I'm Coming, Lord!

 O You who hear prayer, to You shall all flesh come. Psalm 65:2

Dear Friends,

Wow, what a year this has been, right? So many uncertainties and upheavals have occurred. But, in my life at least, there have been many blessings too- more time with family, rest from work, more time of prayer and Bible study. We live in a world where many do not know our great God. But, one day, as Psalm 65:2 tells us, ALL flesh will come to Him. To those of us who know Him, this verse also reminds us that He hears our prayers. Whatever may be on your mind, friend, tell Him! Come to Him. Rest in Him. Make time in your day for Him. It will change your life!

When I read this verse, I thought, "I'm coming, Lord, I'm coming!" And the good news is is that He is waiting for each of us with open arms.

Page Details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Welcome Home, Vintage Van, All of Me Alpha, Shake It Off Alpha, Texture Tiles 4, Fill Me Up, and Gear Up. I spritzed my page with water first and then applied acrylic paint. As needed, I spritzed more water to blend the colors a little. I stamped the words and scene directly on the page. I want them completely black. So, after stamping, I went over the images with a black marker. I stamped the van on sticker paper so it would stand out. I colored it with alcohol markers.

I hope you have a blessed week! Andrea

Today and Always Be Thankful

I give thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart. Psalm 138:1a

Good morning, Friends!

It's so easy for me to take things for granted! When I read this verse, it brought to mind 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks." There are so many verses in the Bible that tell us to be thankful. And we should be! In general, I'm pretty thankful for the "big" stuff. But, as I said, a lot of times, I take the "small" stuff for granted. So this verse was a great reminder for me to stop and be thankful for the little stuff too....that pumpkin spice latte, the laughter of children, the sunset, running water, a call from a friend...so many things to be thankful for. When I focus on what I'm grateful for, it's easier to be joyful and more content all around. So, that's my focus- taking time to be thankful instead of taking things for granted.

For the page, I used 2 new sets and an oldie but goodie set from Sweet n Sassy Stamps: Incredibly Blessed, Fruits of the Spirit, and Fill Me Up. (I had to get that pumpkin spice latte on the page!)

I used watercolor crayons for the background. I used the banner stamp from Incredibly Blessed to make all 3 banners. I just stamped one end, then the other, and filled in the line with a Micron pen for the longer banners.

What are you thankful for? Have a blessed week! Andrea

Be a Fruit Smoothie!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Hi Friends!

This passage is probably familiar to you. We know that when we become believers, we are instantly indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This fruit of the Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives. As we submit to Him, the Holy Spirit conforms us into His image, making us more like Christ. Of course, we will not be completely rid of our sinful natures here on earth. But, the goal is to progressively allow the Holy Spirit to produce more and more of His fruit in our lives. Through Him, it is possible! So, let's be a fruit smoothie! Blend the fruit throughout our lives and serve it to all we meet. When they see Him in us, they will be drawn to Him.

Page Details: I had such fun with new Sweet n Sassy Stamps set Fruits of the Spirit! There is so much versatility with it as you could use it with any verses talking about fruit or sweetness. I also used the following sets: Skinny Caps, Fill Me Up, and Whimsy Bouquet (the blueberries were a stamp from this set).

To make the smoothie glass, I masked off the top of the coffee cup from the Fill Me Up set. Then I drew in the smoothie line and the straw. I used watercolor crayons to color the page.

Have a blessed week my friends! Andrea

Jesus Chosen

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to Him those He wanted, and they came to Him. He appointed twelve that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. Mark 3:13-15

Sweet Friends,

Today's passage takes us to the time when Jesus chose His twelve disciples. Many were following Him, but He chose twelve out of the many. Peter, James, John, Andrew, and the other eight became "those chosen by Jesus". They probably didn't realize or understand what that meant at the time. But He did.

What a privilege it is to be chosen by Jesus! But, it's not easy. The twelve left their jobs and families and faced persecution. But as they grew to know and love Jesus, they knew He was worth it. They were willing to sacrifice for Him.

Guess what, believers are chosen by Jesus too! In this complicated and sometimes crazy world, it's not easy to be a Jesus follower. But, HE IS WORTH IT! Wear the "Jesus Chosen" identity proudly.

For the page, I used a brand new set from Sweet n Sassy Stamps called Hello My Name Is, available for pre-order. This is such a great set! You don't want to miss it. I also used Skinny Caps and Skinny Lowercase Alphas, and Fill Me Up.

