NKPdesigns

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Colors of the Christmas Season

Many jewelry artists design jewelry based on particular religious holidays or spiritual beliefs. For example, I see elements of Buddhism, as well as Hinduism all year round in certain jewelry designs.

For the most part, many Christians prefer not to use images to represent the God of the Bible, and instead resort to the symbolism of color, and Christmas is the perfect season to rally around certain colors.

If you or your child has ever gone to a Vacation Bible School during the summer, you/he/she may have come home with a Salvation bracelet, where each bead on a bracelet represents an explanation of the Salvation process taught in the Bible.

Likewise, during Christmas, we Christians often utilize colors in jewelry to represent our beliefs. If I was to string some beads for a necklace I would choose three basic colors: White, Red, and Green, with Gold accents.

The white of the beads represent the purity, or the sinlessness of Christ. Being 100% God and setting aside His glory, He wrapped Himself in human flesh. God physically entered the world He created, thus, He was also 100% man, giving up none of His deity. While He lived on this earth He never once sinned, not in thought or deed, yet the Bible teaches He was tested in every way. He did what no human being born could ever do: be perfection and live a perfect life. White is the perfect color we have to represent purity ...


The red of the beads represent Jesus Christ's work upon the Cross. He was beaten to a bloody pulp before He was placed on the cross and when the guard stabbed Him with the sword, He bled out blood and water from His side. Because Christ lived that perfect life, His death was able to satisfy the wrath (intense anger) that mankind's sin had caused. Christians believe that a man can never pay for their own sins because no matter how long the punishment lasts, God's anger is never abated or  appeased. Only Christ's blood, because He lived that perfect life, could completely rid God's anger at mankind's sin.

This teaching about Christ's blood paying for sins repulses many regarding Christianity, but for the Christian it is a treasured belief because Christ's act of shedding His blood is a precious gift and act of love from the Creator to His creation.


The green of the beads represents the resurrection (coming back to life again) of Christ and what happens when a person lets go of self and stops trying to placate God's anger and simply accepts what Christ did on the cross. Though the body may die, that person will life forever with God in perfect peace and everylasting joy, being accepted by God in every way, forever.

Forever is a hard concept to grasp, perhaps that is why the Creature designed some trees to retain their green color all year round.



I do not have any gold beads, but I do have this intense yellow pendant. Gold represents the richness of being a child of God, not physical riches, but spiritual riches. I found this A-Z list over at Bible Study Planet and thought it was a perfect way to wrap this up. Have a blessed Christmas!

Accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6)
Born of God (1 John 5:1)
Crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)
Delivered from the power of darkness (Colossians 1:13)
Enriched in everything in Him (1 Corinthians 1:5)
Forgiven for Christ’s sake (Ephesians 4:32)
Grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17)
Hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)
Instructed in the way of the Lord (Acts 18:25)
Justified by his grace (Titus 3:7)
Kept by the power of God (1 Peter 1:5)
Led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14)
Made near to God by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13)
Nourished in the words of faith and good doctrine (1 Timothy 4:6)
Ordained to eternal life (Acts 13:48)
Perfected forever (Hebrews 10:14)
Quickened together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)
Redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)
Sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13)
Translated into the kingdom of his Son (Colossians 1:13)
Unblameable in His sight (Colossians 1:22)
Victorious through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Washed from our sins in His own blood (Revelation 7:15)
Yearned over by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26)
Zealous of good works (Titus 2:14)

Saturday, December 01, 2012

How To Use Coupon Codes on Etsy


































It is not so easy to figure out how to apply a coupon code on Etsy.  I found a screen shot on etsy and altered it with these red arrows and such.

I wish Etsy would simply have the coupon code box on the checkout page without having to click on the blue link to make it appear. But for now this is how it appears.  I'll link to this from my shop announcement.  Anyway, have a great day and thanks for stopping by. Hope this helps!  - -Natalie