Shine Bright

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Dear Friends,
I love this verse! So much so, that I have journaled the verse in all 5 of my journaling Bibles already! So, I made a tip-in. More details on that farther down. :) This verse tells us to shine. But not for our own glory, but to glorify God. We should act in a way that shows others Jesus and draws them to Him. I listened to a lesson by Ray Vander Laan where he said, "Create an alternative to what's wrong in our broken world." That really stuck with me. Our world is broken. It's full of hurting people. He went on to say that God desired to create a community that would live out an alternative, showing the world what He intended and desired. Rather than criticizing what's wrong around us, let's create alternatives- communities that show the love of Jesus, families that live out the roles of parents and children in godly ways, businesses that are honest and just and use profits to improve the lives of those around them. When we do this, when we shine our light before others, they will see our good deeds and give glory to our Father in heaven.

Now for details on the tip-in. I used the following Sweet n Sassy Stamps sets: Girl Power, Bitty Minnie Alpha, Skinny Minnie Alpha, Worthy King, and The Good News.

Girl Power and Bitty Minnie Alpha are brand new sets this month. I love both of them! Girl Power includes 8 girl heads along with shoulders, necklines, and images to make faces if you don't want the girls to be faceless. So cute!! I cut a piece of card stock to be slightly smaller than the Bible page. I used watercolor crayons to color. I attached the tip-in to the page with washi tape. Tip-ins are a great way to add journaling to an already journaled page!

Shine on, friends! Andrea

Welcome to the Neighborhood

"Jesus answered, 'The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.''' Mark 12:29-31

Dear Friends,

I'm so happy to be on the blog with you today! My page today is based on a passage in Mark 12. Jesus was replying to a question- and what was that question? "Which commandment is the most important of all?" (Mark 12:28) Jesus' response was simple. Love God. Love your neighbor. But living that out can be not so simple- at least for me! As I journaled this, I was thinking about what loving God with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength looks like. That's an all encompassing love. That's making God my priority and being in constant fellowship with Him. Wow. Then there's the whole "love your neighbor" thing. Loving people can be hard. Sometimes we're not so lovable. But that's not an excuse, is it? I am constantly praying that God will help me love others. That He will help me see them through His eyes. That's how I am going to draw others to Him- through love. That's how others are going to see Him- through love. Wow. And who is my "neighbor"? My family and friends? Yes. People who live close to me? Yes. The cashier at the grocery store? Yes. Someone from a different background or one who doesn't think/believe what I do? Yes. The person reading my Facebook or Instagram post? Yes. Wherever they might be in the world? Yes. Again, wow. Our neighborhood is a little larger than we may initially think. What we post online can reach people we don't even know. Do those posts show His love? When we're rushed at the store, are we showing His love? I pray that I am. And I pray that you are too. I think if we, the church, really loved as He calls us to, so many would be drawn to Him. 

For the page, I used the following Sweet n Sassy Stamps sets: Love Your Neighbor, Send Me, and Worthy King. I used watercolor crayons to color the page. The banners are made with address labels that I cut into banners.

 Have a blessed week! Andrea

Songs in the Night

Hello Bible Journaling friends!   I think we can all agree that Job knew what it was like to walk through times of darkness;  however, at one time or another, we all walk through difficult times...depression, sickness, bills due, loss of a loved one, or even a crisis of faith, but I am reminded as we enter into the Christmas season of the shepherds who were out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  Angels showed up in the darkness of night to announce the most amazing good news..."For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord," and then...the song came as the angels started to praise God!
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

"Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;
they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.
But none says, 'Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?"
(Job 36:9-11) ESV

My page was prepped with Dina Wakley Clear Gesso.   Distress inks were sponged on the upper corner to make the night sky.  A spritz of Perfect Pearls, splatters of white acrylic paint, and Texture Paste spread through a stencil were used to create the stars.  The message, created using several stamp sets from the Creative Worship line of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, was white embossed so it would pop off the night sky.  Copic Markers were used to color the bird which was fussy cut and glued to the page.  (I Googled "song bird" images and found one with this coloring which worked perfectly for my page.). My notes were hand written.

