War Room ~ It can be a place....

Have you seen the movie War Room?
War Room from the award wining creators of Fireproof and Courageous explores the power that prayer can have on marriages, parenting, careers, friendships and other areas of our lives.
After this movie many folks were inspired to create their own War Room or a place in their homes to have a personal prayer life.

War Room!

It doesn't have to be a room ~  it can be part of a room.

It can be a large very worn chair where the princess Boston Terrier dog sleeps at night.

It can be a place where you open the blinds and wait for the sun to come around and beam on your shoulder in the morning.

It can simply be a place where all of you stuff is that give you faith, hope and love each day.

It can be a place where you write down words that inspire you......

....words that you want to remember and share.

It can be a place where you end the day...to reflect and to pray.

It can be any place where you put on the armor of God and prepare to fight the good fight . A place to come to Him in your brokenness . A place to confess your sins and ask forgiveness. A place to give thanks , praise and glory.

IT CAN BE A PLACE.....ANY PLACE !

Read the Bible each day. Let the word of God mold you into a powerful person of prayer.
~War Room~

I saw this on Pinterest and thought this would be a good place to share it.

FAITHbooking with Hymns of Hope

Last year I bought this Project Life notebook filled with all kinds of journaling goodness and it was on close out ....bought it!

Over the months I found myself taking from it...using some of the tags and pockets, etc for other journaling projects.

But for today it will be repurposed and used as a holder for my FAITHbooking pages.

I haven't decide how I want the cover to look.....so for now it remains the same.

The pages are made from heavy weight shiny card stock. 

One side is a calendar the other is decorative. 

I covered the calendar side with printed scrapbook paper that I already had and left the back side as it is. 

The theme for the page is Hymns of Hope.

I printed some of my Grandmother's favorite hymns found online.

I decided to focus on a hymn called The Solid Rock ....it speaks of Hope and Christ being our solid rock.

My Grandmother had a strong faith. I give thanks that I had many years with her..many memories!

I cut out part of the hymn so it would fit on the page.

I drew two hearts and painted inside with watercolors ...colors of church windows.

I outlined with a black marker and added the names of some of Grandmother's favorite hymns,

 How Great Thou Art...she loved to watch Billy Graham and hear George Beverley Shea sing. 

Just As I Am ..the go to alter call hymn for most Southern Baptists.

I used washi tape to re enforce the holes where the notebook rings will go.

The back side of the page is pretty busy.

It is layered with washi tape, stamps and crocheted flowers. My Grandmother had many of those crocheted doilies that she placed on her side tables for decoration. These little flowers remind me of those doilies.

I used a variety of alpha stickers to build the first lines of the hymn.

I used my Illustrated Faith stamps to create the joy, faith and love wording. I thought the black was too black so I stamped some purple flowers over them. 

I used the free printable HOPE card also from Illustrated Faith to fill in at the bottom. 

As I was taking pictures of the finished page for this blog I noticed that the word righteousness did not look right...and of course I left out the letter "s" that should come after the letter "u". The only remedy was to squeeze it in. It works. Anything goes! It's all good!

The Project Life notebook came with many fun pockets in several sizes. This one is perfect for holding copies of the hymns. I dressed up the front with a heart cut from one of the hymns called What A Friend We Have In Jesus. We sang this gym at my father-in-laws funeral.

Added a tab at the top labeled "hope" and a pretty paperclip bow on the side. 

I love the size of the pages. A bit smaller than a bible page but large enough for journaling and art .

For those who might be uncomfortable writing, coloring or glueing things in their bibles...FAITHbooking is another great way to tell your faith story, a creative expression of a spiritual journey using scripture, hymns, photos, art and craft supplies.

I love to journal in my bible and I love to scrapbook. FAITHbooking is a happy mix of both.

And so, Lord, where do I put my HOPE ? My only HOPE is in you.

~ Psalm 39:7 ~

His Yoke is Easy...When The Load Gets Heavy

My illustrated bible journal entry this week is inspired by a devotion that I read called, His Yoke Is Easy, from A Little God Time For Mothers. As I researched about "the yolk" the message in the devotion took on a whole different meaning and spoke to me with a reminder that I do not walk alone. When we carry around all of the daily "Life" responsibilities, sometimes they just get too heavy to carry and we feel like we can't go on.....but, then there is Jesus , the stronger one. There to lead and guide us and carry the weight for us. 

