Lessons in Job

Job 14 & 15

Hi Friends!

I don't know about you, but sometimes Job can be hard for me to read. Reading about Job's losses, seeing his anguish through the verses, his friends being so harsh when they were trying to be supportive...

But Job is so rich with things we can learn: information about God, His throne room and His sovereignty, how to deal with suffering, how to be (or not to be) a friend to someone suffering...

In chapters 3-31 of Job, we see a back and forth discussion between Job and three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. In chapter 14, Job was responding to Zophar. He spoke of how life is fleeting and how God is in control. Job wanted death. He was at a very low point. But even in his pain, he knew God was in complete control. And in that sadness and pain, Job said:

"You will call, and I will answer You..." Job 14:15

No matter what, Job would answer God. He knew God was with him in his despair. And he was ready to respond to God when He called. Lesson: God is with us in our sufferings and we should trust in and respond to Him through the hard times.

In chapter 15, Eliphaz responded to Job. He is pretty harsh. And this certainly isn't a lesson in how to help and support friends who are suffering. But there are nuggets of truth in what he says. I read the First5 devotions from Proverbs 31 Ministries. Their devotion spoke of lessons we can learn from chapter 15, and I based some of my journaling on that.

1. Fear God & Maintain Devotion: "Indeed, you do away with reverence and hinder meditation before God." Job 18:4
2. Be wise: "Do you hear the secret counsel of God, and limit wisdom to yourself?" Job 15:8
3. Listen to your Elders: "Both the gray-haired and aged are among us, older than your father." Job 15:10

Suffering is hard. And being a good friend to someone who is suffering is hard. But God is with us through it all. We need to lean on Him, ask for His wisdom, and trust in Him.

Now for the page... I used the following Sweet n Sassy Stamps: Awesome Thoughts, Mini Grunge Type Alpha, Sing Loud, Send Me, Classy Script Alpha.

 

I used the Sing Loud set to make the word "You" on the first page. I inked the "Y" from "glory" and the "OU" from "loud". You can do this to make different words and that makes the set more versatile. To mask the letters you don't want to ink, just place a sticky note over those letters, ink the stamp, then pull off the sticky note. I used Prismacolor pencils to color in the images, and a Micron pen to draw the phone and some lettering.

I hope you have a blessed week! Andrea

Where was I?

I’ve always been interested in the story of Job. How his life gets turned upside down and he still keeps his faith. He got lectures from all of his friends, they thought that they knew what he had to do or what he did wrong. And then God starts speaking… We think we know everything, we think we can earn a lot in our lives but in comparison to God we are so, so small. He created the earth, the heavens, every tree, all the creatures and even you. I can think that I know a lot  but… where was I when the world was made? God has the last word. He created the entire world. When I don’t see the plan, that doesn’t mean there is no plan. God definitely knows what He’s doing.

I prepared my page with clear gesso and stamped my images with black ink. After that I wrote down the sentence 'where was I when the world was made' and added a dashed border around the world. I masked the earth and blended out some blue ink around the world. I didn't wait long enough so the words smudged a little bit... I colored the images with colored pencils and added some rub ons to finish the page.

I used two stamp sets for this page, Awesome Thoughts and Send Me:

 

- Lucinde

Higher Help

Hello friends!  Sometimes your friends, the world, the government, your spouse, and even your church do not have the answers or the help you need when your heart is overwhelmed.  Sometimes helping others can get your mind off your own troubles for just a while.  Sometimes listening to worship music can lift your spirits.  Often I can find solace in the Psalms...time and time again I read about how much God loves us, how he hears us when we cry out to him, how God alone is our salvation, and our hope is in him alone!

The hills and sky were watercolored with Neocolor 2 Crayons.  The elephant (**so cute**) from the Fly High stamp set designed by Rebecca Rios was colored with Prismacolor Pencils and the balloons were pieced with washi tape.  A white paint pen was used for the highlights.  Skinny Caps Alpha, Skinny Lowercase Alpha, Words of Life: Common Words 1, Awesome Thoughts, and Seek Him stamp sets along with some hand lettering were used to complete this page.

"Hear my cry, O God,

listen to my prayer;

from the end of the earth I call to you

when my heart is faint.

Lead me to the rock

that is higher than I,

for you have been my refuge,

a strong tower against the enemy."

(Psalm 61:1-3) ESV

These stamp sets used for the page above are available at the 

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store:

If you are feeling overwhelmed and your heart is faint, higher help is available for you!

Cry out to Jesus!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! 

I hope you've been lifted up!

Hugs,

Cathy

His thoughts...

