Healed!

Happy Friday to you all!  What a wonderful day it is!  It's still muggy in the good old south, but my heart is holding out for rain and.....the fall!  I feel like The Little Engine That Could....I think I can, I think I can! LOL!!

Today I wanted to share a quick and simple card that I made for a very dear friend of mine who is having some health issues in her family!  I haven't ever shared a card before, mainly because I'm not necessary really good at them and spend most of my time in my journals.  I make the occasional card mainly because I feel like, I have the tools, so why not bless someone with a homemade card rather than buying one, but I don't make more than I do because I love spending all my free time playing with mixed media!

I made this card on a pre-made base that I got in the bargain bin (yep that's me..always looking for the bargain!) at Hobby Lobby and then cut and applied some pretty designer papers from Colorbok and Glitz paper packs.  I then took an ATC and painted a background with some of my faves Silks Acrylic Glazes in Sunflower and Pink Azalea.  I applied some Tim Holtz Distress in Spun Sugar around the edges and then with Vintage Photo.  I stamped on this pretty flower stamp that I just got in the mail from Unity Stamps with Staz On black ink and proceeded to paint on the design with my Silks Acrylics in Pink Azalea, Sky Blue, Pretty Peridot and Nutmeg.  I finished it off with some pretty ribbon that I bought (once again in the bargain bin...ha ha) and a flower from Essentials that I sprayed one of my fave sprays, Gold Colorshine, from Heidi Swapp and added a little button in the center.  I love buttons.  I don't sew (AT ALL) so it's quite comical that I like buttons.  But my husband has a booth in two different antique/flee markets and so I go in periodically and buy cute bottles or jars of buttons!  Go figure?  I adhered it all down with some good old Aleene's!

My heart in this card was to encourage her to declare healing for her loved one!  I don't believe it is ever God's will for us to be sick.  Circumstances in this fallen world that we live in opens the door for the enemy to have his way.  Often times I do believe God does "allow" certain things in our lives to see where our heart is in the midst of the circumstance.  How are we going to react.....in faith or throw the towel in at the first sign of distress!  In John 11, sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, sent to Jesus word that Lazarus, the one Jesus loved, had died. I believe it was at this point that Jesus made the decision to minister the "living" word! God's Word says Jesus abode two days in the place He was at.  In other words, He didn't go straight away!  I believe He wanted to see how they would react.  In the course of waiting, Jesus had conversation with His disciples assuring them, albeit their confusion, of Lazarus's death, siting that He was glad He didn't go straight away for the intent that they "believe," knowing he was dead and Jesus foreseeing the resurrection to come and the glory to God.

When He got there He found Lazarus had been dead for four days and there were many there.  Martha, at hearing Jesus was coming, was so excited that she ran out to Him, but Mary, I believe, was possibly so irritated or upset at Jesus for not coming right away, that she chose to stay at the home.  Remember, this was the Mary that anointed Jesus with oil and wiped His feet with her hair, so you know she loved Him deeply. So I believe she was upset. Martha of course noted to Jesus if He had been there Lazarus would not have died, but even now, she goes on to say, but whatever He would ask God, God would give it. Jesus told her Lazarus would rise again and she said she knew he would at the last resurrection. BUT Jesus quickly noted to her that HE was the resurrection, and the life and he that believeth in Him, though they were dead, shall live and never die!  When He asked her if she believed that, she said yes!

When she went and called Mary, Mary actually had to go to Jesus.  He still didn't go to where the mourners were.  When she got there, the mourners were in tow (misery loves company!).  I mean no disrespect, I believe they all were truly sad, but Mary knew who Jesus was and she allowed the influence of the Jewish visitors to cloud her vision.  When she reached Him, she quickly fell at His feet and quipped that if He had been there Lazarus would not have died.  I believe it was from a different heart than Martha.  He was however so touched and troubled by all of their grief, that He had them bring Him to the grave.  Martha, concerned for His well being, didn't want Him to go into the grave for the stench, but He quickly reminded her that He told her if she would believe, that she would see the glory of God.  It was then that when He had Lazarus come forth that many of the Jews who were with Mary saw these things and believed on Him. Jesus came for the unbeliever - they saw so they believed!  I believe had Mary chosen another stance, it would have quickened the Spirit and she would have been in a different place emotionally and spiritually.

