Mercy

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy."

Psalm 103:8

"Mercy for others will reveal your ongoing need for mercy, driving you to the end of yourself and into the arms of your merciful Savior." - Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies

In all honesty, I had a completely different topic picked out for today's blog post. But then my devotional covered the topic of mercy, my Sunday School class was on the topic of mercy, and my pastor preached on mercy in his Sunday evening sermon. You think just *maybe* God's trying to tell me something? 

To be completely transparent with you, I have not felt very merciful these last couple weeks. Not. At. All. People have been hurtful and unkind to me and my family and my first response is to immediately give them a piece of my mind. You feel me? After all, it's wrong and they need to know it! But then I have to stop. Just stop. Think. Take a deep breath. Pray. And remember the mercy that God has given me each and every day. 

"Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to they word. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word."

Psalm 119:41-42

God has a plan for me to live in freedom and liberty (read down to verse 45), and that plan includes my living in mercy so I can give mercy. If I don't have a plan for living in and giving mercy, I will live in a state of perpetual irritation - being hurt and offended by everyone and everything that slights me in any way. I don't know about you, but that is not how I want to live.

I love this excerpt from Paul David Tripp's New Morning Mercies devotional:

"We celebrate God's mercy but scream at our children when they mess up. We sing of amazing grace but punish our spouses with silence when they offend us. We praise God for his love but forsake a friendship because someone has been momentarily disloyal. We are thankful that we've been forgiven but say that a person who is suffering the result of his decisions is getting what he deserves. We bask in God's grace but throw the law at others. We're simply not that good at mercy because we tend to see ourselves as more deserving than the poor and needy."

Ouch. That hits where it hurts. God has granted me mercy and wants me to extend that same mercy to others; and when I show mercy to the people or situations that hurt or offend me, I grow (II Peter 3:18). 🎕

This week, I am praying for God's mercy to be real to me, not just for me, but so that I can share mercy with others and ultimately point them back to a loving, merciful God.

Page Details

If you know me, you know I love doing anything and everything with Distress Oxides. They are my go-to medium for all art pages! This page was especially fun because it was a beautiful mixed media disaster (kinda like me, haha). 😉 I used a 5" x 7" art journal I received as a gift at a recent retreat. Here is my step-by-step process:

1. I did put down a couple layers of Diane Wakley Clear Gesso on the page before starting my art. I used to never use gesso, but then I watched a great video by Colleen on whether or not to gesso with Distress Oxides (watch the video here) and have been gessoing ever since. I really like how the water reacts on the page when I gesso. Definitely creates more of an effect. 
2. I used a blending tool to blend two colors of Distress Oxides randomly on my page: Seedless Preserves and Peacock Feathers. I work fast when I do this! I get a bunch of ink on my blending tool and then swirl around on the page. Since this is messy page, I wasn't worried about actually blending the colors together - just about getting them down on the page. 
3. As soon as I had my base color down, I spritzed the page with my Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer. I like to get big droplets of water on the page and then tilt the page around to get runny water splotches. 
4. I used my heat dryer to dry my current progress. 
5. I then pulled out my brand, new Distress Ink Spray and sprayed some splotches on the page. This is the first time I've ever used Distress Spray and it was fun, but it's definitely going to take some practice. 😉 I did like how it reacted on my page, but since I had gessoed the page, it took a bit longer to dry. So be aware of that.
6. Dry again.
7. I smooshed the Seedless Preserves Distress Oxides down on my plastic page background, grabbed a paint brush, dipped it in water, and made my own little DIY watercolor with the smooshed oxides and splattered it all over the page. This added some purple splatters to go along with the blue splatters. 
8. Dry again.
9. I then used texture paste and stencils to created some flowers on the page corners. I smooshed down my Distress Oxides in Shaded Lilac (I wanted to add a different purple color for dimension) on my plastic page background, mixed a little bit of glitter acrylic paint that I picked up at Michael's, and texture paste to create a light purpley, glittery texture. I then very thinly spread that over my stencils where I wanted my flowers to go. 
10. Dry again. 
11. I then stamped down my images and title using the new Dragonfly Dreams, Loop da Loop, and Texture Tiles 5 stamp sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. I love these sets! I used Versafine Black Ink to stamp the images. I have found that this ink gives me the best images when I'm doing stamping, but be careful not to smudge the stamp when you are stamping on gesso!
12. Dry again.
13. I filled in some of the stamped hearts with my white gel pen to add a bit more dimension. 
14. Added a few small strips of coordinating color washi tape.
15. Wrote my devotional note.
16. Date stamped (always date stamp!!).
17. Made sure everything is dry again. 
18. FINISHED!

