Presence Carriers

Matthew Henry says: "Tale-bearers are those who secretly carry stories from house to house, which perhaps have some truth in them, but are secrets not fit to be told, or are basely misrepresented, and false colours put upon them, and are all told with design to blast men's reputation, to break their friendship, to make mischief between relations and neighbours, and set them at variance." 

Secrets not fit to be told, vulnerabilities shared in confidence. The gossiper takes these as treasures to be relished and shared, breaking relationships and hearts in their wake. What. If we were to look at the flip side of this coin?  What if we were to carry stories of encouragement and joy over those that we come in contact with speaking life into them and about them, and these are the things that are ingested into the deepest parts of our soul? How would our worlds be different if our words encouraged and inspired, and helped to awaken dreams?

We have the power to try it!  Let's agree today that speaking life into our atmospheres allows room for Holy Spirit to awaken, revive, replenish and restore. We get to be presence carriers, and how much more noble is this calling as we gain control over our thoughts, ambitions and words!

Using Borders!

I thought that today I would share some of my favorite borders with you!  In doing my small daily devo in my calendar, I use different borders around the text.  I usually always put some sort of border on my  full page spreads as well, as I feel like they present a visual "Stop" for the page.

Try these out and incorporate. Them. Into your everyday, they are fun and easy! 

Utilizing back to School Sales!!

Check out a video on using cheaper markers in your journals:

https://youtu.be/IqMyMddXkAs

A Coloring Page for you!

A coloring page for your pleasure! Print it out, color it in and pop it into your journal for today's Proverb: 18:6

Lord we pray that today we would have control over our hearts our thoughts, and---ultimately our mouth.  We pray that peace and grace would spill from us, rather than contention and strife.  Let us be the peacemakers and the presence carriers that You need in this day and age!

Utilizing back to School Sales!!

Check out a video on using cheaper markers in your journals:

https://youtu.be/IqMyMddXkAs

How I Bible Map

A creative Bible Study does not mean just pretty pictures.  We have been looking at using calligraphy, photo journalism, paintings, mixed media, and today....Bible Mapping.

This is a completed image of the entire page: 

Let me walk you through my steps:

First, of course, I need some pretty colors in the background!! For this page, the background colors are made up of spray dyes and stencils.

Next, I write the actual verse I am dissecting in the middle of the page:

My next layer contains research on the original meanings of the words.  If you look closely, you will see the concordance numbers for the main words.  Through Blue Letter Bible and Bible Hub, it is easy to cross reference different translations and the actual nuances and meanings of the original text.

My next box contains the words of the original language and their definitions.

Working outward from the central scripture, I now add another box around the original text, with commentaries.  Again, my two go-to sites for this purpose are blue letter Bible and Bible hub.  Reading what scholars have said about the scriptures add, yet another, layer of meaning within my heart.

Finally, what is the core of what I am taking away from this devo time and dance with the Lord?

For this particular scripture I took away that our words are jewels, and to be dispersed as such, never hurled at another. I give these words a prominent place on the page, so that I can remember as I pick up the pages and recount this holy time spent with the Lord!

Have questions?  Please comment below!  Have another way of Bible Mapping?  Please let us know how you do it!! 

Remeber to join our free creative community at: http://www.praiseheart.ning.com

Words Are As Costly As Jewels

27 A truly wise person uses few words;

    a person with understanding is even-tempered.

Today we are looking at words, that are as costly as jewels..  To speak after great restraint, and with much thought. To think greatly and speak little. So many times we rush into conversations and bombard others with our emotions, choosing to react rather than respond.   Today we are reminded that those who are seeking a holy obedience to the ordinary, think and restrain from a vomit of reactive motions. 

When we can come under Wisdom in this area, we are found to be pleasant, amiable, cool headed and not heated with passion. When we enter into our conversations and daily dealings in this way we walk carefully and leave no footprints on another's heart.

Lord, we pray today, that we would learn control over our tongue.  When working out and building up stamina, strength can be found in resisting.  Help us build this spiritual muscle through the art of resistance!  Holy Spirit, speak to our hearts, in a way that pierces our passions, angers and emotions and causes us to stop, drop, listen and pray.  

Experiencing a Creative Bible Study

Today I want to look at making a creative Bible Study manageable.  In embarking on a study, where color is used to enhance the entire experience of Scripture, it must become a manageable practice. I want to look at the use of a cell phone and photo apps as a way to bring the scriptures to life. 

