Feeling rubbish? by Claire Graham

I realised the other day how often I mentally beat myself my up ... how easy it is to blame myself in situations ... how often I read things into looks and how easily I spiral into an "I'm rubbish" wallowy mentality. 

If we've run out of milk and I've not managed to get to the shops and buy some it's because I've had a busy day not because I'm rubbish...

If I've forgotten to do something I said I would it's because I'm human and have a thousand things whizzing round in my brain ... not because I'm rubbish!

So... the other day I got thinking about my rubbish attitude ... it made me think of Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street! So I found an image of him and drew that into my journal... I coloured it with my beautiful Inktense pencils, slowly building up the colours, using different colours to add tones to his fur, the bin, etc. I was careful not to add too much water as that can make the top layer of my sketch book page lift off. 

Then I found some uplifting, positive verses about how God sees and values me and wrote them to fill the background.

And next time I'm feeling "rubbish" I'm going to look at this page and think of some of those verses instead!

"God paid a very high price to make me His" 1 Corinthians 6:20
"I am God's child" Romans 8:16-17
"I am a chosen person... God's special possession" 1 Peter 2:9

She Did What She Could - by Deborah Gregg

It's good to pray before I read my Bible, to ask God to speak, and to make sure that I am ready to hear.

Here's a verse and a prayer I found online (can't remember where!) that I journaled into a bookmark for my 'reading' Bible.

When I'm reading my Bible, prayerfully and expecting to hear from God, I'm often find that there are certain words or  phrases I am particularly drawn to by the Holy Spirit, and that's what I love to journal! I especially love to discover something new that I hadn't seen before in a familiar verse or passage.

Here's a journal page that is really meaningful to me, and I'll try to explain why.

In this familiar passage in Mark chapter 14, Jesus was annointed with the jar of expensive perfume, as the woman poured this on his head, amid fierce criticism. I love how Jesus defends her saying, "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly, I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." (Mark 14:6-9 NIV)

I read this passage again back in February, at a time when God was speaking to me about my need to surrender to Him, every single area of my life.

For me this beautiful story shared how this amazing woman did what she could - she surrendered all she had - her most precious possession - to Jesus. And how He loved her, and honoured her! And gifted her with the blessing of a lasting legacy of honour. And as her story is shared today, God continues to speak through her actions and Jesus' words to her - and to us.

To me, the phrase 'She did what she could' really struck me - yes she could have sold the jar and given the money to the poor, and that would have been commendable. (In fact that's what Jesus told to rich young ruler to go and do!) But instead she offered and used what she had, in the way that she felt led to, in order to honour Jesus - even at huge risk of criticism and backlash from others. She was obedient to what she was called to do with the gift she had to offer. Jesus said she did a beautiful thing.

Ephesians 2:10 says: "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." We have all been created in order to be given a job to do, that God has assigned to us individually, that no-one else can do quite like us!

I created this page in my journal to try to reflect my own response to God to this passage. It's my first attempt at a self-portrait (!) and though not perfect it came out a bit better than I'd thought it would! I used my Inktense pencils to colour this page, I love the vibrant colours. I did smudge the colours with a damp brush after colouring, as this really lifts the colours, but only a little bit as I quite liked the pencil marks. I then used a Micron pen to outline and to add the wording.

I have deliberately not shared this until now in the main Facebook page, because I was concerned that the full meaning of this passage would not be reflected in these 5 words! I felt that the phrase 'She did what she could' might be mis-interpreted as 'Well, she tried!' or 'She gave it her best shot!' or 'She had a go!' - all of which seem a bit negative with a hint of failure. Completely the opposite of what Jesus actually said, and meant!

Let's respond to Jesus' call to offer our very best - all that we are and all that we have - surrendered to Him. Don't we long to hear His words over us, saying 'She has done a beautiful thing to me...she did what she could.'

So it's been good for me to be able to write a few words here about the context of this verse in the passage, and its application in our lives. Sometimes when doing Bible Art Journaling it can be easy to be drawn towards key 'catchy' phrases or verses we love but may be over-familiar with. Let's remember to read the whole passage - to study God's Word diligently and to try to establish some context. We don't have to be Bible Scholars - the message of the Gospel is for everyone! But let's make sure we prayerfully read around our verses that we are journaling, to gain a greater understanding of God's Word to us. That's how God's Word will speak deeply to us, and meditating on His Word will bring transformation to our lives.

