Scripture Doodles- March

Scripture Doodles March 2020

What a month this has been for sure!

I decided that for this month 

I was doing a number of 

Visual Faith practices for Lent,

so what I did to adjust this month was to use

  4 colors of Watercolor and prepared the month for gathering the world or phrase for each day.

I found that this "short-cut" still allowed me 

to have a place to gather the prayer prompt

 or take-away for the day and mark the Lenten journey.

It is ALWAYS OK to make adjustments 

in these practices so that they work for YOU.

 I wil be finding another devotion to use

 for April because our church is locked up

 with all of the Portals of Prayers inside.

 I know there is an online APP- 

but guess I am a hands-on paper kind of person.

Thanks to Dr. Kim D. Marxhausen

 from Lincoln, Nebraska for this 

month's Portal of Prayer devotions.

Scripture Doodles- February

  Scripture Doodles- February 2020

The words, phrases and linking

 of devotional thoughts.

One month at a time-

the story of reading my 

Portals of Prayer devotions.

 A day changes everything-

Leap Year and the gift of a day...

Thankful for the story of 

simple words in simple squares.

Portals of Prayer

written this month by

Rev. Christopher Amen 

of Arlington, Wisconsin.

Scripture Doodles- December

 Scripture Doodles- December

One or phrase a day from my daily devotions

with Portals of Prayer 

by Concordia Publishing House.

Four colored pencils

and a marker.

Always interesting to see what 

fills out the tiny squares each month.

The calendar is where grace shows up

 to light random words into

 journey markings.

The December Portals of Prayer devotions 
were written by Rev. Aaron Koch 
of Greenfield, Wisconsin.

Scripture Doodles- October

Scripture Doodles for October

Portals of Prayer Devotions

One Word or Phrase Take Away

for each day

4 Colored Pencils

The Story of a Devotional Life

in Visual Format.

Supplies:

Calendar from Concordia Publishing House

Portals of Prayer  Devotions
written this month by James Meyer of Shawano, Wisconsin.

The Reservoir

Beginning a new devotional book right now.

 Husband and I plan to do this together---

I may hang out here a bit 

and then start together the first of the month.

Monday - Friday readings.

To be a reservoir and not a canal.

Praying this verse into the lives of our family 

right now 

and especially another family in deep distress.

 Lord, have mercy.

 Lord, have mercy.

Be with them in darkest of days.

Walking into the unknown.

Let them know and feel your presence.

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Scripture Doodles- September

Scripture Doodles 

for the month of September.

One word or phrase 

from the devotions each day.

Using the Portals of Prayer devotions

 from Concordia Publishing House.

Four colored pencils.

Time to pray.

In a Traveler's Journal

 for easy transporting.

Calendar supplied by 

Concordia Publishing House.

The September devotions were written by

Rev. Bryan Hopfensperger.

Scripture Doodles- August

Scripture Doodles for the month of August.

Following along with the Portals of Prayer.

One word or phrase a month,

 Four colored pencils.

Calendar by Concordia Publishing House.

Available in the FILES at 

Visual Faith Ministry Facebook groups.

The August Devotions were written by
Tanya Laabs Johnson from Appleton, Wisconsin.

Scripture Doodles- June

Portals of Prayer Devotions 

by Concordia Publishing House 

with their printable Calendar.

Scripture Doodles-

as a devotional practice.

A take-away word or verse each day.

Choose 4 colored pencils for the month.

Organized in a Traveler's journal for portability.

Meditate on the good things.

 This month's devotions 

by Rev. Ryan Ogrodowicz-

Benham, Texas.

Scripture Doodles-May

Scripture Doodles- May

Using the devotions of Portals of Prayer

 from Concordia Publishing House.

This months devotions were written by

Sarah Baughman of Cypress, Texas.

Using the calendar from

 Concordia Publishing House.

Dividing it into thirds

 to fit a travelers journal.

Still find this devotional practice 

grace-filled and workable.

Scripture Doodles- April

Scripture Doodles for the month of April.

 Gathering a good portion

 of the Lenten season walk.

Choosing four colors to use for the month.

Preparing a calendar from 

Concordia Publishing House

 to use in a traveler's journal.

One word or phrase take-away

 from each day's devotion.

Added to the calendar to create a visual story

 for the month of devotions.

Mini-billboards-

for reminders to pray,

meditate, and listen for the very place

 that the Word of God 

is speaking into my life.

