Creative Bible Journaling - June Pages Part Two

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.

In last month's Bible Journaling post  I mentioned I had way too many Bible Journaling posts for June and very few for July and August, so I decided to divide the month of June into two separate posts and then combine my July and August posts into one.  Ah, the life of a gardener,  certain seasons we are very busy.   Now is a gardener's very busy season:   Harvest time!  But in other seasons we just sit and dream!

Now, onto the last of my June pages, shall we?  

My first page I created to illustrate Isaiah 40:26.    The theme of Isaiah 40 is "Comfort and Strength for God's People".  Isaiah was trying to get the people to see the greatness of God by seeing His glory in creation.  I must admit, anytime I have my doubts about God's inability to solve a problem in my life, all I have to do is take a little walk in nature and see His magnificent handiwork everywhere.  Suddenly my problems seems so small and insignificant because if could create "all this", surely He can handle my issues.

To make this page I painted the background with several different shades of craft paint.  I stamped stars and diamonds in the background and then used a mixture of stamps and my own handwriting for the verse.

Here is another page that shows how nature reveals God's glory.

To make this page, I colored in the background with a marker, then I added a die cut rainbow.  I hand wrote the Bible verse, and added a piece of ephemera from my "Worthy of Worship" kit from Illustrated Faith.

I had so much fun making this page!  I read this verse, and then I just immediately thought of all the strange and interesting creatures God has made for us to enjoy.

To make this page, I painted the background green and used a combination of stamps and my own handwriting for the verse.  The "creatures" are 3D stickers.  I also painted some white dots in the background.

Here is a page that I created that is combination of notes, Bible study, and a verse illustration.  There's no rules in Bible journaling, you can do whatever the Lord leads you.  It doesn't always have to be pretty illustrations, sometimes it can just be notes or notes illustrated in an attractive way.

On this page I am illustrating a theme from my devotional that came with my "Worthy of Worship".  In that devotional, the author went through all the different ways in our lives we can worship God.  One way is to worship God with our testimony.  Simply share with others what God has done for us.  But the most traditional way to worship God, is to praise Him when we are assembled with our brothers and sisters in Christ (as seen in Psalm 22:22).

In addition to notes and verses on what it means to "Worship with your testimony" I also wrote some notes on a "Reminder" ephemera card about what it means to rest in the Lord, based on Psalm 23:2.

To make this page, I painted the background with craft paint and added little white dots.  I hand wrote all  my notes and the Bible verse.  The "Smile Jesus Loves You" and "Reminder" are ephemera from the "Worthy of Worship" kit.  The flowers are die cuts.

Keeping with the theme of "Worship with your testimony", my next page illustrates to give thanks to God, proclaim His greatness, and tell the ENTIRE WORLD what He has done!  Wow! That's a tall order!

To make this page I painted the background with bright pink craft paint.  The rainbow is ephemera from the "Worthy of Worship" kit.  The globe and people is a stamp, that I colored in, cut out, and adhered to the page.  The flower is a die cut.  I used a mix of stamps and my own handwriting for the verse.

Another reminder from God that He wants us to tell others about Him.  Worship with your testimony!

To make this page I painted the background with green craft paint then painted in a little background design with blue craft paint.  I stamped the Bible verse.  The "Kingdom Carrier" and "Smiley Face" are ephemera from the "Worthy of Worship" kit.  The yellow flower is a die cut.

This last page is the same verse as Psalm 105 above, but in a different book!  How interesting is that?  This author was most likely quoting the psalm.  

To make this page, I adhered a piece of pink designer paper in the margin and painted some white dots.  The flowers and hearts are ephemera from the "Worthy of Worship" kit.  The verse is a combination of stamps and my own handwriting.

 I hope my Bible journaling pages inspired you this month to get out and tell others about Jesus!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

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!

Creative Bible Journaling - December 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.

Since I finished coloring in all the pre-printed images of my Inspire Bible, I've been going back and illustrating all the pages that don't have pre-printed images on them.  I've been following an old devotional of mine which took me to 1 Samuel and Ephesians, then ended up in the book of Job for over two months!  So this month, and next you will see Bible Journaling pages in Job, and let me tell you, Job is not an easy book to illustrate, but I did it!

