the YOU of Isaiah 26:3

Hello dear friends!  

Welcome back to the Creative Worship Blog for Sweet n Sassy Stamps!

Today, I put together a bit of a tutorial as to how to make a tip-in that looks like a small piece of artwork for your Bible, for a frame, for a friend...
Let me tell you that it is NOT difficult, it is NOT complex, it IS fun, and it DOES help when it comes to learning how to work with water and pigment. 
I pulled a couple Distress Oxides from the shelf and began working in a watercolor technique by just adding water.  Simply, you stamp the entire pad onto a smooth working surface (craft mat, piece of acetate, etc.) and spritz  water into the pigment until it's nice and wet.  Don't over water; you could potentially lose all that wonderful color!  

Begin by masking the edges for a straight border

Add water to the Distress Oxide and apply liberally, using more
pigment in places than others.

Then start painting like you would with actual watercolor discs, crayons, or pencils.  They work pretty much in the same way, only for some reason I LOVE how easy and fast it is to work with Oxides.
Blending colors is big - make sure that when you use a blue, you also incorporate a bit of the blue into the other colors used, particularly when trying to achieve a sunset/sunrise.  Most sunrises/sunsets are not one color on top of another, but rather several colors intertwined to produce a beautiful sighting of God's glory!

I used Landscape Silhouettes and Sweet and Simple Alpha
(Affiliate link below)

I filled in the bottom of the image with a Faber Castell brush pen
to produce a greater horizon.

Layering is key, so after the initial color is laid down, allow it to dry (or use a heat gun) and continue to add more color as you desire.  Typically I use a deep blue, a nice purple, a yellow and a red for an image like this one.  Once that step is done, you can begin stamping those lovely silhouette images for a drastic contrast and lovely portrait!

Sisters and brothers, a couple weeks ago, God handed me yet another verse that blew me away though I'd read it and thought on it numerous times beforehand:
"YOU will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is dependent on YOU, because it trusts in YOU."  (Isaiah 26:3, emphasis mine to help us see the centrality of this verse)

Can I tell you something God's Word says about God's Word?
"The Word of the Lord is living and active.  Sharper than a double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. "  (Hebrews 4:12)

So when the Lord hands over a piece of His heart, you know that it can only mean one thing: it's GOING TO WORK!
This working had its place in me; a timely word spoken!  A necessary word breathed straight into my marrow!  The life that it gave me at that time was enough to take a heart full of trouble and a mind full of lies, clean them up, and set them back up again.  I was burdened - OVERLOADED - with thoughts that were simply not true, and worries unfounded as, according to the Bible, those that have no place!
The verse in Isaiah was what brought a mind whirring with doubts about the future back into focus on God's love. 
Perfect love casts out fear, and as promised, those who fear only God will indeed have peace. 

I used a white gel pen to give a highlight to the word, "YOU"

Remove the masking and trim down to the desirable size card.

When I posted a page from my Bible a couple weeks back, I asked two questions:
The pre-occupation of my heart…who is it?
The thoughts of my mind…what are they?

IF the answer to EITHER of those questions is ANYTHING other than the Lord God Almighty, then I WILL NOT have peace; this promise will go waiting for me to grab hold and make it mine. 
When giving ourselves over to "what if's" and "who knows," our minds become the very place our adversary - the Devil - can play the game he's always played with the souls of man: doubt God, and deny God. 
BUT if we are staying our minds - thinking on "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy," (Phil. 4:8) - on the eternal, loving Father, we will be at peace.
We WILL have peace.
WE will HAVE peace.
We will have PEACE.

Just think about the last time you encountered something disconcerting, terrifying, confusing, destroying, disappointing…
Were your thoughts about His truth?
Were your thoughts right?
Were your thoughts lovely?

Refusing our natural inclination to worry already sets us ahead of the situation and the ploys of the one who wants to devour us. 
Rejecting the lies our enemy sets as snares, to listen to God's voice on a matter, places us in the hands of the One who can fight and win!

Peace comes to us by keeping our preoccupations on His word, because His yoke is easy. 

Peace comes to us by letting the Lord do His work, because ultimately it pleases Him to do so.
 

Today, are you worried?
Ask yourself, what are you thinking? 
Who are you thinking about?
Remember, peace for a troubled heart comes by way of fixing our eyes - our very THOUGHTS - on the Lord that loves you, and cares for your precious heart so very much!