The April 2019 devotions were written by

Rev. Richard Eyer.
Calendars were  supplied
 by Concordia Publishing House.

Scripture Doodles- March

Scripture Doodles for March

with the Portals of Prayer Devotions 

by Concordia Publishing House.

One word or phrase a day

 for meditation and prayer.

Using the calendar printed by 

Concordia Publishing  House 

and divided into thirds

 to fit a Traveler's Journal.

This month's devotions were by

Rev. Jonathan Vollrath 

from Dover, Minnesota.

Scripture Doodles- February

An Experiment Continues.

I have now been using the tiny Scripture doodles

 that go with a devotional reading

 for a full 6 months now.

I always tell people to do a check-in

 with their Spiritual IEP plan every 6 months

 to see what is working and what needs adjusting.

I have been using the Portals of Prayer readings,

a Traveler's journal, 

a printed calendar from 
Concordia Publishing House, 

and 4 colored pencils each month.

So far the evaluation shows that:

 I am still DRAWN to the practice.

 It is doable, reliable, and a blessing.

I love seeing the images together

 as the month progresses.

It serves as both Story and a reminder.

How does this fit with my needs

 and accommodations for my IEP?

I need structure for my practices.

I work best with simple and small spaces

 without the need to draw images.

It needs to be easily portable

 for a transient lifestyle.

There is help to deal with the 

distraction of color choices-

(the 4 colored pencils chosen each month.)

I love to have processes that develop

 into a shareable story to encourage others

 on social media or in story form.

So? the end result....

keep on moving forward

 this way in the journey.
This month's devotions were written 
by Rev. Andrew Yeager of Garrett, Indiana.

#portalsofprayer

#tinyscripturedoodles

#concordiapub

Scripture Doodles- January

Scripture Doodles.

One Word or phrase a day.

Mini-bulletin board to go with a devotion.

Reading Portals of Prayer

 by Concordia Publishing House.
4 colored pencils.
One Traveler's Journal.

The January Devotions were written by 
Laura Pickle from Rainbow City, Alabama.

Calendars by Concordia Publishing House.
What does your devotional life look like?
What if it was in a format to bless the world?
How could the Lord use this 
to bring HOPE to the internet?
Not to late to move forward with February.
Here is a link to this month's calendar:
Visual Faith Ministry FILES

Scripture Doodles- December

Finishing up the year- 2018 

with Tiny Scripture Doodles.

They go with the Portals of Prayers devotions.

Concordia Publishing House supplied the calendar.

This month of December

 had a definite HOPE theme.

It was fun because I know the author

 of this month's devotions-

Rev. David Stecholz.

My devotions are formatted to fit a Traveler's journal 

so the calendar page is cut into thirds

 and put on a two page layout 

and one more page to make it fit.

I choose 4 colored pencils for the month.

 It fits in my backpack for traveling

 and works well to pull out in a car, 

airplane or the airport.

That makes it very user friendly. 

I keep the colored pencils and Fine-point Sharpie

 in a zipper pouch right in the journal carrier.

So the evaluation for this experiment

 that I started in the month of August?

It stays for 2019.

 I have my journal prepped for 2019- Jan- April.

Calendar pages provided by 

Concordia  Publishing House.
Here they are- Jan-April 2019
CPH calendar pages
Thanks to Elizabeth Pittman for sharing 
and uploading the Files 
in the Visual Faith Ministry FB group.
The devotions this month were written by 
Rev. David Stechholtz of Livonia, Michigan.

Scripture Doodles- November

Scripture  Doodles for the month of November

Using the Portals of Prayer Devotions.

 This is the fourth month of experimenting

 with this practice.

I can truthfully say this has been the only way

 that I have ever successfully done a devotional walk

 in a daily manner.

 A catch up day or two here and there

 has been doable,

grace-covered, and yet welcoming.

Sometimes the title for the devotion

 has been what I centered on

 for my doodle space.

It has also been in the daily reading

 or in the prayer.

 I can't see the whole month

 at a time since I cut the calendar apart

 to make it work for a Traveler's journal.

But, I love that I can still

 see the "picture" of the month.
All in all- 
a devotional art practice 
that "adds" to my spiritual walk.

The Devotions for this month 
were written by Rev. Ray Salemink 
of Ellettsville, Indiana.

Scripture Doodles- October

 Finished up the October 2018

 Scripture Doodles 

for the Portals of Prayer devotions.

A visual record of the journey.

A short phrase a day.

