Psalm 51:10

This week I had a day where I was struggling with those around me.

I was super frustrated.

Some of it was my own condition and doing.

All I could do was reach for this Scripture.

I drew the verse and inked it and then wanted color like inviting water.

I inked it but didn't like the results. It looked like a muddy river and I wanted a sparkling pool.

I used some water color paints and it ended up closer to what I wanted.

I had to re ink the lettering.

Some days this is all I can pray.

And then I am thankful that I have these words to pray for strength and encouragement.

God knows each heart

and knows just how to reach and comfort each heart

Blows my mind

that He loves me like that!

Genesis 22:2

So this one didn't turn out like I had it in my head.

I am posting anyway.

I made the mistake of using a charcoal pencil to draw out my picture.

It got muddy and icky when I colored it.

So why post it?

Well, because it is real. Not all of my creations are pin-worthy. LOL

I had this image in my head and I really had it great in my head. 

Not long ago I heard someone talk about the principle of first mention. Our speaker asked us if we knew the first question in the Bible. I knew that one because I love the first part of the verses..

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool3 of the day, and the man and his wife bhid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

I love the thought of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, but missed the all important first question in the Bible!

Where are you?

God wants to know where you are. Not in the sense that He is unaware of your location but He wants to draw you to Him!

Where are you?

So that was the first thing she talked about and then she asked us if we knew when the first mention of the word Love was?

Genesis 22:2

He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

The first use of the word LOVE comes when God asks for the sacrifice of an only son -the same manner in which sacrifice is made for sin atonement.

My picture may not be very good but I don't care. The message is powerful enough to make up for my lack of skills :-)

Genesis 48:11

Verse 11

Genesis 41:14

LESSON/VERSE 4 of 12

Hello my friends! 

I’ve got to be honest with the fact that this entry has been hard for me. I have had the verse done and picture done but writing this post has been like pulling teeth.

The part of Joseph’s story that we are in just breaks my heart. I put myself in his shoes and simply cannot wrap my head around how he does it. 

Does what, you ask? 

How does Joseph keep a good attitude and sunny disposition through his circumstances? 

How does he do it?

We left off with Joseph being falsely accused and being thrown in prison. I told y’all about Michael Morton in the last post. Michael is a guy who was falsely convicted of killing his wife and sentenced to life in prison. Over a period of 25 years –a time in which his only child stopped seeing him and changed his name- he grew bitter and angry.

Until…

Until, he had an encounter with God. 

And that encounter changed everything for Michael.  

He was still in prison. His son was still being fathered by someone Michael had never met. His wife was still gone. Her murderer was still uncharged with the crime. 

But God began to change Michael in his circumstances.

I believe we are told so many times in Joseph’s story that “God was with Joseph” to explain how he was able to do so well in his circumstances. That is the only thing that explains it for me. 

Nothing else rings true.

I know I am going over ground already covered but I just can’t stop thinking about it. I have been talking with God about it and what I feel the Lord saying to me is that circumstances are just circumstances. If God is with you, circumstances are just circumstances.

Today’s portion of Joseph’s story is Genesis 41:1-46.

The portion begins with telling us clearly that two full years have passed since the baker’s and cupbearer’s dreams have come to pass. The cupbearer has failed to remember Joseph, and two full years have passed.  Pharaoh has had a dream that no can make any sense of. At this point the cupbearer tells Pharaoh of Joseph and the success he had interpreting the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker.

This brings me to my verse for today.

Genesis 41:14

Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit.

From Pit to Palace in an instant –Joseph’s circumstances change dramatically but not the fact that God was with him!

Pharaoh asks Joseph if he can interpret his dream. Now, right here, I think I would be tempted to tell the Pharaoh what he wants to hear, but Joseph is not swayed by his change in circumstance, he tells the Pharaoh he can’t, but God can!  I really like the Amplified version for this verse:

Genesis 41:16   Joseph answered Pharaoh, It is not in me; God [not I] will give Pharaoh a [favorable] answer of peace.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

So Pharaoh tells him the dream and Joseph answers (leaving himself fully out of the answer):

Genesis 41:25 NIV   Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.”

Who has revealed? God

Who has God revealed to? Pharaoh

In our culture, I think we would likely hear, “God told me your dreams mean…”

I love his removal of self from this revelation.

Joseph does tell Pharaoh that the dreams mean that there will be seven years of abundance for Egypt, followed by seven years of famine.  Pharaoh wants to put someone in charge of the surplus to ensure that they will have what they need during the famine.

Genesis 41:38-41 ESV

Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?”  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

Joseph woke up that morning in a pit, and ended the day second in power to Pharaoh himself!

