Train Well

Picture this: you are standing at the starting line on race day. You have been properly fueled and hydrated and you are dressed well to run your race. The buzz sounds signaling the start of the race and you realize that despite all the excitement surrounding this day there was one vitally important thing that you forgot: training.

Jumping into a race can be a lot of fun, provided that you are prepared for what you are about to experience. Yes, there are plenty of people who run just for the fun of it and don’t bother to prepare, but that is not realistic and honestly, not the safest thing to do. Races are exhilarating, but they are also strenuous on your mind and on your body. And if you are not physically prepared for what you about to embark on, the results could be detrimental.

Spiritually, it’s the same idea. Scripture tells us that we are all in a race. So, as believers, whether we want to run or not, is not really the question. We will be running. But how well we run depends on how well we have trained. My third racing tip for you is this: Train Well (if you missed the first two, Stay Hydrated and Wear the Right Clothes, I encourage you to go read those as well). 

The key to training well is to progress slowly and to include variety. You first must walk, then run. You need to strength train. You have to cross-train. Everything together is what makes you a stronger runner. But don’t set out to do it all at once. Excel in one thing and then add another. Learn how to squat well and then add weight. When your legs are strong, add cycling. See what I mean? When you attempt to undertake it all at the same time, you are going to burn out and risk injury. Step by step. Strengthen your muscles and add variety. Spiritually discipline yourself. Learn to pray. Be consistent with reading your Bible.  Learn the Shepherd’s voice and how to follow it. Get involved with a local church. 

Then serve.

Then teach Sunday school.

Then head up the hospitality committee.

Don’t get ahead of yourself and try to prove how good of a Christian you are to someone else. Satan wants you to fail. Satan wants you to get so burned out with your Christian walk that you give up on doing it all. He wants believers to get so frustrated with the basics of Christianity that they give up and quit growing. And he is very good at what he does. All it takes is a simple look around you, sometimes within your own family, to see how successful he is. Don’t let him win. Train yourself well. Slowly. Progressively. Permanently. 

I love how 2 Peter 1:5-10 explains it, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm our calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” 

The apostle Peter knew that all these qualities were necessary for a believer to be effective. They were the results of faith. The results of a desire to live a life of holiness. But he also knew that it wasn’t something that was going to happen overnight. First, he said add to your faith, virtue. Then knowledge. Then self-control, etc. Over time, all these qualities would work together and become second nature to the believer. They would naturally overflow in their life. Pursuing each of those things kept them strong, kept them alert, kept them growing as believers ought to grow. Once they were proficient in one thing, they could seek to add another. It was all part of a building block system meant to keep their spiritual fruit growing. 

Part of growth also means adding variety to your routine. Squatting body weight is fine for a while, but eventually your muscles get used to it and it loses effectiveness. So what do you do? You add weight. It places new demands on the same muscles, which in turn, makes them get stronger. Running is great cardiovascular exercise. But it only uses certain muscles. What about all the others that need training? Cycling, HIIT training, Kickboxing, all those things will target muscles that running won’t. Variety is key in growth. Getting stuck in a pattern of comfortable is not only boring, it can limit growth opportunities. 

As believers we can only be satisfied with milk for so long. Over and over in the New Testament you hear warnings of being immature in the faith (1 Corinthians 3:2, Hebrews 5:12, 1 Peter 2:2). Our bodies were meant to grow. Spiritually, we were meant to grow and produce fruit. But to grow, we have to get out of what is comfortable and do hard things. We have to take the basics that we know and are proficient in and add to it. We have to go through trials in order to produce perseverance (James 1:3). We need to suffer persecution in order to know how to defend our faith. Maybe we have to teach children’s choir in order to learn a lesson in patience. Maybe we have to live through a worldwide pandemic in order to learn how to genuinely care about people. Hard things are meant to make you grow. I’ve heard it said that 90% of fitness is mental and only 10% is physical. It’s all about perspective. You can do hard things. Set your mind on things above and pursue it with everything in you. 