Another example of this is the familiar verse: 'Draw near to God and he will draw near to you'. I love this so much and it has provided encouragement and comfort to me time and again over the years. Yet, in context - this is actually only a tiny snippet in the middle of a whole section of very strong words all about repentance from sins!
'Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded! Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up." James 4:7-12 (NIV)
Same verse, still with the comfort that God will lift us up and draw near to us - but much more challenging when read in full context! We're not just to draw near to God, but we're to fully repent from all our sins and change our lifestyles too!

That is another example of living a life of surrender. Our lives are not our own. We have been bought with a great price. Let's offer our lives fully, completely, utterly surrendered in His Love.

Mothers....and others

So Mothering Sunday has passed. The chocolates are eaten, the wine drunk and the flowers are reminding us of the love our families have for us. The cards - some hand-made, sticky and glittery - others carefully selected in a quiet moment, a memento of the special day.

In modern times the verb "to Mother" has become a noun "Mother's Day" - a "label" perhaps that can isolate and be painful to those for whom it doesn't quite fit.

As one of those people, I shy away from the spotlight that Mothering Sunday shines onto my relationships: both past and present, those that never quite blossomed as they should, and those that only existed in dashed hopes and broken dreams.

Rather than hide away from the issues that cause me discomfort, I try to tackle them openly in my Bible Journaling and prayer.

The scriptures are so richly filled with descriptions of parenting, and particularly mothering - its joy, nurturing, purpose...and pain.

My Bible Art Journey started (as for many of you journalers) with my favourite verse - the verse that has anchored me during storms, held me together in challenges, pushed me into happy times, and that I have thrown back at God in anger and frustration.....

Psalm139

The Bible has lots to say about families and relationships. Focussing on these has helped me to understand God's plan for my family, and has guided me in my role as a wife and parent....

Ephesians 5

Colossians 3

And I've also been able to reflect on and capture the happiest times. This one makes me smile every time I see it.....As it happens, the entry above this one in my Bible is "with God all things are possible" - something God proved to me with those smiling faces in the picture.

Mark 10 v 14

And yet our earthly families are not perfect - there is tension, pain, stress, worry - and sometimes unforgiveness and hatred. But we have a perfect Father who understands the things that we don't. We have a big brother who protects us, guides us and loves us so much he is willing to die for us.

And despite the jumble of emotions that are forced into the open at this time of year, we have a hope, and the ultimate comfort in the Love of our Almighty God.

Psalm 131

 by Lindsey Campbell

Sparrows and Tip-Ins - by Deborah Gregg

One of the beautiful things with Bible Art Journaling is that God can use it to remind us of words He has already spoken to us previously. Because God's Word is living and active, it still continues to speak to us, on an ongoing basis, no matter how long ago it was that we first heard...or journaled!

I wanted to share a little testimony with you, that I hope may encourage you! Earlier this week I asked Father to encourage me. Simple prayer. (If you need encouragement - try it - and wait to see how He answers!)

On Thursday morning, I felt God reminded me of this encouraging verse, which I'd put into some artwork a little while ago:

'So don't be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.' Matthew 10v31

I remembered that I'd also completed a little watercolour sketch of this other verse in my Bible Art Journal, some time ago:

I was then reminded of the lovely song 'Sparrows' by Jason Gray (look it up on YouTube!), which I hadn't heard for months but played on repeat on Thursday morning while getting ready, the song stayed with me all day!

God loves to surprise us, and delight us, and so many times He confirms His Word to us, out of His infinite goodness to us. 

On Friday evening, at our Come Closer ladies evening in MK, in her talk our lovely speaker shared this very same verse, and even played the song 'Sparrows' by Jason Gray! I was so incredibly blessed and encouraged! 

So I decided to quickly journal some of the lyrics to the song 'Sparrow', and add them as a tip-in to my old journal, which is a spiral bound A5 Sketch book. 

