Advent 14- Word Made Flesh

Bible Marginalia Series #211

Word Made flesh

 Exodus 16: 1-4

Bread from Heaven.

Reminds me of an Amy Grant song.

The Israelites are once again

 on the complaining rant.

Grumble. Grumble.

And then the bread 

will rain down from heaven.

Bread coming down.

Incarnation-

in the flesh.

That we might know that 

He is the Lord our God.

That we might SEE the 

Glory of the Lord.

For the life-sustaining

gift of a baby in the manger-

Jesus- Himself.

Supplies:

 Acrylic paint - Target 

(Satin- elephant and Camel)

Micron pen

Black and Gold Sharpie markers

Fine-point Sharpie marker

Scrapbook paper

Colored pencils

Border sticker

Advent 13- Living Water

Bible Marginalia Series- #210

Living Water

Exodus 17: 1-7

Israelites on the move.

Scarcity of food and water.

Focus on the basic necessities of life.

Easy to lose the grasp of what is important.

Hardship does that sometimes.

And in the midst of all the grumbling, 

strife, challenges and WHINING-

 they were taken care of for 40 years.

On the border of the land of Canaan.

Then the quarreling breaks out

 and the demands are made.

The Lord rescues AGAIN-

with water, living water.

Physical needs met.

On this spiritual rock we are reminded

of the gift of ADVENT-

eternal salvation-

 from THE LIVING WATER. 

Supplies:

Illustrated Faith phrases 

Alphabet Stickers

Illustrated Faith pen

Colored pencils

Small tabs- Target 

Stampin' Up- Cool Caribbean

Date Stamp - Michaels

Word clings

Advent 12- Promise of Salvation

Bible Marginalia Series- #209

Promise of Salvation

 Advent 12

Numbers 21: 4-9

Some timely words- even today.
"And the people became
 inpatient on the way."
Oh, how fitting for me- 
always trying to get THERE.
Forgetting about the journey.
Working on my own timeline- 
rather than asking for the Lord's plan. 
Or trying to dictate the speed
 and experience along the way.
And then- the supreme vice-
complaining.
And the seed is planted for the disease
 of sin to run rampant.
Slowly killing.
Until by faith I look up at the pole,
the CROSS, 
because FAITH HEALS.
Clinging to the Promise of Salvation.

Supplies:
Alpha letters
Washi tape
Colored Pencils
Fine-point Sharpie marker
Clear - Faith words

Advent 11- Savior Come

Bible Marginalia Series- #208

Isaiah 7:13-14

A sign marking the foretold promise.
"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel."

Oh Savior Come!
On each of our Advent days 
may we hold onto the promise- 
of the Lord to earth gift. 
And may we remember as well,
 and anticipate the return!

The Ichthys is the symbol that tells the story.

The fish, Greek ichthys (ἰχθύς),

 is a symbol for Christ which has been

 in use since the days of the early church.

 In Greek, it is an acronym for 

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior:

The first appearances of the 

ichthys symbol in Christian art 
and literature date to the 2nd century AD. 
The symbol's use among Christians 
had become popular by the late 2nd century.

And even now- 

let us dwell in the meaning of this rich symbol.

 Oh! Savior Come!

Supplies:

Black Sharpie marker 

Fine-point Sharpie marker

Illustrated Faith- Names of God stamp

Illustrated Faith- CHRISTmas die-cuts

Stampin' Up ink- Bermuda Bay

Cardstock paper

Acrylic paint- SKY Satin-Target

Washi tape

Advent 10- A Heart of Love

Bible Marginalia Series- # 207

A Heart of Love

 1 John 4:7-14

The eternal life gift.

Too often I lose sight of that 

amazing act of mercy.

The gift of His Son for ME.

That should stop me in my tracks-

 so that I would only see others

 as His gifts in the world.

"No one has ever seen God. 

But if we love each other, 

God lives in us,  

and his love is brought

 to full expression in us." v.12

 May all of our interactions and offerings

 to each other be rooted in love.

That the world might see God's love in us-

to them.

Supplies:

Inspire Bible

Prismacolor pencils

Micron pen

IF- Through Christ- Devotional kit

for stamps and ink

Washi tape

Advent 9- A Cry for Deliverance

Bible Journaling Series- #206
 Exodus 3

The verses right before this section- 
with the heading-
God Hears Israel's Groaning-
caught my attention.
 Sometimes Advent causes a lot of 
GROANING among the women
 I know and Love.
 Long lists, too much to do,
shopping, decorating,
preparing, shopping, cooking.
And we moan.
God heard the groaning of Israel-
and then here it is- God knew.
I don't remember reading this before.
God knew.
Now, the Israelites 
were moaning about slavery.
So let's keep the perspective here.
We- in our own freedom-
generally create our lists ourselves.
Some can't wait for the deliverance
 of the end of the Christmas season.
Something to think about.
Then it goes right into the
 Burning Bush story with Moses. 
And some pretty dramatic goings-on.
The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses
 in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush.
Then God himself calls to Moses out of the bush.
Moses responds with- "Here I am."
Then the Lord reminds Moses
 he stands on Holy ground.
What if our Advent approach
 left the groaning behind,
and exchanged it for the 
reverence of Holy ground?
All because God knew-
we would get sidetracked
 and fall into fits of groaning-
no matter whatever enslaves us.
Time to take a deep breath
 and take off my shoes for Advent.

Supplies:
Prismacolor pencils
Faber-Castell PITT Artist pen

Advent 8- Waters of Baptism

Bible Marginalia Series- #205

A Look at Exodus 15

And the rush of water destroyed 

Pharaoh's chariots and horsemen.

And they danced with Miriam.
The destruction of Pharaoh’s troops
 in the Red Sea 
reminds us of our rescue from sin
 and the destruction of Satan’s power
 in the water of baptism 
and the blood of the risen Savior.
That rescue theme again for Advent.
Certainly giving me directed
 focus in these readings.
And a heart of thankfulness.

Supplies:
Illustrated Faith die cuts
Pearlescent watercolors
Shell stamp
Fine point marker