fresh & new hope

Last year was the first year that I had heard about picking a "word of the year."   Lately I have heard of several people taking on a word of the year instead of a New Year's Resolution.  "Go" was an obvious choice, last year  after reading Follow Me by David Platt.  However, this year, I didn't have a clue what it should be or even if I should tackle the idea again.  Life's busy enough without adding something else. But then I thought, life's busy and I need something to remind me of what's important. 
I began reading Friends of Jesus by Karen Kingsbury just after Christmas.  Without going into a whole book review about it; I really liked it.  There were many things about the stories that I hadn't known about. Several times I went to my Bible to check the validity of the details in the story.  The author was spot on.  I realized that I needed to be more deeply studying the Word.  Otherwise, I might be missing even more details.
The last story was of the Disciple John and how arrogant he was about his friendship with Jesus. His story spoke of many occasions including when Jesus washed the disciples feet in the upper room.  The next day I was reading 1Peter and it mentioned water again.  This time it related the flood to the cleansing of baptism.
Fresh.  New.  Isn't that what we all think of at the beginning of the year.  Technically, life just continues the same with the flip of the calendar, but we hope for something new.  We have that chance at something new each and every day.  He tells us this in His Word that His mercy is new every day (Lamentations 3:23). This truth is something I need to keep at the forefront of my attitude each day.  Today is new.  I can choose to think and act like the world is a desperate place and that it's hard to survive as a Christian woman/mom or I can choose to know that I am a Christian woman/mom who lives in a desperate world that needs Christ.
In the middle of writing this entry I stopped several times to reflect and come back to my writing.  During a quick trip to the store I got goosebumps when I heard the Proverbs 31 radio spot for the day.  I can't remember if it was Lysa Terkeurst or Renee Swope, either way it was exactly what I was just feeling in the writing before this.  She even quoted this verse! This is where you see God whacking me with a nice pine 2 by 4 
So, how can I argue with a word like "NEW?"  I can't. Obviously.  It's Spirit led.  Those moments that you wonder if it's coincidence or God.  It's God.  My feeling is that there are no coincidences in life, there are moments where you glimpse God.  It makes me all tingly just thinking about it.
I haven't, yet, done a page in my journaling Bible or art journal to reflect this word, but I will be sure to share as soon as I do.  Most of my endeavors end up on my Instagram, which is where I saw a post from Natalie Elphinstone, of the Illustrated Faith team.  She had done a circular pattern that I really loved, but it looked too involved and tedious.  So I just put it away as an impossibility.  That was until I was working on painting letters with my 4 year old.  Scento paint dabbers are circular and bright and perfectly wonderful smelling!  Eureka!  Circles in my Bible here I come!

My preschooler's collection only included red, blue, green, and orange and I wanted to add a little more than four colors.  Enter acrylics. 
I drew circles on lines that I measured and penciled in starting from the center of the page, moving to the outer edge.  The I used the Scento paint markers to color in the circles in the areas that worked best.  Then I added the yellow and purple colors in acrylic paint with a stiff brush similar to a stencil brush.  A gentle touch was needed because of the stiff stencil brush, the page came close to ripping in a few spots.

A tag was added with the phrase, "When you are in the storm...remember His promises."  The covenant and ensuing rainbow from God to Noah served as a reminder that God would not destroy us but give us a second chance.  That second chance was Christ.  We have 365(366 this year) chances to reflect Christ each day this year.  The world needs it.  I need it.  What word are you reflecting this year.  Share what you are focusing on this year in the comments below.

fear is foolish

Way back in the old days, when there weren't any "Journaling Bibles" there were these things called composition books!  I began expressing my faith through art (besides coloring pages) in an altered composition book.  There was a whole learning period and then the second installment of my faith journals was created (below).   "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs" was a little more organized and planned than the first faith journal.



 

After lots of experimenting and mistakes I was able to produce something I was proud of.  The process also helped to prepare me for art journaling directly in my Bible.  I found that slathering gesso, scraping paint with a gift card, decoupaging magazine clippings, and attaching anything else from the trash bin into my journal has been very freeing.  Freeing in the respect that I don't worry about what goes in and on my Bible pages.  Yes, I know it's a sacred book, but I also know that art journaling in my Bible has helped me to grow.  Grow in my relationship with Christ.  Grow in my relationship with my family.  And most importantly, grow in my willingness to reach others. 

Everyone has an opinion about how the Bible should be treated and used.  My opinion is somewhat relaxed in this area.  As long as someone is not destroying a Holy Bible in the name of hate or malice, shouldn't it be okay to color or draw in one?  With that said, I am sure that there are some misinterpretations that will go wild with this.  What's new?!

 

My point is...if you are feeling confined by the printing or too apprehensive to slather a big glob of paint into your Journaling Bible; then try a journal.  If nothing else, it's a place to experiment with mediums (paint, pencils, markers, etc.) or to make notes and draw your ideas while reading your Bible. 

Art is not a specific definition of any kind of expression.  Does that make sense?  It does to me, but maybe I should put it this way; making art is not an all-size-fits-one way of creating.  It's you, showing the world how you feel about something important, with colors and shapes and textures and whatever is visible or tangible!  Musicians, dancers, painters, chefs, performers; these are all referred to as artists, right?  Anyone who creates is an artist.  

God created us in His image.  CREATED!  Did you see that?  He CREATED us in HIS IMAGE.  So that might just mean that we are creative.  This came as an eye-opener to me when I first read it somewhere.  It might have been from Erwin McManus in Artisal Soul.  He put it this way, "We all need to create, to be a part of a process that brings to the world something beautiful, good, and true, in order to allow our souls to come to life."  My friend Brooke, also, told me about a verse in Exodus that affirms this notion; "I have filled him with the Spirit of God...in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs..."

Don't worry or fear.  Create with a love for your Heavenly Father in mind.  Enjoy the process and be free.  I am excited to see what you are scribbling, splattering, or pasting in your Bible and journals.  Post some pictures on Instagram or Facebook or comment below.  Let's grow together and spread some love and paint!

Matte who?

Art journaling was my passion just before diving into Bible journaling (or journaling in my Bible).  While learning about art journaling and all the sorts of mediums, I began using lots of matte decoupage and matte gel medium to glue and seal my projects and pages.  They are, both, wonderful products.  The gel is just more thick than the decoupage.

Well, I got to wondering....could I actually use decoupage as a sealer for my Bible pages.  So I took the risk and tried it on the very first page of scripture in the Bible, Genesis 1!  I applied a thin layer of my favorite matte decoupage, Aleen's, to the entire page and dried it with my heat gun.  When I do this, I always put a piece of parchment paper under the page to prevent the next page from gluing to the page I am sealing.  Then, I colored around the edges with some up & up watercolor gel crayons and Crayola Twistable Slick Sticks.  These work much like gelatos and are much more affordable.  They just aren't as high of a quality and don't come in the variety of colors.  This part of the process takes more experimentation and is just a matter of artist interpretation.  I really like the gold Slick Stick color because you can add just a couple scribbles of it and it will add a slight shimmer to the area where you "paint" it. 
After drying with the heat gun I added some number stickers from Mambi to label each of the days of the Creation.  The pages is still a little crumpled looking, but it will smooth out a little while the pages are closed and under the weight of the Bible itself.  It's a simple page, but I like it.   Trust your instincts and try something new!