I NEED YOU MORE

so I'm listening to the song "i need you more" song by Kim Walker of jesus culture. sitting at Starbucks listening to this song, and I got an image of someone soaking wet from the presence of God. someone that is dripping with the tangible liquid love of our MAKER. can you imagine carrying that with you everyday, every minute, every second...the liquid love of our CREATOR. what an awesome gift He has given us, His very presence. The fact that people whether they are a believer or not can recognize the carriers of our SAVIORS liquid love.

I pray that in my own life I can be a carrier of His liquid love, not the temporary I'm only gonna do it cause it benefits me. BUT the real, authentic, pure, no-strings attached LOVE that God has called ALL of us to extend to EVERYONE. God I thank you that there is no limit to your love, that there is freedom, grace, acceptance, guidance, truth and wholeness in your LOVE.

so with that being said

more than the air i breathe, more than the song i sing, more than anything...

I NEED YOU MORE

PROMOTING because thats what has to done...

So like Ive said in my past post, Ive been creating. Being more intentional about making and promoting and letting the world know.

Anyhoo, here is an update to what has been recently listed. I've added some photos below, but I would love for you all to stop by the shop, and share with your friends and all you know.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!



welcome plaque



black and cream clutch



april showers watercolor print

im being featured

I've been working on trying to promote my etsy site, and website and i think its working :)

Today I'm being featured on Coconut Palm Design, so hopefully it creates more exposure to my artwork. So excited!!!!

here's a link

COCONUT PALM DESIGNS

grow-up

So its been a while, and when I say a while I mean 9 months since I've posted something.

and now let me unload, upload, download...share whats been going on

I've been busy...getting organized, figuring out what I want for my life, hanging out, loving people, being myself.

BUSY...

I have always had a passion for art, and creating but I never really had the confidence to share what I did or even think that I could make a living out of it. But like I said before I've been busy getting organized and figuring out what I want for my life, and what I want is to be an artist, and make my living with it. So I have been painting and exploring and seeing where it takes me and allowing God to give me more vision for this passion that I have inside of me. Its been fun and scary all at the same time, sharing my art is like a exposing a part of myself that I keep hidden. 9 months of formulating something amazing, 9 months of allowing my insecurities to be dealt with, 9 months of exploring, and 9 months of saying yes to my passion.

Now on this side of the 9 months I have established my very on website MONELLISA and I opened up an etsy shop selling my prints and other artwork. and I'm EXCITED

I'm looking forward to more creativity, exploring, more yielding to God to allow me to go deeper with this passion...MORE

you've captured my heart...

i got this from an email my mom sent me, and it made me think...God I want you to see me like that...as your bride, as lovely, as precious, as worth it...

YOU HAVE CAPTURED GOD'S HEART

As a man rejoices over his new wife, so God will rejoice over you.

ISAIAH 62:5

Have

you ever noticed

the way a groom looks at his bride

during the wedding? I have. Perhaps it's my

vantage point. As the minister of the wedding, I'm posi-

tioned next to the groom. . . .

If the light is just so and the angle just right, I can see a tiny re-

flection in his eyes. Her reflection. And the sight of her reminds him

why he is here. His jaw relaxes and his forced smile softens. He forgets

he's wearing a tux. He forgets his sweat-soaked shirt.. . . . When he sees

her, any thoughts of escape becomes a joke again. For it's written all over

his face, "Who could bear to live without this bride?"

And such are precisely the feelings of Jesus. Look long enough into

the eyes of our Savior and, there, too, you will see a bride. Dre-

ssed in fine linen. Clothed in pure grace. . . . She is the

bride . . . walking toward him. . . .

And who is this bride for whom Jesus

longs? . . . You are.

trusting in him...

i've been chewing on a particular verse, and its been amazingly-great! jesus!

