Take Me Deeper - February Part 1

I am on a roll now - I have done the first two weeks of February for Take Me Deeper,

Week 1 was focussing on God's Love looking at John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"

I used Distress Inks direct to the page for the background, the cross is cut from grungeboard.

Week 2 was Love God - I did a very simple page for this one. Again the background is distress inks direct to the paper, with a heart cut out and the words written on it. We were reminded this week of the need to love God with all our heart, our soul and with all our mind.

Take Me Deeper - January

His Kingdom Come is a new website, which has lots of challenges and inspiration for Christians and being creative. You can find it here

One of their year long projects, that I am joining in with is Take Me Deeper. Every month has a theme and each week a devotional is published with some journalling ideas. The idea is that we can make a journal page inspired by each week's devotional.

The theme for January was Transformation and talked about we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds, by being willing and submissive to God in our lives, how God is always faithful to his promises.

I have finally managed to finish January's pages but have not shared them before. So here they are:

Apologies for some of them being on their side - I took them on my phone - will improve this for next time.

The theme for February is Love.

A Pause in Lent - 1

I am joining in again this year with A Pause in Lent, hosted by Angela here.

I find it hard to believe that we are actually in Lent again - it seems no time since it was Advent. I think this is a sign of the times we live in - we are so busy that time really does seem to be moving quicker. I began to reflect on the busyness of our lives - we try and pack so much stuff into them, we are always dashing here or there (or is that just me?). Even in this time of Lent we can be so busy, there are so many different online or email devotions we can sign up that we would never have time to read them all!

So this Lent time, in the run up to Easter I am going to pause and reflect. I am following devotions in one book only and am not signing up to different emails (or at least I am now going to unsubscribe from a lot of them). I want to put God back where he belongs - first in my life! I want to spend time just being with him, instead of always rushing about, even if that rushing about is doing church activities. I am going to learn to say No to things if I have to .

So what am I giving up for Lent - the act of 'busyness'.

Journal 52

Playing catch up a little here - this is for Week 2 of Journal52.The prompt was BE. I used stencils, which is sprayed on top of. Then added the word BE with stickers. Finished off with the words Be still and know that I am God. I do still have trouble sometimes being still, and just BEING instead of DOING - but I am making progress in this area.

This is for week 4 - yes I know week 3 should be next - but still waiting for inspiration for that. Week 4's prompt was Silhouette. I used distress inks direct onto the paper and then cut out the flower from black paper. The other black bit is supposed to be the setting sun - not sure how well it worked The words say From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, the Lords name is to be praised.

Books

It is only the 15th day of the year and I have read 2 books already! I don't expect to keep this up - it was really only because I was not well and off work.

The first book was The Memory Book by Rowan Coleman. This is the first book of his I have read and I really like it. It is a bit sad though as the main character is suffering from early onset Alzheimers. Her family give her a book to write her stories down in before she forgets them. It is well told and although sad a good read.

The second book is The Circle by Dave Eggers. This book was my Secret Santa gift from my Book Club, we each get a book, read it in January and then tell the group about it at the end of the month. Again this was a new author for me and again I enjoyed it. It was easy to read and for any of us who are addicted to the internet, facebook, instagram etc, it contains a warning not to take things too far. The Circle run everything - all internet activity in one easy, safe and visible place. Mae Holland manages to get a job at its campus and she is delighted by this. But as she becomes more involved more is expected - at one point she has 8 screens on her desk at any one time! There is a sinister truth at the heart of the organisation.  The Washington Post likened it to a Brave New World. It certainly contains some scary but actually believable ideas and shows how internet use could become a slippery slope to a different kind of society. Well worth a read.

Have you read any good books over the festive season?

A hat and a bracelet

 I finally finished the hat I started knitting before Christmas. Not before time as I needed to wear it today as it has been cold and windy. Thankfully we have not had much snow here. I think the snow is lovely to look at but not really to go out in, especially if you need to drive.

This year I decided I would like to keep my One Little Word visible throughout the year. I managed to find this bracelet with my word BELIEVE on it on ebay, so I just had to order it. I think it is lovely.

Journal 52

Another of my projects for 2015 is Journal 52, details here. Every week a prompt is posted for you to interpret any way you like. I did try this last year but never got very far - but this year I Believe I will finish it.

Week 1 was Pathways. I used Gesso and heated it to create a roughness, which I then coloured in with pastels. This is to represent the path through 2015 with my word 'Believe' and that I know that at times it may be smooth and at other times rougher. The tree was to represent God who I Believe is watching over me throughout this year. The words say For we walk by faith not by sight.