Bible Marginalia- Using What you Have

Bible Marginalia Series- #55

Such a story- how the disciples dropped everything.

 Listened to the call of "Follow Me."

And life as they knew it was over.

All in.

A fishing boat is a beautiful symbol

 of this life transformation.

This was on the bulletin cover

 for this past week's worship service.

 I loved the graphic

 and the font for the Mark 1:17 verse.

 It did not fit in the size of the margin.

It is not always about drawing,

 or even doing the lettering for the Bible Journaling.

 So I experimented with the waxed paper deli sheets.

Painted a thin coat of Acrylic Dove Gray.

Let it dry. Added the torn image and Bible verse.

Secured with double sided sticky tape.
Found alpha stickers in the "stash".
(Dabbed a  tiny bit of Matte Mod- Podge
 on the stickers as that helps
 the stickers for long- term handling.)

Added some outline dots
 with a Signo Uni- ball-um 153 pen.

Secured it in my Bible with washi tape.

This is the back side- 

ready for an addition for this side.
 Left the "pinked" edge- just liked it that way.

Quick, easy and graphic.

Supplies:

 You will have plenty of deli paper

 to share with friends-
 it comes in a pack of 500.

wax+deli+paper

Here are the pens-

 I ordered them in mult-pack
 to share in community

 at a much better price.

Signo-Um-153

Bible Marginalia- Creating your Handwriting Font

Bible Marginalia Series- #54

The lessons in worship this week

 included the story of Jonah.

This is how this page ended up this week. 

During the week I 

 reread the whole story of Jonah.

The book is only 3 pages long.

Good to read in context

 and get the whole picture.

As I listened to the sermon- 

my heart kept coming back

 to these words that God spoke to Jonah.

Jonah is mad at God-

 because of His compassion.

Oh, yea - that has been me

 on more than one occasion.

The words were sketched out

 with my favorite Sharpie marker.

I call it "messy writing".

It doesn't have to be perfect.

 Each letter can be different in how it ends up.

No two matching letters have to be the same.

My art teacher daughter

 encouraged me to try this.

Just take your handwriting-

 and make it your font.

I have a hard time trying to do

 the lettering like many

 of the artists working in Bible Journaling.

This is possible. Looking for the DOABLE.

It is actually about not trying to make each 

letter "match".

 During the week I spent time coloring

 in the words with color pencils.

Tarshish- is really anywhere

 I go to be away from the presence of God.

Each time I disobey and desire my will.

Sometimes I spend much of my day in Tarshish.

I had some graph paper "margins"

 that were correctly sized.

 Added a stamp

 and some water color pencil additions.

A little bit less daunting

 to try new things out on the graph paper-

 rather than right on the pages of my Bible.

Oh- the turning of hearts in Ninevah.

The whole town.

At the preaching of God's Word- 

even if the heart of the preacher

 was not really in it.

God's Word captures hearts.

Let us not forget the POWER of God's Word.

I tried a bit of

 green spritz on the pages.

This time- I protected

 the edges of my Bible

 where I DID NOT want spray.

Supplies used: 

Heidi Swapp Citron Color Shine

Reeves Water Colour Pencils

Graph paper

Stamps

Regular and fine point markers

Colored pencils

Washi tape

Bible Marginalia-The Good News of Salvation

Bible Marginalia Series #53

The Lord will be your everlasting light,

 and your God will be your glory.

Jesus read part of this section

 in the synagogue in Nazareth-

 Luke 4:16-21.

It began to be his agenda

 setting among the people.

It is also where we learn

 just how challenging the ministry

 would be for Jesus in his own home territory.

They became filled with wrath as He said-

"Today this Scripture

 is fulfilled in your hearing."

He interprets Isaiah 61

 as a reference to Himself.

The Lord's salvation

 will bring a reversal

 in the fortune of His people.

Liberty will take the place of bondage.

These verses form an outline

 of the positive nature of the ministry

the Lords wants His people to perform.

The Lord desires to give beauty for ashes,

the oil of joy for mourning,

the garment of praise

 for the the spirit of heaviness,

that He may be glorified.

Supplies:

Colored pencil

Fine point Sharpie marker

Craft Smart pennant stamp- Michaels

Stampin' Up Ink- Bermuda Bay

Bible Marginalia- Dividing Up Space

Bible Marginalia Series-#52

One of the most challenging things

 for new Bible Journalers is 

  figuring out how to "get started"
 with the blank margin.