Let's start with my 1 Samuel page.  In this story, Samuel is telling King Saul that the Lord fulfilled what He said he would do:  taking the kingdom from Saul and give it to David.  Now, even though the verse is said in a negative way to King Saul, I looked at it in a more positive way, whether good or bad, if God says He's going to do something, He does it!  God is faithful and keeps His word!  So I too can count on all of God's promises in the Bible to be fulfilled.

The book of Ephesians was a letter written to the churches in Ephesus.  Ephesus was know for its idolatry and pagan practices.  The Ephesus Christians were primarily Gentiles who didn't have the life experience of the Jewish laws and culture.  Just like today, the new Christians were living in a pagan culture quite contrary to what the Old Testament taught, so they needed encouragement and guidance to help them understand how to live their faith in an ungodly world.

For my page, I highlighted the verse "Live as People of Light" because that is what I took as the most important principle in chapter five;  but I love the words that come before and after this phrase:  "For once you were full of darkness, but now you have LIGHT FROM THE LORD.  So live as people of LIGHT!  For this LIGHT within you produces only what is good and right and true."  It is an admonishment to me to be a light in this extremely dark world.

And now I begin my two month journey into the book of Job.  Job is a tough, depressing book to read.  It explores the question everyone always asks "Why do good people suffer?" and you know what?  It never really answers that question.  It's hard spending two months in this book, reading about someone's suffering.  But I think reading it is important for we see the value in patience and perseverance in waiting on the Lord.  We also see the importance of just being there for our friends when they are suffering and learning how to hold our tongues.  And finally, we see God's faithfulness and restorative power.

For my first journaling page in the book of Job, I simply hand-wrote some notes with just a few illustrations.  Bible Journaling doesn't have to include a pretty picture.  There are several Bible Journalists I follow who simply write creatively in their Bibles and do not use any images.

For this page, when I read about how Job wished he had never been born at all.  Many people today think it's better to not be born at all than to lead a life of suffering.  But the word of God says the opposite in Romans 5:3-5 so I hand-wrote that verse in the margins of my Bible, then I added a rainbow as a symbol of hope.

Many verses in Job often brought to mind other verses in the Bible.  In Job 4:3-4 we are told that Job was an encouraging person to those who were weak.  I thought of 1 Thessalonians 5:11 where it tells Christians to "encourage one and another and build each other up", so I hand wrote that verse in my Bible and added some ephemera from my "Unyielding Hope" kit.  I still have so much ephemera from that kit!   Even though I purchased a new Bible Journaling kit from Illustrated Faith, I am bound and determined not to open that one till I used EVERYTHING from my old kit first.  And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you will have to go back and read this post HERE!

Here is an example of how I did a page based on some Bible commentary notes.  Here "Enduring Word" Bible Commentary had an excellent reflection on Job's sentence "I don't have the strength to endure.  I have nothing to live for".  At this point in the story, Job just wanted to die.  His suffering had become too much to endure.  The "Enduring Word" Bible Commentary said "Remember this story" when your prayer isn't answered.  "Thank God" that the Lord didn't answer Job's prayer and end his life, for his suffering did eventually end and everything taken from him was restored twofold!  Can you just imagine if the Lord did answer Job's prayer and end his life?  He not only would have never experienced God's restorative power and blessings, but his witness to all his family and friends would have been lost.  His story would have ended tragically instead of a powerful miracle that possibly strengthened the faith of all who watched.

 

This page I created based on the verse "What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often?"  This sentiment is also reflected in Psalm 8.  It reminded me of how much God love us, so I created a page contemplating divine love.

In Job 9:4 Job says "God is so wise and so mighty", and in Job 9:9 he says "He made all the stars".  Throughout the book of Job, nature is referred to as an example of God's wisdom and power.  I love to be in nature.  It always brings me closer to Him and it where I feel His presence the most.

Psalm 139 and Job 10 are powerful verses to support the sanctity of human life.  It's amazing to me that even before the science of ultrasounds, these words were written in the Bible.

Here I did a page illustrating the transcendence of God.  Although Zophar here is scolding Job for questioning God, I think there is some validity in his statement for God is so vast that we can't possibly understand everything Him,  such knowledge is "Higher than the Heavens".  When things go wrong in our lives that we can't possibly understand, we just have to trust Him that He is all knowing and all powerful and that there is a very good reason things are the way are.

