Freedom in Christ

Hello dear friends!  Big waves, and bigger hugs!  ✋😘

WELCOME!!!

I'm glad you're here, and I hope you'll hang out for a bit.  If you peruse the Sweet n Sassy Stamps and Creative Worship blogs for a while, you'll find a plethora (yes, I DID use that word 🤣) of pages for inspiration; but, you'll also find heart and transparency in the ladies here.  

We look forward to ministering to you this way!

Today, I'm working on a page that means a whole bunch to me.  It has done so for the last few months.  

I used this section of the Word, here in Romans, to prepare for the retreat in Savannah, Georgia back in April, and as I engaged with the meaning behind chapter 8 vv. 14-16, God spoke volumes to me.  When He does that, it's hard not to listen.  It's even hard to do a page and just move on.  It's hard to push on to other things when the Holy Spirit meets you, louder and more obvious than ever.  

Yeah, it was THAT loud.

When speaking about our freedoms in Christ, a lot of times we issue the idea to the shackles we wear:

Fear.

Anxiety.

Depression.

Anger.

Addiction.

Guilt.

And while these are ALL things that the Holy Spirit has wonderfully disentangled us from, I have found it difficult at times to remain "free;" as free as Christ paid to make me.  I forget something incredibly important as I struggle to abide in His love and grace, rather than the yoke of bondage that once held me captive: I am His daughter.  I am a daughter of God.  A child, precious in His sight and delicate in His arms.

Romans 8:14-16 says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; rather you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father! The Spirit itself testifies with our spirit, that we are the children of God."

There are so many truth bombs of this passage; even more so are the alternate scriptures provided in the Word of God to lift up, confirm and bolster this very idea: IF IN CHRIST, WE ARE NO LONGER SLAVES, but CHILDREN!

So what I'm going to do is just put in front of you some good ol' hearty "take-home" love from the Father Himself, straight from His mouth, directly from His heart.  Are you ready?  Here we go…

Firstly, what does it mean to be a child of God?

Adopted:

• Gal. 3:26 “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”
• John 1:12-13 "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."
• Gal. 4:5-6 “to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”
• Eph. 1:4-5 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.”
• Rom. 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Born of/Led by the Spirit:

• John 3:3,6 ‘Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God...That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”’
• 1 John 5:1,4 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him...For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”
• Rom. 8:5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”

Heirs:

• Gal. 3:29 “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
• Gal. 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
• Eph. 1:11 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,”

Whew!  

Now, what does it look like to be a child of God?  (These are some of my most favorite of passages.)

Not a Slave:

• Gal. 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
• 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

Confident Assurance:

• Eph. 1:13-14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
• 1 Peter 1:4-5 “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
• 2 Cor. 1:22 “and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
• Heb. 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  LOVE THIS!

Not alone:

• Heb. 2:17-18 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
• Heb. 13:5-6 ‘he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”’

I realize, this is a lot.  That's why it's in a blogpost, but I do want to share with you that were it not for the powerful truths we find in scripture, and MORE THAN ENOUGH scripture to back up scriptural truths, it may be hard for some to take seriously what God says about them.  As children, what GOD says about us is most important; most blessed; most needed; most effective; most productive, and if you read these beautiful statements from your Daddy, He has promised they will make their mark in your life and return to Him having done a work in you!!

This is huge!  This is power!  We who are in our Savior, the Christ, are free to be children of the One true God.  The only Begotten of the Father has granted us complete assurance and access to Him who sits on the mighty throne of heaven!

Such love! Such grace!  So amazing!

Much love,

Deeds

If you're interested in nabbing some of these beautiful stamps, visit my affiliate link here, and please please tag me if you do a journaling entry in Romans 8, or anywhere else you find to claim your freedoms!!  I would love to see how the Lord spoke to you! 

IG: @mercies_journaled

FB: Deirdre Cason

Stamps used are "Freedom in Christ," and "Texture Tiles 2."
I love them both!!

Don't Fight Naked

I may be dating myself by referencing this, but I remember a "Fight Naked" t-shirt trend.  I wouldn't go so far as to say they were popular, at least not among my high school crowd.  Neither me nor my friends would ever wear one--we thought they were more of a joke.  I'm not sure when or why the trend started.  Some clever person, however, took that theme and applied it to Ephesians 6, where the Bible talks about the armor of God, and make t-shirts with the phrase, "Don't fight naked!  Put on the Armor of God!"  Now that's a t-shirt I would wear!  So I knew I had to journal this phrase in my Bible using the Armor of God stamp set. 