In v. 11:4 it says "When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."  It's ALL ABOUT JESUS - that He get ALL THE GLORY!!  His sole purpose here on this earth was to reconcile man back to the Father through His shed blood.  That shed blood covered ALL sickness, ALL disease, ALL illness and EVERY circumstance that opposes God's Word.  His Word is life to the body, not death.  Healing does not happen on this side of Heaven for all people and for that I cannot answer (we all have different relationships with the Father), but I do KNOW without a shadow of doubt that it is NOT HIS WILL that we should be sick - it's covered under the blood. But just as sure, to be absent from this earthly body is to be present with the Father and I believe in that moment, healed in Heaven for eternity!

Declare today health and healing over yourself or a loved one!  You have been made whole through the blood!  We all mourn or even get angry and I believe that is ok with God, but don't stay in that place!  You be encouraged to go through that valley with a peace and joy, trusting that the Father has His purpose for your life in the palm of His hand!  He is your Rear Guard!

Blessings!

His Eye is on the Sparrow!

Good Thursday morning to you all!  I pray your week has gone well and you are looking forward to a wonderful holiday weekend where we all deserve a break from labor!!  At least I do! LOL!!  For all you who labor, may you labor well and as unto the Lord!  

Today I want to share a page from one of my journals that came together swiftly for me because once again, I had a stirring in my belly as to what I wanted to do and it just came right out on the page.  Unfortunately, as I have noted before, I don't have wonderful camera and video equipment to show you all the great color and such, but hopefully you can have a well enough look from my phone pic today!

I started as I mostly do with gesso on my page to get some smooth bold color from my acrylic paints and then added some scrap pieces of book page I had lying around along with some drywall tape, which I love, to give some background texture.  I don't use fancy acrylics, just good old Folk Art acrylics that I can get from my local Walmart.  They have so many colors to choose from and I really like using them.  I took my old credit card and just began to lay down a myriad of colors.  You always get a happy mish mash of color when you do that, plus it's fun! I then put some liquitex molding paste through Tim Holtz's Burlap stencil in various spots and then for further texture, I stamped with one of my favorite background stamps from Christy Tomlinson.  I also took some Liquitex black ink and watered it down and ran my old card through it and just randomly put it in spots on the page and then took a toilet paper roll and and old bottle cap and also ran it through the ink and did the same thing (real high-tech, huh?) LOL.

I keep scraps of everything, I think I am a borderline hoarder - ha ha, so I had some old packing paper, which I really like and stamped my sentiment on it using Tim Holtz's Worn Text cling stamps  , which happen to be my favorite, and then stamped my wonderful birds that I got from Unity Stamps and Fiskars. I adhered and sealed that all down with Mod Podge and then did some shading on the sentiment with a Faber-Castell Big Brush Pen in black.  I outlined the birds with my favorite pen from Koh-I-Noor, the Rapido Sketch Pen.   I love that pen.  If you treat it right, it will go over EVERYTHING!  I added a little outline with my Sakura white gel pen and to top it all off I watered down some gesso and the Liquitex ink and splattered it on.

My thoughts for this page were out of my heart for those who seem to not have a "home" or who are down trodden or wondering in this world.  Dorothy had it right when she said, "There is no place like home!" There IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME, especially when you are talking about "home" in the arms of our Heavenly Father!  This world is NOT our home!  We are merely sojourners or aliens here (1 Peter 2:11-12).  As God's children, our "real" home is in the heavenly realm!  If people really understood the magnitude of that, they wouldn't put so much stock in earthly pleasures and things, which are temporary at best!  In Psalm 84, which is where I got my inspiration from, the Psalmist was "homesick" for Heaven!  He wants to be in the dwelling place of God where there is unutterable glory at the altar of the Lord!  Glory!  My heart yearns along with him!