Training in righteousness is a progression. It doesn’t happen overnight. But training well means we are focused. We are determined. We are growing as we ought to be growing and are producing fruit that is definitive of the believer. As we get proficient in the basics, we learn something new. We safely train our muscles to handle more strenuous activity. And when we are strong and equipped well, then we can run well. 

We’re hydrated. We’re dressed. We’re trained. There’s only one thing left to do, and that’s run.

Have a great weekend, friends!

Jennifer

IG: @lifeintherace

Crafty Details

A few weeks ago, after receiving some new watercolor paints, I made a set of journaling cards just so I could play with my colors. For this project, I grabbed one of those cards and stamped the Grow in Grace mini stamp with my MISTI. I then added some texture to the background with Texture Tiles 1 in Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade distress oxides. I colored in the flower with my Prismacolor pencils and wrote out 2 Peter 1:5-7 on the back. I clipped the card into my study Bible (which I don't usually do) but wanted it there as a reminder that in order to grow in grace, we have to be diligent to pursue the Godly characteristics listed. 

Showing Grace

"Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."
(Phil. 1:2)

Hello, sweet friends.

Have you seen the news?  Have you been hearing?  Can you see and believe all the damage that happens when a life has ended abruptly, suddenly, without warning, without understanding?

We hear of tragedy and displacement of people who may or may not have known the Lord.  We encounter people one day, sometimes to find out such an encounter was the last.  And...

Suddenly, we feel it.  

Small.

Fragile. 

Temporary.

Vulnerable.

Mortal.

"Famous" and "non-famous" alike, lives around us fall; we lose the presence of someone who impacted us, or possibly had no bearing on our lives at all until the moment we found out they passed…
Not a big fan of basketball myself, I was still struck with sorrow upon hearing about Kobi Bryant.  That's how much a death can impact someone.  

When life seems to take us on an unexpected and unwanted journey of loss and sorrow, an element of time comes to play.  Questions of how we're using our time - what our time goes to; how we allocate and divvy it up between tasks and checklists, vacations and sabbaths, investments and relationships - launch themselves forward from what used to be a less conscientious platform.  

We may even realize that though we make plans and stake plans, something bigger and more powerful than our strongest efforts is truly in control; a Higher Up is moving; Someone else's plans are unfolding.  To this, the Bible helps us:

"A person's heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)

 Things that happen around us shape us, change us, cause our trajectory to shift - and so it should!  The reality of our finite-ness should turn our trivial pursuits into deep searches for something more; something bigger; something permanent and less fleeting!

 Jesus.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 5:14-16)

To be clear, being light in a dark place is not to the exclusion of the event of death or disaster.  Being the unhidden lampstand is something that is commanded of us because we have received the Light, who is Jesus.  Our mission is to become like the Light, that others may see the Light and turn from their darkened paths. 

Certainly, however, the power of these forces typically lend themselves as potential catalysts for the proclamation of God, His love, and His truths, namely:

God is holy.

God is kind.

God is good.

God is not partial - He does not respect one person over another (Acts 10:34-38), and as such desires that all would turn and receive His grace (2 Pet. 3:9).   All.  Which is why there are still outreaches and ministries aimed at the "lost."  Groups of people all over the world sacrifice much to bring the Holiness of God to unreached and unsaved.  By God's grace, He tarries that more would find Him.

This is also why I continue to make and share cards of this nature, that by some chance - in some way far beyond my scope of understanding - they may be used to bring others to know and/or love the Lord our God more and better.

It's why this project is called, "Showing grace."

God's grace.

God's favor to mankind. 

So, what is God's grace about? 

Well, I've heard it explained many different ways.  One way being "grace" defined as the ideal of co-existing with all people, the condoning of all lifestyles and beliefs, the extinguishing of moral absolutes, and the relenting of personal standards that all may live in "harmony."  As though all of us may have our own "way" and none of us must submit to any certain grouping of precepts and statutes.
Sadly, this is the direction our culture has traveled.  The true grace of God has been diminished by our desire to "keep the peace."  Our disinterest in confrontation, in defense of God's holiness and love, has faded under a non-eternal view of relationships, for the here and now.

