Creative Bible Journaling - May Pages

Come along with me each month as I journal my way through the Bible.  I'm not artistic at all, so you won't see beautiful illustrations and calligraphy, but what you will see is what I gleaned from the scriptures every day and how I creatively journaled what I have learned in the margins of my Inspire Bible.

For most of May I continued to work my way through an old devotional of mine which had me in Psalms and 1 Kings.  Then Illustrated Faith had a good sale, so I purchased two more of their Bible Journaling Kits.  I gave a review of one of their kits in THIS POST if you're interested in learning more about them.

Let's first start with the pages I did on my own in response to my devotional, then I'll introduce the new Illustrated Faith kit pages.

For my first page, I picked an image of children singing joyfully to represent the imagery in the Psalm.  As Christians we have so much to be joyful for, but the most important reason to be joyful is because we have been rescued from punishment for sin.  Jesus ransomed us;  he paid the price, so we could be set free.

To make this page, I first glued on some designer paper in the margin, then I googled a free singing image, printed it, colored it in, and glued it to my page.  I hand wrote the Bible verse.

While reading the story of Solomon being anointed as king, I couldn't help to see how hopeful and joyful all the citizens were of their new king.  It reminded me of the verse "Be Joyful in Hope..." (Romans 12:12).  The Israelites were looking ahead to a better future.  Today, Christians  should also be looking ahead.  No matter what is going on around us, we have reason to be joyful in hope because we have a glorious future with Him!

To make this page, I painted a design on the page using two different colors of craft paint:  white and teal.  The "Be Joyful in Hope" and "hope" words are stickers.  The flowers are die cuts with gems in the center.  I wrote some notes in the middle of the margin and underlined them.  I hand wrote the scripture reference on the bottom margin.

This is an inspired page.  David's final instructions to Solomon before his death reminded me of Numbers 6:24-26 which my pastor says over us almost every Sunday before he dismisses us.  David was advising Solomon that if he kept God's commandments, all will go well with him.  I have found this to be true in life.  Although we aren't exempt from the trials and tribulations of this world, I have found that people who live a Godly life in general have better lives because the consequences that so often go with sin, are nonexistent.

To make this page, I first glued a piece of designer paper in the margin.  "The Lord bless you and keep you" is a sticker.  The flowers are stamps.  I hand wrote in some notes and underlined them.

One of the things Solomon is most known for is his great wisdom, which he asked God for, and the Bible says that God was pleased that wisdom is a good thing to ask for.  We should all ask for wisdom, especially before making any big decisions or when navigating through difficult times.  (James 1:5). Because we have been experiencing scary world events now and the past five years or more, almost every night, at our dinner prayer, my husband asks God for wisdom for our family as to how to live, and prepare for living during these hard times.  

To make this page, I painted the margin with craft paint then I used stamps and my own handwriting to add the verse.  I then added a second verse from the New Testament and underlined it.  The flowers and butterflies and die cuts.

One of the most famous stories of Solomon's great wisdom was how he determined who the true mother of a disputed baby was.  All of Israel were amazed of the wisdom God had given Solomon.  The next three pages illustrate the wisdom of Solomon.

To make this page, I added a sheet of white paper in the margins and then found a coloring book image of the Bible story on the Internet.  I printed the image out, colored it in, and attached it to the page.  I hand wrote at the Bible verse using stamps to highlight important words.

To make this page I put a sheet of white paper in the margin and using a variety of stamps and my own hand-writing I added the scripture.  I used gelatos to color in the border around the Bible verse.  The image was from a free coloring page on the Internet. 

To make this page, I painted the margins of the Bible with blue craft paint and aded in the scripture with a combination of different alphabet stamps and my own hand-writing.  The images are free coloring pages from the Internet. 

Here I created a page to illustrate how Solomon was the one God chose to build His temple.  I also noticed when reading about the decorations of the temple how often God used Angel images.  I've often been the church decorator at a couple of different churches, and I was always told NOT to use angels in my decorating because the focus should be on Jesus, not angel worship.  I couldn't agree more, however, I found it interesting that God didn't have a problem using angels in His decorations...ha ha!