There were two altars in the tabernacle and the temple.  One was the brazen altar, which typified Christ's death and the other was the golden altar, which typified His resurrection.  Together, they represent the FINISHED work on the cross!  No longer do you have to feel "homeless" or remain wondering in a fallen world because you have direct access to the throne room of our Heavenly Father for ETERNITY through the blood of Jesus Christ!  God shares in His Word that even the birds of the air do not sow or reap or store away in barns yet our Heavenly Father feeds them and He goes on to note, aren't we much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26) He takes care of the birds of the fields even the lone ones like the sparrow.  If He will do that for them, then He will most assuredly do so for those whom He considers, the apple of His eye, His created ones, His children!

Today, if you feel alone or homeless in the wilderness, you can find rest and security  at the altars of the Lord!

Be blessed!

With Love

Happy Tuesday to you!  Today, I am trying to get back on track....I had a dentist appointment this morning and NOTHING makes my stomach do flip flops like going to the dentist! LOL!  I dread that trip more than anything in the whole wide world!  It's NEVER just an easy trip, there is usually a can of worms opened every time I go!  But, praise the Lord, today I just had a cavity filled (my worst nightmare - I didn't even think there was anymore teeth left to fill...LOL, LOL!) and some other issues turned out to not be as bad as I thought!  Thank you Lord!!  What about you?  Is your dentist friend or foe?? LOL!!!

Today's tag is in keeping with my "birds" theme!  I actually made this tag for my mother and forgot to take a picture before I gave it to her. So yesterday I was at her home and managed to take a shot, in the worst lighting possible as well, but maybe you will get a good look.  Like the recent canvas I did, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this tag and I had fun doing it and loved how it turned out.

I started the tag with a Tim Holtz distress ink pad in Spun Sugar and then added some Broken China and followed up with Vintage Photo.  I of course edged with Walnut Stain.  I then inked up a script stamp from Inkadinkado with Broken China and lightly stamped for a background effect.  I then inked up a Teresa Collins Stamp from Fiskars with Vintage Photo and also stamped in the background.  Apparently this stamp is used for a continuous stamp wheel, which I do not own, but I liked the stamp so much I bought it anyway and it works just fine without the wheel, LOL! Afterwards, I took some of my great Tim Holtz emphemera edging them all with Vintage Photo and Walnut stain and adhered them with good old Aleene's Tacky Glue.  I then stamped the sentiment stamp "with Love" at the bottom with Color Box Ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder.  A pretty simple tag, but definitely "with love" for my sweet mama!

You know, that's kind of how I was thinking about God's love for us, or rather how it is to receive God's love for us.....simple, but "with love!"  Too often, I think people make it harder to receive God's love than necessary. God makes it very simple for us to have a personal relationship with Him, yet people in the world put restrictions on God or want to believe there are too many "rules" to enjoy fellowship with our Father in Heaven. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth!  His Word says that God "wants ALL to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth!" (1 Timothy 2:4) Getting to know God and having a personal relationship with Him is the most rewarding thing you will ever do!  God offers peace, love and mercy to us FREELY, but again, many reject it because they think it means "religion!"  Christianity isn't about religion AT ALL, IT IS about a personal, loving relationship with the Creator of this universe!

When a jailer confronted Paul and Silas, while in jail, he asked them, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They said, believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household!" (Acts 16:30-31)  It doesn't get any simpler than that!  As you seek that deeper relationship with the Lord, there are things in your life you will need to submit to Him for further growth, but those are things you will find you will willingly do for continued growth and Kingdom building here on this earth!  It is a joy to serve the Lord, there is no fear and condemnation for those who are in Christ!! Those who are "in Christ," serve a loving God who is ready, willing and able to accept YOU "just as," and "right where" you are WITH LOVE!

