and stuck in a pot of dirt was GROWING!


 They both were so excited to see the growth against all odds! Even more amazing to me, when mom saw it she felt such a sense of peace! She's been dealing with a lot lately and she felt like Jesus' cross growing was a sign to her that everything was going to be ok!

I hope this Easter season finds you in a place of peace as well. Let the blooming cross be an example that you too can grow, you can even bloom, in the midst of circumstances where you shouldn't be able too. There can be life after death with the power of the cross!

Easter Fun!

So what do you get when you mix 16 kids with mud and rocks and sticks?? Well an adorable Easter craft that is a good reminder of the meaning of Easter.

The idea came from a post I saw on facebook. The original was shared as a friend of a friend so I really have no idea where is originated from. It was to make an Easter dish garden.

Supplies are simple. A large dish (we used a saucer from a flower pot), rocks, 2-3 inch flower pot, a large stone, potting soil and grass seed. We made sure to use a good quality potting soil (like miracle grow) and a shade loving grass seed to avoid the whole "lots of sun light" issues some might have with a house plant. For the crosses you will need a few straight twigs, some hemp twine and garden shears.

Start with a layer of smaller stones in the bottom of the dish-this helps with drainage. Then to 1/2 half of the dish add larger stones and the small flower pot on it's side.

Wet down your potting soil till you have the consistency of well MUD. Even though the soil is messier this way it makes it easier to shape. Bury the flower pot in a mound of soil making sure to leave the side open. Put a good layer of grass seed on top of your mound of dirt. Then add your crosses.

To make the crosses, we cut down branches from my yard and then trimmed to side and bound them with hemp twine.

 Put your dish garden in a sunny window and use a spray bottle to water daily. Even after it starts grown continue spritzing. Trim the grass down as it gets to tall.

As you can see it's growing quite well we need to already trim it up cause you can't see the crosses. Simple project and great living reminder of Easter, plus it will make a great centerpiece for our Easter dinner table as well!  Happy Easter!

Shoeboxes!

Seventeen years ago Samaritan's Purse started a ministry called "Operation Christmas Child" the idea was to pack a shoebox with simple gifts; personal care items and school supplies and give those shoeboxes to hurting and needy children all over the world with the message of the good news of God's love for them. That first year my son was a baby and we did one box. The 2nd year I had 2 kids so we did two boxes. As our family grew we did more boxes to correspond with each child till one day those kids said "mom lets do more!" So we did 5 boxes. Then one year one of the kids said "Ya know mom, this would be great for shoeboxes, we should save stuff all year round so we can do more." That year we did 22 boxes. The next year I got my church involved, we did 30 something boxes the first year. The following year I had another gal start saving stuff all year round and we filled 70 something. The numbers kept growing till last year we did 276 boxes! And still...

Our numbers kept growing.

As our numbers grew I needed to find creative ways to support our projects. Being part of the crafting community I looked there for help. Scrapbook Expo allowed us to run their baggage check and collect supplies and have raffle tickets for a gift basket from At the Blue Barn and a new "Scrap-n-Easel" from Contain ya crafts. Many of my scrapbooking friends came out to help at the expo as well. Local crafters came out to an event again donating supplies for boxes and buying raffle tickets for another fabulous gift basket. Plus companies such as Unibind, Creative Options, Epiphany Crafts, Craftwell, Xyron, Fiskateers, Hydrangea Hippo, Contain Ya Crafts, Faithfully Yours, MemoryWorks consultant Kemi Foresteri, Close to My Heart Consultant Lori Brown, October Afternoon and more donated make and take items, door prizes, and goodie bag items to the event! All these events (and then some) helped gather not only supplies but funds to purchase supplies and help offset the cost of shipping shoeboxes.

It's no secret, I love doing shoeboxes. It's such a simple way to reach out. Things we take for granted like soap and a toothbrush are some of the kids favorite gifts to receive and for some kids this is the first present they have every received in their lives! I also love shoeboxes because of what it allows me to do within my community. When someone decides to be a missionary to another country. They start raising support, gathering their supplies etc. They get sent on their trip and we hear about it when they get back. With coordinating shoeboxes I get a chance to encourage my church, family and friends to be missionaries right where they are at!

