Fight the Good Fight

Fight the good fight of the faith. 1 Timothy 6:12a

Hi Friends,

Today we're in 1 Timothy 6 where Paul directed Timothy to "fight the good fight of the faith." What exactly did Paul mean by that? To fight the good fight of faith is to stand firm in Jesus by abiding in His Word, no matter what we may feel or what we think we understand. Our feelings can get us into trouble. Many people say,"Follow your heart." That's the last thing we need to be following! The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful and sick. We don't need to follow our hearts. We need to follow Jesus and stand firm in Him. How do we fight the good fight? Ephesians 6:10-18 is a good place to start.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

We must be strong in the Lord. We can't fight on our own. We need to depend on Him 24/7. We must put on the armor of God. This is the only way to fight for Him. We must believe in His authority and in His promises. As I said earlier, our hearts and our feelings can lead us astray. Feelings aren't truth. God's Word is truth no matter what we may be feeling or think we know. And we must pray. We need to pray for His help, His strength, His wisdom.

Our world is hurting so badly. Some people think the fight is against each other. We need to remember who it's really against. Stand firm. Fight the good fight.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: The Lord's Battle, Send Me, Walk by Faith, Be a Flamingo, Mighty Fortress, and Itty Bitty Blossoms. The Lord's Battle is part of the August release and it's fantastic! Don't ya love the boots??!! I added a flower and heart to these boots. Who says military boots can't be cute? I keep my pages pretty simple most of the time. This was just stamping and using watercolor crayons to add color.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Pillar of the Truth

If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, 

which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 

1 Timothy 3:15

Hi Friends!
Today we're focusing on 1 Timothy 3:15. In chapter 3, Paul has been speaking on how members of the church should conduct themselves since they (we) are "a pillar and buttress of the truth." So what does that mean? Pillars and buttresses are structures that provide support to buildings. So, we as the church are to support God's truth. We are to uphold His truth and stand firm in it in this world of relativity. For us to do this, it is important that we conduct ourselves in a Christ-like way. We share His truth not only by sharing God's Word, but also by the way we live. As believers, it's so important that we are not swayed by the currents of this world. His truth is the ONLY truth; and we must stand firm in it.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: My Father's House, Consider the Wildflowers, Be a Flamingo, Mighty Fortress, Your Story, Joint Heirs, and Note This.

My Father's House and Consider the Wildflowers are brand new, and they are wonderful sets! My Father's House resonates with me because I'm missing my church family. But, it also reminds me that "church" isn't a building. It's us. And I just love Consider the Wildflowers. It's pretty colored. It's pretty black & white. I used watercolor crayons to color the page.

 Stand firm, my friends, and have a blessed week! Andrea

Fear not!

Hi friends,

I want to talk about something today that I believe is really important to reflect upon for those of us who engage in creative worship. I have lost count of the amount of times I have read comments from people on social media, often commenting on my artwork, that express worry or fear about doing something artistic in their bible.

These kind of comments make me sad because fear should not play a part in our creative worship of God. I've thought a lot about what is behind those fears, and the main driving reason for fear seems to be fear of making a mistake, fear of failure, fear of 'messing up' the bible. In response to this I want to share a little of my journey and what I've learnt about why we do what we do when we draw, paint or stamp in our bibles.

I started Bible journaling over four years ago with simple stamping and stickers. I look back on the pages I did then and some of them I like, others of them I most certainly do not. There are even a few I wish I could tear out because of the disaster they were artistically! But for me this has been a journey in overcoming perfectionism. My natural disposition is one that never wants to make a mistake, is petrified of failure, of looking foolish. This would be the case even if I wasn't sharing my art on social media, but with that added factor the perfectionism tendencies are even more of an issue. But as I've consistently created in my Bible, I've learned a few lessons along the way...

1) It's about the heart before it's about the art. The purpose of this artistic activity is not primarily the production of beautiful artwork. It is about spending time meditating on God's word and hiding it in our heart. It is about creating time for God to speak to us through his Word and for us to respond in praise, prayer and obedience.