4 colored pencils chosen for the month-

that make a tapestry story.

I am using the calendars offered from

 Concordia Publishing House
portals-of-prayer-devotional-calendar

and cutting them to fit

 my traveler's journal.

What I like in this practice-

 is SEEING what the month

 looks like as it unfolds.

Looking for word or thought patterns.

Seeing a theme.

The greatest blessing?

I have found something that

works for me

in my devotional time.

The devotions for this month 
were written by Michelle McGill - Vargas
 of Gary, Indiana.

When Your Soul Needs Respite

 It sneaks up on me. 

The desperate gasping of my soul

 for breath and nourishment.

I often plow right along. 

There is the "to-do" list. 

Places to go. Tasks with a deadline.

Yet, it is exactly in this busiest of seasons 

that I need to STOP 
and just take those few minutes 

to breathe slowly and deeply.

Time to admire the veining 

in the coleus that will soon wilt with frost.

Time to trace the glorious pink 

mandevilla that has climbed the pole on the deck.

To see the contrast behind of blue sky and clouds.

This is tilling soul time.

In Joyce Rupp's book 

May I Have This Dance?  she shares that 

"the human spirit is much like a spring garden. 

If growth is to happen, it too must be made ready.

 The human spirit must be opened up

 if God's goodness is to grow there. 

Open minds and hearts are ready to receive 

the abundant life God constantly offers."

So I take time to open up.....till....

Time to work up the soil with His Word in hand.

Time to offer up those in my heart in prayer.

Time to seek God's will in my life.

Time to look for where He is currently working.

In his book- A Praying Life- 

Connecting with God in a Distracting World,  

Paul E. Miller reminds us-

"It's okay to have a busy life.

It's crazy to have a busy soul."

Take a soul breath.

Scripture Doodles in a Traveler's Journal

 The month of September

 in tiny Scripture doodles

 to go along with my 

Portals of Prayer devotions.

 Four colored pencils

and a non-bleeding Sharpie pen.

I divided the calendar 

to fit in three pages 

in my Traveler's notebook.

What am I SEEING in this practice?

I am drawn to my devotion time.

I can catch up if I get behind a day or two.

The word or phrase runs across 

my conscience thoughts during the day.

I love the whole picture 

of the month of devotions.

This practice would work 

with any devotion 

you may be using for the month.

Here is the link for calendars 
if you would like to try this out and join us!
devotional-calendar-october-december

Portals of Prayer- Tiny Scripture Doodles

Sharing the experiment of  

TRYING OUT 

combining Tiny Scripture doodles 

with the daily readings of the 

Portals of Prayer devotions by

 Concordia Publishing House.

I grew up with Portals of Prayers 

as part of our family devotions.

I have found a process

 that has drawn me back.

I printed off the August calendar

 from the CPH blog.

But, the dilemma was how to tackle 

keeping this format in an on the go,

 in the car and airplane lifestyle.

I decided to try adapting the format

 to fit my Traveler's Journal.

(American Crafts- Michael's

May have to find this online.)

I set it up by cutting it 3 column, 

2 column, 2 column.
Picked 4 colored pencils 
to use through the month.

I added it to a graph paper insert.

Any style would work.

I have to flip it to get to the end of the week.

I usually like to see the Whole Month Story

 at a glance,

 but just knew that that would be hard 

to make happen in this season of life.

So for each day I read the devotions 

and pray that the Holy Spirit lifts up the phrase,

  word, or thought for my "take-away."

It becomes my "mini-bulletin board" 

that shapes prayer thoughts throughout the day.
 I have moved to the large print version
 of Portals of Prayer.
Enough said. 
It fits right in the back of my journal,
 so it goes right along on the way.

The grace place for this practice ?

Get behind a couple of days?

It is simple to catch up.

Many of our Lutheran Churches 
offer these devotions to 
members and visitors each quarter. 
(There is also an app on your phone-$9.99 a year.)

I have September ready to go for tomorrow.

  One of the things we talk about in our 

spiritual formation process-

be ready.

These will be offered quarterly by CPH

 and I will set up my journal- 

one quarter at a time.

The calendars will also be added to the Files section

 for all of the 
Visual Faith Communities on Facebook.

Easy to find and print.
Here is one of the 22 groups-
Visual Faith Ministry

Why don't you join us?

Follow along-

  and add your photos on Instagram

 with these hashtags-

#tinyscripturedoodles

#portalsofprayer

#visualfaith

#concordiapublishinghouse