Bittersweet Thanks...

Hi friends,

Recently I was scrolling through Instagram and came across a quote that someone shared from a book called Bittersweet from Shauna Niequist, which said 'When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.' Wow, that really hit me in the gut! I've been challenged recently about my attitude of gratitude (or lack thereof!), and looking at the amount of Bible verses that speak of being thankful, I knew I had to journal this.

Colossians chapter 3 contains this tiny little sentence in amongst a bunch of other powerful instructions, which simply says, "And be thankful." That's it. Not caveats, like 'be thankful when life is good' or 'be thankful when you see your prayers answered' or 'be thankful when your relationships are a blessing.' Nope: just 'be thankful.' In all things, in all situations, no matter what. Anyone else find that a struggle? So when I read this quote from Bittersweet, I knew it was God's way of gently teaching me how I can give thanks in all seasons. You see, going through hard times that leave a bitter taste in our mouths can teach us lessons that the good, sweet times can't. I've been through that in the last couple of years and although there have been painful experiences, I know that I've grown in those times and that God has been able to teach me things (mainly by getting my attention in the pain!) that I hadn't learnt before.

 So whether you are tasting the sweetness of pineapple or the bitterness of lemons in your life right now, say thank you, because there is always a blessing to be acknowledged in every season and every experience.

I thought the combination of the Fruit of the Spirit and Incredibly Blessed stamp sets was perfect for this page and this message. I used the masking technique to be able to stamp the images so some appear behind others. Just stamp the first image (in this case the pineapple and first lemon), then stamp them again on a sticky note or low-tack tape/sticky paper and cut the images out. Stick these over the stamped image on the page, then stamp other images either side. When you take the mask off, the original image you stamps will appear in front of the others. Then colour to your heart's content! Here are the stamp sets I used:

I hope you've been encouraged in your thanksgiving to God. I pray that we as children of God would pour out our thanks to Him in every season of life as a testimony to His goodness and grace.

x Amy x