Bible Journaling Challenge

If you haven't been to Rebekah Jones' blog, you should really check her out - amazing inspiration and tutorials for bible journaling.  Each week, she offers a challenge, and I finally took her up on it this time.
Her focus, and mine, was Matthew 18:18-20. I was inspired by her watercolor technique, but changed it for my bible.  I used Tim Holtz Distress ink (Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry, and Peacock Feathers) and a waterbrush to bring color to my page and attention to verse 20: For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. A few things stand out to me when reading these words. It only takes two or three. I've been guilty of saying, "Only 3 of us can make it to Bible Study? Why don't we postpone it until more can gather?" Oops! This verse reminds me that this kind of thinking is contrary to Jesus' teaching. Jesus doesn't say, "I'll be there if I can make it and if there are enough people to justify my time."  No! He promises to be there among us if even just 2 or 3 gather in His name. I'm so grateful for his presence. I'm grateful for the reminder that joining together with others to focus on Jesus is so important to Jesus that he'll clear his schedule and be there. No excuses.

Pentecost Sermon Notes into Bible Journaling

Do you take notes during sermons? I find that it helps me focus and I've really been liking the ability to reflect more on what was said later in my own study time. Naturally, many sermon notes make their way into my bible journaling. This past weekend, our pastor focused on the work of the Holy Spirit, it being Pentecost Sunday and all. He said many things about the Holy Spirit, but what caught my attention was the picture he created of the Holy Spirit constantly at work. Scripture speaks of the Holy Spirit as the Helper, the Comforter, the Advocate, the Convictor, the Guide. He's working individually in each of us to be made new, to be refocused on Christ, to be tuned in to God's specific purpose and design in our lives. I am being remade.



Have you heard the song "I am Remade" by Jason Gray? It kept running through my head during the sermon on Sunday. The last lines say it best:

Forgiven,
beloved,
Hidden in Christ

Made in the image of the Giver of Life

Righteous and holy,
 reborn and remade

Accepted and worthy,
 this is our new name

This is who we are now

I'm a work in progress, thanks to my Heavenly Father, Christ my Savior, and the Holy Spirit who helps me focus on them more clearly.

For this entry, I created a dove mask and sponged ink around it,
adding more color with watercolor pencils. Stickers, Micron Pen.

Bible Journaling to Remind Me of God's Invitation to Come

This morning God took me straight away to Matthew 11:28-30.  I get so used to doing things on my own, sometimes I don't realize the heavy burdens I'm struggling to carry.  I have a history of having to (or choosing to) do things myself. This tendency has become even more ingrained in me as I've lost, through death, so many important people that I trusted and relied on, particularly my parents. In the last year or so, I've also lost two important women that I trusted and relied on, but these losses are perhaps more difficult because they are not losses through death, but misunderstandings resulting in broken relationships. This week has been an especially difficult one with our 6 year old daughter who is in full-blown challenge parental authority mode. Good grief, my soul needs rest. Contemplating and creating around this verse has given me some rest this morning...and much to think about.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

1 Peter 2:23-25 Water color pencils, Micron Pen

Come.
Find rest.
I want to. I try. I lay my burden and heartache down only to take it up again. I know God's working on me to rely more on Him, but man, I'm struggling.
But I'm going to keep trying.
Trying to trust Him with my grief.
Trust Him with my broken relationships.
Trust Him with my daughter.
I will continue to respond to His invitation to come and to simply TRUST HIM. 

I used some of my scrapbooking supplies, specifically some stickers and paper from the
Vintage Bliss collection from Simple Stories. I used washi tape to secure a tip in -
the chevron print is on a piece of vellum, so I can flip it open to read the scripture underneath.

Canvas Night Light

Canvas lit up.

Our daughter rushed into our bedroom at 2am a few nights ago - "It's all dark! I can't see! The power is out! My night light is out!"  The power wasn't out, but her night light stopped working.  We found a spare and she went back to sleep.  But I couldn't sleep, so I began to dream up a new night light for her.
I sing "You are my Sunshine" to her every night, so I wanted to incoporate that into the design. This is what I came up with.  The image is from Cricut's "Home Decor Vinyl Wall Art" cartridge and I removed the sun and clouds in Design Space so that just the words remained.  I cut it from a large sheet of washi, weeded it out and used transfer tape to position it onto the canvas.  Then, I simply took it outside and sprayed it with some wildflower blue spray paint that I had on hand, removing the washi words shortly after to reveal the white underneath.  I probably could have done with a shorter string of LED lights, but did I mention this was a last-minute, use-whatever-I-have-on-hand, kind of project?

