The God Who Is Everything

Why do we say (or think) we are lonely? Why do we feel the need to seek out things (or people) that gives us temporary pleasure (satisfaction) and after satisfying our need, we feel a void in our lives?

We search and cannot find true happiness because we believe happiness lies in the hands of another, in our relationship with someone other than ourselves, in buying or owning material things, not realizing that to be truly happy we must learn to love ourselves; we must learn to surrender our lives to the real lover of our soul, Jesus Christ.

Who knows us better than we know ourselves? God does. The psalmist writes, "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar." (Psalm 139:1-2, NIV).  There is nothing about us that God does not know. He knows our every thought. Every word we speak is known to him even before it is formed in our minds.  This knowledge of God speaks of relationship to me. It may be one-sided (on God's part) but can become a whole connection if we give ourselves over to him and invite him into our lives.

I am not alone, though it may appear that way because of my lack of a physical partner.  I am not lonely - God is with me every step of the way.  He is my companion when I feel lonely, he's my comforter when I'm in pain; when I need someone to confide in, he's my confidante; he is my BFF (best friend forever) and my BFL (best friend for life); he dries my tears when I'm crying; he heals me when I'm sick; he watches over me everywhere I go; he's my guide, my one and only, he's my everything. God is so much more than a fleeting thought; he's foundation, he's solid rock; he's strength; he's light; he's happiness; he's joy. He is everything we are looking for.

When you feel that yearning, that feeling you cannot describe; that lack of satisfaction, that emptiness inside, it is Jesus knocking at the door of your heart. Stop looking for that elusive lover. Stop searching for temporary pleasures. Instead, open the doors of your heart to receive Jesus and enter into relationship with the one who knows everything about you, for he knew you before you were formed in your mother's womb (Jeremiah 1:5).  When you open those doors, you will find fulfillment in every area of your life and loneliness will be no more. 

Today's card features a Julie Nutting digital stamp. I stamped the image on white cardstock and colored it using Copic markers. I stamped it again, but this time I did it on a zebra pattern paper I had in my stash (the skirt) and yellow glitter paper (the hem of the skirt).
I paper-pierced both of these and glued them to the stamped image. I then used Stickles (yellow) to glitz up the blouse and head band on the image.  The background yellow/black paper is from here. The layered glitter paper is from a stash I've had lying around. I stamped Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has made all things beautiful in its time" from Verve Stamps onto a white cardstock and die cut it using Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4 and Labels 25 (black background). finished the card by adding some embellishments from my stash.

Julie Nutting Stamps

I ran into Julie Nutting stamps while browsing a few card making blogs and fell instantly in love with them. I immediately purchased a whole collection on Amazon. I love the infinite possibilities of being able to create beautiful cards with these stamps.

My first creation was a farewell card for the organist of my choir who was leaving.  Knowing her love of fashion, I immediately made a card she could identify with and which spoke to who she was.  Here it is:

This stamp is called Megan. I stamped and colored her using Copic markers then paper pierced the skirt and top with card stock from my stash.  I then used Stickles to embellish the hem of the top and her boots. I layered the cut-out on a fancy frame and placed it over a colored burlap to match the colors in the skirt. The background paper is from the Animal Prints digital paper by Digi Diva.

The second card I made was for a 50th birthday party. This card started out with me creating a checkerboard flooring technique (tutorial is found here). Once I made the floor, I thought a Julie Nutting stamp would go just right with it. I Gessoed the card stock paper and used watercolor and reinkers to create the background. I then attached the flooring I made to the card stock.  I stamped the Doll with Swing Dress rubber stamp, cut-out the doll, colored with Copics.
I then paper pierced the skirt, again using Animal Prints by Digi Diva and embellished the skirt and blouse hem, and shoes (as well as added earrings and a bracelet) with Stickles. I cut out a dance hall ball, used Stickles to give it some dimension, and added some gold thread to give the appearance of a Disco ball hanging from a dance floor.  I finished the card by adding a Happy Birthday tag.

My third creation is a framed art using Julie Nutting's Lorena rubber stamp. For this I used watercolor paper to make the background. I used a mixture of pinks with a tinge of orange watercolor and swirled it on the background. Once dry, I stamped the rubber stamped image to the background and colored it with Copics. I placed the card stock in my printer and printed the scripture to the right of the stamped image (Genesis 1:31). I then used a double-sided card stock by Beyond the Page. I stamped the image again on the card stock and paper pierced the top and hem of the skirt with the black and white polka dot pattern (on one side), and the skirt with the pink Damask pattern (on the other). I attached these to the stamped image using glue stick, then embellished with rhinestones in pink and black. Once done, I glued these to an Cheetah print card stock from my stash, then attached that to the pink Damask paper used on the skirt. I then framed and embellished the finished art piece.

Here is a larger view of the art work and below that, the finished product.