It's incredible to be able to help kids not just my kids or my church kids, but my nephews, and friends kids and even other kids in the community to take that step to look beyond themselves to reach out to others. It's a privilege to be able to hear "wow this was so much fun...I love helping, I can't wait to do it next year." and "I'm so glad I came, knowing that one more child gets a present cause of what I did is AWESOME!"

Well I can spill the beans! This year we packed 351 shoeboxes!!! Thank you again to everyone that helped make this possible!!!

Family Camp

I love our church camp! We spend the weekend at a fabulous campground called "Mennohaven." There is canoes and paddle boats, swimming, a gym and plenty of hiking. This year things didn't go quite as planned with our cookout. We have a hot dog roast during suppertime on Saturday and unfortunately this year it was raining. By the time the cookout was suppose to happen the campfire area was quite muddy. Having to bring 35 adults, and 30 kids (not to mention a wheelchair) into the area was going to prove to be quite a mess. The guys did well though and went and cooked hotdogs for us and we had and "indoor" picnic. The only problem was dessert. What cookout would be complete without s'mores. Since we couldn't head down to the fire and we didn't have access to a grill (or gas stove) for that matter. I improvised and used the microwave. Everyone was very surprised at how yummy they were. The marshmallows puffed, the chocolate slightly melted and the crackers stayed crisp. The only complaint was since they now knew that one could make a good tasting s'more in the microwave it would become too easy now to make them at home :)

Microwave s'mores:

1/2 Hershey chocolate bar

1 Graham Cracker (broke in half)

1 Jumbo marshmallow or 2 regular sized ones

On microwave safe plate, place 1/2 half of the cracker, then the chocolate and then the marshmallows. Microwave approximately 10-15 seconds (just until the marshmallow puffs) Top with the remaining cracker and enjoy a bit of the outdoors inside with the air conditioning!

Wow oh WOW (and giving thanks)

It always amazes me the generous hearts of people. It's exciting to see each year just exactly how God will provide. He takes our efforts and multiplies them beyond what we can imagine! Our shoebox journey started this year at the Scrapbook Expo in St. Charles. It continued with the members of Delta Kappa Gamma (Rho Chapter). It furthered with 4-h for Joy and the Daughters of the American Revolution (Louis Joliet Chapter.) It lengthened with Scrapbook Junction. Through it all it's been traveled with me with many wonderful friends from Fiskateers (special thanks to lead Angela Daniels) and my church family at My Father's House of Prayer.

I lost track of the number of hours spent, items collected. Money donated (well Pam has an idea of that one.) I just know that all of it mixed together equals 259 smiling boys and girls this Christmas.

Whereas it's far from over. The part of the journey I'm involved in will be coming to a close once I deliver the boxes to the first relay station. Because of that I wanted to say...

To each and every THANK YOU so very very much from the bottom of my heart!

(supplies used: Winter Woodland collection Creative Imaginations, prismatic cardstock, glossy accents, MME collection buttons, craft ribbon, Cricut-celebrations, Xyron, glue dots, stapler)

Cards for troops!

I must admit, I tear up at parades when I see the veterans march past. I also tear up when I say the pledge of allegiance. I am so grateful for our freedom here in the United States and even more so for those men and women that have sacrificed so much to serve and protect them.

Scripture tells us

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15: 13

To think of those that have given up time with their families, loved ones and friends, not to mention the comforts and security of home to serve and protect our freedoms overwhelms me.

I love having opportunities to give back to the troops and when my friend Diane asked me if I would create some "card kits" for a cards for troops event at her church. Operation MOMS Cookies sends care packages to our troops and the cards would be a part of them. I was more than willing to not only put together card kits but help with the event as well.

Knowing I had small group last night immediately following AND knowing my jr/sr high girls love creating I asked if they could come with. Five of us left early grabbed a quick lunch at Micky D's then went to help make Christmas cards for our troops.

