Even The Rocks Will Praise Him!

In May of this year, the preacher and i took a week's vacation and visited the

Arches National Park in Moab, Utah.

This place is full of rocks/boulders, of all shapes and sizes.

I couldn't help but to think about this park during the preacher's sermon today.

Today the preacher's message was from Luke 19:28-48. This passage is where

Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. While he is coming into the city,

the people are lining the streets and they are rejoicing and praising him, shouting, 

"Blessed is the King!"

The Pharisees, the religious leaders who ruled over the people and the temple/church,

told Jesus to tell the people to be quiet.

Do you know what his response was?

"I tell you, if these (people) were silent, the very stones would cry out!"  (vs 40)

Remember when Jesus taught the disciples how to pray?  (Luke 11:1-4)

He said, "Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in Heaven."

This is an example of what He was talking about.

You can't stop his praise. If we don't praise him

the earth, the rocks, the trees, ALL of the earth, WILL praise Him, and IS praising Him!

Won't you join the rocks in their praise?

Lift up your voice and praise with a loud voice!

"Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

Love from the preacher and i!

Bible Art Journaling - A New Adventure

For 19 years I have been a scrapbooker. I have loved the art of scrapbooking since the first time I put an adhesive square on the back of a picture and stuck it on decorative paper to create a page memorializing our family's life together. I have grown in this art form, right along with the growth of the industry. Always trying new techniques and materials.

My next adventure came when I discovered art journaling. I had found an old ledger book at an auction, and I began to collect the supplies for art journaling and I was hooked. If you're not familiar with this type of art, just type in 'art journaling' into the keyword search box on Pinterest or YouTube and there you will see so many examples. 

Then in December of last year I discovered painting on canvas. As a Christmas present to a friend, I signed us up to take a painting class. I had so much fun that I have taken 2 more classes and I'm beginning to try my own creations at home. The preacher likes to show off my paintings to everyone who visits. He calls me an artist but there's something daunting about that label.

Now to tell you about my newest adventure in Bible Art Journaling. I had found a pin on Pinterest by Shanna Noel and I found what she had done in her Bible so fascinating. (Again, if you are not familiar with this, go onto Pinterest or YouTube.) The Bible she was using was an ESV translation by Crossway. It has a 2" margin on the left and right sides for note taking. But what Shanna did was so much more than taking notes -- she used those margins to art journal. How awesome is that?! Reading the Word of God and art journaling? Perfect!

I was a little hesitant about starting this new venture, but one day I saw on Facebook a picture of a Journaling Bible. A friend had posted pictures of her first entry in her new Bible. I commented back to her and she, knowing my love of scrapbooking, encouraged me to start.

Now I have begun my own ESV Journaling Bible and I love it! (I found this Bible on Amazon.) I even found a Facebook Group dedicated to this art form, so many women loving the Word and expressing that love through their art. 

I take notes each Sunday during the preacher's sermon, writing down keywords that stand out to me within the scripture. Then sometime during the week I'll go back in my Bible and enter these words in the 2" margin next to the scripture we studied. 

I am having so much fun with my new adventure - Bible Art Journaling!

Do you love to take notes, do you love to highlight your scriptures, then be sure to check into this Bible. You do not need to do anything 'artsy', it's just fun expressing what you feel while reading a scripture.

Love from the preacher and i!

12 Tags of 2014 August

I don't know why, but it seems like I can't get my tags done until the very last day of that month.  

Here's my tag for August for the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2014 Challenge

Love from the Preacher and I