In Grace We Stand

Romans 5:1-2 is one of those brief passages that I've read many, many times but one small treasure gleamed and caught my eye on another reading.  I've just focused on other parts of the verse. But look at this..."Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

What struck me this time was the essence of grace in the life of the believer.  Grace isn't just something God dispenses as we repent.  We STAND IN GRACE.  Grace is a position we hold as a child of God.  Grace will not be withheld from the believer.  We are IN it...forever.  That is why His grace is sufficient.  His grace has covered everything necessary for our salvation.  I saw this as such a powerful part of the verse.  In grace we can stand and seize all God's treasures--life with Him forever, peace now in life and with God.  We don't have to come begging like a pauper.  We are already completely covered by His grace and that gives us the power to stand as victors!  I love it when Bible/Art journaling offers those beautiful moments when scripture comes alive all over again.

 

This is how my page started. I used my new jars of Distress Paints.  Oh, my! They are like melted butter.  LOVE them.  Then I did a little stenciling to add some texture.  Then I got out my Sweet 'n Sassy stash to see what I could find to help me share this amazing passage of scripture.

The verse is expressed in both stamped words/letters and hand-lettering.  All the stamps I used are listed below.

 I had a blast going back to some of my mixed media techiques to do this girl.  She is all from cut papers.  I didn't sketch it out...just started cutting so I'd get this totally casual artsy look to her.  Her hair is painted as is some of the light shading on her skin.  I used a Prisma pen to outline her last. The papers for her clothes are some from my stash.  Her flowers are stamped on painted paper then cut out.  The white outlining is the white sharpie paint pen also available through SNSS.

I can remember my preacher-daddy being so incredulous that people would actually resist God's grace.  My whole family soaked it up like a sponge and often needed more.  We caught a glimpse of how needy we were, how lost--were it not for grace. When we say "YES" to His amazing grace, we are at peace with God, reconciled and secure.  And that fact gives us peace in the here and now.

I hope this little nugget in scripture has given you a fresh look at grace and I hope my mixed media antics will give you some fun inspiration to try in your own art journals or Bibles.

Stamp sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps:

• All of Me Alpha (stand)
• Amazing God (amazing)
• Choose Faith (grace)
• He is Worthy-(yellow flowers)
• Message of Hope (forever, live in His peace, and forever. 
• Note This (say yes to, right where He wants me, ampersand) 
• Seek Him (corner designs, arrows, small hearts)

 All of Me Alpha and Amazing God

 Choose Faith

 Message of Hope, He is Worthy, and Note This

 Seek Him

Grace That is Greater Than All Our Sin

Some of the old hymns have the theology right! Regardless of your stance on contemporary vs. traditional music in church, you just have to admit the wording of some of the hymns will stand the test of time because they are rooted in the Gospel message.

I've joined several social media groups that showcase Bible Art Journaling.  I think I'm going to make a linked list on one of my tabs (pages).  There is a plethora of inspiration out there...oh, and don't forget Pinterest.  Sometimes if I browse too long, I get discouraged.  There are amazing artists out there...amazing.  But I have to keep reminding myself it's not about the art on the page; it's about the devotion in the heart. It's about the worship experience you have WHILE you do the artwork.  It's God's Word that is at the heart of it...and the art is the icing on the cake (and I'm no cake decorator!).

My pages center on the theme of God's grace.  Of course, there are a ton of old hymns that reflect that theme.  But this one kept going through my head, so I used a part of the page of a hymnbook (sorry if I made you gasp) and made it into a tip-in.  That's a note, tag...any extra piece of paper ephemera that you insert into your Bible affixing it so it will hinge, or flip up or over.  It gives you more journaling space and allows you to have something opaque and relatively large in your art form without covering the words of Scripture.

Click on the photo to enlarge for a clearer view of the coloring/highlighting on the text.

For the left side of the page I mixed stamped and hand-lettering.  It will be a YEAR before I get this hand-lettering thing mastered.  It's just harder than it looks.  I have a very long way to go, but I will persevere.  I sponged and underlined the verses I wanted to highlight using SU inks and markers.  The stamped words are from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and I'll showcase those at the end of the post. 

