We have been enjoying some rare, beautiful spring weather here in Wisconsin so I have spent days and days in my garden and all the bruises, scrapes, and aches in my body show it. But after today, the temperatures will return to the 30's and 40's once again (Surprise, surprise! Once again Easter Sunday will be freezing cold! I guess it doesn't matter this year because I won't be going anywhere other than my living room for church). Anyway, I tell you all that because I will have some extra time on my hands to blog, so I decided to share some of my Bible Journaling Pages. Even with a household full of family, I still find time to Bible Journal every day. Staying close to God is more important than ever as we navigate through these difficult times.
Most of my pages are pretty old by now. I finished 2 Chronicles, and quickly moved through the short books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and I just started the book of Job. I thought it quite ironic that I ended up in the book of Job right during the pandemic. Ironic or God's Plan? I will talk of what God is teaching me through the book of Job in a future post, in the meantime, here is what I learned from last month's pages.
I created this page when I read the verse 2 Chronicles 33:13. "And when he prayed the Lord listened to him and was moved". Isn't it wonderful to know that when we humble ourselves and pray God listens to us and that He can be "moved" by our pleas? Remember that each time you pray for our nation during the pandemic.
To create this page I painted a background with craft paints and used stickers, stamps, and my own handwriting for the words. The praying hands is a stamp, and I cut the arrow using a die cutting machine.
Whenever I read the Bible I often see verses that apply to whatever I am going through in life right now. The verse pictured below definitely shows how I feel with regard to the pandemic. It's a pre-printed image that I colored with gel pens.
We've often been taught that the battle is not ours but God's, right? That is definitely true now when we are fighting an "Invisible Enemy" as our president likes to call it. I colored this image with silver and gold gel pens.
We must always remember to "Rejoice" and be thankful to God in all circumstances. Even though I have had some minor suffering (nothing in comparison to the suffering of others) I can still rejoice and be thankful for what I do have. We lost some income, but I am thankful my husband still has a job. We lost a vacation, but I am thankful I got a refund for my "Non-refundable hotels". We lost our freedom, but I am thankful we are all healthy. We lost our ability to meet with other believers in person, but I am thankful we can still meet virtually. We lost seeing our son in person for Easter, but I am thankful that we have my other children and grandchildren here with me.
I colored this pre-printed image with gel pens.
Here is a page I created myself. I loved the verse and wanted to create a happy, cheerful verse to emphasize it. Isn't it awesome to know God "Delights in Us"? this page was created by first coloring a background with gel pens. The flowers and birds are stickers that you color in yourself. I picked them up at the Dollar Store. The Dollar Store does have a small craft section where you can find lots of cute, inexpensive crafting supplies. The verse was created using a mix of stickers and my own hand writing.
Here is a pre-printed image I colored in with gel pens. Another good reminder for these difficult times.
One thing that has been a disappointment to me during the entire pandemic was how the majority of Christian Churches have been responding to it. Most seem more concerned about the survival of their church and/or comforting people, giving them hope and peace. OR, playing church as normal, but virtually. I totally agree with comforting people, and we should have hope and peace if our faith is in Christ, but one word I'm not hearing much of is "Repentance". We need to put 2 Chronicles 7:14 into practice now more than ever "If MY people, who are called by MY NAME, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will HEAL their land."
I created this page because I was so moved by Josiah's response to finding God's law. He could have so easily said "Well I didn't know any better", but instead he tore his clothes, and wept in despair. He humbled himself and repented. We as church need to repent for allowing the sins of this world into our churches and into our lives if we expect healing to happen.
The background was created with paints, then I used stamps for the major words I wanted to highlight and then my own handwriting for the rest.
Just a beautiful pre-printed image I colored with pencils.
A simple page I created myself. I hand drew everything but the globe; the globe is a stamp. I made 'google eyes" to emphasize the word "eyes". The background was created with paint and I put a bit of Washi Tape on the top.
A fun page I created to celebrate that God is with us and is our leader. I used bright paints for the background. The shadow figure, butterflies, and tree are stamps. The words "our" were emphasized by stamping on white card stock.
Another verse very applicable to today's times. The irony is when I was creating these pages it was all before the pandemic began. I knew then about the virus and I felt something was going to happen because the news was really focusing on it more than previous viruses in the past. It made me wonder "What were they up to now?" I felt God was speaking to me then to stop spending money, but at the time I had no idea why. I also felt led to finish creating a new bedroom in our home (future post on that coming soon!). But I never suspected in a million years that our entire country would be locked down. Now as I look back on these pages, I see God was preparing me for what He knew would lie ahead.
This simple page was created because I found this verse so interesting. All the power is in God's hands. He can either choose to help us, or trip us up to accomplish His will.
To create this page, I painted the background using craft paints, then hand wrote the verse and some notes. The lines that the notes are written on is a stamp.
Did you know our battles are not our's but God's? All we have to do is believe, stand still, and watch! God will fight for us. We do not even need to fight. Let God fight for us because He is with us!
I absolutely love this Bible story. The men of Judah never had to fight this battle. God himself set up an ambush and when they came to the scene they looked toward the vast army and saw only dead bodies lying on the ground. Amazing!
And finally another pre-printed image colored with gel pens. What a great promise from God, isn't it?
I hope my Bible Journaling pages brought you some encouragement today! God Bless!
Amy
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