Bible Marginalia- WHATEVER

Bible Marginalia Series- #117

Still in John.

The first miracle of Jesus in Cana.

Seems like maybe Jesus

 and his mom were on different

 wavelengths here about protocol.

Jesus says,

 "Woman, what does this have to do with me? 

My hour has not yet come."

His mother said to the servants, 

"Do whatever he tells you."

Perhaps she sensed 

something about to change.

 She acknowledged her own confidence

 in her Son and approval

 of his independent action

 as she instructed the servants

 to follow His instructions.

I think her words also speak right into my life-

Do whatever He tells you.

Supplies:

Scrapbooking paper

Whatever Stamp and Ink
Butterfly mini stamp
Colored pencils

Tim Holtz Chit Chat words

Alpha stickers

Remarks Accent Stickers

Fine point Sharpie pen

Bible Marginalia- Set Free

Bible Marginalia Series- #116

John 8:32

 Jesus is talking to the Jews

 who believed him.

"If you abide in my word, 

you are truly my disciples, 

and you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free."

Lord, I pray that you set me free

 from blind trust in religious traditions.

 Let my faith in you and the spiritual freedom 

that comes from your gift of grace meet my days.

Free me from works righteousness,

 performance excellence,

doubt, and crippling pride. 

 Let me breathe the air of FREE. Amen.

Supplies:

 Scrapbook paper

 Alpha letters

 Die Cuts

  Tim Holtz ChitChat words

Bible Marginalia- Words of eternal Life

Bible Marginalia Series #115

Following right after the Bread of Life portion is 
a conversation with Jesus 
and his grumbling disciples.
Reminds me that "attitude"-
 even about faith things,
 is not a new concept.
It is often easy for me to challenge
 what I don't understand.
Or what doesn't make sense
 with my limited perspective.
Jesus doesn't pull any punches here 
and tells those gathered
 "that no one can come to me
 unless it is granted him by the Father."

Even Jesus had hard days in ministry.

 After this conversation 

"many of his disciples turned back 

and no longer walked with him."

Jesus asks his disciples-

 "Do you want to go away as well?"

We can usually count on Peter.

Peter says- " Lord, to whom shall we go?

 You have the words of eternal life. 

And we have believed

 and have come to know

 that you are the Holy One of God."

 This is what this two page section

 looks like in my Journaling Bible.

Sometimes I like creating both pages 

with a similar color scheme.

Think that goes back to years

 of scrapbooking layouts.

 This blue paint covers a bit

 more than I like-

 but can still see the words if needed.

 ( Gold Alpha stickers are hard to photograph)

These phrases have drifted

 into my thinking over the past three days.

 I love that about Bible Journaling-

it becomes an imprint in my mind of His WORD.

Supplies:

Alpha stickers

 Small Alphas- $1 Bin Target

Die Cuts

Tim Holz- Chitchat bitty words

Fine point Sharpie pen

 Folk Art Pearl Acrylic paint-Blue Taffeta

Bible Marginalia- Bread of Life

Bible Marginalia Series- #114

John 6

The Food of eternal life--

Jesus is the bread of life.

Jesus hanging out in Capernaum.

The people just wanted to be near Him.

 They were seeking Him.

But, they were having such

 a challenging time

 figuring it all out.

Jesus said-

"Whoever comes to ME-

 shall not hunger,

 and whoever believes 

in me shall never thirst."

And the Jews grumbled about Him.

Trying to make the simple complicated.

Jesus said these things in the synagogue,

as he taught in Capernaum.

 And He made it all simple. 

I AM the Bread of LIFE.

Supplies-

Graph paper add-in---

(helped with ghosting from previous page)

 Cross Washi tape- Wal- Mart

Alpha stickers

Flower Stamp 

Die-cut flowers

 Colored pencils 

Fine-point Sharpie- non-bleeding

Bible Marginalia- Give Thanks and remember

Bible Marginalia Series- #113

Finishing up in 1 Chronicles Chapter 16

This is connected to the last posting in Chronicles.

  The work in this Chapter

 started about 6 months ago.

 This margin reflects David's Song of Thanks 

when the ark of God 

was set inside the tent that David

 had pitched for it,

Prayer time was spent in a doodle

 around the rub-on words.

Sometime I find that the work

 is "in progress,"

 and that is OK.

 Verse 15......

  I was struck by the number of verbs

 in God's command to David.

Remember. Sing. Tell.

Declare. Ascribe. Worship. 

Tremble. Give Thanks.

Because HIS LOVE 

ENDURES FOREVER.

Think that is our daily To- Do list.

 Sounds like our Lord is expecting

 a bit more than a one-hour Sunday time slot.

I always need to repent

 and regroup and begin again.

Chapter 16 then ends with this post-

everlasting.

The margin pages here were done

 with experiments in using 

"easy to use" or "adapt" materials

 for Bible Journaling. 

The Give thanks is a rub on

 in the Scrapbooking archives.

  Wanted to see how it worked

 to use graph paper

 to do the writing sideways in the margin.

