Bible Journaling - Genesis 14, 15 & 16

When we left off on Abraham's story, he was established in Canaan, the land that had been promised to his descendants - except that he didn't have any - and his Nephew, Lot, had chosen the best parts of the land to for himself to settle in. Abraham may have been exactly where God intended him to be, but things could look a whole lot better! We explore this ancient story further in today's blog, as we figure out how to make the text come alive in illustrations. Feel free to journey through Genesis 14, 15 and 16 with me in this Bible Journaling blog.

Our story continues on the next page with the establishment of Ismael's descendants and we will explore this as well.

Genesis 14, 15 and 16 look like this in the Inspire Praise Bible.

I prepare the pages with Zellen Clear Gesso.

The pages look like this when the gesso is dry.

I use Mont Marte Adult Colouring Markers to colour the illustratin in the left margin.

I use a Derwent Inktense pencil to colour the background of the illustration.

I then paint the Inktense penciling with water to dissolve it.

When I am done, my pages look like this.

Chapter 14 starts at the bottom of the previous page and I therefore need to page back first. In these lines we learn about a revolution that broke out among the rulers of the area where Lot had settled. As the page is already very busy, I do not want to add anything that will add too much.

I remember that I have a stencil that resembles an old-fashioned shield in one of my stencil books.

I use a Faber-Castell Artist's Pitt pen to stencil the shield over the text telling us of the political upheavals.

I will not add anything to the centre of the shield, because of the busy-ness of the rest of the page.

These particular pages now look like this.

Full scale war broke out in the area of the unrest, with two alliances drawing up ranks against each other. When one of these alliances gain the upper hand, the other has to flee before them. In their haste to flee before the enemy, some of the retreating soldiers fall into tar pits that litter the area, which causes the demise of many. For some reason this image, which is largely inconsequential to the larger unfolding story of the Bible, stuck in my mind and I decided to illustrate it in pencil.

I used Sharpie markers and a ProMarker to colour the illustration. As I am doing this, my mind remains busy with the dire plight that these people suffered. I had brushed over the names of the warring parties, as these held little meaning to me. I now paid closer attention to these. I am surprised to discover that the people who fell into the tar pits, are the ones who came from Sodom and Gomorrah. We will soon read more about these people, in the upcoming chapters, but I think most of us are familiar with the story of the destruction of these cities as a result of their godless behaviour. Too often I have heard people complain about the raw deal that life had given them, blaming God for allowing this to happen to them. I do not wish to establish some general rule here, as I know that there are lots of believers who suffer, as well as unbelievers who prosper, but a thought did come to mind that I would like to share. Still, I have to wonder if these people would even bother with mentioning God's name, except in blasphemy, if they had prospered. Would they not then have taken all credit for their prosperity upon themselves? There is a general rule in this, I think: If you can not mention God's name in submissive prayer before the trouble starts, don't mention His name in blame when you find yourself in a pit of tar.

When the invading armies raided the cities of the fleeing godless, they captured and carried off property, people and animals with them. Among these, were Lot, his family and possessions. One of his slaves managed to escape to alert Abram as to what was happening. Abram then mobilized his allies and men and set off in hot pursuit, managing to free Lot and recover his possessions. In the end, him and his allies walked away with the spoils of war. Abram is then met by one of the most mysterious characters in the Bible, namely Melchizedek of Salem. This may simply have been a normal person of exceptional rank, or it may have been an angel, or even Jesus Himself. In Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7, he is made to be a sort of prototype of Christ. In Psalm 76 it is implied that Salem is synonymous for Jerusalem. Certainly his significance would be overlooked had it not been for these later references to the character. A couple of significant things happen here. Abram pays a tithe to this man, without seeming to have any reason to do so, except that Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God. Melchizedek served Abram bread and wine when he blessed Abram, which reminds us of the Holy Communion which would be instituted by Jesus a couple of millennia later. I do a couple of quick pencil sketches to illustrate these aspects of the meeting.

As Abram is giving away 10% of what he had, the king of Sodom came to him, asking him to simply let the people go, but to keep the property that had been raided for himself. This must have constituted a huge capital gain. It is basically the property from the people of a whole city that Abram would have gained. But Abram declines. Abram lived from the blessings received by God. He lived on God's promises. If financial gain or wealth had been his aim in life, he would never have left his prosperous life in Haran. This is one of the many reasons why Abram is called the Father of the believers. I use Sharpie markers to colour the wine glass.

