Jesus Paid it All

This is a journaling card made with Faber Castell Pitt brush pens & inserted into a compact Bible that will be given away.

"He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us.  He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross." (Col. 2:14)

Hello again, Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday, sweet creatives!
The weeks go by so fast, don't they?  Feels like I was just here to share a bit of what the Lord has laid on my heart for ministry, and poof! Here I am again! 

Seems like there's always a lot going on, but for a moment, I just want you to look at the simple lyric above.  "Jesus paid it all; all to Him I owe."
The sweet melody that accompanies this does nothing compared to the truth that is set in front of us here in Colossians.  But, before I get ahead of myself...

I have had a weekend full of everything from downright discouragement to complete joy.  I have had a weekend full of one surrender after another, giving what is rightfully God's and laying it at His feet.  I have a hard time explaining how sorrow and joy can coexist, but I will do my best.

Jesus paid it all, friends.
What do I mean by that?  What does the BIBLE mean about that?
What is the explanation behind joy in sorrow; behind contentedness through suffering?

The position the Bible takes on "Jesus paid it all," lays heavily into the aspect of "all."
All is all.
All means all.

All has large implications and has no exclusions.
I've been convicted in this department as I've held on to a bit of my past that I didn't know I hadn't trusted Christ to pay for.
In my attempts to be as simplistic yet realistic as possible, Jesus stretched His arms out ALL the way.
His death was not untimely; it was planned.
His sacrifice was not unwarranted; rather, necessary.

His life was not in vain; rather, perfect.

Colossians 2:13-14

When you see something like, "Jesus paid it all," I wonder how many of us do not believe the full extent of this gospel header.  I wonder if we are harboring a sliver of shame, guilt, weight, that was perfectly accounted for as the Father nailed it to the cross in the ultimate act of Love.
I learned this past weekend, in the Revive Out Hearts conference 2019, baggage comes at a great cost- not just at the airport - but as the figurative weight of a decision to carry something that is not ours to carry.   A burden not ours to bear.
As a Christian, my life is hid in Christ.  All sins that created the "crimson stain" in my soul are washed clean and I am white as snow.  Knowing the Savior I know, my heart has been changed and my life renewed.  But what I also found out is I am unable to receive grace because of un-confessed sin in my life.

The Word of God is clear about salvation.  It says in Romans 10:9,
"...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." 

It is clear that confessing sins is not part of obtaining salvation.  However, when it comes to obtaining a clear conscience and blessed stance of closeness with our Lord, confessing sins is a necessary part of receiving the gospel; the magnificent gospel of grace in time of need.
Jesus is our Advocate to the Father, constantly interceding on our behalf.  We have been granted an Intercessor as part of our journey in Christ!  It is not for salvation that we bring our heavy-laden hearts to the Father; it is for sanctification!  And the more we practice this posture of need, bringing our brokenness before the Throne, the more we see the over and abundant grace that is sufficient for us!
Friends, Jesus paid it all.
All to Him we owe.
We need not harbor the weight of what Jesus bled and died for.  If we "confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  (1 John 1:9)  We are washed white as snow, to be sure, but are also commanded to stay in step with the Holy Spirit.  Part of daily drawing nearer to Almighty God is by way of confession.  Again, not to be saved, for that has happened upon the moment of belief!  But rather, for the growth of the "new man" who is saved and being prepared for the eternal glory ahead.

I am not in the habit of doing this.  I am not in a regular cycle in my prayer time of confessing my anger, my bitterness, my resentment, my envy, my jealousy... my so much more.
But I will tell you, without a doubt in my soul, that upon confession of these things, the barriers that lie between me and my precious Savior fall.  The vertical relationship is freed up for further intimacy; the horizontal relationships, likewise. Oh, beautiful grace!

This tiny bloom is part of the set called, "Succulents" by Rebecca Rios.

Oh praise the One who paid my debt,
who raise this life up from the dead!
JESUS!

Much love,

Deeds

PS - Only sneak peeks of the October release for now.  Full release for October will be available next week.  Keep your eyes on the lookout! :D
PPS - Please use my affiliate link here to shop at the Sweet n Sassy Stamps Store!  

God Rules All

He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. Daniel 8:25

Dear Friends,

Today, I'm writing about Daniel 8. Daniel 8 tells of a vision and its interpretation. It's a very difficult chapter to understand. The vision prophecies world empires and some of what will happen in end times. I'm not even going to try to explain the vision. That's a job for someone much more knowledgeable than me. But, as for the take-away from this chapter, we need know no more than this: God is in control. While we may not understand what will happen in the future, we can rest in the fact that God is sovereign and working together all things for His purpose. Man may think he has power in this world. World leaders may rule over their countries. But any power man claims is limited. God is supreme over all.

