Crafted by the Creator

For it was you who created my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I will praise you
because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.
Your works are wondrous,
and I know this very well.
               Psalm 139:13-14

How amazing is procreation?  That a couple of cells come together, multiply, and form a completely unique life?!?  How can that be anything but a miracle from God!

Each of us were hand-crafted by God for a special purpose.  We have a role that no one else will ever have.  He created us with special gifts and talents, to use in the fulfilment of His plan. 

How can you find your purpose?  Look to the Bible and talk to the Father.  He will help you find your way.  

Thank you Lord, for the unique purpose we are created for. I pray we glorify you! -Amen 

Page Details:

I already had an entry for this verse in my Illustrating Bible:

I decided a tip-in was the perfect way to journal it again, from a different prospective, and I was able to do some journaling on the back of the page.  I created my tip-in using Canson Watercolor paper.  I blended Distress Oxide Inks on the page to make this vibrant background and then traced a silhouette of a baby in the womb. I painted the image with black acrylic paint.  I used the new With Love Alpha and Mini Grunge Type Alpha to stamp out my verse. This is my new favorite alphabet combination!  I punched the edge with the We R Memory Keepers punch board, using the gold spiral punch and it fits perfectly in the spiral binding of the Illustrating Bible.

Here's what it looks like all tucked in its place!

The stamp sets I used:

I would love to connect with you on Instagram.  You can find me @simplyjilljourney

Until next time, I wish you many blessings,

Jill

Where Can I Run From Your Love

Read Psalm 139 here.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from your presence?

8 

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!  If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

Good morning
from yours truly!
I've been seriously considering just how fortunate I am that there's a platform for me to share - what a grace to be able to share openly, the love, faithfulness, and mercies of our God!  Simply amazing!

This blog post won't be like others, though it will still come from a heart that seeks the Lord and His strength, day by day.  Of that, I am certain.  I've had a somewhat miserable, and definitely difficult season these past couple of months.  I suppose it hasn't been weeded out of me, this desire to control all situations and lives in my care.  I suppose Jesus is still working on me, my heart and all the deep, underlying issues that remain.
My daily prayer is that one day soon, I will be able to face hardship without feigned faith, with unfettered hope, armed with the sword of His truth.  The most common place in which I typically find myself is in the valley, wishing for the peak.  I know I'm not the only one.  I think we all fight the urge to long for better, comfortable, and easy.  I understand fully however that until glory, we are in the thick of the earth's corruption, powers of the air, and spiritual battles for lost souls.  Which is why I'm so thankful for the comradeship of the Holy Spirit, and the companion of His Word.  I have Jesus Christ to thank for saving my soul, and Him alone to thank for the Helper He has so generously given.  I desperately need Him!

This introduction is a preface for the outstanding and timely effects of God's presence.  His movement in my heart as He guides the trajectory of my day, is too much for me to handle at times.  Even when it's hard, He's there.
Even when it hurts, He's there.
Even when it's lonesome, He's there.
When I sleep,
When I wake,
When I hide,
When I speak,
When I rise,
When I fall,
He is there.

This is why I labeled the blog "Where can I run from your love."  It's the simple question of rhetoric that follows hard on the heels of the rest of Psalm 139.  Where, indeed?
This, and Psalms like it, have an invasive glow in the darkness that surrounds both the Psalmist and me.  I'm sure this is something you've run into before as well as you've battled the schemes of the enemy to further work out your salvation:
"Lord God, it's hard.  It seems to never end.  This turmoil, this trial, it's forever.  It's devastating.  It's hurting me, my mind, my will to go forward.  I want to bury myself in heaps of comforts that can only serve their purpose as would my next breath.  I feel alone.  But...
God, I know you're here.  I know you've not gone.  I know you've never gone.  You're never caught fleeing the scene of my days, my panic-stricken mind, or ever-burdened soul.  I cannot hide my thoughts, my words, or my person from You.  You do not run for cover - You ARE my cover.  I pick up the functional, tangible savior, only to put it down again because in Your mercy, You remind me of Your faithfulness."

You cannot hide from this God.
That's a good thing.
That's a gracious thing.
That's a God thing.

His hand is on the matters of His creation, His heart tenderly working for our complete healing and sanctification.  No wonder the Psalmist says,
"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.    I awake, and I am still with you."  (vv.17-18)
This God of all comforts never sleeps.  Always thinks.  Always considers.  Always knows.  Always sees, always seeks, always loves.
God, even when I get caught up in my mess, or lost in my thoughts, or deep in my disbelief, You are there.  Where could I possibly go that Your love will not find me?  I do not ask for an answer, but glory in Your unbending will to see me through.  God, You are so good!