2) Mistakes remind us that we are not God... and that is a good thing. When we hold on to the desire for perfection we forget that only one is perfect and that one is God. We are most certainly not perfect, whether artistically or behaviorally! This is good to meditate on because it keeps us humble and it reminds us of the grace and love of God, who loves us unconditionally, despite our glaring imperfections.

3) Skill in anything takes time to develop - time and a lot of practice! I know this with playing and teaching the piano. Many people would like to play beautiful piano music but are not prepared to put in the practice required to be able to do so. The same goes for art. To colour beautifully, stamp accurately and design pages with balance and creativity requires practice, practice and more practice. Often we learn best when we make mistakes and we realise that certain things don't work. That's all part of the journey of increasing in knowledge and skill!

I used the sweet Be a Flamingo set for the images on this page, and combined the Sweet & Simple Alpha and Walk by Faith sets along with some tiny alpha stickers for the verse. I couldn't resist adding some Faith Wordfetti for finishing touches! I used Inktense blocks from Derwent to colour the images, using an aquabrush to pick up the colour. The background was also created using these blocks by spritzing some water on my glass mat and rubbing the block into the water to create a little coloured ink puddle. I then picked up some of this colour with a piece of acetate and 'smooshed' it onto the page until I was happy with the overall effect. Here are the stamp sets used on this page:

Can I encourage you to say 'no' to fear when it comes to expressing your faith in creative worship and instead to embrace the process of learning about God, yourself and creativity?

With every blessing...

x Amy x

You, Lord, Raise Me Up!

But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,

and raise me up...

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God for a shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

Psalm 41:10, 42:5

If we are honest, we have to confess there is much in this life to get us down, so weary us, to confuse and create turmoil within.   I think of Hannah in 1 Samuel and how she suffered to the point of deep depression over her life's circumstances. Or what about Elijah, so frightened by the evil power and death threats of Jezebel that he ran as far away as he could and begged God just to take his life.  We experience enemy assault, the pressures of life, loss, and tiredness and we can certainly understand being downcast and wanting to run away.  And at the very moment we feel ourselves losing our grip, God grabs hold!

God promises again and again that he will not leave us or forsake, that we never have to figure out life on our own.  He will come to us at our point of need and raise us up.  He will lift us by his mighty hand above our circumstances to see things from his perspective.  He will walk with us in the middle of trouble and he will absorb all that would harm us if we relinquish all to him.  

In God there is always, forever hope.  He will raise us up.  Once we surrender to his Lordship, we can never be defeated.  The victory is already ours.  If you feel like you're falling, look up, reach out to God and let him grip you and lift you up. 

-----

Design Detail:

• watercolor paints on the background, flamingo and the heart-balloons applied with a water brush
• texture was created with a stamp
• Sets Used:

 Candy Hearts

 Be a Flamingo

Tickled Pink!

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:3-4

Good morning, friends!

Do you delight in Jesus? Does He tickle you pink? He should! When you really think about our amazing God and all He has done for us, how He pursues us, how He loves us, He deserves our trust, our delight. Sometimes, I think we begin to take Jesus and what He did for granted because we've heard and read the stories so many times. But, when I think about it- really think about it- what He's done for me, for us, is indescribable. Jesus left His heavenly throne to come to earth as a man. He became what He had created. Can you imagine? I can't. He's God. Human words can't even describe Him, and He was willing to become a man. And not only was He willing to leave His rightful glory and throne to become a man, He did it KNOWING that He would be dying on a cross for us. And that brings us to the cross. Jesus knowingly and willingly went to the cross. It wasn't a surprise. It didn't just happen. He chose to allow it to happen. At any point of time, He could have stopped it. He's God. He has control over everything. But, He didn't stop it. Instead, He came to this earth as a helpless baby. He lived without much means. He didn't have a permanent home as an adult. He didn't have a lot of material goods. He wasn't like the other kings and "important" people with their palaces and rich living. Then He allowed Himself to be mistreated, physically and emotionally abused, and killed by the people He had created. So, if anyone or anything deserves our delight, IT IS HIM. And yet, so often, we delight not in him, but in things of this world. We allow the world to entice us and give up the true riches of pursuing God completely. So, I'm challenging myself to truly delight in Jesus. To make Him my priority. To pursue and seek Him in all things. And I invite you to that challenge too!

