‘Rock of Ages’ Pocket Rocks

Today, I’m introducing a new column which will highlight beautiful handmade items from Vine & Branches Gallery.  I hope you’ll enjoy seeing and reading a little about the artist and their work.  Enjoy!

Rocks of Ages begin their journey as handpicked rocks along the shores of Lake Superior.  Each one unique in shape, size and color.  Marva, the artist, lovingly hand paints each one and and applies the background and cross in rich colors, adding words and details in gold.  On the back she adds a banner with a timeless message.

Wouldn’t this be the perfect gift for one of the guys on your list who’s going through a difficult time?  Here is another Pocket Rock with ‘Trust’.

So many women have asked us for a gift with meaning to celebrate one of life’s special events.  Marva’s pocket rocks have always been a popular choice to honor completion of confirmation, ordination, a milestone, or just to say ‘I’m thinking of you’.  At $26.00 they are affordable too.

The artist also paints rocks without words on the front, if you want just the cross.

On the insert card Marva writes, “Designed to carry with you as a reminder on joyous days, as well as on challenging days, that you are never alone”.    Yes….that is worth remembering.

Marva’s Rocks of Ages are available at Vine & Branches Gallery and can be shipped to you or sent directly to the one you are gifting.  Just click here to see more of Marva’s pocket rocks.

God Bless and thank you for looking at our handmade gifts.

Laurie

{images: Laurie Ashbach}

German Nativities 2010

Beautiful nativities have arrived at Vine & Branches Gallery.

For more information and to purchase, please visit http://www.vbgallery.com/.

SCULPTURAL BRONZE NATIVITIES

All are freestanding 3 – 3.5″ high.

From the Book of Matthew

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’^[b]”

SCHWIBBOGEN

Handcrafted Double Arches (Doppelschwibbogen) and lighted Christmas Trees made in Erzgebirge, Germany, light up the darkness.

From the Book of Luke

John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

AMERICAN HARDWOODS

And finally, Gunther, a German woodworker creates heirloom manger scenes, simple and sincere, here in the US.

Christmas Books 2010

Purchase books online at vbgallery.com.

Begin your Christmas Season with Paula Gooder’s Advent book, The MEANING is in the WAITING, the spirit of advent.  In this winsome yet provocative Advent devotional…I began to sense something I had not understood before, in any of my other Advent observances-it is not just we who wait.  God is waiting, too.  ‘The Lord waits, that He may be gracious unto you,’ says Isaiah, one of the prophets who interests Paula Gooder most.  God waits on us, for our attention, for our visits home, God waits for our vision and our ear.”

For the young family, The Christmas Countdown, Creating 25 Days of New Advent Traditions for Families, from Margie J. Harding is a must.  Meaningful and Fun Activities, Prayers, Readings. This guide provides easy-to-use devotionals with Scripture, music, food, and fun family activities to prepare your heart and home – and reach out to others – in celebration of Christ’s coming.

GOD WITH US, Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas, is a day by day Advent book full of beautiful paintings which illuminate the Scripture used and text by the authors.

When we become adults, and the wide-eyed wonder of childhood has passed, we need to replace what was once magical with something much more meaningful.

God With Us is a companion for those who want to experience Christmas as the early Christians once did, set in the larger context of Advent and Epiphany.  Through daily meditations, Scripture, prayer, illuminating history and fine art, we experience what saints have glimpsed through the ages-the wonder of God made flesh.

O COME EMMANUEL, A Musical Tour of Daily Readings for Advent and Christmas,  is directed to those who love the old carols and hymns of the Christmas season.  We learn about the hymn, the writer and end each section with a prayer.

O Christmas Three, Beloved Christmas Classics, brings to us three beloved authors.  Come enjoy The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry, Where love is, There God Is Also, by Leo Tolstoy, and two tales from Charles Dickens, The Seven Poor Travellers and What Christmas Is As We Grow Older.

Magi, A Novel, by Daniel L. Gilbert.   Ramates feels compelled to follow a new luminary he has discovered in the night sky.  He knows the ancient prophecies.  He has heard of the Promised One.  But he must see for himself.  Daniel Gilbert combines ancient history, detailed astronomy, prophecy, and legend in this imaginative tale of one of the original Magi and his life-changing meeting with the new child king.

Henry Van Dyke brings to the season, The First Christmas Tree, and other stories. “Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world-stronger than hate, stronger than evil stronger than death-and that the blessed life that began in Bethlehem two thousand years ago is the image and brightness of The Eternal Love?  Then you can keep Christmas.”  Henry Van Dyke

The other stories are, The Christmas Angel, Christmas-Giving and Christmas-Living, and Christmas Prayers.