Illustrating Zephaniah

First off: I love the name Zephaniah. 

LOVE it! 

I think it's one of the most underrated biblical names along with Jonah and Abram. 

Zepheniah, Zepheniah, Zepheniah! 

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The world needs some Zephaniahs!! 

With nicknames like Zeph and Zephy, you just can't go wrong. 

I might be a tad bit partial to it since there was a boy named Zepheniah in the 2nd grade class I did my internship in. So, when I see this book of the bible, I think of a little boy with a smile as big as Chris Rock's! 

Now back to bible journaling....

Illustrating Isaiah

Isaiah is the second longest book in the bible coming in at 61 pages. When I read through the bible several years ago I can remember that the prophesy about the destruction of Israel, all the hints about Jesus, and the visuals of the end times all really confused me. Not one I've picked up to leisurely read since...But having reread through it to journal, God has revealed so much to me like the first page 

Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, remove the evil deeds from before my eyes, cease doing evil, learn to do good,seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widows cause. Come now let us reason together. Isaiah 1:16-18

Come let us walk in the light of the Lord. Isaiah 2:5

Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard. Isaiah 5:1

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes. Isaiah 5:21

Your guilt is taken away and your sin is atoned for! Isaiah 6:7

Verses I did during advent illustrated. Isaiah 7:14 & 9:6

The light of Israel will become a fire and his holy one a flame. Isaiah 9:17

Another advent one Isaiah 11:1-2

Isaiah 12:2

I love the visual of the trees silently rejoicing God. Constantly lifting their branches to heaven, always growing towards the light and standing firm but at the same time bending with whatever the wind blows at them. Trees hold deep significance to me if you can't tell lol

The cypresses rejoice at you. Isaiah 14:8 

Poe's Raven showed up as well! 

May the offspring of evildoer a nevermore be named. Isaiah 14:20

Isaiah 15:5 my heart cries out for Moab her fugitives flee to Zoer. This may be way off but has my heart cried out for those fleeing oppression? When I hear about the refugee crisis in Europe or see news stories about some possibly coming to America, what is my reaction? Love? Fear? Hate? Open arms? This verse got me to thinking about how myself and the body needs to really take a look in the mirror and make sure we are on the right side of history on this one because darkness will never drive out darkness.

Illustrating Joel

One of the things I have really enjoyed about BSF this year as we study Revelations is that we have also looked at the prophesy throughout the bible. Joel is a tiny book at the end of the Old Testament that had some gems worth journaling. 

As I've said before one of the cries of my generation is for people who are authentic. This verse I feel completely encompasses what I desire for the church. To rend means to rip apart savagely. So this verse means to tear apart your insides not just your garments or what everyone sees. 

Illustrating Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes has been a favorite of mine for a long while. Maybe it is because so many in my generation see the vanity in the American Dream, or that we've seen people spend their lives "chasing after the wind" only to be monetarily wealthy but spiritually bankrupt. We've seen friends and neighbors crippled by credit card debt from trying to accumulate things as Dave Ramsey says to impress people we don't care for. 

What we are craving is authenticity.  We admire people who speak the truth when they say that they've tried it all like the author of Ecclesiastes, wealth, pleasure and knowledge, and without God it didn't satisfy. 

Maybe the microhouse movement should take up this verse! I definitely see the beauty in simple living. 

I love the visual of in the day of prosperity be joyful being and outward expression of an inward fullness; in the day of adversity consider being and inward reflection of outward circumstances.

I pulled this girl from a W magazine at a salon because I knew she could go with this verse. I changed the pronouns to feminine but it is truth for both genders. Have you ever known someone that literally their face shines? There is a lady named Patsy that I've known all my life that is so joy filled that even when you see her driving her bus route her face shines with the brightest smile. And if you happen to run into her in Walmart you will leave blessed having just been around her because her love for God pours out of every fiber of her being.

A woman's wisdom makes her face shine.

Ecclesiastes is as applicable to this present time as it was when it was written thousands of years ago. Everything will pass. Don't gossip. Evil is real. Enjoy your labor. Eat, drink & be merry. Live simply. Fear God. Keep his commands.

Illustrating Deuteronomy

I attend a local Bible Study Fellowship on Wednesday mornings with my little boys. If you are looking for a bible study with depth, look no further. We studied the life of Moses last year and covered and uncovered so much in Exodus through Deuteronomy. Time after time I saw myself in the stubborn, ungrateful Israelites wandering in the desert because of a stupid choice THEY made. 

Deuteromony, though not action packed with its regurgitation of the law, is not without morsels of goodness. Even Jesus quoted it more than any other book. So hey if it's good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for us to learn from as well! 

You are today numerous as the stars of heaven. Deuteronomy 1:10

Living with and caring for full time a 3 1/2 year old and 20 month old, they are bound to leave their marks in my bible. Instead of fretting about it. I slap their name on it and know one day it will be a treasured piece to come across, knowing that they saw from an early age that the bible was open in their home, it was something mommy set aside time for, it was a priority and I pray a priority in their life as they grow.

"Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink. Only let me pass through on foot," Deuteronomy 2:27-28

 

This verse couldn't help but conjure up images in my mind of lynchings in the South during and after slavery when countless innocent black men were hanged without a trial and left all night. 21:22-23 reads that "If someone is guilty of a sin worthy of death, he must be put to death and his body displayed on a tree. But don’t leave his body hanging on the tree overnight; be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone whose body is displayed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not ruin the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own." Which made me 

Could you imagine if families actually did this? You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother. 23:

I thought this verse was rather sweet that the Lord allotted a "honeymoon" period for a newlyweds. 

When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army, he shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife. Deuteronomy 24:5

This was an acrylic vs. water color study. 

And a realization that when you put brown, yellow and green down in an abstract way....you get camoflauge lol no worries though, each page just as each day is a learning experience.

The last two pages of Deuteronomy are Moses blessing all the tribes and passing the torch onto Joshua. I can't imagine leading the nation of Israel for 40 years, only to get a glimpse of the promised land. But maybe after 40 years of putting up with such stubbornness he was more than happy to just get a glimpse before he was taken up to glory land!

My last page I posed the question to myself: 

Am I carrying a torch that is worth passing on? 

Is my torch burning for the glory of God or the glory of myself? 

Is it shining a light in dark places or being comfortable around other torchbearers? 

Is it leading others to the promised land or destruction?