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

Choose Joy

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” Proverbs 17:22

Perspective. 

If you’ve been following me for any length of time you know that I talk a lot about perspective. The way that we see things and the lens from which we see it determines a lot about how we live our lives.

The word joy has been coming up a lot for me lately. It’s in my Bible study, in my conversations and just a lot in my thought process, and the more that I meditate on it, joy has everything to do with perspective. How often do we long for things to be different? Maybe we would be happier if we had a different job. Maybe we would be happier if we had more money. Maybe we would be happier if we had such and such tool or supply. Maybe when our kids get a little older we would have more freedom. And the list goes on and on.

But, guys, JOY is a choice. It is a fruit from the Lord that comes we when are completely satisfied in Him.  It’s a choice to be content with where we are and what we have. Joy is a deep rooted satisfaction with our lives despite our circumstances and it changes the perspective from which we see things. 

JOY says, I will gladly do daily household chores because I have a roof over my head that’s  mine

.JOY says, I will listen to my name called a million times a day because that means I am surrounded by people who love me and need me.

JOY says, I will cook and clean up for yet another meal because when I nourish little bodies, I can nourish little souls.

JOY says, I will go to work every day because I have been given the opportunity to provide for my family.

JOY says, I will endure hardships and sufferings because it’s those things that are designed to produce perseverance in me (James 1:2-3)

Guys, life is about so much more than what it seems sometimes. It’s about the choices we make and the perspective from which we see it. It’s about choosing every day to find the good and seeing life through the eyes of a child. It’s about having faith that believes in the unseen and that the best is yet to come. It’s about finding the joy in a situation that seems the polar opposite. It takes a commitment on our part to look for it and celebrate it. Switch your lens over to the eternal and watch how much more joy you will experience in your life. Proverbs 17:22 says it all, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to walk around wishing for something more all the time. I want to experience that deep rooted joy that only Christ can give. I want to be thankful and satisfied with what He has given me and where He has placed me. It’s all about perspective, and choosing to find the joy every day. It’s all those small things together that make life worth living. <3

Have a great weekend!

Jennifer

IG:@lifeintherace

Crafty Details

I started by adding some yellow and orange watercolor layers to an index card and drying it with my heating tool. Then, I added some texture with Texture Tiles 5 in Hickory Smoke and Picked Raspberry distress oxide. I then stamped the word “JOY” from Choose Faith in Spiced Marmalade and overlaid the word “choose” in black. I hand wrote Proverbs 17:22 at the bottom and clipped the card into my Bible as a reminder that Joy is a choice we must make every day. 

Joy & our friend, Job

Cover page for the book of Job with a reference to James

Hey everyone! 
Deeds here, with another blog post and Youtube process video for Creative Worship! I love this blog.  I love that you're coming.  I love that this is making an impact in the lives of so many.
I pray that today you will find this blog a blessing and encouragement, particularly because it covers a topic that I find the hardest to understand.

Dear friends, this is - by far - one of the hardest blogs I've had to write; it's the hardest of topics that I've ever had to think about:
JOY through SUFFERING.

And, what is joy? 
What does it look like for me?

What does joy look like in the believer in the midst of pain and suffering?

And guess what?  I don't have the answers to all of these questions.  The biggest issue I'm grappling with right now is how to explain joy in the middle of suffering.
Let me first explain why this lands on my radar.  WHY in the world am I so fixated on joy in suffering?  Cheer in the midst of sorrow?

Well, firstly I'm in the book of Job.  I have a Bible reading plan that I follow.  It takes me through chapters at a time of certain books, and only small sprigs of scripture other times.  I’m liking they layout of the plan!

But, Job? 
Oi.  Job. 
I confess that my heart was achy before I even read the first chapter.  My mind wrestled with God on this topic of the suffering believer.  My soul cringed at the mess that would come as I dealt with some real struggles as a believer in a fallen, depraved, starving world.

Y'all, there's a lot to this concept of joy. 
There's a LOT to the marriage of joy & suffering. 
For the sake of not getting ahead of myself, and attempting to stay clear, I've come up with a few bullet points (and hopefully helpful reminders) on what I've learned since I began this journey in Job.

-Suffering passes through the throne of Grace.

-Suffering is only allowed, by this Throne, to the extent that it is turned around for His glory.

-Suffering is meant to draw us ever closer to the throne that has more than enough grace to see us through "in time of need." (Heb. 4:16)

Reference: Job 1:6ff

These are the basics of what I've come to understand about Job.  It's what I've come to experience daily as the battle rages for my heart.  