To make this page, I colored the background with gelatos and then I hand wrote both my thoughts about the temple decor and a Bible verse.  The image is a free coloring book image off the Internet. 

I have been reading of so much injustice in our country today it's driving me crazy.  We sure seem to have a two-tiered justice system in our country that is upsetting and worse yet, there seems to be nothing we can do about it.  I find it so frustrating, and I pray that God will soon equal the scales of justice.  I love 1 Kings 8:32:  "Punish the guilty as they deserve.  Quit the innocent because of their innocence."  It seems so simple, yet man has corrupted the justice system so much.  But our God, is a God of justice and someday soon He will make things right!

To make this page, I adhered a white sheet of paper to the margins and hand wrote two different Bible verses.  The image is a free coloring page from the Internet. 

This page illustrates how the Ark of the Lord's Covenant was brought into the Temple.

To make this page I adhered a white sheet of paper in the margin and hand wrote the Bible verse plus a title.  I highlighted the word Temple by drawing a square around it and underlining it. 

When the temple was finished, Solomon said a prayer of dedication.  He praised the Lord for His faithfulness to Israel, and asked God to hear their prayers when they pray towards the temple...which is still done in Israel today!  

To make this page, I adhered a piece of white paper in the margin and added an image that I printed off the Internet and colored in myself.  I hand wrote the Bible verse using a different pen and hand-writing to emphasize certain words.

God is a promise keeper!  When Solomon finished praying he said "Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through His servant Moses".  Those promises are for us too...all the promises in the Bible will come true.

To make this page I adhered a piece of designer paper in the margin.  I glued on a rainbow and cloud die cut.  the Bible verse is a mix of alphabet stamps and my own hand-writing. 

And now I have the first page using my new Illustrated Faith kit "Worthy of Worship".  This kit covers the theme of "Worship" explaining all the different ways we can worship God.  It's a very fun, whimsical kit and I've been enjoying working with it very much.

My first page deals with "Worship with Praise".   Paul and Silas were in prison, yet even though they were in such a dark and dismal place, they still prayed and sang hymn.  They were being a witness to other prisoners because they were listening to them, and God did a miracle and opened the prison door and removed the chains of every prisoner!  God moves through our praises!  When things look dark for me, I know I am uplifted when I sing praises through the darkness.  I encourage you to put on some worship music when you start to worry or fret.  It does wonders for your spirit, and God moves when we worship!

To make this page, I first painted the margin with purple craft paint then I decorated using the ephemera in the kit.  I hand wrote a note Kristina made in her devotional (which comes in the kit) and then I put a frame around it and added an arrow to the scripture reference.  

My next page deals with the theme of "Worship with Service".  We worship God when we serve Him in our church and community.  Kristina says "Having a heart of service is a wonderful way to worship God".  Galations 5:13 says "Serve one another in love.".  

To make this page I adhered a piece of designer paper in the margins, then decoration with ephemera from the kit.  I hand wrote the theme and Kristina's words from the devotional and put a frame around it for emphasis.   The kit came with a stamp set, and I used the heart stamps to create a background on my page.  I hand wrote a verse on serving at the bottom of the page. 

Praising the Lord out loud is another way to worship.  Thank Him for all He has done and all He will do.  

To make this page I painted the margins yellow then I decorated using ephemera from the kit.  I hand wrote the Bible verse and framed it to highlight it.

Oh, what a beautiful verse this is:  "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.  I will praise my God to my last breath!"   I love it!  I sure plan on continuing to living this way.  He is worthy!

To make this page I first adhered a piece of designer paper in the margin and stamped music notes from the kit in the background.  I also stamped "Worthy of Worship" on top of the page and decorated with ephemera from the kit.  I hand wrote the Bible verse on the bottom of the page.