I use a Sharpie and a ProMarker to colour the bread in shades of brown. How often has temptation presented itself to us in the shape of wealth and prosperity when we had blindly grabbed at it, thanking God for His provision, without even stopping to ask if this had really been provided by Him. It is all about relationship. Do not simply blindly think that you have received a 'sign' when something good comes your way. It is not necessarily a 'sign' of God's blessing. Sometimes it is simply temptation, especially when it comes from those who do not trust God or believe in Him. Don't imagine that you know God's will, ask Him for His will. He is as alive and active in people's lives today, as in the days of Abraham. More so, for He is living inside of us in the shape of His Holy Spirit who guides us and reveals His will to us. Never forget the key word 'relationship.' This is also the word I have stenciled on the outside of my Bible at the beginning of this journey. Do not loose sight of that.

I use Sharpies and a ProMarker to colour the bag with the tithe.

Then I use Sharpies to colour the 10% journaled in the margin.

In chapter 15 we gain insight into a vision that Abram had. In this vision God came to talk to him to reaffirm His blessings and promises from before. Abram mentions to God that these promises would have to be fulfilled in his servant, as he had no heir of his own. God assures him that an heir from his own loins would be the carrier of these promises and says that Abram's descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. I include this promise in my illustration by drawing a couple of very simple stars on my page with a Sharpie. As this vision unfolds, Abram prepares a sacrifice of a number of animals which are cut in half, as well as a few birds. Th day drags on as Abram keeps guard over the sacrifice. He fell into a sleep and experienced a disturbance in his spirit/emotions. God then reveals to Abram that all will not always be well for his descendants. At some stage in their history they will experience a 400 year long period of slavery. However, God also foretells the rescue plan He had in store for them. They will be returned to the land promised to Abram's descendants. Abram would die in peace, though. As night fell, a miraculous fire was lit on the alter that moved between the sacrificial offerings. Then God reaffirms His promises of the specific land given to Abram's descendants. Not fully comprehending the miraculous aspect of the fire, I simply drew a stone altar with a fire burning on it.

In chapter 16 we encounter a very selfless act from Sarai, although it was completely unnecessary. Fully believing God's promises to Abram, but believing herself inadequate for the task, she proposes Abram conceive an heir with her maid. Abram also could not fathom that Sarai would be up to the task God had in mind, and he agreed. Hagar became pregnant with Abram's son. I had to stop reading here to contemplate how often I have tried to help God's plans ahead in my own life. We have even come up with a saying in this day and age to capture the essence of this. You will have heard this before: 'God only helps those who help themselves.' This is wholly and completely against Biblical principles. On occasions where God wish for humans to do something to bring about His will, He is very specific about who should do what, when, and where. On more occasions, He requires no human intervention whatsoever. Refrain from doing on God's behalf because you feel yourself inadequate, inapt, unable, unequipped, or lacking. God will do as He said He will do and He will provide where all hope seems lost. Relax and trust God to do as He knows best. I make a very simple drawing of a pregnant woman to indicate the pregnant Hagar.

This page is now complete, but the chapter continues on the next page.

The pregnant Hagar was a very silly young woman who scorned her mistress because of her barrenness. She must have thought herself the preferred woman in the house now. She was young, pretty, and pregnant with a much longed-for heir. When her belligerence became too much to bear, Sarai sent Hagar away, with Abram's permission. Just as Sarai's selfless act hinted at a strong bond between herself and Abram, so his actions seem to infer this. Please take note though, not all selfless acts that are born from a place of love, are necessarily good for the individual role players. Again I want to urge you to not assume to know God's will, but to rather ask Him for it. When Hagar is in the desert, she is found by an angel of God's. He instructs her to return to her mistress. He also tells her that she will give birth to Ishmael, and that his descendants will always be in conflict with their relatives. Ishmael later becomes the ancestor of the modern Arab nations, whereas Isaac through Jacob, becomes the forefather of Israel. This is thus the birthplace and origin of the modern and ancien middle eastern conflict, along with everything that the ensuing years had added to the cesspool of conflict. I illustrate the prophesied conflict and contention with a raised fist which I colour with ProMarkers.

This page looks like this when I am done.

A reminder of where we started today.

The main pages we worked on in this blog.

You can watch a short compilation video of the steps above on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/gtpxLtmGENs

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2005,2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois, 60188. All rights reserved.