Job experienced one of the highest levels of suffering that we know of.  His wealth, his children, his property, his inheritance, his health, his future…gone.  Gone in an instant.  Gone forever.  Gone without reason…
Chapters following his initial loss are COMPLETELY taken over by a discussion that would sooner prove unhelpful, unencouraging, un-insightful, and unwanted than be considered imparted grace and life.  Job had some lousy friends.  Worse yet, he had a terrible wife. 

He had it bad.

He had it the worst.

"Dude took an L," is how I would hear my kids put it. 
And it actually happened - this account is not a sad story of a kid's book with no premise and little moral value.  This truly took place in our history.  Job was a real "dude."

I believe Job is written for our good; for us to see how we can handle the issues of sickness, rejection, loss, and the temptation to lose hope. 
BUT, I more so believe that this amazing account directs us to the One who suffered the most; the One who gave it all; the One who incurred the most rejection, the most ridicule, the most loss, the most burden, the most judgment, and the most wrath, even unto death on the cross. 
The Bible says,
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS, the founder and perfecter of our faith, WHO FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM ENDURRED THE CROSS, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (Hebrews 12:1-4, emphasis mine)

Stamp set used: "Choose Faith"
Affiliate link here: http://www.sweetnsassystamps.com?aff=7

Small prayer of hope that God will show me His heart.

It's not easy being weary in heartbreak and body ache.  It's not easy enduring the loss of a friend, or the rejection of a husband.  It's NOT easy.
It's part of our fallen world to encounter the problems we face, and it's totally natural to fall faint-hearted to the pressure of pain and sorrow. 
God knows us; He knows our heart. 
He loves us; He purchased our soul.

By the blood that was shed on the cross, He bought back what has been taken away from us by sin.  Through His love in life and death, Jesus our Redeemer, LIVES ON to bring help, hope and joy to us, His joint-heirs! 

We suffer, though not alone.

We faint, though not to death.

We endure, though not needlessly.

God is good; God is sovereign; and God is in control.  When going through the hardest of situations and the desperate of circumstances, remember that the Lord God Almighty has intentions for turning what the enemy means for harm and cursing into a matter of grace and glory for God!
Job said, "I know my Redeemer lives!" (Job 19:25)
This is a mantra and creed for the Christian faith as we work together, running the race, singing in suffering and enduring to glory!

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." (James 1:2-3)

Much love,

Deeds

I CHOOSE FAITH

"For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith is choosing to believe in something that we cannot see.  We can't see the world spinning on its axis, but we believe it to be true.  We can't even feel it happening around us, although the world is spinning at the breakneck speed of roughly 1000 mph!  We simply have faith in gravity that we won't be catapulted into outerspace.  

Likewise, we cannot see the person of God, but we have faith that He is real.  We may not feel His presence, but we can choose to believe that He is with us.  Often, we can base this faith on what we see God doing, or what He has done for us in the past.  However, there are times when we may struggle because we can't see any evidence of God at work.  That is when we have to CHOOSE TO HAVE FAITH!

I created this colorful, interactive page in my 100 Days of Bible Promises Devotional.  I wanted to graphically demonstrate the spinning world, so I made a stamped and colored world that spins on a paper-fastener-axis.  I used the Send Me stamp set for the world and the arrows.  I then wanted to create a texure-full background of outerspace, so I used all three Texture Tiles sets to randomly stamp the fabric and fiber of the cosmos, and colored them with Jane Davenport Watercolors.  I embossed the word "faith" from the Life in Jesus set, and fashioned a tiny tag with "I choose" stamped inside.  I finished on the page with a tag, washi tape, a date flag, and bow.  

You can see how the whole page came together in the process video on my YouTube channel or using the link below.  

Have faith, my friends!  And when you don't, then choose to have faith anyway!

SEND ME

TEXTURE TILES 3

LIFE IN JESUS

TEXTURE TILES 2

TEXTURE TILES 1

At Your Word

"But at Your word, I will let down the nets." Luke 5:5

Hey all!  Deeds here with a small blog devo. 😁  I channeled all my Sweet n' Sassy goodies for the month of March; all the new releases are shown in this entry including the "Texture Tile" stamps, the "Garden of Grace" printables, and "Go With" stamp set.  I have enjoyed how well all of them harmonize so beautifully on a page!  

||DEVO||

It must have been a bit ridiculous sounding when Jesus (a carpenter) told Peter (an actual fisherman) to try a select "technique" of fishing.  I like to think that Peter would have acted the same way I would have if someone had told me how to do MY job; raise MY kids; hone MY style; enjoy MY hobbies.

