Our Mission

About Page Image 1

Our mission at Flower Girl Greetings is to magnify the beauty of God's Word with vibrant art cards and study tools, so you can share His hope with others in tangible and lasting ways.

With just one card and one regular stamp, you are sending – the power of God’s Word; a vibrant, quality art print; and rich encouragement on the back of each card. People simply don’t throw our cards away. Their timeless message continues to nourish those who receive them.

To receive devotional emails from ShaleFragments.com, the writing division of Flower Girl Greetings, please subscribe here. You will also receive news about sales and new products.

“I use these beautiful cards all the time. I’ve never seen anything like them before. They are striking works of art communicating spiritual, encouraging truths. They are impacting the lives of the people I'm sending them to. They are comforting those who are facing death and leading them to the fullness of God's love. I also love giving these cards to special people on special occasions. They have become keepsakes for my friends.” Cynthia – Ohio

“I am overwhelmed by the beauty of Scripture, your telling of God’s story, and seeing your exquisite artistic work! You have so many beautiful cards I can use for the future, and I love the Lord’s Prayer card, which can be used for so many occasions!”  Ursula in Connecticut

Our Cards

About Page Image 3

Each art card measures 5½ by 8½ inches when folded and is printed in the U.S.A. on high-quality cardstock. 

Since our cards are already rich, your words on the inside can be few or many. A simple “I’m thinking of you,” or “I wanted you to have this verse,” or “Happy Birthday” is often enough. 

Many of the cards are sold in Collections with beautiful covers to give as gifts. Some cards are sold in 4-Packs (4 of the same card).

Although the cards are large and thick, only ONE regular stamp is needed to mail each one, so you can keep them on hand for every occasion!  Use them to:   

  • Encourage and comfort
  • Celebrate an accomplishment, birthday, graduation, or anniversary
  • Express your gratitude
  • Send prayers of healing
  • Stay connected to a friend
  • Deliver a bouquet of art instead of flowers
  • Give courage for a long journey ahead 

About Page Image 4

Framing Options

The cards’ high quality and timeless message make them suitable for framing. They fit nicely into standard-size frames. The mat surrounding the art may be cut at your nearby framing store. Two framing options are:

  • Frame front of the card – use an 11 x 14-inch frame and a 2-7/8-inch-wide mat.
  • Frame the front and back of the card in the same frame – use an 11 x 14-inch frame with a -inch-wide mat with½ inch between the front and back of the card, OR use a 16 x 20-inch frame with a -inch-wide mat and  inches between the front and back of the card.

About Page Image 5

“Your art speaks every day in my home. It is a reference point for our guests and children and so ministers to us. Thank you for holding forth His beauty, mercy, and truth in your lovely work!”  Lennie – Texas

“Your beautiful artwork hangs in my office. His Word continually inspires me.” Joseph – Washington D.C.

“I just love your cards! The Hebrew Names of God cards are a major teaching tool. I am going to hang some on my wall!  We are delighted! They are just gorgeous!”  Lisa – Arizona

Our Story

by Beth Ann

About Page Image 5bI’ve loved creating beauty ever since I was a child.About Page Image 5c I love mixing paints and drawing the lines in people’s faces. 

When I was 23, I met Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, the Word of God in a person (John 1:14). He met me where I was and transformed my life. His words became life to me. I began to paint His words, write about them devotionally, and share these art gifts with others.

It amazed me that I could send the comfort, hope and healing of God’s Word so easily! So, I carved out a space for cards, stamps, and an address list. I sent cards to people I knew, people I had just met, and people I didn’t know at all. I sent cards for special occasions and for no occasion. I wanted everyone to know my Savior and the beauty of His Word.  

Decades later, my husband encouraged me to take a break from work after a difficult year. It was the rainiest spring I could remember. I began digging in the soaked earth to create flower beds. The small landscape became a huge canvas of discovery! 

As I drenched myself in God’s creation, I was renewed in my desire to capture the beauty of His Word with art. Soon Flower Girl Greetings was born! The art spans 45 years of my life.

The image of the Flower Girl in our logo represents all of us being saturated with His life and returning that life in praise to Him and encouragement to others.

“I’m surrounded by your beautiful cards, selecting which one to send to whom. I feel blessed to have found such a lovely yet profound way to share God's word. Your writings on the backs of the cards set them apart.  I have never seen anything so beautiful!”  Robin – California

“I am delighted to have a big collection of your cards from which I can select just the right verse or art work for the occasion! What treasures! You are spreading the fragrant aroma of Christ. So many people frame the cards I send them! Your work is outstanding!”  Jennifer – Richardson, Texas

Our Process

About Page Image 9b

From Painting to Printing  - The steps I take to create Flower Girl Greeting cards 

Create.   The art was created from 1976 to the present day and includes a variety of techniques. Digital images are made of the completed artwork.