I pray you have a wonderful day, friends! Below are links to the stamp sets I used as well as the link to the song that inspired this page.  I thank you for your time in reading this, and I encourage you, sweet and hopeful sister, to continue on knowing that the Lord has not lost your way; He is leading you home!  Hallelujah!

Much love,
Deeds

Early Bird Bundle!
hurry!  Ends 12/9

Vintage Love

Art Deco Alpha

Youtube video, "139" by Gateway Worship .  ENJOY!

Truth Bomb Cards

Makin' me some "Truth Bomb Cards" for those who need a good word!

Hello Sweet n Sassy Stamping friends!!

Deeds here with another round of mass production.  But, this time I'm doing what I call "Truth Bomb" cards.  As I continue to "love" Bibles and give them to those the Lord lays on my heart, I find these incredibly helpful and definitely a means of connecting!  I have all the stamp sets I used below and the affiliate links in their captions!  Thank you so much in advance for using those links; I very much appreciate it!

I started with Lyra Watercolor crayons as my base.

Adding water to primary colors is a sure-fire way to get a bright palette!

God is gracious in so many ways, and one of them is to just allow me to minister to people (young adult females, particularly) in their walk and journey with Christ.
But having worked alongside a team of leaders for our church body's youth group, I've also come across some very saddening and disheartening situations.  Conversations between young ladies heading into their adulting years have burdened me so much...

I used to be there.
I used to have those same thoughts.
I used to feel that way about myself.
I used to believe the lies of others and
I used to believe the lies I told myself.
I used to ache with loneliness.
I used to wish for companionship.
I used to long for true love.
I used to mourn over lost "love."
I used to develop a cold exterior post-rejection.

This sheet of watercolor paper can be divided into 9 sections
of 3x4 "truth bomb" cards!

It hit me that there is something in young lives that truly needs attention while younger to aid in growth and maturity when older.  Even as an adult, I still struggle with these things, and I praise God for this chance to land a piece of His truth on someone!  Even if it's quickly dismissed, some young lady will know, "Deeds loved big.  Deeds loved hard."  Through this, I pray to glorify the Lord, amen?

So that's why I made these using the set, "In His Image," which is PERFECT PERFECT for such a thing as Truth Bomb cards.  Hopefully, this will be a constant reminder to someone, somewhere, in some phase of life that "Yes!  I have a Maker.  He loves me.  He adores me.  He's created me for a reason and WITH A PURPOSE!"
The intent and idea is to purposefully and lovingly instill truth where lies have worn down and made bleak.  Where pain has (perhaps unknowingly) taken root, and bitterness resides.  Where schemes of the Devil have ripped open tender parts of the Jesus-bought soul.  They exist!  Deep down, they exist, and what an opportunity to refresh another sister in Christ with healing straight from the Word of God!

People are important.
Lives are valuable.
Time is short.
Speak life into those around you and spread the grace of our Lord to each other!
We need it; I need it.
Until glory:
There will always be a heart that needs mending.
There will always be a life that needs saving.
There will always be room for encouragement.

Here's a few passages you can use to share truth and love with another:
Psalm 139:13-14
"For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!  Marvelous are Your works, LORD, and my soul knows it!"

Genesis 1:27
"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them."

Ephesians 2:10
"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do!"

Isaiah 42:5
"This is what God the LORD says - the Creator of heavens who stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it."

Job 12:10
"In His hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind."

Just as a side note, these are a mere few of the truths found in the Word of God that can aid the aching of our hearts to be accepted, cherished, chosen and loved.  There are so much more, and when you read His Word, He will indeed inspire you.  If you ask, He will answer you.  If you seek, you'll find.
His promises are yes and amen in Jesus Christ!
Such a breath of fresh air is welcome, wouldn't you say?

Much love,
Deeds

Thank you for using my affiliate link for this set here.

Thank you for using my affiliate link for this set here!

Thank you for using my affiliate link for this set here!

Deep Thoughts, Precious Thoughts

How good are you works, O Lord!

Your thoughts are very deep.

Psalm 92:5

How precious are your thoughts to me, O God!

How vast the sum of them!

Psalm 139:17

We can scarcely grasp the scope of God's thoughts.  They are higher, deeper, more vast that anything we can imagine.  Even more amazing is that his thoughts toward us are good, loving, and gracious.  He is a loving Father who delights in his children.  

His thoughts of us are deeper than the sea...deeper than the expanse of the universe.  We might wonder how often he thinks of us.  The Bible answers that question.  His thoughts of us are more numerous that the grains of sand on the shores, more than the stars of the sky.  We are constantly on his mind.  Psalm 139:7 says, "Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?"  There is no place we can go that his mind is not on us, that his eye fail to see, or his heart fails to love.  His reach is always sufficient to grab us in his loving, protective embrace. 