WOW! Circumstances are nothing when God is with us! The tough (and very human) struggle is to remember that.  

Chapter 41 in Genesis is action packed. There could be an epic movie made and this is part of the story is the thrilling upturn for our hero. All of that is true, but what I take comfort in is, knowing that in order for Joseph to be cheerful in prison, his relationship with the Lord was a daily comfort to him. He had a real and powerful connection with the Lord. His acknowledgement of God is a big clue for me. We aren’t usually very aware of God’s gifts unless we are in a day to day walk with Him through prayer, thankfulness, and deep dependence upon Him.  

That is the lesson I take away from chapter 41.

What speaks to you in this chapter?

Have I mentioned how much I love Joseph’s story? 

For next time, read Genesis 41:46-57.

Artsy Faith Stamp Set

It has been an amazingly fun satisfying journey creating a stamp set to use with Bible Art Journaling. It started with a question from a friend and now it is here!

My hope is that it helps those who want the look of hand lettering in their Bible Journaling. 

Each of the five stamps in the set are in a different "font" and are designed to work in the 2" space of a journaling Bible.

For more information and how to purchase your own set 

CLICK HERE 

Genesis 37:22

LESSON/VERSE 1 OF 12

I think one of the things I find comforting in the story of Joseph is that he comes from a complicated family. My own family is a little complicated and messy.

Joseph is one of 13 children…12 boys and 1 girl. Today Joseph would say something like,

“Dad has been married 4 times. I have 6 half-brothers and 1 half-sister from step mom #1. I have 2 half-brothers each from step-mom #2 & #3. My youngest brother and I are from Dad’s 4^th marriage. But Mom died giving birth to my little brother.

My own mom has been married 4 times (my dad was the first) but only had children with my dad. I do have one step-sister and one step brother that are my 3^rd step-father’s children. My own Dad died when I was 15. I didn’t see him much. He struggled with alcoholism for all of the time I knew him.

It isn’t so different is it?

All of the emotions that go along with a blended complicated family are right there in chapter 37.

A complicated family is made all the more complex with a passive father. Jacob is kind-of a hot mess when we get to this chapter. His history may have had some part in that. 

Jacob fell in love with Rachel and wanted to marry her. He worked out a deal with her father, Laban, to do just that in exchange for working for him for 7 years. After the 7 years had passed Laban pulled the old switch-a-roo on poor Jacob, instead of marring Rachel as he expected, Jacob ended up married to Leah. Leah was Rachel’s older, less attractive sister. UGH! At which point Jacob struck another deal with Laban to work an additional 7 years so he can marry Rachel. During that time Leah had 7 children. At some point the handmaids of Leah and Rachel get into the act and each have two sons by Jacob. Rachel is barren and prays for God to give her children. She has Joseph and prays for another. When that other baby comes, she gives birth, and dies. Jacob is left with a lot of kids and Jacob has a favorite.

My step-sister is 8 days younger than me. We have almost nothing in common other than our age and the fact that our parents are married to one another. I remember at one point in high-school I was sick to death of hearing of her good grades and scholastic achievement. There may have been other things as well but I don’t recall anymore. What I do remember is how sick I was of her. I was making my mom’s & step-father’s bed and tiding up their room and I couldn’t take seeing her face one minute longer. I went around the room and turned all of the pictures of her over!

Joseph’s brothers threw him in a pit and sold him into slavery so by comparison what I did wasn’t so bad but I would guess the feeling was exactly the same!

That night my mom came into my room and said she was worried about my step-sister. I feel certain I rolled my eyes, if not outwardly for certain I did it in my mind’s eye.  My mom went on to explain that SS’s (step-sister) self-esteem must be very low right now because she has turned over all the pictures of herself.  My first thought was, "Oh, for the love of Pete! I don’t even get the credit for cleaning the master bedroom (surely she assumes SS did it)" and secondly, "she doesn't even see that I am seething with jealousy" --or whatever that emotion is that overcomes a teen sick to death of a sibling. Mom just assumes that SS is suffering with low self-esteem! heavy sigh I am invisible.

I don’t really remember how that particular situation resolved itself in my own family, but I feel certain that Joseph’s brothers felt similarly (times 17 years) and they were not missing him. All except for Reuben, maybe.

Reuben found a way to keep the other brothers from killing Joseph (throw him in the pit) and had planned to come back and rescue him. And that brings me to my verse.

     Genesis 37:22

                And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness but do not lay a hand on him.” –that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.

