Blog Post 1: May 21, 2016

"How to Journal Your Bible Scriptures"

Well this is my first blog post that isn't a devotion, or a welcome. Before I get into my Bible Journaling, let me tell you what I have planned for the rest of my posts. These style of posts I am planning on doing at least once a week, or possibly more. Unlike my devotions, I don't really have a certain day of the week planned for when these are coming out. Most of them will probably be posted on Saturday, but there is a chance they could come out sooner or later. So now that, that is settled lets get into this post.

What is Bible Journaling? Bible Journaling is the process of finding scriptures and quotes you may like and turning it into an art form. Your Buble Journaling page could be filled with more verses, more pictures, or an equal amount of both. Its all up to you and you can do whatever you want.

Bible Journaling is one of my favorite things because it's fun to do and it really helps me process whatever I'm reading. Along with helping me understand the scripture, it challenges me to be more creative and think about the scripture in a different way than before. When I journal I use a plain composition book, but I use the graph ruled kind because I like the lines when I draw. Feel free to journal in whatever journal or notebook you want. I use to journal in a Moleskine and I loved that just as much.

Here is the exact notebook I use and like I said I use graph ruled paper.

Usually when I journal I get an image in my head I want to create. Then I usually use a pencil so I can erase, and sometimes I go back over it in pen. I also like to color in my drawings so I use a bunch of highlighters, markers, sharpies, or anything else I can find in my desk drawer. To help you begin bible journaling here are some tips.

Tip Number One: Music! Christian Music totally helps me get in the zone while journaling and the lyrics help give me ideas on what to draw next. Some of my favorite Christians songs are Oceans by Hillsong, Lead me to the Cross by Hillsong, Forever by Kari Jobe,

Tip Number Two: Get Inspiration! There's no shame in looking up some ideas on Pinterest, this is all for your enjoyment, so feel free to do whatever you want with it.

Tip Number Three: Take your time! No need to rush, there is no set time limit. Again this is for your own enjoyment take as long or as short as you need.

Tip Number Four: Read some scripture before! I read some of my favorite bible verses to get ideas in what I wanted to do beforehand. You can also look at some of my devotions and pick out some verses you like.

I think you are ready to begin, here is one I made for this post.

As you can see I kind of picked a theme for this page.

I had a super fun time Bible Journaling for this post. If this Journal page was something you liked, feel free to comment down below and maybe I can do a post showing some more of my Bible Journaling pages. That reminds me, also comment down below some ideas you have for some future posts you want me to do. You never know I might just pick it! If you do make a Bible Journaling page post it on Instagram I would love to see it! Just use the #LLY&GPInsta

Weekly Devotion: #1

God's Heart

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."

- (Psalm 103:8)

This week's devotion is about God's heart. God's heart is filled with love for us, we are His creation and He shows us everlasting mercy. From this verse lets break down each part of God's heart.

• Merciful: God shows us so much mercy, more than we deserve. It's because of His mercy that we are forgiven. When we are forgiven we can completely let go of all of the sin that might be holding us back, because when we are forgiven, past sins are no longer important. It is through His mercy, that we are given a clean slate.
• Gracious: We should have been sent to our death on the cross, but because of God's grace we didn't have to suffer. Instead Jesus, God's son, was sent to His death just so we wouldn't have to receive the punishment we so justly deserved. 
• Slow to Anger: When we say God is slow to anger, we are saying God isn't angered quickly. That means that God is very patient with us, and that nothing we have done, or will do, could prevent us from being forgiven.
• Love: Why do you think God did all of these things? It's because He LOVES us! God would do anything for us, and His love for us is never changing. Everything God has given us we don't deserve, but because of God's great love we are given it anyway.

It makes me feel so good to know that no matter what I do, no matter how many mistakes I make, God's love for me will never change. It is through His mercy, His grace, His slow to anger, and His love, that I am inspired to live my life, following after His own heart. This week remember to show God's love to everyone, no matter how they treat you, because how horrible would the world be if God treated us how we deserved.

Lots of Love,

-Haley S.

Welcome to my Blog

Hi! I'm Haley and I have a passion for writing and sharing the Word of Christ. I have been touched by so many inspiring people throughout my life that have helped me grow in my faith. I hope to do the same thing for others through this blog. A little bit about me is, I am a teenage girl who is about to be an incoming freshmen at a Christian high school. I am reaching a time in my life where I have started to think about what I plan to do with my life. Even though I am not exactly sure what I want to do yet, I do know that I want to touch as many lives as possible while spreading the Word of Christ. Some of the plans I have for this blog are weekly devotions that will come out every Wednesday, and random posts that I  decide to write about. I plan to figure this out as I go and I will eventually decide if this is something I want to stick with or not. I hope through this blog I help you to love the life you were given and to love the future you have with Christ.

Lots of Love,

-Haley S