Much love,

Deeds
IG: @mercies_journaled
Affiliate Link for stamps: http://www.sweetnsassystamps.com?aff=7  (Thank you very much in advance!)

Landscape Silhouettes

Sweet and Simple Alpha Stamps

Joy & our friend, Job

Cover page for the book of Job with a reference to James

Hey everyone! 
Deeds here, with another blog post and Youtube process video for Creative Worship! I love this blog.  I love that you're coming.  I love that this is making an impact in the lives of so many.
I pray that today you will find this blog a blessing and encouragement, particularly because it covers a topic that I find the hardest to understand.

Dear friends, this is - by far - one of the hardest blogs I've had to write; it's the hardest of topics that I've ever had to think about:
JOY through SUFFERING.

And, what is joy? 
What does it look like for me?

What does joy look like in the believer in the midst of pain and suffering?

And guess what?  I don't have the answers to all of these questions.  The biggest issue I'm grappling with right now is how to explain joy in the middle of suffering.
Let me first explain why this lands on my radar.  WHY in the world am I so fixated on joy in suffering?  Cheer in the midst of sorrow?

Well, firstly I'm in the book of Job.  I have a Bible reading plan that I follow.  It takes me through chapters at a time of certain books, and only small sprigs of scripture other times.  I’m liking they layout of the plan!

But, Job? 
Oi.  Job. 
I confess that my heart was achy before I even read the first chapter.  My mind wrestled with God on this topic of the suffering believer.  My soul cringed at the mess that would come as I dealt with some real struggles as a believer in a fallen, depraved, starving world.

Y'all, there's a lot to this concept of joy. 
There's a LOT to the marriage of joy & suffering. 
For the sake of not getting ahead of myself, and attempting to stay clear, I've come up with a few bullet points (and hopefully helpful reminders) on what I've learned since I began this journey in Job.

-Suffering passes through the throne of Grace.

-Suffering is only allowed, by this Throne, to the extent that it is turned around for His glory.

-Suffering is meant to draw us ever closer to the throne that has more than enough grace to see us through "in time of need." (Heb. 4:16)

Reference: Job 1:6ff

These are the basics of what I've come to understand about Job.  It's what I've come to experience daily as the battle rages for my heart.  

Job experienced one of the highest levels of suffering that we know of.  His wealth, his children, his property, his inheritance, his health, his future…gone.  Gone in an instant.  Gone forever.  Gone without reason…
Chapters following his initial loss are COMPLETELY taken over by a discussion that would sooner prove unhelpful, unencouraging, un-insightful, and unwanted than be considered imparted grace and life.  Job had some lousy friends.  Worse yet, he had a terrible wife. 

He had it bad.

He had it the worst.

"Dude took an L," is how I would hear my kids put it. 
And it actually happened - this account is not a sad story of a kid's book with no premise and little moral value.  This truly took place in our history.  Job was a real "dude."

I believe Job is written for our good; for us to see how we can handle the issues of sickness, rejection, loss, and the temptation to lose hope. 
BUT, I more so believe that this amazing account directs us to the One who suffered the most; the One who gave it all; the One who incurred the most rejection, the most ridicule, the most loss, the most burden, the most judgment, and the most wrath, even unto death on the cross. 
The Bible says,
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS, the founder and perfecter of our faith, WHO FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM ENDURRED THE CROSS, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (Hebrews 12:1-4, emphasis mine)

Stamp set used: "Choose Faith"
Affiliate link here: http://www.sweetnsassystamps.com?aff=7

Small prayer of hope that God will show me His heart.

It's not easy being weary in heartbreak and body ache.  It's not easy enduring the loss of a friend, or the rejection of a husband.  It's NOT easy.
It's part of our fallen world to encounter the problems we face, and it's totally natural to fall faint-hearted to the pressure of pain and sorrow. 
God knows us; He knows our heart. 
He loves us; He purchased our soul.

By the blood that was shed on the cross, He bought back what has been taken away from us by sin.  Through His love in life and death, Jesus our Redeemer, LIVES ON to bring help, hope and joy to us, His joint-heirs! 

We suffer, though not alone.

We faint, though not to death.

We endure, though not needlessly.

