Wisdom...A Graceful Garland

“Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. 

Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, 

and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; 

love her, and she will guard you. 

The beginning of wisdom is this: 

Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. 

Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; 

she will honor you if you embrace her.

She will place on your head a graceful garland; 

she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.” 

Proverbs 4: 4-9

Such a beautiful description of godly wisdom! The Bible has much to say about the wisdom that comes from God and how it is different from the world's wisdom (See James 3:13-18) The world's wisdom is foolishness to God. But godly wisdom, the wisdom that comes from above is a treasure. God's Word and His Spirit in us will give us all the wisdom we need to discern spiritual things. Anything God wants us to know, He reveals to us plainly. What isn't known is taken on faith, and faith is as valuable in God's sight as is wisdom! If you desire more wisdom, ask God for it, like Solomon did! Seek it through His Word and soak it up from the Holy Spirit. We can never have enough of it!
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Design Details: I am so excited about the new printable just released by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps called Girl Power Printable Bundle. The CUTEST ever girls who will fit perfectly in your Bible. Korin Sutherland, owner of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps designed the set and I think it is beyond fabulous. Here I used a girl from the sheet I printed on clear sticker paper. So easy!!! I used watercolor paints, Classy Script Alphabet and Scribble Flowers (stamps are also from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps). I love the personification of Wisdom described in the passage and this little girl matched the idea perfectly.

Girl Power Printable Bundle 

Designed by Korin Sutherland, Owner

PDF PLUS PNG files

 Classy Script Alpha Clear Stamp

Scribble Flowers

Our Inheritance

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

According to his great mercy, 

he has caused us to be born again 

to a living hope 

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, 

kept in heaven for you.

 1 Peter 1:3-4

We can face all of our todays when we know what our tomorrows hold.  We can strive with our momentary problems when we know a prize worth the struggle awaits us.  We can live this life with a certain, unyielding hope because we know God has prepared an inheritance for us that makes this life worth the effort, worth the reach, worth the living.  Through the mercy of God, exhibited in the in sacrifice of His Son Jesus, we have been given something that is beyond measure, is of indescribable worth, and is very real...certain, in fact.  We are given a new birth into a living hope, a birth that makes us a child of God, of the eternal King.  And as God's child we are promised an inheritance.  His final will has not been unopened, so we don't know all that He has waiting for us, but we know it is good.  We know it can never perish, spoil or fade.

This Bible-journaling page is personally meaningful to me in so many ways.  What amazing promises lie within these two verses of scripture.  It's everything...it's gives glory to God as our Father, to Christ as our Savior and to the Spirit as the one who fills us with the undeniable and certain hope of heaven.  We are promised by God, who will not change and cannot lie, that we will receive the inheritance He has designed personally for each and every believer. 

God's Word is true and we can absolutely trust and depend on what it says to us.  God has a treasure chest full of unspeakable joy and glory waiting with our names engraved upon the lock.  He holds the key and will give it to us when we meet Him face to face.  I just get teary-eyed and thrill-shivery just thinking about what my treasure might hold!

Of course there will be a crown.  

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, 

which the Lord, the righteous judge, 

will award to me on that day, 

and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:8

But I think I'll be casting my crown at the foot of the throne along with the twenty-four elders, for He is worthy of all our crowns!  There will be a never ending bounty lavished upon me as my inheritance.  

And I will enjoy the waves of His blessings forever...no end.  Each gift will be sparkly and new and will never lose its luster. My joy will be complete and will rise in songs of glory for the God who is and will be forevermore.  Even singing His praises will be a gift...one of the many jewels in my treasure chest.  

Whatever this life holds I know I can rejoice in it because each trial, each heartbreak, every step along my journey, both sorrows and joys, takes me closer and closer to my Joy, my Jesus, my heavenly Father and my inheritance.  The older I get, the more real it is.  I can almost taste it, smell it, the glory of the thought along makes me squint from the sheer brightness. It will be....divine!

 

 Sweet 'n Sassy stamp sets I used:

 Scribble Flowers

 Child of the King

 Fantastic Flowers

 Mini Grunge Alpha

To Know Him is to Trust Him

Those who know your name trust in you,    
 for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 9:10

When we have moments of trust-failure it's because we have a temporary lapse in remembering who God is.  When we embrace the character of God, the believer's natural response has to be trust.  Think of the words that describe His character as being completely trustworthy.  What words would you choose?  My word would be faithful.  God has proven Himself faithful to me time and time again.  In fact, He has never been unfaithful to me so why would I not trust Him?  I look back over my life and I know beyond any shadow of doubt that God has been there for me.  And I trust that He will always hold me in His hand, near to His heart.  I know my God and I know I can trust Him. 

  

Usually I design Bible pages by going from scripture to design.  This time I was sorting through my stash of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and came across the set, Seek Him.  I've used it several times before but this time as I considered it the words "know" and "trust" stood out and it didn't take much of a leap from there.  To know Him is to trust Him.  That is a powerfully true statement.  So I went on a scripture search to see if I could find something that said the same thing.  Psalm 9:10 is perfect, "Those who know your name trust in you for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."  And, there is the faithful part in there too!  God will not forsake those who trust Him.  That truth is definitely worth some worship time and some art in my Bible!

I started with the words in the margin and added some hand-drawn birds for decoration.  The flowers here reflect those on the facing page, all from the Scribble Flowers stamp set. The flowers are stamped directly to the page and colored with watercolor paints (Kuretake-36 color set).  The words and birds were colored with Copic markers.

For the right side of the page I added some washi tape to anchor more flowers.  These were stamped on regular computer paper, and painted with the watercolor paints.  Then I cut out the flowers and adhered the centers of the flowers to the page.  The edges lift slightly to add some dimension to the page.  

The sets I used: 

 

 Seek Him by Rebecca Rios

Scribble Flowers by Korin Sutherland