Once a month I like to share my Bible Journaling Pages and what God has been teaching me. In the month of March I finished the books of Ezekiel, and started the book of Daniel. Sometimes I just color in the preprinted images of the "Inspire Bible" (available on Amazon) and I also create my own pages.
Unless otherwise stated, all the images are colored in with either gel pens or colored pencils. I tend to color larger areas with pencils then get the more intricate spots with pens. I high light my Bible with gel highlighters, and I usually use gelatos or craft paint for my backgrounds.
In the month of March I began and finished the book of Ezekiel. What an amazing book! And what a great book to read for such a time as this. Ezekiel is another prophetic book describing both near and far prophecies. Below is the chapter cover of the book of Ezekiel. The beautiful verse is in essence the meaning of the book of Ezekiel. It is God's promise that the people of Israel will maintain their covenant with God when they are purified and receive a "new heart" which will enable them to observe God's commandments and live in the land in a proper relationship with Yahweh (Wickipedia). But it is also a promise to every believer today, that when we repent of our sins and accept Him as our personal savior, He will give us a new heart and put His spirit inside of us.
What an interesting and beautiful verse this is, how can paper taste as "sweet as honey"? I think what it is really saying is that "God's word is as sweet as honey". It guides us, leads us, changes our lives, and we must devour God's word daily to have it be an impact in our lives. Ezekiel must receive and internalize and digest the word of God before he could be a messenger of that word to the house of Israel (Enduring Word Commentary).
This page symbolizes what the book of Ezekiel is all about: Hope. In the midst of their suffering, God promises not only to regather them, but to REVIVE the Israelites.
This page was colored using the "stained glass effect". Every little "bubble" was colored in using a gel pen in many different colors.
Here is a page I created myself. It's mostly just notes in the margin. I used some floral stickers and washi tape to make it pretty. As I read Chapter 13 I was struck by how many times God was referred to as "Sovereign". I underlined every time "sovereign" was mentioned, then wrote the definition in the margins.
The page below was made with a digital image from "Keys of the Kingdom". I loved the verse and the image of God's children being His bride and that He has made a covenant with Israel (and all believers). We are His, and someday soon He will be returning for us.
I added little adhesive hearts to emphasize how much God loves us. Then I hand wrote some words to myself on the bottom of the page to explain what this verse means to me.
When I was a new believer, one night I spent a long time in anguished prayer. I was begging, crying out to God to prove something to me. Then I heard a voice that just silenced all my thoughts and struck me to my core leaving me in utter shock. He said "My Word shall be enough!" His answer was in His Word, yet I wanted Him to show me in yet another way too. But He obviously did not want to at that time. This verse reminds me of that time. If God speaks, that's it. What He says will happen.
Apparently it wasn't just me to notice that "Sovereignty" was a theme in the book of Elijah, because several pages after I created my own page on "Sovereignty" the Inspire Bible had a page on this theme too.
"There will be showers of blessings" is such a beautiful verse and every time I hear this verse I can't help but hear the old chorus in my head. Do any of you old timers remember it? Here it is on YouTube if you need a refresh:
I was so inspired by this verse, that I had to create my own page as well using digis from "Keys of the Kingdom" again. I hand wrote some of the key take aways I got from these chapters too.
Now I know some of you will think these next two pages are weird, but hey, it's an illustration in the Bible, and well, the Bible is a really weird supernatural book! Once again using digis from "Keys of the Kingdom" I simply illustrated the "Dry Bones" vision in chapter 37. I love how these pages turned out. The flowers around the skeletons symbolize new life. Just as the story is a picture of restoration for the Israelites, it is also a promise to us that we can too can be spiritually restored whenever we feel dry. We can have new life in our tired, dry bones when we accept Christ into our lives.
This digital kit came with the full scripture so I printed and cut it out and I added it to my page.
The Inspire Bible ended the book of Ezekiel with this verse "The Lord is There". So beautiful and so appropriate. The Israelites and all believers have the hope, the promise, that one day God will reside among us.
Now, onto the book of Daniel. Who doesn't love to read the book of Daniel? What an amazing man Daniel was. Daniel was one of the few heroes in the Bible with no mention of sin (that doesn't mean he was sinless, no man is, it just means we aren't told of any of his sins). Daniel was wise, obedient, and he had the ability to interpret visions and dreams.
This is the cover page to the book of Daniel. I think the Inspire Bible chose the right verse for this book as the wisdom of Daniel and his friends certainly comes to play in this book.
Here I once again created my own page using images from "Keys of the Kingdom" and some stickers. I loved how once Daniel received the meaning to the kings dream, he didn't run to the king immediately but took the time to first worship and thank the Lord.
What a beautiful verse, and such a revelation of Daniel's. Here Daniel is acknowledging that it wasn't him that figured out the king's dream, rather it was God who revealed it to Daniel.
I really love the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace, I mean who doesn't? The faith and courage of the three men is incredible, and how God rescues them is even more incredible. And as amazing as this verse is, what is even more amazing is the second half of it: "But even if he doesn't". The three men, by faith, trusted God to save them because they knew He was able to do so. But they also trusted God enough not to save them, knowing that dying in the furnace might be God's will for them. When we are afraid, when we pray and seek God for answers to our problems, are we prepared for Him to answer in a different way, perhaps a way we might not initially want?
This is a verse by Nebuchadnezzar who is praising God after being punished and then having everything restored to him. It is a great story and it made me wonder about myself that if I were disciplined by God, would I react this way or would I be bitter?
