Journaling {Bible} Romans 1:19-20

Seeing God daily through His creation is one of my favorite things. Where we live, I am in awe daily as I look out my windows and see snow on the mountains, bald eagles flying overhead, beautiful blue water on the lake, sunrises and sunsets over the lake, woodpeckers gathering food from our feeders, bunnies in the yard, etc. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't clearly see the Lord in His amazing creation. It brings a smile to my face even during those difficult days.

I decided to journal one of my favorite scriptures in Romans where we see people are without excuse because God can clearly be seen in His creation. This is known as general revelation. His creation is evidence of an all-powerful Creator God.

Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."

Romans 1:19-20 "Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

To create this page, I used Strathmore Newsprint to stamp the heart flag and the Our Daily Bread Designs quote from Martin Luther. I think I might like using newsprint better in my Journaling Bible because the ink soaks in so nicely, and it's super thin so does not add bulk to the page.

Thanks for joining me today, and I hope you will watch for God each day as you are out in His creation.

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{SCRLLC14} Scripture Lesson #17, He Knows

These past couple of weeks, God has been talking to me about burdens. First, as I was listening to KLOVE driving to an appointment, I heard Lisa TerKeurst say, "Don't miss the blessings because you are focusing on the burdens." I immediately called my daughter and asked her to write it down for me so I would not forget. Such a beautiful quote that I needed to hear. Then my second daughter calls me from college, and she asked me if I have heard of the new song by Jeremy Camp called "He Knows." I told her I had not, and she told me that I needed to listen to it. So, off I went to search for the song. It is a new release so it's a bit hard to find but if you click here, you can listen to it. Look what the chorus says:

Chorus

He knows, He knows

Every hurt and every sting

He has walked the suffering

He knows, He knows

Let your burdens come undone

Lift your eyes up to the One

Who knows, He knows

To read all of the lyrics, click here. I encourage you to read them because they are very powerful.

And did you notice that word again—burdens? Moses in Numbers 11:14 cries out to God "I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me."

Notice how Moses turns to God with his burdens. Are your burdens pushing you towards the Lord to seek Him and trust Him more? Or are you heavy on complaining? Our reactions to our burdens and trials reveal our true spiritual maturity. We need to trust Him, depend on Him, and glorify Him. When we truly rely on Him, we are not shaken by the burdens and chaos among us. He gives us purpose in our trials. His love and peace are abounding! If you feel like you are burdened and your load is too heavy, remember the Lord is there to help you. Will you trust Him?

Psalm 68:19 "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."

Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You."

Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

1 John 5:3-4 "In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."

I decided to do an 8 1/2 x 11 page today. I printed some black and white images of the things that are going on in our family now—spinal problems, canine epilepsy, Chiari Malformation, etc., etc., etc. If I focused on these things instead of the Lord, I would be utterly overwhelmed, miserable, and defeated. Do I struggle each day? Yes, but I must remember to make Him the focus knowing He has a plan and that we need to glorify Him through it. I trust that, and it's what keeps me going.

I used black and white photos because these 'things' needn't be my focus. The colorful paper with the scripture is what should be my focus. I need to cling to Him and His Word! I also used a sketch that I have had pinned for a while. You can see the sketch by clicking here.  And finally, I used the new Blue Fern Studios paper line called Montage and the chipboard pieces Circle Code and Adore, Love, Cherish.

Papers: Blue Fern Studios Montage Wisdom and Invitation, Paper Trey Ink cs 
Stamp: Our Daily Bread Designs Scripture Collection 7 
Stamp Ink: Versa Fine onyx black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink black soot 
Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Circle Code (painted w/Adirondack Dabber lemonade and Jenni Bowlin Dabber malted milk), Adore, Love, Cherish (painted w/black gesso and Glossy Accents)
Embellishments: Wild Orchid Crafts flowers, Prima Bistro Blooms Nugget and Soubrette orange flower, Prima packaging, Bella Blvd. washi tape, misc. cheesecloth, sewing machine

Remember to use Keyword SCRLLC14 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Blessings, and I pray that you allow Him to carry your burdens!