Won't you allow the Father to draw you with His love today?   Have a most blessed day! :)

Live Your Life!

Happy, happy Friday friends!  Boy...thank God it's Friday! LOL!!  I don't like wishing my life away, but I am so glad it's Friday!  What a week!  I hope all of you have had a good week and are looking forward to a blessed weekend!

I have a tag to share with you today that I had so much fun making!  Some of it was trial crafting as I had not either done the process before or used the product before, so was looking forward to seeing the results!  Let me just say, since I am NO photographer and obviously don't video my projects (because I am technically challenged unlike most of you crafty folks) the lighting, which is poor, takes away from a lot of the colors and shadings in this piece.  Sorry!  I started this tag with my favorite Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads in Spun Sugar, Fired Brick Red, Vintage photo and as always, Walnut Stain on the edges.  Then using a Versa Mark pad, I stamped with an Ink idinkado script stamp on the background and finished it with Ranger Holographic embossing powder.  I had never used it before and I must say I really liked how it turned out!  Even though you can't see it, it is a pretty embossed glittery affect! Loved it.  From there I proceeded to place elements on from BoBunny paper and Tim Holtz emphemera and then stamped a sentiment stamp using Colorbox ink and embossing with clear embossing powder.  

I had some Essentials flowers that I sprayed Goosebumps Texture Spray on to see what would happen and it was just kind of so, so.  I liked it alright, but I think I will try using it another way next time.  I bought it out of curiosity.  I then added a jeweled element in the middle.  I love dragonflies and knew I wanted to add it on so I hot glued it on (which you can see my mistake there), and then proceeded to use one of my faves, Silks Acrylic Glaze in Sky Blue on top with a paint brush.  I watered it down so it wouldn't be so dark.  I like it alright but then decided to use another fave Inka Gold Metalic Rub in Steel Blue to add accent.  After that I topped it off with Glossy Accents.  I wanted to have a little "zing" behind the dragonfly, so I added some with a black sharpie and on top of that used a Sakura gel pen in white.  Topped it off with some yummy yarn that I have and American Crafts ribbon.  All in all, I really liked it.

Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." How do you live your life?  I'd like to think that I live my life completely for the Lord!  When we say we are "crucified with Christ," that essentially means that we NO longer live our lives for ourselves.....or in the flesh, but we decide or choose to live by the Spirit that now lives on the inside of us!  That being said, I have NOT arrived yet and it is a DAILY dying to my flesh to walk in the Spirit!  I most certainly miss the mark in many areas, but that is what seeking a deeper relationship with our Father in Heaven is ALL ABOUT!!!  As I seek, I find and as I find, I am to digest and incorporate His given Word into my daily living.  It's no longer about me, in the sense that it's not my will but His in my life, but it IS about me in the sense that I am to live my life to give ALL THE GLORY to God!  

God's Word tells us to be the "salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?" What that means is we are the flavor of God with a purpose, yes a purpose in our lives, BUT a purpose for others. Why?  So that others would see your light shine and Glorify your Father in Heaven!!  If we have no flavor, then we are good for nothing.  Who wants a steak on the grill with no flavor?  Others will know us by our flavor and they will want more of the same!  It really is about us because we, as believers, are to be a light carrying God's love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control to a lost and dying world!

I found this quote by John G. Lake : "The secret of Christianity is the secret of Christ possessing the heart of man; man being yielded to Him so that His victory, His consciousness, and His power possess your spirit and mind."  Be yielded today!  We have a part to play in God's big plan!  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit that He receive ALL THE GLORY!!  Live your life for Him!

Blessings!

Grateful Heart!

Happy Wednesday!  Where does the time go?  We all say that, but as I get older (not confessing my age, LOL) I really understand that more and more.  When we were young, we had all the time in the world, but as an older parent, I see the depth of that!  Time is so precious and I am thankful for each and every day!

