It's Grace

 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

Hi Friends!

Today we're in Romans 8, the very first verse. And we may take it as granted, but it's pretty amazing what Jesus did for us. For those of us in Christ, there is no condemnation- no punishment. If when we die, we have taken Jesus as our Savior, it won't matter if we murdered someone, if we stole, if we hurt others, no matter how we sinned, we won't be punished. Is that fair? No, it unquestionably is not. It's grace. And I'm thankful in this instance that God is not being fair. Aren't you?

When my girls were growing up, I heard that phrase- it's not fair!- a few times. They had a hard time understanding why certain things happened or why one got something the other didn't. We can have a hard time understanding God's ways too. His ways are not our ways. And we should be thankful for that! While I've never murdered anyone, and I may think my sin is less offensive than someone else's sin, God's grace covers it all. So, it may not be fair. And we should thank God it's not. Because without His grace, we'd all be condemned.

Page Details: I used the following sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps: Down on the Farm, Grace Upon Grace, and Mini Bold Print Alpha. I used watercolor crayons to color the images and background.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

On Pearls & Pigs...

Hi friends,

We've probably all heard the phrase 'don't throw your pearls before swine' as this is one of the phrases from the Bible that has made its way into common speech. But have we really thought about what Jesus meant when he said this in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount? When you read the context, it seems a bit of a random comment in the middle of other longer pieces of teaching about taking the log out of our own eye, and asking, seeking and knocking in prayer. So what does this piece of wisdom from Jesus mean for us?

I think the key is in identifying what the 'pearls' are here. Pearls are things of great value that are not easily reproduced, so are treated as treasures. I was thinking about what might correspond to that in our lives today. I don't own any pearls, but there are things in my life of great value because they are not able to be reproduced or manufactured. One of these precious commodities is my time. We each get 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week - no more, no less. And there is no guarantee that we will have tomorrow's 24 hours. That makes time one of my most valuable commodities. The question then must be asked: what am I giving my time to? Am I recognising it as the precious treasure it is and therefore only spending it on things of value, or am I throwing it to the 'pigs' of life. 

It's not that pigs are of less value than other animals, but in the Jewish world that Jesus was speaking to, pigs were considered highly unclean. Pigs have no discernment when it comes to pearls - they don't know that these little round gems are precious. So they trample them. What might be the 'pigs' of our lives today? What is it that doesn't see the value in the pearls of our hours and days and because of this, tramples them? I know for me, one of the most insidious and demanding 'pigs' comes in the form of a screen - whether my phone (social media, internet surfing, etc) or tv (on-demand shows and binge watching). When I was creating this page I was reminded that this wisdom from Jesus applies to my life here and now in the use of my time. Am I reserving the pearls of my hours and days for the things that matter, or am I throwing them indiscriminately to the pigs and getting them trampled? That's a challenge to me - I wonder what the pearls and pigs are in your life?

I used the new Down on the Farm set for the pigs on this page, painting the background with acrylic paints and adding some 'pearls' using the Delightfully Delicate stencil and Nuvo mousse. The text was stamped with a combination of All of Me Alpha, Loop da Loop Alpha, Sweet & Simple Alpha, and Love ya Like a Sister Alpha. I added a butterfly from Made New, white embossed on vellum, to finish.

Be blessed...

x Amy x

Work Hard

 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; 

stay awake and you will have food to spare. 

Proverbs 20:13

Hi Friends!

Today we're in Proverbs 20. Verse 13 is talking about work. Sometimes, we think of work as a bad thing. Something that we do only because we have to. But, biblically, work is seen as beneficial- and not because it's financially beneficial! We see work in Genesis with God being the Worker, busy creating the world. When God created Adam and Eve, He put them to work over the garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned, unfortunately one of the consequences is that work became hard. The work itself was still good, but it would be more difficult, and the result would not always be positive. The important thing is that we should involve God in our work, whatever it is. As 1 Cor 10:31 tells us, we should glorify God in whatever we do. Our jobs should be our ministries.