{SCRLLC14} Scripture Lesson #16, His Strength is Perfect

This is a new song to me; maybe it will be new for some of you too. It is called "His Strength is Perfect" by Steven Curtis Chapman and Jerry Salley. It was written in 1988 and has been published in some Baptist Hymnals since 2008. This song talks about assurance, security, confidence, rest, and shares some attributes of God. You can listen to the song by clicking here. The video is a live performance of Steven Curtis Chapman singing this song. The person filming this has trouble holding onto their camera; however, I really love this live performance by him. It is more incredible and touching to me to watch him sing it live. I hope it doesn't bother you too much. And here are the lyrics:

"I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me 
No great success to show 
No glory on my own 
Yet in my weakness 
He is there to let me know 

Chorus
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone 
He'll carry us when we can't carry on 
Raised in His power, the weak become strong 
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect 

We can only know 
The power that He holds 
When we truly see how deep our weakness goes 
His strength in us begins 
Where ours comes to an end 
He hears our humble cry and proves again 

Chorus repeat"

I found this song by doing a search on the word 'peace'. I was looking for peace and strength particularly for my daughter this week as she had a spinal nerve root block on Thursday. She is normally extremely anxious in these situations but instead as the day arrived, she was completely covered in His peace. So many people were praying for her. For me as an "observer," I was in awe watching Him work in her. I know how she normally handles these things, and the only explanation for what I saw Thursday was that God was holding her hand, He will filling her with His peace, and giving her His strength. His strength is perfect!

1 Chronicles 16:11 "Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always."

Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him."

Psalm 37:24 "Though He may stumble, He will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand."

Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all this through Him who gives me strength."

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

Isaiah 40:29-31 says "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." 

I love that passage! When we are weary, He gives us His strength, and He gives us His power. God is greater than our most impossible task. What are you facing this week, this month, this year? Turn to the Lord. He will strengthen you for anything you face now, tomorrow, and forever. So when you are faced with a trial, a difficult situation, a weak moment, etc., will you remember that His strength alone is perfect?

Mark the above verses in your Bible, share them with someone that may need them this week, post them on the mirrors around your house because remember—His strength is perfect!

Instead of doing a 6x6 page this week, I chose to document it in my journaling Bible because of a verse God gave to me Thursday morning before we left for her procedure. I really love Psalm 28:7 but God gave me Psalm 37:24. When we moved in 2012 and we were looking for a new church home, the pastor of a church we visited shared Psalm 37:24 and said— 

"God is in charge of everything. He orders our steps and holds our hand."

I was able to share that with my daughter along with the scripture and tell her that God was holding her hand. He would get her through the procedure. He was there with her, and He certainly was in a mighty way!

For this page, I used a piece of Blue Fern Studios chipboard. Do you see it? It's the royal blue leaves to the left of the tag that says "remember." That is a portion of the chipboard piece called "Leafy Bough" which is a beautiful piece and can be used in so many different ways. I peeled off one thin layer of the chipboard, painted it, and used a glue stick to put it in my Bible. The thickness of the chipboard would normally be too much for a Bible but there is always a way to separate it and make it thinner to use in my Bible. Love that!

I also journaled the date of the sermon back in 2012 and the date God gave me this verse again and how He used it. I felt it was important to also journal that for the generations to come and for my daughter to remember how His strength got her through.

Paper: Kabnet Wax deli paper
Stamps: Technique Tuesday Scrapbook It, Our Daily Bread Designs God's Hands, Hero Arts Painted Circle, Heidi Swapp date stamp
Stamp Ink: Archival Manganese Blue, Archival jet black
Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Leafy Bough (painted with Adirondack Dabber sail boat blue)
Embellishments: Chic Tags, Sn@p! sticker letters, October Afternoon sticky keys peacock blue stickers, Cosmo Cricket tiny type stickers, sewing machine

Remember to use Keyword SCRLLC14 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Blessings, and I pray this week that you will rely on His strength in all situations!

{HSCRC12} Hymn #17, Sweet Hour of Prayer

Hymn Challenge #17: Sweet Hour of Prayer
Hymn Attributed to: William W. Walford
b. 1772; d. June 22, 1850

First, if you notice above, I state that this hymn is attributed to William W. Walford. Some hymnals I referenced showed "W. W. Walford" under the title of the hymn and some referenced "Attr. to William W. Walford." Be sure to check any hymnals you have or look next time you are at church. The true author of this hymn is actually unknown. Some say that Rev. Walford was a blind, English minister but here is what I found in "Then Sings My Soul Book 2" by Robert J. Morgan:

"No one, however, has ever found a trace of a blind preacher named W. W. Walford in Coleshill, England. There was a congregational minister named William Walford who wrote a book about prayer containing striking similarities to this poem, and some believe he was the author. But he was neither blind nor uneducated, and the authorship of this hymn remains a mystery."