Inspire PRAISE South Africa edition copyright 2017 by Christian Art Publishers, PO Box 1599, Vereeniging, 1930, RSA. All rights reserved.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
You can follow Miekie's daily Bible Study blog, Bybel Legkaart, here in English & Afrikaans.
You may prefer to follow the traveling blog, A Pretty Tourist.
For more crafty ideas and great product reviews, visit A Pretty Talent on Facebook.
If you are in a literary mood, follow Miekie's musings, stories and poetry on A Pretty Author - Miekie.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making life PRETTY.
You can subscribe to any of these blogs and receive regular updates by email. Simply register your email address at the top of the applicable blog.

Bible Journaling - Genesis 12 & 13

We have reached Genesis 12 and 13 on our Bible Journaling journey. Today, we encounter Abram when he meets God and receives instructions to leave his place of comfort and to keep moving towards Canaan, for this is the land God has intended for him to stay in, and this is where God intends to bless him. In order to avoid a famine in Canaan, Abram settles in Egypt for a while. This is not where God told him to be, and Abram starts making some wrong decisions. In today's blog, we take a look at comfort zones, at moving and settling on God's instructions, and at staying in His will, all while enjoying the creative journaling process that our Bibles afford us.

Genesis 12 and 13 look like this in the Inspire Praise Bible.

I prepare the pages with Zellen Clear Gesso.

My pages are slightly wrinkled when I am done, but I won't let this put me off. It will straighten out in due time.

I start by colouring the text and illustrations in the left margin. I colour the background yellow with a Number One colouring pencil.

I will be using the Mont Marte Adult Colouring Duo Markers to colour the illustration with.

As the pencil I had used, was a waxy pencil, I found that my markers did not want to 'take' in the areas where I had gone over the lines of the smaller text. I had to use an unleaded pacer pencil to scrape away the waxy surface before I could use the markers in those small areas.

To depict Abram's journey, I choose to draw a set of suitcases stacked on top of each other. I draw it in pencil on top of the passage dealing with this. I love how this passage simply falls right into it, and tells us that God spoke to Abram and Abram simply responded in obedience. This seems to hint at a level of comfort that existed in the relationship between God and Abram. Perhaps this is why it was so (seemingly) simple for Abram to obey and leave his comfort zone. Perhaps his comfort zone was not a place, as much as it was a relationship, and more specifically, his relationship with God.

I erase most of the pencil lines before I redraw the picture in Micron pens. I use a Sepia colour to draw the picture.

As I keep on developing the picture with Faber-Castell Artist's Pitt Pens, I contemplate how the the three suitcases also represent the stages in Abram's journey. At the Oak of Mamre, he made camp and God appeared to him. This is where Abram receives the promise that the land of Canaan will belong to his descendants, and theirs after them, along with more blessings. He then builds an altar to the Lord. After this, Abram keeps moving and sets up camp again at somewhere between Bethel and Ai. Here he built yet another altar to God and worshipped Him. We then learn that Abram continued moving South in stages, toward the Negev desert.

Abram had the task of moving towards and settling in the land promised to him, but more importantly, to his descendants. He was a foreigner in the land he occupied. Yet he did not hesitate to claim the land for his God. He claimed the land by moving through it, and worshiping God wherever he settled. This is faith. He was among a nation who would have had their own Gods, their own altars and their own way of doing things. Still, he had clear instructions from God and he doggedly kept moving forward, claiming the land for the LORD and worshiping the LORD as he went. There is a lesson in this for those of us who have been called by the LORD to a specific place. Simply arriving is not good enough. We are called to establish places and/or conditions where the LORD can be worshiped.

It wasn't Abram's choice to leave Canaan, circumstances forced him to do so. I have also been in a 'promised land' once when circumstances forced me to leave. For a while there I felt completely uprooted, not knowing what to do next, or where to settle myself. I did not find peace again, until I finally decided to let go of the promise from yesterday and focus on the revelation of today. I still believe that 'promised land' is mine, but I also know that the land and situation I am in now, is where God wishes me to be right now. How do I know this, you might ask? By spending lots and lots of time in conversation with our Father. I walked and talked with God for days and months, until I walked myself right out of words and into silence. It was only when I grew silent that I could clearly hear God's whisperings above my own complaints. If you are in 'Egypt' right now, complaining to our Father about the fact that you can not enter your 'Promised Land,' then I wish to advise you to do your own walking and talking with God. But be sure to walk yourself right out of your rebellion and back into submission, if you wish the exercise to have any purpose, other than losing weight. I use the Pitt pens to develop a picture that I will tell you more about in the next passage.

