God's Love Knows No Bounds

I don't like to get political, it never works out well. People have a variety of opinions and reasons for those opinions. I can quote something, the opposing side will quote something. It's an endless circle of back and forth. But there is one thing I know and that is that God's love knows no bounds. He is forever forgiving and accepting. He has called us to live our lives as Jesus lived his and as I've written before, Jesus was quite the rebel.

I'm weary of this world, the turmoil that has existed for a while and has gotten worse lately. I'm not going to argue reasons or viewpoints or who is right or wrong but I will say this is a unique opportunity for us. At some point, (maybe now or maybe in the near future) we will each be asked in some way to make a choice. Will we commit to a world that is humane, tolerant, accepting and filled with the true agape love God desires? We can blame the media, blame political parties, blame liberals or conservatives but the truth is, it is our choice to make.

It honestly scares me a bit because I see so much potential for hidden agendas, personal gains and power plays. I see people blinded to facts, shifted ideologies and "inner circles". People often say history repeats itself and I've never truly believed it but now I do. Even if I agreed with the stances taken by many in today's world, I would still be afraid. Once we rob ourselves of free speech, critical thinking and the ability to influence the course of our future, we will be adrift in a world that we cannot maneuver.

God's love will shield us but I am fearful He is also expecting something from us. A show of hands, of solidarity, of compassion and true love. I wrote a post before how I sometimes wondered about those left "behind" at the end of time and fearful that if it was me....would I be able to withstand the many trials and tribulations and not deny my God. I'm not suggesting we are there, just musing as to the strength required to do what is necessary. It is not for the faint of heart.

I fear this is a less than inspiring post, not my intention, it is simply my mind coping with current events and my own fears. I do believe that at some point we will need to choose exactly where we stand in this historically significant and potentially life altering time we live in. Pray.

Hugs to each of you, please pray for the world, for our leaders, for strength, for compassion and for a all of us.

2016 In the Rearview Mirror

We are well on our way to the end of January 2017 and I thought I'd take a few minutes to reflect on 2016. Where I've been and where I'm headed on this spiritual walk with God. It's pretty much my belief that the past is the past and we can't change it so its pretty pointless to play the "what if" games, however I do believe that it can be beneficial to assess where one is and where they want to head. Let's not wander in the dessert for 40 years with no sense of direction.

Spiritually, 2016 was a year full of ups and downs. My sister passed away Thanksgiving Day 2015 and my weekly visits disappeared and more than I admitted at the time my spirit was a bit worn. With her passing, I became the only one of five children in our family still living. I had lost my parents years earlier and my sister and I were the true bookends, her being the oldest and me the youngest of our family. I wasn't mad at God, I wasn't disappointed, it just felt very raw and it took me a bit to wander back into musing. Through it all God was there waiting to direct me. I just wasn't looking at the map.

My faith was never shaken, it just seemed distant, less tangible. I continued to read bible verses, journal, and muse internally but I blogged less in 2016. For me, as a writer, writing is the most powerful emotional access tool I have and perhaps, (not sure) I avoided writing because it does just that it connects the emotions of the soul with the realities of our world. I felt a little alone, while surrounded by people. I never felt lonely with God but the nature of that relationship became so deeply personal that I kept it close and private.

I think reflecting back that 2016 became a spiritual cocoon, in which I wrapped myself, warm and protected by God's love. I doubt anyone noticed the difference, which in itself isn't that unusual. Now it is time to emerge for the cocoon and to step forward in to 2017.

In 2017, I plan to muse, muse more than I even think is humanly possible. To question my own musings, to reflect, to evaluate, to converse with God in the deepest ways possible but most of all to listen.  I tend to get caught up in my own head and heart. I tend to think I "know". But what if in reality in this determined stance I take, God wishes me to be slightly more humble, slightly less "set" in my ways, and much more open to God's direction. In the busyness of my own thinking I might just miss His whispers. So 2017 will find me in more private and quiet reflection, with less of the craziness of the world. I still want to blog because I feel that I am drawn to do so. Maybe again that's just my own head because I have no evidence anyone even reads this blog. However, writing it serves the purpose that I started it for, not to develop a huge audience but to provide an opportunity for me to deepen my relationship with God. If in the end someone wanders upon it and something written here is helpful then it has served both purposes well.