Jesus: "Peter, try throwing your net into the water on THAT side."
Peter:  "Lord, ummm, no offense.  I admire you and your skills as a carpenter.  I enjoy hanging out with you, because let's face it, you're fantastically different! But, I'm pretty sure that fishing - as close of a skill as it could be to carpentry - is not something you know anything about.  Maybe leave it to the ones to whom fishing is second nature?"

Jesus: "You'll get fish, I promise."
Peter:  (Chuckles) "Oh, Lord, I appreciate your contribution to my cause.  I'm tired and distraught enough to actually try it your way.  Because you say so, I will throw my nets to THAT side." 

I read a great sermon by C.H. Spurgeon regarding this passage.  He went into great detail about a few things that the simple statement, "At your word, Lord, I will..." carries with it.  

It's not a mere saying; it's not trite, or even stale when Peter says it.  It's huge!  It's actually the attitude of one who even IF he has doubts, he's willing to learn.  Even if he's mildly amused by Jesus' call to trust, he's also curiously drawn into Jesus Himself.  I think that's wonderful.  If we think in any way that we have MORE or even LESS faith than Peter, we don't know Peter very well.  He's prime example of the average person in his or her journey to get to know and love Jesus Christ.

Spurgeon writes that there are 3 implications that come when we say, "At Your word Lord, I will..."  

❶  The Word of Christ is supreme rule of the Christian. When we become Christians, Christ's Word has the overall authoritative position in our hearts.  The way of a Christian is to live according to His word; the position we take in Christ is that of "slave" under a perfect "Master" and "Lord."  We submit to this supreme Authority, and in all we do, live under His Word, which is the Bible. 

❷  The Word of Christ is our sufficient warrant.  Warrant?  For what?  Spurgeon says, "If the Lord Jesus Christ has bidden you do this, you certainly may do it; and if any shall ask you why you believe on Him, this shall be your triumphant answer, 'The King gave me the command to do so.'”
That is fantastic!  The King has given us all liberty to do what He has bid us to do!  I love the thought of being able to proceed with something that I'm called to do, and knowing that with that call comes absolute power and strength from the Lord Himself!  Peter has been told to do something, which then he has the absolute right and expectation of Jesus to go forth AND really catch some fish!  

❸  To keep the Master's Word is to ensure a reward!  The Lord promises reward.  He rewards for those who follow, trust, and act in Him.  If there is any question or doubt as to the legitimacy or certainty of something God is bidding us to do, we have only to remember: doing the Lord's work (whatever ministry we are called to) ensures that one day we will be rewarded for it.  Peter saw reward at that moment following his cast into a lake that he was certain was non-profitable.  We may not see the reward quickly, or in our best estimations, timely.  But know that what the Lord promises, He fulfills.  What does the scripture say?  For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (2 Cor. 1:20)

So, now what?    

As Christians today, we DO have a calling and we CAN DO it in Jesus Christ because He has called us to it.  As tired or as distraught as we may feel, let's not give up, friend!  Don't let the enemy take from you all that Jesus has built up in you to use for His glory!  Believe His Word is supreme authority in your life; remember that we have power because His word is a warrant from a KING; and we WILL be rewarded.  God tells us to continue in faith because our labor (our ministry for the kingdom) is not in vain, and there will be fruit!  

God bless you in YOUR callings!

Deeds (Instagram: @mrcfuldeeds2010, Youtube: mrcfuldeeds)

Pray The Word

Hi friends... I want to share something POWERFUL with you today.

"Pray the Word"... you're asking me, Elizabeth, what exactly does that mean? Before I tell you, lets all agree on 2 things.
1) The Word of God is alive and active - Hebrews 4:12
2) There is power in our words - Proverbs 18:21

Think with me for a moment, what would happen in the spiritual realm if we combine these two truths? If you take an alive, active, and powerful Word of God (Scripture) and you pray it back to God using your powerful words (mouth)... something supernatural happens and God begins to act on your behalf. His Word is not going to return void nor is it going to fall on deaf ears. God LOVES to hear His Word prayed back to Him.

The KEY to answered prayer is to pray according to the will of God and in accordance to His Word.
The way to have a supernatural prayer life is simple... pray the Word of God directly. When we do this we seek to align our words with God's will more fully. Praying in this way is in alignment with God, in the name of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit agrees with you too. I don't know about you but I want all of them on my side when I'm believing for something and need the Lord to work on my behalf. Are you excited yet?

I know you have all been there like I have and had times in you life when you were at a point where you didn't know what to pray or how to pray and the words just wouldn't come. Any time you find your self there remember you can always pray God's Word.