Note: A 'Tip-In' is an extra page, it could be a piece or scrap of paper, vellum, tracing paper, envelope etc that you attach to a page in your journal or Bible, usually anchored on one side only so that the page can be 'tipped' or flipped over. I'll put a few photos of examples of 'Tip-Ins' using Washi tape at the end of this blog post for you! :-)

These are the same A5 spiral bound journals that I use at Bible Art Journaling for Beginners Workshops, so there may be a few of you out there who might be interested to learn how to add in extra pages/cards/envelopes etc into your spiral-bound journals. It's a bit fiddly but quite straightforward when you know how! 

First I chose the paper I wanted to use as the tip-in. I decided to use a page from a retro 1980s notepad I still had lurking, and thought I'd keep it really simple and just write the lyrics using black Micron pens (05 and 02).

Then I placed it in position, and put small pencil marks next to the centre of each bit of wire spiral binding. I hope you can just about see the marks in this photo:

Then I punched a hole at every pencil mark, at the same depth. To do this I used a 'Crop-A-Dile' craft punch that I have. You can use an ordinary hole punch, though it may be a little bit trickier to see where you are punching (tip - try taking the back off, turn it upside down and punch one hole at a time!).

 Then I took a pair of scissors and carefully cut through each pencil line through to each punched circle:

(this was a tricky photo to take!)

Then I simply slipped the page into position, gently working the paper around each wire section of the spiral binding.

All done!

 And as you can see, it flips over easily to show the other side!

(Anyone else have retro notepaper like this?)

I hope this might be helpful to some of you. You can also use this technique to add pages, envelopes, cards, bookmarks, business cards, notes etc into a filofax, hole-punched binder, or spiral bound diary.

And of course, there's the more usual way of adding in tip-ins, using Washi tape! This is really versatile and with so many lovely Washi's available you can always find one to match your pages! 

You can always go back and add more, even to a 'finished' page, by using Tip-Ins. They are especially useful if you've already journaled a page in your Bible, but want to journal a different verse from the same page. 

After all, God always continues to speak through His living, active Word - we just need to pay attention and listen....

I've just added a few examples below of different types of Tip-Ins in my Bible, that may hopefully encourage and inspire you to have a go!

(cue 'Take Hart Gallery' music!)

Tip - In using Washi-tape, used to add an extra 'Psalm' into my Bible

Tip-In using Washi tape, attached a small pretty envelope

Tip-In using patterned Washi tape, to add this extra artwork I had prepared on some deli paper, with acrylic background and calligraphy pen & ink (that I'd never be able to use directly in my Bible due to bleed through!)

Different sort of Tip In, using a simple paperclip with a little piece of narrow ribbon attached. 

Tip-In attached with Washi tape, artwork is simple watercolours splodged on tracing paper, with Micron Pens to do the lettering

You might like to know that framed prints of my 'Sparrow' Picture (in the first photo) are available from www.faithtreasury.com  

And 'Sparrow' prints - mounted but without frames - are also available, but not yet on Etsy, so please message me for details if interested!  deborah@faithtreasury.com 

Share with Joy! by Tracy Southam

Comparison Is the Thief of Joy - Theodore Roosevelt

I have always enjoyed arts and crafts, excited by the new and keen to keep adding to my craft skills and abilities. As part of my journey I have been fortunate to meet some wonderful people who share their skills. I have also used my own gifts to teach and inspire others.  

At no point do I profess to be an expert in any of the crafts I enjoy and have no desire to use them to sell myself as such. I do what I do for relaxation, for enjoyment and usually to bless others with what I make.

As part of my craft journey I love to get inspiration from Pinterest, Facebook, craft pages, Blogs and other groups and love the creative buzz that occurs.  

It takes courage to share what you make and and create and the side that frustrates me with these creative spaces is the people who are frightened to share what they make as they feel it does not compare to others abilities. 

If God had made us all the same there would not be the wonder in the world he created and trust me most of the "expert" crafters don't always have successes with what they make and had to start somewhere.

"God made you exactly who he wants you to be. Seek him with all of your heart and become the best you" 1 Thessalonians

I felt driven to write this blog post after doing the following journal page called 'I Quit' which was an Illustrated Faith printable (www.illustratedfaith.com). This was inspired by Matthew 11:28 ESV:

 "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest."