This verse also speaks to work ethic. The Bible condemns laziness. While there are times when someone may not be able to work, or take care of themselves (and we are called to help those people,) if we are able, we are to work. This verse made me think of farmers. I have never farmed myself. But both of my grandfathers were farmers. And farmers work hard! There are many times that they work from sun up to sun down. They have to get up and stay awake and because they are willing to do that, they produce food for themselves as well as others.

No matter what you do, do it for the glory of God. Remember, work has no value unless God is in it.

Page details: This super cute Down on the Farm set from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps was perfect for this verse! There are matching dies as well! I also used 2 alpha sets: Old Fashioned & Playful. I colored the page with watercolor crayons.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Don't Play Church

But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heat to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?" Acts 5:3

Hi Friends!

Today, I'm in Acts 5. You may be familiar with the story of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. It's a pretty unsettling story. In summary, they sold some property, kept some of the proceeds, and took the rest to the apostles implying that what they brought to the apostles was the entire amount of the proceeds. They got caught in the lie, and both died. Just fell down dead. Right there. It left the people who witnessed it unsettled. And it should leave us unsettled too.

My pastor spoke on this passage last week. And he said the problem wasn't that they kept a portion of the proceeds. The problem was that they lied about it. Even Peter said that it was theirs to do with what they wanted. But they lied- not to man, Peter said, but to God. And my pastor said they were suffering with what he called "perception management." See, they want to be perceived a certain way. Just before this episode, we see in Acts 4:36-37, a man sold some land and he brought the money from the sale to the apostles. Ananias and Sapphira wanted to be like that guy. They wanted everyone to think they were just as generous and just as faithful. It's all about perception, right? Here's the thing though- we might be able to trick people, but we cannot trick God. He knows our hearts, our motives, our faith. He knows.

It's easy to sit back and think that we'd never do something like that. But don't we? Don't we all have "perception management" issues? We want people to see us a certain way. Have you ever been fighting with your family before church but when you get there you all plaster smiles on your faces as you walk in? No? Just me? We all do it. We do it when we edit photos before we post them. We do it when we only post the good stuff on social media. We do it when we give time or money because we're "supposed" to. We do it when we try to keep up with the Joneses. But God knows. He knows our hearts and our motives. So let's not worry about what people think. Let's worry about what God thinks. Don't just put on a show. Don't just play church. Let's BE the church Jesus wants us to be. When we struggle with perception management, we must pray for God's help to overcome it. I pray that we can have enough faith in our great God to give Him our ALL, not just some, but all.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Marker Alpha, Skinny Minnie Alpha, My Father's House, Knit Together, Texture Tiles 8, and Serene Silhouettes. I used distress oxides for the background. I stamped the church on a hymnal page. The letters didn't ink evenly, and I ended up liking that look, so I left them that way.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Wash me clean...

Hi friends,

Have you ever wondered why stain removers are such a highly advertised and sought after product? Whether for removing stains from clothes or furniture or carpet, there is a big need for products that will magically remove the ugly stain that ruins our lovely clothes, carpets, or sofas. There is something in us that knows that stains are ugly, that they ruin the look and value of things, and we want to get rid of them. There are some stains that just won't come out though, no matter what wonder-product we apply to them. We can scrub and wash and soak all day, but the oil or ink won't go away. The same is true for the sin in our lives. No amount of self-effort or new year's resolutions or willpower can deal with the stain of sin in our lives. So what can?

Only God can wash us so thoroughly that he can cleanse us from our sin. When King David sinned horrifically by sleeping with another man's wife, then arranging for that man to be killed in an attempt to cover his sin, he had to be confronted by the prophet for him to finally realise the gravity of his sin. When that gravity hit him, he didn't try to make amends himself, but realised that he needed God to wash him clean from his sin. So he wrote Psalm 51 to express that plea to the Lord. And this psalm has been included in our Bible to show us how to pray when we realise our sin. David throws himself on the mercy of God, and realises that only God can truly make him clean. Only God can remove the stubborn stains of his heart. When we are confronted with the reality of our sin, do we hide? Do we try to make things right in our own strength? Do we promise to do better next time? Or do we cry out to God "wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin"?

