April Bible Journaling Pages

So how is everyone doing?  We are still in lockdown here in Wisconsin and starting to get very discouraged.  The main reason for the discouragement is our governor extended our lockdown till May 26th without giving a reason.  We also don't understand why they don't consider locking down by county instead of the entire state.  For example, I live in the country.  There have been only four cases of Covid 19 since this began.  The nearest city is 45 minutes away and they have had only 24 cases out of a population of 65,000.  So why should these counties have the same lockdown rules as the bigger cities like Milwaukee or Madison and their suburban communities?  It makes no sense.  Again, as I said in a previous post a few weeks ago, I suspect a sinister ulterior motive behind all of this.  But only God really knows what is going on, right?  And nothing can happen on this earth without His knowledge or permission.  So all we can do is trust in Him and keep looking up.

In the meantime, I've been staying super busy with my garden and Bible Journaling.  Having four extra mouths to feed has added up to a lot more work too...more cooking, more dishes, a lot more cleaning than when it's just my hubby and I.  Right now, it's raining so I thought I'd take a break and write a blog post.  Although it's hard not being outside today, I'm grateful for the rain for it was getting quite dry in the garden.

I am currently reading the book of Job.  I'm in chapter 23 at the moment.  I am definitely feeling Job's  discouragement right now.  It's been years since I've read the book of Job and I have been surprised at how brutally honest he was about his feelings and his sense of loss.  Obviously I have in no way experienced Job's loss, but like him I also feel sense of loss.  I first and foremost feel the loss of my freedom.  I feel like such a prisoner.  I also feel the loss of wondering where is God in all of this.  What is His purpose in allowing all of this to happen?   I know no one knows and there are so many theories out there, number one being the soon return of Jesus Christ.  They are all possible.  Which one it is remains to be seen.  So often in life when trials and tribulations hit we can't see why God allowed it until it is all over.  I'm sure that will be the case for this as well.  

Let's take a look at my April Bible Journaling pages shall we?

When re-reading the old books that I haven't read in years, I'm always struck by things I notice that I didn't notice before.  I never really "Got" the book of Esther before,  but now I have such a new found respect for this woman and her courage.  

I colored the cover page of the book in pretty feminine colors for our heroine.  I just love this verse.  It kind of reminds me of everything I talked about above.  You could substitute the word "queen" for anything else and apply it to your life.  "Who knows" why God allows things to happen and put's us in situations for "Just such a time as this?".  I think of the master bedroom I felt led to make but didn't know why at the time.  It was to be made "for such a time as this?"  

This pre-printed page is a good reminder for us all during this difficult time.  Maybe I need to put this verse on my letter board (I have a letter board that sits on my desk.  I put a scripture verse on it to memorize and change it out regularly.  Right now it says "Don't be afraid of the enemy!  Remember the Lord who is great and glorious!"  Nehemiah 4:14.). However, now I am experiencing more sadness than fear, so it might be time to change it out.

I colored this page with a mix of pencils and metallic gel pens.

This page was created also with a mix of pencils and metallic gel pens.  I've been getting a lot of comments about my gel pens.  Not all gel pens are created equal;  some are really bad.  I use two different brands of gel pens.  Kaisercraft gel pens are great but expensive.  I bought my first set at Hobby Lobby using a coupon but they are also available at Amazon HERE.  But I also use THESE which are half the cost and absolutely terrific!

This cute pre-printed image was colored with pencils and gel pens.

I have been so busy in the garden that I don't have much time to create my own Bible Journaling pages and have been mostly just coloring in the images in my bible.  This one was colored with gel pens exclusively.

Here is a page I did myself.  I created a background first with gelatos then used stamps and my own handwriting for everything else.

Isn't this a gorgeous pre-printed image?  I colored it with gel pens.

I created this whimsical page when I read the verse "He is so good.  His faithful love for Israel endures forever".  It reminded me of an old song we used to sing in church "God is so good".  I hand wrote the simple lyrics to the song on the top of the page and added stamped musical notes.  The background was created with craft paint.  Everything else is a mix of stamps, stickers, and my own handwriting.

