Adore Him

The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born today 

in Bethlehem, the city of David!

Luke 2:11

Every year it seems that I have a "new favorite" Christmas song. There's always a portion of a song that God uses and captures my attention in a new way. This year it is from O Come All Ye Faithful. 

"O come let us adore Him"

Adore:
to love and respect someone deeply, to worship

Jesus is so deserving of adoration. Can you imagine being the shepherds who first saw him? We ooh and ahh over newborn babies when we see them. We call them adorable and love on then, but this baby isn't just any baby. He is the King of kings, "word of the Father now in flesh appearing", and He has come to save us. 

My prayer, not just for this Christmas, but for every day, is to be completely caught up in adoration of my Savior. I want to be caught up in the wonder of His love and mercy. How about you? 

Have a blessed and Merry Christmas,

Lynzee 

Stamps used:

Christmas Wreath

http://www.sweetnsassystamps.com/christmas-wreath-clear-stamp-set/ 

Without Ceasing.....

{jane bosi} Happy Monday, Sweet Friends!  I've been struggling with this particular page for a while, but finally finished it and just didn't want to wait to share. This single page is opposite this layout (shared earlier):

The struggle came from the fact that the florals from Scribble Flowers bled through.  I covered the bulk of the page with gesso and highlighted verses 9 and 10 (Colossians 1): 

"And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of he Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Afterward, I wasn't sure how to finish the page--the gesso had given the page a different texture....I wish you could see what I feel!  After stamping the images from Scribble Flowers and New Creature, I used my finger to apply distress inks.  It definitely gave the page a different look. I really like it--it also helped to camouflage some of the floral images from the other side that can still be faintly seen. I finished the entire layout using Shake It Off Caps and Message of Hope.

Pray.  Without ceasing.
Let's do that....Be Awesome, Jane

Come & Adore Him

Hello Sweet 'n Sassy Friends!

 My page today isn't based on just one verse, but on a passage in Luke 2. Luke 2:22-38 tells us of the time when Jesus was presented at the temple as a baby. Joseph and Mary were following the Law of Moses and making the sacrifice needed for the firstborn son. That day, they encountered two people, Simeon and Anna, who knew who their Son, the Messiah, was. Simeon took Jesus into his arms and prophesied over Him. Anna was a prophet and never left the temple. When she saw Jesus, she approached them and gave thanks to God and "spoke about the Child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." (Luke 2:38) Imagine all the people in the temple that day. Imagine all the people who passed by Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus that day and didn't even notice them. Imagine all the people who didn't realize that their Messiah was RIGHT THERE. Only two people (TWO!!) out of all the people at the temple that day recognized Jesus for who He was. The rest of the people were busy doing what they needed to do, checking off things on their to-do lists. They missed it. They missed HIM. This is a lesson for me. I don't want to miss it. I don't want to miss Him! I don't want to be one of the people who doesn't recognize my Messiah. He's right here, always present! Lord, please don't let me get so busy and distracted that I miss YOU. I pray that for you as well, sweet friends. Come and adore Him each and every day!!

For the page, I painted the background with acrylic paints. I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: All Your Heart and Furry Friends. I colored/highlighted the words with a Sharpie White Extra Fine Paint Pen.

And why the mouse? Because he's just cute!

Wishing you Christmas blessings and that you can rest in our Savior's presence now and in the new year. Merry Christmas! Andrea

Immanuel

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)" 

Matthew 1:23

"Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel!" 

Yes, rejoice! God is with us! This is as true now as it was when Jesus was born. He is presently with us just as he was present in the stable. I love that the lyric goes on to say, "and ransom captive Israel." This is also true for us now. 

What holds you captive? Fear? Failure? Anxiety? Depression? Whatever it is, you have been ransomed. Jesus has come and paid the price for your freedom. Even more, God is with you. Immanuel.

                                      

Immanuel at school. Immanuel at work. Immanuel in the grocery store. Immanuel in every area of our lives. Let this be a reminder that no matter where you are or what you're going through, Immanuel. You have been ransomed and you have been set free. Rejoice! 

