Bible Journaling #VisualFaithFamily

I recently started my Bible journaling journey! And by “recently” I mean: only been doing it for about two weeks.

I’ve wanted to Bible journal for a loooooong time. Just go ahead and look at my Pinterest boards filled with colorful pages, and perfectly scripted calligraphy spelling out meaningful verses and sayings. I think it’s so visually pleasing, but also terrifying, as I don’t necessarily think of myself as the “artistic” type. Let’s be real, I struggle to draw a good stick figure. (It’s so hard to get the right proportions!) So to say I felt intimidated by creating these beautiful acts of godly worship is a bit of an understatement.

That is, I was intimidated by them. Until I met Carrie. I first came across Carrie’s instagram when a friend of mine shared a giveaway she was a part of. I immediately was drawn to her journaling printables. (I am a sucker for pretty things and watercolors, y’all.) After doing some thorough Insta-stalking, I noticed she was accepting applications to be a part of her creative team called the Visual Faith Family. I felt called to fill out the application. And let me tell you, it was definitely a God thing, because I seriously didn’t know anything about Bible journaling. None. Zip. Nada.

And by God’s grace she chose me as one of her team members!

Guys.

Let me paint you a [really crappy] picture: Up until this point, the most “Bible journaling” thing I had done was draw/color a couple pictures with colored pencils that you couldn’t even see. (Seriously, it took J 5 minutes and me telling him what it was for him to figure out I drew two hands pinky promising. *insert facepalm here*) Like I said, not very artistic.

And she chose ME!

TO BE PART OF A CREATIVE TEAM.

I am so grateful and thankful for this opportunity because I finally am forced to put my fears aside to be artistic and creative for God. This team is holding me accountable, praying for my success, and I learn so much from them! I could (and do) spend hours just scrolling through their instagram accounts, because they are THAT talented and inspirational.

As of this post, I have completed a few entries. [See pictures at the bottom] And while I’m overall happy with how they turned out, I can’t wait to see what I’m going to learn, and be creating three months from now!

I just want to thank Carrie, (AGAIN!) for putting her trust in God when she chose a complete beginner, and to God Himself for giving me the push I needed to dig a little deeper in my relationship with Him. I’m a firm believer that living in faith is not comfortable!

With that being said, I am always looking for people to learn from, as well as new tips and tricks that a beginner like me might need. (Like how to get digital printables from the page into your Bible. Yes, I did legitimately Google and YouTube how to do that. Turns out wax paper works REALLY well!)) If you’re a Bible journal-er, tell me all your secrets!

If you’re considering getting into it, or if you’re like I was and aren’t sure you have what it takes, I’m here to tell you: you do. What I didn’t realize before is it’s not about creating the prettiest pages, it’s about using art and creativity as a tool for worshiping and praising God! Once I got my mind around that, I didn’t care so much what it looked like, I just wanted to glorify His message! I dare you to give it a shot! Even if it’s only one page. After one entry, I can tell you that it’s already done wonders for my spiritual life, as well as my confidence.

Check out Carrie’s shop at five17digital.com to get some beautiful, (and reasonably priced) printables to get started! You can even use the code LIZZIE20OFF to get 20% off your order!

Try it!

(Then share your pages with me!)

& Find a reason to smile today!

 

P.S. Here’s some pictures from my first few entries! And you can always follow me on Instagram to see my latest creations!

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My Child Sponsorship Story

When I was 17, my two radio stations of choice were 107.1, and 88.3. 107.1 was the local country station, and 88.3 was the local Christian station. If you were to get in my 2002 Buick LeSabre back then, chances were 88.3 was probably playing.

It was on 88.3 that I first heard a commercial for the organization Compassion International. It stuck out to me because “compassion” was a term my mom often used to describe me. When I got home that night I logged onto the website, and got my first real look at Child Sponsorship. I immediately talked to my mom, and after praying about it, we decided to sponsor a little boy named Kale’ab who lived in Ethiopia.

From his letters, and drawings I developed such a passion for sponsorship and helping children effected by poverty that when Christmas came around, I asked for my family to sponsor their own children. This introduced me to World Vision.

I won’t say anything negative about either Compassion or World Vision, because I believe they both do astounding work for poverty-stricken families and communities in the name of Jesus. However, after sponsoring my first child from World Vision, (Daniela from the Philippines) I was drawn in hook, line, and sinker.

World Vision is a humanitarian organization that works with impoverished communities to establish what their needs are, and provide for those needs while also educating community members to become self-sufficient. Though they stay as long as they are needed, workers typically are with a community for 10-15 years, and have the ultimate goal of leaving them to flourish, and be successful on their own.

Our current sponsored child, J sponsored from Chad and gave her picture folder to me for Christmas in 2017. (Best. Present. EVER!) Her name is Rose, and she is so special to us, more so than usual, because she shares the same birthday as our stillborn daughter, June, and Rose is her middle name. (You can read about June’s story here.) Sponsoring Rose got me back to being involved with World Vision, and this time I felt God calling me, telling me I needed to do more.

So after spending some time scrolling through the ways to Get Involved page, I came across the Child Ambassador program, immediately filled out the application, and got accepted! Now I’m working alongside other Ambassador’s to raise awareness and get children sponsored!

World Vision impacts people’s lives. I’m impacting people’s lives. And we’re doing it in Jesus’ name.

For more information about child sponsorship and ways to get involved check out WV’s page here: http://www.worldvision.org/sponsor-a-child?campaign=304138160

Phone Paranoia

I’m paranoid to be without my phone.

No, not because I’m some millennial that can’t be without it for fear of missing a text;

Or because I won’t be able to instantaneously play my turn in Words With Friends. 

Or that I won’t be the first person to retweet what that boy posted three seconds ago.

 

I’m paranoid to be without my phone because of the way that man stares at me while I’m at the gas pump like I’m his next meal.

I’m paranoid without my phone because of how many girls in my hometown have come up missing in the past month; being sold into the world of sex trafficking.

I’m paranoid without my phone because as soon as I walked into the coffee shop and noticed the group of men sitting in a corner talking, I debated whether I should sit in the cafe like I originally planned, or go back to my car.

I’m paranoid without my phone because how will I call 911 if someone follows me, grabs me, attacks me?

I’m paranoid without my phone because I’m paranoid to be a girl.

 

 

-.egw