Living an ART filled life…“Creativity is a God-given ability to take something ordinary and make it into something special. It is an openness to doing old things new ways…The creative spirit is part of our heritage as children of the One who created all things. And nurturing our creativity is part of our responsibility as stewards of God’s good gifts.” – Emilie Barnes, The Spirit of Loveline
I am going to be posting a bit less over the next month due to an exiting project I’m working on! Hope to tell you all about it sometime next month!
Some of you out there are familiar with procreate…and iPad app for drawing. It has been invaluable to me, especially when creating Doodle 101’s! Easier to create, easier on the eyes:)
I took some time this morning to experiment with a few new brush tools.
It’s amazing how my iPad Pro + Apple Pencil + procreate can create the look and feel of “mixed media!”
Greeting the Faithful 1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Fruitful Growth in the Faith 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I can’t begin to “do his talk justice” and I encourage you to give it a listen…but here are a few key points that grabbed me.
To those who are “bondservants” (person in a permanent role of service)…followers of Christ, Grace and peace is multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord…
OH, and that’s just the beginning of this teaching:)
Dr. Evans makes it clear, that the grace and peace God extends is not merely added or doubled…but MULTIPLIED.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NKJ)
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
God doesn’t just give us enough, He gives us MORE THAN ENOUGH.
Enough to share:) We don’t have to worry that if we give some away, we won’t have any left for ourselves:)
Our GOOD FATHER provides ALL GOOD THINGS IN ABUNDANCE!
There is so much more in Tony Evan’s talk, so again, I highly recommend you giving it a listen…
How many of you have been BLESSED by Priscilla Shirer’s ministry? I sure have! She is an incredible teacher, adorable Mom and humble servant. Before I ever had the opportunity to hear her teach, I listened to her Dad, Dr. Tony Evans.
The Lord spoke transforming truth into my life and marriage 20 years ago, through the teaching of Priscilla’s daddy:) I know I’ve said it before, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree:)
Technology is a blessing and a curse…right?! Some days it feels like the enemy himself, distracting me from obedience to God. Other days, it is a blessing beyond belief as I am able to connect with encouraging Sisters like you and “plug in” to incredible teaching right at my fingertips.
I recently went back to my “roots” and downloaded an app available through Tony Evans Ministry. You can find it by clicking the link below.
Oh, how I needed to hear from this passionate, Spirit filled preacher…this morning, I listened to a message entitled
A Challenge to Higher Standards” Part 1…Tony preaches it good!
“The challenge of working to bring more people into the church is that sometimes God’s Word gets pushed out. We rationalize that being sick isn’t so bad…by tolerating what God does not tolerate.” -Tony Evans
The message comes from Revelation Chapter 2
To the Church in Thyatira 18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule[a] them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Jesus loved all, but He never “sugar coated” THE TRUTH. The world today preaches tolerance. Jesus says in the text above….- I have a problem with that. AND…even if you are not “doing” “the thing” (the sin) you have turned your head in tolerance.
Dr. Evans explained that Jezebel was married to Ahab, the king of Israel, and she worshipped Baal. Jezebel talked her husband into worshipping Baal. (1 Kings) This influence then poured over all the people of Israel…and so they began the compromise of turning their head to her behaviors. Even though the Church in Thyatira was faithful in many ways, the Lord had a problem with their tolerance of Jezebel.
“Churches today are dumbing down God’s standards for fear of being intolerant.” Society equates intolerance with hatred. It’s not the same thing. “What is unacceptable to God, should be unacceptable to His people.” -Tony Evans
Intolerance should mean that we recognize our sickness. We don’t abandon or turn away from the sickness, but we roll up our sleeves to love others as we help them to move towards wellness.
Unfortunately, the world no longer defines “tolerance” as acknowledgement that others have a differing belief. It has come to mean full acceptance of those beliefs. Of course this definition makes no logical sense because to embrace this type of tolerance precludes any personal opinion or belief. Christians are not to endorse religious beliefs that run counter to what the Bible teaches.
The problem with today’s definition of tolerance is that it rejects the possibility that objective truth exists. The Bible teaches that truth does exist, that God is truth, and that we are to follow in His truth. John 1:14 and 17 says that Jesus, who came from the Father, gives us truth. John 8:32 and Romans 6:16-23 says that the truth sets us free from the control of sin.
The Bible is also clear regarding those who hide or distort the truth in the name of tolerance. Romans 1:18 says whoever suppresses the truth will receive the wrath of God. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus says that our mission is to teach others of the truth about Him. First Corinthians 13:6 (NIV) says, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” John 14:6 says that Jesus is the truth. While Christians can acknowledge the right of others to have different beliefs, we cannot allow those beliefs to go unchallenged for one simple reason: it is not loving, and Jesus calls us to love (Luke 10:25-37).”
-from Illuminatedtruth.org
I love the illustration that Tony uses to help us understand the intolerance Jesus spoke of…
Hospitals want to help you with pain…with illness. In order for Hospitals to do their job they must hold to the postition that germs are intolerable. If surgery is to happen, then the operating room needs to be germ free or further complications will result …healing will not happen. The hospital is NOT turning away sick people, but they are maintaining standards in order to make people well.
Dr. Evans goes on to say this:
If we fail to recognize and admit our sin…our disease…we will never get the “treatment” needed. Love is the medicine required…not judgement or condemnation. BUT, if we fail to administer medicine without God’s authority, power, blessing, & “standards” the healing will never take place and the germs will remain.
We will NEVER be comfortable in our “flesh” no matter how much as we try. So let’s settle in and be thankful for “the uncomfortable” …it is the built in reminder of our NEED for a Savior.
