Got Lemons???

John 16:33

"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world." 

Hey all of you lovely readers! I'm finally back! :)

I took a little break from the blog after having our third precious baby girl. She's almost 2 months old now so things are still pretty crazy, but I missed journaling in my bible and spending time in the word and with this wonderful community. So, I'm easing my way back in slowly :)

Have you ever had a bible verse that just seems to pop up repeatedly during certain times in your life? Well I occasionally do, and John 16:33 has been one of those verses lately. It's almost like God keeps throwing it out there as a reminder for me...."Hey Stephanie, don't forget!" As some of you know, I unexpectedly lost my father back in January. Unexpectedly is an understatement. Receiving that news completely knocked the air out of my chest and the feet out from under me, literally. I couldn't believe it, and honestly, I'm still struggling to believe it almost 5 months later. 

I have never lost someone that close to me before, so learning to cope and heal has been difficult. So needless to say, that was a HUGE lemon I was handed this year, along with a few others. You know know that old saying, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!", well, I'm not really a huge fan of lemonade, so I prefer to add them to my sweet tea! I do live in the Carolinas after all! If you don't love tea, you aren't from around here. :) After my dad passed, I had a few people tell me that something good will come out of this. That's a really hard pill to swallow when you are overwhelmed with grief and honestly, I'm still having trouble seeing what good could possibly come from it. But, I haven't given up.

John 16:33 says:

"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world." 

Right here, Jesus tells it like it is. No sugar coating it. We will have troubles, disappointment, heartbreak and struggles, He promises that. But he encourages us and tells us not to worry, because He has conquered the entire world, and we can be strong and conquer anything the world has to throw at us, through Him and Him alone. Jesus is our rock, and he wants us to lean on him when we are struggling and feel weak. He can restore our strength and build us up stronger than before. Now, I'm FAR from perfect, so I haven't mastered this concept in the slightest. But it does bring me comfort when I'm upset. 

Life has handed me some lemons this year, 

but I'm brewing some sweet tea and I'm throwing those lemons in there

 and trying to make the best of it!!

xoxo,

Stephanie Gammon

IG: faith.and.creativity

Check out the fun stamp sets I used to create this page!

All In All

Life and Lemons

Whimsy Bouquet

Invest...with love

When I get the privilege of spending time with girlfriends, it always blesses my heart. We laugh and talk and pray and encourage. With several of my friends, we spend time creating. Some of my friends, we just open the word together. With others, we share life over a meal. One girlfriend is my mani pedi bestie!

Regardless of what we are doing together, the important part is to encourage each other in our walk with the Lord. 

The apostle Paul was writing to the church in Corinth. As he was wrapping up the letter, he was telling them that when he comes to visit next, he wanted to spend extended time with them. I’m sure that was time that Paul would pour in to them...making disciples.

Paul goes on in 1st Corinthians 16, verse 13 to give them some words of wisdom. “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”

Even though Paul wasn’t physically with them at the moment, he was still building them up. He was giving them words of exhortation.

Life these days keeps us from as much face to face time with each other as we would like, but it only takes a few moments to write a note to a friend. It only takes a quick minute to send a Bible verse and text to brighten someone’s day. 

Investing in others may look different to each of us depending upon the season we are in. The important thing is that we make that time...with love.  

“And do everything with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14

Who might you encourage today to “stand tall” in their faith?



Art behind the story:

My friend Julie was over and we enjoyed the time together crafting, praying, and talking about the Bible verses. The Be a Flamingo stamp set from Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps is definitely a new favorite! As I stamped, watercolored and fussy cut the images, Julie and I had such fun visiting together. The background in done with Distress Oxide and water splatters. I used Texture Tiles 2 to add some visual interest. You can see the detail in the close up photos above and below. The words are stamped with Script Outline Alpha and colored with Derwent Inktense pencils. I used a water brush to activate the color and create the ombré effect in the letters. Lastly, I arranged and glued down all the pieces! 

Hugs,
Gayle (patioponderings)