Oh, my friends.  Let's not tarnish the power of the cross in the name of tolerance.  Let's not continue in thinking that your way and my way is "ok," lest Jesus conquering death and hell mean nothing to you or to me! Here's a number of verses talking about that very thing: https://www.openbible.info/topics/jesus_conquering_death_and_hell
 

We are SAVED by the grace of God, to live victoriously by the grace of God, out from under the power of sin and death, not to live enslaved to the flesh. 

The Bible (in the letter of Paul to the Romans) says, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?  By no means!" (Rom. 6:1-2b)  

Grace - God's UNDESERVED, UNEARNED favor - is given us in abundance that we may better live the life He's given to us in Jesus.  The time we have is to live in prophecy and testimony of the One who has come and made all things new; the One who became the first among many to raise from the dead; the One who conquered death and sin on our behalf that our lives may reflect His life and glory!

"The word 'grace' in biblical parlance can, like forgiveness, repentance, regeneration, and salvation, mean something as broad as describing the whole of God's activity toward man, or as narrow as describing one segment of that activity. An accurate, common definition describes grace as the unmerited favor of God toward man…
"While all of this is in the context of the grace of God as a gift versus the Law of God as a work, nevertheless grace is viewed as reigning even as we live the life we are supposed to live in Christ." (biblestudytools.com/dictionary/grace)

Grace is not God's favor moving among man at the expense of His holiness; grace is God's favor toward man that man may become holy.  Set apart.  Like Jesus.  

The grace (both broad and narrow) that the Lord shows us, and subsequently the grace that we ought to show each other, is founded and administered in truth - His Word.  

My sweet friends, I love you.  I love you so much, and this is one of the hardest things for me to talk about.  Mainly, I have close friends and relatives who refuse the grace of God to live in sin; to live in lies; to live in unrepentance and hardness of heart.  It hurts me, and I know it hurts the Lord...

God is love, and God is truth. 

Who do you know that needs to hear of God,

who needs to know they have a Savior,

who needs to understand better the power of the Holy Spirit unto salvation and holiness, that, if you only had this time to tell them, would be able to understand and receive the grace that draws them to the Father?

Do you know how much time you have to tell them?

Is next week guaranteed?

What about tomorrow?

We are not saved, save it be for God's grace toward us.

For the sake of God's glory and holiness, share Christ, though it may be through confrontation.

For the sake of their eternity, show grace, though it may cause "disharmony."

For the sake of the Gospel, "speak the truth in love," that perhaps by God's grace, one may hear and turn from death to Life.

"Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Phil.1:2)

Deeds

IG: @mercies_journaled
Please DM me with any questions!

Stamp sets used: Grace So Amazing, Scribble Flowers, What a Savior
Find them all in the Sweet n Sassy Stamps store!

PS - the full process video for this project is here, on my Youtube Channel!  Thank you again for using my Sweet n Sassy Stamps affiliate link to do your shopping!

Grateful Heart Journaling Cards

Fall is in full swing here in the middle of the Mitten (aka Michigan 😉). The mornings are crisp and cool, and the leaves are turning all sorts of beautiful colors. Fall is my favorite season - I love the beautiful colors, the pumpkins, the apple cider, and especially the caramel apples. Yum!! 

The changing seasons reminds me of life's ever-changing seasons. Life never stays the same, it's always changing. But you know what never changes? God's love for YOU. He has said He will never leave you nor forsake you, and He is a God who keeps His promises. Fall is the perfect time to reflect on God's love for you with an open and grateful heart. 