We are fighting spiritual battles everyday, and unless we put on God's full armor--the Shoes of the gospel of peace, the Breastplate of righteousness, the Shield of faith, the Sword of the Spirit, the Helmet of salvation, and the Belt of truth--we are indeed fighting naked.  Without God's spiritual weapons to help us, we are powerless against Satan's flaming darts and wiles.  So get dressed, brothers and sisters!  Don't fight naked!

I created this collage page in my interleaved Bible with Distress oxides and stamps.  I began by stamping each of the images onto sticky notes and cutting them out to be used as masks.  I then used the colors Worn Lipstick, Tumbled Glass, and Mustard Seed to stamp the various images onto the page.  I masked each image as I sponged around them in varying colors, overlapping the colors in places.  Next, I stamped the words in the same colors.  I used some water on the background to give the distress oxides a distressed, layered effect, then dried it with my heat tool.  Black texture is always good to add, so I splattered some paint and used Texture Tiles 1 to stamp some grid texture.  I used Lowercase Chunky Alpha for the title, and added detailing with a white gel pen.  I finished by drawing lines around the edges of the page with a black pen, stamping the date, and journaling a prayer.  I also created a tag using the same process, that I could clip to the opposite page. 

Don't leave your house naked!  Make sure to dress yourself in the armor of God!  

God bless--

Julie

"She Will Bear a Son" Bookmark

💖💖💖

Happy Thursday, lovelies!!

It's Deeds, and I'm here with a bit of something different.  I don't usually have a knack for things that involve tons of creativity.  However, given a challenge is something I'm up for, especially if it means that my creative journey is becoming brighter and more colorful!  (pun intended)

This month's release is one of those that gives me a lot to think about; a lot to mull over; a lot to try; a lot to experiment with, etc.  ALL the Christmas stamps are beautiful as you've probably seen, and ALL have such a sweet heart behind them.  The themes of them cause me to reflect even more on why I am who I am; why I love what I love, and WHO I love.  Things that draw me deeper into fellowship with God are absolutely worth my time and creative juices!

I'm using the stamp set called, "O, Holy Night."  It's just one of many wonderful sets released for the getting ready for the Christmas season.  I have always been passionate about the time of Advent.  I have always loved how the Christmas season begins earlier every year - the sooner the better in my mind, as it gears me up even sooner to meditate on my Lord and Savior, who came to the world to save people from their sins.  I'm not alone in this I know it! ;D

THE GOSPEL is by far the most important theme of Christmas.  I know I like to think about trees, food, songs, winter dresses, parties, gift exchanges and so on.  These are all good, but mean nothing without the attachment of Jesus Christ, whom we celebrate! 
It's why I love the stamp I used on the bookmark today.  It speaks of the gospel so clearly; it underlines the most important event in human history; it brings to light the contrast between Jesus (God in the flesh, born of a virgin) and the world in need of a Redeemer!

"You will call His name Jesus for He will save His people from their sins."  (Matthew 1:21)

The stamp is in the shape of a tree which helped as
inspiration for color and texture placement.

The cost and value of this Life in exchange for mine is not understandable, let alone for the whole world.  It's something that only God will understand ever.  A son.  A perfect life.  A perfect obedience.  A perfect Spirit.  A perfect Man.  A perfect Sacrifice.  A perfect Salvation.

Jesus is the reason for this season, and He's the reason for all seasons beyond!  We celebrate Christmas once a year - God celebrates every day and heaven's hosts sing "Hallelujah!" to the King, born in a lowly stable, dying the sinner's death, now living at the right hand of God!  Praises to His name!

I have a video tutorial up on my Youtube channel as to how I formed and fashioned this.  I've truly enjoyed the process behind making something I can use as a token of love for another.  I'll be making more of these for gifts for the holidays.  

