Genesis 43:1-15 and Mark 4:35-41

In Genesis, Jacob, the father of 12 sons faces a difficult decision.  As he struggles with the task set before him - trusting the fate of his youngest son as he is used as a barter tool in a test issued by his other son, Joseph - Jacob trusts God to grant mercy on his children, regardless of what the outcome may be.  Jacob may lose his beloved youngest son... a result that would break his heart. And yet, he grants his sons a blessing of mercy on the journey ahead.

In Mark, the disciples and Jesus set out in a boat to cross the lake.  As they made their way, a fierce storm arose.  The disciples were scared and they woke Jesus asking whether or not he cared if they were in danger due to the storm.  Jesus responded with a profound thought... he said "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" and then he commanded the storm to be silent and still... and the storm settled immediately.  The disciples were astonished at what they had seen.

These two passages really spoke to me today.  Jacob proved himself to be an honest man who is willing to accept God's will, regardless of the consequences or heartache that it might bring.  Jacob shows his faith in the goodness of God in this situation.  

Over the last couple days, I've been anxious and heavy-hearted about a recent situation that has come to light... questioning myself as time passes and nothing happens.  Today's scriptures reminded me to trust that God is at work - I trust God's goodness and am reminded to trust that I followed His guidance in the hard situations of this week.  Through these passages, God spoke to my heart - Do not be afraid - do you still have no faith?

Lord, thank you for your voice - the voice that whispers to my heart in the moments that I most need to hear it.  Help me, O Lord, to trust that you are at work and that you have granted mercy to me in each and every task that lies before me.

Peace my friends,

~Sara +

John 15:1,6-16

In my reflection tonight, I followed the S.O.A.P. method to guide my study.  You can read more about this method here.  

S. (Scripture): John 15:1,6-16
For today's Bible journaling, I sought today's Daily Office readings (Psalm 15, Acts 1:15-26, Philippians 3:13-21, John 15:1,6-16).  For a more in-depth explanation of how I choose what scripture to journal on, read this post. You can find and read today's scripture here.  

O. (Observation):
Key words were "abide" and "remain"
Key phrases were "my words abide in you" and "I call you friend"

A. (Application):
As I read through the scriptures several times, I began to see images in my mind.  This passage of scripture brought to mind several images and it was difficult to choose just one... so I incorporated many of them.  
I taught my weekly class tonight and we discussed many of the key words, phrases, and visualizations/images that caught different people's attention.  My Bible journal entry reflects many of the things we talked about and was inspired by a collaboration of the participants' ideas.  
Today, I faced a very difficult situation... a circumstance that I felt led to deliver a message... It was not received as it was intended and the person felt attacked.  It broke my heart that this is how the situation played out and my heart is heavy, knowing that the pain they are experiencing is due, in part, to the message I delivered.  For months, I have prayed for this person and about situations I have observed or endured. Last night and this morning, prior to speaking with them, I remained in prayer... I read scripture... I sought God and I felt burdened by the task that was ahead of me.  I feel I did the right thing and tonight's scriptures confirmed that for me.  I did abide in God... in His word... in His Spirit.  I did seek His guidance and Godly council and I did hear His voice.  I did lay this burden at the foot of the Cross and it IS in God's hands.  Tonight, despite the happenings of the day, I am at peace and I have had an unexplainable peace throughout the past 48 hours.  I know that this is a result of trusting God.  I know that He will uphold me in my own weakness.  I have been physically and emotionally exhausted but I have been revived spiritually through abiding in Him.

P. (Prayer):
Help me abide - remain - live in you, O Lord... so that your words remain top-of mind.  Guide my actions... guide my thoughts... guide my words.  Thank you, Lord, for your presence and your peace. Amen.