We do know that the tune was composed by W. B. Bradbury in 1859. Interesting for sure!

Wednesday morning of this week as I woke up this hymn, "Sweet Hour of Prayer," popped into my head. I began singing it, and then I got on the computer and looked up all of the verses. I tried to just read the words without humming along. I was so touched by the words that I really felt we were to look at this hymn this week. So, let's begin by just looking at the words (try not to sing). LOL!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! 
that calls me from a world of care, 
and bids me at my Father's throne 
make all my wants and wishes known. 
In seasons of distress and grief, 
my soul has often found relief, 
and oft escaped the tempter's snare 
by thy return, sweet hour of prayer! 

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! 
the joys I feel, the bliss I share 
of those whose anxious spirits burn 
with strong desires for thy return! 
With such I hasten to the place 
where God my Savior shows his face, 
and gladly take my station there, 
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer! 

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! 
thy wings shall my petition bear 
to him whose truth and faithfulness 
engage the waiting soul to bless. 
And since he bids me seek his face, 
believe his word, and trust his grace, 
I'll cast on him my every care, 
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

So, what is prayer? Are you experiencing that 'sweet hour of prayer' each day? Prayer is communication with God (listening and speaking) and a way believers experience a relationship with Him. If you missed my post on prayer back in 2010, please click here. What does your prayer life look like? Jesus is our perfect example. He prayed privately, publically, and with his family. Prayer is mentioned in 51 of the 66 books of the Bible.

Look at that first verse of the hymn. How and when are you approaching the Father's throne? Do you have somewhere in your home where you can privately pray and talk to the Lord each day? Does your family know where that place is? Do they know it's your special, uninterrupted time each day? Are you escaping the tempters snare? If we are not consumed by Christ, we are easy prey for evil.

Prayer—

• Is a place to get away from the world and be at the Father's throne.
• It's the place we find relief and peace.
• It's where we see His face.
• It's where we share our petitions and cast our cares on Him.

Are you evermindful of what God is doing in your life? Are you seeking His face, believing His word, and trusting in His grace (verse 3)? When we seek Him daily for His guidance in our decisions and actions we make, we will reap long-term blessings. Are you trusting each day to Him? How do you know what to do next? Do you need direction? Talk to God. Have that sweet hour of prayer each day! I love how 1 Thessalonians 5:17 makes it so easy to understand:

1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray continually."

And Psalm 61:1 says "Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer."

I also love another quote from the book by Robert J. Morgan I referenced above--"If an hour spent with the Lord is so sweet, why do we race through our day prayerless, then squeeze all our requests into a two-minute segment at bedtime? If prayer is so powerful, why do we neglect it so consistently?" Ouch! I pray that you will remember that daily time with God helps us know what He desires for us and it motivates us to obey Him.

Below you will find the sheet music to "Sweet Hour of Prayer." Also, be sure to check out the link I have below for you today.

Listen here to this beautiful hymn. If you have never seen this man sing, you should look at some of his other videos. Absolutely amazing!

For my 6x6 page today, I used the 1 Thessalonians 5:17 verse noted above. I just loved how simple it was—"pray continually." I used the prayer hands stamp from the ODBD set called "Lift Up Our Hands," and the sentiment  "Take Time to Pray" comes from the ODBD set called "Time." I used the Dusty Attic keyhole chipboard pieces to indicate that the "key" to growing in Christ is being in prayer.

Papers: Pion Design Silent Night Guardian Angels, misc. cardstock 
Kit: some supplies taken from the C'est Magnifique Kit
Stamps: ODBD Lift Up Your Hands, ODBD Time
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink frayed burlap, SU early espresso
Embellishments: Dusty Attic mini keyholes and birds on a branch #2 chipboard, misc. brads, misc. flowers, sewing machine

Remember to use Keyword HSCRC12 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Blessings to each of you!
 

{HSCRC12} Hymn #16, Praise to the Lord the Almighty

Hymn Challenge #16: Praise to the Lord the Almighty
Words Written by: Joachim Neander
b. 1650; d. May 31, 1680

Joachim Neander wrote this hymn in 1680, and it was based on Psalm 103 which says:

Psalm 103:1-6
"1 Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
4 He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
5 He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
6 The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly."