All in all, this page took almost an hour to do just because of all the layers and I was working with new mediums but, boy, was it FUN! I would highly encourage you to do something similar. This kind of messy art is therapeutic to me. In fact, how would you feel about me creating a video with this process? It won't be anything you haven't seen before with some other mixed media pros, but it could be fun to make an art mess together. What do you think? Leave me a comment if you'd like me to do a live video and journal together!! 😊

Thanks for hanging out with me today. I hope you are reminded to show mercy to the people in your life today. For further encouragement, take a moment and read Psalm 103. 💜

Much love in Christ, 

Janelle

@journalingjoy

Here are the stamp sets I used to create this page:

 

 

Selah

God is our refuge and strength,

    a very present help in trouble.

2 

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

3 

though its waters roar and foam,

    though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Selah    (Psalm 46:1-3)

I always wanted to know what this word meant... Selah. 
I've heard it said that it's some type of pause; some form of meditative hesitation.  When someone says the word, I often wonder why they didn't translate this seemingly mystical word into one for our English language as a help for those of us who want to better understand this beautifully-written interjection.

I still have yet to figure that out.  All I know, is that it was placed as another piece of praise/prayer to the Lord which prompted the singers/hearers to take a breather...and just listen.  To what?  Instrumental music, mostly.  They were to take a break and just enjoy the sounds of plunking, clashing, banging, and whatever other interesting musicality they had in their day.  

There are times during a worship service where our music leader will guide the band in playing 3 to 4 wordless measures between verses of a song in order that the congregation can hold still, think on what we just sang, and prepare to pick up the next verse and choruses with stronger engagement.  Songs that have a soul-deafening sadness to them are meant to cause us to lament our sin, repent of unjust deeds, turn to the Lord, and appeal to His mercy.  Other songs are gauged to stir you to dancing, rejoicing, and praising the God above for what He has done and continues to do.  Lyrics are powerful; pauses in the middle of corporate worship are amazing and can have heart-filling effects. 

My goal is not necessarily to talk about music though.  Oh, I love music; one of my favorite things, and part of my God-given ministry at our local church house is singing.  But I'm also curious as to what may happen should we use this term, "Selah," - a pause or a break - in our every day studying. 
What if we took time to read God's Word, pausing to meditate on a particular section of scripture, thinking on His character, thinking on His heart, treasuring those things in our hearts, preparing ourselves to read a bit more, repeating said steps above?
What if, in the middle of our seeking truth and knowledge of the Bible, we intermittently took a step back to listen to the "interlude" of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him space in our time to etch the Word a bit deeper? 
Maybe we read a passage one more time.
Maybe we read a passage many times.
Maybe we slow down; stop rushing; start feasting.

There are many ways to glorify our God, but more than anything He wants us to be completely aware of Him, enjoying Him, and finding our daily satisfaction in Him.  But like anything else, a hurried job is a sloppy job.  By taking, making room for, implementing "Selah" in study, our daily Bible reading could take on a whole new form; it could become more worshipful, more meaningful, more fruitful, more beautiful! Our spiritual eyes may behold something more amazing, breath-taking, awe-inspiring.
It's just a thought.  Whenever I see "Selah" in the Psalms, though it was originally given for pause in prayer and worship, I wonder what it is that I just read that needs to be taken a bit more into consideration. 
In the verses above, for example, reading how God is our refuge, our strength, our help, our present protection is awesome!  Reading about His power, might, sovereignty and kingship is inspiring... Selah. 
Sit still.
Wait.
Think about it.
Lean in to it.
Pause.
Pray.
Praise!