 I hope my Bible pages ministered to you this month and I encourage you to worship Him and give Him praise no matter what you are going through.  He will see you through and He will lift you up!

God Bless!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

My October Bible Journaling Pages

I think October and November, and probably even December are going to be lean months for Bible Journaling pages.  I promise, I'm in the word daily and attending church and Bible Studies regularly, but Bible Journaling takes a lot of time, and with all the holiday hubbub going on right now, time is something I have precious little of.  Isn't it ironic that holidays are supposed to be set apart to remember and honor God, and yet those are the times we busy ourselves with so much "stuff" we do anything but that?  Do you struggle finding balance between getting all the holiday chores done and not forgetting the real meaning of the season?

Anyway, on to the meager six pages I managed to do in the month of October.

As I mentioned in last month's Bible Journaling post,  I finished reading and coloring in all the pre-printed images in the Inspire Bible, so now I'm going back and doing all the blank margins that are left in my Bible.  Some pages I use ephemera from Illustrated Faith Bible Journaling kits, and other pages I just use stuff I already have on hand or I google a free coloring Sunday school image and print it onto sticker paper.  This is a page I did using an image off the Internet and a sticker from my stash.

I chose this image of Daniel picking out stones for his fight with Goliath.  I wrote two Bible verses that David said or wrote himself, then I added my own thoughts about how I can trust the Lord because He is faithful.  All I have to do is look at past ways God has helped me, and then I can have the confidence that He will do it again.

This next page is an example of what you can do if you experience "bleeding" onto an opposite page.  This page had heavy bleeding from an illustration on the other side.  I covered it up by creating a background with leftover sticker paper.  I colored the sticker paper in all different colors, then cut the pieces randomly and attached it to the Bible page.  It covered up the bleeding beautifully and made quite the nice background if I do say so myself.  Then I used a variety of stickers to illustrate a verse that I found significant in my reading that day.

"Your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God".  How often do we worry about our lives, or the lives of our loved ones?  I worry about this a lot.  I always pray everyone I love will be safe and healthy.  Now even though this verse is specifically talking about David, I believe the Christian can apply it to themselves as well.  It doesn't mean we will always be healthy, safe from our enemies, or even spared from death, but it does mean that we are in God's hands.  Nothing will ever happen to us that He doesn't allow, and He will always be with us, caring for us, every step of the way.

This is another page I created using a free coloring book image off the Internet.  I printed the image onto sticker paper, colored it in, and cut it out.  Then I inked a background by sponging with yellow/gold ink.  I hand wrote the Bible verse 1 Sam 10:24 then I wrote some reflections of the chapter.

God never wanted Israel to have a king,  He wanted His people to always look to Him for guidance, not a man.  But Israel was relentless in wanting a king, because they saw that all the other kingdoms had kings and they wanted to be like those kingdoms:  Israel wanted to be like the world.  Do you see that same thinking in Christian churches today?  I certainly do.  Churches are becoming more and more worldly every day.  Instead of the church influencing the world, the world is influencing the church!  

God ultimately gave in to the Israelites worldly desires and gave them a king.  Saul started out as a very good king, but ended up being very bad.  God gave Israel a king to them to teach them through it.  Sometimes, we can ask God for things that we think would be good for us, but really are not good for us at all.  And sometimes God allows us to have what we asked for, to then teach us through it.

The next three pages all use ephemera from Illustrated Faith. I'm still using stuff from the same "Unyielding Hope" kit, and I won't open my next kit till this one is all gone...which might be a LONG time as there was a lot of stuff in this kit.

This page is a continuation of the page above, and continues to focus on how God uses our mistakes and sins in His plan for good.  The story of the people desiring a king, and how God used this desire of theirs to deliver the Israelites from their enemies reminded me of the verse Romans 8:28 "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who Love him'.  I built a page around that verse.

