Scripture Planner Fun layout Peeks and Why I do This

 Hello, Everyone, hope you are all having a great weekend.  It is Saturday night here, it has been a beautiful day here, Study and housework in the morning, and in the afternoon, a big yard project that was a fail, no fault of ours,  it just didn't follow the plan. We all have those events.  After dinner, back to studying and getting ready for Sunday. 

On Saturday, I normally finish up my scripture writing for the week and do the next week's layout.  Last week's layout with the verses for the week. I use the Inscribe plan and usually write the thought of the text, not just a verse or two.

A couple of tip-ins and a large flip-down.  I make most of my stickers, using different digital companies and public domain art.  A favorite of mine is  The Graphics Fairy, for two reasons, #1, superb selection and #2, you have at your fingertips a world-class digital art education. Another new favorite is Daydream Bible Art, a wonderful company by artisit and author Diane Noble.

 I am sharing these companies because I am always looking for beautiful tools to help me share my faith, whether I am teaching or making a card to encourage.  I want to do my very best, to represent the very best, that is: Jesus.

The layout process:

Naturally I start with my blank pages, I prefer the Happy Planner system because it is so adaptable, especially since I have the punches to go with the disk system.  everything paper becomes fair game for my planners!

I am using the classic size for 2023-2024

I selected my images to make my stickers with.  I don't always make stickers - often I will just use good paper and glue.

This set is printed on clear glossy sticker paper with my Canon 3260 -

 a low-end cost and high-functioning printer 

Paper used:

Starting the layout, this sticker I flipped to make a bottom border and punched it.

The finished page:

Two flip-ups and a lot of color.  Next week I will have to do something that is not predominately flora and fauna.

And Now the 'why';

basically, because I want to draw closer to the Lord.

scripture writing slows me down to the point where I can really think about the word that I am writing, which then becomes a study topic, which gets parsed and noted

I have another planner in which I make notes for each day's scripture writing.  You would be so surprised, this is such a pleasant time each day. Basically, all I have to do is commit to showing up and opening my heart and ears, and the Lord just pours so much into me.

It is so wonderful!  I am also committing more scripture to memory and have more peace and confidence than ever!

I have a time-proven system for all of this word building into my life.  I would be more than happy to share that if anyone is interested.

Planners, study Bibles and journaling bible and all kinds of fun bits on the side of my desk.

I am so glad you stopped by, and may The Lord richly bless you!

Ginny M

Journaling On The Way And Be Who God Made You to Be!

 A few weeks ago, I joined a bible journaling Facebook group.  I was looking for Christian women who had a passion for this form of spiritual expression and bible study, new ideas, sharing my ideas, and last but not least like-minded friendship. 

Well, I found all the things I was hoping for in "JOTW".  The group is based in South Africa and owned by the delightful Lynn G. 

Yesterday  Lynn taught a class or page demonstration from a devotion written by Shauna Niequist.    The title of the devotion was "Created on purpose - for a purpose" ( which just happens to coincide with Ingrid Blixit's Open Journey devotion series this month)!    Shauna used the scripture from Job 37:5-6 and Lynn purchased (with license) a terrific image to illustrate each woman's uniqueness, expressing how important it is to become the 'you' that 'you' really are, and not the 'you', you think you should be! 

I think many women struggle with this.  Life has so many demands, and within the church (sadly) a perfectionist attitude towards what the ideal Christian woman should be. Sometimes it would seem we have been set up to fail, you work too hard, and express any frustration- you are called a Martha.  You try to rest and relax and are told you should be a Proverbs 31 woman. 

Thankfully somewhere in my  50's, I said I was done letting everyone else tell me what I am supposed to be and do, and I am going to immerse myself in the purpose God created me for.  Doing that has truly caused me to thrive.  I love my family, I love my church and I do everything I can to see both grow and flourish - and I love it!  In return, I feel loved,  supported, respected, and made room for - yes the bible tells us in Proverbs 18:16  A man's (woman too) gift opens doors for him and brings him before great men.  What a promise!

That promise cannot be fulfilled if you are struggling to be someone you aren't with a gift you don't have.

The illustration that  Lynn used was charming, A young gal wearing a ball gown with cowboy boots and very sweet and a little sassy as opposed to the executive in a corporate environment stuffed in a suit and trapped by the clock. Now I am not condemning the office suit person at all - those gals are just as awesome. I am just trying to say,  to thine own self and to God be true. 

If you would like to take a look at the Journaling Along The Way Group Just click the link. 