Tables were set up all over the room with supplies to make dozen's of different types of cards! They girls went from table to table creating and I stayed at mine helping those that wanted to play with the tools I brought (Fiskars squeeze punches, stamps, stickles and more.)

The girls and I were joined with about 30 Men, women, teens and children from Our Savior Lutheran. The ladies there had YUMMY oatmeal raisin (my favorite of the two) and chocolate chip (the girls favorite) cookies and lemonade to keep up our strength. We spent 3 hours crafting cards. We had a blast!

When all was said and done yesterday afternoon, Diane was excited to share that they had 1502 cards! What a privilege it was to be a small part of it!

Gratitude Check!

You are always told to "check your attitude" but do you remember to check your "Gratitude?" Today I was reminded of all of my blessings. I've been a little down lately and confused and looking for direction as to what is next in life. I mean there are things that MUST go on, school for the kids, being the wife, mom, chauffeur, cook, maid. I mean with other things.

Recently a couple of open door opportunities became closed and I found myself wondering not only what was going on, but why in the world did I do this in the first place! I'm a giver by nature, I love blessing others and finding creative ways to do it. Occasionally though it seems I get "given out" and just don't have any more to give. Add to the additional stress of mom's illness, hubby changing jobs my emotions have been running amuck leaving me a total and complete mess. It's then I realize it's time to refocus take some time and figure out what going on.

Yesterday at church the verse that stuck with me the most wasn't part of the message it was read during offering. "...whoever sows generously will also reap generously." (2 Corinthians 9:6) Yeah they were talking about the offering but it hit me about life as well. God wouldn't fault me for sowing generously. In fact He encouraged it.

Fast forward to today I'm in the middle of FINALLY finishing the craft area overhaul. One of the tasks that was overdue was finding a spot for the mementos. They had been taped to my book case but it was getting to be an eyesore (and besides that they were falling off.) I needed to do something with them and decided for the time being to put them in a basket.

Instead of just putting the cards and programs and letters and such into the basket, I decided to sit and re-read the messages inside. I'm so glad I did. There were cards from friends, and cards from family, cards from fellow crafters and cards from fiskateers, and cards from manufacturers, cards from charities and companies and cards from my "kids" (Children's church/kid's club and youth group kids) . Cards thanking me for hosting swaps or helping with a project or charity, cards of encouragement, cards of friendship and cards of love. So many of them. All of the people that wrote them I have had contact with in some way. I realized I had been sowing generously and reaping abundantly!

By the time I was finished reading them, I was overwhelmed by all of the people that had touched my life and prayed that hopefully I had touched theirs in some small way as well. My basket was now overflowing and so was my heart! I am truly blessed and overwhelmed with gratitude for each and every person that has come into my life

I thank you Lord for the Gratitude Check this afternoon! It really helps put things into perspective!

Love for a friend

My friend Sharon is constantly doing things for other people so when her birthday came around this year (and a BIG one at that) and we needed to celebrate! We decided to have a "pot luck" supper and then tell everyone(but her) it was a surprise party! It was great! We were able to shower her with cards, gifts and a lot of love.

What party is complete without presents! I love giving gifts from the heart so when I got a great group shot of some of our younger kids church kids (she's one of my teachers) I knew I had to do something with it so I created this frame for it. Sharon loved it because those are "her kids!" Frame is by provo craft, die cut flowers-cricut, flowers Prima, assorted chipboard, stickles, mod podge, glue dots.

And then cards. This was the group card I made for people to sign at church. It was an EK success cd tin I had got a long time ago and never found a use for. The accordion pages in the album made it perfect for many people to sign!

Supplies used- Ek success CD tin, Stacy Claire Boyd paper, Lil Davis flowers, Making Memories gemstone brads, glue dots, wordsworth vellum stickers "Birthday", inside, Pebbles Inc stickers, gemstones, glue dots, wordsworth vellum stickers "Birthday", Fiskars circle cutter.

