Bible Marginalia- My Rock, Refuge, and Shield

Bible Marginalia Series- #144

Psalm 18: 1-3

I love these section

 of very vivid images

 of God's hand of protection-

 for ME.

ROCK

FORTRESS,

DELIVERER.

ROCK,

REFUGE,

SHIELD.

The horn of my Salvation.

My Stronghold.

This section had multiple layers

 as I added in the bulletin cover 

saved from a Reformation service.

Then the traditional hymn-

Lord, Thee I Love With all My Heart.

A great section of Psalms

 for encouragement and meditation.

Supplies:

Colored pencils, 

Fine-point Sharpie marker

Washi tape

Bulletin cover

Cardstock

Bible Marginalia-The Lord is My Shepherd

Bible Marginalia Series- #143

On a cold February day I was blessed

 to have an out of state adult daughter 

home over Winter Break.

We broke out the Bible Journaling stamps 

that we were anxious to try from 

Our Daily Bread Designs.
bible-journaling-bundle
(Highly recommend this bundle for use
 by beginners and in group settings)

We each added some acrylic paint

 and the stamp in black.

Used a white SignoUni pen

 for outline or details of the lambs.

 The teal paint she choose has a sheen to it

 and makes it hard to photograph 

but the words are still readable underneath.

I thought the gray had a bit more 

of a greenish cast to it than I liked on this page.

Psalm 23- because it is so well known,

 may be hard to journal.

We liked the approach of using

 the stamp in the margin.

How the words- I SHALL NOT WANT 

were emphasized.

 The way this journaling Bible

 is set up there is still margin space

 for more of the Psalm on the opposite page.

Lord, help me to hear your gentle words to me.

When I am close to you- 

I shall not want or be in need.

You are MY SHEPHERD.

Amen.

Supplies:

Acrylic paint- Target

 Stamp- Our Daily Bread

Stamp ink

White- Signo-Uni pen

Bible Marginalia-Have the Faithful Vanished?

 Bible Marginalia Series-#142

Been awhile since I shared
  some Bible Marginalia.
Had actually worked on these pages
 over a period of time.
Been using these pages to pray 
for the upcoming Presidential election.

Dear Lord, make yourself present- don't hide.
Let our nation see you!
Don't forget us!
The Lord is righteous.
Lift up righteous leaders.
Have the faithful all vanished?
The words of the Lord are pure.
Please bless and make pure the words
 of those desiring to rule.
Make their desire to rule- pure.
Guard us, Heavenly Father, 
and our nation.
Cause us to desire 
to bring YOU GLORY!
 In the name of Jesus, we pray.
Amen.

Supplies: Fine point Sharpie non-bleeding marker

Magazine cut outs- Crate and Barrel

Colored pencils

Soul-Tending Reading- Prayer

I led a Prayer Workshop this weekend

 at Risen Christ Lutheran Church, 

Myrtle Beach, VA

 with my husband- John.

We shared some books 

that have been helpful along the way -

learning about prayer.

One of the first books we read was-

Why-Pray

Prayer is about a love relationship with 

our Heavenly Father.

Sanctuary-Soul-Journey-Meditative-Prayer

Richard Foster shares ideas

 about quieting the heart and soul 

to listen and obey God better.

Prayer is just a part of the 

whole life transformation

 that the Holy Spirit is working in each of us.

(sanctification)

The Willard- Johnson combination

 gives practical application helps along the way.

Renovation-Heart-Daily-Practice

Mulholland addresses the power 

of Holy Scripture in spiritual formation.

A powerful tool is Praying the Scriptures.

Shaped-Word-Scripture-

Benson brings back a look 

at some ancient practices 

to help us be aware of the presence of God.

Paying attention.

Constant-Prayer

Miller's approach is down-to-earth and practical.

 Even our broken and poor offerings of prayer 

can be fused to be powerful substance. 

We can still connect in a distracting world.

Praying-Life-

We can move from Ground Zero 

in our prayer life.

One of these books just might be the start 

of an amazing blessing.

Deployed Digital Missionaries with VRSLY

 Photos with words added with the VRSLY app.

To be used as Social Media Gospel.

PIN, LIKE, SHARE.

Tell the GOOD NEWS.

Because your calling just might be to serve as a 
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                                                                                         photo by Laura Schumacher

The St. John's Bible-Vision of the New Jerusalem

Vision of the New Jerusalem, 2011

Revelation 21:16-27

Donald Jackson

Scribe: Donald Jackson

Vellum, with ink, paint and gold

"The last chapters of Revelation 

bring God's creation full circle 

with many allusions to the first chapters in Genesis.

