Bible Art {Verses on Anxiety}

Originally posted on October 6, 2015 at hilaribrooke.typepad.com

During September, some daily bible verse account on Instagram posted a bible verse per day for a week on Anxiety. I took this as a Bible Journaling Challenge of sorts and wrote down the scripture references on a note card. Each day, I would pull out my bible and open it to one of these verses. Some were well known to me and served as a nice reminder; others were completely new to me.

My main motivation in Bible Art or Journaling is to learn and memorize more scripture. By visualizing the pages I want to create or have created or have seen someone else create, I can connect with and stay with that scripture longer.

In this challenge I also wanted to expand my painting into the pages. This is hard for me because I want to be able to read the words after the paint is dry. On this page, I used washi tape to cover the verse I was focused on and then used watercolor over the page. After it was dry, I removed the washi tape carefully and the absence of paint highlighted the scripture.

I used a similar paint technique here with the heart stencil.

Again, a similar painting technique, but this time using a ruler to get the perfect straight edges.

On this page, I had some bleed through from the opposite side and chose just to watercolor over a large portion of text.

I really enjoyed focusing on a few verses related to a specific topic and will be doing this again. There are many verses on anxiety so it was nice to have some already selected for me. The verses I have shown here are Psalm 56:3 , Proverbs 12:25 , Isaiah 35:4 & Matthew 6:25 .

Journaling Bible

Originally posted on May 11,2015 at hilaribrooke.typepad.com

There's a new trend in crafting that I LOVE... bible journaling.

At the beginning of this year I made a goal to read through the entire bible in one calendar year. Reading has always been challenging for me which made me dread and avoid reading anything that wasn't absolutely necessary all through my school years. It was after I graduated college that I began to want to read for fun. Well I have attempted to read the Bible from cover to cover once before without success. This year I am using the She Reads Truth app THE BIBLE IN A YEAR reading plan. If you haven't heard of She Reads Truth, you should checkout their website or app for amazing bible studies and reading plans.

In January I bought this Journaling Bible with the pure intention of writing out scripture, highlighting passages, and using embellishments really liven up the pages. All of this would give me more time to focus on the words and visually retain them. The margin on every page is what makes it a "journaling bible" so I have tried to add to those margins and have had fun experimenting.

The bible I chose was the Crossway brand soft cover ESV Journaling Bible available at Lifeway stores or on Amazon. I do love the brown embossed cover but I also want to really dive into the personalization. I sewed this fabric cover and found a little pen holder for my favorite pen.

If this is something that interests you, check out Illustrated Faith or search #biblejournaling or #illustratedfaith Instagram or Pinterest.

Reading Challenge #goals

At the beginning of 2015, I took on a reading challenge of completing 12 books, or 1 book per month. Doable, easy even, to finish without feeling overwhelmed or destined for failure. If I am being honest, reading was a tremendous struggle for me throughout my childhood and burden during college. Now I love to read for pleasure but don't really make time to read. That is where the goal setting became a motivator. 

I use the Goodreads app to track progress, but mostly to have a list of books that I want to read and have completed. So if I am out shopping or at the library, I can save books for later & that list can be changed and updated easily.

These are the books I finished in 2015.

1. Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson
2. What Happens When Women Walk in Faith by Lysa Terkeurst
3. The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst
4. Crazy Love by Francis Chan
5. One Plus One by JoJo Moyes
6. The Last Letter from Your Lover by JoJo Moyes
7. Ruth by Kelly Minter
8. Hebrews by Lisa Harper
9. Week in a Day by Rachael Ray

Of course, I didn't read the entire cookbook, but this was about challenging and educating myself. I do meal plan weekly and implement the idea of shopping once and using a batch prep method for our weeknight meals. This is what works best for our family and I love knowing what's for dinner every night!

The study books for Hebrews and Ruth were part of a women's Bible Study and the other faith-based books were mostly individual but I worked along with an online Bible Study for accountability. Those types of external motivators really worked well for me this past year and I will continue to use those opportunities as a resource. The community aspect (whether online or a local church) is great way to stretch yourself and read something you may not have. Draw the Circle & Crazy Love were game changers for me. Hands down. Both of those books I had found by two different women posting that they were reading through the book and were hosting an online study. I have since passed on my copy of Crazy Love so those words can change someone else's life. 

JoJo Moyes was a new author to me when I picked up The Last Letter from Your Lover.  Her stories are captivating. Next on my list from her is Me Before You.  

I am happy with this challenge and how it ended. No, I didn't read 12 entire books, but I read 9 more than I had before. And I enjoyed myself. 

Today {January 20, 2016} I set my goal at 12 books again and I am super excited to see where that will take me.

One Little Word for 2016

Hello. Happy New Year. 

This year I wanted to choose a "one little word" to focus on. Something inspirational and positive despite any circumstances that could come into my life. 

Faith.

Image made with vrsly app.

If you want to read more about this "one little word" idea, visit aliedwards.com. Ali does a great job inspiring and documenting with this concept.