So fear not, my friends, what the future may bring. Just trust our good God. He rules!

Page Details:
I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Trust in the Lord, Joint Heirs, and All in All. I did some masking to get the words I wanted. From the Joint Heirs set, I stamped "rule" then masked the "hi" from the "his" stamp with a sticky backed paper and inked up the "s." After taking the masking off the stamp, I stamped the "s" to make "rules." That's one of the great things about clear stamps, you can see through them for placement. So masking and making new words is more easily done. I also used the masking technique for "overrules." I just picked the words that had the letters I needed. The only letter I didn't have was "v" so I wrote it in with a Micron pen. For the background, I used acrylic paints. For the clouds, I used a stencil and embossing paste.

Rest in Him and His rule. Have a blessed week! Andrea

Trust Me

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, 

I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

Hi Friends!

Today we're in Psalm 46 with a well know verse. Be still. Such a simple command, and yet, it can be so hard to do. The NASB translation says "cease striving" instead of "be still." This command comes from the Hiphil stem of the verb rapha in Hebrew meaning to be weak, to let go, to release. So, we are being told to surrender ourselves in order to know that God is in control. And, instead of trusting in ourselves, we can trust in our all-sufficient and sovereign God. There is so much striving in this world. But, as believers, we need not hopelessly fight. Instead, we can surrender ourselves, and trust God. Knowing God is knowing that He is good and He will see us through all things. Yes, and amen!

Page Details:
For this page, I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Trust in the Lord, Sunshine Girl Alpha, Set Apart, In His Image, and Faith Wordfetti.

I made the notebook paper lines with colored pencils. I used distress oxides for the background. Distress oxides are a combination of pigment and dye inks that react when water is added. By spritzing water on the page, I was able to get the neat splatter effect. The pencil was colored with colored pencils.

Trust in Him, my friends! He is completely trustworthy.
Andrea

With ALL your heart...

Hi friends,

I think one of the most well-known verses in the Bible must be 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.' (Proverbs 3:5). I find that with overfamiliarity comes a risk of not hearing these verses afresh in a way that speaks our lives in the present.

When I was creating this page I was meditating on this verse and began to see it in a new way. I have always thought of this verse as an exhortation to trust in the Lord with our whole being and rely totally on him - and I do think this is a key meaning of this text. But I began to see something in the phrase 'with all your heart'...

I was struck by the complexity of the human heart. It contains desires, brokenness, sin, beliefs, experiences and in the Bible it represents the very core of a person. I began to think about what it would mean to trust God with ALL our heart - the broken parts, the sinful parts, the desires (whatever they may be), the passions - ALL of it.

I think we can know in our heads and our belief systems that God is trustworthy, and we say that we trust in him. But do we trust him with everything? I know for me, this has been tested many times, including recently. Do I trust him with the pieces of my broken heart? Do I trust him with my wayward heart's desires? Do I trust him with the sin-stained parts of my heart? If I do, then I need to give my heart to him over and over in each moment and trust that he will heal, cleanse and restore where it is desperately needed.

I used a combination of images from Mason Jar Bouquet and Made New on this page, stamping them with Versamagic Black ink and colouring with Inktense pencils and an aquabrush. The verse was stamped with the new Trust in the Lord set, which I'm loving!

I hope you'll join me in meditating on the truth of this passage and commit ALL of the parts of your heart to the Lord, because he is so very trustworthy.

Be blessed...

x Amy x

Donut Worry Seek God A Latte

Hebrews 4:15-16

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, 

but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. 

Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, 

so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need."

So, here's a brief quiz for you:

You're at work, a coworker decides to tell your boss that your group presentation isn't ready for your meeting today because you didn't finish your part, when in reality, your coworker is the one to blame. 

You decide to:

 a) Confront your coworker by cornering them in the hallway and threaten to beat them up.

 b) Secretly send an interoffice email to several people at work, telling everyone something very embarrassing about your coworker, just to humiliate them as payback.

 c) Pray about the situation and ask God how you should handle it.

In this case, I think it's pretty obvious that C is your best answer here. In life, when things aren't going our way and we're angry; confused, stressed, cornered, troubled.... the list goes on and on, we tend to react in a number of different ways that isn't exactly healthy for us or others. It's human nature for us to react this way and immediately try to solve our own problems and stress out about absolutely EVERYTHING! But, has stressing yourself out and getting angry ever solved your problem??

Probably not! Too often, as humans, we try to solve all of our own problems and its not until the world feels like its crumbling around us, do we decide to look to God for help. God should always be the very first person we go to for help, in any kind of situation, big or small. We need to stop stressing and seek God! He is the only one who can see the big picture and knows how everything will work out. If we would just stop worrying and stressing about things that are out of our control and seek His counsel, we would save SO much time! Right?!? I know I'm guilty of this myself!