When I read that (last part in particular) it struck me for the first time how much it is like my own salvation story.  When God called me to accept Jesus and follow him, I was in a pit. The enemy had me in his hand and it was through accepting Christ that I was rescued from his hand and restored to my Father.

Now, I don’t know if any Bible scholars see it the way I see it, but it jumped out at me. So I wanted to look at the Hebrew wording, especially on that last part since it is so clearly painting the redemptive picture of Jesus.

הַצִּ֤יל   haṣ-ṣîl   he might rid (Verb)

אֹתוֹ֙    ’ō-ṯōw   him

מִיָּדָ֔ם   mî-yā-ḏām,   out of their hands

לַהֲשִׁיב֖וֹ     la-hă-šî-ḇōw   to restore him (Verb)

אֶל־     ’el-   unto

אָבִֽיו׃     ’ā-ḇîw.     his father

For Old Testament text I like to check out my regular resources but I also like to use Jewish/Hebrew resources. As I said earlier, I am not a Bible scholar nor am I a Hebrew scholar. So this is just me wading through trying my best to understand the Lord.

One of my Jewish/Hebrew resources translates that verb as ‘to return’ rather than restore. Either way it reads redemptive to me. Did it strike you the same?

What part of Joseph's story strikes you and leaves you thinking about his story? 

Did you pick a verse to work on? Or just memorize? 
What parts of Joseph's story can you relate to? 

For the next posting read Genesis 38-39:18. Start to think about a verse that you want to focus on.

Thank you for joining me. Jump in at any point and read along & create a verse!

30 Days with Joseph | Genesis 37-50 Joseph

A couple of weeks ago I was on my way to a debate tournament and while I knew I had been to this school before, I couldn’t recall where it was located.  As it usually happens in situations like this, I was running late. Because I was running late I didn’t have time to look it up on Google maps. 

I normally like to look at a map to get the big picture and see all the different paths available to get me to my location/destination. I like to be able to have some options in case I run into an issue or obstacle so I can change course and still get to my location.

But on this day, I couldn’t do that. I hopped into my mom van not knowing where I was going.  As I headed out of my neighborhood I thought about how crazy it was to do this –leave without knowing where I was going or how I was going to get there! Circumstances were such that I needed to just use my phone’s GPS to get me there.

I am not a fan of that.

As I drove along I found myself getting a little anxious that I wasn’t being told what was ahead and what I needed to do. I was on several different freeways with crazy left and right exits. Would GPS know that I need some warning if it is a left exit so I am not trying to pull across 4 lanes to get to the exit?

My drive was almost an hour long and as I approached my final destination I remember thinking, “This is NOT how I would have come to this location!” As I walked from my parked mom van to my event I had a conversation in my head…

     “Why would GPS take me this way? It seemed so much longer.” And I answered myself  saying…

     “It may have been a bit longer but there was no traffic so perhaps it was faster.”  I responded again…

     “Yeah, but what about that early exit and the weird drive through a residential area instead of the correct exit to the major intersection?”

I debated back & forth until I found my way to the judges check-in.  The last thing I thought on the topic was…

     “I will not go home that way!”

10 hours later I got back in the mom van and as promised I took another route home.

It was the opposite direction from the route GPS had given me.

Not even a mile into my desired route and I am at a standstill with bumper to bumper traffic. That went on for miles until I made my way onto another freeway where I also found myself in traffic with other folks with poor driving skills. My frustration level was a little high.

I thought about the GPS route.

The experience of the day reminded me that God leads us much like my GPS...step-by-step without giving us the full view. God doesn’t give us a big overview and full picture of where He is leading us, does He? No, He leads like the GPS …one step at a time with direction at just the right time. Not many of us would follow if we knew where God was taking us. Just like I wouldn't have gone the GPS route if I had seen the path traveled in advance.

It made me think about Joseph, Old Testament Joseph, or as I affectionately call him, OT Joe. 

I studied Joseph in the summer of 2013. It was my first time attending Sunday school class and it was a new class Pastor Dave was going to teach (Pastor Dave didn’t teach Sunday school).  It was a wonderful introduction to Joseph. I have thought of it many times. Over the last 6 months I have felt God calling me to study this again. You know when God puts something in your path so many times and so many ways you can no longer pretend He isn’t talking to you – well, it was that kind of thing.

So here we are …you, me, and OT Joe.

Joseph’s story is timeless. The beauty of the Bible is that people that lived 2000 or 3000 years ago are very much like the people we are today. The circumstances in which we live may be different, but people are still the same. Joseph’s story is proof.

This won’t be an in-depth Beth Moore style study but I want to encourage you to read along and pick a verse and create some art to go with it. No pressure. Do what you can, when you can.

