100 Days of Bible Journaling Days 64-70

 Day 64: God's Ways Are Not Our Ways

Have you ever had a battle of words with a toddler/preschooler? We repeat ourselves over and over and over again, only for them to keep trying to tell us a different way thinking we must not have understood them the first time. They want it THEIR way...or no way! I can't help but wonder if this is how God sees US at times. Time and time again in the Bible we read that His way is the only way, and His plans are the best ones... and still like that stubborn toddler we keep on trying.

For this page I was reminded of Hilary Scott's song 'Thy Will Be Done' and so I wanted to incorporate that into my journaling. I used some simple lettering and background with bright bold colors... a simple reminder that it is His will not my own that is the best!

Day 65: The Fruit of God's Spirit Is Living In You

 Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Do these sound like words you would use to describe yourself? I will say there are a few that I can recognize in myself.. and others? Well, I could use some improvement! I pray that through practice, prayer and a whole lotta grace, those around me will be able to see ALL of the fruits of the spirit living within me.

For this page, I knew I wanted color! I had this washi tape that reminded me of 'fruit colors' so I kept it very simple with some letter stickers and fruit of the spirit die cut. Despite it's simplicity, I actually really loved how this page came out.

Day 66: Praise the Lord!

Did you know the Bible commands us to 'Praise the Lord' about 250 times throughout? Clearly this is something that is very important for us to do as Christians! It is certainly something that I try to do often myself too. When things are going well, I try to praise Him! When things aren't going so well, I still try to praise Him for the things He HAS given!

For this page, I wanted fun and bold! I always love bright colors against a simple black and white, and so that's what I went with for this page! I used a stencil for the background and then some bright letter stickers to make it stand out. I often think of music when I think of praise so I wanted to bring that in too...I love this message of 'Jesus is My Jam!' Talk about praise!

Day 67: You Are Gifted

What are your gifts? Now, for some of us those answers may come a little bit easier. For the preacher, their gift is speaking. Some have the gift of prayer. Some have the gift of teaching. Some have the gift of music. Oftentimes we think of these 'bigger' gifts that are much more visible and we feel down on ourselves that we are not gifted at the 'important' things. Still, God gave each and every one of us unique gifts--- no one more important than the other. We just have to discover what they are, and how we can best use them for God.

For this page, I wanted to incorporate writing as I feel that this is a gift and passion God has given me and one that I try to use to bring Him glory. Again I decided to go bright and fun.... not only because I tend to gravitate towards that anyway, but also to cover some bleed through from the previous page. Though the design ended up not being my favorite, I was very happy with the colors on this page!

Day 68: Touched By His Mercy

mer·cynoun1. compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.

How amazing is it that we are shown mercy by God, despite our shortcomings? He sees past that, and has already paid the price. Why then do we often fear coming to Him in our need? We feel embarrassed or that our needs are to small or don't matter. But the Bible reminds us we can always come to Jesus.

For this page, I really wanted a reminder of that message that there was no need too small to turn to God for. He wants to hear from us, always! I had fun playing with different color combinations and really found that I loved how the green lettering looked against that light purple.

Day 69: Forgiveness Is For You

Be honest: how many of us struggle with forgiveness?

Yes, we know we're supposed to and I'd like to think that many of us try... but it's HARD! We're human and when people have hurt us deeply, forgiveness doesn't come naturally. What have they done to deserve our forgiveness!? But... what have WE done to deserve God's? What can we do that can compare to the sacrifices made by Christ? And yet, He forgives us anyway.

For this page, again I wanted bold. I always love the way a black letter pops against this pink/yellow/orange scheme AND it just so happened to go perfectly with this 70 x 7 die cut.

Day 70: Pruned By the Master Gardener

The Bible refers frequently to God as a gardener. Now, I must admit, I don't have the greenest of thumbs. I'm not awful mind you... I just don't really know what I'm doing. So to be honest, some of those references kind of went over my head a little. When I opened the journal to this page I was a little uncertain on how this was going to go... but it actually really helped me to make a little more sense of the whole concept...

For this page, I wanted to feature some wording found directly in the journal that I connected with. How do WE grow in Christ? We need three things: good heart soil, Son exposure and pruning from the trials in our lives. I had had this idea of wanting to do a checklist in my journaling and this seemed the perfect way to do so--- a checklist of everything we need to truly grow as Christians!