Psalm 150 is also another great Psalm that goes along with this wonderful hymn:

Psalm 150
"1 Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens.
2 Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness.
3 Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre,
4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with the strings and flute,
5 Praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord."

Joachim Neander was born in 1650 in Bremen in northwestern Germany. He came from a family of musicians and studied theology from 1666 to 1670. He did not enjoy his studies but became serious about his studies after hearing a sermon by Theodor Undereyk. He then became a pastor in 1679. He wrote over 110 hymns, and he was regarded as a great hymn writer of the German Reformed Church. Catherine Winkworth, a well-known hymn translator, translated this hymn in 1863. He died at the young age of 30 from tuberculosis.

I had another hymn picked out for today; however, as we enter this Thanksgiving week, I felt we needed to study a hymn of Thanksgiving. This hymn shares just that and reminds us of how we are to praise God everyday and thank Him. He forgives our sins, redeems us from death, and He is constantly at our side listening, guiding, loving, comforting, caring, encouraging, etc. We don't deserve any of this yet He offers it to us because He loves us, and He wants to fellowship with us. It's easy to complain about things but there are many, many things in which we need to praise God for. How have you thanked Him for His salvation, constant care, and provision? When you feel like you have nothing to praise God for, read this hymn, read Psalm 103 and Psalm 150!

How else might you give honor, thanksgiving, and praise to the Lord everyday and throughout the year?

**Repent of your sin.
**Thank Him for His gift of salvation.
**Remember Him in all you do and say and let Him be your guide.
**Recognize God by listing one thing that you are thankful for each day. Keep it on your calendar, in a journal, etc. It doesn't have to be fancy.
**Every time you pray throughout the day, thank Him!
**Obey Him.
**Have an attitude of gratefulness in all things even when things are difficult.
**Praise Him for the seen and unseen things (the Holy Spirit, hope, prayer, etc.).

Job 22:26 "Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God."

Psalm 69:30 "I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving."

Psalm 100:4 "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name."

2 Corinthians 9:10-12
"10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God."

Below you will find the sheet music to "Praise to the Lord the Almighty." Also, be sure to check out the link I have below for you today.

Listen here to the London Philharmonic Choir sing this beautiful hymn.

For my 6x6 page today, I wanted to use Fall colors since we are talking about praising God and giving Him thanks. I chose the Simple Stories Year.O.Graphy papers. They were perfect for this. The scripture I used is Lamentations 3:41 "Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven . . ." It comes from the ODBD set called "Lift Up Your Hands." The word 'Thanksgiving' I got from the ODBD set "Scripture Collection 4." I stamped it onto a brown paper bag that was laying on my desk. The color was perfect.

Papers: Simple Stories Year.O.Graphy
Stamps: ODBD Lift Up Your Hands, ODBD Scripture Collection 4
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink gathered twigs, SU bravo burgundy
Embellishments: Pink Paislee artisan chipboard butterflies, misc. washi tape, Scrap FX chipboard flourish, Tim Holtz tiny attacher and paperclip, misc. flower, sewing machine

Remember to use Keyword HSCRC12 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. May you have a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving, and I leave you with this:

1 Corinthians 1:4 "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:3 "I thank my God every time I remember you."

Blessings to each of you!

Organizational {Friday} Die Cut Do-over

Okay, it's time for a "do-over." When something isn't working anymore it needs to be changed. Many of you may remember my two methods for storing die cuts. If not, you can see them here:

*Binder Die Storage
*Spellbinder Storage in Quickutz Binders

I love the binder method. It is cheap and easy to find what I am looking for; however, the binder is getting SO heavy as it has filled up. I am only going to use it now for my grand dies and my long border dies. My current die storage system needed a re-do a long time ago but I did not have time because of our move across the country. So, I collected dies, and they were just sitting in piles which made it VERY hard to find things when I wanted to use them. So, this week I took the time to get them put away and organized in a new way that I hope will last for many, many years.

I found this organizational idea on Pinterest. I loved it, and I happened to have an extra CM Mini Power Sort Box that I could use. This box measures 7 3/4" w x 6 3/4" d x 5 1/8" h.