We will begin in Genesis 37. Read Chapter 37 and select a verse. I will share my verse on Saturday, October 3 and talk a little about the chapter. I will continue to post on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday throughout the month of October. 12 postings will bring us to Wednesday the 28^th. Saturday the 31^st will be an extra verse and recap. (I already have too many verses J)

Please feel free to comment , I love hearing from you!

1 Corinthians 15:33

I am not sure what I had in mind when I started working on this verse. I stumbled upon some rub-ons from my scrapbooking days, and thought it might be fun to use them here.

The rub-ons are close to 10 years old and I didn't have enough of some of the letters. At the end of the day, it ended up looking like a ransom note. Maybe it wasn't planned but I do kind-of like the ransom note look for this strong warning.

I often tell my children that you become what you surround yourself with.

This verse is strong support for that sentiment.

Happy Monday to you!

Thank you for stopping by! 

Exodus 14:14

Continuing with my theme of mouth/talking this verse it so powerful.

I wanted to reflect that power in my coloring so I did a kind-of camouflage inking.

For those of us who like to talk (and do a lot of talking), and find it difficult to be still, this verse is so important.

Depending on the version you use that last word, silent (from ESV) is translated as still, calm, peace, quiet. I feel like God is sometimes telling me this verse using ALL of the words. 

  

תַּחֲרִישֽׁוּן׃  ta·ḥă·rî·šūn 

One commentary explains it as "firm in confidence" as in firm in your confidence in God. Strong's Concordance records 2 occurrences of this Hebrew verb. Exodus 14:14 & Job 13:5.

Exodus 14:14 
HEB: לָכֶ֑ם וְאַתֶּ֖ם תַּחֲרִישֽׁוּן׃ פ 
NAS: will fight for you while you keep silent.
KJV: shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
INT: will fight you keep

Job 13:5 
HEB: יִ֭תֵּן הַחֲרֵ֣שׁ תַּחֲרִישׁ֑וּן וּתְהִ֖י לָכֶ֣ם
NAS: that you would be completely silent, And that it would become
KJV: ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.
INT: that you would be completely silent become your wisdom

In Exodus, and in Job, it is clear that God wants us to steady ourselves and let Him do what only He does so completely. 

I love to look at root words and compare where they are used. It helps me to understand the full scope of a word and why it was used in a particular verse or story.

I used a stamp for "LORD" and the rest is hand lettered.

I used Ranger Distress Ink and blender tool to create my "camouflage"

Thanks for stopping by!

James 1:19

For the past week I have my alarm on my phone set for every waking hour 6am-9pm. When the alarm goes off, (like it just did while I was writing this post) I stop and recite this verse aloud.

I went to put it in my Bible only to find the margins filled already.

I used the only open space available.

I decided not to color it just to keep the page from looking like a hot mess.

I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to include this very important verse (for me).

I LOVE these pages and these verses all done at different times and for different reasons.

One thing I love so much about my Journaling Bible is that I can now go through the 60 or so verses I have done and know exactly what was going on at the time.

The scrapbooker in me wants to go back and journal why I have each of these verses done. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Acts 8:26-39

We had a guest preacher a few weeks ago and he taught on Acts 8:29-39

and though I had studied the book of Acts before (this Summer as a matter of fact) I don't recall this story. 

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south[a] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said,“How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
    Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”[b]38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

Our friend went on to offer a simple reminder of this story:

Be Sensitive to the Spirit

Surrender to God's Call 

Sacrifice to God's Mission

Sensitive

Surrender

Sacrifice

What a great lesson for all of us. I had to ask myself, am I being sensitive to the Spirit?

Will I surrender to God's call? and Am I willing to sacrifice to God's mission?

Tough questions.

So instead of picking a single verse from the lesson I used the simple reminder in my Bible.

It isn't very fancy but it is BOLD which is exactly what I wanted. 

It is good to have a BOLD reminder to be obedient to the Spirit, Call, & Mission.

Psalm 130:5

Sorry it has been a week since I posted. I had this ready to go but just have been inside myself. 

Do you have times when you have something before you and you need to take some time and sit with it and make time for prayer and time to hear from God?

That is what I have been up to.

I have been waiting.

I really wasn't aware that this is the verse I had ready to go but I do think it fits perfectly.

God is dealing with me on some character issues. 

I am thankful that God only has dealt with one issue at a time with me.

He is a good good Father that way.

He knows that too much is overwhelming.

I heard something the other day that has really stayed with me...

we should read the Bible like we are dating not like a newspaper.

