Saturday, January 20, 2018

Art Journaling in the New Year


As I mentioned at the end of last month, this year I am joining Bernice Hopper and Valerie Sjodin in co-leading a group that will be exploring using Everyday Journals and living out our word for the year. [Links are at the end of the post.] I'm using a Traveler's Notebook set-up again this year. I really enjoy both the size and the system of having a number of notebook inserts.

So far in my notebook I have dug into my word for 2018, flow.



My church spent six months last year going through the book of Galatians. Out of that time I came away with a greater desire to walk in the flow of God's Spirit. Galatians is such a rich theological book, yet it is also full of practical guidelines for living out our faith. Just a few of the spiritual nuggets found in Galatians:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13

...walk by the Spirit...led by the Spirit... Galatians 5:16,18

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

My word for this year has come out of - flowed out of - this time we spent in Galatians. I want to flow this year in the movement of God's Spirit. I want to go with the flow more this year, responding rather than reacting. I want to walk in the flow of the freedom that is min in Christ. And I want to create a healthier flow for my life, eating better, developing an exercise habit, keeping focused on what I need to do to restore energy -both physically and emotionally. Last year my word was "whole" and I experienced some areas of healing and being restored in wholeness in Christ. This year I want to continue in that flow. I captured my intentions for this word's influence in my life on my Vision/Intention board in my last post. I'm combining my journey with this word in my Everyday Journal along with capturing events from everyday life, quotes from books I'm reading, Bible study notes, art journaling, etc.

2018 Week 1


One book I am slowly making my way through is The Deeper Journey by Robert Mulholland. He is on the top of my favorite authors who write about spiritual formation. The Deeper Journey looks at our false self and and the spiritual journey of discovering our true self in Christ. He uses the book of Colossians quite a bit in this book and below are some notes I was reflecting on that show the false self and the true self in Colossians 2:20-3:17. Jotting down notes and mapping them out creatively are one of the ways I take God's Word deeper into my heart and mind.


2018 Week 2

Join Our Inspirational Facebook Group

Bernice Hopper, Valerie Sjodin and I are using one journal to record events, experiences and relationships and  to explore our word’s meaning in visual and fun ways. We are each blogging about our experiences and our art. If you would like to connect with others about creatively organizing your word, your ideas, thoughts, prayers, events, or your projects all in one journal, you are invited to join our Facebook group: Everyday Journals – Living Your Word of the Year.


Hashtags on Instagram: #everydayjournals2018, #livingyourword2018

Check out the other blogs:
Bernice: http://www.newlycreative.com/
Valerie: https://valeriesjodin.com/blog/


Some of the products I use:

I get my calendar inserts and some other inserts from Yellow Paper House on Etsy.  Other products can be found on Amazon:



My favorite art journaling pens:


A note about Amazon links on my blog:

I am giving Amazon affiliation a try, which means I may receive a small percentage off sales made through clicking on the Amazon links found on my blog. There is no additional cost to you.


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