Immanuel

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  Isaiah 7:14

Immanuel. God with us.

God with us. You and me. This world. Your neighbor. Our children. Us. 

God loves the world. (John 3:16) There isn’t anyone too far away from the love of God. When Immanuel is defined as God being with us, it means He’s available for all of us.

God with us. Alongside us. Always near. Never out of reach. With. 

When Jesus tells His disciples that He is leaving, He reassures them not to worry because He was sending a Helper to be with us. From then until He returns, we have Holy Spirit alongside us. (John 14:16-17)

God with us. God...the God of the universe. God the creator. God the Father. God the son. God the Holy Spirit. God.

It amazes, humbles, delights, thrills, and a million other emotions, that God is with us. He is not an unknown far off God. He wants to be with us. He tells us over and over again in His Word that we can know Him. My favorite passage is Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Do you know Him today? Have you asked Immanuel to be with you? Seek Him. He’s waiting for you.

Art behind the story:

The Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps O Holy Night set was the perfect silhouette for this page. I used the Rebecca Script Alpha to create the word “Immanuel”, with the exception of the letter “I”, which I hand lettered.

Like I do often, I used Distress Oxides for the color on the page. The color was applied with a makeup brush. While the background may look random, it has several elements in it that mean a lot to me. 

There is a dove (Doves of Peace) stamped several times to represent the Peace that comes from knowing God. I used the Wood Backgrounds set and stamped partial images to look like a fingerprint. God’s fingerprints are all over creation. 

There are some music notes (Texture Tiles 1) mingled throughout because knowing Jesus makes my heart sing. Also, there is some text (Typewriter Text) stamped to remind me that He has the words of life. Lastly, I used the hearts from Grunge Elements 2 to show His love.

This is my last blog before Christmas. I wish each of you the sweetest time with family and friends as you celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Merry Christmas,

Gayle
Patio Ponderings