Names of God Advent Calendar

 Hello Friends!

I have always enjoyed doing advent calendars with my daughters since they were little. My favorite advent calendars focus on Christ. Last year, I made my first advent calendar using faithdex cards and the names of Jesus. This year, I used the names of Jesus again, but made 2 hanging advent calendars for my daughters. They are 18 & 21 now, and this was a fun craft to make for them. I was shopping and found some clothespins with small wood slices and numbers on them. That's what got me started! I got some burlap bags, found 2 sticks in my yard, and already had the twine. I tied the twine to the sticks so that it hangs down and the bags can be clipped haphazardly to the twine. It was really easy to make! I stamped each bag with a name of Jesus. Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps has some sets of names and that made the stamping go really quickly. See the end of the post for the stamp sets used. I was under a time crunch, so I didn't have time to stamp the verse that goes with each name on the bag. But I plan to add the verses. I filled the bag with little goodies and hope the girls will read the verses each day and soak in who Jesus is. 

Jesus is known by many names. Some of these are characteristics. Some explain who He is. As we study these names of Jesus, we should contemplate how Jesus manifests Himself as each of these in our lives. By studying and understanding these names, we know our Savior better.

Here is the list of names I used:

1. Light of the World, John 8:12
2. Messiah, Daniel 9:25
3. Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9:6
4. Alpha and Omega, Revelation 22:13
5. Bread of Life, John 6:35
6. Creator, Nehemiah 9:6
7. Wonderful Counselor, Isaiah 9:6
8. Deliverer, 2 Samuel 22:2
9. Narrow Gate, Matthew 7:13
10. Everlasting Father, Isaiah 9:6
11. Emmanuel, Isaiah 7:14
12. Faithful & True, Revelation 19:11
13. Good Shepherd, John 10:11&14
14. Redeemer, Job 19:25
15. Yahweh, Isaiah 45:24
16. Lamb of God, John 1:29
17. True Vine, John 15:5
18. King of kings, 1 Timothy 6:15
19. God Almighty, Isaiah 9:6
20. High Tower, Psalm 18:2
21. Savior, Acts 13:23
22. Jehovah, Joel 2:27-28
23. Christ, Matthew 16:16
24. Word of God, John 1:1&14

I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: His Name, I Am, He Is.

Have a blessed Christmas focused on our sweet Savior. 

Andrea

He is the I Am

"God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.' God also said to Moses, 'Say this to the people of Israel: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."

Exodus 3:14-15

I read an article a few weeks ago from Phylicia Masonheimer entitled "The Millennial Gospel: Jesus Tell Me More About Me" and it convicted me to my core. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read it. 

In today's culture, we often look to the Bible and to Jesus to tell us more about us. We interact socially with other Christians we can relate to. Our "story" gets us likes, comments, and shares. We want to be real. We want to show others our struggle. We want to connect with other Christians who get us. And none of that is necessarily bad, but as Phy says,

"(The) millennial gospel spends more time talking about our weakness, our struggle, and our habits than it does about preeminence of God’s character. We know a lot about being relevant; we know a lot about discipleship and church planting and being “real” with one another. But that’s the problem. Our new, Christian “reality” revolves around… us. Jesus is there in name; yes, He’s part of our lives. But the “I Am” of our conversations is more often “I am learning…” and “I am struggling…” than an active acknowledgement of I AM THAT I AM.

It made me stop and think. Is my gospel more about me than it is about the I AM? Am I living with a focus on what I'm going through rather than living with a focus on the I AM? The bottom line is this:

We don’t need Jesus to tell us more about us. We need Jesus. Period.

My story is only effective so long as it points to the I AM. My worship is only holy as long as I am worshipping the I AM. The Lord of Lords. The King of Kings. The Holy God. I don't need Him to tell me more about me, I need to learn more about Him. 🙌

The article convicted and challenged my heart. I want my life to continually point to my God as the I Am. Don't you?

Page Details

This page actually came together over several days. I stamped the Encouraging Peonies on vellum and colored them with colored pencils. I used gelatos as the page background. Gelatos are not a medium I'm very comfortable with, so I am trying to get better! I gessoed the page with two layers of gesso, then rubbed the gelatos over the page using a baby wipe. I splattered the page with some watered down white acrylic paint. I used the Psalm 23 background stamp set to add a little depth and dimension to the background. I then fussy cut the flowers and used a clear tape runner to adhere them to the page. I used the He Is and I Am stamp sets for the page title, and last but not least, I journaled my prayer on a piece of scrap vellum. 