I thought the Bible story of Jonathan fighting the Philistines was a great place to use some of "Hope" ephemera.  The author of the kit defines " unyielding hope" as "shifting our focus from inward to upward" and "hope" as "a desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment".  Jonathan was alone with just his armor bearer, but he believed in God.  He had hope!  He looked past his present circumstances and focused on God.  He said "Nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has may warriors, or only a few."  And he did!  Jonathan and his armor bearer killed twenty men that day and panic broke out in the Philistine army and everyone was terrified.

By the Way...the "hope" ephemera at the top of the page that appears to be covering the words of the Bible, actually is not.  I only glued down the left side of the ephemera, so it can be lifted to see the words in the Bible.

My last page, which is on the opposite side of the page above, continues to illustrate this same story of Jonathan and the Philistines.  I wrote how God makes the impossible possible by jotting down some key points from this Bible story.  Then I remembered the chorus "God can make a way, where there seems to be no way" and wrote that down, highlighting it with a film frame.

I hope you enjoyed my Bible Journaling pages this month!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

 

Bible Journaling: My October Pages Luke 5 thru Luke 12

Once a month I like to share my Bible Journaling Pages and what God has been teaching me.  In the month of October I continued my study of the book of Luke.    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.

During the month of October, I continued to work my way through the book of Luke.  It was a great book to be in to get in my heart prepared for the Christmas season.

In Luke 5 there are two stories of Jesus healing people, so the pre-printed image "Healer" is very fitting.  Jesus was and is our healer, and not just our healer for our physical needs, but our spiritual healer as well. 

This page illustrates something my father told me constantly as a child, except he would say it "Treat others as you would want them to treat you."  I'm not sure if he knew this was in the Bible as he wasn't a religious man, but he sure did love this quote/verse and repeated it often to us kids.

This beautiful illustration in the Inspire Bible takes up an entire page!  I colored the scenery with pencils, but I used gel pens on everything else.  I kept the colors natural to emphasize all the nature references.

I have seen this verse lived out so many times in my life.  I've known several individuals that accepted Christ during a difficult time in their lives only to go right back to the way they were living before once the difficult time was over.  It's always broken my heart.  It's like, they only wanted God when they needed something from Him.  They see God not as someone who we should love because He first loved us, but just someone who should serve them.  They are the seeds who fell among the thorns.  They "...hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life.  And so they never grow into maturity" (Luke 8:14).  It is so heart-breaking to lead someone to Christ, and then see this happen later.

This next page continues on with the same thought as the page above.  Luke 9:23 says "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it".  Like Jesus, we must daily deny ourselves and live as an others-centered person. We should be seeking daily God's will for our lives, and not be self seeking, and doing whatever we want.  

This next page I created myself.  I first painted a blue background then I used a baby sticker from my stash.  I hand wrote all the verses and used a stamp for the stars and circles.  I have always loved this verse.  I have always interpreted this verse literally and figuratively.  I believe Jesus really wants us to take good care of children and minister to them, to teach them about Him.  I think Sunday School and Children's Programs are so important and should be given top priority in every church.  But I also interpret this verse figuratively, that believers need to be humble, unconcerned about their social status, non-threatening, and not jaded by success or ambition.  

In the second half of this verse Jesus says 

"Whoever is the LEAST among you is the GREATEST".  Striving for power, leadership, has no place in the church.   We are called to be servants.  

I have always struggled with the next Bible story because I always had sympathy for Martha.  I can just picture Martha hard at work, alone in the kitchen, while everyone else is enjoying and relaxing in the living room.  Then Martha goes and complains about it, and gets a little lesson from Jesus.  I often think "Well, someone has to prepare the food or no one will eat! It's not fair".  In my life, I'm always the Martha. I'm the one alone in the kitchen hard at work while the rest of the family has fun.  So I can really relate.  But, I get what Jesus is saying.  Jesus was with them, there were more important things than cooking!  Yet, unless Jesus was going to miraculously provide the food like he did with the loaves and fish when he fed the 5,000, someone had to cook!  

