Christ is Born

Hello, friends & Merry Christmas!!!

2 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³ So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. ⁶ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Let's talk about why we celebrate Christmas.  The true meaning of Christmas is certainly not found in the over-commercialized holiday that every ad on tv throws at you.  It's not Santa.  It's not found in the presents and food.  The true peace and joy of Christmas is not found in anything earthly.  

The true meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ, our Messiah.  The Son of God, who swapped his celestial seat for a meager manger.  So, why was the Savior and King born in a stable?  And why was he placed in the animals' trough?  Certainly, God's Son was worthy of a high-profile birth, surrounded by elegance.  Instead, though, God's Son made His appearance on earth in the lowliest of circumstances.  His humble birth sends an amazing message to us:  The all-knowing, all-powerful God came down to us to meet us where we are.  He didn't come as a pampered, privileged ruler.  Jesus was born to humble parents, in meager surroundings to show that He is approachable, accessible and available to all of us.  He longs for a relationship with us and that is where you will find true hope and joy. 

This is why we celebrate Christmas.  I pray that we all keep Jesus at the center of our hearts and homes, not only at Christmas time, but always.  I pray each of you have a Christ-filled Christmas, no matter what the season looks like for you this year.  I pray you are each safe & healthy and filled with peace.  Amen.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!  

O, Holy Night

Art Deco Alpha

Marker Alpha

Rebecca Script Alpha

 

Good News

 

Hello and Happy Advent, friends! 

Advent means "Coming" in Latin.  We are celebrating the upcoming birth of Jesus, but not only that.  We also should be in hopeful anticipation of His second coming in to this world.

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Oh, the thrill of hope, the shepherds must have felt as they traveled to Bethlehem.  

I don't know about you, but after the year 2020 has been, we could use some hope, huh?  But the truth is, we do!!!  Jesus is coming again!   We should be living with the hopeful anticipation of our Messiah's return.  

To create this page, I used my Cricut to cut out some masks for the shepherds, their flock and the angel.  I blended distress oxides on the page to create the meadow and night sky.  I stamped some grass at the bottom of the page using Scene Silhouettes: Tall Grasses.  I stamped my title with Script Alpha and Mini Grunge Type Alpha.  I added some stars from the Way Maker set and some white paint splatters to finish off the page and to mark my verses.  

Until next time, 

Jill

 

Give Thanks

 Hello and Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

This Thanksgiving will look far different from what many of us are accustom to.  Concern and worry over spreading the virus will keep gatherings smaller and the distance between us greater.  

The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

 It says, "give thanks in ALL circumstances", not just in situations where we are happy or comfortable.  So, no matter what our meal plans end up looking like this year, we are to give thanks.  

Just pause for a moment and tell God a few things you can see around you that you are thankful for in this moment.  As I type, I can see my husband and our sons.  We are all gathered in our living room, doing our own things, but we are together and there is love in this room and for that, I am grateful.  I am thankful for our home and the warmth it is providing on this chilly evening.  I am thankful for this online community that I have met through Bible Journaling and for being apart of this creative team for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  And to make this super relevant for 2020, I'm thankful I got my toilet paper order from Costco sitting by the door, waiting to be put away.  😂

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.  -Charles Dickens

I hope your Thanksgiving is full of just that....giving Thanks to God for His abundance, counting your blessings and at least being able to talk to your family and friends and letting them know how much you love them.  

Page details:

I wanted a simple page that reminded me of fall and harvest time, so I used watercolors to paint this field of wheat.  I stamped my title with my all time favorite alpha from Sweet 'n Sassy. (All of Me Alpha)

I hope you have a Happy & safe Thanksgiving!

Jill

 

What Guides You?

What guides me through life?

That's a question that could be answered a million different ways.  I have certainly used experience to help me determine a course of action.  I regularly seek the advice of family and friends.  I have even allowed social media (or the media in general) to influence my feelings.

While some of these options are certainly better than the latter, my best and most reliable option for guidance is the Word of God.  