 These final passages provide hope in the face

 of all the misery so far described in the book. 

Unlike much of the other apocalyptic 

literature of its day,

 revelations does not swell on destruction. 

Rather it focuses on fulfillment 

and redemption of creation 

by describing the heavenly Jerusalem, 

constructed in perfect measurements, 

adorned with precious stones, 

and paved in gold. 

All evil, pain and death are banished

 by the eternal goodness of God. 

There is no sun or moon, 

for the divine light will shine eternally.

In the Saint John's Bible, the New Jerusalem 

is reminiscent for the temple 

described by the prophet, Ezekiel. 

Golden ribbons double up as rivers or canals, 

descending from the throne, the source of light,

 and nurturing the Tree of Life on the far right. 

The repetition of the number twelve-

 twelve pearls, twelve gates, twelve fruits on the tree-

emphasizes perfection as it calls to mind 

the foundation of the Church in the twelve apostles.

On June 18, 2011, Donald and Mabel Jackson 

presented this illumination to the community

 of Saint John's Abbey and University 

in the great Abbey Church on the Collegeville campus.

 Abbot John Klassen,  

and Fr. Robert Koopmann, 

 president of Saint John's University, 

placed the folio on the Abbey Church altar

 and burnished two gold Benedictine crosses

 (seen on the lower right corner of the folio)

 marking this last folio with a symbol of its new home,

 thus bringing the 15-year creation phase

 of the Saint John's Bible to a celebratory close."

Thus ends the sharing of the photos

 from our trip to see the Saint John's Bible,

 in Dover, Delaware at the Biggs Museum.

Biggs Museum

On this blog I have shared 

a piece of the exhibited work.

What an appreciation 

I have for this amazing work

 by this collection of artists. 

Illuminated journaling in the margins,

telling a piece of the story visually,

to Bring Him Glory.

 The study of this work 

gives me encouragement to continue

 Bible Journaling- 

the journey in the margins of my Bible. 

The St. John's Bible- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Revelation 6:1-8:13
Donald Jackson
 Scribe: Donald Jackson
Vellum, ink, paint, gold, holographic foil

"In Revelation, the apocalyptic events 
soon to take place on earth are written on a scroll
 secured with seven seals. 
A slain lamb opens each seal introducing
 a new stage of God's judgment on earth.
The first four seals release
 the horsemen of the Apocalypse,
 figures which have been portrayed in Christian art
 throughout the centuries. 
The white horse, although difficult
 to specify represents war. 
The red horse complemented by a rider
 and a huge sword, stands for death,
 which results in war. 
The black horse, with the scale in the rider's hand
 to measure food rations, is famine,
 a byproduct of war. 
The green horse signifies death and disease
 the result of famine. 
Suffering and death cannot be separated from life,
 but they do not have the last word
 as the entire book shows.
In this illumination, Donald Jackson
 has turned the Technicolor spectrum
 up to full volume.
 The slain lamb breaks the seals 
releasing the havoc of the four horsemen.
The horses are visually fused with representations
 of present day cavalry-tanks. 
Oil rigs loom in the background 
symbolizing the power of greed
 and the destructive exploitation 
which occurs when love of the earth
 and its people is set aside for short term gain. 
Of the seven seals represented, 
four have already been broken 
and predatory insects plague the scene.
 A sense of weight within the chaos 
suggests an imminent slide down 
from Heaven toward earth."

Lord, on some days the ravage 
of the earth makes us feel 
like the destruction beckon has begun. 
Bring us solace that you never leave us, 
no matter what is happening around us.
Amen.

The St. John's Bible- Revelation

Revelation Incipit with the Son of Man

Revelation 1:1-2:29
Donald Jackson
Scribe: Donald Jackson
Vellum, ink, paint and gold

"The book of Revelation has inspired artists 
and the Christian imagination in every age,
 but it has also given rise to hundreds of
millennial movements even up to the current day. 
This puzzling work describes the events leading up
 to the end of the world.
While a literal reading of the passages
 present an inseparable division
between good and evil in an all-out battle for survival, 
the highly visual and symbolic language, 
makes Revelation one of the most hopeful and beautiful 
books in the Bible.
Revelation opens with a burst of color 
evoking the interior of a Byzantine church 
and providing a foretaste of the succeeding pages.
The details superimposed on the background 
look back to imagery used in the Prophets, 
Wisdom Books and Gospels and Acts volumes 
of The Saint John's Bible,
 and designs in multiples of seven, 
the number of perfection, 
are repeated throughtout the page. 
The messianic figure of the Son of Man
 sits in the upper portion
 amidst seven golden lamp stands."