Giving the Holy Spirit a bit of additional time to impress our souls with this description of God, may just make a world of difference as we navigate our day.  It may just bring a closer assurance and a more solidified worship of an Almighty Fortress!  The Rock of all ages, and the King above all kings!
It may.  It's just a thought. 
So, I'm going to try it.  I'm going to make a conscious effort to "Selah" or have "Selah" or practice "Selah" when in my devotions.  During a reading, I've challenged myself to hang out, read again, study deeper, and listen more closely to God's whispers to my heart.  My goal: to be more satisfied in the Lord via the help of a "Selah." 
Let me know if you try it; I'd love to know what your thoughts are, and you're welcome to comment here if you'd like! 
Much love, friends!


Deeds

God is my Confidence

"Your promise still stands, great is Your faithfulness...I'm still in Your hands. 
This is my confidence: You've never failed me yet!"  Elevation Worship, "Do it Again"

Heya!
Deeds here :D

Goodness me!  The day before the new month, and we're already on a new release for Sweet n Sassy Stamps!  It's exciting to see what the designers come up with, and if you would just join me in a quick "SHOUT OUT" for all their love and efforts, that would be awesome!
GIRLS, YOU ROCK IT!
I hope you were able to watch the release yesterday - it was pretty exciting!

During this time of transition from October to November, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has experienced a bit of "labor pains" of new routines or revamped schedules.  When Fall falls, we all get the sense that things are gonna change for sure.  We grow fond of our leafy decor, pumpkin patches, PSL's, foliage ventures, and fun sayings hanging above our stoked fireplaces. 
Our hearts tend hopeful as we go from a long and busy summer to a cooler, tempered autumn.  It's not easy to readjust to the new norm of activity, events, rainy days, and sick kids.  But, it's a lot easier with a cup of hot something or other and a fun, full scarf!
What I'm saying is, transition is good, interesting and sometimes difficult.  It can be helpful, awkward, or wonderful, or all three!
We've had a bit of changing around here, recently.  It's been good, bad, ugly and exciting all wrapped up into one hot mess.  Some call it, "life."
Not perfect. 
Not terrible.
Doable.
Life.

I needed ALL the space to place my Charles Spurgeon notes inside this page,
so I made sure to keep the background simple with ink smooshing.

With such transitions,  I exercise my emotional "muscles" in this little world of mine - flexes from  overwhelming joy to overwhelming overwhelmed-ness.  I don't know how else to say it.
But, as one who claims the Lord Jesus as Savior, I'm learning what it means to lean.  I'm understanding a bit more of what the good Lord means by, "trust in the LORD with all of your heart."

God is gracious.  That is certain.
God is faithful.  That is forever!
Keep that in mind, Deeds.

As hindsight took a 20/20 these last couple of weeks, I came to understand - AGAIN - the working of God's character in all situations.  It hasn't been the best of 2 weeks.  In fact, the sinful nature of my heart kicked and screamed against some of the happenings that God allowed, namely, physical injuries, personal insults, sick children, and the like. 
Even still, we have yet to reach the mountain crest again, and when we do, I've elected to look with fondness at the passing of the valley.  
I don't like the valley.
I don't like the shadows in the valley.
I don't like the idea of the valley.
I don't like the possibilities of the valley.
I don't like the presence of the valley.
It's hard in the valley.

What did we say before?
God is gracious.  That is certain.
God is faithful.  That is forever.

I highly recommend reading Charles Spurgeon's notes on Psalm 44!
They are wonderful!!

I read Psalm 44 somewhere in the middle of what I would call "a siege."  Fairly timely, as per usual for God.  What a read!
Here, we have 8 full and worshipful verses speaking to God's care, control, deliverance, power, Kingship and authority.  It's beautiful.  It's what I would say from any peak! 
It's also a surprising lead to verse 9 and following, where we get an immediate turn about - the exact opposite sentiments of the prior 8 verses.  This point of the chapter brings weightiness to my heart.  Most likely because it's this last half or so of the Psalm that I resonate with the most. 
God, where are you?
Have you forgotten me?
Have you forsaken me?
Do you love me anymore?
Is my life hidden from your sight?

