When Bella Blvd. & Illustrated Faith released the Whatever is Lovely collection, I fell in love with it right away. The color palette & sketchy hand-drawn theme didn’t hurt, but the scripture focus was what sealed the deal for me. Philippians 4:8 is such a WONDERFUL message! After getting the papers in my hands & really studying the scripture passage, I knew what it reminded me of. This passage TOTALLY reminded me of my Nana.
Nana is my grandmother on my mom’s side & it would take me all day to type up a description of her, but I’ll give you the bullet points:
- *VERY short. I call her my “Tiny Nana.”
- *Beautiful soft voice that should be recording audio books.
- *Superb vocabulary.
- *Excellent hugger.
- *Loves birds, flowers & good pot of tea: you know, all the good stuff.
- *Always has the best STUFF around her house: buttons, trinkets, little boxes of treasures.
- *Strict sense of morals & manners…
- *…But not afraid to cheat at Scrabble.
- *Has a contagious laugh.
- *Wonderfully spiritual.
She’s always given me the best example of what a women of God should look like & act like. Pretty much ALL my childhood memories of attending church & learning about Jesus include her. Therefore many passages of scripture remind me of her. Philippians 4:8 was no different.
She was the director of our church choir & so she would always sit at the front of the sanctuary with them on Sundays. Anyone from her little small town would certainly call her a sweet soul. But OH MAN. If you were “acting up” or giggling in church, you did NOT want her to look down from the choir during Sunday service & purse her lips at you. That means your manners have crossed a line and you were really in for it! haha
No matter what the situation in life, Nana always has one line of standard advice: “Be sweet.” We hear it ALL the time. This phrase has many translations. Depending on the situation, it could mean: think before you speak, mind your manners, respect your elders, sit still in church, quit eating the whipped cream straight from the can, etc. But honestly, I think Philipians 4:8 defines “Be sweet” quite well:”…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
That scripture really does apply to all situations in life. Like Nana’s standard advice, it encourages us to wrap ourselves in only the lovely, admirable & excellent things no matter the circumstance. Letting the true and pure things guide our actions lets us live in His image. Dwelling on what is sweet will allow us to serve the Lord no matter what we’re going through.
I knew when I received this collection that I needed to create a scrapbook layout about my Nana because her standard advice certainly falls under the category of lovely…
…Just don’t play Scrabble with her. She really does cheat! ;)
-Elaine
Illustrated Faith Make it Count Stamp Set | Illustrated Faith Homespun Alpha Stamp Set | Illustrated Faith Homespun Numbers Stamp Set | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd. Whatever is Lovely Papers in “Noble” & “Lovely” | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd. Whatever is Lovely Treasures & Text stickers | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd. Typed Alpha Stickers in “One in a Melon” | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd. Fold It stickers | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd. Love It stickers | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd. Point It stickers | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd. pen | Bella Blvd. Fresh Market paper in “Fruitful” | Bella Blvd. Enamel DooDads in “Punch”
my sweet Elaine. this essay is so beautiful. if I didn’t know me I would like me just from what you said. you have always been so good with words. you make me smile. you make me laugh. and some times you make me all weepy eyed. but today, you make me proud and smiley, and laughy. Be Sweet.
I love you Nana! You’re one of my very favoritest people. And you’re definitely my best Nana. :)