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The St. John's Bible-Parable of the Sower

 Parable of the Sower and the Seed

Mark 4:3-9

Aidan Hart with contributions 

from Donald Jackson and Sally Mae Joseph

 Vellum, with ink, paint and gold

"In this icon-like image, the sower's halo,
 with its cross, identifies him as Christ 
sowing the word of God. 
His contemporary Western work clothes indicate
 that this image is a metaphor, 
in which the sacred message is revealed 
through a mundane action.
The four small hills along the bottom 
are the four kinds of soil on which the seed falls.
 The hard path, where the seed cannot take root
 and is eaten by birds, 
signifies the closed mind
 that refuses to hear God's word.
 The rocky ground, where the sprout is short-lived, 
stands for shallow people
 who accept the word of God
 but do not let it take rook in their inner being 
and fall away when they are persecuted. 
The thorny ground corresponds to people
 who understand God's work 
but let material things choke their spiritual belief. 
The good soil, where the wheat
 has taken root and thrives,
 represents those who act upon the word of God
 and share it with others."

Dear Lord, 
We pray that our lives
 may be filled with good soil.
Amen.

The St. John's Bible- Corinthians

 For I Received from the Lord 

and If I speak in the Tongues of Mortals, 2011

1 Corinthians 12:1- 14:9

Thomas Ingmire

Scribe: Susie Leiper

Vellum, ink, paint and gold

"The church at Corinth, comprised of diverse, 

multiethnic Greek Christians, had a lot of problems. 

Paul wrote more to this community than to any other, 

and he advised them on how to be a church 

and how to live and worship together.

The passage highlighted in the special text treatment 

on the left page is in the context 

of a large discussion about how to worship together. 

Paul instructs them by giving them liturgical language

 that reminds the participants of the Eucharistic meal. 

Some form of this text is used in virtually

 all Christian traditions during their

celebrations of the eucharist.

Another text treatment is found on the right-hand page. 

This treatment is in two parts that convey 

Paul's specific style of instruction.

 Pauls's words are bold and at times absolute. 

In the first part of the illumination, Paul questions

 the purpose of any gifts of the Spirit

 if they are not joined to love.

 The black text dances down the column 

and makes it feel strident and out of place. 

It is purposely separated from the well-known

Hymn of Love which follows in rainbow 

of saturared color flowing down the column. 

This eloquent litany enumerates the qualities of love and its importance among the values."

Church worship wars are not

 a new thing in our churches.

May we let go of personal likes and dislikes 

and make certain that whatever we do in

 worship together-in all styles-

 is tied together in LOVE.

When the Loft Becomes the Nursery

A one bedroom apartment- with a loft.

And a baby on the way.

Time to rethink the space 

for the arrival of this little guy.

Some vintage goods-- 

already had the chalkboard shelf.

Jerusalem cross purchased in Bethlehem.
Metal framed salvage piece-
the painted mill

Goal- reuse, repurpose, gender neutral.
Recliner rocker- Buy Buy Baby-

(don't think they carry it anymore- got the last one)

Galvanized magazine holder for
animal friends storage 
(Target had one awhile ago)
This one was found at Goodwill

Crib-Amazon
Crib

Foldup shelving units  

(very old Target purchase- 

like maybe 10 years at least)

Tufted Storage ottoman -great extra seating

Vintage mini-globe

So the loft is all ceiling and 

very open and with lots of LIGHT.

Not too cozy, not too private, 

and no way to regulate lighting.

So 98" Gray IKEA drapes-----
Gray drapes 

with the stringer thingy (also IKEA)
Wire curtain rod

 attached to the walls.

Used clips to attach the drapes.
Clips for curtains

Can open them. 

But in a rental- a great option 

for "making a room when there isn't one".

Storage baskets.

Some from Target and Home Goods.

And using what you got.

Changing Table- 
older model Crate and Barrel Buffet

(great storage inside)

Vintage DC map framed-  
the painted mill
Oh the places you'll go! 

Grandpa's oak dresser for storage

IKEA modern white lamp

table lamp

A photo of daddy

Needed a very small spot to set

 a Bubba of water and a phone

Used a swivel piano stool with a tapestry cover

topped with a hammered aluminum tray

to give some stability for things placed here.

On the landing to the loft- 

added a vintage map garland

And the visual prayer for this child.

"For this child I prayed; 

and the Lord hath given me

 my petition which I asked of him."

1 Samuel 1:27

Youngest daughter Sara with grandson- Levi

a few hours old

Levi with daddy

Home and just chillin'

Welcome to the Loft Nursery- Levi
 We love you already!