Outward Appearance

1 Samuel 16:7--But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

"Boy, you look pretty today!" [I just got angry with my child in the car on the way to church.] "Wow, is that a new dress? You look great!" [I stayed up late surfing blog sites and saw more than I should have.] "Hi, it's good to see you. You look as young as you did 15 years ago--as beautiful as ever!" [The day before, I had taken something that didn't belong to me.] Are we what we appear to be? I confess. I've done these things in my lifetime and much worse. Though I may seem to be the mild-mannered pastor's wife, God knows my heart. The most wonderful thing is that when I confess my sin and the evil that resides in my heart, he is faithful to forgive my sin and cleanse me from all that's wrong in my life. As he said to the woman so long ago, "Go and sin no more." I learned. He can make me whole again. He has.

The inspiration for this card started with my pastor's sermon yesterday where God was chosing the new king among a shepherd's family. King David had a heart for God. Though he failed miserably in many areas of his life, God still used him mightily. As the pastor was speaking, I was thinking about the heart and how very black it is inside at times. I used a copy of beautiful woman, made a cardboard heart, heart-shaped paper, painted, glued and added words.