Wait quietly and Trust

Psalm 62:1-2

"I wait quietly before God, 

for my victory comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress where I will never be shaken."

This is one of those pages where I sat down with a small idea of what I wanted to do but no clue where it would go. As I started working I played a little here, a little there, and after meditating on this verse while I worked I ended up with a page that I just love! Life is a little that way. We don't know exactly how things will turn out, but we have to give it a shot and trust in God for what the future will hold. 

We all had many plans that were either cancelled or abruptly halted recently. Now, we feel like we're left waiting, endlessly, for things to pass and life to get back to the way they were before. Right now more than every it is important that we put all our faith and all our trust in God. He alone knows how all of this will end and when. It's unsettling that we don't know right? Yea... I know I hate it too! But unfortunately that's out of our control, as most things are. 

As Psalm 62 states, we need to "wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation." He will bring all of this to an end, we just have to have faith. Sometimes it's hard to trust what you can't see or trust in the unknown, but that's something we as Christians know is a very powerful thing. Having faith in what you can't see! 

God is bigger than everything! He is bigger than our fears, bigger than our world, and bigger than this coronavirus for sure! He is our fortress and we will not be shaken!

xoxo,

Stephanie Gammon

@faith.and.creativity

Seek Him

Faith Wordfetti

Faith minus Love = Nothing

Hi friends,

The Bible has a lot to say about faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). Faith can move both mountains and fig trees (Matthew 17:20; 21:21). Faith in prayer is both vital and powerful (Matthew 21:22; James 5:15). But in 1 Corinthians 13 Paul makes it clear that there is something that is needed alongside faith, without which, faith is null and void.

We can have faith that can move mountains, that achieves things, gets results and is impressive to those around us. But without love, this means nothing. In fact, Paul says that without love 'I am nothing'. Lack of love nullifies all the other things we think are important or impressive. Having come from an environment in my past that emphasised faith in a big way, but had catastrophic gaps in the practice of love, this scripture really speaks to me.

This verse is challenging because I think a lot of the time it is easier to focus on faith than to walk out love. This may be because things that we have faith for could benefit us in some way and therefore we are more motivated to believe. It also could be because loving people is difficult, messy and usually unspectacular. But without love, all that faith can achieve is pointless, because without love, we aren't representing the God who we claim to have faith in. What a sobering challenge to our priorities in our daily walk with God and others.

I created the background on this page using a brick wall stencil and different shades of pink paint. I layered another stencil with broken lines using white paint over the top and sponged a little white paint over some of the bricks to create a distressed look. The verse was stamped using a combination of Walk by Faith, Teeny Alpha, and Seek Him stamp sets along with some alpha stickers.

I pray that God would continually enable us to demonstrate his love with those around us as we walk by faith in him.

x Amy x

East to West

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

Dear Friends,
This is one of my favorite verses! It shows how amazingly forgiving our God is. It tells us how far God separates us from our sin when He forgives us. Have you ever thought of how far the east is from the west? Think about it. If you travel north, you eventually get to the North Pole and start going south. However, if you travel east, no matter how far you travel, you will NEVER start going west! And if you travel west, you will NEVER start going east. So, that's how far God has removed our sin from us- it can't be measured because it's never ending! Wow! Wow! Wow!

It can be hard for us to understand just how forgiving our God is because we tend to be just a bit less forgiving, right? I know I'm far, far less forgiving than Him. But Colossians 3:13 tells us "as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." Eeeek!  OK, so God wants me to forgive when someone says they're sorry. Yes. But, what about when they aren't sorry? Guess what, God still wants us to forgive them. Our forgiving others is NOT dependent on whether they are sorry or necessarily deserving of that forgiveness. We need to forgive others solely because God forgave us, pure and simple. And honestly, when we forgive, it does as much good for us as it does the other party because we can let go of the bad feelings. Is it always easy to forgive? No. But remember, God is with you. He has removed your sin as far as the east is from the west!! He will help you to forgive others just as He has forgiven you.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Send Me, Freedom in Christ, Typewriter Blocks Alpha, Typewriter Text background, Chunky Lowercase, & Seek Him. I used watercolor crayons for the background. To do a background like this, I generally use 3-4 colors. For this page, I used 3. I get my brush really wet and get the color from the tip of the crayon onto the brush. Then I dab the color onto the page in an up and down motion rather than strokes. I dab each color into certain areas, blending as needed. I finished the background by splattering the page with the darkest blue.

Our God is unimaginably forgiving. I hope you'll remember this verse any time you feel like you or someone else is unforgivable.

And, since today is Memorial Day, I just want to say that I am deeply grateful for the ultimate sacrifice of those who died for our country. May their courage and dedication never be forgotten.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Directing our children...

Proverbs 22:6

"Direct your children onto the right path, 

and when they are older, they will not leave it."

It's almost the middle of August and we have all seen the back-to-school commercials, store displays and flyers. Everyone is getting ready to send their kids back to school after a short and fun summer. For me, it will be my first time officially sending my kid off to school. In the fall my oldest child will start kindergarten! How did this happen?!? I'm excited but also scared. My heart is filled with so many emotions as we get ready to start this new chapter in her life, that all I can really do to prepare is pray. 

I stay home with my kids so sending her off to full time school is opening a whole new world for her. She seems pretty excited and I show her how excited I am for her, but inside I hide the little fears and anxious feelings I hold about this big change for all of us. Before now, her world basically consisted in the confines of our house, friends, and family. Now, she will be venturing out into to world of public schools. I have heard from friends that its a great school..... but I struggle with how much is out of my control. 