If you have never prayed the Scriptures before it is really easy and rest assured, there are no special skills needed. Praise the Lord for that!! All you need to do is locate a passage that fits your need/desire (google search or ask God to give you one you may already know) and then substitute the pronouns (he or she) with the name of the person you are praying for. You may do this for anyone - yes, that means you too. Use the correct pronoun that represents that person throughout the verse or passage. It's that easy!

For today's post I am praying for my teenage daughter. I am praying for her continued growth in the Lord and that she would flourish as a daughter of the Most High God. I want her to not be swayed by peer pressure, not to succumb to temptation, to be strong and rooted in her faith, and that she would blossom into the woman of God that she is created to be.

I remembered 2 Peter 3:18. "But grow in the grace and knowledge our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
I'm going to use my daughter Zoe's name and illustrate how I prayed this verse over.

Lord Jesus, I pray that my beautiful daughter Zoe would grow in the grace and knowledge of You. I pray that she would flourish as she grows into the godly woman You have called her to be. I also pray that you lead her in all things and that as she acknowledges You, You will guard her heart. Keep her mind pure and alert to the schemes of the enemy. Keep her from temptation and let no evil come to her. And you continue.... You can add more scriptures if you want or pray however your heart leads you.

It's SO powerful ladies!!! God is in agreement with YOUR prayers and He is faithful to His Word to perform it. You should be filled with excitement now!!

So, who is it that the Lord has placed on your heart to pray for? I encourage you to look up scriptures to help you pray for that person and their situation.

Psalm 91 is a passage that you can easily pray and is a great place to begin practicing your new skills. Try it! I promise you will feel empowered as a pray-er (is that even a word?). And just by adding this simple technique to your prayer time you will discover a depth to your prayer life that you never experienced before.

Artist Talk:
I used the simple watercolor 'stomping' technique my friend Colleen showed us and then stamped the tiny word 'grace' randomly all over the page using the same watercolors. You need to make sure that when applying the color to the stamp that it is dry wet and not wet wet like you would use for regular watercoloring. You want more pigment and less water for coloring stamps- especially tiny ones like this. Added some white spatters and then my page elements & finished with the journaling.
I love the watercolor look and used it for the "grow in grace" words as well.

Happy Saturday and may you too "grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus your Lord"!
Elizabeth 💕

Follow me on IG @ icolorinmybible

Check out the Garden of Grace devotional & printable bundle HERE. There are 4 pages of ephemera, washi strips, tabs, a devotional and more. I only used a fraction of the images on my page. Grab it for yourself and play along. 

Find the versatile stamps I used HERE

I'd love to hear your comments or see how you put this prayer technique into practice. Leave me a note or post a picture of your page.

His Grace is sufficient.... and ALL that we need!

Hello everyone! I am so excited to share this page with you today! When I started it I really had no clue where I was going with it, but it's crazy what this page has turned into for me. A good friend of mine has been going through a particularly difficult season in her life and it's had it's ups and downs. She has handled everything so well, but recently has really struggled with the topic of grace! She felt like she wasn't giving herself enough grace and maybe others as well.

So one day I sat down to do something journaling and came across my "Choose Faith" stamp set and the word Grace jumped out at me. So I choose to journal one of my recent favorite bible verses.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. —2 Corinthians 12:9

So how awesome is that?! I mean just think about it! God basically told the apostle Paul,  I am the grace. All the grace you will ever need! So often we exhaust ourselves and try to fix everything on our own. Sometimes it's not until we have reached the end of our rope and we're weak and exhausted, that we seek His help, and His grace. 

The craziest thing about this page is I did all the flowers and the text and I thought it was finished. I thought yep I am loving it, this page is perfect, I'm done! Well, the very next day, I went to a women's conference with a couple friends titled "I am God's Masterpiece" and Nicole Unice was the speaker. And guys..... she talked sooooo much about grace. Like, smack you in the face, you can't possibly miss the points she made! And there was a particular phrase she said that jumped out at me. Nicole said, "Grace is the key to Courage". And I thought, ok God... I got it... my page isn't done yet. When I came home I immediately went upstairs to my craft room and made a sparkly gold key to attach to my page!

Honestly, I have struggled a little bit about what to write to go along with this page because after leaving that conference I felt like I had so much information to share I was a little overwhelmed about where exactly to start. While at the conference I also picked up one of Nicole's new books titled "Brave Enough", which is where she pulled a lot of her material for the conference. So I wanted to share a few excerpts from her book that really spoke to me on the topic of grace, since she can word it so much better than I can, lets me honest! 😄

"Acknowledging that we need grace is admitting that we have weaknesses that we can't fix. It's admitting that there are broken parts in us that are beyond our repair."

