A Little Birdie

Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say. Ecclesiastes 10:20

Dear Friends,

We live in a time where atrocities seem to happen almost daily. Our world and our country seem out of control. We know this is not how God wants us to live. We know this is not His way. We know many things that are playing out in the world are in direct opposition to His Word. So it's easy to criticize our government and those in authority. It's easy to criticize and even gossip about others. This last verse in Ecclesiastes 10 warns us not to criticize, not to gossip because "a little birdie told me." As believers, we need to be careful what we say and what we post because you never know who may be listening or reading. We are to share Christ with the world. Sharing Him starts with love, not criticism. 

Personally, I struggle with complaining, with criticizing. Instead I should be trusting God and praying. And I should be loving others. And through that love, others may be drawn to Christ. That's how we can change this out of control world. Love. I'm praying for all affected by the shooting in Texas yesterday. And I'm praying for our country and the world. But I'm also trusting in Him. He is in control. And that is where our hope lies!

For the page, I used the following Sweet n Sassy Stamps: For the Birds, Mini Grunge Type Alpha, Skinny Lowercase Alpha. 

Sweet n Sassy is celebrating 10 years this month! There are some great promotions happening to celebrate the 10th birthday! See the details here.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Happy Birthday and Happy Rebirth Day!

So much excitement is coming from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps/Creative Worship in November as the company celebrates its 10th year of operation.  That is quite an accomplishment and for 10 years owner Korin Sutherland has been blessing us with Christ centered stamp designs.  I truly love the designs, but even more appreciate Korin's heart for giving God all the glory through her business.  You will want to keep up with each week's giveaways, and daily announcement for a full month of fun inspiration, prizes and more.  All the details are posted on the Creative Worship Facebook page and Sweet 'n Sassy's Facebook page and blog.  So tune into those sites regularly all month long!

 

For my post today, I'm using the featured set for our birthday celebration called So Happy...and everything about this stamp set is indeed happy.  The moment I saw it I could see all kinds of possibilites for Bible journaling as well as for cardmaking.

 I did a really simple page using the set to celebrate another landmark in my own life.  The day I created this I was commemorating 55 years as a believer.  I accepted Christ in a fall revival service when I was 12 years old.  I remember it soooo clearly.  And as I look back over those years I still stand amazed by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, the protection and provision of my heavenly Father and the ultimate sacrifice my Savior made to give me rebirth.  It was indeed a happy, happy day when Jesus washed my sins away!

 My Bible translation is the ESV, but I love the rendering of this passage from the New Life Version (NLV), which says, "Our sins are washed away and we are made clean because Christ gave His own body as a gift to God. He did this once for all time."  As we are made clean and new, it truly is a washing, and through the process of sanctification (continuous transformation to become more rooted, more like Christ), we are continually cleansed by the Spirit and God's Word--"
Christ did this so He could set the church [believers] apart for Himself. He made it clean by the washing of water with the Word." (Ephesians 5:26)  How many times to I have to come back to the fountain of His grace and mercy, repent and be washed again by His love?  

 I'm so very happy that my celebration coincides with the time of year that Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps are celebrating too.  I know you will want to participate throughout the month in all that is going on in the SNSS world...so check in to the links above often...in fact, click on the FB link at the end of this post for more information on how you can get this stamp set.

Grateful for Grace

Hello Friends...

November is the month that we in America think a lot about thanksgiving, but as followers of Christ we of all people should continually have an attitude of gratitude.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

(Psalm 103:2-4)

It is so easy to fall into feelings of discontent and take the many blessings that we have for granted.  We truly do have much for which to be thankful.   

By his grace we are forgiven, healed, saved and loved...

Thank you, Jesus!

I just love the leaves changing and the beautiful colors of fall and used these colors on my page as I contemplated the wonderful grace of God and his many benefits.  Both pages were prepped with clear gesso.  Distress inks were watered down on a craft mat, picked up with a piece of acetate, and smooshed onto the page.  Texture was added by dabbing white gesso through a dot stencil and the whole page was spritzed with Perfect Pearls for a little shimmer.  Two alphabet stamp sets from the Creative Worship Line and two Sweet 'n Sassy stamp sets were used along with some washi tape and alphabet stickers to finish the page.  The leaves were watercolored using the same inks as on the background.

One of the things that Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps is grateful for is...YOU!