Here are the stamp sets used:

 

 

Much love in Christ, 

Janelle

@journalingjoy

Star Light, Star Bright

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:10-11

Merry Christmas, Friends!

I hope your Christmas was filled with Christ. Before Christmas day this year, many of us were looking up into the night sky to see the "Christmas star." Jupiter and Saturn aligned which produced what looked to us as a bright star. While this alignment of planets was beautiful, I don't think it was anything like the star of Bethlehem. There are many theories as to what that star was- a meteor, a comet, a nova or supernova, or an alignment of planets. That's the most likely scientific explanation. In fact, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn did indeed align in 6 BC. We humans seem to want a scientific explanation. Something that backs up what the Bible says. And there's nothing inherently wrong with that. It's cool when we find scientific evidence that backs up what the Bible says. But here's the thing-

GOD DOESN'T NEED SCIENCE TO BACK HIM UP! Our God is so amazing that He can make nature do anything He wants. This is the Creator God who created everything out of nothing. Creating one star would have been nothing to Him. And, He's a God of miracles. By definition, miracles defy scientific explanation. Sure, He could have used the alignment of planets to guide the wise men. But He could have just as easily created a special star for the specific purpose of guiding them to the King of kings, the Light of the world. No, I don't believe that star was a rare, natural occurrence. I believe that star was a one-time-only, supernatural miracle created by our great God to guide the wise men to His Son.

Hubert J. Bernhard was a lecturer at the San Francisco Morrison Planetarium in the 1960s who spoke on the star of Bethlehem. Near the end of his lecture, he said this, "If you accept the story told in the Bible as the literal truth, then the Christmas Star could not have been a natural apparition. Its movements in the sky and its ability to stand above and mark a single building; these would indicate that it was not a normal phenomenon, but a supernatural sign. One given from on high and one that science will never be able to explain."

Page Details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: I AM, Shine Your Light, Marker Alpha, and the baby Jesus is from a retired Christmas set. I started the page by stamping baby Jesus. Then I drew the star and the stained glass lines. I used distress oxides to color the background. I used washi tape to mask each stained glass area and then used a sponge dauber to apply the inks. After the background was colored, I stamped the words. I stamped "star" onto sticker paper to make it stand out a little. I also stamped "light" on sticker paper and cut out the letters to make it stand out for "Light of the world." I used a white pen to accent "light" and "world" as well. It was a fun page to do while meditating on Christ's birth.

As we move into the New Year, I pray that we may be like the wise men- focused on Jesus and worshiping Him each and every day. Let Him be your Light!

Have a blessed week! Andrea

There is No Other

 Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:22

Hi Friends!

Today we are in Isaiah 45 where through Isaiah, God pleads for the earth to turn to Him for salvation. As we begin celebrating our Savior's birth, let's focus on why He came. His purpose in becoming man was to lead a sinless life and sacrifice Himself so that we might be redeemed. He came solely to save us. Jesus didn't have to leave heaven. He didn't have to become human. He didn't have to leave His glory. He chose to because He loves us that much. Let me say that again- HE CHOSE to leave His rightful place with the Father to become what He had created just so He could save us. Imagine that love. So when God called the earth to salvation, He knew that salvation would be found in Jesus. When He said repeatedly that He is God and there is no other, He means that He is the only God, the true God, and there is no one like Him. And Jesus is Him incarnate. Jesus is the only God, the one true God. He is the way to the Father.

Page Details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: I Am, All in All, and Marker Alpha. I had fun with this background! I colored the page with watercolor crayons. I just randomly colored different sections with different colors. Then I spritzed the page with water, and began painting over the colors with a wet brush. After the paint dried, I took a stencil and with a baby wipe, I wiped away some of the paint through the stencil. That's how I got the dots. Then I used another stencil and embossing paste to add more accents to the page. It was fun doing something different with my watercolor crayons. :) 

 Have a blessed week! Andrea

The Vine and the Gardener...