 

How precious is that?  How very precious!  When we try to imagine God's thoughts of us, his care and concern...his love, we can't grasp it when we look at the scope of the reaches of the universe.  But there is one concrete image, one measurable way we can know how much he loves us.  

The measure of God's love is from

one nail scarred hand to the other. 

Several years ago a song from Casting Crowns, East to West, expressed the same thought in describing how far God throws away our sin when we are forgiven through Christ.  The same is true of the measure of his love.  Were it not for what Christ did for us on the cross of Calvary, we would not be able to comprehend or envision how much God loves us.  It is through the gospel message we find our ability to relate to His love.  When God gives us his Spirit we can see what Jesus did and then we know how very, very precious is his love toward us and how vast his thoughts of us surely must be.  

-----

Design Details:

I love using my Praise Book to house some of my journaling for meaningful scripture. It allows more space than my Bible, yet still elevates scripture in beautiful ways.  Here I used the Beach Blessings Printable for the design pieces and the Script Outline Alpha to capture the primary focus of the page. 

I just added a little more texture and color to the page with a stencil and acrylic paint.  

Sets Used:

Beach Blessings Printable

Script Outline Alpha Clear Stamp

Precious God

Hey guys, it's Deeds!  Welcome to Creative Worship!

I'm glad you stopped by to have a read today!  

I am really glad; and I'm hopeful. 

Lots going on lately on this blog feed.  Some good buzz, and some difficult. 
I know there has been attack after attack on my family for the past few months.  It's been crazy!  All attacks have come in pairs, threes, or even more, and on some days I feel completely lost; distraught; alone; depleted.
This is called reality.  "La vie" is episodes of ups and downs, yes?  

The journal entry you see here comes from a "downs" place; raw place;  a season in my life filled with all sorts of confusion and even despair. 
No, it's not the despair part that I'm interested in sharing with you.  Though there may be use in detailing what the Lord has brought us through as a family, what is far more important is the blessing and honor due His name.  Yes, and amen!!
Enter Psalm 139.
I've read this Psalm in completely different settings before this entry was made, and it was usually in a happy, flowing, comfortable state.  I praise the Lord that Psalm 139 is available to me even when - no, ESPECIALLY when - I'm struggling.  It's rich, and I mean totally LOADED.
There are a couple of verses that stood out to me this last go around.  Funny how scripture you read and hear thousands of times can hit you "just right" in any given moment; meet you just where you're at. 

Check it out…

"How precious Your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is!  If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you."  (v. 17-18)

Two things:

1. God's thoughts are precious.  No matter what I'm doing, where I'm going, what I'm thinking, where I've been and how messy my life has become, God thinks tenderly toward this child.  God loves His daughter beyond a fathomable measure.  The word "precious," means "of great value; not to be wasted or treated carelessly."  God is not wasting His thoughts toward me; they are precious; they are valuable.  His thoughts toward me are characterized by His ability to restore, renew, and retain value.
2. These "thoughts" are also without number.  Do you remember when God took Abram (aka Abraham) outside His tent and told him to look up?  Abram was instructed to try to number the stars and if he could, he would have counted his descendants through his son.  Abram, of course, was unable to number the stars, therefore unable to number his promised legacy, and oh, the vast generations to follow! 
   More so, God's thoughts toward us are innumerable - WITHOUT NUMBER.  He never stops thinking about you.  Nor does He stop thinking about me!  How is this possible?  Well with man, it's totally impossible.  Our minds hinge on logic, and will only fully function on the appropriate amount of sleep.  GOD NEVER SLEEPS - THUS GOD IS ALWAYS THINKING.  I LOVE THAT!!!!

Who cares, right?  Well, I did.  I do!  My soul needs to know that the tender-loving Shepherd-King is thinking about His flock.  I desperately NEED to understand that my God is bigger than I think Him to be, and can do anything and everything He chooses.  And what He chooses is to think of me.  Not because I'm special, but like I said before, the glory and honor due is name is invaluable!  It's precious!  HE IS GOD!  His love for me turns around and glorifies Him.  He dotes on me, to glorify Himself.  To make Himself my treasure.
It's a weird mindset, and it doesn't permeate our culture all that much.  But, if God were not able to think constantly, love unfathomably, and pursue adamantly, God's glory and I would sink together. 

Think about Psalm 139 the next time you feel completely lost; distraught; alone; depleted.  The precious, uncountable thoughts toward you come from a God that is all-together precious!

Much love,

Deeds

IG: mrcfuldeeds2010
Youtube: mrcfuldeeds
 

Featured printables by Diane Noble of Sweet 'n' Sassy Stamps: "Beach Blessings."

Find ALL of the June release and more Here!