If you've spent any amount of time on the Creative Worship blog or Facebook group, you've seen the wonderful journaling cards made by our very own Deirdre (@merciesjournaled). (You should totally check out her YouTube channel!) After returning from our CW Retreat this past week, I decided to make some journaling cards with the new Grateful Heart stamp set. I'm so thankful for all God has done and continues to do in my life, and I'm especially thankful for the new friendships I've gained because of this Bible Journaling Community. ♡

These cards are so fun and easy to make! I started with a blank piece of 9"x12" watercolor paper (simple cardstock works well too). I then splashed a couple different "autumn-ish" colored watercolors all over the page. There is no rhyme or reason to this madness, it really is just dabbing watercolor randomly all over the page. You can let dry, then do another layer of random color. I then splattered the page with some more autumnal colors. Once you have a good base color pattern, it's time to cut your journaling cards. I cut the sheet longways down the middle so I had two 4.5" sides. I then cut them into 3" cards. A 9"x12" sheet will give you eight 4.5"x3" cards. The perfect size!

I then stamped my images with my handy new MISTI Stamping Tool. This tool stamps images so quickly and cleanly, it only took me a couple minutes to stamp my cards. I just LOVE it!! 😍

These little cards are perfect to stick in your kiddo's lunchbox, give to a teacher to brighten her day, stick in an envelope with a card, or tape in your Bible as a little reminder for you. The possibilities are endless! Here is an example of a journaling card in my Bible. I wrote a short prayer on the back of this card, then paperclipped in my Bible. 💕 

I encourage you to take 20 minutes and create your own set of journaling cards, then hand them out to people who cross your path this week. Share a little bit of God's light and be a blessing to someone this week. 😉

Lots of love, 
Janelle
@journalingjoy

I used the Grateful Heart and Fall in Love with Jesus stamp sets in creating my journaling cards. The Grateful Heart stamp set is the Stamp of the Month from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and is FREE with a $75 order. 😍

 

Jesus Paid it All

This is a journaling card made with Faber Castell Pitt brush pens & inserted into a compact Bible that will be given away.

"He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us.  He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross." (Col. 2:14)

Hello again, Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday, sweet creatives!
The weeks go by so fast, don't they?  Feels like I was just here to share a bit of what the Lord has laid on my heart for ministry, and poof! Here I am again! 

Seems like there's always a lot going on, but for a moment, I just want you to look at the simple lyric above.  "Jesus paid it all; all to Him I owe."
The sweet melody that accompanies this does nothing compared to the truth that is set in front of us here in Colossians.  But, before I get ahead of myself...

I have had a weekend full of everything from downright discouragement to complete joy.  I have had a weekend full of one surrender after another, giving what is rightfully God's and laying it at His feet.  I have a hard time explaining how sorrow and joy can coexist, but I will do my best.

Jesus paid it all, friends.
What do I mean by that?  What does the BIBLE mean about that?
What is the explanation behind joy in sorrow; behind contentedness through suffering?

The position the Bible takes on "Jesus paid it all," lays heavily into the aspect of "all."
All is all.
All means all.

All has large implications and has no exclusions.
I've been convicted in this department as I've held on to a bit of my past that I didn't know I hadn't trusted Christ to pay for.
In my attempts to be as simplistic yet realistic as possible, Jesus stretched His arms out ALL the way.
His death was not untimely; it was planned.
His sacrifice was not unwarranted; rather, necessary.

His life was not in vain; rather, perfect.

Colossians 2:13-14

When you see something like, "Jesus paid it all," I wonder how many of us do not believe the full extent of this gospel header.  I wonder if we are harboring a sliver of shame, guilt, weight, that was perfectly accounted for as the Father nailed it to the cross in the ultimate act of Love.
I learned this past weekend, in the Revive Out Hearts conference 2019, baggage comes at a great cost- not just at the airport - but as the figurative weight of a decision to carry something that is not ours to carry.   A burden not ours to bear.
As a Christian, my life is hid in Christ.  All sins that created the "crimson stain" in my soul are washed clean and I am white as snow.  Knowing the Savior I know, my heart has been changed and my life renewed.  But what I also found out is I am unable to receive grace because of un-confessed sin in my life.