...so here it is...

trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in ALL your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

proverbs 3:5-6

so God has completely wrecked my understanding of ALL...you see this small word holds such measure, such weight, such responsiblity...and im just gonna say it my ALL is hard...I have so many questions, so many thoughts, so many insecurities, so many doubts, so many things keeping me from really, fully, wholehearterly surrendering the ALL and saying God i trust that you are going to make my path straight. God i trust that you know what is best, and i don't have to fully understand that to move, to wait, to trust, to be who you have called me to be.

so yea, God i thank you for that revelation; that i can breathe with a freedom in knowing as im leaning on you; you are allowing my path to align to what you call straight.

ive been commissioned to paint...

so painting is one of the things i love to do. but when im asked to paint something, i tend to be dramatic about it and wait, and wait, and wait till the very last minute. case and point: my boss asked me to paint a set of 4 canvases for her daughter's room, this was in may...its july and i have finished one of the 4 (but im still waiting for my boss to give me the other canvases) so here is the first of 4 and i hope to be finished with them all by the end of the month.

with all that being said im just reminded of the parable of the talents:

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.”

His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

The man with the two talents also came. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.”

His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

Then the man who had received the one talent came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”

His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

“Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

- Matthew 25:14-30 (NIV)

so God, i just pray that I would be faithful with whatever you have placed before me, that i wouldn't be selfish or fearful with my talents/gifting and that I would walk them out with confidence. and i pray that over everyone, that there would be a level of trust, a level of integrity, and a level of ownership that goes far beyond who we are and that there would be a measure of recognizing the sole purpose of why we were in trusted with these things in the first place. so yea, God do it, over and over just have your way in each of us.

my painting: the first is what i had to work off of...

something new...

yesterday i decided to mess around on the keyboard for a little bit, and this is what came of it...ENJOY!

talent show judge

so im reading this book called The Deity Formerly Known as God which is basically about reestablishing our false identity of God, and bringing it to a place of truth.  I have to say the author is pretty dead on about most of the issues; i just got finished a chapter entitled talent show judge.  I believe this is something we are all too familiar with; the act of performing and being judged.  This is something that we see in the media, with wonderful shows like american idol, dancing with the stars, and star search.  all of these have one thing in common people coming to be judged by a panel of people who are supposedly qualified to make a decision about whether or not you are good enough.  We've put ourselves in a position to be judged, and fall into the lie of needing to be good enough.

Well one question, what does good enough look like, or better yet who does the best resemble?

You see we've not only  got sucked into the lie of wanting to be good enough, we have placed the position of talent show judge on God.  With this false position, we have created a God who says "that was good, but it wasn't good enough" spiraling us into something that can ultimately hurt us...MORE. there is more to do, more to give, more to read, more to join...MORE and that more drains us.

The author asks:  

"why do so many people lose themselves in the soul-suffocating quicksand of more? and more important, who is it that keeps asking for more?"  

and the answer is US: the infamous you & me -------->

"tragically it is not God, but you and i who demand and defeat and call out for more and more. it is our own ungodly expectations that meet with our own human limitations to create the conflict we so often find ourselves in."

AND

when that happens "religion for God eclipses relationship with God until our inner lives are lost to our outer lives.  a sturdy shell of godliness without its gentle growing grace...somewhere along the way we substitute activity for intimacy leaving a grand canyon sized gap between busyness and godliness, intimacy and insanity."

"without realizing it, we have carelessly created for ourselves a God whom we can never please. it is a God who keeps us busy with endless activity and piety without purpose.  a God who is never impressed."

If we allow the lies of MORE to eradicate our lives we miss who God really is, Him delighting in you and you and i delighting in him.  He is the one cheering for us, isn't that exciting? We have a father looking down on us and encouraging us..."you can do it son, you can do it daughter..." what a reward, what a thing to rejoice for the hopeful words of our LOVING father.

hosea 6:6 msg

i'm after love that lasts, not more religion. i want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings.

psalm 51:16-17 msg

going through the motions doesn't please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you.  i learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's notice.

dinner with friends...

last night had the pleasure of having dinner with some amazing women.  we came together and created a delicious meal 

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU.  

this all came together when maryruth, katie and myself were discussing how simple cooking can actually be; all you need are the basic ingredients and we discovered that last night. we took a little chicken, ham, cheese, flour, eggs, and bread crumbs and wala la cordon blu. so katie, rachel, KRISTIN, maryruth,  JENNY, lorelei, jessica and myself ate, laughed, and just had some amazing quality time, really embracing our femininity.

proverbs 31

25 she is clothed with strength and dignity;

     she can laugh at the days to come.