Hugs to each of you, wherever you are on your spiritual journey may you emerge from your cocoons, warm and safe!

Psalm 30

Psalm 30 reminds me that no matter how tough times are, anxiety, grief, loss the dawn always comes. God sends His joy to you and you start to feel stronger, more faith centered and capable of overcoming the darkness.

"You turned my wailing into dancing." Psalm 30: 11

When I become overwhelmed with the worries of this world I am going to look for ways to turn all of those negative emotions into DANCING.

God is always there on the fringe of our life, watching over us, ready to step in at a moment's notice. He shouldn't be on the fringe, we should draw him more fully into our lives.

Hugs to each of you and may you let God into your life to turn your sadness into dancing.

2017: Conversations, Listening, and Finding Joy

My previous post talked about the two different creative avenues I will use this year to explore God's Word. I've used a designated planner format the last two years and started to feel like I wanted a change. Now just NINE days into January and I'm missing the orderly-ness of the planner version. I liked having a weekly focus and I liked how it kept me on track (sort of). So I decided to set up a mini planner/journal that I hope will fulfill the need for order and "planning".

This is a little planner I already had, so I am repurposing it for this years Faith Journal. I won't be doing the art part of my "faith art journaling" in it but I will use it to guide my weeks and my studies. I think I will set it up just one month at a time until I can find a format I like. I feel like God is nudging me a bit to move forward in my spiritual growth and I hope to discover what it is that He is leading me to.

I wanted to share with you a great site I discovered recently and I plan on using some of the topic Bible reading plans in 2017.   The site is rachelwojo.com and she has some pretty awesome reading plans.

Here's the plan for January. She has some great books and workbooks to go along with her studies also. You simply must check out her site.

Hugs everyone. I'll try to set up my planner/journal and have it ready to share in a later post!

Psalms, Journaling Bibles and 2017

This year I decided to step away for a bit from my planner version of faith art journaling. It has served me well the last few years but I wanted to experience God's words and my conversations with him in a different way.

I picked up this book a little before Christmas and decided to use it as my "kick off" for 2017. It is the entire book of Psalms with additional room for journaling and art work. It also includes some pages to color for those that prefer that format.

 

I spent some time reading and meditating on Psalm 1, several days in fact before I felt ready to actually put pen, marker and pencil to the page. The margins are also lined so you can write your thoughts and journal if you prefer that to drawing.

 

To me this Psalm speaks of following not only the path of the Godly but following the path God has set before us. We often are arrogant enough to believe we KNOW the path we should walk. We do not. Not really. We need to be humble and seek that which God sets before us. Sometimes it's a rough path but in the end we arrive at the exact spot God wants us to be while learning some valuable lessons along the route.

 

After buying this book I also received a Creative Journaling Bible as a Christmas gift. I have played around with a journaling Bible for a couple years but always hesitate because of "marking" inside the Bible. I've come to realize that spending time in God's word is good regardless of the way we do so.

 

 

There are a lot of creative journaling Bibles out there. This is the one I have, bought at Sam's Club.

 

 

I decided to start by doing Psalms 1 since I had already worked with that in the Psalms book I have, It was interesting to compare the two versions of the Psalms. The Psalms book is the Holy Bible-New Living Translation where as the creative Bible is Modern English Version.

What stood out to me was the idea that God knows us, better than we know ourselves and by following the righteous path he sets before us we are following him in the best way possible. I hope you have enjoyed the sneak peak into my faith art journaling this year. A different format but still on the quest for a deeper, more meaningful, spiritual relationship with God.

Hugs to each of you and I hope some of you might be inspired to join me on this creative endeavor and enjoy your conversations with God through a different media.