Filled with the Spirit

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 

Acts 2:2-4

Hi Friends!

Today I will be discussing Acts 2:2-4. We are all probably familiar with the passage. As Jesus had promised, the Holy Spirit indwelt and empowered His disciples so that they could share God's message. This was an amazing show of God's power! I mean, these Jesus followers could now speak languages they didn't know so that people who did speak those languages could hear the gospel. WOW! There were Jews from many nations in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost. And God wanted them to hear the gospel. 

The Holy Spirit that indwelt those believers is the same Holy Spirit that indwells believers today. His power may not manifest in us the same way. We may not be able to speak Spanish, Italian, French, etc, when we don't know those languages already. But, He is the same. And He has the same power. Believers can be filled with the Spirit; or they can quench the Spirit. But the Holy Spirit never leaves a believer. When we are filled with the Spirit, we are surrendered to God's control of our lives. We quench the Spirit when we rebel against God. When we are filled with His Spirit and submitted to Him, we can accomplish the work He has set out for us to do. He will give us the skills we need to do His will just like He enabled the disciples to speak to foreigners in their own languages. We cannot accomplish His will in our own power, but we can certainly accomplish it in His power. Use His power, my friends.

Page Details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Soul on Fire, Brotherly Love, and Peace Be Still. I stamped the images and used watercolor crayons for color.

May your week be filled with thanksgiving and joy. Andrea

Jesus Sang

 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:26

Hi Friends!

Resurrection Sunday was a week ago, but something stood out to me as I was reading about Jesus' last night; and I just this weekend had time to journal it. The night before He went to the cross, Jesus sang. Knowing full well what was to come, He sang. And it wasn't a sad song that Jesus sang. He and His disciples were celebrating Passover. During Passover, Psalms 113-118 were generally sung. They are noted for joy and thanksgiving and are called the Hallel psalms. Since it was at the end of their meal, the hymn referred to in verse 26 was most likely Psalm 118. Guess how it starts:

1- Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.

Jesus knew what was about to happen to Him. He knew He would be betrayed by Judas. He knew Peter would deny knowing Him. He knew all His disciples would scatter. He knew He would have to go through illegal trials and that He would be mocked and beaten horribly. Jesus knew He would hang on a cross in agonizing pain. He knew, and yet He still gave thanksgiving to the Father.

Verses 5-7 of Psalm 118 speak to hard times:

5- When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; He brought me into a spacious place.

6- The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

7- The LORD is with me; He is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.

What must Jesus have been thinking when He sang these verses? There are no harder times than what He was about to endure. He was on His way to the Mount of Olives where He would cry out to the Father, pleading with Him if there were any other way. But of course, there was not another way. And Jesus was obedient. The Father was with Him, as always, except that when Jesus hung on the cross bearing our sins, then He experienced separation from the Father. How unbearable that must have been for Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father! I can't imagine. Mere mortals mocked Him, beat and abused Him, crucified Him. But they weren't in control. No, not at any point were they in control. Jesus controlled it all. And He triumphed over the enemy.

We should be familiar with Psalm 118:22-24:

22- The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

23- The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24- The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.

Let us rejoice TODAY and be glad. That day, the day before His death, Jesus was able to rejoice and be glad. And He, of course, is the Cornerstone. He knew He would be rejected and killed, but this was the day the Lord had made. This day- there would be no other like it. Jesus sang as if that day would be a good day, not an awful one. It was THE DAY. Jesus willingly went to the cross that day for each of us. We can rejoice in that day because of what He did for us.

Psalm 118 ends with these final verses:

28- You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, and I will exalt You.

29- Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.

Jesus sang praise and thanksgiving to the Father. He was about to endure savage cruelty that was completely undeserved, not that cruelty is ever deserved, but He was utterly innocent. And yet, as He and the disciples sang, they pronounced that God the Father was in complete control. Jesus knew. And He praised. And He thanked. And He rejoiced. What an amazing Savior we have.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Grunge Elements 3, Brotherly Love, Note This, Playful Alpha, and the Make Music stencil. I applied distress oxides to the page with sponge daubers for the background. And colored in "Jesus" with Prismacolor pencils. Before stamping, I spritzed the page with water so the distress oxides would react with the water.

Have a blessed week. Read Psalm 118 and praise our Lord! Andrea

You Are the Potter

Think of the details of your life. Do you think it's just a series of events happening to you or do you believe your life is part of a greater plan?

I think we can get some clarity and comfort from Isaiah 64:8 on this question.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.    