This page was created based on the story of "Daniel in the Lions Den". What struck me the most while reading this story was not God keeping the mouths of the lions shut, but the verse "Just as he had always done." The king issued a decree that no one could pray to "anyone, divine or human" except the king. Daniel remained calm, and simply went into his room and prayed "Just as he had always done". This verse struck a chord with me because this past year we have had our government apply some pretty crazy, tyrannical rules to the church. Every believer and every church has had to ask themselves at what point do we obey and when do we disobey the government and obey God's word? For myself, as much as I was able to do (our church was locked down for three months) I did "just as I had always done". I went back to church as soon as the lockdowns were lifted. I never wore a mask inside a church for I do not believe they work and that they are simply instruments used to keep the fear of Covid alive and visible and also to dehumanize people. I continued to live as normal of a life as possible. I traveled, I saw my children and grandchildren regularly. I never missed celebrating a single holiday. I trusted God to keep me safe and healthy, but I also trusted in His sovereignty: that if it was His will for me to get sick, I was going to sick whether I locked myself in the basement and hid from the world for a year, or I went on enjoying my life. I simply lived "just as I had always done".
Once the king found out that Daniel was still alive, he praised Daniel's God! He realized how powerful He was and said He is the living, enduring God. Beautiful!
And finally, here is another page I created myself. This page was created on the prophetic vision Daniel had of seeing the return of Jesus. I am so anxiously awaiting the return of Christ, especially as this world gets crazier and crazier. Are you anxiously awaiting His return?
Since I'm not an artist, whenever I want an illustration for a page I usually have to buy a digital image. But recently I've discovered that you can just google black and white coloring book pages of Bible stories off the Internet for nothing! That makes me so happy! So I googled this image, printed, colored, and cut it out. The background was created with craft paint, and I used my own handwriting and stickers for the verses.
Sorry if this was a long post. I think next month's Bible Journaling Pages will be long as well, but after that it will be gardening season and I won't have as much time to illustrate in my Bible...but you can bet I'll still be reading it! And I hope you are reading your Bibles too. I really do believe we are living in the last days, and we really have to be aware that "the enemy is out there like a roaring lion seeking who he might devour". Please stay in His word and prayer. Do not trust main stream media, social media, or even your own politicians. Seek after God. Ask for the truth from Him, and He shall reveal it to you.
Have a Great Day! Amy
Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
Thank you Amy! This is very inspiring. Love how you have illustrated the pages. We are definitely in scary times but I also try to stay focused on God.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Yes, we have to keep our eyes on the Lord and not on the world during these scary times.
DeleteSo many nicely done pages and great quotes!
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree, it's hard to trust anything on the news anymore! Masks are definitely a divided topic, I too believe they don't work, in fact I actually believe they make it worse since every single person wearing them touches them/their face constantly and therefore spreading more germs.
Thanks Ellie. I so agree on the face touching when you have a mask on. Masks have always been a divided topic and it has always upset me that the pro-mask people never leave the anti-mask people alone. It should be a personal choice. I don't care if they want to wear a mask, just stop forcing it on me. They are always so hostile and cruel too. Now that hostility is turning against people who won't be vaccinated. We are living in Nazi Germany once again...and people are too blind to see it.
DeleteBeautiful! I too am staying in the Word these days. You can see so many prophesies rushing at us full speed! I agree on the mask thing as well. I touch my face constantly with it! I think it's strange how they are trying to force vaccinations on us! I have a severe immune disorder, and if I haven't caught it, I think I'm ok without it! I keep looking up, as our redemption is drawing neigh! Thanks for sharing with us on Happiness is Homemade!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yes, I feel many prophesies are coming true these days. And I'm really starting to think or rethink what some biblical prophecies might really mean now that we appear to be living at the very end of the age. The extent to which they are pushing this vaccine makes me very suspicious. I don't plan on taking it. I feel I have lived as normal as I life as they let me live, and I haven't even caught a common cold, so I'm not worried about it.
DeleteWow! such beautiful beautiful journaling.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThanks so much for sharing your post with us at the Exploring World Religions Linkup 7 so that we can better understand each other through our religion, faith, and beliefs. Pinned!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dee! It's a great link up!
DeleteI so appreciate your beautiful illustrations, Amy. Thanks for sharing on Grammy's Grid! I just finished studying Daniel myself and found him to be such an inspiring person. If you're interested in reading my blog posts from Daniel, you can find the articles here: https://strengthwithdignity.com/daniel-a-man-above-reproach/ https://strengthwithdignity.com/friends-of-daniel-a-time-of-testing/ https://strengthwithdignity.com/daniel-a-man-of-prayer/
ReplyDeleteI hope they are an encouragement to you.
Thanks so much! I am very interested in reading your blog posts. I will be over soon.
DeleteI love it, Amy! Thanks so much for sharing your colorful creativity and your biblical verses with us!
ReplyDeleteShelbee
www.shelbeeontheedge.com
Thanks Shelbee!
DeleteTrying to play catch up on my blog reading. Always glad to discover a new Bible journaling post from you. I think you outdid yourself in April. Especially love the digital Dry Bones pages. Reminds me of dia de los muertos. What a great idea to add that art to your Bible. How true that new life is breathed into us once we find Christ.
ReplyDeleteAwww, thank you. Yes, the dry bones page image do remind me of that too.
DeleteCONGRATS! Your post is FEATURED at the Exploring World Religions Linkup 8!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome news Dee! Thanks so much!
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