One of the things I've been thinking about recently is how much God has given me in the way of insight into how he wants me to proceed in my life - and how often, when I re-read things I've written as a result of such inspiration, I realize how poorly I've incorporated those insights! So, I've been thinking about ways to more deeply embed these insights into my daily life.
Recently, I came across the idea of artistic Bible journaling and realized this could be a way to combine my love of the creative with my desire to deepen my relationship with the CREATOR. When I started this blog I had thought I'd be scrapbooking about various of these concepts, but it just never seemed to happen. Now though, the idea of actually creating the art in my Bible really inspires me. It seems more "do-able" than making a scrapbook page each time I'm inspired by something I read or experience in my journey with God. But it's also a little scary. Messing up a random papercraft project is one thing. Messing up a Bible page is something else again! :) (Oh yes, God has been speaking to me a great deal about my perfectionism and I recognize this as one more "lesson" on that particular topic!)
Knowing Bible pages to be very delicate, I wanted to start by learning all I could from those who have been journaling in this way for some time, so I started out with the free classes offered by Rebekah Jones on Scrapbook.com. This took me to her blog where she has lots of great challenges & techniques posted. From there I searched the web and found plenty of other examples and ideas. You can check out my pintrest page to see some of what I've found. For a description of supplies and methods used on this page, you can check out the post on my papercrafting blog here. In THIS blog post I'll talk a bit about what this page means to me in my walk with God.
I decided to "dip my toe" into
this type of Bible journaling by starting to journal about a text that
has been MY text for as long as I can remember. It is Romans 8:28 - "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God. . . "
NAS. Since my birthday is 8/28, I call this my birthday text - and it
has been an important reminder to me throughout my life.
I
seem to have been BORN with a strong tendency to worry about things -
and this tendency has often tried to hinder me from living the joyful life God
intends for me. Through the years, this text has served to remind me that NO MATTER WHAT
happens, God will not only help me survive it, but will actually make it
work for my GOOD. Time and time again throughout my life, this concept
has been VERY important for me to remember. I've seen plenty of
miracles as God has taken painful and/or scary experiences (real or
imagined) in my life and brought victory & joy from them. I
wanted this page to serve as a visual reminder to me about that, knowing that in my humanness, there's a strong likelihood that I'll need the reminder in the future. :)
As I contemplated what this verse had meant to me through the years, a song I learned in childhood came to mind - "Why worry when you can PRAY?" This song - and question - often comes to mind when I am facing challenges in my life - God's way of reminding me that He's in charge and working for my good.
Matthew 7:11 reminds me that God gives GOOD GIFTS to his children. Joy and peace in any circumstance is the promised outcome of holding on in FAITH, beliving that God is telling the truth to me in Romans 8:28.
Anyway, there you have it - a simple start to a page that's full of reminders of God's love for me and the value of prayer and faith on my part. Much like God's work in my life, this page remains unfinished, waiting for the next step to be revealed, but you can read some examples of the impact of this verse in my life in these posts: Thank You, 7 Times Each Day, Without What?, Thankful in All Things, Life - or Knowledge of Good and Evil. (And these are just the most recent. There are lots more if you check out "Romans" under "Bible References" - right-hand column of this blog.)
Father, I am so grateful for your leading in my life. Thank you for this new way to interact with you as I continue to seek to know you better and deepen my relationship with you. I love you Father!
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This blog is simply a sharing of my "daily bread" - my daily walk with God. If something I've said has touched your heart, or sparked a new thought, I'd love to hear from you.