Checking In

It's February. To me that means more than a statement about which month of the year it is. It has become a statement about the season I'm in. It's a dark month, not much sunshine. There are moments where the sun peeks through, but I'm weary. There is a history of depression in the women of my family and I'm not sure exactly whether or not this is classified as such, but I'm ready for "February" to end. In the meantime, I choose to believe that God is good and I have SOOOOO much to be grateful for. In 1 Samuel 30:6 the Bible talks about how David encouraged himself in the Lord. Have you ever noticed that where your focus is, that is where your heart is, too? Well, I've come to realize that if I focus on my circumstances instead of the goodness of God, I quickly become buried in heaviness. So, how do you "encourage yourself in the Lord"? Remember his promises. If you don't know His promises and about how he is always faithful to keep His word, then that's a great Bible study to begin. At my Moms' group, we have a little bookmark card with a great reminder on it...

My friend last night reminded us that when we are discouraged by life's circumstances or we are consumed with how big the storm is, we just need to study about how BIG God is and it's amazing how our change of focus can bring encouragement and hope. Bad things happen and life is hard, sometimes, but God is good ALL the time. That is what I will stand on.

In other news, here's a bit about what's been going on...

• The actual season of winter has been pretty amazing. Yes, we've had some 'stupid cold' days with a windchill of -40C, but the cold snaps haven't lasted for weeks and weeks and the nice days, have been really nice. That has meant sledding days and river walks and getting outside. We've really been enjoying the toboggan runs (winter slides) at Kildonan Park. I don't recall ever seeing these in Alberta, but we've really appreciated how much easier the stairs are than hill climbing with littles and David's injured ankle. They're super fun, too.

you don't even need a sled!

• The Forks! I still think this is by far the coolest place in the winter. The river is frozen so you can walk (or skate) for a long way before you run out of room. The artistic warming huts and ice sculptures make it engaging and fun even for the littles. We went on Louis Riel day (Family Day for a lot of Canadians) and I just kept saying "I love this city!"

The littles are looking for sharks under the ice

checking out an ice sculpture on the river

• This is one of the warming huts on the river and since it was painted the same colour as Malachi's jacket, we told him was so camouflaged that we couldn't see him. Then I had the littles pose for some pictures and I only showed him the pictures without him there. He was totally convinced.

• Valentines was quiet and nice. David and I went on an unexpected date on the Friday evening before. We weren't planning on it because we have big plans next weekend, but when you are offered free babysitting you go on a date! We did a "fancy" littles friendly dinner and had a mini family selfie session. We ended the day with a glow stick hunt. It was simply sweet.

• Bible journaling has begun to fill my Bible nicely and there are certain books that are full enough to require adding in pages. I still have plenty of room in the Bible in general, so I won't be buying a new one for some time, and I think I'll be sad to close this one. It's become so dear to me. Not because of my art, but because the art represents more time in the word and more word getting into my heart.

• My Documented Faith journal is also filling in nicely, but I love how it will take the entire year to fill properly. 

• I haven't had very many custom sewing jobs lately, though I've played around a bit.

"doodled" house keychain

Bible cover inspired by this

•  I am thankful that I've been able to save from my sewing jobs and David and I are going to have a weekend away - just the two of us. I am beyond excited. It is long overdue.

• Oh, I have a little art journal that I use to practice faces and play around with doodles etc. On a particularly cold day, I filled in a page with what I love about living here. I really do love it here!

Thanks for stopping in today. If you're struggling in life's circumstances, join me in turing our focus from the storm to the God who not only created it, but who is able to calm it (and if not, He is still good!)

Checking In

Ugh! Cold and flu season. It seems like it's just keeps going around and around, but the good news is that we have been hooked up with Young Living Essential Oils and even though these sicknesses are awful, I feel like the quality of living with the oils is a definite improvement. This won't be a sales pitch don't worry... just sayin'.
      Let's get to it.

• Cold days mean I don't want to go anywhere, so lots of creative time. My Documented Faith has been a lot of journaling, so I haven't shared but here's an overview look from the last two weeks. 

• Malachi got invited to his first birthday party, so I made this cape and mask duo (it's become my go-to gift for boys).

Malachi models it for me

• My girlfriend got an NIV Notetaker's Bible for her birthday and so I had the privilege of making a cover for her. 

• We are not the only "oil-ers" in our circle of friends and family and so, I've been working out a to-go oil carrying case. I've made five and I think I finally have the pattern figured out. My mom and my sister got a couple of my prototypes and in my distracted-ness I only put one row of pockets in it instead of two. In order to remedy the situation, I whipped up little divider pockets that could be slipped in the pouch. I think it'll do in a pinch. I will be sewing up a few more complete pouches this week.

• In other custom jobs, I have a huge project that I will be picking up my fabric order for this week. This will be (in size, my largest project yet). I'm a bit nervous and will pray my way through it. Measure twice, cut once!!!!
• I'm still having a lot of fun with happy snail mail. I have three regular pen pals, plus I sent a birthday package to my sister and I've just chosen someone on the Documented Faith Happy Mail list to send a little package to. I like working on mail scattered throughout my creative times. If I am working on mixed media items, then I make several similar ones so that I can use them in my journal, my Bible and/or in my letters. 

