Bible Journaling

Good evening, friends! I hope that you had a nice, restful weekend and that your Monday went smoothly. :)

I've been regularly working on my Bible journaling, so today I thought that I'd share a few more of my entries with you. First up is from Ezekiel 34:11 - 12, "For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his lock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep and I will rescue them."

Because I am blessed with friends that I truly treasure, this short verse from Proverbs 17:17 is near and dear to my heart: "A friend loves at all times."

I am a pretty patriotic person, so the next two entries highlight my love and pride for my country. First up is the verse from Psalm 56:4-5, "When I am afraid I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise; in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?"

Psalm 33:12 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!"

Up next is a verse about hope being an anchor for our soul from Hebrews 6:19 (NIV), "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

And as my final entry for this post, another of my very favorite verses: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6.

Have a WONDERFUL week!

Blessings,

Bible Journaling...

Good morning!! It's Wednesday and that means we're half-way to the weekend - WOOHOO!!

Today I thought that I would share a couple of my most recent Bible journaling entries. The first is from Jeremiah 29: 11 "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

The next entry is from Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God will be with you wherever you go."

If you think that you might like to try your hand at Bible journaling, why not check out Stephanie Ackerman's blog, Homegrown Hospitality, and click on the Documented Faith link. You can sign up for the weekly Bible study that she emails every Sunday...it's a great springboard into Bible journaling.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Bible Journaling...

Good morning! It's Wednesday, and that means that we're half-way to the weekend! :)

I am so enjoying the Stephanie Ackerman's "Documented Faith" online Bible study/Bible journaling class, so I thought that I would share the latest verses that I've been working on:

First off is "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds" from Hebrews 10:24 (NIV):

Next is from 1 John 1:7 Be if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (ESV):

And last, is one of my favorite verses "Be still and know that I am God" (ESV) from Psalm 46:10:

If you would like to join Stephanie Ackerman's Documented Faith, please click HERE to go directly to her webpage to sign up. (I know that you'll love this as much as I do!)


Have a WONDERFUL day!!

Bible Journaling

Good morning! I hope that you are having a spectacular week! Today I thought that I would share my latest Bible journaling entries with you...

First off is 1 Thessalonians 4:11 - 12 "...aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one."

The next verse Psalm 139: 14 "I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

And last, but not least, is the verse from Revelation 22:3 - 5 "No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. And the night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever."

Thanks for dropping by today! :)

Bible Journaling Art

Good morning! I recently signed up for Stephanie Ackerman's online Bible Journaling class, and I have really been enjoying incorporating artwork with the scripture of the week that she shares with us. Today I thought that I would share with you a few of the journaling pages I've created in my Bible...

First off is Matthew 5:8: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

The next entry is from Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

My next entry is Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

For Psalm 84:5, "Blessed are those whose strength is in you", I simply used the word BLESSED for my journaling:

Since summer is here to stay for a while, I couldn't help but draw some cute flip-flops to go along with the verse from Psalm 71:16: "I walk in the strength of the Lord God. I tell everyone that You alone are just and good."

For 1 Chronicles 16:41, "Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually", I drew some fun/funky cat-eye glasses...mainly because for me to seek anything these days I have to wear my bifocals - ha! ha! ;)

I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated to draw in my Bible, and although some people use watercolors for their Bible artwork, I haven't gotten that brave yet! Instead, I use colored pencils, and I have been quite pleased with the results.

Thanks so much for dropping by today!! I hope you have a FANTASTIC week!!

Doodle Art

Good morning and happy Monday, friends! As you know, I am a HUGE fan of Stephanie Ackerman, her blog, classes and artwork. I recently signed up for her online Bible Journaling class, and have been working on/practicing my doodling and lettering skills. Today I thought that I'd share one of the "practice pieces" that I created in preparation of beginning to journal in the new ESV wide margin Bible that I just received in the mail:

I kinda like how it turned out, and I appreciate the imperfections of it being a hand-drawn piece. I think the I'll put it in a desk frame to display and encourage myself to practice, practice, practice my doodling an lettering. :)

As silly as it sounds, I've been a little intimidated to actually draw/color in my new Bible...even though that is what I bought it for - lol! I decided to jump into it slowly by using some scripture doodles that I found on Stephanie Ackerman's blog, as well as several that I found on Pinterest. I printed off the examples that I liked and that inspired me, and have been using those as my springboard for my first attempts at journaling and drawing in my new Bible.