Happy Birthday Sharon! And many, many, MANY more!

Happy Mother's Day!

I remember as a new mom just waiting for my very first Mother's Day. When the day dawned I waited eagerly for my husband to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. And waited and waited and waited....That first Mother's Day the very first person to wish me a Happy Mother's Day was a homeless guy from that attended our church.

This then caused the "TALK" with hubby it went something like this.

ME: "Honey, I'm hurt the very first person to wish me a Happy Mom's Day was a homeless guy from church"

HIM: "You're not my mom"

ME: "grrrrrrr"

So thinking I would get some help from his mom, when we saw her later that day.

ME: "Your son said he won't wish me a "Happy Mother's Day" because "I'm not his mom""

HER: (smiled)

Ok so obviously that didn't work. So we went for the talk.

ME: "Dear our son is 9 months old how in the world do you expect him to do anything for mother's day?"

HIM: "Well he will when he's old enough"

ME: "NOPE, YOU GET TO HELP HIM! If you don't teach him to respect me than who will!?"

HIM: (Sheepish Grin)

My husband has come a long way since that first mother's day. I normally get at least lunch out, not to mention some type of present. This year I got a patio set (ok so I picked it out and got a sweet deal (how can you beat $38 for a 6 piece patio set cause of stacking gift cards and sales?) but he did let me use the credit card for it.) We also went out for lunch. The kids made cards and my bed and helped me with other things (plus I get some slave labor tomorrow muahahahhahahaha. ;) When we got home I got to head into the craft area and create for 4 hours! And I didn't have to worry about telling who to do what when. So I really had a nice day!

Because of that first Mom's day experience and knowing we have some kids without dad in the picture, I try to have the kids at church make something really special for Mother's Day. This year I found a cool project on a blog called LULU'S TILES. I knew I had to do these with my kids. I altered her initial idea a bit to make the flowers a bit easier and add a bit more color and dimension. I loved the way they turned out. I was very impressed we had 15 today and made them ALL; complete with an emergency trip to Wally World cause I forgot my cricut mats and top coat of mod podge in about 1 hour and 15 minutes...yes they were still a bit damp when they left class but oh were they excited to give them to their moms and the mom's LOVED them.

Here were my kids finished projects (please note AND be impressed even my 15 year old made one (he did his a couple of days ago as my sample.) I was really excited how well they turned out!

I hope everyone has a Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Supplies used: Canvas-Blick's, patterned paper-Making Memories, assorted buttons, Cricut- All Mixed up font, assorted Ribbon, punches-round and round and tear drop, Mod Podge, glue dots.

Easter Crafty!

We've been having fun with all types of crafty around here. First, Cornerstone Community Services gave us some coloring pads for our kids church kids. Since the older kids would be highly insulted getting "coloring pads" we decorated them a bit. After covering them with some fun Cloud 9 and Lil Davis paper, we added a ribbon loop for a pencil and then a cute spring stamped image. (Nursery kids are getting a mini box of crayons velcro-ed to the fronts as well.) Can't wait to give them to the kids tomorrow as Easter gifts from all of the teachers!

Then what happens when you go to a rummage sale and find 22 mini baskets for $2, 2 days before Easter? You buy them naturally, then glimmer mist them add a cute punched flower, some Easter grass and a candy filled egg and you have table favors for your family and friends for your Easter dinner.

Granted I will be sporting "Artic Blue" fingers for Easter (kinda got a bit messy during the misting process; ))

Paper -Lil' Davis, Glimmer Mist (in various shades) glue dots, gemstones

Easter Surprises!

Easter is a time to celebrate the resurrection, spring, new life, new birth. It's a joyus time! I'm a gift person I LOVE giving gifts especially handmade ones(for those ones especially are ones from the heart) . I also love teaching my kids church kids about giving, especially gifts from the heart. For Easter we are surprising the congregation with butterflies.

The kids have spent the last several weeks working on the butterflies. First they painted the clothes pins, then they decorated them with glitter glue and gemstones and added google eyes. For the wings they filled ziplock baggies with flower seeds. Finally they assembled them pinching the baggies in the middle to form wings and adding chenille stems for the antennae attaching tags to share what they were about.