While Abram was in Egypt, his faith seemed to have wavered. He was not where he knew God wanted him to be. The bold confidence he displayed in Canaan, had left him, and we find him a man in fear. He resorts to lies and manipulation to ensure his own safety. In the process, he endangers his wife, but more than this, he places his future blessings in jeopardy. Abram's descendants would be blessed through Sarai, but Abram withdraws his protection from her, as husband, and leaves her exposed to outsiders. A husband and a wife have a sacred duty to protect each other. There is no room for outsiders in a marriage. If you have exposed yourself, or your spouse, to outsiders, you need to seriously reconsider your actions and choices. When I look ahead at the story of Abram, I see the birth of Ishmael. This time Abram had exposed himself to an outsider. Abram did receive a blessing in the birth of Ishmael. Ishmael grew into nations and gave Abram huge number of descendants. However, this was not the original blessing God had in mind for Abram's life. What is more, this would also result in conflicts between the two 'blessings', or descendants, that lasts to this day. When I start to colour the picture of the beautiful middle eastern woman I am working on, I use a blue metallic marker. However, I want to tone the marker down a bit. I therefore only make blue marks in the areas that need to be coloured, before painting the ink with water.

The ink is easily dissolved with water, making it very simple to paint it.

While Abram was in Egypt, he grew very rich very quickly. He enjoyed the company and blessing of the highest official in the country. He had wealth, power, and fame. This appears to be a blessing. Appearances, however, can be deceiving. Too often, we take a shortcut to finding God's answers for our lives. Does things go well for us? Then it must mean that we are enjoying God's blessings. This 'prosperity' thinking is not true. Things did not go well for Paul when he was stoned, shipwrecked, hungry, imprisoned, flogged, etc. Yet, he was doing what God told him to do, where God told him to do it, when God told him to do so. If you wish to know God's answers - PRAY. Spend time with God, if you wish to know the answers that will guide your life. I keep developing the picture with the Pitt pens.

I add highlights with a white Lyra Polycolor pencil.

I then use Derwent Coloursoft pencils to colour the skin areas. I have to mention that I found this image in a Google search and have come across a number of different interpretations of it. I therefore do not know who to credit with the original idea, but certainly can not take credit for it myself. The image seems to be used for Esther by everyone else, but I rather fancied it for Sarai and therefore opted use it here.

I wish to add some bling to the image. As rhinestones will be too knobbly in the Bible, I prefer to use Heat Activated Foil. I will not use heat however. Instead, I will paste it in with Tombow glue.

I place tiny glue dots where I wish the bling to go. I then let the glue dry a little so it will become tacky and grip the foil.

I place the foil on top of the glue dots and press down. Then I pull the foil away.

I am left with tiny golden dots in all the right places.

When I get to chapter 13, I see that Abram continued traveling and that he now returned to Canaan. We visit some of his familiar places and then we see that his nephew, Lot, wishes to part company with him when conflict arises between them. Abram could have told Lot that the land had been given to him, Abram, by God, and that therefore Lot had to move out and go fend for himself. He did not do so. Instead, he invites Lot to select the choice land for himself and to settle there. Abram was once again back in his comfort zone, the place where he trusted God. This was not his dream to fulfill, nor was it his promise to keep. He was neither guardian nor steward of the blessing. This was for God to do. When I realized this, I had to stop and wonder how often I myself have taken things out of God's hands, thinking I was doing right, instead of simply trusting Him to do what He said He would do. At this stage, I am reminded of my prayer this morning. I was speaking to God about what it means to give your life to Him. It means He has ownership. It means He is the One who is in control. Or at least, He is the One who ought to be in control. Yet, we take that control back from Him all too often. And then I thought about how some of us never even bother to consult the owner's manual, the Bible, to find out what we are supposed to do with these lives that belong to Him. We seem to simply shut our eyes and plunge ahead, hoping for the best - and that God would do the rest. God should not be left with left-overs. Instead, He should be left to do as He pleases, and we should rest - unless, or until, He tells us otherwise. Then, resting in God's care and provision, instead of our own, we will also be in a position like Abram's, where we can be gracious enough to allow others to flourish as well. After taking leave of Lot, God repeats His promises and blessings to Abram. During this conversation, Abram is told to look at the land in all directions. I use a sticker to indicate this. Then Abram is told to keep moving through the land. I want to invite you to go talk to God right now. You can come back and journal at another time. Ask God whether or not you should be settling in or moving. Abram was told to keep moving, even though he already found himself in the promised land. He still had areas to claim for the Lord. Yet all he had to do, was move. Not fight, not barter, not buy or sell - just keep moving and worshiping God.

