Just Enough

 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, "The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth." 1 Kings 17:14

Hi Friends,

Have you ever felt desperate? I think that's probably what this widow was feeling when Elijah spoke to her. She had so very little that she was planning to prepare the last meal for herself and her son. And Elijah asked her to use what she had on him. When we're desperate, we often don't think about others outside of our closest family and friends, certainly not a stranger. But when Elijah made his request, he also gave her a promise from God. She would have just enough. Just enough flour and just enough oil to make it through until the end of the drought. And she had just enough faith to do what Elijah asked.

Just enough. We often think that "just enough" is not enough. In the western world, it's all about excess. We want more and more. We have to keep up with the Joneses. We need the newest, the biggest, and the brightest.

I think this story is beautiful in the fact that God provided for them but it wasn't all at once. It wasn't in excess. It was just enough. God can certainly give us more than enough and He often does. But sometimes we need to be satisfied with just enough. And when we've got just enough, aren't we more dependent on God? Aren't we more likely to go to Him? When we have more than enough it's easy to begin thinking we are self-sufficient.

Just enough can be hard for those of us used to more than enough. But what a rich experience it can be!

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Boss Lady Alpha, Watch Your Mouth, and In His image. Simple page of stamping. I used a pencil to shadow the letters.

Have a blessed week! Andrea 

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

Dear Friends,

This is one of my favorite verses! I've journaled this verse many times, and even written a blog on it before. And here it is again! LOL 

This verse shows how amazingly forgiving our God is. It tells us how far God separates us from our sin when He forgives us. Have you ever thought of how far the east is from the west? Think about it. If you travel north, you eventually get to the North Pole and start going south. However, if you travel east, no matter how far you travel, you will NEVER start going west! And if you travel west, you will NEVER start going east. So, that's how far God has removed our sin from us- it can't be measured because it's never ending! Wow! Wow! Wow!

It can be hard for us to understand just how forgiving our God is because we tend to be just a bit less forgiving, right? I know I'm far, far less forgiving than Him. But Colossians 3:13 tells us "as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." Eeeek!  OK, so God wants me to forgive when someone says they're sorry. Yes. But, what about when they aren't sorry? Guess what, God still wants us to forgive them. Our forgiving others is NOT dependent on whether they are sorry or necessarily deserving of that forgiveness. We need to forgive others solely because God forgave us, pure and simple. And honestly, when we forgive, it does as much good for us as it does the other party because we can let go of the bad feelings. Is it always easy to forgive? No. But remember, God is with you. He has removed your sin as far as the east is from the west!! He will help you to forgive others just as He has forgiven you.

Page details: I used a brand new alpha set from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps called Boss Lady Alpha. It's great! I love all the alphas!! And there are dies to go with it!!! My black ink was a little funky. I didn't get good coverage on all the letters for some reason. That's what you see in the photo (the letters that look shiny), but I just decided to go with it. :) I also used 2 SNSS stencils: Starry Night and Sunburst. The Starburst is a 2 step stencil and really cool!

Have a blessed week, and remember how forgiven you are! Andrea

Turn Your Way

"Lord, you are mine! I promise to obey your words! With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised. I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands." - Psalm 119:57-59

I have a short blog post today with a thought-provoking question: When was the last time you truly pondered the direction of your life to ensure it aligned with God's way?

You see, the Word of God should continually prompt us turn to follow His laws. We should hurry, without delay, to follow His commandments. And what do you do when you find your life out of alignment with Gods word? Turn your way. 💙

Page Details

I used watercolor paints and stamp to create this page. (This new Boss Lady Alpha stamp set speaks to my alpha-loving heart 😍). I first stamped the camper scene, then added the sky and painted the details for the camper scene, then stamped the title as the last step. I thought the camper was an adorable way to illustrate picking up and turning a different way when God's Word convicts. 😉

 

Take a moment today to ponder the current direction of your life and don't be afraid to turn to follow God's way. 

Much love in Christ, 

Janelle

@journalingjoy

Song Birds - Mini Art Journal

Today I have sweet little journal page in the mini journal I made using my memorydex dies.

First, I did some fun but simple background texture with distress oxides, the leaf branch stencil, and Spotted and the "rain" from Puddle Jumpers and then I toned it down a bit with watered down white acrylic paint. I stamped one of the birds from Song Birds on top of this and colored it with my Polychromos colored pencils. They work great - easily coloring over other things! Finally I used Versa Clair Nocturne ink for the sentiment/verse.