If you are new to Bible journaling as I am, and are feeling a bit intimidated to dive into marking/drawing in your Bible, I HIGHLY suggest that you check out Pinterest and the following blogs for some inspiration:

• Stephanie Ackerman - Homegrown Hospitality
• Karla Dornacher
• Sentiments & Scrapbooks
• 1 Art House
• Hope Ink

Some of these sites have free printables that you can trace into the margins of your Bible and then color/decorate/embellish any way you choose. This is a great way to ease into incorporating artwork into your daily Bible studies.

I hope this has inspired you to jump into a Bible Journaling class as well! It's a fun new way to experience the word of God and to grow in Him!

Wishing you a blessed week!

Flowers From My Garden and a Doodle Art Tag...

Good evening! We had a nice, sunny weekend here in Oklahoma and my flowers are LOVING all of the sunshine! My sweet friend Megan F. has been a little stressed out lately with lots of last-minute family activities, so I decided to cut some of the pretty flowers from my backyard gardens and make a bouquet for her:

I also doodled the cute tag that I tied onto the vase that I placed the bouquet in. Megan is such a kind and giving person, always going the extra mile for everyone else and putting herself on the back burner, so I wanted to let her know that she is loved and appreciated and put a smile on her face. :)

I'm currently working on several projects, one of those being a memory box project for a friend that recently had her first grandchild, so I'll be sharing those with you in the near future. I also finished reading two more Philippa Gregory novels about the Tudors, (I'm REALLY ADDICTITED to her novels!!!), so I'll be sharing book reviews with you very soon, too.

Wishing you a blessed week!

This and That and an Upcoming Online Class...

Hi, friends! I've been a big 'ole slacker in the blogging department lately - sorry! May is a really busy month for my family, so I've been busy trying to keep up with everything. First off, my wonderful father-in-law celebrated his 85th birthday last Sunday and we had a nice little party and cookout for him at our home. It was SUPER FUN to get together with family and I even got some precious "baby time" with my sweet great-nephew Henry:

This evening I attended the retirement party for my friend and former boss, Carol G. She has been the director of the special education department for Broken Arrow Public Schools for many years, and is an amazing child advocate! I am so happy that she and her sweet hubby Eddie will now have time to travel and enjoy a slower paced life!

On a final note, I wanted to share a cool opportunity with you to sign up for one of Stephanie Ackerman's online classes, which is a Bible Study/Journaling Class:

I signed up for it and I am SUPER EXCITED to get started when the online class opens on June 1st! If you register before May 26th, you'll get $10.00 off of your class fee, which makes it only $29.00. You can click HERE to go to her website for all the details and to sign up. :)

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming 3-day Memorial weekend, and I've got several crafty projects to finish up and post for you in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to check back to see projects using an old quilt, a cabinet door, a metal file box, and the list goes on!!

Enjoy the rest of the week and have a safe and restful weekend!!

Blessings,

Doodle-ology...

Hi, friends! Just a quick post today to talk about doodling and to share one of my favorite blogs with you.

Many of us are "doodlers". I doodle while I'm talking on the phone, while I'm sitting in church or when I'm in a meeting. Somehow, I just listen to things better when there's a pen or pencil in my hand and I'm doodling. (On my church bulletins you'll find reference notes from the sermons as well as unrelated doodles - lol!) For me, there's just something about doodling that empties my mind of stress...it's relaxing and it's free! Who couldn't use a little relaxing and free therapy?? Doodles aren't about perfection, it's about just freely penning, (or penciling!), on a piece of paper...it's like being a little kid again with a new box of Crayons and a blank note pad; just drawing and coloring to your heart's content. :)

Just for fun, I thought I'd share a couple of my doodle pages with you...as you can see, I tend to doodle alphabets and nature themed objects such as birds, flowers, bees, leaves and the like:

Someone who has turned her doodling into a profession is Stephanie Ackerman. She creates the most beautiful doodles which have become lovely pieces of art as well as rubber stamps that are available for purchase. (You can click HERE to go to Stephanie's blog to see her work and to download her free doodle-art worksheets.) She offers classes, both online and at various shops around the country. I took one of her online doodling classes a couple of years ago, and it was really fun! One day, if she comes to a shop in Oklahoma, I would LOVE to meet her in person and take one of her art classes. Check out her art work and you'll see what I mean!

Have a fun and relaxing weekend, and if you're feeling a little stressed, why not pick up a pen or pencil and a scrap of paper and doodle yourself to relaxation?

Blessings,