The Word of God is clear about salvation.  It says in Romans 10:9,
"...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." 

It is clear that confessing sins is not part of obtaining salvation.  However, when it comes to obtaining a clear conscience and blessed stance of closeness with our Lord, confessing sins is a necessary part of receiving the gospel; the magnificent gospel of grace in time of need.
Jesus is our Advocate to the Father, constantly interceding on our behalf.  We have been granted an Intercessor as part of our journey in Christ!  It is not for salvation that we bring our heavy-laden hearts to the Father; it is for sanctification!  And the more we practice this posture of need, bringing our brokenness before the Throne, the more we see the over and abundant grace that is sufficient for us!
Friends, Jesus paid it all.
All to Him we owe.
We need not harbor the weight of what Jesus bled and died for.  If we "confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  (1 John 1:9)  We are washed white as snow, to be sure, but are also commanded to stay in step with the Holy Spirit.  Part of daily drawing nearer to Almighty God is by way of confession.  Again, not to be saved, for that has happened upon the moment of belief!  But rather, for the growth of the "new man" who is saved and being prepared for the eternal glory ahead.

I am not in the habit of doing this.  I am not in a regular cycle in my prayer time of confessing my anger, my bitterness, my resentment, my envy, my jealousy... my so much more.
But I will tell you, without a doubt in my soul, that upon confession of these things, the barriers that lie between me and my precious Savior fall.  The vertical relationship is freed up for further intimacy; the horizontal relationships, likewise. Oh, beautiful grace!

This tiny bloom is part of the set called, "Succulents" by Rebecca Rios.

Oh praise the One who paid my debt,
who raise this life up from the dead!
JESUS!

Much love,

Deeds

PS - Only sneak peeks of the October release for now.  Full release for October will be available next week.  Keep your eyes on the lookout! :D
PPS - Please use my affiliate link here to shop at the Sweet n Sassy Stamps Store!  

Hynmal Inserts

Affiliate links to stamps used in this project are below!

Hello everyone!
I'm thankful for this day.  I am.  I feel like these days come graciously in which I'm able to share a bit more about the Lord and His mercies!
There's a lot to share here, so I hope you'll bear with me as I present yet ANOTHER set of journaling cards.  This time I've called them "hymnal inserts." :D
These cards are stamped with sets from 2 different designers on the Sweet n Sassy Stamps team, and both of them are hymn related.  They're both full and beautiful sets, which is why I loved using them so, so much, and it's why I chose them to work with today.

These journaling cards have become a favorite of mine, and I believe I've found a niche when I sit down to create some.  They go, tucked away safely, into a Bible that I work through primarily to give away.  I've mentioned my passion at one time over this thing called "The Loved Bible Project."  As I dig deeper into the heart of this "ministry," I'm overwhelmed by the stories I hear revolving around precious truths in the lives of the lost.
On my Youtube channel, I have another video on how I made these sweet inserts, and the reason I continue to make so many.  I love them, but I also "love" Bibles with them. 
I've mentioned the "Loved Bible Project" before today, and I will have links to the website and Facebook page on this post, as well as in the description for my process video.  Please feel free to reach out and ask questions; I had to! 
I didn't know exactly how to wrap my brain around creating in a Bible, marking it up, tabbing it, underlining it, highlighting it, and then giving it away!  Giving it away??  But I've put so much time and creativity, thought and heart into this container of color and journaling!  How can I just give that away?
Good question.  It's one that each person needs to think through and process on her/his own.  Loving a Bible is something special; a unique opportunity and challenge to spread the Gospel to those to whom the Lord leads you.  If it makes you feel any better, I grappled, struggled and whined over this very thing until it became clear that this method of journaling has amazing potential and prosperity! 
God can use anything to further His gospel, and if He can use a Bible with notes of grace from Deeds, so be it!  I'd rather do what would bring souls to Him, and glory to His name, Amen!