”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

I find this message pretty intriguing. Right before these verses Isaiah says that we have to seek the Lord while He may be found and that when we turn to the Lord, He will have mercy. And the Lord declares: for my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are higher than your ways. Our rational thinking isn’t the same as the way the Lord thinks. We can’t comprehend his thoughts. His ways are way higher than ours. Sometimes I would like to know the thoughts of the Lord. I can learn about them when I read in the bible, but sometimes I would like to have a specific answer. Why is this (not) happening? What does the Lord want? What is His plan? But even when I would know His thoughts… there’s a high possibility that I just couldn’t comprehend these thoughts. That I still wouldn’t understand the plans the Lord has. So it’s better to just hand over all my questions and problems to the Lord. Because He knows what He’s doing. And His thoughts, His ways, are always better than mine.

 

For this page I used the stamp set 'Awesome Thoughts' and 'Outline Alpha'. I prepared my page with clear gesso and made a soft background with wax crayons. I stamped my images with a grey ink and colored them with colored pencils. I wrote the other words with a micron pen.

- Lucinde

Bloom Where HE Plants You!

Hello, friends! I am so excited to be on the blog today! A little about me: My name is Andrea; and I'm a wife of a great guy and a mom of 2 teen daughters. I discovered Bible journaling in February 2016 and have been so blessed through it! I'm spending more time in God's precious Word and being creative- a win, win! I discovered SNSS shortly after I began journaling. And I LOVE their stamps! I was humbled when asked to be part of this amazing team.

Let's get into the Word!

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul is discussing aspects of life: being married or unmarried, divorce, and widowhood. In verses 20 and 24, Paul says very similar things and the gist is this: God calls us to certain conditions in life and we should "bloom" in whatever condition He has placed us in. Hmmm...that can be hard, can't it??!! Sometimes our place in life might not be where WE want to be. But GOD always has a reason for where He puts us. And since He is trustworthy, we can trust Him through those times. He is with us in every situation and He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

For the page, I had great fun using Scribble Flowers and the Scribble Flowers Dies! I stamped the images on card stock, then cut them out with the dies. The dies are so easy to use and can work with your favorite type of die cutting machine! I colored the images with chalk pastels. I wanted to be able to read the words beneath the flowers, so I attached them to a strip of transparency, then attached it to the page with washi tape. That way, I can just flip back the flowers when I want to read the text! If you have any questions about this technique, please comment and I'll try to get your questions answered!

For the wording on the page, I also used the following sets: Classy Script Alpha, Common Words 1, and Awesome Thoughts

1 Corinthians 7:24 "So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. (ESV)

Happy Blooming! Andrea

He Knows My Name....

{jane bosi} How incredibly cool is it that the Creator of the entire universe knows your name?  He. Knows. Your. Name.  Dwell on that for just a little bit, my sweet friends!

Isaiah is such a rich book of the promises of God.  It is definitely one of my favorites and often a go to place when I am in need of reminding of just how precious I am, of the fact that I am chosen.  That's an important truth to hold in this overwhelming and often mixed up world!

Isaiah 43:1-3

"Fearnot, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."

YOU. Are. Mine.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."

I. Am. With. You.

When you are overwhelmed, He is with you.  He knows your name.  You are not alone.  You are more than your trials, more than all that this world can put you through.  He knows your name, your pain, your strength, your fear, your goals, your heart.  How amazingly, lovely is that?  Are you not quite sure?

Go back to the beginning of Isaiah 42:

"Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights"

My. Soul. Delights.

Oh, precious friends...rest in this truth,

In Him, Jane 

I got crafty with:

Creator of the Universe

Outline Alphabet

Awesome Thoughts

Awesome Blessing

Hello sweet Bible Journaling Friends!  I hope those of you in the U.S.A. had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!  I was fortunate enough to watch a stunning fireworks display from the beach.  While watching the colors burst in the sky, I got to thinking about how truly blessed I am…how truly blessed we all are to belong to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Happy heavy body acrylic colors were applied to the page using an old credit card after prepping the page with Dina Wakley's clear gesso.  Several Sweet 'n Sassy stamp sets were then used to complete the page:  Amazing Thoughts and Outline Alpha, both from the Creative Worship line, and Happy Happy.  The images on the page were stamped with Jet Black Archival ink and colored with matching acrylic paints.  Highlights were added with a white Sharpie Paint Pen.  Couldn't resist adding a little Washi tape as well!

Enjoy and be thankful for God's Blessings today:

"The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26 (NKJV)

Hugs,

Cathy

Be still...and think awesome thoughts

Hello!

It's Tifany here from Ink Blots by TRD and I've got three Bible pages to share with you today (once again playing with some paint and stamps).

For the first page (Psalm 46), I used the Classy Script Alpha and Seek Him stamp sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps:

For this one I did a "plaid" look similar to a page I did previously, but this time I used paint instead of ink. After my plaid background was ready, I added my stamping and a few accents with a white paint pen.

While I had the Classy Script Alpha stamp set out, I stamped the words "burning bush" on this page:

The rest of the page is hand drawing layered with paint.

For my last page, I used the Awesome Thoughts stamp set. As soon as I saw it, the words "think awesome thoughts" just jumped out at me - so I knew I had to stamp them in my Bible. I added in some tone-on-tone stamping in the background with some stamps from the Fill Me Up set.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

{Philippians 4:8, NIV}

Have a great day!