Some basic space dividers

 can be helpful to see how

 the words or image 

to be journaled can be divided.

I remembered that I had purchased

 a box of labels quite a few years ago

 and it was still hanging out in the "gift box."

 Probably was a Ross, T.J Maxx

 or Tuesday Morning purchase

 on clearance at deep discount.

This is what the label box looks like:

Chronicle Stationary

 angela-adams-box-of-labels

The work of Angela Adams

 can be found here-

Pinterest board

angela_adams

Found here for a bit better price:
amazon

From a previous post-
 here are labels from
 Martha Stewart for Avery
 found at Staples.
Martha-Stewart-Home-Office-

(currently out of stock on-line) 
but you might find them in your local store.
 They can be found on Amazon-
Martha-Stewart-Home-Office

and
Martha-Stewart-Home-Office.
(also currently out of stock on-line)
but look in local office supply store.
They can be found on Amazon-
Martha-Stewart-Home-Office

Simple ways to put your 
connections in the Word-
in the margins.

Bible Marginalia- Study Helps

Bible Marginalia Series- #51

Visited En Gedi again on this last trip.

David's hideout from Saul.

 A desert oasis by the Dead Sea.

Saul comes with 3000 men to find David here.

David spares Saul's life here.

1 Samuel 24

The journaling bibles that many of us

 are using do not have

 "study helps" or notes in them.

 The margin on this page was helpful

 to place what I had learned and seen

at En Gedi.

It is wilderness.

 It is thought the David 

might have written a number

 of his Psalms while here.

This level of land is 400 meters 

below sea level-

 is the lowest place on earth.

And here-

 as low as you can go- 

David finds refuge.

The landscape becomes

 a fortress and hideout.

The Lord meets David here.

He fills us in our most desolate places.

The Lord finds us hiding in 

"our caves-" 

 in the margins of our lives.

And in this space that frames our life-

He creates soul renewal.

Supplies-
 Colored pencil
Fine-pont Sharpie- non-bleeding

Bible Marginalia- Here I Am

Bible Marginalia Series- #50

This reading was on the cover

 of the worship folder this past Sunday.

Was not any of the selected readings in the service- 

but it is where I have ended up reading this week.

Times are challenging in Israel-

 Eli's household has not been God-fearing.

The nasty Philistines are just waiting for a fight.

The word of the Lord was rare in those days,

 there was no frequent vision.

Eli was old and Samuel was his helper.

The Lord did not have good news 

for Samuel to tell Eli.

 Eli had not been faithful.

The Lord would punish his house forever.

But, even as a young person, 

Samuel HEARD the LORD.

 He was the Lord's servant.

His heart was open for the Lord's leading.

A wonderful example for me

 to center prayer for 

a servant heart, that I may listen.

Open my heart, Lord, to hear you.

When I feel the need to use

 many words in prayer,

 remind me to also be a listener.

Supplies-

Toilet paper holder to make round circles

Venetian Gold  Metallic acrylic paint by Decorart

SMASH date stamp by K&C Company

Cobalt Archival Ink

Sharpie Fine point Marker-

(Non-bleeding has the silver stripe)

Colored pencils
 a Multiple colored pencil- ( not in photo)

Washi tape

Bible Marginalia- The Victory is the Lord's

Bible Marginalia Series- #49

Visited Harod Springs

 near the hill of Moreh this month in Israel.

Sat by the spring and read the story

 of Gideon and the fleece.

Gideon and the Lord in a battle strategy plan.

The Lord tells Gideon-

 "the people with you are too many."

I can't let you go into battle with so many,

 because some might say it is YOU 

who have won the battle.

Gideon had 32,000 men.

Tell those who are afraid to go home.

22,000 went home.

10,000 remained.

Still too many says the Lord.

Take them down to the Springs

 for a drink, says the Lord.

Some drank with their hands

 and some lapped like dogs.

300 men lapped like dogs.

The Lord said to take these men into battle.

And at the set of middle watch,

 they blew trumpets and broke open jars that hid torches.

Chaos commenced.

And Gideon and 300 men defeated the Midianites.

Sometimes in ministry

 it is easy to feel outnumbered,

 with the forces declining,

 and the people numbers

 seem like they can't carry the work load.