I also created the following page from 1 Peter 5v7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you"

My wish for you all, friends, is to be proud of the you God created and to share the work you create for him with Joy (if you want to of course)! There may be people who don't like it but you are doing it for your time with God and for the occasional person who doesn't like it there will be another 2 who are inspired to do something new so........

Keeping it Simple - by Karen Herrick

I would love to have the time to spend lots of time with a Bible, coloured pencils and paints but the truth is…I don’t. I love to see other people’s beautiful work…and that in turn inspires and speaks to me -but that doesn’t work for me.

So rather than not dwell on God’s Word at all, I try to keep it simple...REALLY simple.

I don’t journal every day. I don’t journal in one place. Sometimes I journal first thing in the morning before I get up; more often in my studio before I start work, sometimes on the settee, or even in the car…

What? You have a studio…and you don’t take advantage of all those materials you have there?

Well, no actually…because if I got the coloured pencils and paints out I probably wouldn’t start work!

So I asked myself what I could actually maintain as a creative practice whilst exploring God’s Word. What would I actually transport; use wherever I am? I have journaled using the written word for many years now, so always have a pencil or pen and my journal, so I decided to stay simple.

I use this….

And these…

Yup, that’s it!

I could get complicated- but for me, it works like this. The simplicity of the materials stops me from being afraid to make mistakes. In fact, when I recently visited the Treasures Room in the British Library in London, I was really struck by the fact that many famous songs, pieces of music and ideas for books were conceived on the back of envelopes, programmes, serviettes! This is how I work!

Many of the doodles that I have done, end up eventually (and by eventually, I mean several years later!) as completed textile pieces. Many don’t…and never will. It is when I go back to the drawing that more reflections occur and as I stitch detail into the work, I meet with God again as He teaches me, encourages me, admonishes me gently and enables me to share His Word with others.

What is important, is that whatever creative practice we choose HELPS us draw closer to God, and doesn’t hinder us. God loves us to spend time with Him. He doesn’t mind how we do that. We don’t need the fanciest art materials, just a willing heart to be with Him and to sit at His feet and listen.

So, I would like to encourage you to be able to journal well with a style that suits YOU. If that is with coloured paints, pencil crayons, gesso…the whole works… then brilliant! Go for it! If it’s in your Bible: great; in a notebook-that’s fine too. If you like to journal creatively with words, pictures, collage, stitch, whatever it might be, then “Hallelujah!” Our Creator God created us all differently and it is amazing that we can each express and explore our relationship with God through our individual creativity.

What are you waiting for? Pencil? Paper? Back of an envelope? Chalk & pavement? Go for It! Put the kettle on…grab your Bible…God’s waiting for you!

#30 Days of Bible Lettering - by Deborah Gregg

Hi all, just a very quick blog from me today as I've set myself another 5 minute challenge!

I'd found that due to busy life things going on, I simply wasn't having or finding much time for Bible Art Journaling, and I was missing it!

So when I heard about the 30 days of Bible Lettering challenge that's been running through July, I decided to go for it!

I set myself an additional challenge that (most) artwork should be done in 5 minutes. Therefore I should increase the chances of actually seeing it through! 



I have to say it's been fabulous way to get back into it all. I've enjoyed dwelling on the verses given for the day, and having to make a quick decision about how best to get that in my journal was quite liberating, to stop the messing around and get on with it! And to keep it simple.



I'd recommend this challenge to anyone interested, and don't think 'I haven't the time' - I'm sure you can find 5 minutes with your Bible, journal and a pen!

The prompts can be found on http://30daysofbiblelettering.com/ and though July is nearing the end (yes, already!) you could use it any month you like (give or take a day or two!).

Go for it, be blessed, and please share in the group!
Love Deborah

Claire Graham - my Bible Art Journaling Journey

This week's fabulous blog post has been written for us by Claire Graham - it's so exciting to see her Bible Art Journaling journey over the last six months! 