In Matthew 11, Jesus said that His yolk is easy. He shared these words with His disciples. They knew exactly what He meant because a yolk was regularly used by many of them.  Now yokes aren't exactly an everyday household item we have around to use today and this city girl had no idea of what or how a yoke was used!

 Sometimes we need to do a little study on what Jesus' intended meaning was, so we can enjoy His life-giving words.

Here is what I now understand about the "yoke".  

Animals that worked side by side were linked with a wooden yoke. This yoke was laid across their necks and kept them together. When two animals were linked like this, they were capable of doing much more that what either could do alone. Often a weaker  or younger animal was linked to a stronger one. This allowed the stronger one to lead the younger and bear more of the weight.

I'm thinking that I would love to get my hands on a yoke. Where to display it would be a challenge.

Now for the rest of the post. Once I understood......everything made sense. The following photos are of the journal entry in my bible.

I found this photo but cannot find the source to give credit but it just jumped out at me as I was thinking about Jesus carrying my heavy "stuff" because I sometimes feel that I can not. All I have to do is just walk alongside Him and follow!

I attached the photo with washi tape and can be lifted to see the scriptures. I used a label maker to add the caption .

I use my study bible for my entries and it does not have a wide margin for journaling so to post my entries I have to get creative with the room that I have. I keep it simple. My journaling is more of a "smash book" style. 

 The Reminder. The Message.

Life Can Be Heavy! He Will Carry It For Me!

I enjoy adding color but I also like to see the print through the color. Water color crayons from Target used here for this post.

No bleed through adding just enough color without wrinkle on the thin rice paper .

I usually create some kind of book mark for the page. Here I used a large child's flash card covering up the numbers with card stock and attaching with washi tape on both sides. I had this " I will Follow "  card already printed from Illustrated Faith and decided that it went along with the message. A hole punched at the top for ribbon...it just happens to match the washi tape.

"My yoke is easy" Matthew 11:30

Do you feel the weight of responsibility driving you down? When Jesus tells us that His yoke is easy, He is simply inviting us to enjoy His strength. We only need to choose to walk alongside him and let him carry our load.

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter Is On It's Way!

Decorate your home for the holidays or any day using what you have without breaking the budget.

Sharing some of my SPRINGness and some cute bunnies with you.

Bunny In The Easter Tree

This tree is up year round and I decorate it for the season. After Easter the eggs come down and the birds, birdhouse and nest stay. Butterflies will be added as a reminder of New Life and the Resurrection .

Bunnies In The Foyer

I have had these 3 cuties for many years. Purchased at Big Lots. The tray was made by my daughter and stays on the chest year round filled with seasonal goodness. The large window was bought at a thrift store and was salvaged from a church. I enjoy hanging seasonal wreaths from it. During Lent...a Cross!

Bunny With The Angel

After Easter this bunny and angel will go out into the garden .
The heart shaped grape vine wreath will stay put. I added purple ribbon to the wreath for Lent. White ribbon will be added after Easter.


Bunnies In The Family Room

A basket of plastic eggs waiting to the hidden ...over and over! 

A child's first bunny and basket as a reminder of past Easter memories.

Bunny From A Neighbor

A doll bunny made by my sweet neighbor and a Easter pocketbook from a mother's childhood.

Bunnies With The Rock Basket

The painted rocks and grape vine basket stay on the side table year round. The basket looks much like a nest. The bunnies are new this year. Purchased at A.C.Moore for $1.

Bunnies In A Gift Basket

This basket was given to me by one of my students many years ago. I have it out every day and enjoy using it as a place to put birds and other fun seasonal critters.

Bunnies In The Dinning Room

When my children were young we were given this cute Beatrix Potter music bunny and cup, bowl and plate set. I have used the cup to hold my husbands first feeding spoons and forks. A Princess House glass bunny reflects the sunlight coming from the afternoon sunlight.

Bunnies On The Side Board

I placed this cute birds nest in an old flour sifter. A perfect fit!


Bunnies In The Kitchen

This old scale is always a conversation piece so usually I keep something pretty on it. For today, the bunnies are the star attraction.