Both are simple and effective margin tools.

 Supplies:

Bible verse Stamp and ink

 Graph paper

 Rub-on

Fine point Sharpie non-bleeding pens- Black and Purple

 Colored pencils

Michigan Adventure

We had set aside this past week for family time. 

It worked out that middle daughter

 and family were moving into a new house.

So... vacation time would be TOGETHER.

 Moving in. Ypsilanti, Michigan.

This keeps our streak in place -

moving at least one daughter

 every summer for the last 13 straight years.

New digs for the Schus.

Mr. Explorer.
Stroller Findings. Wiggle Sprinkler.
Computer Geek. Ice Cream!

Football. Down the Slide.
In the Swing. Cuddle time.

Selfies and Stills.

Out and About.

Ann Arbor Arts Fair

Chillin'. Doorbells.
Giggles. Biking in the Triathlon.
Time with Uncle Dan and Aunt Jess.

Worn out. Where's my hat?
Play with me in my little tent.

Feasting on surf and turf.
 Celebrating.

And we GIVE THANKS.

Bible Marginalia- Everlasting to Everlasting

Bible Marginalia Series - #112

1 Chronicles 16

From everlasting to everlasting.

 There was amazing worship time
 before the ark-
 with trumpets and cymbals
 for sacred song.
verse 43-
 "Then all the people departed each to his house, 
and David went home to bless his household."

What if that was our response to worship time? 
 To go home to bless all in our household?

On a cooler July morning in Virginia
 headed to my favorite spot in the yard.
 The sanctuary at the picnic table.

My green view.

Layers, contrast and textures.
Depth.
 Dependance and Mingling.
 Intertwining.

That is what I am learning about
 in Bible Marginalia.
 Journaling the journey in His Word.
Seeing how His Word adds to my earthly life-
 as I already live my eternal life.

Supplies:
 Few dashes of Tim Holtz Distress Ink- Mowed Lawn
Faber Castell Gelatos- Yellow and Gold
Washi tape
Millenium Zig Memory pens- various sizes
Colored pencils
Bible Highlighters- for Section Headings

Bible Marginalia- Oh Obadiah!

Bible Journaling Series #111

The Day of the Lord is Near-

Obadiah- the shortest book in the Bible.

Theme here-

 That we find our Hope

 in being His People 

when the restoration 

of all things COMES.

Used a banner-bunting stamp

 that I found on a great resell
 "2nd Chances" table

 at this store in High Point, NC in May.
ink paint stamp

Wrote some of the main points

 around the banner burning.

This holds the prophecy of living

 in a self-serving manner.

Place ourselves under God's authority.

Subject our appetites to His purposes.

Obadiah - worshipper of Yahweh.

This page has the "bleed-through"

 of the stamping on the above page.

Decided to use the same style 

and write the notes around the bunting.

This book tells the judgment upon Edom.

Do not think yourselves greater than you are.

Pride goes before destruction.

Simple outlay of instruction.

Challenging to live with pride in check.

Much to pray about personally and as a nation.

I  enjoy looking at a whole book

 of the Bible at a time.

Obadiah is a great place

 to start with the 2 pages.

Supplies:

Stampin' Up Ink-

Bunting stamp

Colored pencils

VersaCraft- Chiffon- Water-based Pigment Ink

(Did not bleed through 

and was able to use other colors

 on the back of the page)

Fine-point Sharpie non-bleeding pen

Blooming at the library

Walked in to pick up a library book.

Bright flower heads greet along the sidewalk.

This library branch will undergo an update soon.

Probably won't keep much

  of the perennial beds intact in the process.

Always hard to see beautiful things go away.

My comforting thought will be that the 

future flower adornments will be even lovelier.

Reminds me of the challenging

 and daunting upheaval

 that soul pruning makes in our lives.

We so LOVE to hang on to the present good- 

even at times to hang on

 for dear life to the known present.

Our Lord says to us--"Trust Me, 

I have something even better."

And I pray:

Lord, allow me to move through my days

 with the ability to seek the Good

 that you have in store for me.

On days where there is a lot of tearing up,

 dividing and tossing out of pieces of my life-

let me rest assured that you

 meet me in the new place. 

I give thanks that the very best in life

often comes right after a challenging

stretch of heart renovation.

What grace- that my Lord travels all the way

WITH ME. 

VRSLY updates

Time to catch up with some

 of my favorite VRSLY photos.

A brick wall in Chelsea Michigan

our front yard and flag waving

the view from the back yard

a bit of Florida coast

a lakeview shot from daughter Jessica

Firefly Lake, Wisconsin

Sea of Galilee

 from Mount of Beatitudes- Israel

California Coast

And with a click on the VRSLY app-

 a photo becomes a visual of Grace

full of Blessing

Bible Marginalia- Seek Good

Bible Marginalia Series- #110

Today my heart is heavy.

Right before I was going to hit publish

 on this post I saw the news on FB

 that Bible Journaler and designer Heidi Swapp 

lost one of her sons.

