Tag: faith

Living in Community: Gifts

If you are a Christian, you are called to so much more than just warming a pew on Sunday mornings. Or your couch at home while you watch services online. I know there are those who will read this and push back because they’ve been hurt in church, by church people. The fact that they are even showing up for church on Sunday mornings is a minor miracle all on its own. Hear me when I say that I’ve been there, too. But understand that it means that you are not living into your calling as a follower of Christ. We are called to follow Christ, not people, and sometimes that requires us to follow Him in spite of others. It is difficult to function in a healthy way within a faith community when you’ve been hurt, but our mission is to follow Christ.

All Christians are called to be part of a local body of believers.

…and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching.

–Hebrews 10:24-25 (AMP)

As Scripture points out, believers are meant to live in community with one another. Whether your faith community is a traditional church that meets in a traditional space, a contemporary church that meets in an old storefront or movie theater, or even a small group that gathers in a private residence, you are called to be part of a faith community that breaks bread together, fellowships with one another, and worships, studies, and prays together. We are to meet regularly with one another, and we are called to commitment and faithfulness within our faith community.

If you’ve been hurt by church folk, then this will seem like a tall order, if not a downright impossibility. Believe me, I get it. But you, with all your unique talents and gifts and your unique personality are important to the body of Christ. You matter, and you are needed.

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The Sheep Rock

painted rocks for women's retreatIt’s been a long minute since I’ve done any rock painting. The last big batch of rocks that I painted was for a women’s retreat hosted by my church. That was several years ago. Each rock featured a faith-related word and some featured a simple design as well.

I have painted a rock on occasion since then. Those usually related to my word of the year (rest, grace, and listen, respectively).

My favorite rock is one of my very first. It has a large chip, so it wasn’t suitable for giving away, and I intended it to be a sample to show a friend to help them understand what I was trying to explain to them. It is my sheep rock.

rock with painting of a sheep, grass, and sky, with a purple heart over its headThis one simple image carries so many layers of symbolism for me. It calls to mind the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. I also remember that “we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3). It also calls to mind the imagery of Psalm 23, and it makes me think about the story in Luke 15:4-7  of the shepherd who leaves the flock of 99 sheep to go in search of the one who has wandered astray, to bring it back to the fold.

Above all these things, it reminds me that I an a child of God, and the Good Shepherd watches over me. If you’re a child of God, He’s watching over you, too.

2024 Word of the Year

Several years ago, I started hearing about people choosing a “word of the year” to serve as their focal point, guiding idea, or inspiration for the year ahead. The idea appealed to me, but unlike most of the people I heard about, I knew I didn’t want to be the one to choose my word, so I went to God in prayer.

I asked the Lord whether it was okay for me to undertake this, and if so, if He would please give me a word for the year and walk me through the process of using it as my word of the year.

When you pray, you should expect an answer – whether it’s yes, no, or wait. So I started paying closer attention to what was going on around me, believing God would either somehow communicate a word to me, or His answer would be a no. Before long, I realized a particular theme was being echoed in various parts of my life. That’s when I knew I was being given my word: REST.

I learned  a lot about REST that year. Not just the type of rest where you sit down or relax or give your body tie to recover, but also resting on God’s promises, resting in His Word, and finding spiritual, mental, and emotional rest.

Since then, I’ve had the words GRACE, BALANCE, LISTEN, FORWARD, and IGNORE as well. In each instance, I learned much – bout the word, about myself, about how God wanted me to apply it to my life, and how it shows up in His Word. There was one year He didn’t give me a word, even though I had asked for one. I stuck with what I was given the previous year.

For 2024, I didn’t ask for a word. I think I felt like I had enough going on. Nevertheless, the Lord gave me a word.
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Faith Coloring Pages

It took me a very long time to feel comfortable calling myself an artist. It’s taken me even longer to get to a place where I felt I could sell my work. I believe the latter has a lot to do with the fact that my art, much like the artist, is not perfect. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever created anything that didn’t have some flaw in it somewhere. And because it wasn’t perfect, I didn’t feel like I could sell it.

I finally learned that when you’re making things by hand, there probably is going to be something somewhere that just doesn’t come out perfect, and that is okay, especially with things that are hand-drawn. I have come to prefer a little bit of wonkiness in my hand-drawn work. It feels more honest and organic to me. And so, after many hours spent clutching a mouse (often until my hand ached) to digitally clean up scanned images of art I’d originally hand-drawn (ink to paper), I opened an Etsy store and listed some of my doodle art drawings as coloring pages.

Set 1 at Etsy - FaithThese pages are all available for purchase as a downloadable set of 5 that you can print yourself, or as individual downloadable pages. If you purchase and download the file, you may print as many copies as you want. I am asking, however, that you not sell the printed pages (though you may give the printed pages away) nor resell the downloaded file or give it to anyone else.

I picked up doodle art in dealing with some trauma I’d experienced. It has been very therapeutic, and at times, it has been a way for me to stay present and grounded. Drawing these pieces of art have been an excellent way for me to practice mindfulness. Coloring them could be beneficial in that same sense. If it’s been years since you spent some quality time with crayons, colored pencils, or markers coloring, why not give it a try? There are many other artists selling their coloring pages on Etsy as well. Sometimes simple pleasures can have a big impact.