This pre-printed image was at the end of the book of Esther.  Here you will see what happens when I don't prep a page:  it bleeds on to the other page,  I don't always prep pages because I can always cover up the bleed through with craft paint.  But here was instance where I should have prepped this page before I colored it because the bleed through occurred over the scripture on the opposite side which I don't like and I can't cover up the boo-boo with craft paint like I could if the bleed through just occurred in the margins of the page.

Here you can see the bleed of that image in the scripture.

This is my favorite verse in Job.  I never realized how many references to Christ was in the book of Job before. It's amazing the stuff God reveals to you when you re-read books in the Bible you may have read a million times before.  There is always something new to learn no matter how many times you've read it before.

It's amazing that Job still praised God in spite of everything that happened to him.  I'm trying so hard to remember to do this every day.  Every day it seems we get hit with more bad news from my husbands job or something we hear from the media.  I must remember to praise Him in all circumstances.

I hope everyone is healthy and doing well.  God Bless!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Ageless Style - Mother's Day Outfit

The Ageless Style Link Up-  The first Monday of every month a group of over forty fashion bloggers pick a monthly theme and show different ways of styling it. 

Hello and welcome to another Ageless Style Link Up.  This month it was my turn to pick the challenge and because the link up occurs one week before Mother's Day, I decided we should all wear what we plan on wearing for Mother's Day or "What we wish we could wear on Mother's Day" if we live in a state that is still in lockdown.  Unfortunately, I still live in a lock downed state, so my outfit is more of a "wish".  We won't be able to go anywhere on Mother's Day, but thankfully I have one child (and a son-in-law) and my two grandchildren living with me so I will not be spending the holiday alone.  We will still do something special on Mother's Day! .  My grand daughter requested a tea party, so we will still get all dressed up for Mother's Day to have a tea party!  And I am requesting the men in our household make us ladies a special breakfast of French toast with strawberries and whipped cream!

Since it is a Mother's Day post, I invited my sweet grandchildren Alethea and Atticus to join me.  We had to shop our closets for something to wear as we can't buy anything new right now.  It was quite the challenge putting three coordinating outfits together as they brought only a small amount of clothes with them when they moved in for the duration of the quarantine.

 I chose this navy blue tie front blouse from Stitch Fix to match the blue and olive in Atticus' outfit.  There is some pink in my top to pull out the pink from Alethea's tulle skirt, but it's not as noticeable as the coral flowers.

I paired my top with a white skirt.  I've never worn this top with a skirt before.  I previously styled it with pants HERE, and olive pants in THIS POST.  I chose a skirt this time because I thought it was more appropriate for Mother's Day and I also wanted to try this top with a skirt.

Because we were taking pictures in my hilly yard, I chose navy ballet flats.

For jewelry I went with pink earrings and a pink bracelet to pull out the pink in Alethea's outfit.

 



I hope wherever you live that you are still able to celebrate Mother's Day some way.

I'll be back after Mother's Day with more pictures of our actual Mother's Day celebrations!

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

And now, be sure to check out what the other Ageless Style ladies styled, and link up your outfits below.

Amy ~ Amy's Creative Pursuits Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest

Bettye ~ Fashion Schlub Blog, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube

Daenel ~ Living outside the stacks Blog, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter

Debbie ~ Fashion Fairy Dust Bloglovin, Blog, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter

Jennie ~ A Pocketful of Polka Dots Blog, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Bloglovin

Jodie ~ Jodie's Touch of Style Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter

Julia ~ When the Girls Rule Blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram

Kellyann ~ This Blonde's Shopping Bag Blog, Instagram, Bloglovin, Twitter

Shelly ~ The Queen in Between Blog, Instagram, Bloglovin, Pinterest, Facebook

Shugunna ~ Nzuri N* Simplicity Blog, Pinterest, Instagram

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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March Bible Journaling Pages

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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