Shalom

As I spent time with the Lord the other day, I realized that my goal in life has really remained constant, even though I may not always have acknowledged it or let it guide all I do. My goal has been & remains that I should be an instrument of peace in a shattered world. The only way I can do that is to keep my eyes on Jesus, for He is my peace. I can only share what He has given me. So my prayer is Shalom. More than just peace, but true wholeness. That is what my savior offers. Shalom.

In this entry, I painted the background & the cross with tempera paints. I usually think of them as "kid's paints". I forgot how fun they were to play with & I was thrilled with the color & consistency of them even though they'd been on the shelf for years. The shalom comes from some die cut lettering I've had forever also. Easy. But very please with how it came out.

Challenges;
Paper Nest Dolls Challenge
Crafts Galore Encore Challenge
Craft Your Passion 
Scrapbook Blessings Club - Of late my favorite technique has been watercolor. This time I pulled out some tempera paints & really enjoyed the process.
That Craft Place

Return

Return to Jesus. No matter what goes on throughout your day, whenever you notice that your mind has wandered away from Him - return. Draw your mind back & think on the love & grace He gives you (me). Return & think on His majesty. Return & think on His sacrifice. Return & be amazed that He is your (my) salvation & life. Return & set your heart on the path He has given you. Return & walk side by side with the Creator of the Universe or better yet, return & let Him carry you. Just return.

I created this by starting with some old stickers I had. Then I added the arrows, which came from a prize for the first challenge I won. (They hold a special place in my heart. lol). Next I used a gel pen to write "return" on the arrows. Finally I dusted some chalk over it all.

Challenges:
Craft Your Passion
Crafting When We Can  - They are celebrating their 5th birthday with a blog hop & prizes. Check it out!

Start Here

Newest illustrated faith entry.

I get frustrated with myself when I don't live up to my expectations of myself. So in my time with God today, He reminded me that I need to start where I am. It's no use lamenting how I've fallen short, just confess & move on. Don't dwell in the woulda coulda shoulda's that plague my self image. Start here. Start where I am. I can't start where I think I ought to be. Start here. Trust God. Start with trust. Trust that God is who He says He is. Trust that God forgives & loves & has a plan for me. He has a path for me. Trust God. Start here.

So my image has an olive tree planted by the water (Psalm 52:8) & a person walking up the hill, leaning on a staff (olive branch) of trust. As I lean in to God, my trust in Him makes light work of the trip.

I used pearlescent paints for this. Pay no attention to the date on the page. I'm starting from the beginning & illustrating the pages that I missed the first time through. My favorite colors are earth-tones, so anything with greens, browns & blues makes me happy.

Challenges:
Scrappers Delight Blog Challenge
Hiding in My Craft Room
PDE Linky Party

Look to Him

Here's my most recent creative devotional response. I am illustrating my Jesus Calling devotional book. Many people get creative right in their Bibles, but I'm not confident in my artwork yet. And the devotional has some blank space built in, so I'm not covering up good stuff.

The picture doesn't show the thought as well as I had hoped. I'm waling on a rough ocean & feel like I'm sinking (heard that story before?). So I look to Christ for my peace in the tumultuous world. The long brown smudge is supposed to be the cross & Jesus is the white form on the cross. After I was done, I decided I should've left the brown cross off & brought Jesus down closer to the rest of the picture. What you can't see in the picture is that I used a glitter to indicate the peace that comes from Jesus when we look to Him. It pours out from Him as we seek Him in the midst of our chaotic lives.

There's some assorted background stuff (the yellow) which bled through from yesterday's entry.

This entry reflects the chaos I feel in my mind of late. I was not very pleased with the artwork, but it very accurately reflects my mind. So when I turned the page & saw how it had bled through, I almost skipped that page & went on to the next. I'm glad I didn't, because it only deepens the impact of what looking to Jesus can (and does) have on my life;.

So here's to God's peace. My it be shed abroad & may it come to rest on you.

Summer Fun

Another card. Just for summer fun. Although it lost a little of it's color in the picture taking (I'm not the best photographer), the background paper reminded me of bluejeans & was much more blue & the sand castle & light background paper were much more beige than peach.

Challenges:
The Paper Girls Challenge
The Shabby Tea Room
Crafting by Designs
sketch saturday
Craft your Passion
Through the Craft Room Door

Celebrate Today

Here's a general birthday card I made up today.

Challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge
Addicted to CAS
Mojo Monday

Remain in Me

Here's my second go at a creative devotion time. God reminded me that I need to remain in him & He will give me rest. I will grow only as I take root in Him.

I used chalk & pen along with a couple left over die cuts.

Challenges:
Crafty Girls Corner
Craft for the Craic
Little Miss Muffett
Through the Craft Room Door