The yellow ceramic pot usually holds a ivy plant.

Bunny By The Kitchen Window

This heart grape vine wreath hangs on the cabinet by the window each day. Bunny has found a home here.

Bunny In The Bathroom

This picture frame, wreath and basket hang on the bathroom wall 365 days of the year. It is always fun finding little cuties to put in the basket to celebrate the changing of the seasons.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Everyday is a gift from our loving God. 

CELEBRATE IT!

In every season , God gives beauty.

In every moment , God gives hope.

Valentines' Day ~ Love From God's Word

What would the world look like if we could just love our neighbors?

Mark 12: 29-31
Love the Lord your God with all your mind and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Love our neighbor as yourself.
There is no commandment greater than these.

1 John Chapters 3 & 4
This is the message you heard from the beginning.
We should love one another!

I enjoyed using watercolor gel crayons from Target to add the color to my bible pages. 

A water pen helps to get just the right amount of liquid on the crayon. 

Color a small amount of color on cardstock or something heavy and squeeze water down onto the tip of the paint brush . Rub the tip of the brush on the color......and SHAZAM you have water color!

What's In My Bible? Following The Story!

At our church we are embarking on a 31 session curriculum called  "The Story", an innovative bible that presents scripture as a continuous narrative in chronological order. I am posting some of my journaling pages from our studies and comments from the author. Read more about the 31 week curriculum HERE.

ABRAHAM AND SARAH

Abraham and Sarah chose to follow God by faith and trust that He would build a nation through them, and He did!

As we are swept into the story of Abram and Sarai we begin to believe that God can use anyone and we are filled with hope because we realize that God can do great things through anyone...including us!

God calls each of His children, at various times, to follow him in ways that are risky and demand faith. Pray for strength to make the next step of faith that God is calling you to take.

Thank God for the older people he has placed in your life who've been a model of faith for you.

JOSEPH

Joseph could have retaliated and gotten revenge on his brothers for all the wrong they had done to him. Instead, he provided for them and extended forgiveness. Forgiveness is one of life's hardest actions. When someone has really hurt us, it is extremely difficult to forgive. We pray for courage and strength that we need to forgive those who have wronged us and we ask God to help us understand the depth of His grace so that we can extend that grace to others. 

MOSES

While God saw Moses as the perfect person to face Pharaoh and speak the word of the Lord to the leader of Egypt, Moses did not see it that way! We all have our "I could never"and "I hope God never asks me to..." moments. Commit to follow God as best you can, no matter what he calls you to do. Thank God that he uses ordinary and even broken people to accomplish His purpose in this world. Ask God to help you see yourself through His eyes more than your own eyes.

Part of faith is taking action. Surrender to the leading of the Lord, but also take action.

Journaling Supplies

I use a mix of various of art mediums to illustrate the scriptures. I am more of a project life kind of gal so some pages are painted , while some have many different layers to them. Some supplies are high end such as the Faber-Castell Artist Pen (worth the money because I use my study bible with very thin rice paper pages and these pens do not bleed through.)

Others are art supplies found at Target and my local craft store.

Used for these pages are:

Acrylic Paints from Target

Golden Rod, Brick and Orange

Water Color Gel Crayons from Target applied with a water brush.

Yellow and Gray Gelatos ( I use my Hobby Lobby 40% phone app coupon to purchase when they are not on sale.)

Assorted stamps from various craft stores.

Staz-On Black Stamp Pad

Washi Tape - I have purchased all of my collection from 

The Dollar Tree.

Alph Stickers

I use the worship folder from church a lot. Hymns and prayers that go along with the scripture. 

Cardstock and tags.

On the Joseph page I used the credit card paint method of applying a dab of paint on the end of the card and swiped on the page. I thought this effect looked like pieces of fabric. I used card stock, crayons and washi tape to make the paper coat.

I always date my pages and mark them with a top tab or a book mark .

On the Moses page I wanted to use the colors of fire from the burning bush. I applied the color using water color crayons and a water brush. Just enough water to blend the colors .

On all of these pages, the words of My God, are still visible and can be read.

To read more about illustrating the scriptures take a look at the Illustrated Faith tab at the top of this page. I have included pages from my power point presentation about Bible Journaling.