But we need to remind ourselves that Jesus was tested himself. He was not one without temptation, or struggle. God made us in his own image, and like us, He too faced adversity and stress sometimes. So why do we feel like we don't need his help? Isn't always easier to confide in someone who you know has gone through something similar? Well Jesus went through a lot, and God knows everything. So we must remember to seek his counsel, and he will in turn give us mercy and grace! Amen! What a powerful promise that is! So we need to remember not to worry so much, and seek God, with all his wisdom and strength. If we lean on Him, he will keep us strong and bring us peace, no matter to storm we may be facing inside. 

Have a great week friends! And remember... Donut Worry! :)

xoxo,

Stephanie Gammon

@faith.and.creativity

Jesus & Coffee

Coffee & Bible Journaling Digital Stamp

Donut Worry

Grunge Elements 2

Hynmal Inserts

Affiliate links to stamps used in this project are below!

Hello everyone!
I'm thankful for this day.  I am.  I feel like these days come graciously in which I'm able to share a bit more about the Lord and His mercies!
There's a lot to share here, so I hope you'll bear with me as I present yet ANOTHER set of journaling cards.  This time I've called them "hymnal inserts." :D
These cards are stamped with sets from 2 different designers on the Sweet n Sassy Stamps team, and both of them are hymn related.  They're both full and beautiful sets, which is why I loved using them so, so much, and it's why I chose them to work with today.

These journaling cards have become a favorite of mine, and I believe I've found a niche when I sit down to create some.  They go, tucked away safely, into a Bible that I work through primarily to give away.  I've mentioned my passion at one time over this thing called "The Loved Bible Project."  As I dig deeper into the heart of this "ministry," I'm overwhelmed by the stories I hear revolving around precious truths in the lives of the lost.
On my Youtube channel, I have another video on how I made these sweet inserts, and the reason I continue to make so many.  I love them, but I also "love" Bibles with them. 
I've mentioned the "Loved Bible Project" before today, and I will have links to the website and Facebook page on this post, as well as in the description for my process video.  Please feel free to reach out and ask questions; I had to! 
I didn't know exactly how to wrap my brain around creating in a Bible, marking it up, tabbing it, underlining it, highlighting it, and then giving it away!  Giving it away??  But I've put so much time and creativity, thought and heart into this container of color and journaling!  How can I just give that away?
Good question.  It's one that each person needs to think through and process on her/his own.  Loving a Bible is something special; a unique opportunity and challenge to spread the Gospel to those to whom the Lord leads you.  If it makes you feel any better, I grappled, struggled and whined over this very thing until it became clear that this method of journaling has amazing potential and prosperity! 
God can use anything to further His gospel, and if He can use a Bible with notes of grace from Deeds, so be it!  I'd rather do what would bring souls to Him, and glory to His name, Amen!

I'll be honest, sometimes it's hard to know what to share on these bits of paper, but as I said before, it's because of the hymnal lyrics that I used those stamp sets!  Hymns are chalk-full of scripture doctrine, hard-pressed with statements derived from the Word of God!  It doesn't take much to even google the lyrics to find their origin and related scriptures.  Actually, I found it so much more enlightening and simple to use hymnal lyrics to express the Love and Hope of Christ on these cards. 

Statements like, "You can have this whole world, but give me Jesus," can be supported by verse like Matthew 16:16, Matthew 19:21, Matthew 6:19 and so forth.
For the phrase, "Those who trust Him wholly, find Him wholly true," are helped by verses like, Philippians 4:7, Jeremiah 17:7, or Psalm 40:4.

Truth from scripture is key. 
Being willing to journal hope from the Lord on a piece of paper can go farther than you think.  Using God's Word to win souls to Christ has a much higher productivity rate that anything I can muster!

I hope this was helpful and hopeful. 
I pray you'll let me know what you think,
and I pray that you'll try these out in a "loved" Bible of your own!
Who knows?  Only God!  And He is trustworthy!

Much love,
Deeds
IG: @mercies_journaled

Whimsy Bouquet

Timeless Hymns

Hymn Word Art



So many thanks to my friend, Korin Sutherland, for allowing me to use her gorgeous stamps and this platform to share in the mercies of God's being!  I love you sister!




The Loved Bible Project Website
The Loved Bible Project Facebook page
The Loved Bible Project Facebook group

Donut Worry, Trust God's Promises

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:4-7

I was a worrisome child growing up. I worried about anything and everything. I worried about car accidents, and weather, and tests, and sports, and illness - literally everything. I worried about things that were within my control and things that weren't. Finally, when I was in my early teens, I had a talk with my mom about my worrying habits and she encouraged me to spend some time in God's Word studying what He has to say about "peace" and to pick a verse to hold onto when I'm in my worrying mode. I spent quite a bit of time looking through every single verse that discussed the topic of peace and finally settled on John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (See my illustration of this verse in my recent Instagram post here.) This verse became my life verse and I still reference it frequently. 

