Spiritual warfare is not a new tactic. It is the oldest thing and the first thing that humans dealt with as a problem. The problem of the enemy influencing and attacking us to choose the other side of the sword. The Sword of the Lord is His truth- His word that dissects between truth and lies. It dissects between the wiles of the Devil and the holiness of the Lord. Believers deal with it every single day. The closer we draw to the Lord, the further we move into battle. The more ogres and monsters we have to face. The mores holes we are more likely to stumble in- or even dig ourselves. Sometimes warfare can be a raging whirlwind where everything is going wrong. Loved ones pass away. Friends and family become sick. Jobs are lots. Money is tight. Anger and dissension breed among relationships. Life can feel like a living hell.

Or sometimes, it can something not so big. Yesterday, when I tried to post my last Bible journaling entry, Instagram said the connection was bad and would not post. I can't post a picture but these random cat videos are showing up crystal clear? I'm not stupid. It took me 30 mins and 18 tries (YES GIRL) later to get it to post. This morning, my inbox had a few messages from complete strangers who shared with me their situations and how that post was an encouragement of truth for them. 

The Devil doesn't want us to advance. He wants us to stay stagnant- wrapped up in binge watching TV and endless social feed scrolling. Mindless. Useless. Cowards.

Stay woke folks. You're in a battle whether you like it or not. Keep your eyes open, your minds focused, your heart clean and your soul nourished. The enemy doesn't play nice. He's smarter and more powerful than us.

WE ARE NOT ALONE. Stay close to the One who leads us in this battle. He is the ultimate warrior in not only the battles, but He is the One who is going to WIN the war.

Raise A Hallelujah Lyrics by Bethel

MATERIALS:

• Illustrated Faith Mixtape Devotional Printable
• His Palette Armor of God Printable 
• Apple Barrel Acrylic Craft Paint
• Mod Podge Waterbase Sealer, Glue and Finish, Matte
• Kaisercraft Uppercase Alphabet Die Set
• Uni-Ball Signo Broad Point Gel- White

Depression isn’t just sadness. Or gloominess. Or even a pity party. It’s not even generally suicidal. Most of the time I can compare to a… cassette tape.

If someone took the ribbon out of the case, crumpled it up, stomped on it, stretched it, tied it knots, heated it or even cut it… and all that’s left is the shell with a few rollers and cogs that can’t do anything without the ribbon. They can’t move forward or backward or play any type of tune.
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Can the ribbon be put back? Yeah… but the thought of even trying to get the ribbon back to even close to what it was would take a lot of patience, time and energy— and that would be for something that will never play like it used to. So… what’s the point?
That’s where the sadness drops in. That’s where the utter feeling of lost hope, pointless determination and overall sense of being STUCK kicks in.

BUT GOD is able to put it all back together because He has a purpose for His collection of tapes. He has music from our hearts that needs to be played to reach others deafened ears and hardened hearts. He wants our particular songs to be played to bring him glory!

Time is running out. While we’re looking for a pencil to try and wind our lives back together, God is standing there waiting for us to hand over our hot mess. He is the mixtape master!

MATERIALS:

• Illustrated Faith Mixtape Devotional Printable
• Apple Barrel Acrylic Craft Paint
• Tsukineko Memento Fade Resistant Inkpad, Tuxedo Black
• Prima Press Alphabet Stamp Set, 0.25-Inch
• TCW361 Tiny Circles Stencil
• TCW889 Dash V Stencil
• TCW539 Patterns Stencil
• TCW5012 Striped Circle Stencil
• TCW807 Script Dots Stencil
• ​Gel Press Petities- Chevron Flight