Oh, friends, it's hard in the valley.  It's hard to systematically work through the bitter edges of the puzzle, trying to put pieces together that make any sense whatsoever. 
It's hard in the valley. 
As I talked with my insta-bestie, Colleen (@stirthesoul), we shared with one another the expression, "count it all joy," as it pertains to our lives currently.  We encouraged each other with this:
"It's in the valleys we become closest to God."  YES!
It's in the valleys we learn our total and utter dependence on the rightful Keeper of our faith. Amen!

How are we to have joy in the pits?
Why are we to have joy in the deep ravines?

Because, Psalm 44:1-8
Read it...rejoice in it...

O God, we have heard with our ears,
    our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
    in the days of old:
² you with your own hand drove out the nations,
    but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
    but them you set free;
³ for not by their own sword did they win the land,
    nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
    and the light of your face,
    for you delighted in them.

⁴ You are my King, O God;
    ordain salvation for Jacob!
⁵ Through you we push down our foes;
    through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
⁶ For not in my bow do I trust,
    nor can my sword save me.
⁷ But you have saved us from our foes
    and have put to shame those who hate us.
⁸ In God we have boasted continually,
    and we will give thanks to your name forever.  Selah

Amen!?

 

I went ahead and created an insert for my "loved" Bible, so that someone else may see and read for herself:
God is gracious and faithful!

As life transitions, changes, falls where it may, there can be dark periods wherein we MUST persist!  The way we do this with anticipation, joy and hope, is by praising God through His immutable characteristics!  There are many, but what did we say before?
God is gracious.  That is certain!
God is faithful.  That is forever!

Moving through valleys brings a clearer view of our powerlessness compared to an all-powerful God!
It brings us to a humbled place before our Sovereign Lord.
It moves us to a contriteness before our merciful Savior.

Not convinced?
Re-read verses 1-8 again. 
The psalmist writes of a history.  A history of his people.  His fathers.  His ancestors who knew and saw the glory of God.  It's a record.  A remembering.  A recalling of facts of Almighty God.

We do not need to be on the mountaintop to see that God is gracious.  That is certain!  His present touch and handle on your life and mine is as close in proximity as when we're walking tippy top, sunshine warming our face!
We do not need to fear the valley; God is faithful.  That is forever!  His never-changing person brings a hope in who He has been from the beginning of time. 

I like the precious moments He sends to reassure me: I am His. 
The other night, during youth group worship we sang the song, "Do it again," by Elevation Worship.  I listened to every lyric, attempting to capture each one in my heart and feed it to my soul. 
Good stuff.
Stuff that helps bring a soul up to worship; lift it up to song and praise.

I've seen You move!  You move the mountains! 
And I believe I'll see You do it again!

The refrain, "but you have never failed me yet," holds dear to me, and as I await the next peak of sunshine, I want to remember: "great is Your faithfulness, Your faithfulness!  Your promise still stands, THIS IS MY CONFIDENCE, YOU'VE NEVER FAILED ME YET." 

In this low, I am high with confidence in a God that never fails. 
In this ache, I am healed with confidence in a God that never fails.
In this darkness, I am guided with confidence in a God that never fails.

Never.
Not. Ever.

Much love,
Deeds

IG: @mercies_journaled


Thanks for reading, friends!  I encourage you to dive into Psalm 44 today and read of God's character.

Keep Me Safe Lord

Psalm 17:8

"Keep me as the apple of your eye;

Hide me in the shadow of your wings."

Preserve me, guard me, keep me safe Lord. God looks out for each and every one of his children. He wants the very best for us and to see us prosper in this life. 

Jeremiah 29:11 

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Life can be scary. Not knowing what your next step in life should be, or how to handle a recent unexpected event. It's scary when I can't see the "whole puzzle" and how all the pieces are suppose to fit together. Only God knows what that final picture is meant to be. But God is there to keep us safe, shelter us from the storms that life brings, and guide us in the right direction. Life the mother bird, we can find shelter under his wings, keeping us warm and safe at all times. 

I had fun experimenting with the background of this page. If you're a crafty person like me, you may occasionally receive a card from someone and think "Wow, this is cool, I'm saving this for something!" Well that's what I did with a recent birthday card I received. The front had a beautiful cream colored cut out layered on top and I thought "That would look cool in my bible!" When I went to create this page I remembered that piece I had stashed away and thought it may make a cool stencil!