We can be comforted by the first thing this verse tells us, "Yet you, Lord, are our Father". It doesn't just say, you are our Lord...it says he is our Father. Our Creator is not an uncaring deity. He is a loving and faithful Father. He wants us to trust Him with the details of our lives. The next part of the verse, "We are the clay; you are the potter. We are all the work of your hands" tells us that God is in control. He is the potter of our lives. He is molding and shaping, refining and sometimes, even breaking us and putting us back together, in an effort to make us more Christ-like.

My prayer through my journaling, is that I would always be malleable in the hands of the potter, allowing him to shape me in a way that brings Him glory.

Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Thou art the potter I am the clay
Mold me and make me after Thy will
While I am waiting yielded and still  

(Lyrics from Have Thine Own Way Lord by Jim reeves)

 Page details:
A couple of weeks ago, I did a page using several people from the Brotherly Love and Girl Power stamp sets. I used my Brother Scan and Cut to cut out all the images and what I was left with resembled a stencil of people. I saved it for future projects.

I used my "stencil" this week with texture paste that I colored to resemble potter's clay. I laid out a piece of wax paper and used a plastic pallet knife to smooth the texture paste in a few of the images. I purposely left them imperfect, because afterall, that's what we are. After the texture paste dried, I was able to lift it off the wax paper. I don't usually gesso my page, but knew I wanted to smoosh distress oxides on the page and they tend to bleed through badly when used with a lot of water, so I did prep my page before starting. I did several layers of smooshing, using a variety of colors to create some muddy, clay splatter areas. I inked around my texture paste people with some black ink to help them stand out from my background and glued them to my page. I used the new Messy Stamped Alpha and Cold Coffee Alpha to stamp out my title. I actually stamped it twice, with a grey and brown ink and off set my stamping each time to create a shadow on the letters.

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

Jill

Love Each Other

We are just a few days away from Valentine's Day, so I thought it was a perfect time to talk about "LOVE". 

Love is defined in the Oxford dictionary as "1.  An intense feeling of deep affection. 2. A great interest and pleasure in something."  It is a word I use often.  I love my family and friends. I love chocolate, I love to have crafting time and I love the beach.  But what I want to look at, is the Biblical meaning of love. 

There are 4 types of love in the Bible:

Storge - Empathy Bond
Philios - Friend Bond
Eros - Romantic Love
Agape - Unconditional "God" love

My challenge to you and myself this Valentine's Day is to love everyone with Agape love, as God loves us.

The Bible actually calls for us to love others, like God loves us. Mmm...that can be more than a little difficult, am I right? Am I supposed to love a co-worker who tried to sabotage my career, or a rude cashier, or a driver that made a not-so-nice hand gesture to me because I was turning in the parking lot too slowly for their liking?  YES!!!  Because that's how God loves us.

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

Romans 5:8 NIV

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

 1 John 4:7-11 NIV

 1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

 1 John 3:1 NIV

16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:16 NIV 

10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:10 NIV

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.

Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV 

 26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:26 NIV 

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 NIV 

The love we have been shown through the sacrifice of Jesus is a love like no other!  So this Valentine's Day and everyday, let us not only love those we find easy to love....let us love EVERYONE, so that we can glorify God!

Page Details:
I created this page by stamping out several people, with the Brotherly Love & Girl Power stamp sets.  I had fun making each one unique, just as God made us.  I colored them in with watercolors and cut them out with my Brother Scan & Cut (my Christmas present from my hubby).  I used the people to create at tip-in at the bottom of the page, so I could still read the scripture underneath.  I traced and colored a large heart in the center, to represent God's love for us.  I used the hearts from the Women of Praise set to create a background. My title is a combination of the new Loop da Loop Alpha and Bitty Mini Alpha. 

Here's a short video clip, showing how the tip-in works:

These are the sets I used to create my page:

Until next time, catch up with me on Instagram @simplyjillsjourney.  I hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Jill Norris

Inspire!

Supplies used will be listed below! Thanks for reading!

Happy Tuesday to you!

My goal for this blog is to purposefully and concisely aim you in a direction of intentional encouragement and inspiration. At the very end, I have a bit of a creative/encouragement challenge for you in hopes that you will be uplifted and run with it!
__________________________________

One time (actually, multiple times) I heard my pastor say, "Everyone is under-encouraged." 
First of all, I wondered how this could possibly be true.  Everyone? 
The people who are the highlights of Hollywood?
Those with more numbers in their bank accounts than one could fathom?
Those who receive thousands likes on an instagram post, followed by hundreds of additional comments?

Yup.
Everyone.

EV-ER-Y-ONE.
And the sad thing is, those people I mentioned above sometimes need an extra boost of, "you are loved just the way you are," just like you and me.
We are made to be relational, work together, make peace together, and promote community.  We are made to encourage, lift up, build up and inspire each other to things of a higher calling!
Fame, money and popularity are bonuses and signs of success, but one time (actually, multiple times) I have heard it said such things can hinder meaningful relationships and promote loneliness.