Much love,

Deeds

Even as a Hen

"Jerusalem! Jerusalem...How often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!" (Matthew 23:37)

Have you ever watched a mama bird with her little baby birds?  She guides them along their path, encourages them to try new things, and protects them under her wings.  God longs to protect us and guide us.  This passage in Matthew 23 equates God to a Mama Bird.  I love this text, because it brings out the maternal characteristics of our loving God.  It's sad, really, because the verse says that God's people have continually rejected His watch-care.  How tragic for us, to miss out on the blessings of His love and mercy and grace.  But He continues to offer His shelter and refuge.  I don't know about you, but being all snuggled under His "wings" of love sounds pretty inviting to me.  

For this page, I blended two colors of Ranger Distress Oxides:  Barndoor and Mustard Seed.  I activated the ink with some water to give them a speckled, layered effect.  Then I stamped the title with the alpha stamps, added some texture stamping, and finished off with washi and a tab.  

I pray that you will find shelter under His loving wings!

Bitty Minnie Alpha

His Wings

 

Mustard Seed Distress Oxide

Mus

Chunky Lowercase

Barndoor Distress Oxide Ink

Texture Tiles 1

LLama Tell You How Much...

Hey Guys!

Excited about this entry today!  The August release is so much fun, and I'm enjoying the different ways the team's been putting this Llama set together!  So many ideas, and so much inspiration!

 Today I'm in Psalm 103, journaling over the magnitude of God's love for the whole world! 

There's no placing limitations on God when it comes to His love for you.  Pretty simple! 

The inspired writers tried their best to detail this, attempting vernacular that would make sense to their readers.  I can't understand infinity, can you?  I can't understand limitless, uninhibited, matchless or unsearchable grace.  I can only fathom what this love is… in it's totality, it is God's.  God is limitless, uninhibited, matchless and unsearchable. 
 

Here in the Psalms we read,
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.  As a father shows compassion on His children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him.  For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust."  (vv. 11-14)

I used "Chunky Lower Case Alpha," "Llama Love,"
& "Texture Tile 1" Stamp Sets

WOW!  Do you see what I'm saying?  I just can't begin to put labels on a unit I don't understand.  I can understand "radius."  I can understand, "miles," "inches," or "kilometers."  I can even understand negative temps, depths, and other such measurements, but I cannot even… I just can't!  His love is too great; His compassion is too much!

I used Distress Ink Oxides to achieve the background.

This brings me to that sweet, softened area of "pasture" that I read and hear about so often.  The mild, smooth, and peaceful place the good Lord brings His sheep (or Llamas, as it were ;) ).  A settled place.  A nestling place.  A place of calm, collected, and protected. 

God loves me so much.  He loves YOU so much.  His unbounded heart is like that of a Father, holding His beloved children (as llama-ish as they may be), using His compassion to see us as we are. 

Fickle. 

Feeble. 

Finicky. 

Unsteady. 

Unfaithful. 

Unsure. 

So here we are; loved beyond all reason, and the biggest way that God EVER showed His absolute and perfect love is on the cross.  The cross of Christ, His beloved Son. 

Simple colored pencil shading for the mountain & llamas stamps.

Someone who offers Himself, weakens Himself, humbles Himself on our behalf, is one who truly loves indeed.  No one - NO ONE - can deny this amazing love. 

"Llama tell you how much God loves you…"  Well, at least let me try.

He loves you perfectly.

He loves you without limits.

He loves you for your sake.

He loves you for His name.

He loves you yesterday, today, and forever.

He loves you beyond measure.

He loves you far above your thoughts, words, and actions.

He loves you as a treasure, though we are dust.

He loves you as a child, though we are wayward.

He loves you so, so much.

Much love,

Deeds

HIGHER GROUND | Hymnal Art Journaling with Julie

"The Sovereign Lord is my strength!  He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights." (Habakkuk 3:19 NLT)

Meet Larry and Lulu.  Lulu is the llama lying down, and Larry is the one standing up.  These are the two llamas in the "Llama Love" stamp set, part of the August Release.  This set is great for card making, scrapbooking, and yes, even faith art journaling.  Here I am journaling with Lulu and Larry in my hymnal the song "Higher Ground," a traditional hymn published in 1892.  

"Llama" just say, I'm a major clutz!  (Ok, I just had to add that pun 😁)  Seriously, I am clumsy, and I have been all my life.  I have broken both of my feet twice, simply from stupid falls and trips, and at least three different toes, from walking into tables or chairs, etc.  Surefooted I am not!  I would love to hike and climb mountains, but even walking on a sidewalk is dangerous for me.  Therefore, I love to read Habakkuk 3:19, where it talks about how God makes my feet sure as the deer, and enables me to tread upon my high places.  