Speaking of being thankful, I pulled a past page from one of my journals to share today because my time so far this week has been concentrated on my youngest girl and her studies in the evening.  It sure keeps me on my toes!  LOL!!  I remember doing this page out of a grateful heart for my precious relationship with my Father in Heaven!  I am SO grateful for MANY things, but living in a country where I have liberty and freedom with my worship to my Saviour Jesus has to be at the top of the list!  

I did this page with mostly acrylic paint in warm tones, which are my favorite!  I tend to gravitate towards those color A LOT, so from time to time I have to force myself to go to brighter colors! LOL!  I gesso'd the page first (I always remember what Dina Wakley says about the underwear..LOL!) and put various acrylics down with credit card and paint brushes.  I like the effects of both.  I then put some acrylic through Tim Holtz's Bubble Stencil, which "smooshed" out because it was pretty thick when I put it through.  I then used some acrylic through a Julie Fei-Fan Balzer Stencil (TCW317)  I had a scrap that I found somewhere, not sure where, that I loved because it made me think of the world and how we live in a world that is a "patchwork!"  God created a patchwork of versatility, not so much that we would be "different" for division, but "different" so that His love could be shared across those differences - there would be someone, somewhere, that would be able to reflect His love in a way that you could understand it!  I then added a piece that I found in my emphemera stash that I stamped on "grateful for you EVERYDAY!" with thoughts of thanking God DAILY for His indescribable GIFT OF JESUS!!!  I added some bubble text that spelled Jesus and ended with splatters of Liquitex black acrylic ink!

I am also SO thankful that to be a part of this wonderful art community online where I can share my love of Jesus through my art to others!  I am also thankful for all the support from you wonderful artists out there!  You ALL are such an inspiration to me that I glean from daily!  Because of the surpassing grace that God has given me and the precious gifts He has given me, I want to make sure that I am a cheerful giver, a sower of His precious seeds and as I give that supply back to make sure that it is with a heart overflowing in expressions of THANKS TO GOD!!

What are you grateful for today?  Express it today with a smile and praise on your lips!

Blessings!

Sing a New Song!

What song are you singing today?  In God's Word, He tells us to make a joyful noise unto Him!  That Word, I believe is as much about us as it is for Him.  I believe that joyful noise is to yes indeed to magnify and glorify Him because He wants us to come into His presence with singing and praises as we gladly serve Him, but it's also about us, our hearts before Him!  When you sing a new song daily, I believe that it opens up our hearts for a fresh wind of the Spirit, a new influx of grace and a deeper relationship with our Father in Heaven. When you do that, you can then indeed serve Him gladly and praise Him with higher praises!

If we stay in a state of expectation, hearts yielded to His will, I believe that lays us open for ALL the Father has for us.  When you are constantly being "filled," you will have to pour, out and that pouring out will activate His infinite mercy and grace as He equips you for Kingdom building!  But that pouring out initiates a "new filling" of grace and mercy and a new song in your heart before the Lord!  It is a wonderful, beautiful cycle that God the Father desires from us with all His heart!  Abba Father loves for His children to passionately seek Him that He could pour out on us!  God is so good!

The canvas that I have done for today is our of my desire to praise and honor Him daily!  I thought about the beautiful birds of the air and how they never cease to sing a song!  I want to be like them singing constantly a new song unto Him.  I really had fun doing this canvas.  It just all came together and clicked.  I love when that happens.

Initially I put some old book page paper and some Bo Bunny Collection paper in the background.  I then used various colors of blue and teal acrylic paint (which I love, love) randomly.  I then took my favorite Silks acrylic glazes and sponged through a stencil and then stamped some fun background stamps around for more texture.  I used some of my fun emphemera distressing with Tim Holtz distress inks and did a tag coloring with some yummy gelatos and topping it off with Tim Holtz distress ink and a cute ideology pin that says "thoughts" on it.  The sentiment was easy stamping and distressing as well.  I finished it off with another fave my Viva Inka Gold! It brought a song to my heart and I have been singing all morning! 