Job desperately wanted to know what, if anything, he did wrong to endure so much suffering.  His words "Tell me, what have I done wrong?  Show me my rebellion and my sin" (Job 13:23) reminded me of David's words in Psalm 139 so I did a page on that Psalm.

Many things Job questioned are answered in the New Testament like when he wishes for a mediator in chapter 9, verse 33.  1 Timothy 2:5 says Jesus is our mediator.  And in Job 14:14 Job asks "Can the dead live again?"  The answer is "Yes!"  "God has given us eternal life through His son Jesus!" (1 John 5:11).  We can have peace in death for we will live again!

While reading Job's story, I was reminded of another Bible verse:  Romans 12:12.  It says to "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer."  I decided to illustrate this verse with stamps and then write a little personal note of prayer.

 I hope I was able to encourage and minister to you today.  We all go through trials and suffering in our lives.  Like Job, we ask God "Why?"  We may never know the answer in this life, but Job and other scriptures provide the answer as to how we are to act and think while we are suffering.

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 Pages using Illustrated Faith Kits

Last month I shared that I finished coloring in all the pages of my Inspire Bible and reading the book from beginning to end.  Once I was finished, I thought "Now what?".  I did buy a new Inspire Bible ( available  HERE), but I didn't feel ready to abandon my current Bible and start a new one.  My old one and I have been through so much together and I wasn't ready to part with it yet.  I decided, there are lots of empty pages left, so I will just start filling up all those empty pages until the book is full or falling apart, whichever comes first.  😀 So from now on, you will be seeing only pages I created myself.  No more pre-printed images I simply color in.

I still was perplexed as to where to begin.  Where do I start reading again?  I didn't want to go back to Genesis and start all over again.  I've always been interested in trying one of those Bible Journaling kits I see advertised on-line so I ordered the "Unyielding Hope" Devotional Kit from Illustrated Faith.  This kit is no longer available in a hard copy, but is still available in the digital format HERE.

Every month a new kit plus add ons are launched. Each kit contains a devotional, lots of ephemera ,  a stamp set, stickers, and a digital download.  You can purchase a kit for $27.00 plus postage and handling, or you can order the digital version, which is much cheaper, but then you have to weigh the cost of ink and the fact that you won't get the stamp set.  For my first try with a Bible Journaling kit, I ordered the hard copy.

I used the kit by first reading the devotional for the day, the recommended scriptures, and then creating a page using the products provided in the kit.  Here is the first page I created.  The flowers and "worship well" are ephemera.  The "Amen" and background dots are stamps from the kit.  The "He is my Salvation" is Washi Tape from my stash.

The devotional writer, Bekah, asked us to take a look at Exodus 15 and asked "How can you remain faithful even when your heart is weary and thirsty?"  I created this page to answer that question,  For me, I  can have hope through difficult times by remembering and thanking God for all the past victories in my life.  If He has been faithful in the past, He will be faithful now, and faithful in the future.  

Next, Bekah had us read Exodus 3 1-17 and asked "How do I get from hopeless to hopeful?"  I replied "When doubt and anxiety creep in, remind myself 'I can't, but He can'".  In the scripture, Moses protested going before Pharaoh.  He said "Who am I to appear Pharaoh?  Who am I to lead my people Israel out of Egypt?"  Moses was overwhelmed, insecure, filled with anxiety over his lack of ability, but God said "I Am Who I Am" and to tell the Israelites, that HE sent Moses to them.

Here is a page I created for Jeremiah 31:33 which is the promise of the Holy Spirit also illustrated in Hebrew 8:8-12.  

In Week Two, Bekah challenged us to "put our faith glasses on and look at each problem through the lens of eternity.  If you knew that all the battles were already won, how would that change the way you approached the situation?"  In 2 Kings 6: 15-19 Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the young man's eyes so he could see the heavenly army surrounding him and that he didn't need to fear the Arabian army.  Likewise, we need to put our faith glasses on and trust the Lord when we're going through scary situations.

In Week Three, Bekah challenged us to read Psalm 121 and meditate on it because "His word keeps our attitude in a state of worship."  I felt the word "peace" so strongly while reading this Psalm, that I mediated on that word and all the ways He gives me peace in my life.