I'll be honest, sometimes it's hard to know what to share on these bits of paper, but as I said before, it's because of the hymnal lyrics that I used those stamp sets!  Hymns are chalk-full of scripture doctrine, hard-pressed with statements derived from the Word of God!  It doesn't take much to even google the lyrics to find their origin and related scriptures.  Actually, I found it so much more enlightening and simple to use hymnal lyrics to express the Love and Hope of Christ on these cards. 

Statements like, "You can have this whole world, but give me Jesus," can be supported by verse like Matthew 16:16, Matthew 19:21, Matthew 6:19 and so forth.
For the phrase, "Those who trust Him wholly, find Him wholly true," are helped by verses like, Philippians 4:7, Jeremiah 17:7, or Psalm 40:4.

Truth from scripture is key. 
Being willing to journal hope from the Lord on a piece of paper can go farther than you think.  Using God's Word to win souls to Christ has a much higher productivity rate that anything I can muster!

I hope this was helpful and hopeful. 
I pray you'll let me know what you think,
and I pray that you'll try these out in a "loved" Bible of your own!
Who knows?  Only God!  And He is trustworthy!

Much love,
Deeds
IG: @mercies_journaled

Whimsy Bouquet

Timeless Hymns

Hymn Word Art



So many thanks to my friend, Korin Sutherland, for allowing me to use her gorgeous stamps and this platform to share in the mercies of God's being!  I love you sister!




The Loved Bible Project Website
The Loved Bible Project Facebook page
The Loved Bible Project Facebook group

A Thoughtful Christmas

Full Process Video available on my Youtube Channel: Mercies Journaled

Hello, friends!
Times are definitely changing!  The seasons are upon us that beg our attention to holidays.
Can you believe it?  Can you even believe that we're into September, days are shorter, nights are cooler, leaves are taking their flight, and birds are taking their leave?
My children start school in a few days, and I'm just aching over how quickly this has come.  But, God has said - and said repeatedly - that life is a vapor.  In the time He's allowed us, we should be finding ways to make the most of all situations and all seasons.

Today, I am hoping to give the gift of inspiration once again.  I find that as I look more into God's Word, the heart behind my creating and writing changes a little bit more.  The Sweet n Sassy Stamps Creative Worship team are working hard to bring you a well-rounded smattering of supplies for your everyday crafting and journaling needs!  (Please feel free to shop via my affiliate links below, located under the stamps sets used.)

I'm hoping to not get TOO much back-lash for posting about Christmas today.  I know, I know, it's somewhat too soon to be getting into THAT holiday.  It's too soon to be thinking on THAT time of year.  I grant you: the more I think about what Christmas entails in light of the ever-pressuring consumer-based culture, I morph into panic mode.
What does so and so want for Christmas?
How do I make sure my house as well lit as the "Joneses" down the street?
How do I make such meals in keeping with ALL the festivities at ALL the gatherings, while making it Instagram and caption worthy?
How do...
How much...
How must...

On and on, my mind could spin from the details of what makes a wonderful Christmas for just my family, let alone the groupings we plan and participate.
But one thing God has laid on my heart recently - and I mean something like yesterday - is how self-involved I really am when it comes to something like Christmas.

I didn't realize until AFTER I put this project together, that my heart was situated in a place of self, self, and more self.
In my process video on my Youtube channel, I get into the creation process of the Christmas and encouragement cards I make, as well as the hope that I have for myself this holiday season: to reach out to those who still NEED a Savior; to bring Light and Life to someone who we as Christians would call, "lost."
And in that sense, Christmas doesn't come too early.
Christ doesn't come too early.
The spreading of the Gospel of Grace doesn't come too early.
The giving of hope and love of God doesn't come too early....
I think you get my point.

