The Healing Love of God Journal - "Why are you cast down. O my soul?"

I have never been a fan of negative emotion. Being a generally positive person I tend to push down negative feelings or ignore them perceiving them as a bad thing. However lately I have been learning about the importance and validity of negative emotion and seeing it as a friend. Now I'm not talking about being a bit miffed because someone took my favourite parking spot . In that case I just need to let it go. Rather I'm talking about strong emotions such as depression, anxiety and fear that are hard to fight.

David acknowledged his pain.

"Why are you cast down, O my soul?"

Psalm 43:5a

By asking the question "why", he didn't focus on his pain but on the reason for it. There is always a root cause to our emotion and as the emotion rises so does the root. The cure always works best on the cause rather than the symptom.

David was not ruled by his emotion but rather he allowed his emotion to serve him.

By acknowledging my emotion I too have identified the root cause of it. Like David

"I shall yet praise Him, the help (cure) of my countenance and my God."

Psalm 43:5b

I was led to create this art to acknowledge and give expression to my feelings.

My ink colour palette was Elegant Eggplant and Rich Razzleberry. I also used Powder Pink and Blushing Bride for the skintone.

The background stamps were from the "Background Bits" and "Beautiful Peacock" stamp sets.

I printed the Scripture verse from my computer.

I have also used colour pencils for some definition.

I used gold foil flakes on the heart.

I applied Glossy Accents to the tears to create dimension and shine.

I have added some embossing paste to the background.

Completed journal page.

The journey continues as I seek God on how to practically apply His love to my wound.

The Healing Love of God Journal - He loved me FIRST.

I have been struggling with some crazy emotions. At times I have intense feelings of sadness for no apparent reason, sometimes I am angry and at other times I feel anxious. I was just brushing them off as part of Peri-Menopause and simply endured them, waiting for them to pass. Of course there are physical symptoms also but once again I put it down to this strange time of life and just accepted it.

Recently during a bout of extreme sadness, the Spirit led me to stop, be still and listen. The Spirit began to challenge the way I was thinking. What if these negative feelings are actually your friends and are serving you by trying to communicate a problem that lies within? The problem being wounds of pain from the past ignored and left to grow and become toxic. What if my feelings were alerting me and bringing that pain forward to be healed instead of being ignored? What is the cure? The only cure for a broken heart is God's perfect love.

I decided they were all really good questions that needed exploring. So I decided to create a journal to seek God in a creative way. Healing flows from focussed creativity.

I wanted to share a sample of one of the pages with you today. This isn't the first page it is simply what the Spirit wanted to teach me today.

The ink colours I have used are Wisteria Wonder and So Saffron. I used a script stamp from the "Background Bits" stamp set.

The sketch is my own.

The flowers were first painted with gesso and once dry I applied ink with a brush.

I printed the sentiment from my computer.

I used a colour pencil to add some shading.

I began with the art work. In the process the Spirit gave me the title which became the subject of my learning today.

I then sat at my computer and journaled what I had learned as I was led by the Spirit.

I inked the page with So Saffron before adhering my art work on the opposite side of the journaling.

I am so excited and expectant about this journey of healing I am embarking on. I will be sharing more pages with you as I progress. I hope you will join me.

Goodbye 2017!

As I reflect on the year that has been I can't help but be thankful for all the moments that came by it. Because of them I am entering the New Year changed. I am not the same person I was entering this year. As a result I will live and do things a little differently. I am so grateful for the opportunities God gives us to grow in our perspective and in our faith.

For this project I have used my StampinUp! inks as watercolour paints.

The colours I have used are Powder Pink, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Berry Burst, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Black Archival.

The stamp sets I have used are "Number of Years" and a new stamp set from the 2018 Occasions Catalogue "Lovely Wishes".

I have used watercolour paper as a base.

The Powder Pink ink gave her a nice soft skin tone.

I have used the StampinUp! Watercolor Pencils for shading and detail.

The Bible verse was printed from my computer onto Whisper White card.

To make the verse stand out I used the Basic Black Watercolor pencil and smudged it with a paper stump.

The 2018 was first stamped in Black. I then stamped it in Berry Burst, cut out the numbers and offset them over the Black with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals.

I am filled with gratitude for the year that was and I am looking ahead expectantly for the year that soon will be.

Happy New Year everyone!