The lovely illustration of the young woman is given as a gift along with the devotional and is super to use. 

However, that isn't me or even closer to how I perceive myself, so I found one that was   so here is my page:

There is some resemblance to my looks, I wear my hair like this and I  drew in a little gray, added my glasses, and added the Bible.

I wear clothes like this to church, especially the black turtle neck, which helps cover what 63-year-old woman wants to cover, so maybe me  some years ago.  

The actual painting is in my digital stash, I could not find the original artist ( you can't read the signature) but you can read the date: 1923.

I may do a video on the process in the near future.  I have a few tricks for making a digital look like an oil painting ( surface cover).

Thank you for sharing your time with me and I hope to see you on JOTW, I know you will be blessed and remember:

You are created on purpose - for a purpose!!

Be yourself!

Ginny M

It Is Marvelous in our Eyes! A Journal Entry and Process

 

This morning's scripture writing is Psalm 118:22.  It is a work morning for me and I don't usually try to journal on a work morning, just not enough time. But today I really just had to do something after reading and scribing verses 19-24 of Psalm 118, I really felt a sense of awe at what the Lord has done for us.  You know the Adversary of our soul has waged a full onslaught against our really feeling anything. Media has robbed us by numbing us to Awe and Wonder by replacing it with special effects and intense soundtracks. We are deluged day in and day out, with mind spraining nothingness to the point where we are impressed by very, very little. 

In these short passages The psalmist freezes history and brings the ancient world into our present and our future and David who never saw The Redeemer, penned the plan and the future.  He said It is Marvelous. It is really beyond that, I don't think our language can convey what it really is- Think about it!

I used from stash a half dozen pieces of flower from an Anna Griffin card kit,   and an old set of wood mounted Letters  that I added a little more color with a pencil;

and a favorite trick, a $1.25 bottle of sparkly drugstore nail polish.

Simple journaling of a Marvelous passage.  I hope you take the time to read it, you will be blessed.

Thank you for stopping by,

Ginny M

Say Yes To The Dress!

 Have you ever watched that show?  Personally, I am not a fan, I don't like all the drama and conflict, seeing a bride's feelings get hurt, mothers being pushy and dominating, sisters being mean and petty.  Do you ever wonder why the media loves to push such a bizarre normal?  Any way, 

Today I am bringing you the Dress to Say Yes to, the one that will forever be perfect and comfortable, you will never have to diet physically for it (you may be required to fast and push some things away from your table).  But it is the PERFECT  Dress, designed just for you by your creator. 

He has even taken care of the laundry for it, it will never be spotted or wrinkled, and it will never be less than perfect for you.  The price of the cleaning would have never been payable by us, the cost was so beyond anything in this world, that he himself had to pay it, the cleaning solution;  his own blood.   That blood washed the dress we were wearing and turned it into our wedding garment and made it perfect for all time. 

As the customs of the world demand the bride and the groom attire themselves in their very best, in a display of the false wealth of their families and prosperity for their future, We Learn The Lord has a better plan.  He alone has clothed us in Garments of Salvation and covered us with the Robe of his Righteousness.  This is the dress we must say yes to.  Without this dress, the gates of heaven will remain closed to us, and I don't want to even think of what being outside of those gates for eternity would mean.

It isn't difficult, and the journey is well mapped out, and he, Our Great Creator and Redeemer, promises to walk the whole journey with us.

He even gives us great gifts and friends for the journey, if we trip he lifts us up. 

He is the Waymaker!

When we wear this garment we get more beautiful every day, a beauty that is soul deep and can never be taken away.

Would you like to say yes to this dress?  You need to tell Him Yes, start with the Gospel of St. John.  There you will learn who He is, and how He made this all possible.  Next go to the Book of  Acts, to find out how you can have this wedding venue.  Then spend the rest of your life reading His book and feeling his love and devotion every day!

Image from the Devotion and Original Art Work of Open Journey by Ingrid Blixt

Thank you for stopping by and sharing my Bible journaling today of  Isaiah 60:10 with me.

