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!

Sacred Journey

Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me."

                                                                                                          (1 Corinthians 13:12 GWT)

In the past month, two women from my church died. Both women were beautiful, strong and courageous.  Both expressed their faith by loving God as they loved others; one serving as a pastor, offering grace and hope to others through the sacraments of the church and the other, serving as a nurse, offering care and comfort to those who were ill.  Both of them used their lives to glorify God and to make God's love real to those around them.  

 

As I presided at their memorial services, I was touched by the testimonies of loved ones and friends who shared beautiful memories and sacred stories about their lives together and I was moved to tears as I gave thanks for the lessons they each taught me about faith and life.  What a gift it was to each family to hear about the beautiful acts of kindness and wonderful experiences their loved one shared with others. 

Following each service, several people commented on how moving the services had been for them how they were blessed to share and to remember.  I too was moved and was pleased that others were blessed by our time together. My thoughts led me to wonder if we sometimes fail to see the beauty and acknowledge the sacred journey of our own lives while we are alive.  

I wonder if either woman had any idea just how beautiful she was to others?  Did they know that offering their lives in service to others allowed their families and friends to see a bit of Christ in them? Were they aware that their example of overcoming adversity and facing debilitating and devastating illness with courage, strength and dignity made them radiate true serenity?  When they looked in the mirror did they see the reflection of beauty that others saw in them?   

I believe that life is a journey, a sacred journey initiated by God.  God's invitation calls us to discover the unique beauty inside ourselves and share it with others. 1 Corinthians 13:12 suggests that for now we see a blurred image in the mirror, but later on, in the fullness of time, we will be able to see clearly. I don't know if they were able to see the radiance and beauty of their lives while they were here with us, but I trust and believe that today, they are looking back and seeing that their lives were a sacred journey of becoming the beautiful women God created them to be.

I'm going to miss Fran and Debbie and I look forward to the day when we will see each other again.

A New Workshop

I'm taking the amazing online workshop called BIG by Connie Hozvika over at Dirty Footprints Studio  The class is helping me to find my artistic voice and challenging me to enter into the process of painting in a whole new way.  It is also the catalyst for starting this blog.  Connie and the rest of my BIG girlfriends have given me the courage to start putting my artwork and my thoughts on cyberpaper (is there such a thing?).

I'm really excited about participating in a new online workshop that Connie is hosting with 21 of her favorite artist friends called, 21 Secrets: An Art Jounal Playground I think it will be a great source of inspiration and provde content for my new blog. 

The workshop includes 21 artists sharing 21 different classes.  These are a few of the classes I'm particularly excited about:

THE SECRET OF BEGINNINGLisa Wilson :: Life Unity

Why in the world would one want to do this thing called “art journaling”?
Even if you wanted to, how would you know where to begin? And that stuff, “gesso” – do you apply it or eat it?

We all start somewhere. Those with a wise beginner’s mind start again and again. Journey with me as we explore why & how one would go through this process of art journaling, including a detailed look at some of the basic materials used.

 

THE ART JOURNAL AS SOUL MIRROREffy Wild :: Wild. Precious
Plumb your own depths to discover your soul’s purpose and create a beautiful art journal page that reflects that purpose back to you. No drawing required! This class will include an mp3 audio meditation, a step-by-step PDF file, and a video!

 

THE DOODLICIOUS DAYBOOKTracie Hanson :: My Blooming Life

Doodle much? Yeah, me too.
Ever doodled on a scale so large that you produced enough whoppin’ doodlicious paper to bind a thick and juicy art journal?
Nope, didn’t think so. I have.
And I’ll show you how with some videos and pdf’s.

In this workshop, we’ll begin by doodling WAY big . . .
then deconstruct it into the makings for your own
beautific doodlicious diary.

So fun, easy and cool, you’ll crank out a dozen in no time!
I’ll even share a few spankin’ specialicious techniques
to make it even purtier.

You’ll dig it. You’ll wanna show off.

 

The adventure begins October 1 and I can hardly wait!



Welcome!

I am delighted that you have found blessinggirlstudio! 

I created this blog as a place where I can share thoughts, ideas, reflections and artistic creations inspired by my ordinary, everyday, BLESSED beyond my wildest imagination life.

I hope you will check back soon!