God Already Knows

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

Hi Friends!

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

Here are the lyrics:

Everything around me seems uncertain

My weary heart can't take much more surprise

I wish there was a point on the horizon

Something I could see with my own eyes

I need to tell You that I'm scared

I feel completely unprepared

And nothing's what it was two weeks ago

But You already know

You already know

Everything I'm scared of

Everything I hope

You hold my tomorrow

And all tomorrow holds

You already know

I can't seem to find the easy answers

Someday, I hope the suffering makes sense

I just need to know that You are with me

Even if You keep me in suspense

We talk so much these days

Because I have so much to say

You stay and listen to me closely even though

You already know

You already know

Everything I'm scared of

Everything I hope

You hold my tomorrow

And all tomorrow holds

You already know

Whatever I'm feeling

Whatever is coming

Whenever the ending

You're already there

You go before me

You go behind me

Wherever I'm going

You're already there

You already know

You already know

Everything I'm scared of

Everything I hope

You hold my tomorrow

And all tomorrow holds

You already know

You already know

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

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

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

Salvation and Righteousness

You heavens above, rain down My righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it. Isaiah 45:8

Hi Friends,

In chapter 45, God through Isaiah tells the people that He will return the Jewish people to the Promised Land from the Babylonian exile through Cyrus. God makes it clear in verses 1-8 that God is in complete control. It's not by Cyrus' power or because of him that the Jewish people are restored. It is by God's power and because of Him. He, and He alone, is sovereign.

I just love the word pictures in this verse 8! God, of course, created the heavens and the earth. He can make it rain literally, in the natural sense, but He can also rain down on us in a spiritual sense. When He rains down His righteousness, the only response is salvation! Again, God is telling the people, their restoration is from Him, and Him alone.

There is a lesson in this verse for us as well. Our restoration is also only found in Him. Righteousness and salvation are tied together. God sent Jesus, our Righteousness and Salvation. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we receive salvation and He clothes us in His righteousness. Just think about that- God rained Jesus on this world, on me, on you. Because of that, salvation sprung up in me when I accepted Jesus. But, not only that, righteousness also grows in me because of Jesus. And the same is true for any of us who accept Jesus. WOW! WOW! WOW! We serve such an awesome God!

Page Details:
I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Delightful Daisies, Armor of God, Women of Praise, Refresh My Soul, & Sweet & Simple Alpha. I used Salty Ocean Distress Oxide for the background. I applied the ink with a sponge dauber. I stamped the daisy on an address label and colored it with alcohol markers. Then I cut it out and stuck it to the page. I did this as alcohol markers will bleed through Bible pages, and that way it would look crisp against my blue background. I finished the page by highlighting "up" and "flourish" with a white pen.

 

Have a blessed week, my friends! Andrea

Speak faithfully...

Hi friends,

It is an enormous privilege to have access to the Word of God. There are so many people around the world that either can't afford a bible, aren't allowed a bible, or don't have a the bible translated into their own language. The access we in first world nations have to Scripture is astonishing.

With that access comes several responsibilities though. Firstly, we need to not take this access for granted and should seek to study God's Word diligently and carefully, following the leading of the Holy Spirit as he directs us as to how we need to apply his words to our lives.

The  other responsibility we have is to share God's Word faithfully with others. There are so many ways we can do this, whether in conversations with friends, in sharing the good news of the Gospel, or in preaching and teaching. One way of sharing that has increased hugely in the last few years is through social media, and for us in particular, through Bible Journaling.

One of the things that I have been thinking about in my own art and sharing of the Word is how I do that faithfully. For me, faithfulness to Scripture means studying diligently, learning from others, speaking and listening with humility, and embracing the whole counsel of God. That means engaging with the harder-to-understand or difficult-to-hear texts and not just sticking with the ones that make us or others feel nice. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that ALL scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness. So as we engage with, journal, illustrate and speak God's Word, we need to explore both the Old and New Testaments, gospel and history, Psalms and prophets, encouragement and rebuke. And in all of this, we need to look for and to Jesus, who said that the Scriptures testify to him (Luke 24:27; John 5:39).

I tried the 'no-line watercolour' technique on this page using the beautiful new Delightful Daisies set. To achieve this look, you stamp the outline images using a light ink (I used Versamagic Sage) then using watercolour, add colour and shading to the flower centres and each petal. It does take a while, but it's a great way to practice colouring skills! The verse is a combination of alpha stickers along with His Name and Bitty Minnie Alpha (my favourite alphabet set!).

Let's be grateful for the access we have to the Word of God and take seriously our responsibility to share it faithfully...

x Amy x

My Redeemer Lives!

Hi friends,

The book of Job is a difficult one for many to read and meditate on, considering how much pain, suffering and questioning is present for the majority of the book. Many times Job cries out to God in anguish asking for answers, then complains at the silence he receives in return. When reading this it feels to me as if Job is despairing at God's seeming lack of care or answer to his cries. But in amongst all this pain, Job makes an astonishing statement of faith: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth." (Job 19:25)

Interestingly, his words immediately before this declaration are, "Oh that my words were written! Oh they they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!" Little did Job know at the time of him uttering these words that his prayer would be answered, and thousands of years later we would have his words in front of us, in a book, available forever. When I think about Job's prayers and declaration of faith in God, even in the middle of all of the pain and suffering he was facing, I am encouraged when it comes to our own situations.

You see, even when it feels completely dark and terribly lonely, and questions swirl around our hearts and minds unanswered, we can know that God hears our prayers and he will answer. This knowledge can stir our hearts to declare in faith what we believe to be true about God, even if our circumstances don't appear to line up right at that very moment.

As we approach the Easter weekend and contemplate both the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can hold on to this truth from Job's lips and inscribed in Scripture forever: we know that our Redeemer lives! Even when it's dark, even when it seems like evil has the upper hand, even when we feel alone, neglected or in pain: our Redeemer lives! And as our Redeemer, he will redeem ALL things in his way and in his time - in his infinite power and love. 

I had a lot of fun with acrylic paints on this page. I started with a background of different coloured paints thinly applied and blended together with a flat paintbrush. I then stamped the daisies from the new Delightful Daisies set, masking the larger image that I stamped first, then stamping others overlapping it so that when I removed the mask, it looked like the flowers were behind and in front of one another. I then added some green paint around the daisy images, blending that into the background. Finally, I added a bit of extra shading and highlights using some coloured pencils. The verse was stamped using a combination of alphabet stickers and His Name (which is such a fabulously useful Bible journaling set!).

Here are the sets I used:

Let's declare the good news of our risen Redeemer in all circumstances...

x Amy x