I found a pretty sticker sheet in my stash depicting old-fashioned travel. I decided to use some of these stickers in the space left open in the right margin of the page.

When I stuck the stickers down, I found that they would not stay in place and I had to use double-sided tape to fix them to the page.

I was now satisfied that my illustrations supported the text.

The completed layout.

You can watch a short compilation video of the steps above on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/DJaXnObWols

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2005,2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois, 60188. All rights reserved.

Inspire PRAISE South Africa edition copyright 2017 by Christian Art Publishers, PO Box 1599, Vereeniging, 1930, RSA. All rights reserved.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
You can follow Miekie's daily Bible Study blog, Bybel Legkaart, here in English & Afrikaans.
You may prefer to follow the traveling blog, A Pretty Tourist.
For more crafty ideas and great product reviews, visit A Pretty Talent on Facebook.
If you are in a literary mood, follow Miekie's musings, stories and poetry on A Pretty Author - Miekie.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making life PRETTY.
You can subscribe to any of these blogs and receive regular updates by email. Simply register your email address at the top of the applicable blog.

Bible Journaling - Genesis 10 & 11

Chapter 10 and 11 in Genesis are filled with long genealogical lists which we can often scan over, thinking it has no bearing or importance to us. Yet, as little interested as I generally am in these sorts of lists, it is not true of these particular lists. These lists serve as an indication of where the nations of the world developed from and settled themselves. I discuss this in fuller detail in the overview of Genesis that I blogged about before we started on Genesis. However, do pay attention to the relationships and origins of the nations, as this is often at the heart of the history of the Old Testament. Chapter 11 also recounts the story of the scattering of the people at Babel. We look at these chapters in today's blog, while journaling our reading in pictures.

Genesis 10 and 11 look like this in the Inspire Praise Bible.

I prepare the pages with Zellen Clear Gesso.

The treated pages look like this when I start on them.

I have a stencil that looks like a brick wall. I wish to depict the Tower of Babel being built and this stencil will do the trick. I use Tim Holtz Distress Ink and a sponge dauber to apply the ink to the page.

I only partially stencil the wall, as I wish t make it appear as if the work is still in progress.

I then Google stick men in construction and find a couple of cute pictures to replicate on my wall. I draw them in pencil to start with.

I then redraw them with my black fountain pen.

I then use an orange neon highlighter to colour the hard hats on the construction crew. I doubt they actually wore these, but I find them a fun inclusion in the picture, not bothering to keep it historically correct.

I am still left with the wide margin on the right hand page. I don't wish to do anything here that will detract from the wall. I decide to simply stick a strip of clear stickers on the side of the page. This doesn't do the trick, though.

I add some Washi Tape, following the contours of the border sticker. It still feels too empty and unfinished.

I then use a green ProMarker to draw a ladder across the empty space, using the lines to mark the rungs in the ladder.

I use a black fountain pen to draw a stick man climbing this ladder, after consulting Google once more.

His hard hat also needs to be coloured.

The completed page. When we turn the page forward, we find that the chapter continues to introduce us to one of the pivotal figures of the Old Testament, Abraham. However, as chapter does not tell us much more than that the family of Abraham was born and moved towards Canaan to settle there, I will leave a discussion of this important character for the next blog.

You can watch a short compilation video of the steps above on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/EkDoTaqYo0s

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2005,2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois, 60188. All rights reserved.

Inspire PRAISE South Africa edition copyright 2017 by Christian Art Publishers, PO Box 1599, Vereeniging, 1930, RSA. All rights reserved.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
You can follow Miekie's daily Bible Study blog, Bybel Legkaart, here in English & Afrikaans.
You may prefer to follow the traveling blog, A Pretty Tourist.
For more crafty ideas and great product reviews, visit A Pretty Talent on Facebook.
If you are in a literary mood, follow Miekie's musings, stories and poetry on A Pretty Author - Miekie.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making life PRETTY.
You can subscribe to any of these blogs and receive regular updates by email. Simply register your email address at the top of the applicable blog.