The butterflies are special for many reasons; not only have the kids made them but the butterflies help tell the story of Easter two different ways.

First Easter is a time to celebration the resurrection and new life. Just as a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Jesus will change us into a new creation when we accept him into our life. Second the flower seeds celebrate not only spring, but remind us of how Jesus can help our faith grow more and more beautiful.

They can't wait to give them to their friends and family's next Sunday!

The poem reads:

(author unknown)

A tiny seed

just sits so still.

It hardly looks alive.

But when it's planted,

in the ground,

New colors soon arive

When Jesus lives

inside of you

He takes your

sin away

He helps your faith

in Him to grow

More beautiful

each day!

Jumping for J.O.Y.

So I taught children's church this week. We talked about Joy (we are studying the fruit of the spirit) and we talked about finding joy by putting (J)esus first then (O)thers then (Y)ourself. We jumped for joy. To make a J we decided to jump up kicking our feet behind us. For an "O" it was suggested we touch our toes, but that wasn't moving, so we decided to do summersaults. Y was an easy one jumping up with our arms in a Y.

The kids had a blast, and they wanted me to do it too. So I did. That's when I realized that a 37 year old woman shouldn't do summersaults on carpet covered cement.....

(Granted I don't think the kids will forget the lesson!)

The Secret Place

This past weekend we were on a church retreat. Twice a year our church rents out this little retreat center that sits on about 5 acres. Most of them are wooded and there is a trail that runs through the property. As the children’s pastor one of my absolutely favorite parts of the weekend is our bi-annual “Miss Betsy takes them on an adventure” off trail hike. The kids know that they must stay on the trail at all other times during the retreat, but on Sunday morning we will climb down ravine off the beaten path and explore. We have a wonderful time tracking through the mostly dried creek bed; looking under rocks, climbing over tree limbs, and just generally having an awesome time enjoying all that God created.

Our lesson varies each time we go depending on what the Lord puts on our hearts. Sometimes we just read psalms praising the awesome works of His hands. Sometimes we will find ants and consider their ways and learn to diligently work like they do storing up food for the winter. This time what really excited us were the tree roots.

As you are walking through the creek, there are places you can tell the water used to be 6 feet deep or more. It’s in these places you can see the root systems of these HUGE trees. You can see the tiny hair like feeder roots, their fibrous tendrils looking for water. You can see the enormous anchor roots; the thick, woody, branch like structures that hold the tree in place and keep it secure in the ground during a storm.

The kids were fascinated by the roots this year; we kept looking out for them as we walked along the creek bed. As we talked about what the roots did, I was reminded of something I heard once “the root system of a tree is as large underground, as the tree is above ground.” What we normally SEE of the tree; the branches, the leaves, the huge trunks, and what we could get from the tree; wood or fruit, or shade, is only possible because of what happens underground in secret.

We are like trees; in fact the Lord calls his people “Oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of God’s splendor.” (Isaiah 61:3) As we look at ourselves and other Christians, and see the ministry, the testimony before others, the way they (or us) treat people, without realizing what is seen “above ground” is only possible because of what happens in secret; prayer time, bible study, their time spent in worship. Our ability to bear fruit for the Lord is only possible because of us feeding on his word. Our ability to help shelter others from the storms of life is only possible because we are anchored deep in our relationship with God. Our ability to do almost anything for God is because we have learned to stretch out our hearts and lives towards that source of living water.

Matthew 6:5-6. "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

What about you? Is your prayer life only at church or do you find that secret place you can go into and pour out your heart to God? Are you spending time in secret feeding on God’s word and seeking out a source of living water? Are you anchored deep so the winds of life won’t blow you down? For it’s in this secret place, those quiet times with God that He does His best growing in you. It’s in the secret place God’s people will grow into “oaks of righteousness for the displaying of God’s splendor” being able to spread their branches to reach out to a lost and dying world.