For Christmas last year, my husband gifted me a fancy, journaling bible that had just released. Another bible was a sweet surprise but something I did not know how to use, as I have a few for unique purposes but this one did not fit into a category.
Early this past fall, I stumbled into bible journaling on Instagram. I had not heard much about it or understood what it was but one post caught my eye: mother – daughter bible journaling sets.
My daughter is a born creative and I knew I had to do this eventually - when she was older. But as I thought about it and saw all the beauty of the bible journaling community, I opted to gift her one for Christmas.
This made me think about my own fancy, journaling bible with its gold embossed cover and pretty lettered pages that I had started using for my afternoon readings through Proverbs.
Its pages were straight and neat. Almost too pretty to touch with a brush or felt tips. The initial thought of covering its pages with paint and color were a little daunting, as I did not want to ruin it.
But the idea of the mother – daughter set kept floating around and so I went for it, just before purchasing one for her.
Taking the leap and making a mess of the page with paint and lettering was more fun than I had anticipated. Especially, the first time we were able to sit down together with our water colors and colored pencil and illustrate God’s word. To my surprise, my daughter decided to paint, in biblical order, descriptive pictures from the text – from Noah’s ark to Cain coming behind Abel to murder him (I was a bit shocked by this one, though the illustration was well rendered AND she quoted the exact verse).
It was a sweet time and exciting to see her actually reading the text as she painted, something I had not considered when I had chosen my favorite translation for her bible, the ESV. It has been a beautiful outlet for her and I am thrilled for this little adventure we are on together, as we worship together in the truths of scripture and art.
Worshipping God can come in many forms, from art and bible journaling to hiking and prayer. Praying that if there is anything that you have been hindered or put off doing to worship God that you would push yourself to it and go there, even it is messy and feels like you are ruining the very thing that you are trying. Praying that you can laugh as you learn from the process and embrace the joy that is to be had there. Praying that Lord would guide your steps as you take them and that you would see Him in light as you worship.
//DIVE DEEPER
+ Read Psalm 148. *Use the SOAP method for a deeper study. Download it for free here.
+ Is there anything that you have wanted to try? Is anything stopping you? If so, take time to pray about it. Find time this week to do it or set a date.
+ Is there anyone you can invite into it?
Originally posted in The Inspire Monthly newsletter, February 2019. Join the adventure to be the first to get it straight to your inbox, along with other fun tidbits from the shop.