Art Journal - Take 1

Something I have really been wanting to do is create an "art journal."  Simply put.  If you know me, then you know how out of control my doodles can be and how I seem to write on absolutely everything.  It's true.  I admire people who can keep up posts and journals consistently, and I want to do the same.  So, I figured that mixing art and writing would be an easy way to do this.  Just a warning, this is nowhere near what I want it to be or how I want it to look.  Some pages look quite pitiful compared to the wildly creative ones I have pinned on Pinterest.  But isn't that how it always is? :)  Here's a look at what I have going on in the art journal so far:

The cover: burlap and a pretty letter that I can never seem to get right.  This was a big decision.

The first page, also a big decision.  I went with flowers because I really just felt like painting flowers.  This "title" is taken from John 16:33.

I'm really into this rainbow/color changing thing, can't you tell?

I love this spread, from "Like Incense/Sometimes By Step" by Hillsong Live.  In the middle is actually a prayer envelope with smoke that I thought turned out really pretty.  Even if my brother couldn't tell that's what it was.  

The second page wraps up the song and kind of a crazy version of the sun.

One thing that's really important about art journaling to me is not limiting yourself to the way the pages come.  Like the envelope instead of a page, I changed it up a little for the list of favorite things at the moment.  

A far-away glance at the New Year's page, with a quick list of things I want to do or want to do better in 2012 and on the opposite page some copy to myself :). 

Another quick shot of the cover and some handy supplies.  Thumbs up if you can guess the music video in the background.

Hopefully you've really enjoyed this.  I can't wait to really get into journalling and making things really cute and creative.  I would love to see other people get into this and share pictures!  It's fun and totally limitless.

-------------

A quick note about last night's blog:  I want to thank each and every one of you for reading and so many who sent kind words and comments.  God has just continued to show His sovereignty since posting and I loved hearing from you and the way you can relate.  I am so thankful to know people who are encouraging and eager to hear from the Lord.  If you haven't read my blog from last night on prayer, check it out!  

Like always, thanks for reading!

-M-

Quarter-Heartedly

Doesn't  it seem that we get the best thoughts in the most inconvenient places?  My best songs and Carrie Underwood high notes are in the shower without a pen or Simon.  My best jokes are when no one is around and about 5 minutes late.  And some of my best (for lack of better word, you'll see later) "God moments" happen in the car.  I know people who turn down their radio and talk to God while they drive.  For me, he has to reach all the way through my earthly cloud of iTunes and blasting heat and speak over Maroon 5.  That's some serious business.  But really, some of the most heart-tugging words from the heart-pumper himself happen in the car.  This one is no exception.

Earlier when a friend send me a prayer request, I was heartbroken.  A woman had shot and killed her husband and it was nothing short of a moment where I should have dropped to my knees to ask God for comfort for this family.  But I went back to painting in my art journal.  Mistake #19384729.  Now that I sit in my car with the radio up, I wait for my brothers who are watching a movie at a friend's.  While they finish, I go back through my messages and see the one from my friend earlier.  Re-reading it, I immediately realize that I do need to stop and pray for this family.  I mean, it's terrible.
So I rummage through a few quick words and stop after the first sentence.  Or maybe I was stopped.  Either way, it hit me, I wasn't being prayerful.  Unfortunately, that's not a first.  I realize that I just wasn't prayerful enough.  Not like I should be.  Not like He deserves.  A lot of times, it's easy for me to just ramble off words to God and then be done with it.  I wasn't praying whole-heartedly.  Not even half-heartedly.  Maybe quarter-heartedly.  But it sucks fully.

My first thought after realizing I was throwing empty words in the air and calling them a prayer was "God knows what's going on.  He's going to take care of them anyways." A big problem for me sometimes is to feel like my words don't matter.  That I'm just one person and what if God doesn't even hear me?  Of course, the Bible goes on to prove its purpose.  There are so many verses that prove me wrong.  1 John 5:14 says "And this is the confidence we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us" (ESV).  Thats only one example.  We have to believe this and know that when we truly call on Jesus, he is eager to hear from us, and takes in our every word because he poured out every drop.