Remember your status, friends. You are Jesus chosen! Have a blessed week! Andrea

My Soul's Satisfied

This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24

Dear Friends, please celebrate with me that our Lord and Savior is risen! I hope you had a joyful Easter resting in Him. For this page I journaled lyrics from Be Thou My Vision by Ascend The Hill. It's based on the hymn. (The lyrics are posted at the bottom of this post.)

The hymn was based on Jeremiah 9:23-24. And because of Jesus, we can know God! We can be in relationship with Him. He can be our everything and our delight! When I think of things that are physically satisfying, I think of cold lemonade on a hot summer day. Jesus is much better than cold lemonade! 😉 Jesus completes us. He satisfies our souls in a way nothing else can. He is the Living Water. Drink Him in!!

For the page, I used the following Sweet n Sassy Stamps sets: Worthy King, Sing Loud, Fill Me Up, Skinny Lowercase Alpha, Rebecca Script Alpha, Chunky Alpha.

For the lemonade glass, I masked off the top of the coffee cup and drew in the straw, ice cubes and lemon. And don't you love all those alphas??!! Alpha stamps are a great option to hand lettering! They are easy to use and many of them look like hand lettering. I love them! I highlighted the letters with a Sharpie White Extra Fine Paint Pen. I colored the page with watercolor crayons. And finished it off with some washi tape.

Be satisfied in our Lord. He loves you!

Blessings, Andrea 

Be Thou My Vision By Ascend The Hill

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, put first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

Oh, God, be my everything, be my delight
Be, Jesus, my glory My soul's satisfied
Oh, God, be my everything, be my delight
Be, Jesus, my glory My soul's satisfied

My Jesus, you satisfy
My Jesus, you satisfy

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven's joys, bright Heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Oh, God, be my everything, be my delight
Be, Jesus, my glory My soul's satisfied

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 

Happy New Year, Sweet 'n Sassy Friends!

Have you ever received an invitation that excited you? A birthday party? A Christmas celebration? A graduation? A marriage? Our Savior has extended an invitation to us that far exceeds any other invitation we will ever receive. Many invitations are beautifully done with poems or pictures and all the pertinent information. Jesus' invitation is just three simple words, but so beautiful are those words: Come to Me. Come to Me when you are weary. Come to Me when you are burdened. Matthew 11:28 speaks specifically about coming to Jesus when we are weary and burdened. But His invitation extends to more: Come to Me when you are happy. Come to Me when you are sad. Come to Me when you are excited. Come to Me when you are disappointed. Come. To. Me. ALWAYS. Dear friends, isn't that a wonderful invitation? And He'll never turn us away. He's always there, waiting to give us rest. Life can be so many things, but Jesus is our resting place.

Sweet Jesus, You are amazing! Human words cannot explain how wonderful You truly are. Help me to remember that You are my resting place; that I can come to You anytime, anywhere. Thank You, Lord, for inviting me to You. There's no place I'd rather be. In Your holy name, I pray. Amen.

For the page, I used a few Sweet 'n Sassy sets: Shake It Off Caps Alpha, Rebecca Script Alpha, Scribble Flowers, Fill Me Up, and Note This.

I pray that you will accept His invitation! May you have a year full of His joy, His peace, His presence, and yes, His rest. Take care, dear friends. Andrea

For the Glory of God

Sweet Friends, in 1 Peter, chapters 1 and 2, Peter tells us that we, as believers, are called to be holy.

"As obedient children, do not be conformed..." 

1 Peter 1:14

"You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood..." 

1 Peter 2:5

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9

What does that mean? God wants us to be different. He wants us to be different for His glory. He wants us to be different so other can look at us and see His Light shining through us. Is it easy to be different? Not for me! I want to fit in. I certainly don't want to stand out. So these verses were a good reminder for me that I am called to be different. And what I may not be able to do in my strength, I can do in His! So I had fun illustrating "being different" with the Fill Me Up set.

I used the coffee cup image as you can see. I personally don't like coffee, but I love sweet tea! And, I had fun turning the coffee cup into a glass of tea. I inked up the stamp, and then took the ink off of the coffee lid so that just the bottom part would stamp. I drew in the straw, ice cubes, lemon and tea line. Isn't it great when you can get more versatility out of your stamps? 

I also used the Seek Him and the His Name sets to make "her trust is in the Lord" stand out. Because that's what it's all about- trusting Him!

Friends, I hope you have a blessed day. I think I'll go and enjoy some tea now! Andrea