Spot-check.   I look at the images closely to remove specs, such as dust from the scanner. This time-consuming step ensures that unwanted marks will not appear when the cards are printed in high-resolution.

Construct.   I create the cards in a special program that includes the front and back of each card. These files give the printer information for color, cutting and folding.  

Proof.    Our team reviews each card to make sure all text on the back is biblically correct and full of hope. Then the images are sent to the printer.

About Page Image 10

The printer delivers the high-resolution proofs that show errors that are not visible on the computer monitor or in the prints we use for the initial proofing. At this time, each design must be meticulously scrutinized, revised if needed, and sent back to the printer.

At the printer, I check the actual cards that have come off the press and make adjustments so the color is true to the original art.

Score, fold and cut.   The cards are scored, folded and cut by skilled bindery operators.

We value the integrity and skill of each person who makes our company possible! 

Bible Translating

The Hebrew Bible that we call the Old Testament (with the Torah, Prophets and Writings) was originally written in Hebrew (with a few passages in Aramaic in the books of Daniel and Ezra). The New Testament or New Covenant was written in Greek.

None of these original Hebrew and Greek documents exist, but only thousands of copies (called manuscripts) that were produced by hand and copied repeatedly over about 1,400 years for the New Testament and longer for the Old Testament.

These thousands of early Hebrew and Greek manuscripts are consistent and, therefore, can be trusted for their accuracy. However, later manuscripts begin to show inconsistences after they had been copied over and over, and biases were inserted; therefore, it is important to use the earliest manuscripts for translation into English and other languages.

All Bibles are translations from these early or later manuscripts. The translations were transcribed by people who study the original languages. Most often, one English word cannot convey the full, rich meanings of Hebrew words, although sometimes the translators have endeavored to find a single equivalent word in English.

My preference for study is to use a translation that keeps the English word order close to the same order as the Hebrew or Greek text. That way, I can find key words in a good Hebrew/Greek dictionary to understand the fuller meanings of these beautiful words. We don’t have to be scholars to find these meanings, ponder their truth and be amazed and changed by their beauty!

This kind of word study is the basis for many of my writings. In recent years, my quest is to learn as much as possible about the Jewish culture in which Yeshua lived to most fully understand His words and those of His forefathers... my forefathers!

The art created for Flower Girl Greeting cards is inspired by God’s Word and His creation. I ask the Lord to speak to me personally in His Word. When a verse impacts me, I often want to paint it. Then, using key words from the verse, I use study tools to find those words in their original language. Many Hebrew words and concepts have no single English word that will convey their rich meaning, so it is fun to find the treasure of the fuller meaning and convey it on a card.

We gain more insight into the meaning of these ancient texts by studying their genre, their context within the surrounding paragraphs, the author’s original intent, and their cultural and historical contexts.

It is a miracle that these manuscripts have been preserved and that we can bask in the wealth of their meaning with the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

People Highlights

Dusty
Business Operations
Dusty - Sea of Galilee B-W

by Beth Ann Phifer

Although much of the artwork for Flower Girl Greeting cards was created over a span of more than 40 years, our company was born in 2012. I did not have a clue when I married Dusty in 2002 that he would be my Business Manager 10 years later!

Even though Dusty works joyfully at a full-time job outside of Flower Girl Greetings, he contributes many hours to ensure the smooth running of our company. He oversees tasks such as filing taxes, recording transactions, performing certificate updates and PCI compliance, taking care of all computer issues, sales tax reporting, and inventory updates, as well as proofing my writings! Most of all, he encourages me every step of the way! 

 

Amanda

Amanda
Communications Designer and Artist

Amanda Wood has worked with us from the beginning when she first came to our home in July 2012 to view my card samples. She placed the art into card files so they could be sent to the printer. Then, she taught me how to use these complicated computer programs. Her expertise, encouragement, and gentle strength have enabled me to continue my pursuit of magnifying the beauty of God’s Word. After 2012, many new Collections have been created!

Amanda is an artist and a mother and so brings sensitivity and creativity to the design and graphics for our websites and shop. 

In 2019, Amanda created our Cards for Children! These heart-warming greetings share God's high value of children and His delight in His creation.

Bible Overview

Summary

God created the heavens and the earth and all they contain. He created man and woman for relationship with Himself. They would thrive as they walked closely with Him in intimate fellowship. God expressed His love to them with His loving presence and an earth abundant with sights, sounds, smells, tastes and pleasures to enjoy with Him and each other. 

God called Abraham to leave his country and follow Him to a new country. God chose to use Abraham’s descendants to communicate His light to the world. He chose them, not because they were smarter or more important than everyone else, but because He wanted to communicate His love to them so that all other nations could witness His love displayed through their lives. Then, people from all nations could experience this relationship with the Sovereign Lord of the Universe.