Yet, despite my sympathetic feelings for Martha, I get it.  As a Martha myself, I can get so caught up in the preparations, that I miss what's really important.  I love Jesus' statement "My dear Martha, you are so worried and upset over all these details!"  Don't we women do that all the time?  We want everything to be perfect when there is company and we put so much emphasis on having the perfect meal, the perfect decorations, the perfectly clean house, that we often don't just sit and enjoy the company.  That's what Jesus was saying.  Don't fret the small stuff!  Recognize what is really important in life.

Here is another page I opened myself.  I hand drew and colored a door and then hand wrote the verses/words.

This verse reminds me to keep on praying, to be persistent and not give up.

And finally, a Bible Verse for every flower gardener like myself.  I love this verse, because as a flower gardener, I totally get it!  I look at flowers everyday and I'm awestruck by their beauty and how marvelously they are made.  So yes, if God can take such good of the flowers and clothe them so beautifully, He can take care of me!

Have A Great Day! Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

 

June Bible Journaling Pages: Zechariah to Matthew

Once a month I like to share my Bible Journaling Pages and what God has been teaching me.  In the month of June I finished the Old Testament and began the New Testament.    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.

Well, after almost two and a half years, I finally made it to the New Testament.  Can I get a "Hip, Hip, Hooray!"?  I am so excited to start reading and studying the gospels.  But first, we have to finish up the little bit of the Old Testament Bible Journaling pages before we move on to the book of Matthew.

The first day of June, I read the last chapter of Zechariah.  The Inspire Bible ended with this beautiful floral image that I colored in with pencils.  Then I added a Bible verse from the chapter that spoke to me. I love this verse.  It gives me such joy and hope to know that the Lord is returning soon and all who have died before His coming or are raptured, will return with Him.

This is the title page of the book of Malachi that I colored in with a mix of pencils and gel pens.  I just love this image!

This verse is such a great promise to believers.  

For this page I colored the background with a lime green gelato then I did all the details with gel pens.  

God's great name is known not just amongst the Israelites, but all over the world.

This next page highlights every pastor's favorite Bible verse...😆. Just kidding!  Every pastor I have ever known has interpreted this verse to mean that our tithe (10 % of our income) should go to our home church and if you want to give  to some other Christian ministry, you need to give them whatever is above and beyond your tithe.  I've never seen that interpretation in this verse myself.  I think your tithe is acceptable to God for whatever Christian ministry or "storehouse" you feel inclined to give to.  The important thing is to tithe, period.

The end of the book of Malachi included a beautiful floral frame with a verse in the center.   I colored the whole page with pencils.

In this verse "His preaching" is John the Baptist.  The promise speaks of a reconciliation of families, but also of a reconciliation to the Father through Jesus.

The New Testament in the Inspire Bible has a beautiful floral page to separate it from the Old Testament.  I colored it with water based markers.

The cover page of the book of Matthew.  I have finally arrived in the New Testament!  Yes!

I love this promise and I have felt in my own life to be completely true.  If I put God first in my life,  and live righteously, everything else falls into place. 

When Jesus was born, it was God in the flesh, to live among us.

I must have read the book of Matthew a thousand times, yet like most of the Bible, when I read it 1001 time more, I see something I never noticed before.  This time reading it, I noticed that the first words of both John the Baptist and Jesus were "Repent of your Sins".   It seems I hear just the opposite from most pulpits today.  It confirmed to me that to be a true follower of Jesus we first must repent of our sins. 

This is a page I created myself using a coloring book image of John the Baptist.  I found it free on the Internet, printed it onto sticker paper, colored and cut it out.  I did a blue sky background using a water based marker then I just hand wrote the verse in along with some of my thoughts.  

Have you ever watched the tv series "The Chosen"?   It is a controversial Christian show about the people who followed Jesus.  I really loved season one, but season two I wasn't so crazy about.  Anyway, in season one my favorite episode ever was when Peter was on the boat, and he couldn't catch any fish.  Then Jesus shows up and tells Peter to cast his net on the other side and he caught so many fish his boat almost tipped over.  Oh, that scene made me cry, it was so beautiful!  I really enjoyed coloring this page because it reminded of that scene in the show and how touching it was.