So I laid the paper piece on my page where I wanted it and secured it with some washi tape. I used Distress Ink in Antique Linen ( one of my favorites) and daubed it over the stencil until I was happy with the design it left. I had to use a make up sponge to apply the ink into the tiny holes of the stencil. 

Since I didn't want the stencil to show through my bird, I stamped the bird from the set Singing Praises onto card stock. I used a few different mediums to add color and shading. I started with rubbing two colors of Distress Oxide onto my clear acrylic block. Then applied the color with a watercolor brush. To add a little more depth, I went over the watercolor with my Prismacolor pencils. After applying all the color to the image, I went back and outlined the image with my black Faber-Castell pen and then a couple small touches of white acrylic paint. 

xoxo,

Stephanie Gammon

@faith.and.creativity 

Singing Praises

No Place I'd Rather Be

Being on my patio in the evenings and getting to watch my favorite Artist create the most glorious sunset paintings is definitely one of my favorite places to be. Watching as He pulls out colors my eyes have never even seen before is mind boggling to me. It definitely makes this girl ponder Him.

Even better than sunsets from my patio, are sunsets on the beach. It’s the place where the sun just seems to melt into the water. The place where the colors of the sun and the colors of the ocean just seem to dance. I definitely love pondering about my Creator God at the beach.

As much as I enjoy these happy places, they don’t even compare to what being Him will be like.

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God...A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!”
‭‭Psalm 84:1-2, 10a‬ ‭NLT‬‬


With each passing day and the older I get, I long to go home. Truly home. My hearts gets homesick some days...especially when I miss loved ones. Better than even being reunited with loved ones, is the thought of being fully in the presence of my Lord. 

One day, I can just imagine sitting with my God and Him pulling out all those colors that He uses to paint with and watching Him create...in person. 

Where is your favorite place to ponder Him? Share with me in the comments.

May you long for home.

Art behind the story:

The Home for the Holidays set this month is fast becoming one of my favorite Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets. I stamped the doorway on the bottom of the page. The letters are stamped with Sunshine Girl Alpha. On the top of the page, the sentiment and the tab are from the Home for the Holidays set too. I used Derwent Inktense pencils to color the doorway. The background colors are a mixture of Distress Oxides that I applied with a soft makeup brush. There are several great colors of the oxides for sale now on our website.  

Have fun shopping all the new releases, creating, and praising the Lord with your creativity!!


Until next time,

Gayle
Patio Ponderings

Deliver

You know how those familiar things can evoke such calm and peace? My memories of growing up in a precious family are so sweet. Yes, I realize now more than ever how fortunate I was to grow up in a great family. Items from my childhood bring back certain pleasant memories.  

Daddy was in the Air Force, so he traveled all over and we had many keepsakes from different countries. We had woven ponchos from Panama, ceramic elephants from Thailand, and a big stuffed llama from Peru. When I see these things from my childhood, they bring such sweet peace and comfort to my heart.

Unfortunately for us, too, was the fact that Daddy’s travel also subjected his body to some horrible things as well. My dad served in Korea and Vietnam. And, as many of you know, Daddy suffered in his last days from lung cancer.

On one very dark night, I was called up to come sit with Daddy because his mind was out of control and he was hallucinating. No medicine or interventions they tried were working. When I got there, I found my dad sitting in a wheelchair...dressed in only a diaper and a T-shirt...and he was screaming out uncontrollably.

My heart was broken. My daddy...the strongest man I had ever known...was sitting there in a most pitiful state. My dad never raised his voice, was filled with a quiet reserve, and was very private. I. Was. Broken.

As I approached Daddy he called out “Gayle, we have to get out of here. The Viet Cong is attacking. Don’t you hear the air raid sirens?”
What was actually happening was that people’s IV’s were beeping and the nursing home staff were talking to each other over the loud speaker.  

But Daddy’s mind was so attacked by the side effects of cancer, that he was flashing back to all the air raids from his days in Vietnam. I had been praying on my my drive all the way over that God would give me directions on how to help my Daddy. 

I pulled Daddy over beside me and held his hand and began to talk to him. Me being there helped, but he was still so upset and saying we had to take cover...they were going to kill us.