As always, you can find a full supply list and all my posts pertaining to Bible art or journaling here.

A Parade of Fun!

Good morning, Sweet 'n Sassy friends! It's been a while since I have posted here. I'm sure you are surprised to see me. ;) I am always around, just working behind the scenes while the Creative Team shares their amazing projects with you. Well, today, I actually have something to share, too....and not just the new stamps, either....I stamped, too! :D

First up is this gorgeous new set illustrated by Krista Hamrick. There are so many wonderful possibilities for using this set in your card making and Bible journaling!  The best part---this is just the 1st of many sets in this series of Jesus themed stamps by Krista!  

Good Shepherd

 I love the layout of the images in this set. Because they were created to fit in the margins of your Bible, they also work very nicely for bookmarks so I created this bookmark/tag with a large manilla tag. I stamped the Good Shepherd image first and then created a mask so I could stamp the scene behind him. I colored the whole thing in with my Copic markers (haven't used those in a while!!). I wanted to add some wording, too, so I used the fish tale banner from our Banner Dies and popped the words up with foam tape.

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Next is this wonderful script alpha. It was designed so you can stamp each letter to connect to the next to form complete script words! It is FABULOUS!  It even comes with numbers and extra doodles and icons all for only $15.95! Wow! A great find for card makers, scrapbookers and Bible journalers alike!

Classy Script Alpha

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This set by Rebecca Rios is SO FUN!  The "awesome" mix of lettering styles is very popular right now and no wonder! It's a fun way to get your thoughts across and this set will certainly help you do just that whether you are stamping a card for a friend, scrapbooking pics of your kiddos or journaling in God's Word.

Awesome Thoughts

I decided to create a clean and simple card with this set to show you that it's not just for Bible journaling. I stamped the words and images from Awesome Thoughts with my Spectrum Kaleidacolor ink pad. The thought bubble was cut out (with scissors) and both pieces were popped up with foam tape. I stamped the little circles directly onto the kraft card base and then colored them in with my white Sharpie paint pen. Easy peasy!

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Finally we have a really amazing alpha illustrated also by Rebecca Rios that will coordinate nicely with her other stamps AND many of the stamps you already own. The letters are large so they will stand out in a crowd ;) and you'll enjoy coloring them in to add even more pop to your projects!  Did you see the amazing page Cathy made with this and some other new sets? If not, you can check it out HERE. It is gorgeous!!

 Outline Alpha

Now this is a work in progress....I debated sharing it with you since I haven't added any color yet, but I thought, why not...it's fun to see the process of a project as it comes together.  This is sort of a silly page, but it fits my personality pretty well. I love cats and I love this verse in Philippians (my fave book of the Bible, in fact) so I decided to use my LOL Cats stamp set to illustrate the various needs I have that God supplies. I will be sure to share the finished page once the color is added. :D

In addition to Rebecca's Outline Alpha, this page also uses our new Classy Script Alpha and our Camden Market Alpha.

I hope you enjoyed today's little parade of stamps and samples. Watch for more samples from the Creative Teams throughout the coming weeks! We have lots of great stuff in the works to share with you!

Be sure to check out our website for more great stamps and don't forget about our Sweet 'n Sassy Cash Rewards Program AND our FREE shipping with your $75 US order every day! We will be closed the next ten days for vacation, but take a peek at the special we are having during that time for ANY size order:

Thanks for visiting today!
Have a blessed weekend!
Korin

You are on His Mind!

Hello sweet friends!  Do you realize that you are on the mind of God…that He thinks good thoughts toward you?  It's TRUE!  The verse I'm sharing with you today has special meaning for me.  It was given to me by a very dear friend after receiving a devastating report from the doctor which included a very skeptical prognosis.  That was over sixteen years ago and I am still holding on to this promise.

"I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NKJV)

Did you catch that?  He thinks good thoughts toward us.  Even what appears to be evil…like a disappointing doctor's report...will turn out good and be what is best for us in the end and in God's perfect timing.

I used Dina Wakley's Clear Gesso for the first time to prep my page.  The flowers were hand drawn and I was surprised how easy it was to erase the pencil marks with this gesso.  The rest of the page was done with stamps and stickers and then watercolored with Peerless Watercolors.   Art Anthology Gilded Gold spray was added to give the page a little shimmer.  

Be sure to keep watching the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store because three of the Creative Worship stamp sets used on this page are brand new and will be added to the store in the near future...they are all AWESOME!

The other sets used on my page are Seek Him and God is Good.

Rebecca's Challenge #5 on the Creative Worship Facebook Page is to journal in an un-journaled book of the Bible.  Since this is my first page done in Jeremiah it fits the challenge!  YEA!  (I still have some catching up to do!)  Be sure to check out the challenges…they are a lot of fun…they get you into the word...and we would love to see your journaled pages!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Until next time…

Get into the Word and let the Word get into you!

Hugs,

Cathy