Bekah then said to read Psalm 9:10 and make a list of what's weighing on my heart then sign it with "I Trust You Jesus".  I wrote the Psalm out, using stamps to highlight the words "know" and "trust" then I wrote my list on the ephemera provided in the kit.

Here's an example where you don't always have to use ephemera provided by the kit when following the devotional.  My one beef with Bible Journaling kits is that the images they provide often don't illustrate the Bible passages.  Flowers, butterflies, etc. don't always fit what I'm feeling or what I want to express.  For this page, Bekah had us read Isaiah 43:1-3 and commit it to memory.  I did that, and I hand wrote notes about it in the right column.  But then I read through the whole chapter and I was struck by v. 2 because I could relate to the oppression that the Israelites were feeling in my own small way.  I colored the background of the page with fire colored using gelatos, then I used a flame washi tape to illustrate fire.  I wrote the verse down, using stamps once again for words I want to highlight.  I then hand wrote some personal notes to myself.

By now, I was done with Becka's devotional. It was great, but way too short.  I had so much ephemera left over, so I just decided to follow another devotional using the ephemera from the Illustrated Faith kit.

Here I read the story of how God dealt with the Amalekites hundreds of years later for their sin against Israel.  I wrote significant points from the "Enduring Word" Bible Commentary in the margin, and highlighted the different points with gelatos.  The "merciful love" and "Remember" ephemera is from the Illustrated Faith kit I purchased.

I created this page after reading a devotional from the television series "The Chosen".   Once again, I used my "Unyielding Hope" ephemera from Illustrated Faith.  These are good examples of how you can use the ephemera provided in your Bible Journaling for other purposes other than just with their devotional.  

On this page, I illustrated a point the author of "The Chosen" devotional made, that this was the SECOND time Jesus needed to feed a crowd of people.  Even though the disciples saw how Jesus was able to do that the first time, they questioned it the second time.  They forgot God's faithfulness that quickly.  "Jesus hoped they would regard his past FAITHFULNESS as a promise to meet their present need" the author said.  I thought that was a good point, so I hand wrote it on my page, along with some personal notes to myself.

Well, now that I've used my Illustrated Faith Bible Journaling Kit for a month I wanted to give you some thoughts I've had about it.

1) The kits are very expensive.  They are over $30 after Shipping and Handling.  I only paid $40 for my whole Bible, so it's not like I can order a new kit every month.  They do however have lots of sales, and I actually was able to purchase an older kit for $10, so I'm gonna watch out for sales!

2) Most of the ephemera is very large and doesn't even fit into the margins of my Bible.  The ephemera is mostly used by women who like to journal in a separate journaling notebook.  However, you are provided with the Digital version when you buy the kit, so I just shrank the images down in size, and printed them so they would fit in my Bible.  Unfortunately, the printed versions are never as bright or as bold as the ones in the kit.

3) The devotional was too short!  If they only come out with one kit a month, then the devotional should last at least a month, or have a month's worth of entries.  I did "glance" at the $10 kit I ordered, and that devotional seemed much longer, so maybe it depends on the kit.

4)All your pages look the same style when you use a kit, until you change kits at least.  There isn't much diversity.

5) You can be guided what the devotional writer is saying, rather than what the Holy Spirit may be saying to you.  Or, whatever the devotional writer was dealing with at the moment she was putting the devotional together, you can't even relate to at this moment in your life.

6)  They give way too much ephemera in their kits and I will never be able to use it all.  It seems like a lot of waste.  I wonder if they should put less quantity in their kits and charge less?

7) Many of their kits are "cutesy" like circus images, kiddie stuff, or non-biblical images like typewriters or airplanes.  I just would never use images like that in my Bible.  I wish they had more Biblical images, but when I said that on a Bible Journaling blog someone replied "Those are once and done images", so they must not be very popular for that reason.

So, in summary, will I use a kit again?  Probably, but not all the time.  Honestly, I think my favorite way of Bible Journaling is to create a page based on whatever I gleaned from the passage and if I can't draw the image myself, I google a free Sunday school coloring page on the Internet, and print it out on sticker paper and color it in.  I will have an example of that next month.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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