Ginny M

Psalm 18:32 Bible Journaling Tutorial and the Digitals for your Creating

 Today's Bible Journaling prompt from the Christian Card Makers group is  Psalm 18:32. I look forward to these prompts, especially now that I have the time to do them! Yay, retirement!  Because this is not one of the verses I know by verse reference (there are very few that I do), I turned to it with happy anticipation.  When I read the verse It brought me right back to the beginning of my walk with Jesus.  At 20 years old, I was in such difficult circumstances, a new Christian, newly divorced from a violent alcoholic, Living in a small airstream RV, and supporting myself waiting on tables. I had big decisions to make and really no one to counsel with.  I moved to SW Texas at 18, with high hopes for a happy marriage and a great life. No education, no car, and no job to go to.  Just a man whom I barely knew and who had promised the life I was hoping for ( boy was I naive).  I'll just leave it at The Lord sent a faithful witness to bring me the gospel, after 18 months of being a pain in her neck, I gave my life to the Lord. I have been living for the Lord since then, 1980.  When the time came for me to make a decision to move back home The Lord brought Psalm 18 to me, and I took it as a promise from Him, that he would love me and keep me safe no matter what.  He did and still does, Not only that, but he also gave me that great life and happy marriage that I had so hoped for!  His word does say, that if we seek him first, and walk in his ways, he will bless us!

Journaling this verse has a great deal of backstory in my life, looking at it now 43 years later, all I can say is AMEN!  He is true and faithful!  If you don't know Him, seek him, He is waiting for you, open the door to your heart that He is knocking on.

The page:

I picked this beautiful Asian image because at that time I felt like I was fighting against every possible wind trying to blow me over and at that time, This verse let me know that the Lord would uphold me - and yes he did and has!

                                                She is holding a scroll and holding it as a treasure.                                               The Word of Life is the biggest treasure we can ever hold.

The process:             

    I developed the image in Publisher from my digital stash.

                 I journaled in the very large Illustrating Bible, using the standard 8.5x11 sheet size in                                        publisher.  you can adjust the freebies to whatever size your bible is.                       

I ripped the paper to give it a softer edge for the journaling and then inked the edges using Tim Holtz Tea Dye distress ink pad.

I also used a Pigma pen to go over some of the lines on the dress, to give the image a little pop, and after it was glued in my bible, I added clear sparkly nail polish to different areas.

The freebies for your journaling: Right-click and save:

I am not sure of the original artwork, I think it is a Hokusai, but I can't be sure, I digitized part of the 18th Psalm using the font  "Papyrus" and the Chinese Kanji background is also unknown.  There are a couple of words I  can make out, but it could be a shoe advertisement for all I know.

                                       Thank you for sharing your time and visiting my blog,                                                 and I pray this is a little blessing for your day.

Ginny M

Scripture writing planner/journal layouts with a few tips.

 I thought I would give you a little peek into my scripture writing journal setup, along with a couple of "afters" from the weeks before. I usually do the layout for the journal and my planners on Sunday nights. It is very relaxing to me, and starting my week feeling balanced and on track is a huge plus. Steve and I normally spend our Sunday nights studying and getting ready for the next week's schedule of things to do and teach.

Here is my planner for the scripture writing for next week:

I use a classic style/size verticle layout Happy Planner for the daily writing.

I make most of my own stickers using images from the Graphics Fairy,

I do the print and cut process with my Cricut machine. There is a small learning curve with this process, but a very worthwhile investment, especially if you already own the Cricut machine. The flower basket is from an Anna Griffin Card making kit, and I have made it a "hinge in"

I purchase my sticker paper on Amazon and use a Canon Pixma 3260 echo tank printer ( under 200.00 and a real workhorse, very affordable printer). Your card-making Rubber stamps are also awesome in use with journaling too, plus you already have the coloring mediums that you already favor and have developed your style with. I've even started using my die-cutting machine!

The writing plan usually only has one or two verses, so I have plenty of room, even when I continue the thought into the next verse or two. I have been using the "Inscribe the Word" plan for 3 years now.

In this picture, you can see the basket tips down to give me lots of room for writing.

There will be lots of add-ins during the week - I'll post the finished pages next Sunday

I will often Use the scriptures as journaling prompts that I will do that week when I have a few minutes

A few more weeks:

Since I am now only employed 2 mornings a week, I am very happily spending just about all the time I want immersing myself in the Word. Both for personal growth and teaching.

It took me about a month to develop a system for study, prayer and creativity. But so so worth it.

I'll be sharing more of my Bible Journaling in future posts. As well as "Verse Mapping"

I have been teaching both on a small but regular basis.

My tips are basically, give making your own stickers a try, it is much cheaper and you can get exactly what you want. I am not into cute art, and I find much of what out there is cute. Thanks to the internet, there is a world of beauty waiting to be turned into a sticker.

Get a decent printer and give it a try!! You won't be sorry!

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your time spent here.

Be a Light in this dark world!

Ginny M