We want to pass along some blessings to you as we celebrate our 10th birthday.

We have lots of giveaways and prizes that we are awarding during the month of November.

Click the graphic below to find out all the details and to receive a FREE Printable perfect for Bible Journaling...no purchase necessary!

So ~ think about and count your many blessings...have an attitude of gratitude for all the Lord has given you!

Thanks so much for stopping by...have a blessed day!

Cathy

Peace on Earth... - Luke 2

I’m already preparing for Christmas. Just in my bible though ;). I love reading the scriptures that tell about the birth of Jesus. It must have been so hard for Mary to carry this special Child. She didn’t know what would become of Him but she knew that there was something going to change. How weird would it be to get a visit from a couple of shepherds you don’t know and that they would tell you that a choir of angels told them to come and visit you and your baby. And that these angels were singing ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.’ I just can’t imagine what she felt in that moment.

Back to these days. It’s almost impossible to imagine a peaceful earth. With no wars, shootings or other attacks. Or even without bullying and gossip. But we know that one day there will be true peace on earth. When Jesus, who saved us, returns… What a day that will be.

For this page I used the stamp set ‘Peace on Earth’. I stamped it on my bible page with a black ink and colored everything with colored pencils. A CAS bible journaling page, but I like to use these clean and simple pages for important messages that just stand out on their own.

I hope you will know the peace of Christ in these months before Christmas :)

- Lucinde

Thankful Grateful Blessed

Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

I really love fall, sweaters, and boots... the beauty of the scenery changing, the season of thankfulness that begins.... I know we should be thankful every day but I love the idea of devoting a whole month just to reflecting all the reasons we have to be thankful! Everything we have to be thankful for is a gift from God, to him be the glory!

I used 2 stamp sets from Sweet N Sassy to create this page. Lynzee's Script and Falling Leaves.

I started by stamping the leaves on the background with yellow orange and red pigment ink. I applied yellow to the entire stamps then added the red right on top in spots to get it to almost fade in. 

Once I had the background done I used the Lynzee script to stamp "Thankful Grateful Blessed"

I added the date stamp and some fall washi to complete the page.

Hope y'all enjoyed my page, for more inspiration you can follow me on Instagram @my.creative.worship and Sweet N Sassy @sweetnsassystamps 

Make sure to hashtag us #sweetnsassystamps on FB and IG so we can see how you 've been inspired & inspire us! 

Until next time! God Bless!♥Maria

Stamps Used:

In The Storm...

{jane bosi}  How grateful I am that I have a God able to calm both me and the storms.  He never fails in this walk when I am constantly feeling as if it is pouring....Can I get an amen??  You'll find Calms His Child here. 

I wanted to try a little decorative art and step away from bible journaling for a week or so.  Sometimes, when I feel like I am trying too hard, that is the best thing for me to do.

This is a 6x6 canvas.  I started by layering bible pages in a random pattern using mod podge.  I really should have waited between layers, but once I got going, I just didn't want to stop.  Some of the buckling would have been reduced, but all in all, I still love it.

I had picked up a tattered and well loved Gideon bible at Good Will a bit ago.  I love the idea of praying over my art and found it to be a calming piece to the over all art project.  I colored several pages by applying distress inks directly to my non-stick sheet and then dipping the pages until I got the right look.  Once dry, I was able to stamp and trim images from Fantastic Flowers and Scribble Flowers.  A few of the other textures that can be seen are the gold background created using texture paste and a stencil and some sequins. I've been in love with sequins for quite some time now and added just a few for a little bit of bling.

I hope you are feeling inspired---express yourself!

TTFN, Jane

Stay with God

Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? 

They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return. Jeremiah 8:5

Dear Friends,

This question in Jeremiah 8:5 was asked by God about the people of Judah. They knew God, and yet, they fell into idolatry and turned away from Him. Why would they do that?

But more importantly, why do I do that? I know God too. And yet, I backslide. I turn away from Him. Over and over again. It would be a very sad story except that we're talking about our God. He waited for Judah to return. And He waits for me to return too. With open arms. I am forgiven in Christ. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Thank You for waiting for me. Thank You for being faithful even though I am not.

For the page, I used the following Sweet n Sassy Stamps: Holiday Hugs & Love Ya Like a Sister Alpha.

Have a blessed week! Andrea