Good Friday (when I created this) is such a powerful picture of God's grace.  That God would love us while we were yet sinners enough to go to the cross is too vast, too deep, too loving to even fathom.  Jesus was the sinless, perfect lamb of God, given to the world as a sacrifice to pay the debt of sin.  This seems like foolishness to the lost (God's Word tells us that).  But to those who have been redeemed they knew this unimaginable truth is...TRUE.  His grace is infinite...so He never tires of drawing us back to Him.  His grace is matchless.  Do you know anyone who would do what He has done.  NO.  Because not even giving a life for a life will effect salvation.  It may give life, but not eternal life. God's grace is like none other...matchless. And all of that is what makes His grace so marvelous.  I still marvel today that He would extend His grace to someone like me. 

Here's a better look at the tip-in.  I've attached it with washi tape on the right side so it opens to expose the Scripture underneath.  It was grace that taught my heart to sing...and sing these old hymns I did.  I'm glad I grew up on them.  I can embrace most of the contemporary music, but I'm grateful I have the words of these hymns hidden in my heart.  

How deep my debt...how great His grace.  That thought came to me as I worked on these pages.  When I think back at how many times in addition to my salvation that God has offered grace to me it is staggering.  I'm so not perfect!  I have wrong thoughts, motives.  I neglect God sometimes.  I fail to do what I know He would want me to do, think, be.  I still fall short of the glory of God.  Though I am redeemed, sealed and secure for all eternity, I still lack perfection.  So He offers grace upon grace (His mercies are new every day!), so that I become renewed, refueled, and redirected to go where He wants me to go, be what He wants me to be and do what He wants me to do.  I become more and more like Jesus each time He administers grace and I draw closer to Him.

I'm grateful for what Christ did on the cross.  It's good Friday to us now...but oh, my the agony for him!  GRACE...that's what drove Him to the cross and kept Him there until it was finished.  Grace, grace God's grace...thank God His grace is greater than ALL my sin!

Stamps Used:

 Decorative Banners

 Amazing God

Words of Life Collection 2

  Message of Hope

Thank you for stopping in!

 

God of Hope

Good morning! I'm back today with another post on behalf of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps showcasing my project for the Creative Worship Design Team. 

The last few weeks in my family's life have been filled with hope...the certain kind of hope that comes from trusting God no matter what.  We had a near-devastating experience with the birth of my grandson.  I believe with all my heart the enemy had another plan but the prayers of so many family and friends inclined God's ear toward us.  We definitely saw His mighty hand of intervention.  Where the enemy planned death...God prevailed in bringing life to our family.  My grandson and precious daughter-in-law are doing well and little Lukas is even flourishing!  Thank you to all who prayed on our behalf!

Of course I had to share...I'm a grandmother!!!

The very first verse I wanted to journal upon returning home was Romans 15:13, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We felt first-hand how God is in command of the hope that fills our hearts as we trust in Him.  The more we surrendered to His will in all things, the more HOPE we gained.  Hope overcame anxiety, joy overcame tears, and God overcame death.  What a sweet personal picture of our hope in the cross of Christ and His redeeming work as we approach Easter!

I chose three Sweet 'n Sassy stamps from the Creative Worship Bible Journaling section of the store to visually depict this verse. 

 Amazing God                             His Wings

Choose Faith

I love all three of these sets because they offer so much versatility.  I can't art-journal fast enough!  This page in my Bible will always have a great deal of meaning to me.  The God of hope reached down and rescued our family from despair. 

All the text content in the margin is either stamped or hand lettered.  Colors on the page are sponged with SU ink or Tim Holtz Distress ink.  You can't see it real well here, but I also highlighted some of the lettering with my Spica Glitter Pens...I LOVE those things.  They add glitter to a page without the mess of glue/regular glitter which might brush off over time.  They come in a full array of colors.

If you have a moment, I'd love for you to visit my post on the Sweet 'n Sassy's Creative Worship blog.  It's a great place to visit because the other team members post some marvelous samples of journaling and card-making.  Hope you can come by!

May the God of hope fill your heart with joy and peace this week as you trust Him in every circumstance of life.  I pray He will take my humble efforts at art in my Bible to bless others with the majesty, power and grace He offers through His Word.