All to Him I Owe

"Jesus Paid it All, All to Him I Owe"

I grew up singing those familiar words. Yet somehow, they continue to challenge me more and more as I grow older. They remind me what Jesus did for me, and what I should do for Him.

Luke 23:45-47 describes the last moments of Jesus's life and His last words. "...'Father, into Your hands I entrust my spirit.' Saying this He breathed His last."(CSB). Jesus gave His all for me, for the human race. We therefore owe our everything to Him. Our eternal salvation. Our present reality of grace. I owe my life and my love to Jesus. My all! 

As I live my life, and go about my day, I need to keep that in mind. I need to surrender my every thought and desire to Him. That doesn't mean that EVERY word I say has to be about God. But it does mean that I keep Him in the forefront of my mind. As I'm watching shows on Netflix, I should remember what He sacrificed for me. (Ouch--will I still watch the same shows if I remember that?!) It's about keeping Him in mind as I'm shopping, and thinking about the way I spend my money.  As I'm at work, I need to remember that He gave His best for me, and so I do my best at my job, and in my interactions with others. When I wake up in the mornings, I must give Him my first attention, before the emails, the likes on Instagram, or the news in my feed. 

Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. I choose to live my life--my ALL--for Him!

I used several sets for this page in Luke 23 in my Illustrating Bible. I began by creating a background with some distress oxides in Mustard Seed, Tumbled Glass, Cracked Pistachio, Broken China, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, and finally Concord Purple. I laid the color down with a blending took and pads, blended the inks, then sprayed the page with water to activate the oxides in the inks. Then I took each ink and applied some with water directly to the page, either with a wet paint brush, or by smooshing it with some plastic packaging. I also splattered some of the ink. This gave the speckled, textured look.  

I used the cross image from the Victory in Jesus stamp set as the focal point for this page. I stamped the cross in Versafine Black Onyx Ink, and painted it with a combination of watercolors and some distress oxides.  I then stamped the title from the Timeless Hymns set. 

I wanted to add more to emphasize the "all" aspect, so I took three word images from the All in All stamp set: ALL, 100% and all. I wanted these words to be part of the background, so I stamped them in the same colors as the background, but randomly around the margin.  I loved the effect it produced!

I made a tab for the page by stamping the second main image from the Victory in Jesus set. I stamped it in the same Concord Purple because that was the color at the top of the page, and I wanted to continue with that color.  I cut that out with the my tab punch, and then stamped the words "genuine love" from the Genuine Love stamp set. Finally, I stamped some texture with the grid pattern from Texture Tiles 1 set, added some journaling, a date stamp, and a hand-drawn border around the page.  

I pray as we near Easter weekend that you can contemplate the sacrifice Jesus made on your behalf, and the challenge--and invitation--that we are offered.  

Blessings!

Julie

(Affiliate links)

Victory in Jesus

All in All

Timeless Hymns

Genuine Love

A New Command

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Jesus shares this "new command" with His disciples at the last supper.  He has just shared the Passover meal with them, intimately and humbly washed their feet, predicted His betrayal by Judas, and told the disciples of His leaving them, and is about to tell Peter of his denials. Jesus fits this new command among these significant happenings, because the disciples need to be reminded of the purpose of Jesus' ministry, and of what their ministry will be after He leaves.  To show the love of God to the world.  Jesus dying on the Cross for humankind is the greatest demonstration of this love (Romans 5:8). Our job--what He "commands" of us--is to also show love to those around us.  That is how people will know we are His disciples!  That is how they will come to know God's true character.  

I created this sweet and simple page (or maybe I should say "sweet and sassy" page) with the new Genuine Love set, which is part of the March release.  It is full of flower pieces for creating bundles and bouquets, as well as hearts and arrows.  I chose to use the latter elements for this page.  I stamped the words "love one another" down the entire page, darker on the top and lighter on the bottom.  I stamped the heart image three times, plus an extra one on card stock to cut out for my tab on top.  I created an gradient effect by blending lighter and darker pinks in the middle of the stamp.  I used the arrow to point to the specific verse.  I then stamped the title using Typewrite Block Alpha set, which has become my go-to alphabet set!  I added washi tape, and sponged the edges of the page and around the verse.  Finally, I added black splatter paint. Voila!  A sweet and simple page!

Check out all the new stamp sets released this month, but don't forget the amazing sets released previously too!  You can use the links below to find your favorite sets or products.

GENUINE LOVE

TYPEWRITER BLOCK ALPHA

Mutual Encouragement

Hello friends, it's Janelle here! I'm new to the Creative Worship Blog, so I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and share with you all how excited I am to be here with you. I am a Michigan native, married to my high school sweetheart, mom of three boys and a furbaby named Waffles (my boys named her, of course 😉). I have been a Christian for many years, but walked away from the Lord through my teens and twenties until He got a hold of my heart and brought me back to Him. Now, my family and I actively serve in our local church, where I play piano and teach a 2nd and 3rd grade girls' Sunday School class (my weekly girl time!). When I'm not Bible Journaling, I'm reading or hanging out with my family. 

I received a Journaling Bible as a Christmas gift over a year ago and have fallen in love with creatively expressing my relationship with Christ through His Word. I've followed Korin and her Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps ministry for quite awhile and am so blessed to be a part of the team. My prayer is that God will use me to encourage others as I have been encouraged by her and her team this past year. ❤

"That is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine." 

Romans 1:12

The book of Romans is one of the most-studied books of the Bible as it clearly lays out God's plan of salvation for both Jews and Gentiles, but Paul's heartfelt passion for his readers is evident throughout the whole book. Paul opens his letter with salutations and thanksgiving, and in Romans 1:11-12 he articulates how he longs to see his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ so that they "may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." Believers form a special family of brothers and sisters who are provided for by a heavenly Father, and as a family they have the unique ability to encourage and motivate one another to live for Christ. That is something I have experienced first hand in this Bible Journaling Community. We all come from different backgrounds and yet we have been brought together by our love for God and His Word. We are sisters in Christ in God's heavenly family and have a responsibility to God and to each other to uplift and encourage each other in our faith walk.  

My dear sister in Christ, I urge you to take a moment at the start of this busy week to think of one person you could encourage in faith today. Say a prayer, drop a note, send a text, and remind her of God's love and purpose for her in her day today. 

I used the Genuine Love set from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps to create this simple page. I drew a box around the passage I wanted to highlight and taped it off with washi tape. I then stamped all around box with the hearts and flowers. I used Distress Oxides for the flowers and Archival Ink for the hearts.

*Fun fact: I dropped my stamp pad and had a big smudge right in the middle of my text. Not the look I was going for. 😔 To "fix" it, I created a watercolor effect with the stamp ink and turned the smudge into a highlight of my key verse. Girls, isn't that just how God works? He takes the big, ugly smudges right in the middle of our life, softens them around the edges, and uses them to bring Him glory. Praise God! 🙌

Hugs and prayers for you this week, 

Janelle @journalingjoy