There were a few things I didn't like about the system on Pinterest so I changed it a bit to work for me. Here is what I have come up with. First, the original idea uses magnetic sheets. Those can get expensive, and I would have needed a lot of them. Second, the magnetic sheets were glued to the Power Sort Dividers. Only 9 dividers come with a Power Sort Box so I would have needed to purchase a lot of extra dividers. I didn't want to do that. So, I used the dividers as they were intended--as dividers. Then I cut cardstock into 7 1/8" x 4 1/2" pieces, doubled up the cardstock, and placed several dies on each sheet. I cut a small piece of magnet from a roll to put behind each die. It is much cheaper to uses small pieces of magnet than sheets. This works perfectly for me. Here you can see several Memory Box dies on one sheet and then the small pieces of magnet that are behind each die.

This particular box holds my Memory Box, Poppystamps, Our Daily Bread Designs, Cheery Lynn Designs, and PTI dies thus far. There are:

*14 dividers
*38 cardstock pages
*107 dies

And this box is not full! I still have room to grow! Actually I am still putting more away but wanted to get this post up. LOL!  The dividers I have right now include:

*Alphas and Nos.
*Banners
*Birds
*Borders
*Butterflies
*Christian
*Circles
*Frames
*Garden and Floral
*Hobbies
*Holidays
*Home
*Labels and Pockets
*Wreaths

I am eventually going to do this with all of my other dies too so that I have one system not 3. This does take some time to do but in the end it is totally worth it, and this little box holds SO much! I hope you have enjoyed this. Let me know if you have any questions. I will answer them in the comment section. Thanks for stopping by! Blessings to you.

{HSCRC12} Hymn #12, Trust and Obey

Hymn Challenge #12: Trust and Obey
Words Written by: John H. Sammis
b. Ju­ly 6, 1846; d. June 12, 1919

Music Written by: Daniel B. Towner
b. March 5, 1850; d. October 3, 1919

John H. Sammis was a businessman and also worked at the YMCA. He then attended seminary and became an or­dained Pres­by­ter­i­an min­is­ter in 1880. He served in Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota. He later taught at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Rev. Sammis received a note from Daniel B. Towner containing a sentence shared by a man at a testimony meeting. The sentence said: "I am not quite sure but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey." Mr. Towner s then delivered these words to Rev. Sammis who developed the lyrics to "Trust and Obey." Daniel Towner then composed the music and this hymn quickly became a favorite.

I think this hymn and Psalm 28:7 say it all for me this week. I have been living this hymn since I chose it earlier in the week. The first verse of this hymn says:

"When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey."

And the scripture says:

Psalm 28:7 "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song."

I love that first line of the hymn--"when we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word." Yes, His Word is our book for living. It's our book for parenting. It's the book that has all we need to live each day.

Two of my girls wanted to get their driver's licenses this past week. We tried to get them shortly after we moved here but they did not accept the Driver's Education they had at our previous home. So, they told us since they were getting ready to turn 18 to just wait and come back after their birthday. At that point, the DMV would not need proof of anything. Crazy! Anyway, we let their permits expire, and so they could no longer drive here. They wanted to take the test this week but they have not driven in several weeks. They were really nervous about taking the test without driving for a while. One of my girls even asked me if I could take her to the road behind us to practice. She only wanted to practice a 3-point turn before going to take the test and that was it. I didn't answer her immediately, and then God put this on my heart:

Ephesians 6:5-6 "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart."

Colossians 3:20 "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord."

After listening to what the Holy Spirit put on my heart, I had to tell her that we couldn't practice a 3-point turn before going to the DMV. I told her what God had put on my heart and told her how sorry I was but that I needed to obey the Lord first and foremost, and He calls me to obey the laws here. Driving illegally would be against what God wanted as we would have been breaking the law not keeping it. She understood but was of course saddened and then she became more nervous. But the hymn tells us:

"What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey."

And I am excited to tell you that God blessed our obedience, and both of our daughters got their licenses without any problem. Our third daughter has no interest in driving yet. LOL! Anyway, I was able to tell my daughter to look at what God showed her through this--He is faithful. She obeyed, and He blessed her for her obedience. And if we are filled with the Spirit, we will want to obey the Word of God. I had to serve Christ first by obeying Him and not allowing my daughter to drive and practice. It killed me as a mom. I wanted her to pass so badly, and I knew the anguish she felt by not being allowed to practice but I had to obey Christ first and not give in. Oh, but the joy we both felt after she passed was probably even more exciting than had I illegally taken her to practice her driving. Just as the second half of Psalm 28:7 says "My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song." The entire family has just been elated and God was glorified through it! Praise Him!

