Follow Me

We have a new member on our staff team, Andy joined us in September and is serving as our Pastor of Communication and Social Media. He spoke a few Sundays ago about the cost of following Christ. He said something that has been ringing in my head and in my heart since then:

"Will you still follow when it dawns on you that Jesus did not come to fill the God-shaped hole in your heart, but rather to call you, together with all the saints, to fill the cross-shaped hole in the world." ~Andy Holt 10/27/13

Andy was speaking out of Luke 9:57-62 about the cost of following Christ. In this passage three people approach Christ desiring to follow Him. To the first Jesus shares that there will be hardships. You will have to give up being comfortable. Will you still follow? The second wants to first bury his father, then follow Christ. The third wants to first return to his family and tell them goodbye, then come back and follow Christ. But Jesus let's them know that nothing can come before following Him. Christ must be the first in our lives. He must be our focus. Will you still follow?

Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is 

fit for service in the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62

It is easy for us to get distracted by the thing in life - family, jobs, bills, circumstances, trials ~ all of these things (and others) fight for first place in our lives. Good things, bad things. But Jesus bids us to come, follow Him, put Him first. In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus calls a divided focus "serving two masters" (vs. 24). In Andy's words, "There's no place for distracted disciples in the Kingdom...You cannot be a part-time disciple." 

Andy's talk can be found on our church website here: http://gracetoledo.org/portfolio/eyes/

As I said, I can't get Andy's quote out of my mind. It is true that there is an emptiness in us that only being in relationship with God can fill. But we have made this all about us, as if this is Jesus mission. Jesus came to reconcile men to God. To be about His Father's work. His mission is our mission.

Just a Bit of Art

I don't know how I've let almost a month go by without posting on this blog. I have no grand excuses to justify my absence from blogland. Just everyday life.

For today, I'm just going to post a few pages from my art journal (s).

Art journaling keeps me happy and sane! My altered book art journal is close to being full. More to come in a few days as I get back on track!

More Lists

I'm still working on completing September's 30 Days of Lists. Better late than uncompleted!

Lists are such a fun way to art journal!

Autumn Break

I am at my sister's house with my daughter for a week to help with final preparations for my niece's wedding on Saturday. My sister and brother-in-law purchased a house on a lake this spring and one of the bonuses this week is experiencing autumn at the lake. Each morning's sunrise reveals the lake in a different state:

In the evening the lake has been like glass reflecting the colors.

I forgot how beautiful Autumn is in Michigan. It's even more beautiful on a lake!

I have been able to fit some art time in as well. I prepped some background pages in advance:

The journaling reads: Art journaling helps me focus and exercise my creativity. It restores my energy.It has also become another point of connection with God as I meditate on His Word and express it through art. It uses all of my senses as I play with paint, paper, glue, and color.

The bottom one was done as an exercise called Scripture Excavation for the Made Course. We picked a chapter from a book in the Bible, printed it our on paper, did inductive Bible study, making notes on the paper. We then used the marked up piece of paper with the chapter printed on it as the base for our art journal page and gessoed, painted, stenciled and collaged right on top of it. New meaning to hiding the Word in your heart! Then we journaled about what stood out in the chapter ~ a significant way God spoke to us through His Word. I chose Colossians chapter 1.

I hope, wherever you are, that you are enjoying the change in the season. Every day holds new things to see!

Finally...An Art Day

I finally had a day to play yesterday. There were so many other things I could have done, but I needed an art day. We have two family weddings coming in the next three weeks, my daughter will be in town for two weeks and we will spend one of those weeks at my sister's house. So my chance for some quality art time in the weeks ahead is very slim.

Yesterday I got the paint out. It's been a while since my hands were messy and it was so much fun! Apparently circles were on my mind.

I added a few pages to my 30 Days of Lists September book ...randomly. It looks like my book will travel well into October as well.

And a few more pages in my Altered Book Art Journal:

And this one I made with something in mind for work:

I also completed another altered book journal for my Etsy shop yesterday:

It was a very productive day! What have you been up to lately? Leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you!