The {Tiny} Journal First Pages

So, do you remember the tiny journal I shared in May? If not, click here. I began working on the pages last week, and I must say I am in love. I am approaching this journal a bit different. I want:

• the pages to have scriptures that speak to me that day.
• the scriptures done in my own handwriting.
• the pages to be super fast and simple.
• the pages to inclue fabric and stitching.
• the pages to not be completely covered.

So, this is a bit different from my other journals, and that's what I love about this little bit of happiness. With those "wants" in mind, here are my first pages.

Psalm 139:1-3

James 4:8

The pages inside this book also include papers that I still want to see. So, keeping that in mind, I also will be leaving a bit of the original page showing because these pages either meant something to me or are just things I like.

I hope you enjoyed these first pages. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to post again sooner than later! Have a blessed week!

My {New} Journal and a Page

I am taking another class by Roben-Marie Smith called "Salvaged: A Layered Pieces Journal." Click here to see that class. I have made books before, and I love working in them but I also wanted to see how Roben-Marie creates her books. I was not disappointed. I always love taking her classes. Anyway, here is a look at my book after I made it:

To cover the spine, I used my inky fabric that I always have on hand. And the book itself is filled with yummy recycled papers all ready for paint!

So, here is a look at a painted page spread. Originally, the left side was an old security envelope, and the right side was book paper. I used collage, paint, doodling, and art marks on this page.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you will join me tomorrow when I will share another page in this book that I created for the Glory {Art} Rewind study! See you then!

Glory {Art} Rewind 2018, Forgiveness

As we approach Easter, I thought we should look at forgiveness again. I also need it for myself right now as I was blindsided and hurt again Friday by someone close to me. Again I have cried, and this time I wanted to call my sister, and my wise daughter said "No, Mom, because you two will just gossip." I thanked her and told her she was exactly right. So, I have not spoken to my sister but have spoken to the Lord and one of my dearest friends that would give my Godly advice. She even told me to go and splatter some black paint and tell God I am angry. Oh how she knows me well! And now, I can say I am in a better place this morning because of it. So, together let's look at forgiveness again.

The Study

Last week (Aug. 2016), I was hurt deeply by someone very close to me. I cried for a long time, and I called my mom to rant. Thankfully she wasn't home because that's not who God wanted me to call. I was blindsided by what happened, and I turned to vent. When Mom wasn't available, I turned to the Lord and asked "What am I to learn from this? Why did this happen?" My questions still go unanswered but I am watching for the lesson. Am I still hurt? Absolutely! But I felt the Lord wanted me to settle this so I called the person immediately but they did not answer the phone. I ended up e-mailing the person a very lengthy message. I don't remember starting the e-mail or finishing it. The words just came, and I felt such a relief knowing my feelings were stated and heard. This person did not have the facts correct. Why couldn't this person call and talk to me instead of attacking me and ones I love via e-mail? I will never know the answers. The person that received my message, said they would call to discuss it with me after receiving my e-mail but they never did. I am trying to let it go because I said what God wanted me to say, and I have peace. Now if I could just get Satan out of the way as he tries to bring it back up when I sleep. Has this happened to you? How have you handled it? Do you run to others? Do you run to the Lord? What should we do next?

First, I must forgive this person, and you must forgive the person that wronged you. Whether or not this person ever agrees with me is not for me to worry about but forgiving this person is what I am to do because God has forgiven me, and He has forgiven you.

How did Jesus react when He was rejected, lied to, beaten, and crucified? He responded by praying for them, asking for forgiveness for them, and loving them. As Jesus was being crucified, He still prayed for those that sent Him to the Cross. He didn’t get angry with them but pleaded with the Father to forgive them.

Luke 23:34 "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

You may ask, how did He love them? He loved them by going to the Cross for their sins. Blood cleanses sin. Without the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament, there would not have been forgiveness of sin.

Hebrews 9:22 "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

Jesus was the ultimate and final blood sacrifice. His blood covers all of our sin and thus giving us forgiveness and eternal life with Him if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. If Jesus can love us and give to us such a tremendous, immeasureable gift, how much more should we forgive and extend grace to others? Jesus is our perfect example. We are not only to forgive those that wrong us but we are to pray for them and love them as Jesus did. And instead of letting those wounds fester and eat at you, experience the joy, happiness, and relief as you truly forgive.

Ephesians 1:7 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace."

Colossians 1:13-14 "For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

I found this on the American Bible Society blog about forgiveness "But forgiveness doesn’t excuse the crime. It doesn’t minimize it. It doesn’t say it was okay. In fact, it does exactly the opposite. It squarely faces the offense. It says, 'You did wrong, and it hurt me badly. But now I’m choosing not to hate you for it.' God does not shrug off our sin. He asks us to own up to it. We should do the same as we forgive others."

