Seek the One that is Seeking You

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call to Him while He is near.

Isaiah 55:6

In these turbulent and uncertain times, does the Lord feel closer or further away to you?  It seems like I hear Him more than ever before.  I feel like He is pleading for lost souls to turn to Him.  Like He's asking for His flock to tell the world about Him and the redeeming power found in the blood of Christ.  

We need to seek Him while He's crying out to us.  He is near.  He wants to be found.  

Page details:

I created the background for this page using Distress paints, then stamping with Texture Tiles 1 and Psalm 23 Background and stenciling with Distress Oxide inks.  I stamped my title with several alphabets from Sweet 'n Sassy, including  Bold & Outline Caps Alpha, Typewriter Block Alpha and School Days Alpha.  I added some art marks and paint splatters.  Then I couldn't resist adding these peonies from the Peony Cluster set.  

Sets I used:

Until next time, catch up with me on Instagram & Facebook @simplyjilljourney.

XOXO,

Jill 

Suffer A Little While

Hello friends!  I pray everyone is safe and doing well.  Life is looking a little different for most of us currently thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, am I right?  We are all trying to adjust to our new routines.

Conditions in our area, are like many places...most grocery store shelves are bare, schools are closed, and restaurants are all drive-ins or open to pick up orders only.  Though there have been some inconveniences, so far things have changed little in my household.  My husband, myself and our two sons are still able to go to work as usual, we have the necessities and we are healthy.  Sadly, I know that is not the case for many people. 

As I prayed over this post, I was led to 1 Peter 5:6-11.  I hope you find it encouraging as I give my thoughts on these verses. 

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

In verses 6-7 Peter instructs us to lay aside our pride and give our fears and worries to God, the God who loves us.  What anxieties do you have today that you can hand over to the Father about the coronavirus?

8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Peter warns us in verses 8-9 that the devil is on the prowl, ready to tempt us and destroy us in our suffering.  Do not be fooled.  The evil one is searching for us even now, looking to tear us down and fill us with fear.  He would love to discredit us and our testimony during this time.  Use the truths you know about God to fight the fears and lies the devil tells you.  God loves you and wants to prosper you.  He sent His only Son to save YOU.  Peter also urges us to keep strong in our faith and reminds us, we aren't suffering this alone.  Children of God around the world are all being affected by Covid-19 and are under attack from the devil.  

10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

God, in his unfailing grace, is using our suffering to perfect, prove, and strengthen us.  Thankfully, we get hope from this verse, that we will only suffer a little while.  He will bring us through this pandemic in His timing, which is perfect. 

Perhaps, He is even using this virus, to turn the world back to Him.  Maybe He is reminding us of the importance of the time we have and how we use it.  Through the changes in our routines, we have been pushed back in to our homes, with our families, eating around our table.  We have had to give up idols that come in the form of sporting events, concerts, movies and even our jobs in some cases.  Let's use this time, as Christians, to show the world what we are made of.  We are called to love and honor God above all else, love one another and deny ourselves, and pray continually.  We are never alone in the battles we face. 

  

Page Details:
I started this page by blending distress oxide inks on to my page. I stamped dandelions from the new Blessings in Disguise set across the bottom.  I colored the stems in with a green Faber Castell pen and used a white Uniball Signo gel pen to add some white highlights to the seeds.  I stamped a sentiment from the Peony Cluster set above my dandelions.  I used the Loop da Loop Alpha and Mini Grunge Type Alpha to stamp out my title.  I finished my page by journaling a prayer and drawing a sketchy box around my focus verses.

I pray God protects and blesses each of you in these uncertain times.  Encourage and help each other when you can.  Remember to wash your hands and say your prayers because Jesus and germs are everywhere.  

Until next time, you can catch up with me on Instagram @simplyjillsjourney.

xoxo,

Jill

Prayer recalibrated...

Hi friends,

Can I be honest with you? I have always found prayer a struggle. Whether it's remembering, concentrating or understanding, there are a number of factors that have inhibited my prayer life over the years. That is why I so relate to the disciples when they said to Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray." And I am so grateful for Jesus' response in what we now know as The Lord's Prayer.

When I am struggling to find the words, this beautiful, profound prayer helps me to approach God with adoration, confession and supplication. Over the past year I have really appreciated saying this every day in our morning chapel services and there have been certain lines that have resonated very strongly with me and helped me to work through issues like forgiveness in my life.

One of the parts of this prayer that challenges the way we pray is 'your kingdom come, your will be done.' I know for me, prayers in the past have been more like, 'my kingdom come, my will be done' as I petition God for my wants and needs based on my limited perception of life. This is why these words are so helpful and so counter-cultural. Instead of demanding what we want, like God is some form of vending machine in the sky where a prayer goes in and an answer pops out, prayer is actually supposed to be an act of submission to the lordship of Christ and the all-knowing, all-wise will of the Father.

Although this kind of praying is harder sometimes, because we need to relinquish control of our lives (and those of others!), it is such a wonderfully powerful prayer that is completely in line with God's will, and therefore we know that he will answer. Whenever we are struggling to pray or overwhelmed by a situation or multiple situations, we can bring these words to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus: "your kingdom come, your will be done."

I used the beautiful Stamp of the Month, Peony Cluster, on this page in my Interleaved Bible. I stamped the peonies with Sage Versamagic ink, then coloured the images with pencils, trying a no-line colouring effect. This took a LONG time (multiple evenings of colouring!) but the result was worth it and it gave me the opportunity to meditate on this verse for an extended time. The text is mainly taken from the new Joint Heirs set, combined with Teeny Alpha, Love Your Neighbor (which is SO fab for tiny little words!) and His Name. I couldn't resist adding a couple of dimensional butterfly stickers form my stash to finish this off! Here are the sets I used:

I pray that God's kingdom would come and that God's will will be done in your lives and mine, and in the world around us!

x Amy x