All of us.
We ALL need the hospital:)
With that last thought, I just have to include one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE videos…written by Jemaine Clement and Bret Mckenzie. (Flight of the Conchords) in order to raise money for a Children’s Hosptial.
IF YOU WANT TO SMILE, LAUGH, AND HAVE A NEW SONG OF HOPE IN YOUR HEART TODAY…watch this video! Jemaine and Bret interview the most precious group of kids, take their responses, and use them to write a song to raise money for the cause. Listen to the interviews and hang in there for the song!
I have mentioned that I am teaching a Bible Journaling class at my home church and I thought I’d share a tutorial on a project we did in class using decorative napkins.
You can use napkins in a variety of ways, and if you adhere them with matte medium, or clear gesso, they will be semi-transparent…allowing you to see text underneath.
This is especially fun if you use them in your Bible! (A little more on that later)
Our class project was to use them as a background with mixed media layers on top.
Start with one piece of deli paper. (I buy deli paper at GFS / 500 sheets for about $5)
Read through the step by step process below before you start:)
1. Apply 1 coat of white gesso to your deli sheet with a foam brush.
2. After drying the gessoed page, separate the layers of your napkin by pulling off the backing. If you have a hard time finding a place to separate the napkin layers, tear a little off the corner to grab a starting point. Then, tear the top napkin layer into pieces. To apply them to the deli paper, brush the area with matte medium or clear gesso, place the napkin piece on top, then carefully brush the top with more matte medium or gesso.
*Be careful brushing the top of the napkin, it can bunch or tear. If you have trouble with this, “pat” the matte medium on rather than “brush.”
3. With this “design” it is important to plan for the areas you will write a sentiment or verse. (Writing on top of the napkin can be a problem, due to the texture and random small “folds”) If you look in the photo above, I have planned for 2 spaces to be open for wording. (The middle left and bottom right)
4. After applying napkin pieces, then drying the page, apply a thin coat of white gesso or paint over the whole page, using a foam brush. Immediately wipe off some of the paint with a baby wipe, being careful not to rub to hard.
5. Wiping off some of the paint/gesso, will allow the flowers/color to come through, while providing a more muted background…allowing the next layers to stand out.
6. Using a pencil, draw your flowers. I chose to draw some of them using the napkin flower centers as a starting point. I didn’t use the napkin flower centers for every one. You can erase pencil lines during this step, but be careful not to erase “back and forth.” I find that erasing in “one direction” (while keeping a “light hand”) helps prevent tears in the napkin. Once you are happy with flower placement, go over your pencil lines with a thin tipped micron pen. Finish this step by erasing the remaining pencil lines.
7. Notice in the pic above that while the flower centers are the “same” the “doodle” flower I drew on top, is much different than the “natural” flower beneath.
8. In the pic above, I wanted you to see (for lack of a better way to say it) my “sloppy” lines. The first “penned” lines will disappear as I go over them later with a black watercolor pencil. Using a black pen for this step, helps me to see the flower lines a little easier. (You could skip this step, and go straight from pencil to watercolor pencil, but you won’t be able to erase your original graphite pencil lines without smearing your watercolor pencil) -make sense?
9. In the pic above, I wanted you to see a close-up of the watercolor pencil over the pen lines. Because you have added dimension and “body” to your deli sheet (with napkins and paint) in order for images to stand out, they must be a bit “weighty” to balance the page. Thin pen lines simply won’t show up very well on their own. The watercolor pencil lines can be left alone, or you can use a water brush to “activate” the color. Sometimes, I like to smear the watercolor pencil lines with my dry finger:)
10. Above is another pic to “confess” my sloppy sketching. I want you to feel FREE to be IMPERFECT through the process! It is the same for our lives…God continues to refine our “messy lines.” ❤️
11. Boy, I’m IMPERFECT & messy!!!
12. I’m showing a couple of things in the pic above. I “activated” all my black watercolor lines with water to give them a bit more depth. I “smeared” some of the center circle lines into the bottom of each petal to add a bit of shading to the flower. You’ll notice that I also added some detail with a fine tip micron. Acrylic paint was added to my “open spaces” (Red and fuchsia) which will later have white lettering on top. (See below)
Finally, I “sketched” my wording in pencil, then went over the pencil with white paint using a round brush. I added scripture around the flowers using a 005 micron pen, and stenciled a few images. You could add more penned doodles, stamps or stickers:)
14. A few more tweaks and I stepped away:)
I add deli paper journaling pages to my bible using a product called zips. Adding washi tape to the outside edge gives the page a more finished look, and protects it from tearing.
I need to hear this phrase daily…especially after I’ve decide to order my own day with me, me , me as the center of my focus…BUT REALLY SUE, WHAT DO I HAVE THAT IS NOT YOURS LORD????!!!!
Soooooo thankful the Lord is patient and kind…generous and faithful….slow to anger and constant in going after His LOST sheep.
Below is another example of napkin journaling. This time, using them in full color, as a focus rather than a background.
A few tips I’d like to share on using napkins in your Bible.
1. In a single layer, napkins are transparent once they are dry, if you apply them with clear gesso or matte medium.
2. If you double the napkin layer (laying one on top of the other) they will no longer be transparent:(
I learned this the hard way! I DO NOT INTENTIONALLY COVER TEXT in my Bible. It is my preference to never “cover” God’s Holy Word. UNFORTUNATELY, I have had a few mishaps…this being one of them. In the bottom left corner, I overlapped the flowers and then could no longer read the text…sooooooo, I re-wrote that section (verse by verse) in the margin on the right side 😬 HOPE THIS SAVE YOU FROM DOING THE SAME THING!
1Arthouse 