Peace give I to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Peace give I to you.
Until tomorrow,
~Sara

A little Bible Journaling guidance... and Psalm 119:49-72

Today, I taught week two of a 7-week Lenten series of Bible Art Journaling for beginners.  I'm teaching this class on Wednesday evenings and Thursdays at noon.  I am fairly new (about 4 weeks or so) to Bible Journaling but I decided to teach this class to share a passion that I've discovered.  As I learn new things, I bring the information to my classes.  Last week, I introduced the basic idea of journaling on scriptures.  I walked my classes through a modified version of Lectio Divina, known as "Lambeth Bible Study," and we, very simply, wrote down a key word that drew our attention as we read the scripture in the English Standard Version translation.  Next, we wrote down a phrase or verse that drew our attention as we read the New International Version translation.  Finally, we read the New Living Translation of the Bible and took a few moments to write a couple of sentences that described how the word, phrase, verse, or entire passage applied to us in our lives right now.
This week, we walked through the same exercise but we did so after I did a bit of explaining how to illustrate the letters of the words.  We talked about how words evoke feelings and when we illustrate the words, we should illustrate the feeling visually.  For example, there are BOLD words (words that command attention), tall and narrow words (words that may be largely meaningful but require us to reach up a bit), flat words (words that are oppressive or demanding), tiny words (words that evoke feelings of inadequacy or small in posture), etc.  (see the left side of the white board in the picture below).

 We also talked about varying the types of lettering we used to emphasize various different aspects of scriptures.  As we read through Psalm 119:49-72, the word that caught my attention was "Obey."  So I wrote it in all capital letters in a dark color.  As I wrote the word "OBEY," I began to ponder the meaning of the word... and how the scripture passage defines it.  The phrase that caught my attention was "turn my steps towards your statutes."  I picked up on the word "turn" in particular and it brought to mind the act of turning from my own ways and desires in order to follow God's will... I visualized a U-Turn sign... so I began to illustrate that verse with arrows from letter to letter THROUGH the word "obey." (I sketched it on paper first and then drew it on the board for the class)... see the pictures below for a better idea of what I mean.

        

Prior to bringing my pencil into the pages of my Bible for illustration, I prepped the page with Liquitex Matte Medium, applying a thin layer with a credit card.  It took about five minutes to dry and then I could finally draw the illustrated words into my Bible using watercolor pencils, dipped in a cup of water. 

      

It felt unfinished, so I thought more about the word "OBEY" and tried to visualize a picture that embodied the word.  I came up empty, so I went to the next best source... google images... and I conducted a search for "obey."

Disclaimer: <Sometimes, you have to be careful in doing this, as you might come up with some images that are NOT the direction that you want to guide your mind in pondering.>

Anyway, I came across a picture of a woman teaching a dog to sit as he stood firmly with an outstretched arm, fingers folded into a commanding point, in front of the dog.  Then I did a google image search for a pointing hand and I drew a pointing hand into my Bible. 

                                                   

 I finished it by adding color to the sketch of the hand that I had added.  Finally, I wrote the Bible verse that inspired the whole illustration... Psalm 119:59.

Remember that the point of Bible Journaling is not to make beautiful art or to make perfectly illustrated words... it's not even to practice writing things in different fonts...

The point of Bible Journaling is to spend time 

INTENTIONALLY LISTENING 

to what God is saying to you.  

Several others in my class tonight had different words that caught their attention... "hope," "keep," etc. They also heard emphasis on other verses and phrases... because that was GOD, speaking to THEM.  The pictures I shared here were to help you see my process.  Try it for yourself... If you aren't comfortable with illustrating or writing in your Bible, practice this exercise in a journal... on a piece of paper... anywhere.  But remember to listen for what God is saying to You.  I have found a passion in combining illustration and art with the word of God... it inspires me, it teaches me, it brings me to life and gives me energy and renewed faith... it draws me closer.  

I'm looking forward to my class tomorrow and I hope you'll do some journaling of your own... share it in the comments.  Do you have questions?  Leave a comment - I promise to respond!  Thanks for reading!  

Until tomorrow, friends...

Peace, give I to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Peace give I to you.

~Sara