Practice Fun

Finding items for my Bible journaling that are already made for that purpose are very limited.  At least I thought so at first.  I felt like I should follow the online protocol of examples that have been shown over and over.  Sticker, washi tape, and pen.  Then I discovered that many others are inventing their own style while discovering their love for the lord.

I recently made a trip to my local Hobby Lobby and found several choices for faith themed stickers and sticker packs.  This will work nicely, but they are limited in their color choice.  Most of them are chalkboard style or black and white.

You can find tons of alpha stickers just about anywhere that carries paper crafting supplies.  Pens of all sorts can be located at any office supply store or big box store.  Washi tape is starting to appear just about everywhere.  Colored pencils can be bought anywhere you get school supplies.  The basics are pretty bountiful everywhere.

Then there are the artists that can just whip out a beautiful drawing of a pregnant mother riding a donkey and you can actually tell what you are seeing.  These works of art are moving.  They tell the story without even reading the passage from which they are inspired.  I can't do that.  I am not a natural artists, but I am practicing. 

Over and over I have heard, "Practice makes perfect."   I just have to sit down and practice.  I am beginning with a book I checked out from the library, The Art of Whimsical Lettering, by Joanne Sharpe.  Joanne teaches in a step-by-step way how to create beautiful lettering by just writing in your own handwriting.  So far, I have been very happy with the progress that I have made by doing the exercises in the book.

Next, I hope to tackle a book that is intended for children, but I feel would work for my needs.  I had picked up a discounted You Can Draw by Parragon publishers at Marshall's recently. 

When I have a few spare moments, I grab a drawing journal that I keep with these books and sit down with my younger children to draw and color.  The other day, as we lit our Advent candle I asked them to draw what they thought of when they heard the words joy, peace, love, and hope.  While they did this I wrote out some words in my journal. 

I want my children to be part of my growing process and to have fun WITH ME.  I so often, get caught up doing chore after chore and I don't get time to enjoy.  This is one of the few things that we can sit peacefully and explore something together.  We talk about what each of us are doing and why.  It's fun to hear the explanation of a preschoolers drawing. 


Sit down and practice having fun with your children this week.  It may just spark your creativity.  If nothing else, it will spark your relationship with them.