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

               Psalms 119:105

The world can be a dark and dangerous place, but the word of God is our light.  The Bible is our compass, meant to guide our steps and teach us how to walk as Christians. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says,

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Let's be guided by the light. 

Crafty details:

I started this page by blending some Distress Oxide inks on the page, being sure to leave a light area where my lantern was going to hang.  I stamped the beautiful lantern from the new Shine Your Light set and painted it with Tarnished Brass Distress paint.  I painted the tree using Distress paint and stamp the leaves with several shades of brown oxide inks.  The leaves, flowers and grasses are all from the Nature Silhouettes set.   I stamped my title with words from the Shine Your Light and Way Maker sets.  I added some paint splatters to finish off the page.

Until next time, catch up with me on Instagram and Facebook @simplyjillsjourney.

Jill

 

 

 

The Time is Now

 Hello, friends!  I want to talk about time today, both the passage of it, how we use it and I want to pose a question to you.  What are you waiting for?

Many people believe they will have time to "get right with the Lord" before they die, but that's not always the case.  We've all heard some version of the saying, "you are not promised tomorrow".  The Bible says it in Proverbs 27:1, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring".  Basically friends, we all have appointments to leave this world and to go on to what is next for us.  We don't know when our time here is up.  Where you go after you leave this world is all dependent upon whether you 1) know and confess that you are a sinner, 2) believe that God sent His Son, Jesus to save us and 3) that He saved us by dying on the cross, redeeming us with His blood.  

Please, if you're not saved, don't put it off another day, for we are truly not promised tomorrow.  The time is now.

Now for the saved, I pose the same question to myself and to you....what are you waiting for?

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:1-2:

Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, 

"In a favorable time, I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you."  

Behold, now is a favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

 

Paul is talking to fellow Christians and urging them to get to work for God.  David Guzik said this in a study guide, "God has an acceptable time for us to work with His grace.  God has a day of salvation that will not last forever. This is no time for Christian lives consumed with ease and comfort and self-focus.  It is time to get busy for the Lord and to be workers together with Him." 

Mmmm, that stepped on my toes and gave me a reality gut punch.  I mean, souls are at stake and what am I doing to save them???  I tend to live a life at ease and comfort and self-focus.  But here's what I've realized, you don't have to be a missionary, traveling to distance lands to save souls.  There are souls all around us, every day that need to hear the good news.  We all have family members or neighbors or co-workers that we could share the gospel with.  The time is now.

Artsy details:

I began this page by stamping the large peony from Encouraging Peonies at the bottom of my page.  I found this beautiful hour glass image online and printed it to a size that would fit nicely on my page and trace it.  I used Old Fashioned Alpha to stamp out my title.  It was beautiful with just the black and white ink detail.  I debated on coloring it, and finally decided I would watercolor the image.  I love how it turned out.

I pray you are safe and well.  Until next time, catch up with me on Instagram and Facebook @simplyjillsjourney. 

Jill

Is Not My Word Like Fire?

Hey friends!  I want to talk about fire this week and how God's Word is like fire, just as He says here in Jeremiah 23:29.

“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord,

“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?"

First, fire purifies and cleanses.  Wildfires clean out the dead and decaying underbrush and trees in forest, allowing for new, healthy plants to take root and grow.  Much the same way, God's word clears the decay out of our lives and makes room for fresh starts and new growth.  Psalm 119:9 says "How can a young man cleanse his way?  By taking heed according to Your word" and in John 15:3, Jesus says, "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you."

Fire also provides light.  Before electricity, homes were lit by candle light and oil lamps.  God's word also lights our paths and drives out darkness. The Bible points us to salvation, which God wants for us all.  Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path."

Fire can also burn.  God's word touches our conscience and burns our hearts when we behave in ways that are displeasing to the Lord.  It allows us to feel what grieves Him.  Does your conscience burn when you read Matthew 5:43-48?  Mine does!  