So where do you need to let go, trust His word, and obey Him? What do you need to bring to Him and trust Him fully? Or what old habit are you having trouble shaking because you are relying on self? Let go and trust Him to help you through it, and then experience the joy that comes from obedience!

Psalm 84:11-12 "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You."

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Below you will find the sheet music to "Trust and Obey." Remember to click on the photo to enlarge the music. Also, be sure to check out the link I have below for you today.

Listen here to Chelsea Moon with the Franz Brothers sing this beautiful hymn. I had never heard of this particular group but found this on YouTube and thought it was beautiful. I hope you enjoy it too!

For my 6x6 page today, I used a verse from the ODBD set called "Scripture Collection 9." The verse says:

Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope."

So perfect for obeying and trusting Him! I also used the Basic Grey paper pack called PB and J. I just loved the bright colors. It makes me think of when I trust and obey Him, I am filled with joy (bright, happy colors). The die cut bicycle is a new die cut from Memory Box called "Brand New Bicycle." I wanted to use it because it makes me think of riding or walking and following something--in this case following and obeying the Lord and what He wants me to do.

Papers: Basic Grey PB and J, library card
Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs Scripture Collection 9
Stamp Ink: SU night of navy, ColorBox Fluid Chalk chestnut roan
Embellishments: Memory Box Brand New Bicycle die (98404), Memory Box white pearls (on bike tires), Basic Grey Wander chip stickers, Zva Creative flourishes, Creative Café felt butterflies, Pink Paislee wood chip alpha, misc. ticket, sewing machine

Remember to use Keyword HSCRC12 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. May you each be filled with blessings as you trust and obey Him!
 

{HSCRC12} Hymn #11, Great is Thy Faithfulness

Hymn Challenge #11: Great is Thy Faithfulness
Words Written by: Thom­as O. Chis­holm
b. Ju­ly 29, 1866; d. Feb­ru­a­ry 29, 1960

Music Written by: William M. Run­yan
b. Jan­u­a­ry 21, 1870; d. Ju­ly 29, 1957

This is another hymn that was done by two people--Thomas O. Chisholm wrote the words to this hymn, and William M. Runyan wrote the music. Mr. Chisholm was born in Frank­lin, Ken­tucky. He grew up there and became at teacher at age 16. Five years later, he switched professions and became an editor for the local newspaper called "The Franklin Favorite." He accepted Christ when he was 27 years old and eventually became a Methodist minister in 1903 in Kentucky. He was also a poet and wrote over 1,200 poems. Many of them were published and many others were set to music. At one point, he also worked in insurance. Mr. Chisholm suffered from many illnesses thus his employment was up and down and forever changing. He later moved to Indiana and then New Jersey where he died in 1960.

Mr. Runyan was a friend of Mr. Chisholm's. Mr. Chisholm sent several of his poems to Mr. Runyan who was deeply moved by the words of this hymn. He prayed for God's guidance in writing the music to these wonderful words. Later this hymn became the unofficial theme song for Moody Bible Institute.

The words to this hymn are certainly worth reading before we begin:

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above;
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin And a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today And bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, With ten thousand beside.

Chorus
Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me."

I love looking at the words of this hymn. It shows so many of God's attributes. Concentrating on His attributes at anytime of the day can keep us grounded and focused on Him instead of our daily circumstances. But what is faithfulness? How is God faithful? Dictionary.com describes "faithful" as "being true to one's word, promises, vows; constant; reliable; trusted; believed." Well, God is ALL of those things and more! Let's look at some of His attributes we see in this hymn:

God is Faithful and Loving
Exodus 34:6 "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,"

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."

Deuteronomy 7:9a "Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God,"

Psalm 36:5 "Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies."

He is our Father
Psalm 89:26 ". . . You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior."

John 20:17 ". . . I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."

Ephesians 4:6 ". . . one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

God is Never-changing
Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

He is Compassionate
2 Corinthians 1:3 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,"

He is the Beginning and the End
Revelation 22:13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

He is Merciful
Deuteronomy 4:31a "For the LORD your God is a merciful God . . ."

Luke 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

He is our Guide
Psalm 48:14 "For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end."