26 she speaks with wisdom, 

     and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

fun with my missionary friend...

this is a video that my friend Nic Nice and I made while sitting at bean there...enjoy!

quoted text from NIC NICE...

"This really is a boring video but I was having fun as Isa was showing me how she made her very nice looking, creative blog. Hope you don't waste your time on this video as it was also my first time using iMovie and I basically couldn't figure it out. So I give it an over all low score for editing, content and educational value."

we prepare the way...

so the past couple of weeks have been pretty hectic, just adjusting to working early in the morning and trying not to stay up too late, but God has been amazing...I have been really praying about where the Lord wants me to go this summer as far as missions, and it was down to two locations. Ghana and Turkey, both very special and i know i could be used on either trip...but i didn't just want to pick one randomly. so i prayed and asked and prayed and asked. after attending the turkey interest meeting i really felt like the Lord put a song on my heart for the trip. "We prepare the way" by Rick Pino (such an amazing song). but this wasn't my deciding factor, the trip to Turkey is geared towards worship and intersession something that I really want to go deeper in. And the very fact of all of this was Turkey scared me the most, having to be stretched in an area that is very intimate to me. So with that I was like ok God, lets do this, lets jump, let me take that step and trust you with this. Lets Go! And there you have it, I'm going to Turkey, June 10 - 21. I know that the Lord is going to do tremendous things with the team and with the people we come in contact with.

below is my sponser letter...I would love it if you could just keep me in your prayers, and if you would like to contribute to my funds that would be awesome!

As most of you know I had the opportunity to go to South Africa last summer and minister to the young people in the town of Coffee Bay. This was my first experience being out of the country and I loved it! Caring for the little ones in the orphanage and having meaningful discussion about the Lord with the older ones it was simply amazing.

This year I have the same desire, just in a different region of the world. My heart has led me to be a part of our church’s mission team to Turkey. Our team is scheduled to be in Antalya, Turkey

June 10 – 21 and we will be doing worship and intercession, and youth ministry. I can’t even describe fully how excited about what God is going to do with our team and for myself being stretched in the area of worship.

Our team will be busy for the next several months learning, praying and preparing for Turkey. I would like to invite you to also be a part of our team. We need people who will pray for us as we prepare and while we are on the field. We also need people who can partner with me financially. The trips estimated cost is $2900.

Would you please continue to pray about being a part of my support team? All financial contributions are tax-deductible. Checks should be made payable to New Life Ministries International and the envelope (not the check) should be clearly designated with both the trip name and my name. You may include the country/trip name on the memo line of your check but please do not include my name. If the check is designated with my name, according to IRS regulations, you will not be able to use it as a tax deduction. Also, you may make an online contribution through our website at http://newlife.cc/. Because we have to meet deadlines for airfare deposits and other arrangements, I need to have adequate financial support raised as soon as possible.

And if you are interested in being part of my personal prayer support team, please email me at luv2shoot@gmail.com or give me a call at 757-816-3016. We plan to keep our prayer team regularly updated with prayer requests and praise reports. Thank you for praying about being part of our team in any way possible!

With lots of love

Isabel Monell

*pictures are from my trip to south africa last summer*

LETS GO SHOPPING!!!

here are some of the items from my shop.all of the bags are homemade by myself. hope you guys enjoy. trying to save up for my missions trip.

Etsy Buy Handmade sweetfinds

1,2,3 JUMP...

1, 2, 3 JUMP...1, 2, 3 READY SET...here i come, I jump into you...(adam cates)


So last week at girls group one of the leaders spoke about prophecy and what that looked like, and how God can use it in many different forms. And once the discussion was finished we had a time to active what we talked about and learned. For me this wasn't too hard, but then again its something that I always tend to over analyze and just really question if its my own thoughts or JESUS.