⇨⇨Listen, friend: everyone needs to know that they have meaning, they have purpose, they have a direction and a destination.  They are loved, they are beautiful, they are unique and they are not meant to fit in to any mold or make of the world. 
The loving Lord is a wonderful God, reaching always into humanity to have communion and achieve the highest possible connection via His Holy Spirit.  Inspiration flows from His heart deeply into the core of the person He made us to be. 
+  If you see something worth noting in someone, write the someone a note.
+  If you see something worth admiration, share admiration.
+  If you notice a talent, a gift, a honed skill, a blessing, a success, a victory, a happiness, a pleasure given to another, he/she needs to know this is how you feel.
+  If you become moved, challenged, motivated, or blessed by another, bless, move, and motivate back!  I promise it is NOT a waste of breath or time!

The Bible says, "Encourage one another and build each other up."  (I Thess. 5:11)
"And let us consider how to stir one another up in love and good works." (Hebrews 10:24)
"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act." (Prov. 3:27)
"

I can assure you, sister, there is nothing the Devil wants more than to see the church of Jesus fall.  He wants nothing more than to see the children of God behaving like overgrown misfits of gossip, slander, anger, envy and strife.  In fact, the Bible tells us to FLEE from these things BECAUSE these are easy side-steps to an otherwise fruitful walk with our Maker. 

I encourage you, sweet friend.  Send a note.  Send a card.  Send a small post-it or leave a small token of appreciation for someone(s).  It's truly not a waste, and it's something that builds upon the kingdom of God - into an eternity that is being made ready for you and me!

Here's the challenge part now: 
1} Ask the Lord to show you someone, to lay someone on your heart so that you would know who needs to be encouraged.  Someone may pop directly into your mind!  With this lead, you can then create a little something for this person to let him/her know - at the VERY least - that you were thinking of him/her.  
2} Before you send/give it, take a photo & post it on social media!  Be sure to hashtag it #encouragementchallenge and tag my handle so I know you've posted. 
3} Watch as encouragement spreads and morale boosts in this sweet community that extends beyond the bounds of Instagram or Facebook!  It's phenomenal!

This card I made for a friend, who has overcome doubts and fears in Jesus' name.  Difficulties surrounded her, and Murphy followed her, so to speak.  It's not uncommon for one to sink into a shell of despair, but I saw her sink, find hope and re-emerge with vigor and confidence that Jesus IS her God! 
She inspires me; I want to inspire back.
She has moved me; I want to stir her up!

Much love,
Deeds

Sentimental Wordfetti here. 

Bitty Minnie Alpha here.

Fantastic Flowers set here.

I colored in the flower and leaves with my new Arteza Everblend marker set.  I love them, and I am so looking forward to using them more!

I Know the World Needs Jesus

Hey friends and family!

I'm so in love with Jesus.  Can I just say, without the Lord I would be absolutely sunk!  There's so much that comes by being in the family of Christ; so much worked into being linked to Jesus, and there's not enough paper to write it on, according to John the disciple.  :)

Jesus is the hope of the world.
The Word of God in human flesh and form.
The reason for joy; the meaning of love.

Last Sunday, I was able to attend the church service.  Does this sound odd?  Well, in the phase in which I find myself presently (baby, sick kids and fatigue), I find that getting to the church house for fellowship and feeding, ministry and service comes as quite the challenge.  When I get to go, I'm thrilled, refreshed and reconnected with friends I have - SERIOUSLY - not seen in months. 

There's something sweet about the encountering of Jesus in all of the ways mentioned above.  When we fellowship with people of the family of God, we share Christ, unity, bonding, and much more.  When we are fed from the pulpit or classes, we hear Jesus, and our faith is strengthened.  When we minister, we are sharing Jesus' love and hope with others, whether it's a hug of understanding, a warm smile of encouragement, or tears shed for the sake of weeping with those who weep.  Service, of course, shows Jesus' life and light in ways that we don't understand because outside our physical realms lies the heavenly one, wherein angels are entertained, and God omni-present! 

The reflections of Jesus to others (inside or outside the body of Christ) can have such an eternal affect on those around us.  Wherever we are; whatever we are.

As a mom, in particular and especially, I forget what ways I'm impacting my children.  They are my "world."  They are the viewers of my life; the spectators of my day-in-day-out activities and reactions. 
God reminded me of this again last Sunday...

The worship music started.
There was unity in song.
There was blessedness in community.

At one point, I simply stood in silence and listened as those around me as they lifted the name of Jesus.  Sometimes there was 3-part harmony, but I wasn't noting that as much as the squeeze I felt at my side.