My husband and I went on a walk and discovered this covered bridge. I snapped away and captured our afternoon, through the lens of my camera.  In using two different apps, I was able to transform our afternoon into a concrete visual of scripture. We all pray that as we raise our children we raise successful adults. We pray that we provide a bridge from infancy to adulthood, that incorporates Wisdom, love, compassion, character and a good moral fiber.  We are the bridge to adulthood, we only walk with them for a short while, before we release them into the world on the other side.

In using my camera lens in my creative Bible Study, I incorporate the wonder of God in my every moment.  I may not know where I will use the picture or how, but I take the pics and I wait for the Spirit to show the way.  As we walk through our day, searching for beauty, we find that we are breathing in His presence in precious moments and images, as we slow down. 

A creative Bible Study is just that: a creative way to interact with the Scritures.  There is no wrong way! Remember to join our free creative community to join in the fun with others and partake in a host of free groups! 

Http://www.praiseheart.ning.com

Keeping My Focus: PRocess Video

Check out how I combined acrylic paint, markers and pens to complete Proverbs 17:24!

https://youtu.be/lQM0UNpbCVc

Keeping My Focus

24 Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom,

    but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

Today’s Proverb contains one word that jumps out at me : FOCUS- to keep our eyes GLUED on Wisdom.  Do we go through our day with our eyes fixed on the ways of the Lord, not on the indulgences of our emotions and flesh? That’s a tough question, isn’t it?  The slow driver in front of us causes our blood pressure to go up.   The procrastination that delays and stalls projects that the Lord has called us to.  The  person that hurt us, that we aren’t ready to forgive …do we keep our eyes glued on Wisdom in all of our dealings? It is quite a standard that we are being called to as we crucify our flesh in a  thousand daily decisions!

Today’s Proverb speaks to us and encourages us to keep our eyes glued on Wisdom, focused on the ways of the Lord and the daily deeds that He is calling us to. Each second, each task, each interaction is to be met through the eyes of Wisdom.

The fool approaches the day with a shotgun mentality, hopping from task to task and from interaction to interaction, never seeking the will of the Lord.  They finish nothing and react to everything.  With eyes always searching the horizon for a new distraction, the fool lacks intentionality and focus. 

I pray that we would intentionally focus on the ways of the Lord and what He has carved out for us to do today. I pray that we would enter into each situation through the eyes of Wisdom and allow Him to guide us from divine appointment to divine appointment.  May we enter all situations with grace as our fragrance and mercy as our calling card. Through the eyes of Wisdom, may we enter into each second through a holy obedience to the ordinary.

Reflectors of Light

23 A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom

To pervert the ways of justice.

Today’s Proverb reminds us that our enemy flourishes in the darkness and in secret.  Through the subterfuge of darkness and perverted promises, we can be led deeper and deeper into the ways of the wicked….one bad decision at a time.   

If there is something that is weighing you down this morning, I would encourage you to open the window and shed light where the darkness has ruled.  Where there is light, the darkness can not exist. There is so much power in truth and honesty, we are not slaves to the darkness, rather we are empowered through light and love. 

My prayer for all of us is that we live a life where we are constantly open to the promptings  of the Spirit, teachable,  humble servants of the Most High. Ready to have our hearts searched and to respond with grace to all that we impact in our daily walk. The darkness would have no hold here, in our group and in our hearts. 

Today's process video: https://youtu.be/CE3flRG2jzA

Ministers of Joy

22 A joyful heart is good medicine,

But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

The benefits of a joyful heart flow into and around us.  Have you ever been ill feeling and come in the contact of a joyful spirit?  The joy splashes us and overtakes the “grumpy”.  Joy is contagious and a medicine for the weariest of traveler. Joy alters the atmosphere and shifts perceptions and emotions. Joy is a gift, a fruit of the Spirit, to posses it is to posses a gift from God.  How can this gift not splash as we share in the excitement of who we are, through Him, encouraging others into the fullness of Christ? 

There is always a flip side to the coin: dried up bones, caused by a broken spirit.  There is no living water in this scenario, no Zoe, abundant living.  Let’s agree to pray for those that are dry, whose very bones splinter and crack in the weariness of life.  There. Is a God who wants to drench them with His love. There are people that want to splash them with joy.  Lord, today we pray that these souls would become open to receive You.  We pray that You would drench them with Your glory, manifesting Joy in their driest places. Help us to minister Joy to them and into our circumstances. Help us to live out of the fruits of the Spirit, with less of us and more of You! 

