Engraved on His Palms

See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; 

your walls are ever before Me.

Isaiah 49:16 

Friends,

Today we are in Isaiah 49 where God is encouraging Israel by telling them He hasn't forgotten them. 

Verse 15 says, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you." What a beautiful illustration- a mother and child. Mothers don't easily forget their children. Where it may still be possible for a human mother to forget her child, it is impossible for our Heavenly Father to forget. These verse were written to Israel. First and foremost, these verses apply to them. But, is it too much a leap of faith for believers, as adopted children, to find application for ourselves? I think not! Our God does not change. (Mal 3:6, Heb 13:8) And because He does not change, His love and attention to His children, whether a child through the bloodline of Jacob or an adopted child through Jesus Christ, would be the same. He knows us. He loves us. And He cannot forget us. Isn't that amazing? The Creator of the universe, the one true King, the Almighty God wants fellowship with us. And even in our sin, He encourages and pursues us. That's not about how great we are. We're wretched. It's all about how great HE is. Thank You, Lord. You never cease to amaze me. All power, and glory and honor to You.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Background Builders: Stripes and Itty Bitty Blossoms. I painted the background with acrylic paints, spritzing the page with water to help the paints blend. I then painted my hand and pressed it to the page. I stamped the flowers on sticker paper, colored them with alcohol markers, and applied them to the page.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Fight the Good Fight

Fight the good fight of the faith. 1 Timothy 6:12a

Hi Friends,

Today we're in 1 Timothy 6 where Paul directed Timothy to "fight the good fight of the faith." What exactly did Paul mean by that? To fight the good fight of faith is to stand firm in Jesus by abiding in His Word, no matter what we may feel or what we think we understand. Our feelings can get us into trouble. Many people say,"Follow your heart." That's the last thing we need to be following! The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful and sick. We don't need to follow our hearts. We need to follow Jesus and stand firm in Him. How do we fight the good fight? Ephesians 6:10-18 is a good place to start.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

We must be strong in the Lord. We can't fight on our own. We need to depend on Him 24/7. We must put on the armor of God. This is the only way to fight for Him. We must believe in His authority and in His promises. As I said earlier, our hearts and our feelings can lead us astray. Feelings aren't truth. God's Word is truth no matter what we may be feeling or think we know. And we must pray. We need to pray for His help, His strength, His wisdom.

Our world is hurting so badly. Some people think the fight is against each other. We need to remember who it's really against. Stand firm. Fight the good fight.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: The Lord's Battle, Send Me, Walk by Faith, Be a Flamingo, Mighty Fortress, and Itty Bitty Blossoms. The Lord's Battle is part of the August release and it's fantastic! Don't ya love the boots??!! I added a flower and heart to these boots. Who says military boots can't be cute? I keep my pages pretty simple most of the time. This was just stamping and using watercolor crayons to add color.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Amazing Grace

"But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." 

Romans 5:20-21

𝆕"Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch; like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed!

The Lord hath promised good to me,

His word my hope secures;

He will my shield and portion be

As long as life endures.

When we've been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we first begun."𝆕

-John Newton

Today's blog post is simple, but full of truth. God's grace is so amazing. Instead of abounding in anger or judgement, God abounds in grace and love. You can't out-sin the grace of God, for where sin is, God's grace abounds even more. 

I used the stamps, watercolors, vellum paper, and embossing powder to create this little entry in my Illustrating Bible. I first stamped flowers from the Itty Bitty Blossoms stamp set in the general area I knew I wanted my phrase to go, then messy colored them with watercolors and splattered a few of the colors over the page. I was originally planning on embossing the Grace so Amazing stamp directly on the page, but then remembered I had vellum paper and thought it would be a great overlay with the flowers in the background so went with it. 🎕 I love how it turned out! This page only took me about 20 minutes to do (the longest part being the embossing because I'm still learning that technique), but gave me time to think on the amazingness of God's grace in my life. ♡

Have a blessed week in the Lord!

Janelle

@journalingjoy

 

Jesus Paid it All

Hello lovlies! Is it beautiful sunny and spring like where you are? .... Not here in Iowa in fact just yesterday morning I looked out and saw snow. I am so ready for spring so today I am sharing a very spring like Bible journaling page using our beautiful new March stamp sets. We have so many beautiful sets in the shop this month hop on over and go have a look! I tried something new...I made my first video! I hope you enjoy it...it's a little rough but I promise to get better! If you enjoy seeing videos shoot me a comment and let me know and I will try to keep them coming.

Hugs and Prayers,
Jenn @creativegurl85

Stamp sets used:

All in All

He is Risen

Itty Bitty Blossoms

God's Word & His Purpose

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

Dear Friends,

I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving! It's hard to believe that it's already the beginning of the Christmas season. I am so thankful for Jesus and His Word. I love these verses that tell us that God's Word does not return void. It will always fulfill the purposes He has for it. Our job is to share His Word. He'll do the rest! I am thankful for the word pictures the Bible often gives us. Here, we are given the picture of rain or snow and how it waters the earth so that plants can flourish. In the same way, God's Word waters our souls so that we can flourish. Yay, God!! 

For my page, I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Crazy About Snowmen, Bitty Minnie Alpha, Itty Bitty Blossoms, and Skinny Caps. I used watercolor crayons and a white brush pen to color. 

It's Black Friday, and Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps is having a great sale!! Don't miss out!