"Brave-enough women acknowledge that they've tried to fix themselves and yet that hasn't led to the change they seek. They understand that they need something outside of themselves to tell them who they really are, to actually set them free...... Grace was the key, and grace still is the key."

"God draws us to our failures and then seems to serve the ball into our court, giving us the opportunity to get brave enough to change. And sometimes when all we feel is broken, small, and powerless, God arrives right on time with the strength we need to believe in his powerful love and kindness. Sometimes we need courage to accept grace."

Ok... last quote.. promise 😉

"The difference between people who live free and those who just survive is their understanding of their daily need for God's grace."      - excerpts from "Brave Enough" by Nicole Unice

God said "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." That moment when we feel so overwhelmed and hopeless is the moment you are ready to hear God say, I'm all the grace you need! We need to stop being so hard on ourselves. Trying to be perfect, or trying to create the perfect picture of what we think our life should be. We can't do it all on our own. And it's ok that we aren't perfect! God didn't create us to be perfect or without flaws. His power is made perfect, and complete in our weaknesses!

I used 3 difference stamp sets to complete this page and I have linked them below.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post, and I really hope it has touched your heart and helped remind you that His power is made perfect in our weaknesses. We just have to remember to rest in Him!

xoxo,

Stephanie Gammon

  

Whimsy Bouquet

Choose Faith

Mini Grunge Type Alpha

Share the Good News ♥

Hello Friends! As we prepare for Thanksgiving I wanted to share a page with you that I created from my sermon notes from this past weekend. Our passage was 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

And our pastor asked us, are we living a life that we are identified as sharing our faith, sharing our joy, sharing our hope we have in Christ? That's what sets us apart from others, and God will send people your way specifically for the reason of you being able to share the good news with them. So friends what are we focused on today? Are we focused on the one negative thing that happened today, because the devil is trying to throw us off? Or are we rejoicing with thanksgiving in our hearts the hope we have in our Lord Jesus Christ?

For this page I journaled Psalm 96:1-4

Oh sing to the Lord a new song;

sing to the Lord, all the earth!

 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples!

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

he is to be feared above all gods. 

I decided to keep this page super simple I used 3 colors of pigmented inks I had from past Illustrated faith kits. and I used coordinating Faber-Castell big brush pens to highlight the verses. I used the Choose Faith stamp set for the entire page. I stamped everything in black archival ink first. Then went back and stamped with colored ink to fill in "Faith" "Hope" and "Joy" 

I then added some Illustrated Faith Washi with some cute little acorns on it, wordfetti, and a super cute page marker and I was done! My goal has been lately to keep my pages under 30 minutes, which sometimes can be a huge challenge to me, but this was proof that you can throw a simple page together in under 30 minutes! 

Hope y'all enjoyed my page and have an amazing holiday! Let us remember as we go out this season to live with Thanksgiving in our hearts!

For more inspiration, you can follow me on Instagram @my.creative.worship and Sweet N Sassy @sweetnsassystamps 

Make sure to hashtag us #sweetnsassystamps on FB and IG so we can see how you 've been inspired & inspire us! 

Until next time! God Bless!♥Maria

Grateful for Grace

Hello Friends...

November is the month that we in America think a lot about thanksgiving, but as followers of Christ we of all people should continually have an attitude of gratitude.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

(Psalm 103:2-4)

It is so easy to fall into feelings of discontent and take the many blessings that we have for granted.  We truly do have much for which to be thankful.   

By his grace we are forgiven, healed, saved and loved...

Thank you, Jesus!

I just love the leaves changing and the beautiful colors of fall and used these colors on my page as I contemplated the wonderful grace of God and his many benefits.  Both pages were prepped with clear gesso.  Distress inks were watered down on a craft mat, picked up with a piece of acetate, and smooshed onto the page.  Texture was added by dabbing white gesso through a dot stencil and the whole page was spritzed with Perfect Pearls for a little shimmer.  Two alphabet stamp sets from the Creative Worship Line and two Sweet 'n Sassy stamp sets were used along with some washi tape and alphabet stickers to finish the page.  The leaves were watercolored using the same inks as on the background.

One of the things that Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps is grateful for is...YOU!

We want to pass along some blessings to you as we celebrate our 10th birthday.

We have lots of giveaways and prizes that we are awarding during the month of November.

Click the graphic below to find out all the details and to receive a FREE Printable perfect for Bible Journaling...no purchase necessary!

So ~ think about and count your many blessings...have an attitude of gratitude for all the Lord has given you!

Thanks so much for stopping by...have a blessed day!

Cathy