We paired off and just started praying for our partners. I didn't really get anything revelational, at least not in my opinion but I shared. Then my partner (Rachel) began to share what she felt like the Lord was showing her for me.

"I just hear the word PASSIONATE, and not the superficial passionate that you see from the outside, but a pure PASSION from within."

I thought cool, I feel like I'm at that point with the Lord...not wanting to play games...just wanting his heart.

She proceeded...

"Its night and the stars are out, and you are walking. Walking towards this cliff, and then...you jump...I don't really know what you are jumping into, but you jump"

I was like oh great suicide...ya! not really...but REALLY! God, I'm jumping off a cliff? What does that mean? Where are we going with this? Is there any significance or what? I didn't really think much of what my Rachel told me when i left girls group that night, but that Lord has a funny way of bringing things back. But God.

So I'm reading this book on desperate women of the bible, and it just so happen the same week Rachel shared this image of me jumping off a cliff, i get to the chapter of a women who was so desperate it was like she was jumping off a cliff...yea i know God you are funny! This gave new insight to what Rachel told me, and made me really just examine what she said again. Yes i am passionate about the Lord, and I am passionate about the things he is doing in and through me, but am I willing to trust him and JUMP? am i willing to say "I'm ready to jump...i trust you JESUS!" I think so, I don't want to be at the edge of the cliff wondering if it will hurt to jump. At the edge waiting for something to come and carry me to the other side. That's not what he wants either, he wants everything, all of me...the willingness to say I'm ready and i don't care what is at the bottom.


here are some lines from the book I'm reading:
Desperate living requires risk, surrender, yielding all that you have in hopes that it will somehow be good enough. It is jumping off a cliff, hoping you will land on something soft, something that doesn't break you completely. Something that does not swallow you alive. But if it does, well, it does.

...a woman who was jumping off a cliff, clinging to the simple and frail hope that she might land on something soft-if she landed at all.

He was about to jump off a cliff, knowing nothing was going to break his fall. Nothing, this is, but the object of his devotion, of his sacrifice. Of his love.

she is my true love...

I was listening to a song by Laura Woodley the other day and all I really want to say is WOW! It’s a song about how we see our relationship with the Lord. But in the midst of the junk and dirt He sees beauty; He wants us, He chooses us, His beautiful brides

You saw me broken
You saw me battered

You saw me filthy

You saw me shattered

You saw me wicked

You saw me lying

You saw me failing

You saw me trying

You saw me angry

You saw me jealous

You saw me prideful

You saw me selfish

You saw me wonder

You saw me lustful

You saw me striving

Worshipping idols

I want her

I love her

She’s the one for me

I choose her

I know her
She is my true love
Bring her to me

Put a ring on her finger

Clothe her in my righteousness

Shine my light all around her

Place a crown upon her head

Keep her tears in a bottle

See her name upon my hands

When she says: I don’t deserve it

Tell her: I took the nails instead

I took the nails instead

After hearing the song, I decided to create a painting! Around the outside of the canvas has lines from the beginning of the song, and in the center of the painting is God's response to how he see us..."I want her..." And the awesome thing is that after printing it out the words on the paper it resembled a dress; which lead me to make the center of the painting a dress. A beautiful dress, set apart for His beautiful bride.

your love came in...

so this is a song that God gave me while I was on vacation
this past christmas. its one of my favorites, and really just shows me how much
God desires to restore and to love.

I was lost I could not see,
the darkness covered me.
my heart was cold i felt so alone.

but your love came in and filled me up
when your love comes in i'm built up

i once was broken, but now there's you,
and youre picking me up.
all my hopes, joys and dreams,
they are now redeemed.

but your love came in and filled me up
when your love comes in i'm being built up

always doubting left and right,
but now you're by my side, you're by my side.
no longer bound by the lies there's truth in your eyes,
and thats where i want to be.

when your love crept in,
and you tore me apart,
restoring my heart.

cause your love came in and filled me up
when your love comes in im being built up.

now my joy is complete,
cause you're livin in me,
deep, deep, deep within.