Becoming a Lighthouse To Higher Ground

21 He who sires a fool does so to his sorrow,

And the father of a fool has no joy.

If you have kids, you know the sorrow  of standing beside them after foolish decisions that they have made.  You know the lack of joy in the punishing and the discipline. These are our children, this is our world future.  Rather than speak of the foolish in future generations, I want to approach today’s Proverb through the lens of prayer.

Do you have a child/grandchild/brother/sister/friend/relative/acquaintance that might be walking out foolish decisions?   Let’s agree to band together and pray into these lives, rather than standing in judgement of them. 

Lord we pray that we would move Your heart through the power of prayer and intercession for those that weigh heavily on our hearts.  WE pray for their hearts to stop and listen, and for a break of sunlight in their days.  Help us to reach out to them and be Your hands and feet, your eyes, ears and heart. Help us to love well and become a lighthouse to higher ground. 

Don't Say It!! Don't Even Think It!!!

20 He who has a crooked mind finds no good,

And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.

Here, the word for “crooked” is : iqqesh, meaning “twisted, distorted, crooked, perverse, perverted”.   This is one whose mind  searches for that which is not righteous, and is fed through perversion.  This mindset finds no good, anywhere. I would offer that with this mindset one finds no peace, for in my world, the “Good times” are the times that there is a simple, peaceful easy feeling. It is interesting to me that in this frame of mind, one can not find “good” in the world, in the people that surround us, in our surroundings, and within ourselves. In this frame of mind everything is seen through the lens of “ iqqesh”.  Every thought, impression, impulse, encounter is filtered through the filter of  twisted distortion. When Christ is our filter, every thought is taken captive before Him and filtered through the lens of grace and mercy, compassion and love righteousness and truth.  

When our tongue follows our thoughts into the land of perversion we find that we slip farther away from “good” and into evil, for where our thoughts are our mouths portray.  

Let's pray: Lord I pray  that  our minds would be constantly renewed through Christ. I pray that  we would look for good in all that we see and all that we do and that we would use our tongue to encourage others.  I pray  that our speech would reflect the inner workings of our minds and our hearts, radiating and splashing all that we see and experience, with the love of Christ. 

Whatch'a Thinkin'?

The person who courts sin marries trouble;

    build a wall, invite a burglar.- The Message

Imagine if you will playing with sin, thinking that there is a line and a boundary that we can get right up next to, just  this side of righteous living.  In this scenario, we dance ever closer to this proverbial ” line” without crossing it. I would offer that as we dance closer and closer to what we know to be wrong….we have already sinned in our heart. WE have courted the danger and entertained vain imaginings of what the other side of THE LINE looks like. Our Proverb promises us that when we court sin, we will marry trouble.  We will be bound to the effects of our decisions.  The wages of sin are death, a separation from the heart of the Father.   Court sin and you invite a marriage with trouble.

We are called to live a humble, simple life that is rich beyond compare .  This richness doesn't come from our personal belongings, it's foundation is found in our personal relationship with our Savior. When we put too much focus and importance on personal wealth, building walls around it to protect that which we have acquired…we draw attention.  We loose that stance of humility as we exalt belongings. With fists closed around the materialistic, we can not receive the ever flowing blessings from heaven.  We build walls to protect and keep out.  The walls meant to protect catch the burglars eye.  “What are they hiding?” “What's behind those walls?”

Today we look at a life that stays grounded in humility and righteousness.  The benefits of such Iiving are, too me, are  the benefits of simplicity.  A simple life, with a simple family, grounded in love and service where we all serve the Lord----->and find that we are rich beyond compare.

Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/U57BKX4xpbc

Update: Humpty Dumpty

Well, it looks like all the king's horses and all the Kings doctors were able to put me back together again! Three weeks ago, I slipped on the stairs.  In a fraction of a second I broke all three bones in my ankle, dislocated it and tore the ligament- off.   I have had surgery to repair all of this mess, but there is no rushing the healing of bones and ligaments.   I have had a few rough weeks, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.  Today I figured out how to film from my recliner and edit videos from my iPad.  I am not sure I can keep up with the schedule that I was posting out Proverbs, but I know that I will be busy continuing to share the marriage between color and the Word of God- as always.  Join me in my rest as we dig, ever deeper, into the Worrd of God!! 

Check out the newest Mixed Mefdia Monthly Chleenge Video!!!

https://youtu.be/s1ILZ7OwnuA