God is good; God is sovereign; and God is in control.  When going through the hardest of situations and the desperate of circumstances, remember that the Lord God Almighty has intentions for turning what the enemy means for harm and cursing into a matter of grace and glory for God!
Job said, "I know my Redeemer lives!" (Job 19:25)
This is a mantra and creed for the Christian faith as we work together, running the race, singing in suffering and enduring to glory!

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." (James 1:2-3)

Much love,

Deeds

Freedom in Christ

Hello dear friends!  Big waves, and bigger hugs!  ✋😘

WELCOME!!!

I'm glad you're here, and I hope you'll hang out for a bit.  If you peruse the Sweet n Sassy Stamps and Creative Worship blogs for a while, you'll find a plethora (yes, I DID use that word 🤣) of pages for inspiration; but, you'll also find heart and transparency in the ladies here.  

We look forward to ministering to you this way!

Today, I'm working on a page that means a whole bunch to me.  It has done so for the last few months.  

I used this section of the Word, here in Romans, to prepare for the retreat in Savannah, Georgia back in April, and as I engaged with the meaning behind chapter 8 vv. 14-16, God spoke volumes to me.  When He does that, it's hard not to listen.  It's even hard to do a page and just move on.  It's hard to push on to other things when the Holy Spirit meets you, louder and more obvious than ever.  

Yeah, it was THAT loud.

When speaking about our freedoms in Christ, a lot of times we issue the idea to the shackles we wear:

Fear.

Anxiety.

Depression.

Anger.

Addiction.

Guilt.

And while these are ALL things that the Holy Spirit has wonderfully disentangled us from, I have found it difficult at times to remain "free;" as free as Christ paid to make me.  I forget something incredibly important as I struggle to abide in His love and grace, rather than the yoke of bondage that once held me captive: I am His daughter.  I am a daughter of God.  A child, precious in His sight and delicate in His arms.

Romans 8:14-16 says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; rather you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father! The Spirit itself testifies with our spirit, that we are the children of God."

There are so many truth bombs of this passage; even more so are the alternate scriptures provided in the Word of God to lift up, confirm and bolster this very idea: IF IN CHRIST, WE ARE NO LONGER SLAVES, but CHILDREN!

So what I'm going to do is just put in front of you some good ol' hearty "take-home" love from the Father Himself, straight from His mouth, directly from His heart.  Are you ready?  Here we go…

Firstly, what does it mean to be a child of God?

Adopted:

• Gal. 3:26 “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”
• John 1:12-13 "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."
• Gal. 4:5-6 “to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”
• Eph. 1:4-5 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.”
• Rom. 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Born of/Led by the Spirit:

• John 3:3,6 ‘Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God...That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”’
• 1 John 5:1,4 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him...For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”
• Rom. 8:5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”

Heirs:

• Gal. 3:29 “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
• Gal. 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
• Eph. 1:11 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,”

Whew!  

Now, what does it look like to be a child of God?  (These are some of my most favorite of passages.)

Not a Slave:

• Gal. 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
• 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

Confident Assurance:

• Eph. 1:13-14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
• 1 Peter 1:4-5 “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
• 2 Cor. 1:22 “and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
• Heb. 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  LOVE THIS!

Not alone:

• Heb. 2:17-18 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
• Heb. 13:5-6 ‘he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”’

I realize, this is a lot.  That's why it's in a blogpost, but I do want to share with you that were it not for the powerful truths we find in scripture, and MORE THAN ENOUGH scripture to back up scriptural truths, it may be hard for some to take seriously what God says about them.  As children, what GOD says about us is most important; most blessed; most needed; most effective; most productive, and if you read these beautiful statements from your Daddy, He has promised they will make their mark in your life and return to Him having done a work in you!!

This is huge!  This is power!  We who are in our Savior, the Christ, are free to be children of the One true God.  The only Begotten of the Father has granted us complete assurance and access to Him who sits on the mighty throne of heaven!

Such love! Such grace!  So amazing!

Much love,

Deeds

If you're interested in nabbing some of these beautiful stamps, visit my affiliate link here, and please please tag me if you do a journaling entry in Romans 8, or anywhere else you find to claim your freedoms!!  I would love to see how the Lord spoke to you! 

IG: @mercies_journaled

FB: Deirdre Cason

Stamps used are "Freedom in Christ," and "Texture Tiles 2."
I love them both!!