A 40 Day Pilgrimage of Prayer Art Journal

The season of Lent has been a rich and wonderful blessing thus far.  I have made time each day to read, pray, reflect, and create something in my art journal related to the book Small Surrenders by Emelie Griffin.  I am also reading Contemplating the Cross by Tricia McCary Rhodes for a Lenten prayer group that meets each Wednesday evening.  Add to that, the regular duties of sermon preparation and pastoring and well, finding time to actually post my artwork has been difficult. 
I am committed to posting, but I have made a decision to post once a week rather than daily (that was my original plan...but you know what happens when we make plans...God laughs!)
So, here are my journal entries for March 12-21. 

 Each of the circles above represents a prayer for someone on my prayer list. 

The letters are the initals that identify the person I'm praying for. 

 

I hope you enjoy!

Day 3

In drawing closer to the heart of Christ, my desperate need for grace is revealed.

Today's surrender invites the Spirit to drive me out of my comfort zone,

out into the wilderness, where my self-sufficiency falls short. 

Here in the wilderness an old hymn brings great solace

and becomes my song...my prayer.

"Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;

streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise."

                                                              --Robert Robinson, 1758

A 40 Day Pilgrimage of Prayer & Art

There is nothing like the season of Lent to hold a girl accountable. 

That's why I 'm posting these images from my prayer/art journal. 

I have committed to using my journal as a way to document my pilgrimage

through Lent and I'm going public with my artwork.  

"We are not converted only once in our lives but many times, and this endless series of large and small conversions, inner revolutions, leads to our transformation in Christ."  -- Thomas Merton

I pray that this exercise in creative spiritual discipline will lead to a conversion of sorts, a revolution of my soul that results in a new found freedom of expression and a closer walk with Christ.

So, here are a few more entries from the first week of Lent!

Day 1: Ash Wednesday

Day 2 Small Surrenders

Patiently Confident

I am a seeker of comfort and pushing the limits of myself is never comfortable, but when I do, I am amazed at how it feels.  Take this blog for instance; I created it as a place to go public with my artwork, to express myself using mixed-media art.  The problem is, each time I come here I am beyond intimidated by the "blank page."  I tell myself, "Get over yourself. You can do it!"  
Interestingly, two of the pieces I created as Christmas gifts for friends touched me concerning my desire to put my artwork "out there" on my blog.  The first, LOVE is patient, was created while I prayed for a friend who was trying to trust God's timing for her family. And the second, Gaining Confidence, was for another friend who is stepping out in faith with her family.  To me, the pieces became an invitation and a challenge.  One, has become an invitation to be patient with my self in my struggle to overcome the blank page, and the other a challenge to stretch my wings and push beyond the discomfort  and simply put something out there.  So here they are:  Love is Patient and Gaining Confidence. It's amazing, how good this feels!