Hi friends,

In John 15, in the middle of Jesus' farewell discourse at his last meal with his disciples before his death, he describes his relationship with his Heavenly Father and with his disciples using several images. One of them is that of a vine and branches. This extended metaphor shows how we are a part of Christ and how we draw our source of life from him. When Jesus says 'I am the true vine' he is claiming to fulfil what Israel was meant to have been. Israel is referred to as a vine in the Old Testament, but it failed in its purpose as it grew wild and sick, and was eventually destroyed by other nations. Jesus reframes this image around himself (as with so many other images he uses as he teaches).

If Jesus is the true vine and we are the branches bearing leaves and fruit, then the Father is the gardener. As the gardener, he cuts away branches that don't bear fruit, and prunes those that do so that they will produce even more. This is both an encouraging and sobering truth. Our Heavenly Father will remove branches of his true vine that show they are no longer drawing life from the vine - they have become unfruitful and therefore unnecessary. When Jesus spoke these words they could have applied to those Pharisees and Sadducees who refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, the source of life, and therefore were not bearing fruit. Today, this could apply to those who claim to be part of the vine but who are not bearing fruit because their connection to the source has dried up. It is the Father's right to tend and care for the vine, and he does so with infinite wisdom. He doesn't just lop off branches carelessly - he knows which branches need careful tending and which ones just need to go.

What I find interesting is that along with cutting off branches that don't bear fruit, the Father prunes the ones that do - which means cutting bits from them. So either way, cutting is involved! Sometimes God cuts things from our lives or ministries which feel painful, and we feel empty or bare as a result. But in these seasons we need to know that God the Father does this for the good of the vine. We are still connected, so we are still drawing life from Jesus, and the cutting away he does in our lives will actually lead to more fruit in the future. So if you feel the painful snip of God's pruning in your life, be encouraged.... there is greater fruit coming. 

On this page in my Illustrating Bible, I painted a background with acrylic paints, then stamped the leaves from Give Thanks over the top with Stazon brown ink, colouring with coloured pencils (if you are colouring over darker backgrounds, you can add a layer of white pencil first, then add colour over the top). The verse was stamped with a combination of I Am, School Days Alpha, Rebecca Script Alpha and Mini Grunge Type Alpha. I added a couple of butterfly stickers and some washi tape down the side to finish. Here are the sets I used:

Let's be encouraged as we see our Heavenly Father at work as the gardener and choose to keep drawing our life from the vine, Jesus Christ.

Be blessed...

x Amy x

I Am the Bread of Life

 "And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." - John 6:35

I am thoroughly enjoying my study of the "I AM" statements of Jesus in John 6. This chapter is a long chapter (71 verses!), but so rich in teaching, instruction, and truth. To top it off, my pastor's wife has been teaching a Sunday School series entitled "The Lord's Prayer" which ties Matthew 6 ("Give us this day our daily bread") in with John 6 ("I am the bread of life"). Plus, I received an email from one of my Christian blogs this week with a sermon on this very topic. I love it when God does that! 😊

There is so much rich and powerful symbolism in these verses that I'm afraid I can only brush the surface. I highly encourage you to read John 6:22-59 for the full story and spend some time studying these truths on your own. It's far deeper than I ever realized! With that said, I'm going to take just a few minutes to share what I have learned and am learning from the commentaries I've studied, the teachers I've listened to, and of course, the unfailing Word of God.

The "I Am the Bread of Life" statement is the first of the "I AM" statements of Jesus. In this statement, Jesus is saying that anyone who comes to Him "to obtain what the soul craves, and as the only all-sufficient and ordained source of supply shall have conscious and abiding satisfaction" (Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown Commentary). Jesus is the bread that sustains your life and mine - not just physically, but spiritually as well.  

Friends, you and I were created with a deep spiritual need to know our Creator. God created me hungry. But my hunger goes far deeper than my physical need - it is a deep, emotional, spiritual need. It's a need that only the One who created me can fulfill. In these verses, Jesus is showing us the difference between physical fullness and spiritual fullness. The people in John 6 came back to Jesus because he had performed a miracle and met their physical needs (Jesus feeds the five thousand, verses 1-14), but Jesus wanted them to know that He offers so much more than that! He can satisfy not only their physical needs, but their spiritual needs as well. 

Only those who believe on Jesus will find their deepest hunger satisfied.