New Wine 2015 is when my Bible journaling journey began - less than 6 months ago! I arrived at New Wine exhausted; desperately seeking healing from past hurts which still had a huge grip on my life and eager to rejuvenate my relationship with God. While I was there I was definitely restored and healed from those past hurts, finally able to move forwards after nearly 18 years and my relationship with God was kick-started as through various meetings and workshops at the arts venue I realised that it was OK to be arty, in fact, better than that, being arty was part of what God made me to be. I'd never really thought of how arty God is before.. but He created the world and it's a beautiful place... think rainbows, autumn leaves and dew on spiders webs just for starters. He also created me, a creative being!

I remember going to a Bible Art Journaling workshop, focusing on lettering and tangling (2 things which I am now completely in love with!) I produced my first official page and experimented with some simple tangles:-

I knew that I wanted to do more and soon I was addicted, journaling some of my favourite verses, picking themes out of the Bible to follow (I officially love stars!) and creatively responding to issues both in the world and at a more personal level.

Then while searching for which journaling Bible to put on my Christmas list I stumbled (definite Godincidence!) upon Advent Illustrated... a book, Facebook group and Instagram tag that gave prompts throughout Advent for journaling. I've officially loved having guidance verses for what to journal each day and a plan which guided my thoughts from Creation to Christmas, I've also loved the discipline of journaling and therefore studying the Bible every day and having to carve time out for that and I've been able to see my skills develop over that time. Here are a few of my favourite entries from the plan.

I'm really looking forwards to continuing my Bible journaling adventure, I'm going to carry on with Seasons and Advent Illustrated (the new name for Advent Illustrated) following the weekly prompts through the book of Esther and beyond, to learning new techniques, to playing with my Christmas presents (Journaling Bible, stamps, chameleon pens, etc!!), to growing new friendships through a mutual love of Bible journaling and to growing my relationship with God as I journal, doodle and draw.

Many thanks for sharing with us this week Claire - such a blessing to hear your Art Journaling story - and looking forward to hearing much more from you!
If anyone else would like to share your Bible Art Journaling journey with us on this blog, or if you have something on your heart to share, please do get in touch with Deborah Gregg, Sarah Anderson, Jane Butcher or Sharon King - we'd love to hear from you! 

Jesus our Emmanuel - by Deborah Gregg

Hi everyone! I thought I'd share a little something in keeping with the 'reason for the season', as we are so close to Christmas!

For me there are two aspects of Christmas that I find particularly helpful to remember at this time of year: that Jesus is the light of the World, and that He is our Emmanuel - God with us. Whatever we have walked through this past year, or are walking through now, and whatever lies ahead in the next year - He is our Emmanuel. Our God with us. Shining light into darkness.

So to start with, here's a double spread Faith Art Journal page I created a couple of years ago now:



To create this page, I painted red and green stripes in acrylic paint, which then looked much too bright and glaring, so I toned it down by scraping some white acrylic paint over the top with an old store card (my favourite acrylic paint technique!).

It was after our church Carols by Candlelight service (which I absolutely love and can't wait for this coming Sunday!) so I cut up my used carol sheet and basically mixed up some of the lyrics from my favourite Christmas carols and glued them onto the pages, randomly. (Feel free to play a quick game of 'name that carol' if you want to!)

Across the top of the page, I used a Calligraphy marker pen to write, 'Jesus, our Emmanuel' and highlighted the text with a silver pen.

It's a simple page, nothing fancy, but to me is full of meaning. I just love the name Emmanuel.

GOD with us! 

God WITH us! 

God with US!  

Emmanuel! 

I also came across this Godfrey Rust poem, which I have added into my Faith Art journal (black roller ball pen over acrylic painted stripes, little manger scene in gold pen, copied from a Christmas card!).
















It's such a mystery, that the LORD God Almighty - our Creator, holy and awesome in power and might, should be God With Us.

Son of God and Son of Man. The Word became flesh.

He brings us all hope. He brings us all the love of God. And His presence brings Light in our darkness.

And that we can have a personal relationship with Our Father God through Jesus, our precious Saviour - that's worth celebrating!

And to finish here's a little challenge /encouragement for you: over this Christmas time, in the middle of all the busy, try to prioritise some time alone with God. Just rest in His presence and in His grace. Read His Word. Pray. Sing. Create in your Journal or Journaling Bible if you want to, enjoy being creative and expressing your love for Him.

Quote from Ann Voskamp