I’m excited to share what I’ve been working on!
I’ve led 2 new Creative Devotional Experiences in the last few months, with a new one in the works for the beginning of October!! I am so humbled and blessed that I get to spend time with God in creating these experiences, and then share with so many women. I am in awe of how God speaks to each one personally in powerful ways each time. He never ceases to amaze me!!
The whole process is pretty amazing. I will be invited to participate in an event with a verse or subject. Or as in the most recent one, a book study. I read over the verse (or book), and spend time studying it: doing word studies, diving deep into what God is saying/doing, and lots of time in prayer. God might first show me the “process", or what the finished project will look like. I will then walk through the steps, taking notes along the way, and create the finished project. I then write out everything I need to talk about and go through the whole process again. Taking more notes and making adjustments so all levels of artistic abilities can participate successfully. (This is where working with kids comes in handy!) I work with a mom’s group and I like to have them go through the experience before I do it for an event. It isn’t always possible, but I find it extremely helpful for practice and to work out any issues. And the moms love it!!
The first one was based on Isaiah 61 entitled A Garment of Praise.
This was mixed media on a 5x7 canvas. I pre-painted the backgrounds a soft grey and painted various heads, arms, and legs. I cut them all out ahead of time. (Sounds sooo strange I know!! Each woman could choose her own, without having to paint. I like to keep these as simple as I can for non-crafty people so everyone leaves with a beautiful reminder of their devotional time) The women selected a pretty 5x7 paper and I shared my insights on Isaiah 61:1-3. We had a time of writing, prayer, tearing, and gluing. God moved powerfully through the experience. I like to have note cards and a pen handy for each participant so they can take notes along the way of any ah-ha moments. They could finish with writing any of their insights or revelations on the front, or tuck the card into the back of their canvas.
The second one was “Balance” for the study of “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World” by Joanna Weaver. The book is based on the various times Mary and Martha encounter Jesus as recorded in scripture. Joanna Weaver did a great job of digging into those verses and bringing out the changes in both Martha and Mary. I appreciated her vision of a sea saw and balance. As I read the book, I kept thinking of balancing on a bicycle.
I made bicycle stencils and worked on pulling together the balance Joanna talked about, with what God has revealed to me in my faith journey of nearly 30 years. As I worked through painting each part of the bicycle, I was reminded of the different ways we can keep our balance. I finished writing and working through the whole experience just days before the event and I didn’t get to go through it with the Mom’s Group.
There were a few hick-ups, but overall it was a powerful time with the Lord. The 13 women who participated had so much fun! They loved it, and everyone walked away with a visual reminder of how to better keep the balance between being a Martha or a Mary.
As of now, I’m not entirely sure what I will be doing for the Retreat in October. I believe it will be on Proverbs 16:3. I have two very different ideas. I don’t have clarity yet on exactly what to do and how. Keep an eye out for my next blog post. Lord willing I will be sharing all the details.
Hugs and Blessings,