What song is in your heart today?  Forever God will continue to "show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7), and as He does, for His glory and for that freshness and joy in your heart, sing Him a new song of praise out of your great desire to know Him and be known!

Blessings to you today!

Filled with Joy!

Gosh is it already Wednesday???  Where did Monday and Tuesday go?  I'll tell you......they are back on last week BEFORE my girls started back school!!!  Starting back school after a break is always a tough one because I have to get myself back on a schedule!  A schedule, I might add that incorporates not only my full time job, but also my full time job of mom, wife, student (because I am back to doing their school work with them) and teacher (all those LONG nights studying for their tests)!!!!  Don't get me wrong, all those hats I wear, I wear lovingly, however, it makes for a very tired me sometimes!!! LOL!!  Oh well, this too shall pass!! LOL!!

As I wear all those different hats, I have to really push for "me" time!  My "me" time incorporates, most importantly, my Bible studying as well as going to the gym to stay healthy and my wonderful world of art!! It's ALL worth it, mind you, but as I go through it ALL, I have to count it ALL JOY!!!  I was reading about Paul and Barnabas this morning and how they were expelled from their region because the religious leaders were mad at them, but even with the opposition and the circumstances around them, they just shook off the dust from their feet, moved on and were filled with JOY and the Holy Spirit!!  That is how we as believers need to react to daily circumstances!  They can be difficult, but God's Word says to count it ALL joy when we meet trials of various kinds....from the smallest to the greatest....count it ALL JOY!!  I believe the intent of being "filled" is to rise UP and OVER any circumstance that we may walk victorious through Jesus Christ here on this earth!  That's an awesome promise from the Father!!!

As I have mentioned before, I have many different journals at my home that I work out of and this one that I display a page out of today is a journal that I like to think of as on "the lighter side."  I do mostly spray inks or water color in this journal and Zentangles.  I save my heavier mediums for other journals.  But my studies this morning reminded me of this page where I used Dyan's Dylusions sprays, a couple of stamps and then incorporated my tangling.  I had some overage from another page on the side, but that never really bothers me because I look at it as part of more character to that page.  It was light and simple, but done out of a joy in my heart.

The scripture says "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11   God breathes His very breath of life into our body and as we grow, He wants us to grow into the FULLNESS of the peace, joy and love that He is!  Because of the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, on the cross, we are allowed to enter into His presence daily!  In His presence is the fullness of joy and as we receive, we are to also give that back out, that others may see and know! What a loving Father that He would freely give!

May you be filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit today, regardless of your circumstances...count it ALL JOY!

Blessings!

Live Each Day To the Fullest!

Happy amazing Friday, my artsy friends!!  Well the kiddos started back to school yesterday and I am so excited for their new year!  They both have what seem to be wonderful teachers and I look forward to them learning new things and excelling!  I am looking at the new year with expectations!  If you have started a new school year as well, blessings to you and yours!

My heart today is full of the joy of the Lord!  When I think about the joy of the Lord I think about LIFE and life MORE ABUNDANTLY!!!  A dear sister in Christ reminded me the other day that each day we wake up we are infused with the breath of our Creator!!!  As you deeply inhale, you are breathing in the breath of our Father in Heaven.  He created Adam and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became a LIVING BEING!!  God's Word says, "This is what God the Lord says - the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it." (Is. 42:5)  Breath and life to those who walk in it!  That's an awesome revelation when you think about each breath, each step you take, each movement you make is God breathed!  Think about that!  That just floods my spirit!  His Word says that the Spirit of God made me and the breath of the Almighty gives me LIFE, not just here on this earth but for eternity through the precious blood of His Son Jesus Christ!!!  That is something to be JOYFUL over today!!!