This promise for me means that God is my support, my strength, my guide, my security.  Just like the sturdy llama, with its surefooted ability to scale the Andes Mountains, God empowers me to accomplish His great tasks for Him! The more I walk in His way and follow His path, seeking and surrendering to Him daily, I continue to scale greater and greater heights through and for Him.  By faith, He plants my feet on higher and higher ground, until I've reached that highest "tableland" named Heaven!  Incidentally, we sang this hymn at church this past weekend, which gave me the idea for journaling this page.  Afterwards, my son asked me what a "tableland" was.  It's a high plateau.  Heaven is the highest of plateaus, where we will spend eternity with God.  

For this page, I stamped and masked Larry and Lulu with the mountains. I show how to mask in the video linked below. I then painted each little scene with Dots and Dust watercolors. Wanting to keep some of the text visible, I masked those off with washi tape, and then created the background using Distress Oxide Inks in Wilted Violet and Broken China.  I stamped my title with the new Chunky Lowercase Alpha set and one of my favorite alphas, Mini Grunge Type.  My white Signo Uniball gel pen was perfect for adding detailing to the broad letters.  There are two border stamps in the Llama Love set, so I used one to box out the text.  Next, I added texture with the stones stamp from Texture Tiles 2.  Finally, I wrote Hab. 3:19 in an empty spot, and added a tab, washi tape and bow to complete the page.  

I've been amazed at the ways I've been able to use these llamas in my Bible and faith art.  If you missed the Facebook Live release where I showcased this set, you can still catch it here.  You will have to request to join the group if you aren't already a member, but don't worry, it's a fun place to hang out!  In this live video, I share some additional ideas of ways to use the llama set in your Bible journaling, and I created a page for Matthew 11:29.  I also invite you to follow my Instagram account where you can see my other pages and projects I create with this set.

LLAMA LOVE

CHUNKY LOWERCASE ALPHA

MINI GRUNGE TYPE ALPHA

TEXTURE TILES 2

Go-Share-Here

"18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus told--rather--commanded His disciples to go make disciples of all nations.  Go.  This is an active directive.  Not one that we can sit back and accomplish.  It doesn't just happen without action on our part.  The gospel of Mark tells the same story in chapter 16. Jesus was very specific that we are to go into all the world and share the good news of the gospel.  Go.  

Does that mean youI have to go to Bolivia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, or some other far away land?  Maybe.  If that what God leads you to do.  But He also means for us to go right in our own neighborhoods, in our own workplaces, even perhaps in our own families. "Go" means to move from one position to another, to progress or advance.  Maybe God is calling you to go meet or your neighbor and share a cup of coffee or tea, and just get to know them.  Being a good friend, showing God's love and kindness, is the BEST way to make lasting disciples.  Maybe He wants you to talk to the person on the next treadmill, instead of watching the latest episode of "This is Us."  

Sometimes we think Jesus was just talking about the Mission Field, so we pray for the missionaries, send offering money, and maybe even sponsor a child in Guatemala (or wherever).  But that really is the easy way out.  How much "going" are you doing?  Jesus said to "go," out of our comfort zones and reach people, wherever they need to be reached.  

I used the "Send Me" stamp set for this page.  I stamped the world image, and then stamped the word "Go" right over the top of it.  I was pleased with how it fit perfectly inside the globe.  I bent the "share" stamp on my acrylic block so it would curve underneath the world.  I finished the stamping so it would say, "Go share the good news here."  I originally stamped "here" in green, and I didn't like how that looked; so I fixed it by restamping it on white cardstock and cutting out the letters into block tiles.  I used Distress Oxide Inks to stamp and color.  Notice how I blended the colors on the word "good"?  Of course, I finished with some splatter on the page, a tab and bow, highlighting my verse, and journaling.

I challenge you to GO and share the good news! Thanks for stopping by.  You can visit me anytime at  Jules' Jewels YouTube Channel and my blog Jules' Jewels, and see other projects on Instagram at @julesk.jewels.

"Send Me"

I am Free Indeed!