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

Psalm 91:4 “He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

1 Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace."

1 Thessalonians 5:23a "May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through."

Our precious and loving Father is faithful all of the time! That is so comforting to know that in any difficulty we face, we can completely trust that He is there, and He is our constant shield (see Psalm 91:4 above).  Even when things in our lives seem rough or we are walking through a difficulty, we can lean on Him and know that He is faithful in all situations. How will you choose to praise God for who He is instead of dwelling on your current circumstances? How about singing this hymn when things seem difficult? I know this is one hymn that I have every verse committed to memory. I can be reminded through this hymn that He IS faithful, He is my shield, my Father, my guide, my strength, etc. Will you commit this hymn to memory so that at any time you can remember who He is and how He loves you and is faithful in all He does?

Below you will find the sheet music to "Great is Thy Faithfulness." Also, be sure to check out the link I have below for you today.

Here you can listen to Selah sing this beautiful hymn.

For my 6x6 page today, I used the Lamentations verse from above which is also the verse used in the hymn. The stamp image of the verse comes from the ODBD Scripture Collection 1 set. I also pulled out some of my very old Deluxe Designs chipboard, painted it, and added it to the page. I wish they were still in business because I loved their chipboard!

Papers: Bo Bunny Country Garden, Bazzill cs
Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs Scripture Collection 1
Stamp Ink: SU Garden Green, ColorBox Fluid Chalk chestnut roan
Embellishments: Prima Miss Kate flower, Zva Creative jewel flourish, Recollections leaves, white leaf from Wild Orchid Crafts, Deluxe Designs chipboard painted with Adirondack Dabber lettuce, sewing machine

I will be singing this hymn this week. How about you? May you know just how much He loves you and that He is faithful in ALL He does! Remember to use Keyword HSCRC12 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Blessings to each of you!
 

ODBDLYLS17 Scrapbook Challenge

May! Can you believe it? You all know I am super busy here getting ready for our big move across the country. It's wild, and I feel like I am truly running in circles. So for ODBD's May Challenge, we decided to challenge you to a "sketch challenge with a twist"! Your scrapbook challenge for May is to: create a layout of any size using ODBD stamps and the sketch below with a twist--you must also use circles. Have fun with it! Turn the sketch, add 1-4 photos, add paint splatters for your circles, add a doily, buttons, whatever! There are always lots of fun and different things to do with a sketch and circles! And here is your sketch:

For my 8x8 page, I turned the sketch, and I also turned the photo squares into decorative circles. I used one circle to stamp the scripture from the new ODBD set called Fortress. I thought this set was perfect for this page showing that we should trust the Lord and how my mom and her identical twin trust each other. So, trust x2. :)

Papers: Paper Trey Ink cs, Prima Plumeria, floral paper from recycled calendar
Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs Fortress
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink peeled paint
Embellishments: Prima leaves, Paper Trey Ink buttons, Basic Grey chip alpha, Elle's Studio ledger number tag, Maya Road krafty owl, Hobby Lobby doily, sewing machine

To see more information, on our challenge this month and to play along with your chance to win a $15 gift certificate, please be sure to see the ODBD post here. Also, be sure to jump on over to Gemiel's blog to see her page inspiration using this challenge and stamp set!  So, have fun playing with the challenge, and we look forward to seeing what you create! Blessings,

ODBD For the Love of Flowers

Welcome to Our Daily Bread Design's Alumni Team's bi-monthly For the Love Blog Hop. This week the Alumni team along with some of the ODBD designers are featuring a hop for the For the Love of ODBD Flower sets! Check out each link and leave a comment. If you get lost along the way, go to the ODBD blog for the full link list. One of the post is a hop hot spot and a name will be drawn from that list of comments to win a $15 ODBD store gift certificate. So, all you have to do is hop along and see all the creations and leave a little love! You have until Wednesday, May, 9th at 6 pm. The winner will be announced May 10th on the ODBD blog! You should be joining me from Jan's awesome blog. If not, click here, and start at the beginning. :) You won't want to miss anything!

