I am not shy about sharing my faith in Jesus. Most of the jewelry I make nods to God's creation and facets of my own personal walk with The One and Only. Like so many of you, I have been praying and listening to God more than ever through the trials of 2020. COVID, social distancing, an upheaval in the USA as the culture clash with godly principles spilled over onto screens across the globe: Satan is busy at work to seek, kill, and destroy. But the truth is Jesus prevails. He is with us now and for eternity no matter what happens in this temporary and fleeting moment we find ourselves in.
Seven years ago, I stumbled across My One Word. The concept is simple: allow God to guide your heart for a year around a single concept. What usually happens to me is I think a word will be all about X, but God shows me a completely different point of view. Funny how so many things in my life are like this - haha. My word for this year, 2021, is Cornerstone.
When I started searching the Bible for information about this topic in January, Isaiah 28:16 was the first verse I came to. If you are feeling like your whole world has turned upside down, I hope these words wrap around your heart and bring comfort as they did for me: "Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken."
As I said earlier, many of the designs I create are inspired by God's paintbrush and the details all around us. This is the first time, however, I've been compelled to design art brought about by a singular concept: that Jesus holds everything together. I am excited about working together with Him to bring this vision to life over the coming year. Knowing Jesus is a firm foundation, a Cornerstone safe to build my life on and around, brings such hope and peace to my heart in times of trouble.
What Bible verse or truth about Him holds you steady?
Blessings to you and yours,
Chris Cravens, Artist
P.S. As I work through this, I'll be releasing work in small batches with a corresponding blog post. If you would like to see them all, they are linked together with the tag 'Cornerstone' available here.