I hope you like it and are inspired. Sometime a little canvas is just what you need to keep creative!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Lyn

Praise God

Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness. Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre, praise Him with timbrel and dancing, praise Him with strings and pipe, praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Psalm 150:1-6

Hi Friends!

What is our purpose? We often ask ourselves that. Why am I here? What am I supposed to be doing? Friends, our purpose is simple. Our purpose is to praise God and glorify Him. No matter what we are doing, what circumstances we may be experiencing, no matter how we feel...our purpose doesn't change. We are to PRAISE HIM. We are to GLORIFY HIM. 

So, I ask myself. Am I fulfilling my purpose? Do I praise Him daily and throughout the day? In those moments where something doesn't go the way I want, am I praising Him anyway? Not always, probably not most of the time, if I'm being honest. Do I glorify Him daily? Do I work in a way that glorifies Him? Does what I do in my free time glorify Him? Dear ones, I'm not pointing fingers. I think we can all agree each of us, especially me!, has room for improvement. And we have an awesome God who meets us where we are. So, let's praise Him. Let's glorify Him. He definitely deserves it!

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: All of Me Alpha, Send Me, Note This, and Grunge Dots Stencil. I applied distress oxides with blender brushes, stamped, and then used the stencil. Easy, peasy! :)

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Hi friends,

Over the past year or so I've been drawn more and more to the beauty of nature, particularly flowers. Maybe it has been living opposite a park and being surrounded by green, maybe it is because I've discovered a new hobby in making crepe paper flowers, but there's something about the variety and beauty of flowers and nature that I find breathtaking.

The psalmists also noticed the beauty and variety of nature, and recognised that this pointed to the Creator - our Lord God who created the birds and bees, the flowers and trees, in all their spectacular varieties. In Psalm 104, the psalmist exclaims 'O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.' That word manifold is one we don't hear in our modern English very often, but it points to both the quantity and variety of what God has made. And the psalmist recognises that the reason God made all these things is because of his infinite wisdom. 

God knows how each living thing is connected to another in the enormous and wonderfully complex ecosystem he has created. He also knows how much we need to be around nature, to appreciate its beauty and marvel at its Creator. When was the last time you stopped and studied the intricacies of a flower, with its varying shades of colour and petal shapes? When was the last time you looked at an animal and noticed with wonder its extraordinary features? I think the reason we don't do this as often as perhaps we need to is because of busyness. We rush through life from one appointment to the next, checking things off our 'to do' list, and we inadvertently hurry past the opportunities we have to stop and wonder at God's creation. Can I encourage you to take time today, or this coming week, to behold the wisdom of God as manifest in his manifold creation?

I used a bunch of Sweet 'n Sassy stamp sets on this page in my Journaling Psalter (you could say manifold designs!), including the new Song Birds and God is Faithful sets, along with some older favourites. I stamped all the images with black ink and coloured with Inktense pencils and an aquabrush. 

Be blessed... 

x Amy x

One of a Kind

 There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and Your name is great in might. Jeremiah 10:6

Hello Friends!

Today I'm in Jeremiah 10; and we're going to talk about how great our God is! Jeremiah 10:6 tells us that there is no one like our God. Do you believe that? It's a question we should ask ourselves. The fact is just that. There is no one and no thing like our God. But do we live in a way that proves we believe that?

No one, nothing, should have our attention, our devotion, our worship, our hearts, except for God Himself. Daily, believers are tempted to put their trust and their allegiance in worldly things. But, friends, the Lord will continually show Himself to be superior. There is none like Him! 

Don't let the world sway you from Him. Don't let the world put Him in a box or wrap Him up like a pretty little package. Don't let the world tell you who He is. Go to the Bible and let God tell you who He is. And let me tell you, He's pretty great!

Page Details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: God is Faithful, Send Me, Faith Wordfetti Too, Let's Do This, and the Grunge Grid stencil. I applied distress oxides to the page with blender brushes for the background. I added texture to the background with the stencil and some back ground stamps. With the Faith Wordfetti Too set, I arranged a few of the phrases on a stamp block and stamped them together for the background words. I colored the earth with colored pencils. 

Have a blessed week! Andrea