You may be walking through a dark time right now.  Do not fear!  Do not lose hope!
Paul and Silas had their chains broken in the darkness of night.
God shows up in the night with a song.
He does mighty works in the darkness of the night!

These stamp sets from the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store were used to create this page in Job:

Thank you so much for stopping by today.
Let us not forget the reason for the season as we begin to prepare for Christmas!
Have a wonderful week!
Hugs,
Cathy

Our King

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout, daughter Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Zechariah 9:9

Dear Friends,

Many in our country are suffering- hurricanes, fires... personal trials.... I am praying for all who have been affected by the fires and hurricanes. I'm also praying for our country and for the world. Our world is groaning. Think how hopeless it would all seem if not for Jesus.

Many are searching and searching but they don't realize Jesus is what they need. Those of us who know Jesus have hope no matter what situation or circumstance we may find ourselves in. Zechariah 9:9 prophesied Jesus' entry into Jerusalem before He was crucified. He was our King then, already righteous and victorious; and He is our King now STILL righteous and victorious. Rest in Him and His victory.

I used a newly released set for this page called Christmas Botanicals. It's a Christmas set, but this shows how versatile it is. It doesn't have to just be used for Christmas! It's available for pre-order now at Sweet n Sassy Stamps. I also used Mini Grunge Type Alpha and Worthy King.

For the color, I used watercolors and blew the color around the page with a straw. Then I stamped the images on top of the paint.

In Him, Andrea

Shine...

 {jane bosi}

I super wish my photography set up could actually do justice to the projects I create using these amazing stamps!!  The exact minute I saw the Fantastic Flower stamp set, I knew I had been holding on to this $4 wooden mirror purchased a decade ago for a reason!  I am not kidding when I say I've been hoarding it for a decade.  I've had it "on display" in my current studio for the last 4 years we've lived in this house--because I discovered it in the unpacking process.  For the last 4 years, I knew I would eventually be inspired by what was an unpainted 12 x 12 mirror in shrink wrap.

It's been a bit like prayerful waiting.  I knew the answer would come.  Several times, I thought I knew only to realize "no" was the response.  And then, without a doubt, the answer was clear--pretty much after I surrendered and decided it would tell me rather than the other way around!  Fantastic Flowers with a bit of Worthy King.....the project just about did itself!!  :)

Enjoy; be blessed--Jane

My God is Worthy!

I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall be continually in my mouth.

Psalm 34:1

How many times during a single day do you find the praises of God on your lips?  What kind of words crowd out those praises?  I'm guilty.  When I think of all that God has done for me, in the world, everyday...really, there should be nothing I speak except His praises.  He is worthy enough that every breath I exhale ought to contain His praise.  Our goal should be David's declaration in Psalm 34:1.  God is certainly worthy of that much.

I tried a couple of new things with this page.  Overall I like it, but I'd change a few things next time.  First I prepped the page with clear gesso.  I didn't like doing that before, so I'm not sure why I thought I'd try it again.  There is a huge variance of opinion about prepping Bible pages.  I definitely fall on the "unprepped" side of the spectrum.  Here I wanted to do a lot of watercolor paint work...and when the page is prepped the watercolor sits on top longer.  The good part of that is that you can continue to work with it; while the negative, in my opinion, is just that the effect isn't as splashy and layered looking.  The second new thing I was to use metallic paint and inks.  I splattered gold metallic watercolor paint (Kuretake) and used a sponge to apply gold ink over a stencil.  I really liked that.  

I chose this page (Psalm 47-48) for my design because it is full of praises to the the Lord. The entire page starts with praise and ends with praise.  I thought that was symbolic of the way I want my days to be.  I want to start each day with praise on my lips and when I close my eyes, I want to whisper His praises in the still of the night.  It is my heart's desire to praise Him all day long, because He is worthy of those praises.  