Spring is coming...

This past Friday evening I went to my churches women of radiance banquet. To be honest I went because I was asked if I would be interested in displaying some of my artwork. And so I saw this as opportunity for me to get people to see what I have done, and see the talents of other women. But of course God just didn't want that to be my only reason. I mean that would be too simple, come to a banquet display my work, eat some amazing dessert and listen to some special women share. Too simple for God.

So let me just start by saying that the theme for the night was seasons, the different seasons we encounter with our walk with the Lord. My sister and I were looking over the different seasons and what they generally bring into our lives. And of course when I read winter, I was like "Yea, that’s def. where I'm at right now...a season of reflection" and I also made the comment, "I can't wait for spring, a season of impartation" and I just left it alone. The evening started with a light hearted skit about WOMAN. Then we had time to fellowship and share with the women at our table. This was great. This lasted for about 20 minutes, and was then transitioned into the sharing of the different seasons. This is where God rocked me.

Spring was the first season to be shared; the lady got up and started talking. She started by giving the definition of spring (new, growth, to come up, fresh)...all things a person would naturally associate with spring. She then proceeded to share about her life during this season, and then gave three different people who are processing spring (the leftover, the wallflower, and the broken one). At that very moment I just was like wow! God what is happening, my emotions started to well up and I could feel a bawl inside of me that needed to spring forth. But because I didn't want people looking at me I held it in. At the same time trying to process where the emotions were coming from. At the close of this ladies testimony she shared a line from a song that encouraged the spring season of her life "wallflower come dance with me, leftover you’re just what I need, broken one you will be my queen" again the tears wanted to gush from my eyes, but I held it in.

As I started to process my emotions, I was like God this must just be me being emotional. The next season to share was summer, but I didn’t have the same emotional high as I did for spring. And I didn’t really think anything of it. They then transitioned into a worship dance done to the song “every season” by Nicole Nordeman. The song went through the different seasons, and it was just beautiful. Then the same emotions I had encountered during the sharing of the season of spring happened again. “and everything that’s new, has bravely surfaced teaching us to breathe what was frozen through, is newly purposed turning all things green, so it is with you and how you make me new.” These lines sparked that emotional overflow of tears. And again I was just like God where is this coming from why tonight, why here, why? But again I refrained from crying and letting that emotion get the best of me.

Autumn and winter spoke and I was fine, nothing sparked me. Nothing really at that point shook me like spring. So I was just like ok, what is it about spring, what do you want me to know. And on the car ride home I asked God what he wanted me to know, what he was doing in me, why I was so overly captivated by the season of spring. And he responded with, “spring is coming” That was all I needed to hear, once that happened I had such a peace. And I was like,”ok God.” Spring is coming…don’t know what it looks like, but I think I’m ready.

One day at a time...

One day at a time...this is a phrase that I have heard an enormous amount just within the past couple of weeks, and its quite annoying. God knows I'm a planner and that I love to look so far in advance and dream. But that's not what he wants right now, "Isabel can we look at today, I want to show you something." and my response is always "God really, can we just think and dream about how great my life is going to be in 6 months, 5 years...can we just sit and think about all the gifts you are going to cultivate in my life for the future." And God is like, "that's nice; we could, but there are things here, today that I need you to be aware of for your future, things today that will enable your future." So God has really just opened my eyes to the fact that I can't be complacent with today, that I have to be actively engaging in the today's. That he has established specific things for me to know and see every single day. Daily surrendering, daily uprooting, daily pouring in, daily revelation. And I can't receive all of that if my mind is focused on the things I could be in 6 months. This was like God was saying wake up. Wake up and live, today! SO...

God I pray that you would open my eyes to the things you have established for me today. That i wouldn't be so distracted by the tomorrows, but that there would be a peace in knowing you are working daily in me to pull out my future.

Philippians 4:6 & 7
do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

its the first day

yay! so I decided to venture out and show people what I do outside of sewing. Thats right not just sewing, but my other artwork. I have a bunch of stuff to off load and I hope you all enjoy!

till the next one