Even knowing that much is out of my control, I know I can find comfort in God. When I am not with her, He will be with her each day! And I also need to find comfort and hope in all of the things I have done to prepare her for her first days of school. I pray that she remembers the things I have told her about how we treat others, being polite, being patient, respectful, and the list goes on. And above all I pray she has fun, makes new friends, and learns a lot! Though this is my first child, I imagine every parent has these worries as a new school year approaches. We all need to pray for wisdom for our children as they enter another school year. So many new things and new challenges. But, I hope that will everything my husband and I have taught her so far, she will have a great first year, and we will be right by her side the whole way!

So to finish my page I wrote a small note to Madison to read in the future. I did this entry in the bible I have been working on for her. This bible has various different mementos from her early years, so this page in honor of her starting Kindergarten will be a great one for her to look back on. 

Blessings on all the students, teachers, and parents as everyone heads back to school in the fall!

xoxo,

Stephanie Gammon

Words of Wisdom Printable Bundle

Chunky Lowercase Alpha 

Seek Him

Teeny Alpha

Hello My Name Is

Texture Tiles 3

By Faith Alone...

Thanks for joining me on the blog today! 

Today I am sharing a page I recently did after a good friend of mine delivered a devotion for our women's ministry. Sometimes a message can hit you so strongly that it continues to resonate with you the rest of your day, and sometimes longer. Lately the topic of Faith has been strongly on my heart, so I created this page I am sharing with all of you today.

Genesis 15:4-6

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, 

“So shall your offspring be.”

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. There are so many examples of true faith throughout the bible. People who couldn't physically see the promises of God, but they had confidence in their God to deliver what he promised them.

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. 

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. All these people were still living by faith when they died. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

In all these instances: Able, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, Rahab, Gideon, Sampson, David, and there are just too many to name, each of them had faith in God and what they could not physically see! We need to remember to put out faith in God and God alone, and he will deliver the things he has promised us. 

"Faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance in what we do not see!"

xoxo,

Stephanie Gammon

Life in Jesus

Seek Him

Bitty Minnie Alpha

Mini Grunge Type Alpha

Trust In the Lord

Happy Friday everyone! 

Yay for the weekend right?! The page I am sharing with you today is from the book of Proverbs. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart 

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight."

I know it's not just me that needs this reminder from time to time. It's very easy to get caught up in the problems of the world and the stress of everyday life. We try to solve all of our own problems as quickly as possible, and preferrably in an efficient manner. We need to remember that we need to put all our trust in the Lord. Only he knows what he's doing and what comes next. Wouldn't it be great though to occassionally get a little peek into our future? It would just make life sooo much easier!! But unfortunately, we can't, and that's ok! Because our Lord is powerful and he only has good things planned for us. So, if we let go of the reins, and give him control, he will point us in the right direction. It's not always easy, and yes it takes faith, but he can do amazing things when we let him!

My favorite part of this page was creating the sky! When using silhouette stamps, it gives you the opportunity to really play with the background and make it unique. For this background I used a technique shared by my friend Angeline, owner of Dots & Dust. She designs and makes her own line of watercolors! So fun! Check her out on Instagram: @dotsanddust   

I used pink and blue watercolors to lightly add color to the sky, and when the two colors bled into each other they created a beautiful purple! After that background was done, I went back over it using white acrylic (slightly watered down) to create very soft white clouds. Angeline calls them "cotton candy clouds". Once the background was complete, I used Scene Silhouettes: Trees and Scene Silhouettes: Woodland to stamp the tree and fox. And lastly; stamped my text, added a tab and some wordfetti, and done! A fairly simple and elegant watercolor page.

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed weekend!!

xoxo,

Stephanie Gammon

Scene Silhouettes: Trees

Scene Silhouettes: Woodland

Seek Him

Love Your Neighbor

Teeny Alpha

Jesus is the Branch

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— and He will delight in the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:1-3a

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas! This is the time of year that we celebrate Christ's birth. And that takes me to a prophecy in Isaiah 11 foretelling Jesus' coming. It may sound strange to us to call Jesus a Shoot or a Branch. But I love this illustration of Jesus!
Jesse was David's father. And only when the house of David was decimated and humbled to almost nothing, like a dead stump of a once mighty tree, only then would the Messiah come bringing new life to that dead stump like a shoot or branch.

And then comes a beautiful description of Jesus- full of the Spirit in wisdom and understanding, in counsel and might, in knowledge and fear of the Lord. What a mighty King we have! Jesus brings new life to us if only we accept Him as our Savior. So, come let us adore Him. Not only during this Christmas season, but each and every day. Our beautiful Savior is worthy of our praise. Glory to Him!

For this page, I used the following Sweet n Sassy Stamps sets: Scene Silhouettes: Trees, Lynzee Script, Mini Grunge Type Alpha, and Seek Him. Scene Silhouettes: Trees is a newly released set. So many possibilities with this set! And there are some other newly and soon to be released sets that coordinate beautifully with this set. The alpha sets are also a great way to get a beautiful hand-lettered look. I highlighted some of the letters with a white Sharpie pen. And, the background was done with chalk pastels. 

 

May your days be filled with the light and life of Christ our Savior. O come let us adore Him! Andrea