I love that. Do you feel that things have to be 'happy' again once you forgive someone? When someone hurts us or has wronged us, we need to work it out with that person first. Pray hard, and realize that you may have sinned yourself. We should have a desire to restore the relationship not a desire to be proven right. But maybe that someone doesn't want to forgive you. How do you handle that? My pastor once told me that sometimes relationships are not meant to be restored but we are to forgive the person so we can move on. That has helped me in a relationship that I knew would never be restored. Is there someone maybe that you yourself are withholding forgiveness from? And what can you do to bless and love someone that has hurt you? Are you praying for them?

Psalm 103:10 "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities."

Isaiah 1:18 "'Come now, let us settle the matter,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'"

Micah 7:18-19 "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."

Luke 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Mark 11:25 "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

Romans 12:18 "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

Colossians 3:13 "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

Hebrews 12:15 "See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."

We need to be in the habit of forgiving. If we can forgive 77 times, then we will be in the habit of forgiving!

Matthew 18:21-22 "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'"

Journaling

• What can you do to bless and love someone that has hurt you?
• How have you been able to forgive someone over and over again?
• To whom do you have to say "I'm sorry" the most?

The Art
For my art marks journal today, I used a quote I found. I don't know the author. Anyway, I really liked it, and I thought it went very well with the quote above by the American Bible Society. Forgiveness doesn't excuse the crime but I can turn my back on it and forgive the person that hurt me.

I used bright cheery colors today to note how I feel once I forgive someone. And then I added some black paint splatters like my dear friend suggested to tell God I was angry and to get rid of that anger so to speak by throwing a little paint. :)

Original Study Links
I combined two studies for today's lesson. One from 2016, and one from 2010. You can see those older studies here and here.

Join us on our Facebook page, and remember to see all of our 2018 lessons, visit this post here. I needed to write this for today. I needed these scriptures as it is all so fresh (again). I hope some of you are helped by this today too. Being attacked and forgiving someone is hard. But with the Lord, we can do just that because He has forgiven us! Blessings,

Glory {Art} Rewind 2018, Compassion

Today we are looking back on a study about compassion from 2010. I hope you are as excited about this study as I am. Enjoy!

The Study
Are you so caught up in your own struggles or busyness that you fail to see the needs of those around you? Are you sensitive and compassionate towards others or are you selfish? Or on the other end of the spectrum are you feeling as though no one cares or is insensitive to your needs? Do you need some compassion right now? If you feel like that, I am sure there are many around you that feel that way too.

Compassion is meeting people where they are in life, spending time with them, not judging them, and most importantly loving them as God loves them. You can show compassion to anyone even to people you do not know—to the cashier at the grocery store, the bank teller, your postal carrier, a passerby in your neighborhood­, anyone! When God brings someone to you whether a stranger or a friend, show them the compassion that Christ showed to everyone around Him.

Matthew 9:36 "When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

Matthew 15:32 "Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, 'I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.'"

Luke 7:13 "When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, 'Don’t cry.'"

Today He could be using you to accomplish His task. Are you sensitive to His leading and to those around you? Are you reaching out, meeting people where they are, and touching them? As we look to God in all things, our compassion grows for others. Showing that compassion and unconditional love draws people to Christ! How awesome and amazing is that?

As I shared this word back in 2010 with one of my daughter’s, she immediately said "Mom, that reminds me of the song 'Mighty to Save.'" If you have never heard that song before, listen below focusing on the very first verse:

“Mighty to Save”
Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.

Notice again that first verse: 'Everyone needs compassion.' Yes, everyone!!! Not just the people you like or the people you have time for but everyone. Over and over the Bible talks about the Lord's compassion. He has compassion on us; therefore, we need to have compassion for others.

Nehemiah 9:17b ". . . But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love."

Psalm 111:4 "He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate."

Psalm 116:5 "The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion."

Psalm 145:9 "The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made."

Isaiah 30:18 "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!"

Lamentations 3:22-23 "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."

If His compassions do not fail and are new every morning, how can you go out today and show that same compassion to someone else?

Colossians 3:12 "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

1 Peter 3:8 "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."

Journaling

• What compassions has the Lord shown you this week?
• What compassions have you shown someone else this week?
• How has someone shown compassion to you this week?

The Art
Goodness I struggled with this page. I really wanted to use this scrap piece of fabric on my table but I struggled. Usually I have a blast with these, and they come together quickly. Not this one. I guess I should have worked on something else or forgotten the piece of fabric. Ha! Anyway, I used a line from the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness" based on Lamentations 3:22-23 for my page since it was just perfect for today's study.

Original Study Link
To see this original study from 2010 on compassion, click here.