Meaning that we should be really interested in learning about who God is from his Word. We should read the Bible like we are learning about the person we are dating. Instead we often read it like a newspaper for facts we can regurgitate as if we are up to date and knowledgeable.

I hate to admit it but it sure rang true for me.

Not all the time but more time than I care to admit.

This past week, I have been reading it like someone I really want to know.

It makes a difference.

I will get back to creating again. 

I have a whole series of verses I want to do. I just have to find the time to do them!

Wishing you many blessings!

2 Corinthians 5:17

This is the first time I have participated in a Bible Art Challenge of any sort.

I know there are loads of them available but I purposefully stayed away because I wanted to find my own way and see what I liked before I jumped into parameters set by others.

So I have been at this for 6 months now and am ready to play with others.

This is the first Bible Art Journaling Challenge on Splitcoast Stampers

See it HERE

The challenge was to use the key word Beginning or New 

I knew the verse I would use because I love it so!

Do you remember becoming a new creation in Christ?

As someone who came to Christ later in life I really have clear memories of who I was before Christ and after. I am thankful I have that contrast. It makes the gift of salvation that much sweeter.

I am excited to see what everyone creates and which verse will be their inspiration!

Thank you for stopping by!

Exodus 15:2

I am a light sleeper. I wake up many times a night. On a good night I change positions and fall back asleep. On a bad night I start thinking of things I need to do and I am awake for hours.

I have noticed in the last 5 months or so, when I wake up I wake up singing. Not out loud but in my head I am singing to Jesus. It is such a sweet thing. I have been sleeping better.

I made this tag as a reminder of that sweetness.

I could have just as easily made one that says 

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you Psalm 55:22

or

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you 1 Peter 5:7

and I probably will.

The sweetness of singing in those moments when I am not fully in control brings me deep joy.

Now the trick is to do the same when I am fully awake and fretting about things.

It is just a work in progress!

Have a blessed Saturday.

Proverbs 18:21

My 15 year old son shook his head no when I showed him this verse that I had done.

He seemed surprised when I showed it to him colored. As if to say, you aren't going to show that to anyone, are you?

LOL

But yes, I am.

I like it.

I realize it may be bold and a bit in-your-face, but so is the verse.

And for those of us that speak faster than we think,

or we use a lot of words all the time,

this verse is of particular importance.

Our mouths reveal what is in our hearts.

I heard that recently in a sermon and it stopped me dead in my tracks.

And if our hearts aren't rooted in Christ

our mouths will give it away.

Rooting our identity in Jesus is the only way to be secure in our identity.

I knew I had to do this verse, because it is so apart of who I am.

I wanted it to be bold as a reminder of how important it is to root my identity in Jesus. And my speech will always reveal how rooted I am.

Don't you love it when you come upon those verses that cut you to the core of who you are and what you struggle with? I know it can/will change according to our season and personality, but when I find these verses that speak to me, to who I am at my core, it is like a hug from the Creator. God knows me and wants to help me with what I struggle with the most.

What verses speak to you in that way?

Matthew 13:24-30

This was the first instance where I couldn't isolate just one verse but needed to include a passage. As it turns out it isn't the prettiest of pages, visually, but I love it.

I LOVE the parables of Jesus.

I love that they are simple and clear enough for everyone to understand.

I also love how they hurt my brain when I think about how deep and complicated they can be.

I am also reading CS Lewis's The Screwtape Letters so the mention of the Enemy planting seeds of weeds in the Master's fields, takes me right to the conversations I am reading in the book.

It brings me great joy to know that God called me. 

I have a contrast in my life's vision of what I thought, and who I was before God called me; and what I think, and who I am now. It is such a gift to be able to be in Christ!

The watercolor of wheat was inspired by another's painting. It was really the combination of colors that struck me. Mine did not really turn out they way I had envisioned but I learned a few things along the way.

I did a freehand sketch of the wheat using my pigma micron pen. I water colored the image and let it dry completely. I found that I had lost much of the detail in the picture. I went back over the image with colored pencil adding details that I had lost. 

The lesson: don't be afraid to use whatever you have to create the art you envision.

1 John 2:6

I just finished a 12 part study on James. 

There were many things that stood out in the study but the thing that resonated with me most was how our mouths reflect what is in our hearts. If our hearts are rooted in the world rather than in Christ, it is evident in the way we speak.

This verse echos that same sentiment.

If our identity is rooted in Christ, it will be evident in our lives - our walk, and talk.

I love using the negative space to create an image. I colored around the shoe prints using gray, silver, and black colored pencils. 

It is fun to take advantage of the large space provided at the end of a book. This image was perfect for the space.