My sister's bday pkg

• Have you heard of "Pocket Letters"? Well, I stumbled across them on Pinterest and my pen pals will be receiving at least one as you know it... I "had" to try!

• I post almost daily on Instagram, so when my blog activity is low, you can still keep in touch with me there. User name: mrsgingras

a lovely package I received last week

• Bible Journaling is going well. I love it more everyday. I post pretty much every single page on Instagram, but here's a little peek. Our church has been going through the Forty Days of Faith and I'm really enjoying it! A lot of my pages have been inspired from the daily readings. 

• Abby has even joined me in Bible Journaling. On the Illustrated Faith website, April shared how impactful this was with her daughter and I knew I needed to invite Abby to do some journaling in my Bible. You should have seen her face when I said she could journal in my Bible. It was priceless!

#kidsintheword

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Checking In

It was a fun and creative week here last week.

I got to celebrate two friends' 30th birthdays. That was a whole lot of fun by itself, but it also meant that I got to make presents. I whipped up a pencil case for one friend who wants a new Bible (a journaling one for taking notes) I included a few Bible friendly pens to get her started. I made my other friend a little zipper clutch in which I put some raspberry pineapple tea-sers (little single serve baggies of loose tea) with a cute tea ball. Both friends received a set of "insta-magnets" - they turned out really cute. 

On Pinterest I saw fabric bracelets something like this and was inspired to give it a try. I will be making more of these for sure.

Then rainbow bracelets inspired by these. I couldn't stop at just one. I also made a few tiny beaded bracelets - tricky to finish, but I love the results. My crafting "A.D.D" kicked in in full force this week. There just wasn't enough time to delve into any more types of crafts or I might have.

Friends of ours are in their fundraising stage before going out onto the mission field. Lisa painted this great signs and hung them around the room. They're painted on old aviation charts. They were so beautiful, I had to take pictures and share. I think Lisa should paint more and make prints or postcards or something. I'd buy a set!

I had an interesting time in my Journaling Bible. I accidentally tore a page (top middle) I had finished during advent and had to do a repair job, then I did a page that I wasn't really happy with (top right). It's not that's it's all bad, just not how as nice as my original sketch and vision. I was thrilled with my Hebrews 11 page (bottom). This was a lot of fun and it helped me gain some of the lost confidence. In the end I just had to remind myself that my art does not take away or add to the Word of God. It's merely a tool to help me "hide His Word in my heart". If you are interested in following my Bible Journaling experience, I post regularly on Instagram (user name: mrsgingras).

This is a close-up from my DF journal. This was more like what I was going for in my Bible (again, the top right picture above). It's a bit more whimsical, but I'm glad I was able to capture it even a little in my journal.

(The art card on the right hand side with the scripture verse and heart are Stephanie Ackerman's used with permission)

Here's my week five spread. I doodled a lot. I struggled a bit with my anger toward my children and my daily prayer was from James - quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. We started the Forty Days of Faith at church and I love the quote that our pastor shared from Smith Wigglesworth: 

"Great faith is the product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great triumphs can only come out of great trials."

It's going to be a great 40 days!

Documented Faith Week Four

On Sunday evenings (most Sundays, anyway) I prepare the week ahead with paint and or minor embellishments. As I learned last week, watercolours aren't my best option, but I love acrylics - they work great, are bold and give good coverage. By the end of the week I've added several tip-ins and layers to accommodate everything I want to include. The "Everything Grows with Love" print was in my last letter from my pen pal. It's so fun and cheerful, I knew as soon as I saw it, that I would want to use it.

Opening up the first tip-in reveals the back side with a verse that I'd journaled and studied in my Bible  and another little tip-in with more verses. It was a week filled with intentional fighting and I needed the encouragement of the Word to continue to fight.

Zephaniah 3:17

This is where Illustrated Faith and Documented Faith worked together again this week. I was so humbled by the Lord's words to me when I went to Him for reassurance of His love for me. He exalts over me?! Wow!

Deuteronomy 31:6-8

I wanted to quit fighting this week, several times, in fact. I went to the Word and found this command to not be dismayed (to lose enthusiasm or resolution). It game me the much needed push to keep going.

At the top of the page is our verse of the week from Stephanie Ackerman. Psalm 86:11, simply written in. The little tip-in opens to show my little birdies. I painted these before Christmas and like many of my paintings I'm using them here. 

a close up

A little private journaling is easily contained in a fold out. I like this method and will probably use it a lot. 

It was a busy week. My Abigail's 6th birthday was on Wednesday and I was her parent helper in kindergarten and we brought rainbow cupcakes to share with her classmates. They were a big hit. Our church led us through a week of prayer and fasting and so there were many opportunities to go to the church and/or prayer furnace. It was much needed and worth fighting for (though, if I'm honest, it didn't feel worth it at the time on one of the evenings). I had a very emotional week and I'm glad to move on to a new week.