Philippians 4:6 tells us exactly what to do when we are filled with worrisome thoughts -- take it to the Lord in prayer. Don't worry, but take everything (whether big or small) to the Lord in prayer, making your request known to him with a thankful spirit (JRV, Janelle Rodriguez Version 😉). Our all-knowing God already knows each request before we even think it, but He wants us to learn to communicate with Him all our wants and needs. 1 Thessalonians tells us to pray without ceasing. That means an ever-constant stream of communication with our Heavenly Father, sharing every aspect of our life with Him. When we are in constant communication with God, praying about everything, it will become easier to give our worries over to God and trust Him to care for our every need. 💛 

You wouldn't know it by looking at the page now, but this page was a hot mess all week. Seriously. It took me about a week to finish. 😲 I started the page when I had some alone time, but then my teenage boys came home from soccer practice and my house went into an uproar. I should have just set it aside and come back to it, but I didn't - I tried plugging along and ended up smearing and smudging my way through the page. 

I was so exasperated, I finally did end up setting it aside for a few days and came back to it later in the week. (If I could just offer a bit of advice here: if you're working on a page and you have too many distractions or your heart just isn't in it, set it aside and come back to it when you're ready. Trying to force your way through finishing a page takes all the fun out of it, and ruins your fellowship time with your Heavenly Father.)

   

   

There was no fixing my donut smudge, so I prayed about it and tried to think of a way to creatively cover it up and keep with the theme of the page. In comes the texture paste!! 😊 I took a little blob of texture paste, mixed it with some purple acrylic paint and dabbed/smudge it in a couple different spots on the page, with a particularly large dab over my smudged donut. I then splattered the page with a bit more purple ink and positioned my donut ephemera how I wanted it on the page. I taped it all down, added white gel accents to my stamping and called it good. 

When it was all said and done, it turned out fairly decently, and knowing the story behind how the page came to be even further illustrates the verse. Don't worry, trust God, and bring everything to Him in prayer - even if it is something so inconsequential as a smudged bible journaling page. 😉

Have a wonderful week in the Lord!

Janelle
@journalingjoy


I used the Donut Worry and Trust in Jesus stamp sets to create this page. I LOVE these stamp sets! They have so many uses. The Donut Worry stamp set is the September Stamp of the Month and is FREE with your $75 order. While you're shopping, take advantage of the Sweet & Sentimental sale going on through the end of September!

  

#carblover

Jesus said to them, "I am the Bread of Life; 

he who comes to Me will not hunger, 

and he who believes in Me will never thirst." John 6:35

Hi Friends!!

So, I have to say, I LOOOOVE me some donuts. When I saw this new set, Donut Worry, I just had to have it! And, I wanted to have some fun with it. I needed some donuts in my Bible! LOL

More importantly, I LOOOOOVE me some Jesus! And He is the Bread of Life. Why does He call Himself that? Bread is basic food; and people can survive quite a while on just bread and water. In fact, in the time frame Jesus was on earth, most people primarily lived on bread and water. He was giving the people who were listening (and eventually reading) an illustration they could relate to. When He said He is the Bread of Life, He was saying that He is essential for life. He gave us physical life. But He also gives us spiritual life- and we can only get that through Him! When we come to Jesus and believe in Him, take Him as our Savior, we are filled with His Spirit and take on His righteousness. We will never be spiritually hungry or thirsty again because He indwells the believer! We have such an amazing God!

The people who were following Jesus, were looking for a free meal. He had just miraculously fed thousands of people. And Jesus knew what they wanted. But He wanted more for them. And He wanted them to see that He could do so much more than just physically feed them. And He wants the same for us. Donuts may taste good. But they leave us unsatisfied and wanting more. Jesus satisfies in a way nothing else can. He fills that hole in our souls and leads us to life.Thank You, Lord Jesus!

Page details:
As I mentioned above, I absolutely love this new Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps set Donut Worry! Through Sept. 30, 2019, it is FREE with a $75 order! I also used Mini Grunge Type Alpha. I love alpha sets and SNSS has many to choose from! I wanted to put the donuts in a box, so I searched "donut box drawing" online and found an image I liked. Then I sized the image to what I wanted on the page and traced it through the page. That's one positive thing about thin Bible pages, it makes it easy to trace! Then I stamped the donuts inside the box and used a Micron pen to shadow. I used watercolor crayons and alpha stickers too.

Have a great week, friends! Enjoy a donut while studying God's Word! Andrea