God created human beings with the ability to choose His ways or their own – the ability to receive or reject Him. From the beginning, many drank from the empty wells of selfishness rather than from Him, The Fountain of Living Water. They often deemed their ways better than His. But some turned toward Him, followed Him, and thus reflected His ways of love.

Throughout history, God spoke his heart through His prophets. He spoke words of comfort, hope, as well as warning, sadness, and hatred for the way they cruelly treated one another. Whatever the prophet’s message, they were mouthpieces of God. They also foretold the events of Jesus’ life in intricate detail hundreds of years before His birth.

The overarching message woven throughout the Bible is God’s desire to love, forgive and redeem the people He created. His redemption enables us to enjoy the fullest intimacy, joy and freedom with Him. 

Yeshua (Jesus) Messiah (Christ)

Christ is the ancient Greek word meaning anointed. Its Hebrew translation is Messiah.

The Apostle John called Jesus the Only Begotten of the Father meaning one substance with the Father. The mystery of the incarnation of Jesus is that God came to earth to reach us, heal us, teach us, and take upon Himself the penalty for our waywardness and sin – past, present and future. His redemption transforms our hearts to love Him by the power of the Holy Spirit if we receive Him (John 1:12-13). This is what Jesus called being born from above (John 3:3-7). Imbued with the Spirit of the Living God, we possess expressions of His life coming through our unique personalities.

Jesus is called God’s Son to represent the closeness of the relationship. He was in the beginning with God, and He was God Himself in the flesh. This is not a contradiction simply because our finite minds cannot grasp it. We bow before His majesty in gratitude for the incomprehensible gift of forgiveness and eternal life offered through Jesus Christ. 

All the sacrifices that the Jewish people slayed on the altars to atone for their rebellion against God were just shadows of the final sacrifice God offered through Jesus. Jesus delivers us by His love and grace, not by our own efforts or good works (Ephesians 2:8; Titus 3:4-7).

The author of the book of Hebrews writes, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the world. He is the radiance of His glory and the exact expression of His nature, and He sustains all things by His powerful Word.” (Hebrews 1:1-3)

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The Hebrew word for “God” in this verse is Elohim. Elohim is the plural of El; this does not mean many gods since the Elohim is accompanied with singular verb and a singular adjective. Rather, Elohim’s plurality conveys one God Who is three in one. From the beginning of creation, God’s heart was relationship.

The Old and New Testaments

The Old and New Testaments refer to the Old and New Covenants of God with His people. The Hebrew prophets in the Old Testament foretold the New Covenant.

The Old Testament prophet Joel declared, “It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29)

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah declared, “‘Behold, days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord. ‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, I will put my laws within them and write it on their hearts… and all will know me… for I will forgive their iniquity and will remember their sins no more.’”  (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

At the last supper, Jesus ushered in the time of the new covenant. He said, “When He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth…He will glorify Me, because He will take of Mine and disclose it to you.” (John 16:13-14)

The apostle Paul referred to the believers as letters of Messiah, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts!  (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

How to Understand the Bible

Revelation from the Holy Spirit

The Bible contains spiritual words that can only be understood as we rely on the Holy Spirit to give us revelation. We must receive Jesus and ask God to reveal Himself to us. 1 Corinthians 2:11b-12 says, “No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, so we might know the things freely given to us by God.”

Genre

Genre is the literary type of each book. It is important to understand the genre of the book you are reading. Some portions of the Old Testament are narratives (accounts of what actually happened). The people are not always models to emulate, but examples of how God worked through ordinary people to speak to them about Himself.

Other portions of Scripture contain the moral, civil and ceremonial law that displayed the loyal covenant between Israel and God. Other portions contain songs, poetry and bits of profound wisdom, while others contain the cries of the prophets.

The New Testament contains narrative accounts of the life of Jesus Christ and the lives of his people filled with His Holy Spirit. It contains letters of instruction and encouragement from Jesus’ disciples to the churches in various cities.

Finally, John’s vision of the end of time in the book of Revelation mirrors the visions of Ezekiel, Daniel and other prophets that were recorded hundreds of years before John’s vision. The Bible ends with this wide-open window of anticipation to the future.

Context

Each sentence in the Bible should be understood within the larger context of the paragraph, chapter, book, culture and history surrounding it. All meaning is dependent on the context.

The Author’s Original Intent

We must seek to understand what the original author intended to say to the original audience. Then, we can understand how to apply the words to our own lives.

God meeting us

God reveals truth according to a person’s ability to grasp it. Throughout the Bible, He used aspects of various cultures to help the people understand eternal truths. God has always met us where we were and spoken truth in a way that we could see it through our particular lenses. This is why it is helpful to understand the cultures surrounding the writings.