One of my favorite attributes about fire is that it warms us when we are cold!  There's nothing better than coming in from the cold and being able to warm up by a crackling fire.  God's word does that for us as well.  It encourages us when we are down, it melts our cold hearts when this fallen world attempts to harden them and it warms our souls.  Psalm 34:10 says, "...But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing."

I wanted to do a stained glass look for this page, so I found an image of one online that I liked and used Procreate to roughly trace it, changing up the shape of the flames in several places.  I printed it and traced it in my Illustrating Bible.  I stamped my title and heat embossed the lettering using black embossing powder.  Then I used an embossing pen to trace my lines and used black embossing powder on my image as well.  I colored it in with watercolor and added a white outline to my lettering.  I used a new set, called Old Fashioned Alpha and my favorite, All of Me Alpha to create my title.

Thank you for checking out my post & until next time, catch up with me on Instagram & Facebook @simplyjillsjourney.

Jill

I was so moved this week, listening to "Run to the Father" by Cody Carnes.  

Verse 1
I've carried a burden for too long on my own
I wasn't created to bear it alone
I hear Your invitation to let it all go
I see it now, I'm laying it down
And I know that I need You

Chorus
I run to the Father, I fall into grace
I'm done with the hiding, no reason to wait
My heart needs a surgeon, my soul needs a friend
So I'll run to the Father again and again and again and again
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh

Verse 2
You saw my condition, had a plan from the start
Your Son for redemption, the price for my heart
And I don't have a context for that kind of love
I don't understand, I can't comprehend
All I know is I need You

Chorus
I run to the Father, I fall into grace
I'm done with the hiding, no reason to wait
My heart needs a surgeon, my soul needs a friend
So I'll run to the Father again and again and again and again
Oh-oh, oh-oh…
Again and again and again and again (Oh-oh, oh-oh)
Oh-oh, oh-oh… (Oh-ohh)

Bridge
My heart has been in Your sights
Long before my first breath
Running into Your arms
Is running to life from death
And I feel this rush deep in my chest
Your mercy is calling out
Just as I am You pull me in
And I know I need You now

Chorus
I run to the Father, I fall into grace
I'm done with the hiding, no reason to wait
My heart needs a surgeon, my soul needs a friend
So I'll run to the Father again and again
I run to the Father, I fall into grace
I'm done with the hiding, no reason to wait
And my heart found a surgeon, my soul found a friend
So I'll run to the Father again and again and again and again
Oh-oh, oh-oh…
Again and again and again and again (Oh-oh, oh-oh)
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
Again and again

Oh, what an amazing God we have!  He loves us unconditionally and made a way for all man-kind to be adopted in to the holy family through Jesus.  There is nothing we can do to earn it and we certainly don't deserve it, but He still made a way.  That is grace, my friends!

With the cooler, fall like weather we are having I knew I wanted to journal the lyrics "fall in to grace".  I was lead to these verses in Ephesians 1:

3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. 5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ 10 as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.

11 In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, 12 so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory.

13 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

After reading and meditating on these verses, the imagery in my head was of God's love falling all around us like leaves in the Fall.  That love was then raked up in to a heaping pile of grace by Jesus and all we have to do is fall in to that amazing grace like we used to fall into leaf piles as children.

Artsy Details: 

I started by using destress oxides smooshed on a piece of watercolor paper and drying between colors to create layers and layers of beautiful, fall leafy colors.  I splattered some gold watercolor paint over the top and some brown ink for contrast.

Then I stamped the leaves using Autumn Splendor and heat embossed them with gold embossing powder.

I did not look forward to the next part...I had to fussy cut them all out!  Can I tell you how much I DO NOT like fussy cutting?

I painted my page using acrylic paint.  I went for a golden sunset look that makes fall feel so magical to me. Then I added my title with the new Playful Alpha set and added my leaves falling like God's love and leaf pile of grace.  I just want to jump in it, don't you?

Until next time, catch up with me on Instagram and Facebook @simplyjillsjourney.

Jill