I created the background on this page in my Journaling Psalter using acrylic paints and gelatos, then stamped the text using a mixture of sets: Script Outline Alpha, Messy Stamped Alpha, Skinny Caps Alpha, and Freedom in Christ. I then stamped the raindrops from Living Water with blue ink and painted them with a few layers of acrylic paint to get the shading and shimmer. I finished the page off with a few butterfly stickers. 

Let's bring our ugly, sinful, stains to the only one who has the power to remove them: let's bring them to the Lord in prayer.

Be blessed...

x Amy x

Share God's Love

 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Hebrews 13:1

Hi Friends!

Are you feeling the love? Yeah, me neither. The church has missed the mark on the whole "love" thing. As a whole, we haven't done well with loving those outside the church. And we haven't even been able to love each other within the church very well. Think of all the divisions within the church. This verse is speaking to believers loving one another. There should be unity in the church because we're unified in Christ. And we should love each other not only for our own sakes, but as a testimony. The world is watching. Believers are going to have differences. And that's ok. In fact, God doesn't want us all alike. Those differences are normal and healthy and make us a stronger body- if we let them. We can use those differences to reach the world. The church should be a group of vastly different people who are unified in our diversity by our love of Jesus.

So how do we love each other? 

• We accept one another as they are. They are sinners, but we are too. We all need a Savior.
• We are subject to one another. Instead of always trying to get our own way, surrender to God's will and let Him use each of us within the context of the church for His great purpose.
• Pray for each other- especially other believers we dislike or are bothered by.
• Forgive each other.
• Serve one another.
• Encourage each other..
• Comfort one another.
• Bear each other's burdens. We're all busy. But take the time to really care for others.
• Admonish one another. Be willing to lovingly confront other believers who are living in disobedience. But do it humbly and with the motivation to restore their intimacy with God.

Let's love each other. Let the world see our love. It will draw them to Jesus.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Happy Mail, Send Me, and Trust in the Lord. I used colored pencils to color in the images. Quick tip: Use Gamsol to blend in colored pencil lines so it looks smooth.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

*source: "How to Love One Another...Even Other Christians" Whitney Hopler

A little or a lot?

Hi friends,

We live in a world where the message we often hear is 'bigger is better,' 'more is more,' and that we should be seeking to grow and gain in many different ways. But what if that isn't the way we are called to live as the people of God? What if there are things more important than growth and gain and having more? What if justice is more important? The writer of Proverbs certainly seemed to think so when he wrote: 

'Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.' (Proverbs 16:8)

We may read this proverb and agree, thinking that this is talking about bribery or corruption in the workplace, encouraging honest work that pays less than dishonest work that pays more. This may well be part of the meaning of this verse, but I've also been thinking about some other applications that may hit closer to home for many of us. I wonder how often we turn away from or ignore injustice because it is inconvenient to gaining what we want, to having more? Here are a couple of examples that come to my mind: How easily do we ignore the injustice of how cheap clothing is made so that we can have more of it? How easily do we ignore the injustice of knock-off products we can buy cheaply whose designs have been stolen from others so we can have more to play with? Are there other areas where we are compromising righteousness in order to gain what we want? These are sobering questions.

As the people of God who represent their Heavenly Father and follow Jesus Christ, we are called to be people who live righteously, who uphold justice, even when it costs us things we desire, even when it requires that we live in ways that are contrary to the culture around us. What examples can you think of where this verse applies? Are there any that hit close to home for you? May God help us live as ambassadors of the kingdom of righteousness.

I used the cute Fur-Ever Friends sets for the images on this page, colouring with watercolours. The text was stamped with a combination of Rebecca Script Alpha, Armor of God, Typewriter Blocks Alpha, and Watch Your Mouth. 

Let's be people who are content with all we have been given in Christ, and who therefore don't seek gain that is accompanied by injustice.

Be blessed...

x Amy x