Get Wisdom

Hey friends!  It's been such a whirlwind of a summer, has it not!?

Chunky Lower Case Alpha

Wacky that we're already to August!  Even more amazing is the release for August at SweetnSassyStamps.com!  YAY!!

I've enjoyed the variety of what has become available.  We have a sweet new alpha that I'm using today, called, "Chunky Lower Case."  It's one of my favorites - I LOVE chunky fonts!  A couple months back, Korin also released a stamp set with textures, and the set I'm using for background interest is called, "Texture Tile 2."  VERY, VERY good set!  These with the printable bundle, made by our very own Diane Noble, made the page you see up top. 

Words of Wisdom Printable Bundle

When the "Words of Wisdom" printable was created for this month's release, I was excited.  Nervous, and excited.  Why nervous?  Because whenever I ask God for Wisdom, I'm faced with the responsibility to act wisely.  Makes sense doesn't it?  When my kids ask for a drink of water and I give it to them, isn't the expectation that they will drink it?  Hmmm….

I think God does the same with His kids.  When we ask for wisdom, knowing that He will give it to us liberally and without reproach (James 1:5), we can expect He would like us to utilize it.   I know sometimes I have the correct and wisest course of action in front of me, and I can still choose to NOT follow through.  Why in the world would I want to do that?  Why would I ask God for His abundant wisdom, but not apply it? 

Maybe it's that I'm selfish and merely want my way anyway; but as much as that can be true, I think I forget too, that wisdom is a precious thing - a treasure!

The scriptures of Proverbs 8 and 9 leave an impression that wisdom is your best and closest Friend.  They seriously - and with great detail - depict wisdom as a person - of a feminine nature, no less!  Wisdom is something that possesses personality, opinion, and will!  And, it's something with whom God wants us to become very familiar. 

I think of older people - "seasoned" ladies and gents - when I think of wisdom.  There is value to having lived a substantial amount of life.  It's why God says children need to listen to their parents!  As faulty and imperfect as we are, children are supposed to look to us for wisdom in certain things.  Yikes!

But further still, I feel like wisdom is "out of reach."  Sometimes, I just feel like I don't need to seek His wisdom because I would not handle it rightly.  Listen: God doesn't give us wisdom contingent on our being able to handle it rightly; He gives it to us because it's our lifeline to making EVERY LITTLE DECISION of life!  And it's one that He hands over to the one who seeks it - even me!

Anyone at ANY time can gain this wisdom that was with God "ages ago." (v. 23)  I love how Proverbs 8 explains Wisdom's presence WITH God in the beginning.  Above all else, Wisdom handled the matter of creation alongside God.  God utilized Wisdom in all His decisions, creations and dealings with man as well.  He used Wisdom to make man, heal man, and win man!  What's more, God gives us this very notable, valuable gift of Wisdom to connect us to Himself!
"The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."  (9:10)  WOW!

This I love beyond all else.  God gives us an idea of how to become wise (living in reverential awe and worship of Him), so that He may have relationship with us!  WHAT AN AMAZING GOD!  Why?  Why would He want so badly to be in communion with us?  The answer is in the beginning - back where wisdom was with God - when the good Lord created man in His image, to bear His light and life!  He wants us for His glory. 

It seems weird to think that wisdom brings us closer to God, doesn't it?  But becoming wise, is not just about being smart or having an intellect; the act of becoming wise means that you have just entered into a full encounter with God Almighty, and He's ready to infuse you with this incredible gift!  

SO YES!  GET WISDOM!  Get Wisdom, and get close to God!  Get as close as you possibly can to God!

I want this Wisdom.  I have BFF's but THIS one, I need more than anything!  Yes, LORD!  Give me Wisdom!

Much love,

Deeds

Rest and Remember God

"And Moses said to the people, 'Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, 

which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, 

you shall never see again.  The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.'"  

Exodus 14:13-14

Hello, Sweet n Sassy Creatives!!
Journaling a bit in Exodus today.  I was surprised to find that I hadn't yet journaled on this page, or anywhere near it.  I better go back over it, yes? :D

Hmmm…"you have only to be silent."  At this moment in time, Moses is desperately trying to calm a nation who feels they're on the verge of utter annihilation.  The Eygyptians are closing in behind them, and they have nothing but a vast sea full of doubt in front!  They begin to cry out in agony over the impending capture - or slaughter - by Pharoah's army.  I cannot imagine the sound of torturous cries from millions of people; I cannot imagine what Moses must have thought as the forces of hysteria and panic moved in. 

Moses strains with resolve to be heard among the complaints, and with it pleas with the Israelites to continue to believe and be still!  I don't think Moses did what any kindergarten teacher would do in a room full of 30+ rowdy 5 year olds.  *finger to his lips* "Ok, people hush now.  Hush, please.  Ssshh, people of Israel.  Let's use our indoor voices; we don't need to worry about big, bad army." 

Nah. 

The context would suggest that his voice and righteous indignation had to be carried over a crowd of wailing and mourning.  "PEOPLE!  The Egyptians have nothing on our God!  Watch and see that He has already gone before you!  He will save us, so SHUT IT!" 

My thoughts for this journaling page were just to create something that looked like a body of water.  I used distress ink oxides to achieve the look of water and reflections, then used the "Texture Tile 2" stamp set to bring out some highlights in the water.  It helped to have the "Beach Blessings" printables, by our very own, Diane Noble - I had an enormous supply of water critters to choose from: starfish, shells, nets, birds, anchors, etc.  This time, the starfish at the bottom of the sea (which is where the Egyptian army ended up), were used.  I printed them on Avery sticker paper so they're see-through. 

