let’s count it all joy
welcome!
Welcome to December - the season of preparing for our Savior and celebrating the JOY we have in Him.
This season (this year, really) has included some new challenges for our family. I’ve leaned hard into trusting God and counting it all joy. And although the hardness has not disappeared, it’s been a beautiful year. I’ve loved talking with God more and I’ve been delighted to see His provisions find us again and again. It’s beautiful in a slow kind of way (a way that is teaching me patience and reliance) and it’s giving me a deep joy in Him.
I pray that the joy YOU have in Jesus is something you can know and recognize in this season of celebrating His birth.
And - something small, but good - your “Count It All Joy” mailer has arrived!
Your mailer includes ten little bits of goodness that I hope will bring your faith and your Joy in Jesus to mind whenever you see or use them. More than anything, I would love for you to USE the goods from this mailer - to weave them into your projects and your personal devotions, to add color to your spaces, and to gift them to others.
on this special “subscribers only” page, you will find:
A video on the inspiration behind this collection and on the ways I’ve used the products in this month’s mailer.
Some additional (JOY related) quotes.
Images showcasing the ways I used the products.
Journaling prompts.
A prayer.
Links to all supporting supplies that I used (sketchbooks, frames, art supplies, etc.). Please note that many, but not all of the supply links are affiliate links. And if I missed anything that you are curious about, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask.
PROJECT VIDEO
quotes on joy
We are meant to live in joy. This does not mean that life will be easy and painless. It means we can turn our faces to the wind and accept that this is the storm we must pass through. -Desmond Tutu
And in the valley, I will be dancing for joy. -Anonymous
The secret of joy is Christ in me - not me in different circumstances. -Elizabeth Elliot
Joy comes to us in ordinary moments. We risk missing out when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary. -Brene Brown
All joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still about to be. -C.S. Lewis
Joy is the happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens. -Anonymous
When joy is a habit, love is a reflex. - Anonymous
Cling to joy: audacious and unbridled joy, that looks for light in everything, even in your waiting. -Morgan Harper Nichols
a prayer
(from The Valley of Vision)
O Christ, All thy ways of mercy tend to and end in my delight. Thou didst weep, sorrow, suffer that I might rejoice. For my joy thou hast sent the Comforter, multiplied they promises, shown me my future happiness, given me a living fountain. Thou are preparing joy for me and me for joy; I pray for joyk wait for joyk long for joy; give me more than I can hold, desire, or think of. Measure out to me my times and degrees of joy, at my work, business, duties. If I weep at night, give me joy in the morning. Let me rest in the thought of thy love, pardon for sin, my title for heaven, my future unspotted state. I am an unworthy recipient of thy grace. I often disesteem thy blood and slight thy love, but can in repentance draw water from the wells of they joyous forgiveness. Let my heart leap towards the eternal sabbath, where the work of redemption, sanctification, preservation, glorification is finished and perfected for ever, where thou wilt rejoice over me with joy. There is no joy like the joy of heaven, for in that state are no sad divisions, unchristian quarrels, contentions, evil designs, weariness, hunger, cold, sadness, sin, suffering, persecutions, toils of duty. O healthful place where none are sick! O happy land where all are kings! O holy assembly where all are priests! How free a state where none are servants except to thee. Bring me speedily to the land of joy.
journaling prompts
I process my thoughts (and pray!) through writing. Perhaps you do too. If this is something you haven’t tried before, I would encourage you to give it a go. Sometimes, a little prompt is all it takes to get started.
A blessing in your life that you sometimes take for granted.
Write about where you have seen God at work in your life, recently.
A letter to Jesus expressing your joy in Him.
Look ahead. What are your hopes & plans for your spiritual growth in the coming year?
Write out your favorite verses on joy.
Something beautiful you saw today.
Copy your favorite joy quote from above and write a related prayer.
Write out the words of a hymn or praise song that bring you joy.
How joy and happiness are different from one another.
A list of things that currently bring you joy.
SUPPLIES I USED alongside THIS MONTH’S MAILER CONTENTS
Frames/Matting:
Mat for 5x7 artwork (similar - as I bought mine in a pack of 50)
I also have more framing and matting suggestions in my Amazon shop.
Art Journals:
Paint:
I typically use “heavy body acrylic” paints in my art practice and I particularly like Golden and Utrecht. Since I have these readily on hand, I also use them in my art journals.
Any sort of “craft paint” like this also works well in art journals.
When I want to thin my paints (such as I did for the dot grid notebook page with the Martin Luther quotes), I use this flow improver, but water also works well!
Bible:
The Jesus Bible - This is the exact one I have.
There are also several other (pretty!) cover options for The Jesus Bible.
“Ask and you will receive, that your joy maybe be full.”