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."John 8:36

This passage in the book of John is one of the most notable and powerful promises found in the Bible.  We are free indeed!  As we near Independence Day, and we celebrate the freedom we have in our great country--freedoms that many other countries do not have or enjoy--we remember the price that was paid for this freedom.  Many lives were given for us to be able to experience the freedom we have in the United States.  (For any readers in other countries, the same probably goes for you and the freedoms you have--nothing ever comes without a cost.)

But Jesus was not talking about political, social, or economic freedom.  He was talking about spiritual freedom.  Freedom from the bondage and slavery of sin.  When Adam and Eve chose their own way over God's way in the Garden of Eden, and thereby rejecting His intimacy, they allowed Sin to take this world captive.  And all humanity since has been  slave to sin, because "everyone who sins is a slave to sin..." (v. 34). However, Jesus took on humanity, lived a perfect, sinless life, and then died a perfect death, so we don't have to continue to be slaves to sin.  He gave His life for our freedom.

The gift of life is free.  It is a free choice.  We are free from sin and slavery IN and THROUGH Jesus.  We have but to accept it by faith, and allow Him to remove the sin from our daily lives.  He removed the burden of sin from our back.  However, we too often take it back again, and again, and again.  Jesus says we are free from the slavery and bondage of lust, of discontentment, of appetite, of worrying, of anger, and the list goes on.  But sometimes we are too comfortable being a slave.  The Israelites often grumbled after escaping from their slavery in Egypt, and longed to go back to their state of bondage!  That makes no sense to us, but we really are no different!  We might want to be free from our sins, but we don't really want to give them up.  

I'm not saying it's an easy thing to do, to give sin up, to be free.  But it is simple.  Jesus has promised, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!" (emphasis mine).  He adds the "indeed" to emphasize how sure of a freedom it is.  He has already made us free--but the reality of the freedom in our lives depends on our daily submission and surrender to Him.  Our freedom actually comes in surrender.  Its a paradox, but it's a powerful paradox. 

I used the newly-released Free Indeed stamp set for this page because it has both patriotic and Biblical words and images that suit journaling this passage.  I first stamped and embossed the  various firework images in white.  Next, I blended some Distress Oxide Inks over those images, which resulted in a resist-effect.  I then stamped the words to spell out "Christ [has] set me free [so] I am free indeed."  I didn't get a super clear stamping on the word "free", so I ended up doing some white detailing with a gel pen to cover it.  That lead to me doing the same detailing on all the bolder-type words, since I liked the effect.  I stamped a few more of the smaller images in the various red, light blue and darker blue inks, made a tab out of navy washi tape, and topped it with a navy and white bow.  

Friends, don't go back into your bondage to sin.  Accept your freedom, and be free--INDEED!

Invest...with love

When I get the privilege of spending time with girlfriends, it always blesses my heart. We laugh and talk and pray and encourage. With several of my friends, we spend time creating. Some of my friends, we just open the word together. With others, we share life over a meal. One girlfriend is my mani pedi bestie!

Regardless of what we are doing together, the important part is to encourage each other in our walk with the Lord. 

The apostle Paul was writing to the church in Corinth. As he was wrapping up the letter, he was telling them that when he comes to visit next, he wanted to spend extended time with them. I’m sure that was time that Paul would pour in to them...making disciples.

Paul goes on in 1st Corinthians 16, verse 13 to give them some words of wisdom. “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”

Even though Paul wasn’t physically with them at the moment, he was still building them up. He was giving them words of exhortation.

Life these days keeps us from as much face to face time with each other as we would like, but it only takes a few moments to write a note to a friend. It only takes a quick minute to send a Bible verse and text to brighten someone’s day. 

Investing in others may look different to each of us depending upon the season we are in. The important thing is that we make that time...with love.  

“And do everything with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14

Who might you encourage today to “stand tall” in their faith?



Art behind the story:

My friend Julie was over and we enjoyed the time together crafting, praying, and talking about the Bible verses. The Be a Flamingo stamp set from Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps is definitely a new favorite! As I stamped, watercolored and fussy cut the images, Julie and I had such fun visiting together. The background in done with Distress Oxide and water splatters. I used Texture Tiles 2 to add some visual interest. You can see the detail in the close up photos above and below. The words are stamped with Script Outline Alpha and colored with Derwent Inktense pencils. I used a water brush to activate the color and create the ombré effect in the letters. Lastly, I arranged and glued down all the pieces! 

Hugs,
Gayle (patioponderings)