I used the ODBD flower set called "Bleeding Heart" for my card. I just love this set. I stamped the image twice--first onto my tag and second onto a piece of green cardstock so that I could cut out the leaves and piece them onto the tag. The sentiment is from the ODBD "From Me to You" set. :)

Papers: Memory Box boysenberry, dill, and white; misc. kraft
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: From Me to You (scripture), Bleeding Heart (flowers)
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Inks dusty concord and walnut stain, Archival Ink jet black
Embellishments: Sizzix Flower Lattice #2 embossing folder, Ranger Tag #5, ribbon from Ellen Hutson, sewing machine

Now hop on over to Rosemary's beautiful blog and see what she has created for you! Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by! Blessings,

{HSCRC12} Hymn #9, I Surrender All

Hymn Challenge #9: I Surrender All
Words Written by: Judson W. Van de Venter
b. Dec. 5, 1855; d. July 17, 1939

Music Written by: Winfield S. Weeden
b. Mar. 29, 1847; d. July 31, 1908

Judson W. Van de Venter was born in Michigan and accepted Jesus as a teenager. He went to college and became an artist, teacher, and musician. He even learned to play 13 different musical instruments. Later in life he felt pulled to ministry but he was torn between his love for art and music and what he thought was God's call to ministry. He struggled with this decision for over 5 years. In 1896 as he was conducting a piece at a church event, he completely surrendered himself to God's will. He then became a full-time evangelist. Mr. Van de Venter was quoted as saying "At last the pivotal hour of my life came and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing." This was the decisive moment when he wrote this hymn.

While Mr. Van de Venter wrote the words to this hymn, it was Windfield S. Weeden that set the words to music. Mr. Weeden loved the words so much that "I Surrender All" was inscribed on his tombstone.

Changes. Changes can be hard. Changes can be exciting. Is God calling you to a new place in life? Maybe a new ministry, an "empty nest," the birth of a child or grandchild, a move, etc. As our girls begin to look at colleges, I find myself realizing that our family is in for a huge change. We have a new season in life ahead of us. Granted it's not for another year but I can see God preparing hearts and making some changes already. It's scary. It's exciting. It's overwhelming.

To be able to move forward as God wants us to, we need to surrender ourselves completely to Him. We should be doing this daily anyway but it seems when the changes are more difficult it becomes all too easy to clam up and push the change aside. Do you just want to avoid the change? Or do you recall what God has done in the past and move forward trusting Him with the outcome? Did you surrender to Him and allow Him to prepare you in the past or did you take matters into your own hands? If He calls (no matter what the call), we cannot be paralyzed by the fear of the unknown. We are to surrender all to Him knowing He has the plan and wants what's best for us! Will you do that? It's what we are called to do. True faith expresses itself in obeying God’s word and surrendering ourselves completely to Him in all things--big or small.  We should:

*Start with what we have.
*Surrender it to Jesus.
*Obey what He commands.
*Trust God with the rest.

Will you do that? If you truly want to follow Christ, we must take up our cross daily. Luke 9:23 says "Then He said to them all: 'If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.'" This is not optional; it is necessary! Mr. Van de Venter struggled for 5 years knowing what He should do. Your decisions can always be sure if you surrender it all to Him, and trust Him will the outcome! What we have in Christ far outweighs anything else in this life!

Philippians 3:7-8 "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ."

Mark 10:28 "Peter said to Him, 'We have left everything to follow You!'"

How will you surrender completely to Christ this week? Or maybe you are not going through a change in your life but I bet you know someone that is. How will you support and encourage them to surrender and follow the will of God?

Below you will find the sheet music to "I Surrender All," and click here to read the words to this hymn. Also, be sure to check out the link I have below for you today.

I also found a gorgeous piano rendition of this hymn by Greg Howlett. The video is beautiful too. Click here, enlarge the video, sit back, and meditate on surrendering all to Jesus!

For my 5x7 page today, I used the ODBD set called "Never Give Up." The scripture was perfect so that I remember to surrender and press on in Him! I also love the quote which says "When once the call of God comes, begin to go, and never stop going." Perfect for today's hymn and lesson!

Papers: Memory Box boysenberry and sky, Paper Trey Ink cs
Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs Never Give Up
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink old paper, tumbled glass, seedless preserves; Archival Ink jet black
Embellishments: Sizzix Flower Lattice #2 embossing folder; May Arts twine; Ranger manila craft tag #5; Maya Road kraft large ticket; Tim Holtz mini paper clip; Prima wooden buttons, leaves, and flower, leaves from Wild Orchid Crafts, burlap from Save on Crafts, sewing machine

Remember to use Keyword HSCRC12 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Blessings to each of you!