Praise God!

Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song. Judges 5:3

Hi Friends!

In this portion of Judges, we find Deborah and Barak singing a song of praise to God. It was a song of victory after God brought defeat to Canaanite adversaries. 

The Bible uses different words for praise. One Hebrew word is "yadah" which means "praise, give thanks, confess." Another Hebrew word is "zamar" meaning "sing praise." This is the word used in Judges 5:3. A third word is "halal" meaning "to praise, honor, commend." It is the root of hallelujah.

The bible commands all living creatures to praise God (Ps 150:6.) God deserves all honor and praise because of who He is. Praising God is what we should do. And when we praise Him, joy follows. How can we praise Him without being joyful? We really can't. So in those hard, difficult times, think about and focus on God, on who He is, His attributes. Praise Him for who He is and joy will follow.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Wonder of Wonders, Faith Wordfetti Too, All in All, and Let's Do This. Don't you love the image of the people with their arms raised? I do! I stamped the images and colored them in with Prismacolor pencils. My pages tend to be simple. It's not about the art. It's about God. It's about His Word.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Rest on His Promises

The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their ancestors...

Not one of all the Lord's good promises to Israel failed;

every one was fulfilled. Joshua 21:44-45

Hi Friends!

Today we are in Joshua 21 which ends with 2 verses about God's rest and His fulfilled promises. Let's take the promises first. God had promised land to Abraham and his descendants. That land was a very long time in coming. And, the Israelites had to fight for it. It took patience and work, but God kept His promises. Every. Single. One. Our great God is a Promise Keeper. What He says He will do, He does. Not just sometimes, but every time. The Israelites could count on that; and we can too. Now, let's talk about the rest. The following comes from the SheReadsTruth devotion: The foundation for any true rest is built on the fulfilled promises of God. God promised and delivered rest to His people. Although man threw away perfect rest and peace in the garden, God faithfully and continually rescued His people from slavery and unrest of their own folly, and brought them to a land of rest that He had prepared for them. The promise is for us also. One day, the chasing and straining of this world will cease, and we will find perfect rest and peace in Him forever.

Trust our Promise Keeper, my friends. And rest in Him.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Count Your Rainbows, Prayer Time, Way Maker, Faith Phrases, Sweet & Simple Alpha, All in All, In His Image, and Faith Wordfetti. Whew! That's a lot of sets! But I love combining sets on my pages, bringing words and images from different sets together. No special techniques on this page, I just did basic stamping. I outlines the heart in the rainbow with a Micron pen. I stamped the pencil on sticker paper and only partially adhered it to the page so I can lift it to read the Scripture underneath. I used Prismacolor pencils to color the pencil.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Be Glad

Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14

Hi Friends!

Recently, I came across a company called DwellDifferently that picks a verse each month to memorize & makes a scripture design that includes the first letter of each word in the verse to aid in memorization. (Great idea, right??!!) One of their designs last year was based on Psalm 90:14. And with everything that has been going on in the world- Covid, shut downs, social and political unrest- this verse really got me thinking. Psalm 90 is a Psalm of Moses written when he and the Israelites were in the wilderness. The wilderness was rough! Moses knew that their responses to the hard times had angered God at times. But he also knew God, our loving and merciful Father. And, he cried this prayer out to God in the midst of his pain. So let's look at this particular verse.

"Satisfy us"- Satisfy is defined as "to make happy or contented," "to give sufficient or ample provision," "to fulfill the desires, expectations, or needs of a person," "to give full contentment to." Moses is looking to God for all this. And we should too.

"in the morning"- The NLT version says "each" morning. We should begin our days, each day, with God. Even if it is just for a few minutes, that time with Him is crucial.

"with Your unfailing love"- His love is what satisfies us. And His love is unfailing- unconditional, reliable and constant, never ending, never changing.

"that we may sing for joy"- This is the result of us being satisfied by His love- we sing for joy. Our level of joy shouldn't be based on our circumstances. His unfailing love is what we should base our joy on!

"and be glad all our days."- Along with joy, His love brings gladness, not to just some of our days, but to ALL of our days. Yes, all- even the day I lose my job or get a diagnosis or lose someone I love or when the world seems like it's falling apart around me. His love is still there. And it can still bring us joy and gladness.

There are numerous verses in the Bible that speak to joy in hard times. As I thought about this particular verse, what stood out to me was the reason I can sing for joy & be glad all my days. It's because of His unfailing love. That's all I need. It's all any of us needs. No matter what, He loves us. No matter what, we can rest in His love. No matter what, we can hope in Him. No matter what, we can sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Page details:

I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets for this page: Lollipop Alpha, Send Me, All in All, Fruits of the Spirit, Faith Wordfetti, and Healer of My Heart. I stamped the earth, then masked it with a mask I made by stamping it onto a post-it note and cutting it out. I then applied distress oxides to the page with sponge daubers. I used 2 stencils and darker distress oxides to create the sun rays and the stars. I colored the earth with Prismacolor pencils and used Gamosol to smooth out the pencil lines. I wanted the Lollipop letters to pop. So I stamped them onto sticker paper and cut them out. I stamped the rest of the wording and adhered the letter stickers to the page.