In my purse, I had my Bible. I grabbed it out and began to read to Daddy. We started in Psalm 91 because that was his favorite.

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭91:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“He will protect you from every deadly disease!” Yes! As I was reading, I was praying “God protect my Daddy from the ravages of this disease. Deliver him from the grips of this terror.”

“He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭91:4-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God was the protection for my Daddy. Daddy did not have to fear the terrors of the night. We didn’t have to fear this dreadful disease.

As I was reading, a calm began to come over Daddy. He body began to limber and the tension began to ease.

“If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.”
‭‭Psalm 91:9-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I’m sure it was God’s angels that were protecting Daddy’s mind at that point.

“The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭91:14-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is no doubt in my mind that God rescued Daddy that night. As I continued reading from the Word, it wasn’t long until Daddy was fast asleep and we were able to get him back in bed. I slept peacefully the rest of the night in the recliner beside him. We both woke up refreshed...and protected...and rescued in the Lord.

My friends...God’s Word is always the answer to it all.  Just like the sun will always rise in the morning, His mercies will always be new.  Lean in to Him.  

_________________
Art behind the story:

When I saw the Llama Love set, they brought such sweet memories of the stuffed llama we had from my childhood. I knew they had to go in my Bible with the story of deliverance from the Lord.

I stamped the mountains several times, and then watercolored and fussy cut them. The same is true for the llamas, the blankets and the cactus. I watercolored the background and then stamped the words using the Chunky Lowercase Alpha. I used Derwent Inktense pencils to shadow the letters. After gluing the fussy cut pieces on the page, I added more watercolor for highlights and then completed the page with the mountain clip.

There are several great new releases for August on the Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps website. If you use of them on social media, please tag me. I’d love to see what you do with them.

Until next time,
GayleIG: patioponderings

Sing With Joy

Reading through the Bible chronologically has really changed my perspective as I read the Psalms that David wrote. I’ve known for some time that each Psalm was written during certain periods of David’s life. Some during good times, and others not so good. They are a journal of sorts of David’s response to God during these periods in his life. It’s a great to read them alongside the history of what was occurring in the kingdom at the same time. 

Psalm 59 was written during a time when Saul was after David, and Saul had sent soldiers to David’s house to try to kill David.

Hmmm. Wonder what my reaction would’ve been? “Ahhhhh...I’m going to die! The end is near! God, where are you?” Is our first thought to react...or respond...when troubles come upon us?

Let’s take a look at David’s response. In verses nine and ten, David proclaims that God is his strength and that he would wait for God to rescue him! 

What was David thinking? He had soldiers at his house ready to kill him and instead of panicking, He instead says “God’s got it...no need to worry!” (my paraphrase)

David goes on in the next few verses to tell about the enemy scavenging about at night and prowling the streets. I don’t know about you, but the night time is where I have a hard time turning off my head and worrying mind. It seems that during the quiet is when the enemy screams the loudest.

We have a choice. To listen to the enemy, or rest in the peace that only God can bring. Here, David made the choice to rest in the quiet hush of the Lord and to sing the Lord’s praises. 

Verse 16 tells us that David will sing of the Lord’s power and in the morning he will “sing for joy” of the Lord’s love...His unfailing love!!
He goes on to boldly say that the lord has been his refuge and his place of safety.

It wasn’t anything David did himself, or even his mighty men. It was God alone who was David’s refuge!!

I encourage you friends to let God be your strength and your refuge. You’ll be singing for joy about His unfailing love! 

“You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me, for you, O God, are my fortress. In his unfailing love, my God will stand with me. He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.

But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭59:9-10, 16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

showing some of the added texture

Art behind the story:

For this mixed media entry, I used my interleaved Bible which has a blank page in between each page of text.  For the background, I started with a piece of printed scrapbook paper and added ephemera for decorations.  Using Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets, I stamped the words "Sing for Joy" with Sunshine Girl Alpha and  the Life In Jesus set.  To add more visual interest, I added some texture with the Texture Tiles 1 set.

Have a great time in Creative Worship as you spend time with the Lord stamping and creating in His Word!

Hugs,

Gayle
Patio Ponderings