Scrap Booking–My Bible?

When the boys were tiny my camera was seldom more than a foot away from reach, it’s normal perch was around my neck. I wanted to capture everything. “It will go so fast,” was the common comment after, “What an adorable one week old baby you have there.” It was as if every mother could see their college graduation with one glimpse of a tiny toe.

I wanted to record every detail and remember every moment. I was around when the digiscrap craze started. The member of several design and website teams, I was constantly on the lookout for a layout idea – something new, fresh, and creative. My digiscrap days turned to paper as Creative Memories and Stamp it Up came into my life. Again, each day I had an eye open for something to scrap or a card idea.

You guys should know by now, that the last six years I’ve had my eye open for things to share on my blog – photos, nature, products, stories, encouragement and all sorts of field trip ideas.

This past week – my interests in scrapbooking have shifted once again.

As I listen to Alistair Begg on Truth for Life, I pause the recording to write down a word or phrase or verse or song:

Have you heard of the Illustrated Faith Movement? Or Bible Journaling? I’ve been seeing layouts on Pinterest and Instagram, but I really don’t want to do that to my personal Bible. I have felt led the past few months to journal, blog, create, draw, etc just a little bit every day. But I run out of ideas, it gets stale, and I skip weeks at a time.

With Bible Journaling – that has all changed. I collect NLT versions from trift/used book stores for group reading times, and have a dozen in the back room. When I was cleaning out our resource room, I found a Bible with the wide margins. Score!

I brought out some of my art supplies, Chalk, Ink Pads, Watercolor crayons and pencils, Paper Cutter, Grid Paper, Stickers, etc. This is usually our game table in the living room, but – I’m taking it over. It has a beautiful view of the lake.

The past couple of weeks I have been looking at you tube videos on how to do hand lettering, different ideas, different styles – and then practicing.

I’ve read a few articles on Illustrated Faith and played with how to add color to the margins. I have a notebook from a Busy Mom conference (Heidi St. John) that was donated by Mardel Christian Bookstore. It has a beautiful leather cover and the perfect journaling texture of pages. I am using it for my practice sheets before writing in my wide margin Bible.

You Tube has been fun- there are even videos on how to space your letters, using measurements for centering, and encouraging you to look at each letter as a symbol/ design and not as a whole word.

Here are a few of my layouts from this week. I’m still not free enough to color the entire page. I’ve seen BEAUTIFUL layouts, but – well. I’m just an old Bible lover. I am wanting to get there, and be free.

This is the page I did after practicing centering my letters. It is not my favorite, but it is a step in practicing. I hope to have hundreds of these by the end of the year.

I have tossed around the idea of getting a tatoo. It would be based on John 7:38. The wave coming out of the heart is part of the design.

So this morning, as I was listening to Alistair, my hand stopped scrubbing dishes to run over to the table an start writing notes and my idea box clicked on for a layout. How much more amazing – to scrapbook the joy of God’s Word? Don’t get me wrong, I love my books filled with 3 year old blackberry stained smiles in the woods. But, I love remembering His Word so much more. Each verse that I’ve sketched out has gone to memory by the time the space is filled. It is worth it.

So – if you’ve seen the Illustrated Faith or Bible Journaling tags – go check it out! I am all about my free hand and drawing, but others create digiscrap and transfer to their bibles. I might try that in the future – for now, I like my pens. Smile