Sets used:

Fantastic Flowers

Worthy King

My Soul's Satisfied

This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24

Dear Friends, please celebrate with me that our Lord and Savior is risen! I hope you had a joyful Easter resting in Him. For this page I journaled lyrics from Be Thou My Vision by Ascend The Hill. It's based on the hymn. (The lyrics are posted at the bottom of this post.)

The hymn was based on Jeremiah 9:23-24. And because of Jesus, we can know God! We can be in relationship with Him. He can be our everything and our delight! When I think of things that are physically satisfying, I think of cold lemonade on a hot summer day. Jesus is much better than cold lemonade! 😉 Jesus completes us. He satisfies our souls in a way nothing else can. He is the Living Water. Drink Him in!!

For the page, I used the following Sweet n Sassy Stamps sets: Worthy King, Sing Loud, Fill Me Up, Skinny Lowercase Alpha, Rebecca Script Alpha, Chunky Alpha.

For the lemonade glass, I masked off the top of the coffee cup and drew in the straw, ice cubes and lemon. And don't you love all those alphas??!! Alpha stamps are a great option to hand lettering! They are easy to use and many of them look like hand lettering. I love them! I highlighted the letters with a Sharpie White Extra Fine Paint Pen. I colored the page with watercolor crayons. And finished it off with some washi tape.

Be satisfied in our Lord. He loves you!

Blessings, Andrea 

Be Thou My Vision By Ascend The Hill

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, put first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

Oh, God, be my everything, be my delight
Be, Jesus, my glory My soul's satisfied
Oh, God, be my everything, be my delight
Be, Jesus, my glory My soul's satisfied

My Jesus, you satisfy
My Jesus, you satisfy

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven's joys, bright Heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Oh, God, be my everything, be my delight
Be, Jesus, my glory My soul's satisfied

Thirst No More

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalm 42:1-2a

Dear Friends,
Physically, without water, we cannot survive. Just as our physical bodies call out for water when we thirst, our souls call out for the Living Water of Jesus to survive- to have eternal life! Remember what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, "Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” And John 6:35 tells us, "Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty."

Only through Jesus can we truly be satisfied. We strive and strive for satisfaction through food, drink, money, jobs, material goods, etc. But really our souls long for Jesus. He fills us in a way that nothing else can.
For the page, I used the following SNSS stamps: Chunky Alpha, Living Water, As the Deer, and Worthy King. For the background, I used watercolor crayons. And I highlighted "Jesus" and the water drops with a Sharpie White Paint Pen. I also used some alphabet stickers to finish off the page.

My prayer for you, for me, is taken from the song Be Thou My Vision by Ascend The Hill:

Oh, God, be my everything,

Be my delight.

Be, Jesus, my glory,

My soul's satisfied.

Have a sweet day, friends. Andrea

Our Worthy King

Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalm of praise. Psalm 47:6-7

So many people put their hope in this world- human leaders, money, possessions, titles, jobs, etc. I think that is why we see so much hopelessness in our country and in the world right now. But, we know there is a greater hope! Our hope is not in any worldly thing. Jesus is our God and King! Our hope is in Him. We will never be satisfied by worldly things. Human leaders will never fulfill our expectations. But HE will. He satisfies and fulfills us even more exceedingly than we can imagine! He is our worthy King who deserves our songs of praise.

I had so much fun with this page! I journaled this page in my interleaved Bible which has a blank page in between every page of Scripture. It allows me to cover the page without covering Scripture, and I love that! Psalm 47 works perfectly with the 2 new sets, Sing Loud and Worthy King, designed by Rebecca Rios. I knew I wanted to use both of them. And since the psalm speaks of God being King of all the earth, I wanted to use flowers to signify nature. So, I also used Korin Sutherland's Scribble Flowers. 

I have just invested in watercolor crayons; and I have to say I love them! It makes watercoloring so easy. What I did for this page was to color the images and background with the crayons, and then added water with a brush to achieve the watercolor effect.

Put your hope in our eternal King! And have a blessed day. Andrea