Loved, with a Love that Endures Forever - a step by step project by Sarah Anderson

"Give thanks to the Lord,

for He is good,

His love endures forever"

Psalm 118:1 NIV

I was given this stamp set as a rep for Creative Bea but it is one I would have purchased anyway. Hannah's sets are beautiful, designed here in the UK, and very useful for stamping bible art journalers like me!

The phrase 'His love endures forever' stood out to me.  It's a phrase that is repeated a numerously in the Psalms.  I frequently pray

"I pray that I (you), being rooted and established in love,

may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people,

to grasp how wide, and long, and high, and deep,

is the love of Christ,

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -

that I (you) may be filled to the measure of

all the fullness of God"

Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV

because to be honest, I don't think I have grasped that yet, because if I had, I wouldn't worry about the many things I worry about ! (amongst other things).  So reminding myself, through verses elsewhere in the bible, about God's love, can only help deepen my understanding of His love.

I adore stickers, and love making my own.  The size of sticker I had in my craft room wasn't quite big enough for the whole phrase 'His love endures for ever' so I decided to go with one or two words on each one.  I know I'll be making more of these to put elsewhere in my bible!!

I used Distress Oxide inks but you could use watercolour paints (just paint them across your stickers with a paintbrush) or Distress inks.  I pressed the inkpads onto an acrylic sheet (or use an acrylic block or lid of a box, or a glass worktop saver) and spritzed with water.

I then 'smooshed' my stickers through the ink ...

.. and dried them off by rolling a kitchen roll over the top.  Some stickers had more white space than I wanted so I just dipped them back in the ink.

Using Distress Oxide Fired Brick I stamped the heart cluster.

I then added splashes of Distress Oxide Wilted Violet by pressing the inkpad on an acrylic block, spritzing it with water, picking up the ink with a wet paintbrush then tapping it against my hand over the stickers.

To add a single word to a sticker, I focused on just inking up one part of the stamp with my Versafine Onyx inkpad, then cleaned off any over-inking with a baby wipe.

The page I wanted to work on had something on the other side so I rummaged in my paper drawer and found some gelli printed deli paper (there's a previous blog post HERE on this) to add to my page

I tore a small strip, folded it in half, added glue stick then stuck it in the centre of the bible pages, using a ruler to make sure it sat right against the pagefold.

The stickers were added ..

..followed by some stamping (which could have been done before the stickers, but I had been considering handwriting 'Give thanks to the Lord, for', but I changed my mind!)  Stamping repeatedly, 'until the ink runs out', gives a variety of texture to the page, and stamping in black makes it stand out over the Deep Lagoon blue ink used in the background.

So there you go!  Praying that you will know His love, that endures forever; there is nothing we can do to stop God loving us, nothing!

Reflections on Grief - by Anita Harrison

Do you like to share with others? I do but usually only when I'm feeling confident in my own abilities, when everything feels right in the world; but what when it doesn't? That's the exact position I'm coming to you from today.

I recently lost a very dear friend and it's changed everything. It's changed me. The first few weeks of loss were hard but I sort of bumbled along in a numb haze. Now that feeling has worn off and reality has kicked in. This is my life now and there's such a pressure to give in or give up but I know that's just the grief talking.

I'd be happy to share about a difficult time in my life and how I got through it but in this case, in losing my wonderful friend, I'm still very much going through it and vulnerable.

This means that I don't have all the answers and I certainly don't know how things are going to work out. I have good days and bad days. However, I do know the man who holds the future.

A couple of practical things that I'm learning. Don't expect to feel normal or put a pressure on yourself to do so. Be kind to yourself. Grief is exhausting, so find time to rest. Take pleasure in God's creation; a gentle walk observing all God has designed can be so rewarding. Take time to just be.




A few years back I wrote this poem which is blessing me once again, as I seek to use it as a prayer.

Whatever you are going through right now, whatever troubles are crossing your mind, I pray that you will find all you need in our Heavenly Father. He loves and cares for us deeply. His grace is sufficient for us.

The Oceans song and its words inspired me to draw this picture recently. I believe it fits in well with what I've shared.



Note from the Bible Art Journaling UK Team - we'd especially like to thank Anita for sharing such a difficult and painful part of life, with such honesty and grace. We believe this is a timely word to many, as this is something that we all walk through at different times in our lives. If anyone would like prayer support from the Bible Art Journaling team, please send a private message to Deborah Gregg, Sarah Anderson, Claire Graham or Lyndsey Campbell, or contact someone you know, either in the Bible Art Journaling UK group, or of course a friend at your church family. The body of Christ is one family and we are here to support each other, so know that you are not alone. 

Enjoy the Journey! - by Jane Butcher

Dear friends, I’m trusting this finds you all well. I’m sure some of you are full of

joy at this time, relishing the mountain tops, others are close to despair trapped

in the valley, and probably the majority of you are, like me, somewhere in the

middle.

On those difficult days when we seem to be walking through treacle it often

seems to trigger the “negativity” response.  We become self deprecating and

hyper critical, losing sight of anything about ourselves that is good; but, for

every single negative thing we can say about ourselves God has a positive

answer. The following is a list I came across of God’s responses to our

negativity.

You say: It’s impossible.
God says: All things are possible.  (Luke 18:27)
You say: I’m too tired.
God says: I will give you rest.  (Matthew 11:28-30)
You say: I can’t go on.
God says: My grace is sufficient.  (2 Corinthians 12:9; Psalm 91:15)

There is a verse specific to our every need in the Bible. Sometimes we just need

a little help to locate it. There is nothing we can feel, fear or experience that

God does not know about, or care about.

You say: I can’t figure things out.
God says: I will direct your steps.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)
You say: I can’t manage.
God says: I will supply all your needs. (Philippians 4:19)
You say: I’m afraid.
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear.  (2 Timothy 1:7)

As Bible Journalers we have a ready resource to turn to when we need a little

nudge or reminder of God’s love and plans and purposes for our lives. As we

focus on a verse, or verses that touch our hearts and draw, trace, paint or write

our response we are drawn closer into the presence of God, we are lifted out of

the darkness towards the Light.

You say: I am always worried and frustrated.
God says: Cast all your cares on me.  (1 Peter:5-7)
You say: I don’t have enough faith.
God says: I’ve given everyone a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)
You say: I feel all alone.
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

For me Bible Journaling helps me push through mere words to the heart of

things, it simplifies the message and reveals and reminds me of God’s

omnipotence. I don’t need to have a deep theological understanding of every

nuance, I need to be able to turn to my Heavenly Father with every ounce of my

simple, childlike faith, knowing that He created me, He knows me, He loves me

and He has my life in His hands.

Proverbs 3:6 says “Seek His will in all you do and He will direct your paths.”

George Muller said “It is comforting to know that not only the steps but also

the stops of a good person are ordered by the Lord.” Our route master guides

our paths in the light of eternity, He knows our every step and He’s always

there, leading, guiding, redirecting, picking us up and dusting us off when

required. Let’s enjoy the journey!