My daughter. 

My only daughter.

My child.

She'd stayed with me and stood by me for songs and announcements.  It was just the two of us there at the time as hubster elected to stay with the sicklies of the house, giving me a worship service.  

Very different, yet strangely wonderful. 
As we sang, the phrase, "I know the world needs Jesus," entered the worship hall.  Have you heard this song?
The chorus goes like this: 

"I know the world needs Jesus.
I know the world needs freedom.
So give us eyes to see the hurting and the broken.

Let our lives align with every word You say."

It's beautiful.  Following the chorus, it weighed heavily on me - almost to sorrow - what God was saying by the seemingly random side hug from my baby girl.  "Your children need Jesus, Deirdre.  All five of them.  They all need Me, and you need to show Me to them." 

I cried. 

For the first time in my life as a mom, I realized that the person of Jesus - the Healer, Restorer, Savior, Redeemer, and King - was not the subject of conversation on a regular basis.  My children - my "world" - did not know Jesus, and further still, did not know their need for Him. 

Oh, the shame and pain. 
Oh, the guilt of having hidden the Light under a basket.

That day changed me.  The Spirit opened me up to humbling and recovery.  I need to do things differently at my home.  I even changed the lyrics of the song above in order to better relate to my calling.

"I know my kids need Jesus.

I know my kids need freedom.
So give me eyes to see their hurting and their breaking.
Let my life align with every word You say."

So...I slipped this entry into Proverbs 22:6 which says, "Train up a child in the way he should go.  And when he is old he will not depart from it."  I believe with my whole heart that being the Light in my "world" is a good portion of what it means to train my children in the understanding of God.  My reflecting Jesus, sharing His Word, and being His hands and feet to them can impact them for life in the way they should go!

I encourage you, friends, wherever you are and whatever you are: seek to be Jesus to your "world."  If God has not called you to a full-time ministry as pastor's wife, missionary, bible translator, bible professor, don't worry.  He's called you to full-time ministry as mom, wife, Wendy's employee, amusement park vendor, garbage man, you name it!  In your "world," there are people who need Jesus.  In your "world," there are those who need to taste and see that He is good; they NEED freedom from the chains of sin, death and hell that can only be granted by faith in Jesus the Christ.

I love God the Holy Spirit.  I love His biddings.  Yes, sometimes they are difficult to swallow and digest, but they are timely mercies.  They are gracious urges to do that which is of utmost importance!

In God's mercies and much love,

Deeds

Happy Alpha, Girl Power, Brotherly Love, Sunshine Girl Alpha

Mighty Warrior...

Hi friends,

In Judges 6 we are introduced to the character of Gideon, who God chooses to be one of the judges to lead Israel in a time of persecution and decline. In verse 12 of chapter 6 we see the angel of the Lord appearing to Gideon and his opening words are, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."

What an amazing way to be greeting by and angel of God!! But here's the interesting thing: Gideon was anything but a mighty warrior! In fact, when the angel finds him he is hiding in a winepress treading out grain to avoid being seen by the Midianites. When God calls him 'mighty warrior' Gideon's reaction is not to bow in humble gratitude and awe but rather to argue with the angel about whether God was in fact with Israel. When God ignores his arguing, and commissions him to go and save Israel out of Midian's hand, Gideon once again protests! He goes on to list his weaknesses and insignificance, clearly unconvinced of his status as 'mighty warrior.'

I wanted to illustrate this 'unlikely hero' in my Bible using the Brotherly Love stamp set to create a character that looks pretty far removed from a mighty warrior - because that was how Gideon saw himself. But the amazing thing is that God didn't see him as weak and insignificant. God saw and declared over him his true identity as a mighty warrior. This made me pause and wonder how God might want to be declaring awesome things over us, but how we often resist and protest, choosing to believe the lies of inferiority and weakness rather than the truths of God's Word. When we feel ordinary, God declares we are extraordinary. When we feel plain or ugly, God declares that we are beautiful and unique. When we feel flawed and useless, God declares that He has a plan and a purpose for our lives. Let's choose to believe the realty of God's truth and adopt His words over us as our own!

I created the background for this page by applying ink with a dry baby wipe on the tip of my finger - it's a great way to add colour with or without a stencil or mask as you have a lot of control over where you put the ink! As well as using Brotherly Love, I also used the Wetland Grass, Love Your Neighbor, Skinny Minnie Alpha, and Mini Grunge Type Alpha sets.

 

Can I encourage you to find out what God says about you through reading, studying and meditating on His Word and choose to listen and believe His voice? After all, He sees the real us, the one He's created us to be, and the one He will help us to flourish into if we put our trust in Him.

Many blessings...

x Amy x