This quick tag I did was just out of some scrap pieces that were lying around on my table top.  As a person that hates throwing those pieces away that could be used, I decided to use them here.  I actually gesso's my tag first (again me trying to see how things would react) and then used Tim Holtz Distress Stains over top in Broken China, Peeled Paint, Vintage photo and then Walnut stain around the edges.  I then stamped over with Unity Stamps Layers of Life Collections from May and June.  I then attached some burlap and two different textured ribbon scraps and some emphemera the said LIVE from my stash!  For a throw together, not too bad, huh?  At least it makes me feel better about using up those scraps and not throwing them away. I think that comes from the "mom thing" about eat everything on your plate cause there are starving children in Africa!!! LOL!! Thanks Mom!!! LOL!!

I"m so thankful today for the breath of life!  It's hard for me to remember who I was before and I don't ponder on it because I have forgotten what is behind and I am moving forward, pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus - ETERNAL LIFE!! Take a breath of fresh air today and as you do, recall that the Creator in Heaven gave you breath that you walk FULL OF LIFE and FULL OF JOY here on this earth for Kingdom building until His precious Son comes again!  Until then, live each day to the FULLEST knowing you walk with the very breath of Father on the inside of you!

Blessings!

Looking Straight Ahead!

Happy August everyone!  Boy did it come quick or what?  It may be my age, but I really feel like this year has just flown by!  And to boot, I'm ALREADY having to get my girls ready to go back to school...noooooooo! LOL!!!  It's not a fun task for me, I think I would rather mop the floor than do back to school shopping!!  LOL!!  That's pretty bad right?  But that being said, it's always nice to get back to a regular schedule even if it does mean back to doing homework and studying!! LOL

I'm trying also to get back on task with my journaling. Sometimes, we get so busy being busy that things we love to do, get pushed to the side. I went and did a big Joann's haul over the weekend and look forward to really getting to use some of the product. All that said, I will share a couple of pages that were inspired by Becky Wentworth!!  Becky does some of the prettiest background spreads and I just love all the color she uses and her technique and style! Thanks Becky for your inspiration to others!

Both of these journal pages were done with my Dylusions sprays and both used some of the same stencils, but just in a different way (part of me playing just to see what would happen)!  I love the vivid display of Dylusions and how they react to other mediums in different situations.  The page on the left I laid down a huge assortment of Dyan's sprays, being careful to not let them mix too much because I wanted each color to be very vivid.  That being said I used very little water here and there because we all know what happens when you do that!  I then decided to use gesso through some Crafter's Workshop (TCW457, TCW459, TCW372, TCW327) stencils because I wanted to see how it would all react.  I was pleasantly surprised!  Some did react with the Dylusions and some didn't which gave it a nice feel!  I loved what happened.  I then finished off the outside and corners with some Tim Holtz Distress Stain Dusty Concord.  Kind of fun right?

The one on the right, I wanted to lay down some gesso first and then put Dylusions over top and see how it reacted.  I had never done it just based on what others said in vids I had seen, and how it would just sit on top because of the gesso, but I still wanted to try it.  I made sure I didn't drown it on because I didn't want a run off and because I had already decided I wanted some white space.  I then randomly stamped using some background stamps from Unity Stamps and then used Tim Holtz Distress Stain Fired Brick and Spiced Marmalade through some of the same stencils from Crafter's Workshop that I used on the other journal page. Different, yet I liked it as well.  I really like that teal and red/orange together!  So what do you think?

How is your summer winding down?  Are you getting the kiddos ready for back to school, maybe finishing a summer program you were involved in or are you gearing up for a new fall journey?  In God's Word it says "Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went." Ezekiel 1:12  It doesn't matter where you have been or really even where you are going as long as you are Christ minded, bended to His will and ready and willing to allow Him to do and purpose His will in and through you!  We all go through seasons in our lives and sometimes you have to press through some of those seasons and sometimes those seasons seem to come easier than others or end too fast.  But God's grace is there through each and every one!  If we just stand strong in faith with arms, heart and mind wide open and ready for action, we will not only honor Him, but be blessed in the process!!

Blessings!