The page opposite of this page just happens to be the page I journaled when the first "shelter in place" orders were made. Good reminder to find joy and gladness through it all. 

Join me and choose joy this week! Blessings! Andrea

God Already Knows

 For your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8b

Hi Friends!

There seems to be no end to the chaos and craziness that is this world. I came across a song by JJ Heller called You Already Know (Click the song title to hear the song.) It was her response to Covid and the shut down last spring. And I related to so much of what she says in her song. 

Here are the lyrics:

Everything around me seems uncertain

My weary heart can't take much more surprise

I wish there was a point on the horizon

Something I could see with my own eyes

I need to tell You that I'm scared

I feel completely unprepared

And nothing's what it was two weeks ago

But You already know

You already know

Everything I'm scared of

Everything I hope

You hold my tomorrow

And all tomorrow holds

You already know

I can't seem to find the easy answers

Someday, I hope the suffering makes sense

I just need to know that You are with me

Even if You keep me in suspense

We talk so much these days

Because I have so much to say

You stay and listen to me closely even though

You already know

You already know

Everything I'm scared of

Everything I hope

You hold my tomorrow

And all tomorrow holds

You already know

Whatever I'm feeling

Whatever is coming

Whenever the ending

You're already there

You go before me

You go behind me

Wherever I'm going

You're already there

You already know

You already know

Everything I'm scared of

Everything I hope

You hold my tomorrow

And all tomorrow holds

You already know

You already know

God already knows, friend. Nothing that has happened, is happening, or will happen surprises Him (Ps 139:16.) He knows what we're scared of. He knows what we hope for. He knows what we are feeling (Ps 139:1-4.) He goes before us and behind us (Ps 139:5.) Wherever life takes us, God is already there. He holds our tomorrows and He holds us. I encourage you to read Psalm 139 in its entirety. It's a beautiful psalm that teaches that God knows us inside and out, better than we know ourselves. And Matthew 6;8 reminds us that He knows what we need before we ask Him. Take heart, friends, we may be living in unsteady times, but we have a steady God. If we stand in Him, we will stand firm.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Lollipop Alpha, Marker Alpha, All in All, and Delightful Daisies. I stamped some of the flowers on hymnal paper and cut them out. I used watercolor crayons for the background and lollipop letters.

He knows. And He has us in His hand. Take care, my friends! Andrea

There is No Other

 Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:22

Hi Friends!

Today we are in Isaiah 45 where through Isaiah, God pleads for the earth to turn to Him for salvation. As we begin celebrating our Savior's birth, let's focus on why He came. His purpose in becoming man was to lead a sinless life and sacrifice Himself so that we might be redeemed. He came solely to save us. Jesus didn't have to leave heaven. He didn't have to become human. He didn't have to leave His glory. He chose to because He loves us that much. Let me say that again- HE CHOSE to leave His rightful place with the Father to become what He had created just so He could save us. Imagine that love. So when God called the earth to salvation, He knew that salvation would be found in Jesus. When He said repeatedly that He is God and there is no other, He means that He is the only God, the true God, and there is no one like Him. And Jesus is Him incarnate. Jesus is the only God, the one true God. He is the way to the Father.

Page Details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: I Am, All in All, and Marker Alpha. I had fun with this background! I colored the page with watercolor crayons. I just randomly colored different sections with different colors. Then I spritzed the page with water, and began painting over the colors with a wet brush. After the paint dried, I took a stencil and with a baby wipe, I wiped away some of the paint through the stencil. That's how I got the dots. Then I used another stencil and embossing paste to add more accents to the page. It was fun doing something different with my watercolor crayons. :) 

 Have a blessed week! Andrea

Growth and Glory...

Hi friends,

Have you ever wondered how we are to grow in faith? Scripture is clear that we only need faith as small as a mustard seed to see extraordinary things happen (Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6). But there are also places in Scripture that hope for growth in faith (2 Corinthians 10:15), celebrate growth in faith (2 Thessalonians 1:3) and command that faith increases (2 Peter 1:5-8). Have you every felt like the man that said to Jesus, "I believe! Help me in my unbelief!"? (Mark 9:24)

Well we are shown in Scripture how we can grow in our faith by looking at some of the examples of people who walked by faith. Hebrews 11 gives many examples of these people, and in Romans 4 Paul points to one of these examples (Abraham) in describing his response to God's promise. Paul says that Abraham grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God (Romans 4:20). Even in the face of impossible circumstances (imagine being in your 90s and being told you were going to have a baby!) he grew in faith by giving glory to God. As he acknowledged the power and goodness of God, his faith grew.