With love, 

Lynzee

Stamps used:

Give Praise

http://www.sweetnsassystamps.com/creative-worship-give-praise-clear-stamp-set/

Shake It Off Lowercase

http://www.sweetnsassystamps.com/creative-worship-shake-it-off-lowercase-alpha-clear-stamp-set/

Silent Night--Really?

I've often wondered what would have been silent about the night Christ was born.  It probably wasn't too quite out in that stable while the biggest miracle since creation was happening.  Rarely is the birth of a child a "silent" activity!  Once the angels broke forth in singing, that had to be gloriously loud.  And as the Light pierced the darkness, surely there was a thunderous applause in heaven!  Thousands of Alleluias sung in perfect harmony by a heavenly choir...totally not silent.  Still the Christmas carol, Silent Night remains the favorite of many because it describes the awesome wonder of the event.  Perhaps for seconds as the Savior was emerging into the world all of heaven stood silently, breathlessly waiting for the miracle of His birth.  But if it was silent, I have no doubt the silence was measure in mere seconds, before the universe responded in a holy cacophony of worship and praise.

I do some of my Bible journaling directly in my Bible, but occasionally I'll move the verse and art to my art journal so I have more room to express.  I used some designer papers for the background Mod-Podging them to the page.  I stamped the title letters, outlined them then cut them out.

Because my pages were larger, I needed larger images to coordinate well with the size of the lettering, so I stamped the images on computer paper, enlarged them with my printer, then colored with Copic markers.  The music is from an old hymnal, so you get an idea of the relative size for everything.

The angels are about 3-1/2 inches stamped and I enlarged them to about 5 inches wide.  That gave me the versatility I needed for my project.

 I enlarged the banner, and the word Alleluia too and just superimposed the word over the banner on my computer to achieve proportion.   All this took some extra time and effort, but I really wanted the size on my page to be right and definitely wanted these particular images.

All the images are colored with Copic markers, but I did use shimmer paint for the angels horn and halo.

I just have to say, I'm absolutely LOVING the new Alpha sets that were released this month.  The script one works perfectly to join the letters together for an unbroken script look.  I love that feature of the Script Alpha by Rebecca Rios.  Beautiful and so easy to use.  It does work better to stamp the letters one at a time.

  

Shake It Off Caps Alpha          Script Alpha

Celebrate the Savior

 

Diane Noble

dianesdaydreamdesigns.blogspot.com

I am loved

Hello everyone! Today I would like to share a page from my journal with you. This is the first page of a new journal and I thought it would be good to start it with this message. Just as a reminder that I am loved by my heavenly Father, no matter what. Even when I don't really feel it, I know that my Father waits for me with His arms open wide.

I stamped the image with a waterproof ink in my 'regular' journal, that has watercolor paper in it. I used watercolor brushes to color the image and I drew a heart around the stamped image to emphasize the feeling of love. 

I used the stamp set 'My Friend' for this page.

- Lucinde

Jump For Joy

Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. Luke 6:22-23

Friends, did you catch that? Jesus said to leap for joy when you are hated, ostracized, insulted or scorned for His sake. Is that your first response- jumping for joy? I know it's not mine! 

I have read these verses many times. But I hadn't really caught the joy part. These verses are part of the Beatitudes listed in Luke. Not only should we be filled with joy, but we are blessed. And when I think of it, what other purpose but to stand for my Savior is more worthy of being hated, ostracized, insulted or scorned for? I should be filled with joy no matter my circumstances when I'm standing firm in Christ...just like the New Testament followers were.

Peter: But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. 
1 Peter 4:13

Paul: For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

James: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

I used the following sets: Chunky Alpha, Furry Friends, Words of Life: Common Words 1, and a NEW alpha set called Rebecca Script. It's being released TOMORROW along with 2 more alphas! I love them all! and they are great for Bible journaling or card making. Make sure to visit Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps to check out the new stamps!

Jump for joy, my friends, jump for joy. I'll be jumping right along with you. Be blessed! Andrea