I had fun with this page using Sweet n Sassy Stamps sets: Be a Flamingo, Texture Tiles 1, 2, and 4, and Bitty Minnie Alpha. I also used watercolor crayons for the background.

Today is Sweet n Sassy Stamps' 11th birthday!

We're celebrating all month with promotions. From now through 11/14/18, you can get free shipping on all orders! Don't miss out! 

Have a blessed week, my friends! Andrea

"Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus!"

I love journaling in my hymnal, because music has always been a vital part of my Christian experience.  I can remember song lyrics much better than scripture (unless they too are put to music).  The hymns I grew up singing are powerfully etched into my memory.  I grew up going to very small churches where even as an early-teen, I was often called upon to lead the congregation in singing these hymns.  I therefore came to know most of the songs in the hymnal fairly well.  As a matter of fact, when it came to the part of the service where special music was supposed to take place, the speaker might look to me--if there was nothing scheduled--and say, "Sister Julie, do you have something you can share with us today?" I would look to my mother, who happened to be my ready-made accompanist, and we would quickly flip open the hymnal, and respond with a semi-confident, "Sure!"  I'd then stand up from my seat, walk to the front, and then stand before the church and proclaim His faithfulness through word and song.  Sometimes this annoyed me.  Other times it amused me.  Later, I realize how it actually equipped and empowered me to be the speaker, teacher and worship leader that I am today.  

The team of George Duffield and Adam Geibel wrote this hymn in 1858.  The words to the second stanza are particularly powerful:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, 

Stand in His strength alone; 

The arm of flesh will fail you, 

Ye dare not trust your own.

Put on the gospel armor,

Each piece put on with prayer; 

Where duty calls or danger, 

Be never wanting there.

We can only stand up for Jesus through His power.  We cannot trust our own power ("the arm of flesh") because it will fail us.  We must put on the "gospel armor" with "prayer" and face any duty or danger He calls us to--but His power and strength will never fail us.  I've had to claim His power and strength many times in my life as I've had to stand up for Him in more difficult situations than impromptu hymn sings.  But I can honestly say He has never failed me!

I chose to create a mixed media page for this hymn.  I used the stamp sets Be a Flamingo, Texture Tiles 1, Bitty Minnie Alpha, and Skinny Minnie Alpha.  I began by stamping the flamingo, masking it, then stamping the mesh texture around it.  After that, I watercolored the page in various bright colors.  I then stamped the title words and the leaves.  I added some acrylic paint with bubble wrap, texture stamps, and a paint card.  I finished this page with some flamingo washi, two varying shades of pink bows, and a smaller stamped flamingo.  

What a fun page for a powerful song.  This standing flamingo image reminds me of moments when I would stand and sing this hymn, and others like it, for God's great glory and purpose.  

You can see my other projects over on Instagram @julesk.jewels, YouTube at Jules Jewels, or my blog at Julesjewels.blog.  Thanks for joining me today! 

---Julie

Tickled Pink

Hello lovelies! I hope your week is going fabulously and your summer is a total joy. These last couple days have been hard for me...I know God has control of all things but sometimes I need a kick in the pants. As I was looking up scriptures I stumbled upon 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 (Message translation) "God can our on the blessings in astonishing ways, so that you're  ready for anything and everything. He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never give out. This most generous God who gives seed to the farm that becomes bread for your needs is more that extravagant with you. He gives you something you can give away, which grows into full formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God."

Wow I so needed to hear and soak in this. I began by creating a gradient on my page with white, light pink and dark pink acrylic paint. Next I stamped the sentiment 'tickled pink' from the 'be a flamingo' set. I stamped the large flamingo on pink cardstock, fussy cut it out to use as a tab to stick up above my page. Recently I have been seeing polka dots painted using the back of a new pencil...so I gave it a go and used the same three colors I used earlier for the gradient. I pulled out an older Sweet N Sassy stamp 'just be' set to stamp the 'super blessed' at the bottom of the page. Using the large open area I left I copied the message translation into the margins to remind me of the goodness and faithfulness of God.