In Jesus' day, salt was a precious and valuable commodity.  Salt was precious,  it has a preserving influence, and it adds flavor.  Christians are like salt.  We too are precious,  we influence our culture, and we make the earth a more palatable place.  But, like salt, if we lost our saltiness, we are good for nothing.

I really enjoyed coloring in an entire page instead of just a margin in the Inspire Bible.  I did this page mostly in pencils, but I also used gel pens in spots.  

This beautiful verse is not only a compliment, but also a great responsibility.   People are watching us, judging us, and what we do reflects how they see Jesus.

Ah, "Don't Worry about Tomorrow".  Easier said than done, especially with everything going on in the world today.  I must have said this verse to myself everyday for the past 18+ months.  I keep telling myself,  "Just take one day at a time.  You can't worry about what will happen tomorrow".  God wants us to remember the past, plan for the future, but live in the present.  

An entire page of the Inspire Bible was dedicated to the Lord's Prayer.  I colored it in with water based markers.

We had a Christian music festival in our area last weekend.  I really wanted to go, but when I found out the tickets were $60 a piece, I just thought that was too much money to spend.  It's not that I couldn't afford it, I just didn't think I should spend $120 on music festival tickets.  So I started to search for discount tickets and came across a profile on Instagram that was giving away free tickets to one lucky person if they "liked" the post and commented that they would like free tickets.  No one had "liked" or commented on the post, and I was so perplexed why.  I thought "Is this a hoax?"  But then I decided it wouldn't hurt to do it, it's not like they were asking for personal information.  So,  I "Liked" the post and commented, and won!  I was so excited!  It was such a blessing and gift from God, as the concert really ministered to me.  And I was reminded through the experience that "If I ask, I will receive" and how we "have not, because we don't ask".  That doesn't mean you will always get whatever you ask for, but I think a lot of us "wish" but never really "ask" because we don't think we're deserving of it or "God has more important things to do" or "God has more people with real problems to help" than me.  

We are wise to follow Jesus, to listen and obey His word, then when the storms of life come, we will have a solid foundation to stand on and get us through.  This has never been truer to me than right now.  Seeing everything going on in the world right now, I am grateful that I have a Biblical World View as a guide to navigate my way through life.

This next beautiful page is another reminder to me.  "Don't Be Afraid":   such a simple commandment, yet so hard.  God does not want us to live in fear, but to trust in Him that nothing will happen that is outside of His will.

What a beautiful comment from Jesus to us.  If we are "weary and carry heavy burdens', and we come to Him...not religion, doctrine, ordinance, ministry, but to Him alone, He will give us rest.

This last page I created using some leftover stickers I had from a on-line Bible Study I did last year.  I simply illustrated the parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed.

 I hope you enjoyed and were uplifted and encouraged reading my Bible Journaling Pages this month.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

March Bible Journaling Pages

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.

I have been doing so much Bible study the past few months that I have way too many Bible Journaling pages to show you.  I thought about posting Bible Journaling pages once a week, but I know the gardening season coming up will soon be slowing me down.  With everything that has been going in the world, I feel more and more compelled to stay in the word, search the word for answers, and pray.  I feel so many Christians are being deceived right now;   did you know that in the last days a great deception would take place and many will fall away?  I don't want to fall into that category, so I am constantly praying for God to search my heart and reveal any wrong thinking in me;  to show me the truth!  Truth is so hard to come by today.  We can't trust the media, we can't trust doctors, scientists, and especially not politicians.  Dissenting voices and opinions are always immediately shut down or "cancelled" so that we can't even hear the other side to determine what the truth is.  This then only leads me to one place, my Bible and my Lord.

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.

God told Ezekiel to speak to the dry bones and say "Listen to the word of the Lord!"  He says the same thing to us today.  Whenever we feel spiritual dry, pick up the Holy Bible, spend time in prayer, and you too will be revived!

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

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