Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Ash Wednesday ~ Remember


Ash Wednesday ~ Remember

Today we begin the season of Lent by observing Ash Wednesday. We remember that we are sinful people. The ashes that will be placed on the foreheads of those who attend worship services today are a biblical symbol of mourning, repentance, and remembering our brokenness and need for God's grace. They are "an outward sign of our inner repentance before God" (Aaron Damiani, pastor and author). Lent is the journey that prepares us for the Good News of Easter - our forgiveness and redemption in Jesus Christ.


A large part of Lent is about remembrance. Remembrance ushers us into examination and reflection as we remember who we are and what we are called to, as we remember our weaknesses and failings, as we remember God's grace to us through His Son, and His love for us in redeeming us from the bondage of sin. Over the past few years, in the seasons of Advent and Lent, I have engaged in a practice of reflecting on daily words and Scripture passages and then responding to them creatively in an art journal. It aides in my practice of remembrance and reflection, taking the Scripture passages deeper into my mind and heart as I add a creative, tactile experience.




I am posting a list of Lent Words with Scripture passages revised from previous years lists. The words and Scripture passages can help us remember who we are. If you are interested, use them as art or writing prompts through the season of Lent. I will post periodic devotions throughout the season as time allows. As we are currently traveling on vacation, the images in today's post are mine from previous years. If you choose to participate in Lent Words this year please share on social media using #lentwords2020.

Click for a downloadable pdf
You can also join us in the Words Challenge Facebook group to share art and conversation. Join here.
If you would like to read devotions from my previous Lent Words you can find them here or click on the Words Challenge tab above.






Sunday, February 23, 2020

Lent Words 2020


Lent 2020

A few years ago I rose to the challenge to put together a Lent Words challenge after the great feedback I received from my first Advent Words challenge in 2017. I learned a few things during that first Lent Words. First, 40 days is a long time for a challenge, especially one that includes devotions and art. So that year I got some help from some friends who did some guest posts and I did not do a devotion every day of the challenge. It was still a lot to keep up with and this is generally a pretty busy season for me. So last year, 2019, I created another words list for Lent and then did a few devotional posts through the season. This year I am posting a copy of the words list from last year. I left it undated to make it easier to use in the future. Once again this year I will just post devotions periodically throughout the season.


Click for a downloadable pdf

If you are interested in the words list from Lent 2018 and the devotions from that year you can find them here or click on the Words Challenge tab above. If you make art during the Lent season share it using #Lentwords2020. You can also share it in the Words Challenge Facebook group. Join here.


Friday, February 14, 2020

Playing With Lettering My Word


Playing With Lettering My Word

One way I explore my word of the year is by reading books that will help me live out my intentions for my word. At the end of last year as I was exploring my choice for my 2020 word, fruit, I ran across an article that quoted Dallas Willard. As I looked up the Dallas Willard quote in one of his books, I realized that he had a lot to say about the areas I'm trying to further explore and grow in. So I decided that I would re-read, or finish reading, a few of his books this year. So, for me, this is the year of Dallas Willard! I am starting with his book "Renovation of the Heart", which is all about how we grow spiritually and what spiritual transformation looks like. I highly recommend it!


One way to keep what I'm reading in my mind is to slow down and write quotes from the books in both my writing journal and in my art journal. I used a few quotes to play with some of my lettering styles this past week in preparation for this week's challenge in our Living Your Word group, which is to letter your word and to think of a color that reflects your word.


Cutting letters out of painted papers is one of my favorite ways to make words. Green seems to be the color I am gravitating to for my word this year, as green is a color that symbolizes growth. On my page spread I used painted paper cut letters and then I lettered my quotes with my hand lettering and filled it with color.




Since I was thinking about my lettering styles, I played around throughout the week writing one of my theme verses for the year in a variety of the lettering styles I use. It was a great way to play this week!


Pop over to our Living Your Word Facebook group and join us in exploring ways to live out your word of the year. There has been a lot of great conversations and examples form group members of how they are living out their word. Valerie Sjodin has also written a blog post today about lettering your word of the year. Read it here.

Living Your Word 2020 Opportunity!
My friends Bernice Hopper, and Valerie Sjodin, and I share insights through blog posts for creatively living a word of the year. In our Facebook group, we encourage one another by posting questions and prompts to inspire living out a word focus, keeping a journal etc. It is a safe place to ask for prayer and support. If you would like to connect with others in creative ways about living your word, you can ask to join our Living Your Word of the Year 2020 by clicking on the link below.

Hashtag for Instagram:  #livingyourword2020

Check out their blogs:






Sunday, February 2, 2020

Bullet Journal and Art Journal

Bullet Journal and Art Journal

This year I decided to return to a journaling format I used a few years back to record daily life as well as to keep a record of my word of the year. I am also intrigued with many of the aspects of bullet journaling as a means of documenting life and tracking some of your habits. As I said at the beginning of the year, I'm using a Leuchtturm 1917 journal with grid pages. My post about why I chose this journal is here.


In this journal this year I am working through how to live out my word of the year, fruit. Previous posts over the past few weeks have highlighted how I chose this word, how I do a word study for my word, doing a mind map for my intentions for my word, and then, this past Friday, about the difference between intentions and goals. You can access all of these posts by clicking on January in the blog archive column on the right side of this page.

Some of the other ways I'm using this journal is to record events through weekly page spreads:




I"m also tracking a few things this year:
My non-fiction reading list

Birds I spot on my walks and in my backyard 

And finally, I'm adding in pages as things happen or as I am inspired. Such as a page remembering our weekend in Traverse City, MI to celebrate my daughters 40th birthday with a girls road trip.


Then there is a page of some of the little phrases I say a lot. These little sayings or mantras tend to reflect what we value or things we've learned over time. They tend to reflect who we are and can serve as reminders when we need encouragement or motivation. This page also gave me an opportunity to play with the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pen set I recently purchased.



So far, I am enjoying the Leuchtturm 1917 journal. At first I was concerned with shadowing - seeing the shadow of what your writing or the items you glued on the following page. But as I have gone along it hasn't bothered me too much. I love the grid paper and its a nice sturdy journal. But because I like making journals and binding books, and because I like a variety of journal and art styles, I have a second journal going. I made a junk journal out of an old book and I'm using it to play in and to do pages for different art challenges or groups I participate in.













#livingyourword2020 #junkjournaljanuary, #getmessyartjournal, #gmseasonofhome, #jan202020creativechallenge

If you choose a word of the year and are looking for ways to live it out through the year, I am a part of a faith-based Facebook Group: Living Your Word of the Year 2020. Join us!



Some of the art supplies used in this post:



Vintage paper packs, Dennison red border labels and tags can be found at Found On Brighton Etsy.


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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.