Those are the odds that our Lord loves.

When people can't take credit for "a win."

When it is so lopsided that the victory

 can't be claimed by the humans,

 it is a battle for the Lord.

Maybe a Harod's Spring pep talk

 could be the incentive

 to say yes to 

an unbelieveable ministry undertaking.

outrageous odds?

 meet an Outrageous GOD.

Supplies-

 Colored pencil

Fine-point Sharpie marker- non-bleeding

Washi tape

Bible Marginalia- "Bleed-Through" Helps

Bible Marginalia Series- #48

 We may not have been doing Bible journaling

 long enough to say we have a REAL problem

 with working with the back 

side of a journaling page.

But, in some of the books where I was reading

 through the WHOLE book as I journaled,

 I have had to start thinking

 about the "other" side of a journaling margin.

It doesn't look too bad here, 

but I knew that I would not 

be happy with the finished page. 

So, then I find that Karla Dornacher

 has offered some of her wonderful drawings

 as printable bookmarks

on her Easy site.

karladornacher

Download, print, cut out,

 back and attach.

( there is a small fee to download)

Same page covered with Karla's bookmark

 and finished with a bit of washi tape.

Simply done.

the back side of another page in Luke

Finished page with Karla's book mark.

I backed it with scrapbooking paper 

to completely cover the drawing from the other side.

Attached with double-sided sticky tape.

Two-page spread in Luke.

I have admired Karla's work

 for many years and own a number of her books.

I was thrilled to see the pages together.

Complimentary styles.

 She makes my drawings look like "real Art".

Karla's book mark for Luke 4:8

Karla's book mark for Luke 4:18

In my Journaling Bible it happened

 to have the 2 verses on back to back pages.

 So I tried that.

 I like them

 as back to back illustrations.

Lovely.

Stop by and like her page on Facebook-

KarlaDornacher

Karla also has these illustrations

 done in black outline

 so that you can add in

 your coloring and shadings.

Thanks- Karla Dornacher for your help with

"bleed-through" challenges

 in our journey of 

writing in the margins

 of our Bibles.

Bible Marginalia - For "Non- Artists"- 2

Bible Marginalia Series- #47

So this is another post on some things

 that might help you if you are curious

 about Bible journaling or really loving the process,

but don't consider yourself an ARTIST.

Don't tell me to draw 

wheat and a cluster of grapes WITHOUT

giving me some help here.

Was cleaning out some books

 over the summer and thankfully

 kept a book that has been 

really helpful in this journey.

 (It does help when your husband

 is a pastor in a liturgical denomination-

 and keeps books.)

This is the book that I have-
but it now looks like the one below.

 This is the one currently on Amazon. 

Here is the Amazon link for used copies-
Seasons-Symbols-Robert-Wetzler


The symbols are easy to trace over
 to add to Bible journaling pages.
 Other suggestions have been to use a
 light box that crafters use, 
your personal iPhone can also be used, 
(though not sure how good
 that is to trace over the face of your phone)
 and Goggle images can be found
 and printed that will work very well also.

I plan to take my book apart-
( the binding is pretty well gone anyhow)
 and punch holes so that the pages
 can be taken out to use
 for occupying right and left side easily.

Remember the only rule about Bible Journaling is:
  THERE ARE NO RULES.

Copying, tracing, stickers, stencils, rub-ons-
all work.
If you are copying the work of another person-
 it is grand to give credit. 
You can note the credit
 of their original work on your page,
 and if you have a way of contacting them-
 ask for permission.

The world of Pinterest has opened up
 the discussion of "property rights"
 and early on in the Bible journaling community
 everyone was great about sharing the permission.
 I think it is pretty well the standard-
 if you are not selling the work as your own,
 or taking credit for the original idea.

Hope this helps to get you started
 or move you along in this Faith Journey
 of spending time reading, praying,
 and meditating on God's Word.

Bible Marginalia- Cling to the Lord

Bible Marginalia Series- #47

Joshua's Charge to the Leaders-

 Chapter 23

The same old problem surrounded the people of Israel.

 The other gods.

The easy to follow.

The attractive idols.

The popular culture.

Everything about what Joshua had to say was counter-cultural.

The people of Israel were in a constant battle

 of following after the heart of God for awhile-

 and then it just went away.

 The desire slowly slipped away as it was replaced by "the easy".