Have a blessed week! Andrea

I Am an Heir

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8:16-17

Hey guys!
I'm hopeful about today.  I have been reminded about the absolute and unfathomable graces of the Lord.  When John talks about it, he says something like "grace upon grace."  That's exactly what God does in the life of one He's called into His family!
When journaling this passage of scripture, I didn't quite know how to express the words or heart of appreciation for my God!  Have you ever had that happen?
God knows how much it truly means to us, because He's positioned Himself as the King of our hearts and Lord of our lives - inside!  Therein lies the Holy Spirit that testifies with our spirit - they literally come together in one accord and unit - that we are children.  BUT IT DOESN'T STOP THERE!

Distress inks used to create subtle and colorful backdrop.

 The scriptures here go on to tell - albeit, rather generally - that once we are children, we are heirs.  Generality in the Bible happens when the human mind and heart cannot completely imagine, describe, or understand the totality of God, His person, His blessings, His character - you name it!  We just can't quite wrap our minds around it!

The good news - the "gospel" - is such that we cannot fully fathom the what's and why's of our salvation in Jesus Christ. 
So, Paul is doing his absolute best, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to help us know what the Lord has revealed to him; and he uses terminology that we "get," at least to some degree!
Here's what we know:
1.  Being heirs with Christ starts when the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit.  In other words, when we have come to the understanding of who Jesus is and accepted Him as such, we are saved by the power of the Holy Spirit and God sees us as a joint-heir with Christ.

Adding "Itty Bitty Blossoms" to
provide a border at the bottom
of the page.

Almost done!

2.  Being a child of God, therefore miraculously entitles us to the inheritence of Jesus Christ!  Jesus is the firstborn of God, the first fruits of the resurrection and the first to receive all that the Father has to give.  But as joint heirs, we are given what Jesus is given - a position as one who will some day be given life in the eternal home with God.  Our destination is secured with God, in Jesus!
3.  Being a joint-heir also positions us as people who suffer with Christ.  The passage clearly points out that though we have eternal glory awaiting us, we do have to remain in the world for a time.  And while in the world, we have hope; the hope of Jesus! The hope of being glorified once our time here is done!

I added white acrylic paint to the bible mat, then
used the brayer to spread it out evenly.

With a thin coat of paint on the mat, the "girl power"
stamp was able to grab a good amount without
getting sloppy.

The acrylic paint gave me a white-stamped
impression on the page.  I did this with several other
"girl power" images.

My heart is overwhelmed by the graciousness and generosity of the Lord.  How can I possibly fathom the inheritance awaiting me in Jesus, when I cannot even fully grasp His riches here on earth?  The Holy Spirit is my connection to Jesus; Jesus is my connection to eternal promise!  Praise Him, I am a child of God!

I usually enjoy the used of a sharpie paint pen to
add small embellishments like crosses across
the page!

I used paper prints to make the clothes of the main "girl power" image
you see here.  I pieced her together and added color to her
face and hair using a simple marker.

If you are a child of God, you are joint-heirs with Christ!  Hopeful, I pray you found this encouraging!
Much Love,
Deeds

Stamps used in this process are:
Girl Power
Itty Bitty Blossoms
& Bitty Minnie Alpha

Be Thou My Vision

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; thine own may I be,
thou in me dwelling and I one with thee.

Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise;
thou mine inheritance, now and always;
thou and thou only first in my heart,
high King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

This ancient Irish poem dates back to the 8th century and was translated in the early 1900's.  I grew up singing it in church and now I sit in thankful worship when I listen to some of the newer renditions of the hymn.  There is so much to love about the hymn. I love the Irish melody, but the words are powerful too.  Sung as a prayer, it simply petitions God to be my everything...to give me eyes to see all that He is and all that He has done.  The lyrics speak of practicing the presence of God, that our best thoughts, words and actions would indicate the devotion we have in our hearts for the High King of heaven.  It describes the intimate relationship between the Father and His child and the promised inheritance we receive as children of heaven's ruler.  

When designing in my Praise Book recently I chose to extract the meaning from the hymn and journal its practical application.  This two-page spread is the result.  I copied the hymn from an old hymn book and adhere to the page then hand drew a frame to finish the edges and added a paper pieced girl from the Girl Power clear stamp set just released this month. The stamped words at the top of the page are from Bitty Minnie Alpha; the glasses are from the Girl Power set.

I created hinged tags to express my interpretive prayers. 

My prayer...

     When I look to my highest GOAL, may that be YOU.

     When I look to my greatest HOPE, may that be YOU.

     When I look to my deepest NEED, may that be YOU.

     When I look to my strongest LOVE, may that be YOU.

     When I look to my surest WAY, may that be YOU.

     When I look to my brightest LIGHT, may that be YOU.

Underneath each tag, I wrote prayers, journaled thoughts and wrote quotes regarding each of the prayer topics.

When God is the Lord of our heart, He will be our vision, our best thought...day or night; He will be our wisdom and the foundation of our truth, He will dwell with us and we will become one with Him just as Christ was one with the Father.  When God is the Lord of our heart, He will be sufficient for any need we have and will give us our promised inheritance when we see Him face to face.  I want God to be my vision, to fill my thoughts, to be the heart of my heart!

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Sets Used (all new May releases)

 Girl Power Clear Stamp Set

Bitty Minnie Alpha Clear Stamp Set

Itty Bitty Blossoms Clear Stamp Set