Hello, my name is Leah Nietz.  I am a glass artist from Wayne, Ohio.  We moved to Ohio from Washington state in June 2003.  I  started making glass beads in July of 2002, but only got seriously into it in May of 2003.  I was starting a jewelry business when I heard about a lampworking class at a local bead shop, The Bead Factory, in Tacoma, WA.  I took the class and absolutely loved it and bought my own torch soon after.  The world of glass is absolutely wonderful and I hope to explore more of it.  I am currently teaching bead making classes at the Toledo Museum of Art and I am involved in the Black Swamp Bead Group.  My artwork has been published in the October 2006 & 2007 and December 2007 editions of Bead and Button Magazine. My husband, Kerry and I have two wonderful children, Silas and Natalie.  Silas loves cars and Natalie loves to make messes.   My husband is a wonderful writer.  You can check out his book "Fox Tales" at www.nietz.com. My biggest passion however is Jesus and just in case no one has told you he loves you and wants to set you free from sin and give you passage to Heaven. When we sin, no matter how great or small, that sin blemishes our spirit.  Heaven is a perfect place and only the perfect can go there.  But, nobody's perfect.  Romans 3:23 "For all Have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." When a person commits a crime they go to prison or pay a fine to redeem themselves or make it right again.  They pay the price...  Their debt to society.  Sin is the same; there is a price to pay for it. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death..." Why is the punishment so harsh?  Because sin represents evil and evil must be destroyed.  If evil is allowed to thrive it becomes Hitler, Bin Laden...or worse.  God will have none of it in His kingdom.  However, he loves us so intensely that He is willing to pay the price for us; purifying us so that we can be with Him forever. 1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Romans 10:9 "That if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved."  John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only son that who ever believes in Him shall not perish, but have ever lasting life."  This is the only way to be saved and freed from your debt to sin.  These are the steps; 1 - Confess to God that you are a sinner; 2 - have faith that He came and died for your sins in your place and was raised from the dead conquering death for you and 3 - accept His forgiveness and accept Him as the King of your life by asking Him into your heart.