As Joshua was advanced in age he called all the leaders-

and set out some basic leadership principles for them to 

live by.

Sort of early "John Maxwell".

Be strong to KEEP and DO

 all that is written in the Book of Law of Moses.

CLING to the Lord your God as you have done.

REMEMBER it is the LORD who fights for you.

Be VERY CAREFUL to Love the Lord your God.

You know that NOT ONE WORD has failed 

of all the good things that the Lord has promised you,

but just as all the good things were  promised, 

so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things

 if you transgress the covenant

 of the Lord and go and serve other gods. 

So, I know that we live in the

 New Testament promise of covenant- 

that it is not what we DO, 

or how PERFECTLY 

we keep our lives in relationship to God.

Jesus kept the perfect for each of us.

But, our Lord demands heartfelt following.

He still lays out the command-

No other gods before me.

Simple.

To the point.

 This is the measure of where

 we need to ask for Holy Spirit help.

It is nothing we can do ourselves.

So, my prayer becomes-

"Lord, let me CLING to YOU."

Bible Marginalia- In the Pit

Bible Marginalia Series- #46

The year 2014-

was closed out in Jerusalem.

The parties and celebrations

 are a Western thing.

I quietly met in the hotel 

with my new friend- Hadassah.

Earlier in the day, 

we spent time walking all over Jerusalem.

In the area of the house of Caiaphas,

is THE PIT-

possibly where they held Jesus.

I have been blessed to read Psalm 88 there

 two different visits.

When a soul cried for comfort.

Where our Jesus knew despair.

When life was overwhelming.

Where a heart struggled for help.

When the walls closed in.

Where our Lord knew darkness.

When the soul was full of troubles.

Time to end this year and 
all the lists, 
unfulfilled hopes and dreams
and close the door.

To come up out of THE PIT.

To reach the hand that stretches 

toward me-

that has walked the walk.

AND
 can only BRING LIGHT.

May you be reminded each and every day-
That Jesus left the PIT.
To take it all to the cross-
for YOU and ME.

Supplies-
Colored pencil
Washi tape
Fine-point Sharpie marker-no-bleeding

Bible Marginalia- Do you want to be healed?

  Bible Marginalia Series- #45

The first day of 2015 started out with trekking

all over Jerusalem.

One of the places visited was the pool of Bethesda.

The story of where Jesus

 asks the man who had been there for 38 years-

"Do you want to be healed?"

 Simple enough.

 Nothing changes Bible reading

 more than having the picture in my mind 

of exactly where this story took place

 in Jerusalem.

The significance of the words- 

"up to Jerusalem".

 Though Jerusalem was south of the Galilee,

 it was uphill all the way.

Taking the story

 and adding the notes broken into sections.

Colored pencils define the breaks.

Sheep gate- 

where the sheep 

were washed in purification rites

 for sacrifice.

Jesus was in full-healing mode.

 He had just been in Cana in the Galilee, 

and healed the Capernaum official's son.

From Cana.

His healing power

 transcends physical presence. 

The story is being revealed

 in this Jesus who is Equal with God.

And He interrupts my daily struggle 

to bring these words of healing-

"Get up, MAKE YOUR BED, 

and walk into your day- WITH ME.

I bring soul-healing."

Supplies-

Colored pencils 

Fine-point Sharpie marker-non-bleeding

Bible Marginalia- HOW LONG?

Bible Marginalia Series-#44

HOW LONG?

Our recent visit to Israel

 and we were at Mt. Carmel this past week.

Looking at the area where this story

 takes place between

Elijah and the prophets of Baal.

He had recently confronted Ahab,
 the leader of Israel.

Aha did not fear and love the LORD.

 He did as he pleased

 and he held other things

 as more important 

than his relationship with the Lord.

He had allowed the silent infiltration 

of the pagan culture to become his life focus.

Such conviction here for our modern-day

 slip down the slippery slope.

How long? 

 Will you continue to live 

with a foot in both worlds?
Limping along living.

The 2 different opinions 

of what is of utmost importance

 in how we live our lives.

It is simple.

If the LORD is God- 

then FOLLOW HIM.

But, if Baal, then follow him.

Either or.

Give us strength, OH LORD,

to follow YOU.

Supplies-
Colored Pencils
Fine-point Sharpie marker- Non-bleeding