Jesus uses the example of manna in the wilderness to make His point. The Israelites were obviously very familiar with this story - their ancestors had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, but God sustained them by providing manna daily. The manna couldn't be gathered and stored for future use. No, it had to be used that day or by the end of the day it would rot. Thus the Israelites learned to rely on God for their food daily (verses 30-35). 

"Christ is bread to the soul which bread is to the body, nourishes and supports the spiritual life as the bread does the physical life."
- Matthew Henry Commentary

It was Jesus who taught us how to pray: Lord, give us this day our daily bread (Matt 6:11). He took the physical illustration of the daily manna in the wilderness and gave you and I the spiritual application. He alone is the eternal food for my soul. He alone can satisfy my deepest hunger. In Jesus' answer to the people, he lifted their eyes from their physical need to their spiritual reality. The truth is:

You can have a full stomach but an empty life.

So often we live empty. We have everything we could possibly need, but we are still empty. When we are living empty, it's because we're not being filled with the right things. That's when Jesus beckons you to come to His table and be filled. You say, "yeah, but how?!" (This is where my Sunday School lessons come in handy 😉 my pastor's wife always has the YBH - yeah, but how do I apply this to my life?) 

Let's be real here - life has a tendency to empty us of God's goodness. We may start our day filled, but little by little, bit by bit, we pour out until there is nothing left. We are living empty. When we live life empty, we live filled with frustration and anger. God says to come to His table and be filled. Go to Him in prayer, get in His Word, and speak truth. In all of life's "emptying" moments, make these two statements:

1. Lord, how can I glorify You in this moment?
2. Thank you, Lord, for what you are going to do. (state your faith) 

"For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." - Psalm 107:9

Let the empty hungering be the catalyst for God to work in you and through you. There is a filling up that happens when you speak the truth according to God's Word and focus on what you do have as opposed to what you don't have. Jesus knows your hunger, He understands your emptiness - that's why He gave you the truth  of John 6. He is the spiritual food that will give eternal satisfaction, and is the only source for the consistent peace you need in the emptying moments of life. 

Page Details

I knew I wanted to draw a loaf of bread, but I'm not incredibly artistic so I needed help. I just Googled how to draw and easy loaf of bread and found a quick, two minute YouTube video (seriously, any one could do it!). I then stamped my titles using the I Am and Bitty Minnie Alpha stamp sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, watercolored the loaf of bread using my favorite Prima Marketing Pastel Dreams watercolor paints, and added some grey shadowing. 

(The blue spots are bleed-over from the page next to this one. I'm a messy journaler, what can I say? 🤷😉)

  

May you be filled with the Bread of Life this week, 

Janelle

@journalingjoy

The Good Shepherd

 I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. John 10:11

Hi Friends!

We're in John 10 today where we find the fourth "I am" statement of Jesus. He made seven in total. Each of them points to His divine nature and purpose. In describing Himself as the Good Shepherd, Jesus was stating that He is both innately good and a protector and nurturer to His people. And, as He went on to say, He was willing to die for His people, for all people.

That never fails to amaze me- what our Savior was willing to do for us. We can take it for granted. But, think about it. The Creator of the universe WILLINGLY died a horrible death so that we could be redeemed. And He did it knowing every sin that we have and will ever commit. At any time, He could have stopped the whole process. He wasn't helpless even on that cross. If He had wanted to, He could have easily gotten Himself down. But for our sake, He stayed there and paid the price for our sins. WOW. So incredibly amazing. It's amazing to me that He was willing to become what He had created. That He was willing to leave His rightful glory. We can't fully comprehend the love He has for us. And through these "I am" statements, He tried to give us a glimpse of Himself and of His love. I am so very thankful for Jesus.

We live in a complicated and hurting world. And, yet, Jesus is still the Good Shepherd. He will protect, guide, and nurture us if only we turn to Him. He's waiting with open arms.

Page Details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: I Am and The Shepherd's Voice. I started the page by tearing paper. I placed the paper on the Bible page and used a sponge dauber to apply distress oxide ink to the page. I started on the torn paper and moved the color up onto the page to mimic the sky and hills, and finally a field. I then stamped the shepherd onto sticker paper. I colored him in with Prismacolor pencils and applied Gamisol over the colored pencils. Gamisol is a mineral spirits that smooths out the pencil lines. Then I stamped Jesus' quote. The new I Am set is fabulous! I will be using it a lot.