I believe we are given these examples of faith so that we can learn from them. If Abraham, who is called the father of faith, grew in faith by giving glory to God, then so can we. Giving glory to God means praising him for who he is and what he has done. It means thanking him for his promises, even when we haven't seen the fulfilment of them yet. It means taking our eyes off the impossibility of our circumstances and placing them on the God who is so much bigger than anything we are facing. It means magnifying the Lord rather than ourselves. As we do these things, our faith grows - and no matter how small our measure of faith may be at the moment, there is always room for growth.

I created the background of this page using distress oxide inks, sponging them onto the page using oval makeup brushes (I had prepped the page with three layers of gesso first). The sunflower from Like a Sunflower was stamped on the page using Stazon then coloured with distress oxide inks and an aquabrush. The verse was stamped with a combination of sets: Marker Alpha, All in All and Choose Faith (the word 'faith' was stamped on a piece of card that I had painted with gold acrylic paint - I cut out each letter and glued them on the page). Here are the sets I used:

May we all grow more in faith as we give glory to God!

Be blessed...
Amy

Be United

1 Corinthians 1:10

"I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, 

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

that all of you agree with one another in what you say 

and that there be no divisions among you, 

but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought."

Currently, our nation is divided and torn apart by disagreement. There are so many things that everyone is "choosing sides" on right now that it is mentally and emotionally exhausting! If you turn on the news, the only thing they seem to highlight is all the chaos and hate happening. But that is NOT the whole picture. I KNOW it's not, and I refuse to believe that the whole country hates each other. There are so many of us that love each other, despite their views on politics, mask wearing, and whatever else you choose. Some people don't seem to realize that yes, it IS possible to disagree with someone but still be respectful and kind. 

I'm sure as God is looking down over his people, He is heartbroken by how torn apart we currently are. When the coronavirus first started hitting the United States and we were all closed up in our homes, it really seemed like the majority of our country was united and "in this together". Sadly that seemed very short lived. Soon, the new debate will be whether you choose to get a vaccine or not. 

The Lord wants us to be united, and to treat one another with love and respect. In 1 Corinthians 1:10 Apostle Paul writes that Jesus wants us all to agree with one another and have no divisions among us.  While the thought of that is wonderful, sadly, I highly doubt we will see a day like that anytime soon. One thing we should all be able to agree on is that we should all be treated equally in all matters, and no one held in any higher or lower regard because of the color of their skin. I tell my kids all the time, that God made his people in all shapes, sizes and colors, and that he loves each person equally. We are ALL brothers and sisters in Christ and we should be treating each other as such. 

I challenge you! Let's continue to shine our lights during these difficult and emotional times. Do something kind for someone! One kind gesture from you can lead to another kind gesture to another person. This world needs more Jesus and more kindness right now, so let's get it going!

Do something kind!

Pay for the persons order behind you in the the drive thru
Help and elderly person at the grocery store
Mail a card or a letter to someone
Call or text someone to let them know they're important to you
Have food delivered to a loved ones home
Leave positive reviews for items you have purchased online from small businesses
Let someone in front of you in the check out line at the grocery store
Leave prepackaged snacks by the door for delivery drivers
 Donate blood
Compliment or encourage a coworker
Add a positive comment into a conversation that may be turning negative
Cut your neighbors grass if they are elderly or not feeling well

There is an endless list of things you could do to brighten someones day and touch their spirit. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ! Let's start treating each other like we are!

xoxo,

Stephanie Gammon

IG: @faith.and.creativity

Fall in Love With Jesus

All in All 

Free Unity Printable
by Hillary Krippaehne
Available in the Creative Worship Facebook Group

Heal our Land

O beautiful for pilgrim feet, whose stern impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat, across the wilderness

America, America, God mend thine every flaw

Confirm thy soul in self control, they liberty in law.

America the Beautiful, verse 2

Hi Friends,
America has been going through difficult times. I pray daily that we can be united rather than divided, that this nation will repent and turn to Jesus. As the song lyrics say that "God mend thine every flaw." Because all the faults of the U.S., everything that's wrong, can be answered and made right in Jesus. Simply, He is the answer. If we all lived the way He wants us to, there would be no inequality, division, or unrest. I pray that God will heal our land both spiritually and physically. We should not be fighting each other. We need to remember who the real enemy is. It's not people who don't agree with us. It's not one political party or the other. It's not people who don't look like us or live like us. We are not each other's enemy. Satan is the enemy. And he is behind all of this. This is a spiritual battle, and we need to remember that. We need to put on the armor of God and fight for Him. America can be a such beautiful nation when we're following our Lord and Savior.

Page Details: This page was inspired by one Amanda Hargrove had done. I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: God Bless America, Women of Praise, All in All, and Healer of my Heart. To make the mountain background, I used distress oxides and torn paper. I started with the red sky, then placed the torn paper on the page, and started sponging the mountains. I started from the torn paper and brushed onto the hymnal page. Diane Noble showed this technique in a video on the Creative Worship FB page. Click here to see the video. This technique is about 10 minutes into the video. I then stamped the words and highlighted them with a Uni Posca white pen.

Pray for America, my friends! Have a blessed week. Andrea