Then God dropped the truth bomb, of course.  What if more and more people had the same attitude as me? What if all Christ's followers began to think "well, I don't have to really pray about this.  God knows.  Plus, there are tons of others praying about it." Actually, no.  In this case that would be false.  It's a heavy burden to think that I could cause such distress, but really.  I don't want to be foolish enough to dance around it.

So, like he always does because of his unfailing love for me, God softened this hardened heart in the prayer department.  I leave you with challenge and encouragement.  I challenge you to really observe your prayer life.  Wipe up the carelessness and pack up the empty words you may have.  And if you don't, then you're not out of this one.  Since you're such a prayer warrior (for the Glory of God of course, don't get me wrong), please pray for us who struggle.  But you probably already knew that :).  While this can be a kick in the stomach, here's a kind word to the heart.  God hears you.  God loves us.  If that weren't true, he wouldn't answer the prayers we so desperately whisper in the darkness or joyfully sing loud in the brightest light.  No, God doesn't rely on your words to know what to do.  God has done many things without you.  He doesn't have to use you.  But he chooses to.  And the radiance of the light you dance in after He does, after his glory shines for all to see because of what he's done for you, it's warmer than the summer day that I so hunger for on this late December night.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

What I Did Today

Since I haven't blogged in exactly two months, I figured I would have to start back to 3rd grade writing prompts.  It actually works well, because I genuinely want to tell you what I did today.

My alarm went off this morning, and considering it's Saturday, that was not supposed to happen.  I don't even know how it did, because I always have it on radio alarm and it was all the way past to the next setting where it beeps annoyingly.  I wish I could blame it on my Elf on the Shelf, but I don't have one of those.  Strongly considering, but I feel that moving an elf around my room would be lonely and creepy.  Elf for Myself.  Moving on.

When I woke up, it was 9:30 and the most ideal thing to do was get up, go get coffee, deliver Angel Tree gifts, and get started studying again.  By the time I rolled out of bed and was ready to walk out the door for coffee, I realized it was 11 and I was past breakfast mode.  Still, I went to the Salvation Army to drop off Christmas presents.

Something I had been wondering about for the past couple of weeks was what happens if or when one sibling gets pulled of the tree and other siblings from the same family don't.  Obviously, I knew that probably wouldn't happen, but I was still curious how.  When I walked in with my basket, a woman and her two girls were in the back talking with the volunteer and she was explaining to them about the families, which reminded me of my question.  When they left and volunteer came to me, I asked her about it.  She graciously took me into the back room of the office suite that was filled wall-to-wall with large brown boxes.  She showed me that every box represented a family in need and on the box had tags showing how many people were in that family.  It was so organized and a perfect system.  She told me that after the last day, all the children who didn't get gifts brought in were bought gifts by the Salvation Army using the money from the kettles by bell-ringers.  She said all of the ones on the tree were the only ones left, but when I saw the tree at Wal-Mart later this afternoon, there were still so many.  Instead of being heartbroken, my heart had so much more rest knowing that they would have gifts on Christmas anyways because of the wonderful things that the Salvation Army does.  Hopefully you want to be a part of that, too, because today I realized that even dropping a few pennies in the kettles makes a difference.

Later on, I was browsing Pinterest like I never do, and I came across all my hopes and dreams in one pin.  Not really, but kind of yes.  Art Journals.  I am so in love, and not like I need another journal, but I have to do this.  I quickly added it to the things I will be doing (aka trying to do and actually keep up with) starting at the beginning of the year.  I'm really excited about it.  It will probably serve no purpose, but at least it will be a cute purposeless thing.



Speaking of things to do for next year, I have compiled a list today:
1.  Read more books (finish my "books to read" list)
2.  Make an art journal and actually keep it up
3.  Finish my current quiet time book and start a super awesome more in-depth study.
4.  Eat better/exercise more blah blah blahhhh
5.  Talk about my feelings more instead of just keeping them inside.  We shall see.  I think no.
6.  Actually use my cupcake maker

This is probably the most awful blog post of all time and I really have no idea where it came from.  I think my day was weird.  I think it was slightly overwhelming and emotional.  Maybe.  Goooodnightttttttt.