Rest in our Good Shepherd, friends. Have a blessed week. Andrea

The Light of the World

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

John 8:12

One of my favorite vacations when I was young was an epic family road trip from Michigan to Tennessee. We had one of those giant blue Econoline vans (you know, the kind with the blue velvet seats and little black and white box t.v. in the middle console and the ladder up the back of the van 😉), and spent the better part of two weeks driving through the mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky. We slept in the van most of the time and went on adventure after adventure. It was honestly the best time together as a family and one of my favorite family memories.

One of our stops on the epic road trip was a cave tour in Kentucky. It was beautiful and fascinating. I will never forget following the guides into the depths of the cave. Once we were deep in the cave, our group stopped and the guides gave some details about the cave and then they told us they were going to turn out the lights. They wanted to show us how dark the cave would be in the absence of all light. Then they switched off the floodlights and the cave was plunged into darkness. This was a darkness I had never experienced before. 

I waved my hand in front of my face. I could feel it there, but I couldn't see it. I couldn't even see a shape or a shadow. 

I couldn't see my mom sitting right next to me. 

I couldn't see my dad standing a couple feet away.

I couldn't see anything. 

The darkness closed in all around me, like a dark, oppressive cloak. My mind raced. What if the lights didn't come back on? What if something happened and we were stuck in the cave in the dark forever? I started to panic. 

And then the lights came back on. 

It was only for a moment, but the darkness had consumed me. There was not even a glimmer of light in the depths of that cave - only complete and utter darkness. 

My friends, that is the perfect example of a world without Christ. Without Christ, we would live in complete and utter darkness. We would be consumed by the dark. We would stumble around life not seeing anything in front of us or beside us. Lost. 

But Jesus. 

He is the Light. He pierces through the darkness of this world and brings light to all those who follow Him. 

What a dungeon the world would be without the sun! 

So would it be without Christ by whom light came into the world! 

Matthew Henry has this to say: 

It's not enough just to see the light, we must follow it. It's the happiness of those who follow Christ that they should not walk in darkness. They shall not be left destitute of those instructions in the way of truth which are necessary to keep them from destroying error. They shall have the light of life, that knowledge and enjoyment of God which will be to them the light of spiritual life in this world and of everlasting life in the other world, where there will be no death or darkness. 

So often, we choose to walk in darkness rather than light. 

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil."

John 3:19

We choose to stay in the dark rather than follow the light because we are comfortable in the dark - we like our sin and our status quo. Don't shut your eyes to the Light. Let the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ push back the dark and follow in His truth today.💜

The "I AM" Statements of Jesus

Jesus' emphatic "I Am" statement in John 8:12 is one of seven such statements in the book of John. In the book of Exodus, the mighty God of the universe calls Himself I AM to His servant Moses. Jesus completes the statement given to Moses in Exodus. He is the Light of the World and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). 

This month, I'm studying all seven of the "I Am" statements:

• "I am the bread of life."
• "I am the light of the world."
• "I am the door of the sheep."
• "I am the resurrection and the life."
• "I am the good shepherd."
• "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
• "I am the true vine." 

  

I would love to encourage you to do a study on the "I Ams" as well. There is so much to be learned from these passages of Scripture and I'm looking forward to what God will teach me in these next few weeks. Connect with me on Facebook or Instagram and we can compare notes. 😉

Page Details

This page didn't turn out anything like it thought it would, to be honest. I was going for a watercolor galaxy feel, but I prepped my page with gesso so it wouldn't bleed through to the art I had on the back side of the page and the watercolors reacted differently to the page. It ended up turning into more of a mess of purple and pink colors. 🤣 Plus, the watercolors leaked under the verses I had masked off. 🤦Still, I splattered the page with some metallic and glitter paint, drew some stars, used some texture stamps and called it a win. I've been journaling for 2.5 years now and I'm still learning as I go along. It goes to show you that even though a page doesn't turn out how you thought it would, it can be a fun learning process. Spending time with the Lord is what truly matters. 💗

I used a three different stamp sets (I Am, Texture Tiles 1, and Faith Wordfetti), watercolors, and a white uni-ball gel pen for this page. 

  

Love in Christ, 

Janelle

@journalingjoy