This week, will you look for someone that needs a listening ear? Will you show that unconditional love and compassion towards them? Join us on our Facebook page, and remember to see all of our 2018 lessons, visit this post here. Compassionately in Christ,

Just Fix It!

When our girls were little they used to say "Fitz it, Mommy, fitz it." They were saying "Fix it, Mommy, fix it." Oh how we want to fix our children's hurts and struggles but sometimes we just can't. The best thing we can do is point them to Christ. Share God's word. Text a scripture. Share a hymn. Always point them to the Lord so that they will know the One to go to for all of their sorrows, joys, hurts, and struggles.

Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

2 Timothy 1:12 "That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day."

I created this quick art marks page to remember this hymn. I have pointed two of my girls to this hymn this week as my dear friend and prayer warrior reminded me of it, and my girls need it.

Thanks for joining me, and I pray you will think about how you can point others to Christ in their own struggles instead of "fitzing it" for them. Blessings,

Art {Marks} More Pages

Just a quick post to share my two latest Art {Marks} pages. For this first page, I took the scripture from a coupon card from DaySpring. Instead of throwing it in the trash, I recycled the scripture portion of the card. Love this reminder too from 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

This page uses words from a book I am recycling. I also loved the white text on black. It really pops.

So, what do you have that you can reuse on your pages? Look around because I am sure you have some treasures waiting to be used. Have a blessed weekend!

Glory {Art} Rewind 2018, Example

Welcome to our first study of 2018. I am so excited to have you here and look back at the older studies. Today we will be looking at a combination of two studies—one from 2010, and one from 2016. We will be looking at being an example and the impact we have on others. Let's get started!

The Study
Who has been that living faith example to you in your life? Have you been that to others, and are you that to your children or grandchildren? How about to those believers and unbelievers around you? Everyone one of us will leave some sort of impact. Have you ever thought about it? We leave an impact on people by what we do, what we say, how we live out our faith daily, and how we show love to others. What kind of example are you to your family? Your community? Your church? How about beyond that?

1 Timothy 4:12 "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."

Our Daily Bread says this about 1 Timothy 4:12 "Paul’s words aren’t just for the young generation. All of us should be an example in word, conduct, love, faith, and purity. That’s how we make an impact for Christ. 'O Christians, remember, you bear His dear name, Your lives are for others to view; You’re living examples—men praise you or blame, and measure your Savior by you. —Anon.'"

Jesus Christ is our perfect example. Jesus knew how and when His life would end yet He continued to be that perfect example to us. Jesus says in John 13:15 “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” We need to build others up through loving instruction and by example. People, especially our children and grandchildren, watch what we do. They see how we act under stress. We are watched seven days a week; not just on Sundays, and we are watched by people that we don’t even realize are watching us. What do they see? Does your life match what you say? Do you wear a cross around your neck yet you grumble and complain all of the time? Do you gossip? Do you have a fish on your car yet you speed or have a fit of road rage? Our lives should point others to Christ by being that example He has called us to be. God’s Word is truth, and in His word we can find how we are to live and how we are to be living examples to those around us.

James 1:22-25 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”

Yes, our lives are viewed by others, and people measure our precious Lord and Savior by what they see in us. What a privilege but also a huge responsibility that should not be taken lightly. Am I good living example? Oh I pray I am but I also know I falter. How about you? A quote from a historical fiction book by Darlene Franklin says: "Sometimes the only Bible people read is your life and a lot of people are watching and weighing your actions." Your actions will leave an impact good or bad. Think about that. Remember that. If you want to leave a godly impact on those around you including those you love, then you must follow Christ's example He sets for us in His Word.

1 Corinthians 11:1 "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."

1 John 3:18 "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

1 Peter 2:21 "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps."

Did you see that in the verse above? We are an example, and by that example we make an impact. Again, what kind of impact are you making on those around you?  I know I want people to taste godliness when they see me and hear me. I want to make an impact on peoples lives that leaves them wanting to know more about Christ and to follow His example. Don't you?

Journaling

• Who has been that living faith example to you in your life? How have they done that?
• What kind of example are you for Christ? Is there an area you need to work on? 
• How would you like your children or grandchildren to follow in your footsteps?
• How has Jesus' example helped you in a situation?

The Art
I have not worked in my little art marks journal for quite some time. So today I am sharing a page that I created for today's study. If you would like to make your own journal, you can see my instructions by clicking here.

For the title, I used my favorite alpha stamps. I believe they are made by Prima. I know Ken Oliver makes them now in sizes small, medium, and large. The stamps on this page are the medium size. They are called 'clickable stamp'. Here you can see the stamp 'clicked' together before I stamped it onto my paper.

I reference the 1 Peter 2:21 verse below as I felt it was perfect for this topic today.