For this section in Amos I had used 

some of the hearts and butterflies 

that come in one of her packets

 of embellishments.

I sat down and reread the words.

SEEK GOOD....

so

THE LORD,

the GOD of hosts shall be with you.

I almost deleted the post.  

Then I read back over it

 and saw that in some ways this post

 is a prayer for the SWAPP family.

 For the heart of a momma 

who has sought the LORD.

For a family in deep loss.

To KNOW- that the LORD, 

the GOD of HOSTS

shall be with them ALL. 

 As I looked at the page,

 I saw the heart filled with LOVE.

  The butterflies ascending-

Reminders of ETERNAL LIFE.

 NEW lIFE

Nothing on this earthly journey matters 

other than the relationships we hold dear.

And we are often reminded that our

 children are ours for AWHILE.

  To Heidi Swapp and her family-

 we hold you in our prayers.

This post is to bring light to honor

 the way that you have touched many lives.

And today- across the miles-

 we hold you close in our hearts.

 as we lift you all to the Heavenly Father. 

May His Grace surround you 

with His abundance-

 beyond our man understanding.

Supplies:

 Heidi Swapp embellishments

Shell and Aqua acrylics- Target

 Bible verse sticker
 Pink Washi tape

Bible Marginalia-Freedom in Christ

Bible Marginalia Series- #109

A 4th of July page done this past week.

Looking at Freedom in Christ in Galatians 5:1.

Because Christ has set us free.

Therefore- STAND FIRM.

And do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Poignant thought in conversations this past week.

How do we move forward in freedom?

What practices are edifying

 that do not let us slip back

 into practices that lessen people? 

That is really the essence of the red, 

white and blue of the American flag.

More of the experiment with acrylic paints.

 The red paint is the Target paint

 that I am trying out.

The blue was a bargain bin paint at Michael's.

Folk art- the blue paint- I have used

 for years for crafting.

Didn't like the FOLK ART so much in my Bible.

It dried before I could get a very thin spread,

 and the shimmer didn't help for reading the words.

 An IG follower said that I could take water now

 and lessen some of the blue.

 Might be chicken to try that for fear

 of making a bigger mess.

Though this page may not be in a

 "favorite" category,

 it highlights red and white and blue

 for a celebration day.

With stickers and Alpha letters-

 it falls into the EASY To Do list.

But, remember- THIS Journaling Bible

 is an experiment in processes.

 Some work well-

 and others may NOT.

It is OK to have a page fail.

 It is OK to like part of the page,

 and not the WHOLE PAGE.

( I love the White dots on the back lettering.)

Listen to what is happening in your heart 

as you work in the margins.

 He speaks in the middle of the mess.

Supplies:

Ladybug Red Satin-

 Hand Made Modern Paint- Target

Fold Art Acrylic Paint Pearl Blue Taffeta

Flag and Heart Stickers- Stickopotamus- Michael's

Uni Signo White Pen

 Alpha Letters- Dollar Bins Target

 Fine point Sharpie- non- Bleeding pen

 Regular Black Sharpie marker

 Colored Pencils

Bible Marginalia- When Hope Becomes a Tree of Life

Bible Marginalia Series- #108

Well, I finally joined in the acrylic paint 

cheer section.

I saw a FB post about

 the new line of paints at Target.

So was planning to use a clear sticker 

for this verse in Proverbs.

So many things to ponder here.

 Can easily do a margin for each couplet.

But I loved looking at the health

 and wellness of hope.

It can be life altering to be without HOPE.

It can be life altering to have HOPE.

A TREE OF LIFE.

Lots of images there.

But, I don't really draw trees.

So... paint, and paint.

Bright paint.

It was easy to spread 

with the old credit card method.

I used a dab on a paper plate -

about the size of the TIP of my little finger.

Dipped the credit card edge 

in and simply swiped it over the page.

I like how sheer the paint is.

My personal preference

 is to still see the words underneath the paint.

 Lesson learned:

don't forget to put a "save sheet" 

(piece of scrap paper)

 underneath the page to protect the edge

 of the Bible from extra dabs of paint.

Colors of paint on this page

 were Shell and Leaf.

They were $1.99 each.

  The display was very picked over, 

and the store was wiped out in some colors.

(Is everyone in Northern Virginia

 doing Bible Journaling and getting these paints?)

acrylic-paint-satin

I purchased the SATIN paint in these colors.

I added a few images of a

 simple flower stamp in blue.

The paint dried very quickly 

and this was a very simple margin (page) addition.

More time to read and reflect.
Skill level for this:  BEGINNER- EASY.

Was happy with the BACK side of this page- 

very little bleed-through or shadow images.

All in all- pleased with the paint experiment.

Think I will try this out for 

more Bible prayer time this week.

Supplies:

Hand- Made Modern acrylic paint

(Target Craft Section)

Bible verse sticker

(Ancient stash)

Flower stamp

(Michael's Deal Bins)

Dye Ink Pad- Marine

(Recollections brand- old stash)