I really hope this blessed you! If you are stuggling with seeing the good and feeling blessed I encourage you to really soak in these verses and remember all the times He has been faithful. He loves and cares for us so extravagantly we should feel tickled pink and super blessed.

Hugs and prayers,

Jenn (@creativegurl85)

Dare to be Different!

Hi friends,

One of my favourite verses of scripture is Romans 12:2:

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

There is so much to meditate on in this one verse! When I've illustrated this in the past, I've used a butterfly image because the word 'transformed' comes from the word 'metamorphosis' and the caterpillar being transformed into a butterfly is such a perfect image of what happens to us when we allow God to transform us as we renew our minds in and through His Word. On this occasion though, I focused on the first part of this verse: do not conform to the pattern of this world.

In today's world it is all too easy to conform to the pattern of the world around us without even knowing it. Whether it is through advertising, social media, education or peer pressure there are so many ways the world's system tries to make us conform to its image. I don't know about you, but it is just so much easier to 'fit in' than to be different and stand out from everyone else! But that's what we are called to do as followers of Christ. We are called to be non-conformists. That doesn't mean being difficult or contrary for the sake of it, but choosing to allow God's Word to shape and transform us, rather than being controlled and conformed by the beliefs and practices of the world. This is one of the reasons why Christian community is so important. We need to be around others who are also being transformed by Christ so that we can give and receive encouragement as we resist the conformity that the world demands.

When I saw this fabulous Be a Flamingo set I knew I wanted to illustrate this verse with it! I love the variety of words that can be combined to make different statements, and that flamingo standing tall is just perfect for this important truth. The background to this page was created using my Gel Press plate, stencils and bubble wrap (so much fun!) then I stamped the text and images over the top with Stazon ink, colouring the flamingo with watercolours.

May we be people who dare to stand out and be different as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds through the Word of God. May we resist the world's attempts to conform us to its pattern. And may we encourage one another as we continue this journey of transformation.

x Amy x

Tickled Pink

Have you ever been so filled with joy that you just can’t contain it? Your face is beaming, and is sporting a smile that is a mile wide. The glow is just radiating from your eyes. You might even be so joy filled that you dance a bit!

What made you feel that way? You got a promotion? A new grandchild? Someone paid you the nicest compliment? How about you knew you were loved?

I might be labeled a little crazy like King David and even dance around the kitchen, but having the joy of the Lord is like that for me! Some days I just can’t contain my joy when I stop and ponder how loved I am by God.

In Psalm 98 verse 1, David tells us to sing a new song for the Lord has done marvelous things. Not only has He defeated our enemies, but He has made a way for our redemption. If that alone doesn’t make you do a little dance, I don’t know what will! 

Later, in verse 4 and following, David tells us not only to sing, but to shout! We aren’t talking strumming a little on the harp, but bring out the trumpets and praise.

All the earth and every living thing is to join in and “clap their hands in praise!” Can’t you just hear the ocean roaring His praises? What about all the living creatures? Creation just screams out in praise of Him.

What about you? Are you so filled with His joy that you praise Him? or do you let the cares of this world steal your joy? My friend, take heart, He has overcome this world and gives us hope.

Will you get “tickled” pink with me and sing a new song before our Lord?



“Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power!

Shout to the Lord, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy!

Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in. Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! Let the hills sing out their songs of joy”
‭‭Psalm 98:1, 4, 7-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬


Art behind the story:

When I knew these flamingo stamps were going to be released, they made me smile. Most of you know by now, I’m a creation lover because I truly believe creation just screams praises of the Creator! Flamingos are one of those birds that just make me happy by looking at them. 

This stamp set “Be a Flamingo” is part of the June Release for Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps. I stamped the flamingo first, then watercolored it. Next, I did a little “stamp surgery” and cut apart the “tickled pink” phrase, because I knew I wanted to stamp it separately. I added the exclamation point from the Bitty Minnie Alphas and finished it off with the polka dots from Grunge Elements 2.

Hope today you find joy in the Lord and get “tickled pink” over Him!

Hugs,

Gayle
IG: patioponderings