After that, I created a tip down with one of the printable journaling cards from the set, with a simple sentiment: Rest, and remember God. 

Moses wasn't trying to cheer a nation of cry-babies up; he was reaffirming the confidence they once had in God Almighty to work in THIS situation, too.  God had proven His power among idolatrous Egypt.  He'd gone far beyond ANYTHING the "magicians" could do.  And He'd showed Himself worthy of praise and trust when He calmly ushered all millions of Hebrews out the city gates. 

Rest, and remember God.  I know I'm not alone in this; I know that I'm not the only one who has struggled to keep my cool when things heat up.  I know I'm in "good company" when I share that I've misplaced my trust in the One who has brought me out of my bondage to sin.  Let me tell you right now, God is not surprised by ANY SINGLE ONE of our hissy fits or lack-luster outbursts.  Unfortunately, however, it's the hard lessons that teach us, so if we have to go through a time of heartbreak and uncertainty, God will allow it if it means we get closer to Him.  And at first we may tantrum and complain, but when we realize that He's GOD ALMIGHTY, we'll see waters part and Egyptians drown right before our eyes. 

We can rest and remember that God has delivered and rescued us before - He plans on doing it again.  Both in the here and now, and for eternity future!

We can rest and remember that whatever God is working in our circumstances, there's much more going on in our heart - a greater growth and mutation for His glory is happening that really cannot be seen!  Praise His holy name!

We can rest and remember that though it seems the chaos swarms like angry hornets around us, God is preparing and shaping us for at Eternity of peace and harmony.  "We need only be silent."  We need only to wait.  We need only to trust. 

The Israelites learned some valuable lessons - besides humility - there at the Red Sea.  God does not operate by man's rules and expectations.  His love goes so far beyond what we can imagine and He will do everything in HIS power and in HIS will to show us His glory that we may praise and trust Him.  Oh, that I could trust Him more!

Much love,

Deeds

Spoiler Alert: The Lord Is Risen!

Hello again!

It's Tifany here from Ink Blots by TRD and I've got two pages in my journaling Bible to share with you today. 

The first one is a little bit of a spoiler alert:

I've got this stamped journaling card taped in where I can read about the death of Jesus. It serves as a reminder that He is no longer dead - He is risen! (He is risen, indeed.) For this one I combined two stamp sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps - The Lord is Risen and Worship the Lord.

For the next one, again, I combined two Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps stamp sets - Choose Faith and Seek Him.

I love how you can combine the outlined words and the solid words from Choose Faith for this "off-register" effect.

These two entries were fairly quick and very easy...and I just love how they turned out. Any time I get to spend working in my Bible is a good time.

Wishing you a very happy Easter Sunday! 

He is risen! 

As always, you can find all my posts pertaining to Bible art or journaling (including a full supply list) here. 

His Banner Over Me

Hello, this is Diane.  I'm thrilled to be joining the Creative Worship team at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps with my first post.  I was amazed that Korin invited me since I'm so new to Bible art-journaling.  Perhaps she knew me well enough to know I'd fall in love with this art form because it takes me to the Word of God...one of my favorite places to be. There is so much I have to learn, but perhaps those of you who are new to Bible journaling too will come to realize like I have, that you quickly lose yourself in the worship part of this experience.  There is no one right style or level of expertise required to make art-journaling work for you.  Just dive in, let God wash over you with more and more of who He is, and the art is personal to YOU.  It certainly helps to have a variety of wonderful stamps from Korin's new line...just for Bible journaling...Creative Worship. Isn't that the perfect name, because that's exactly what we do.  We express our worship through a fun, uplifting and personally creative form of art.  

Since my husband and I will celebrate another anniversary next month, April 2, I decided to design something in Song of Solomon.  David and I wrote our own vows using verses from this book, so it made a great canvas for art-journaling. Korin had the perfect stamp set in the Creative Worship section of her store...

 Worship the Lord

 

 
Here is the two page spread I designed.  I wanted an old, splashy antique watercolor look to it. (I'm still very much in the experimenting stages, determining how art mediums interact with the thin pages of my Bible.  I'd read about practicing on some of the back pages in your Bible which I thought was a great idea.)  I depicted SS 2:4, 16 in the margin of the left page..."my page" and the verse David referenced (SS 4:9) in his vows on the right page.  I feel very sheltered in our marriage.  Thinking of David's love being over me like a protective banner so aptly describes the safety I feel.  Husbands are to nurture their wives, bringing them to a banquet table of all that delights a woman's heart and soul.

I brushed over the entire surface of both pages with brown watercolor and added more distressing by sponging with brown ink and creating some darker splatters.  I taped off the two verses I wanted to highlight later with red.

David's vows were amazing.  But when he got to his paraphrased version of SS 4:9, I melted.  All he did was to insert my name in the verse! I was already David's sister in Christ. That is a deep bond that makes the marriage relationship, being his bride, even deeper, stronger, more resilient through the storms of life and love.

To design "his page" I used the heart from the set and colored with watercolor paints again. I hand-lettered on both pages---ugh, still lots of practicing to do on that!  Since the theme is about banners, I thought it would be fun to add the washi tape banner.  I've spent years designing greeting cards and could just never get the hang of washi tape.  Bible journaling is MADE for it!  I've used it more in the time I've been journaling (weeks) than in all my years making cards!  It made a perfect little banner and that added some color to my page.

I'm so looking forward to this journey with Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, with Korin, and all the precious ladies here.  And I'm looking forward to the journey with YOU.  We are so glad you are here, so thankful that you might find a little inspiration from our projects.  We know will love all the new sets coming out that will be perfect for your art journaling.  So come back and visit the Creative Worship section of the store often. 

Blessings on your day, and thank you so much for stopping in.