We, in this God-graced, growing bubble of Christian folk, need the reminders that there is a lost and dying world chalk FULL of people who long for Someone to fill that longing in their hearts.
I know it's not a pretty thing to hear one say, "You need to be more intentional about those outside the household of faith."  But - as surely as I've been convicted of this - Christ did not just die for you and for me.  Christ did not just pay for my sins and yours.  Christ did not soak the ground in precious blood and tears for just us.
The Bible says that "while we were still in our sins, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8)
And again, "While we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly." (Rom. 5:6)
And maybe once more, "For if, while we were still enemies we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled shall we be saved through His life!" (Rom. 5:10)
I guess Romans 5 says it best that all people - including those who are already Christians - are at one time alienated from God.  We are strangers and enemies of the One True God.
Our need is a desperate one, and only One can bring us back into relationship with God.
There is only One True King who stands in the gap between God and man, and His name is the one we must proclaim!
Those of us in the household of faith in Jesus Christ, must take the gifting of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) to the mission field in which God has placed us.

God is good.
God is always good.
We know that.
We hope in that.
We trust in that.
And our commission is to bear that in our lives to the ones who have not yet tasted and seen that Jesus Christ is good!

I'm praying this over myself, y'all.
I'm praying for this holy conviction to be too powerful for me to handle, and too powerful for me to just ignore.
I'm praying that we can uphold each other in encouragement and prayer as we take the Power of Jesus' name to our world.  He is mighty to save!
He IS the meaning of Christmas!

Much love,
Deeds

Affiliate Link for Deck the Halls, here.

Affiliate Link for Adore Him, here.

Journaling Cards

Hey guys,

I'm thrilled to be sharing this blog with you as it involves the making of something that has become a huge help to me in my Bible journaling:  journaling cards.

There are many ways to use these.  I love being able to put them in my Bible as a tip-in and such, but I've seen many use this similar idea for card making, planning, and just basic paper crafting!  It's such a fun technique.  I'm using a couple of April release stamp sets from Sweet n Sassy Stamps today, the affiliate link is right here to get your own!
Additionally, if you check out my Youtube channel, you'll see the full process video of how, what, and why I made these colorful additions to my repertoire. 

 

As in everything "Bible Journaling," the thing to remember about the creative process is that it's your own.  It's whatever you make it, it's however you achieve it, it's between you and your Maker, and ultimately about bringing Him glory with your creation!  

I want to share a bit about making journaling cards, and why it is that I made an entire tutorial on how you could mass produce them. 
You may want to use these a number of ways.  I use these types of cards in journaling often, whether in my own journaling or otherwise.  More specifically, I've started to make them to give them. 

A while back, I began a different way of creatively worshiping by way of something called "The Loved Bible Project," which in short, is the idea of "loving" a Bible ( usually compact bible - something small and easily toted from one place to another) through journaling notes, prayers, small devotions, and inspirations on a card, then fastening it in some form or fashion to a Bible page.  I've seen page after page of this concept executed in such beautiful ways!  Some use devotionals and some use their own Bible study time to guide their entries, much like any other form of Bible journaling. 
For me, it encourages growth in prayer and study, and the fruit of those things goes into this little Bible that God has led me to give!  I love it! 
I've been led to give it to a young lady who will be graduating from high school soon and will be venturing out on her very own for the very first time as she begins her college career. 
My hope is that she will look at this as a gift and love offering from me, but more importantly as a reference and tool to aid her in her walk with God in this new life!

I've been enjoying the entirety of this process!  From the paper prepping to the implementation of it, I've been able to work through my own struggles in creativity, my own lack of confidence in artistry, to come out on the other side a little more developed!  God is certainly a Master Creator, giving us each a piece of Himself as we learn how He's gifted us!  He's so good!

If you're interested in finding out more about The Loved Bible Project, I've provided several links below wherein you'll find the explanations of how "loving a Bible" works, as well as AMPLE inspirational pages, and what YOU could do to participate in this journey!

Much love,

Deeds
IG: mercies_journaled
Facebook: Deirdre Cason
Youtube: Mercies Journaled

Stamps used: "Cheerful Hexies" & "Surrounded in Prayer"

Loved Bible Project
IG: @thelovedbibleproject

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLovedBibleProject/
   Also: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1790436421192713/