Blessed Nation

Hello again, friends!

 I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  I spent a good portion of Memorial Day reflecting on my freedoms and the blessings I have because I live in this great nation.  I am thankful for the sacrifices so many throughout history have made.  It's almost incomprehensible, to think of all the lives that have been lost to protect our freedom and way of life. 

Psalm 33

¹ Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
    it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
² Praise the Lord with the harp;
    make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
³ Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully, and shout for joy.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is right and true;
    he is faithful in all he does.
⁵ The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of his unfailing love.

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
    he puts the deep into storehouses.
⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the people of the world revere him.
⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰ The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
    he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
¹¹ But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
    the purposes of his heart through all generations.

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people he chose for his inheritance.
¹³ From heaven the Lord looks down
    and sees all mankind;
¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches
    all who live on earth—
¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all,
    who considers everything they do.

¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army;
    no warrior escapes by his great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
    despite all its great strength it cannot save.
¹⁸ But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
¹⁹ to deliver them from death
    and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
²² May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
    even as we put our hope in you. 

I pray, Lord, that we never forget as a nation, where our hope comes from.  I pray we never forget the sacrifices made so that we may live as a free nation.  I pray for each and every service member, that they may seek You and know You and that they live a life in service to You, first and foremost.  Protect them, as they protect us, Lord.  I also pray for the family members of our armed forces.  I can not imagine the countless sleepless nights they endure waiting to hear from their loved ones.  Give them strength and comfort, Lord.  

Father God, thank You for the ultimate sacrifice made by your Son, that allows us a place in Heaven, if we only accept Him as our Savior!  Help us to be a nation of Christian soldiers, ready to sacrifice what ever You ask of us, for the glory of Your Kingdom.  Amen.

Page Details:

I started this page by drawing and painting the flag and flag pole, using acrylic paints.  Then I stamped the large floral cluster from Consider the Wildflowers using a light colored ink and messily colored it in with acrylic paint.  I stamped back over the image with black Stazon ink, after the paint dried.  I repeated this process with the cross from the Rustic Easter set.  I covered up my flag with pieces of paper and sprayed the sky with a light blue mister spray I made using Derwent Inktense Blocks and some water.  I added some clouds with white Distress Paint.  It was at this time, I felt like I might not have left enough room for my title and decided I would have to stamp over the top of my flag to have room.  I tried using Archival Ink to start with, but the word was getting lost in the flag.  Embossing powder to the rescue!  I used Versamark Ink with black embossing powder and the Chunky Alpha and Mini Grunge Type Alpha to complete my title.  And because I had some stray embossing, I used some black paint splatters to finish off my page. 

(Before the title)

Until next time, catch up with me on Instagram and Facebook @simplyjillsjourney.

Jill