Canvas with no light.

I stapled the light string into place so that the lights would wrap along the outside of the canvas and fill the inside.  This was a quick and easy project and I'm sure I could have been neater about the whole plan and execution. It may not look super pretty with those green wires hanging out, but my daughter loves this thing!  She smiled sweetly when she read the words and said, "Oh, thank you, mama!"  Done deal and I hung it up :)  Sweet dreams, Sunshine!

Lent is Over....Bible Journaling is Not

If you only follow me here on my blog, you might think I fell off the wagon during Lent. But, if you follow me on Instagram and Facebook, you already know that I continued and wrapped up my Lenten Art Journal. I LOVE my art Journal and the creative and spiritual ways it connected me to Jesus and the Word during Lent. I LOVED the process and the challenge and the blessing that the daily word prompt, time in the Word and then my translation of the Word into {he}art gave me each day.  I loved sharing it on Instagram and Facebook and seeing and hearing how it blessed others, too. I completed a total of 43 entries in this Lenten Art journal.  Below are some of my remaining favorites that I haven't yet shared here on this blog.  But don't worry, I am continuing with bible journaling and will share some of the those entries here, too.  Be sure to follow me on Instagram and on my Facebook page for more regular appearances :).  xoxo  Be Blessed!

  

Bible Journaling Through Lent: Hope, Cross, Humility, & Grace (and a Shaker Page!)

Can I share with you how much I am savoring my time with the Word? This Lenten journal project has been wonderfully sweet.  I treasure and wonder over how my heavenly Father uses the very gifts He's given me to draw closer to Him. He's made each of us with such care and knows exactly what will strike a chord within us to grow that desire to be closer to Him.
Today I'm sharing my latest few entries, days 21-24.

Day 21 - "Hope"
Scripture: Psalm 71:5 For you O Lord are my hope.
Scrapbooking Supplies - papers, feathers, arrows, banner from Simple Stories "I AM" collection,
letter stickers and letters cut with Cricut

Day 22: Cross
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18 But the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Technique: Sharpie, water color pencils, white splatter  (inspiration from this Zenspirations pin)

Day 23: Humility
Scripture: John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease
Technique: Scrapbook paper: Bella Blvd (black triangles) Pink Paislee (yellow);
arrows cut with Cricut  (Southwest Cartridge)
in Design Studio; hand lettered, Sharpie marker and water color pencils

Day 24: Grace
Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God. 
Technique: hand lettering, Sharpie Marker with shadowing from water color pencils;
hearts cut with Cricut and inserted behind plastic - it's a shaker page! Border is washi tape.

I pray you are blessed and inpired to spend your own sweet time with your Savior!

So, What's Your Story? "I AM" Layout

Recently my pastor asked the question, "What's your story?" in a sermon. It made me think. A lot. What is the story of my life? I'm a wife, a mother, and so many other things, but is that the story? Pastor was preaching on 1 Peter 1:3-5.  As I went through this scripture on my own later, the thing that struck me was all of the ways in which I define myself and my life are important and meaningful, but they are not the most important things about my story.
Long before I was a wife and mom, I was known and chosen by Christ. I became His daughter in the waters of baptism and am a full heir to an imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance. (1 Peter 1:4) My life's story is based on how God sees me. After all, He is the founder and perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:2) and He knows all the plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11).  The plot of my life's story centers around acknowledgement and confession that I am a sinner, but that God in His mercy forgives me and accepts me.  By grace through faith I have been saved and redeemed and live this current life knowing I am secure in the promise of eternal life.

I shared some of my bible journaling on Facebook and my Pastor commented, "So, what's your story?" Because I'm an artsy gal, I turned my answer into a scrapbook page. I don't scrapbook myself very often, but thought this was the perfect opportunity.  Here's my story...

The I AM collection recently released by Simple Stories lent itself
beautifully to this self-focused and reflective page.
I often personally struggle with how I see myself.
This page is a visual reminder to me about the truths of who I am.

This is my real story, and I'm sticking to it! 

So, I ask you.  What's Your Story?

Try these links for more inspiration:
Joyce Meyer's "Knowing Who I Am in Christ" scripture verses
100 Bible Verses "Who Am I in Christ"
my Pinterest Board I Am