Original Study Links
To see the original 2010 study, click here. And to see the original 2016 study, click here.

I pray in your quiet time over the next two weeks that you will think about the example you are to those around you. Ask God to help you be the example He wants you to be. Trust Him; He will show you! Join us on our Facebook page, and remember to see all of our 2018 lessons, visit this post here. Joyfully in Jesus,

Art {Marks} A Couple of Pages

Wow, it has been busy, busy, busy around here but I have managed to squeeze in two pages that I thought I would share with you today. Here I am playing with new products and just enjoying getting messy!

Hope you enjoy these, and thanks for stopping by!

Glory {Art} Scripture Challenge #8, Put on Love

The Study
Back in 2012, we did a hymn study on "The Love of God" which led into a study of love. If you missed that study or would like to review it, click here. So, today I wanted to revisit the word 'love'.

Colossians 3:14 "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

God's word says that love binds all of these virtues together and that we are to put on love. So what does Paul mean when he says we need to put on love? Let's look at these verses first to explain.

Colossians 3:7-8 "You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."

These verses mention how we used to walk in these ways in the life we once lived prior to accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior. Then the passage continues with 'but now' we must rid ourselves of these things because we are a new person in Christ. We must rid ourselves of the 'old me' or the 'old you'. It’s a lifelong process; it’s a daily process. It’s a daily choice to wake up and choose to live for Him each day. This is sanctification. Sanctification refers to the Holy Spirit progressively changing a believer to be more like Him.

So, now we understand that Paul is saying that we need to make a daily choice to put on love. But how do we do that? Sometimes that’s hard to do when we’ve been hurt or things don’t seem fair. But the greatest glory we can give to God is to love and obey Him at all times even when it’s difficult. It wasn’t easy for Jesus to go the cross yet He did it out of obedience and love.

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

He is our greatest example. God lavishes His love on us. He loves us without limits. His love is immeasurable. And because He lavishes His love on us, we should lavish it on others even when it's hard! We glorify God by faithfully doing what He calls us to do.

1 John 3:1a “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”

There was a lady in Bible study that was an unbeliever. She eventually came to Christ and she was asked about it. Did she come to Christ from doing her Bible study or what was it? She said she came to Christ because of the love shown to her by the Bible study group.

Do you love others as God would love them? Are you showing Christ’s love to people inside and outside of the church? Or are you focusing on the things that bug you about someone? If you are focusing on what bugs you about them, think about the things you do that bug God. I know I do things that bug Him and bug others. We all do! How about people in your church? How are you loving them? We all need to love people inside and outside of church with a genuine love and with God’s love. Can you imagine how much more pleasant today's world would be if more of us could truly put on God's love for people each and every day? If there is someone that you have trouble loving, ask God for His love for that person. He will give it to you! The love we show others is true evidence that we belong to Christ. God considers no one unlovable. Did you see that? He considers no one unlovable. Love is the greatest virtue. Do you desire to love above all things? Love denies self for the good of others. Jesus is the perfect picture of love. Christians love for one another proves that we are related to Jesus. Do people see that you are related to Jesus or to the world? What would your family and friends say?

Journaling Prompts

• How has someone shown you Christ's love?
• How have you been changed by the love someone has shown you?
• How have you denied yourself to show love to someone else?
• How has God helped you love someone you considered unloveable?

The Art
Today I did a quick pocket page in my favorite little journal. I thought it would be great to have this reminder and scripture to 'put on love'. To see a few details on how I created this page, click here.

Thanks for joining me today. Feel free to join us on the Facebook page where some people will be sharing their creations. To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. I highly encourage you to read the entire book of Colossians. It's only four chapters but so extremely rich. Will you do that this month? Blessings,

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Art {Marks} Using India Inks

If you remember my post from a week and a half ago, I shared how I like to use pastels in my little art journal. If you missed that post, click here. Today I wanted to show you a few pages where I have used Dr. Ph. Martins India Inks. Remember, these are waterproof so you can add media on top of these after they dry, and they will not move or muddy up. Love it!

To start, I do put gesso down on the page. I then put a few drops of the colors around the page and then scrape the colors across the page with an old hotel key. If I want to blend more, I use a baby wipe gently to mix and lift a bit of color. Here is a completed page with blended colors for the background. See the end of this post for a photo of an incomplete blended page.

I also will use these inks to drip down the page. Here is a page that I blended first and then added drips. The second photo shows the completed page.

And here is a page that I blended before adding the rest of the goodies to the page. This is a sneak peek for the Glory {Art} Challenge on Sunday. :)

I hope you like these. I truly love these inks. They are great for splatters too. Just take off the lid, dip in your brush, and then splatter away! Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your Friday!

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