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Journaling Bible tabs

 

10/14/15 I signed up to attend the Woman of Faith simulcast for Friday and Saturday. After sitting three hours in a pew looking up on Friday night, I knew I had to change things up for Saturday, so I brought in my lawn chair and I brought something to keep my hands busy. It is hard for me sometimes to just sit and listen for so long without having something else to keep my hands busy. I was glad I did as it worked out well for me.

My task was my Journaling Bible and creating tabs. I have not had time to create tabs, so I decided to utilize this as an opportunity to get it done while listening. I was blessed by my time to do so.

I had seen all the fancy, awesome methods of creating tabs that other ladies are sharing on Facebook. Having digital skills, I thought about creating a set for printing, cutting out, and adhering. I could have blessed other ladies with the download.

However, as I was gathering supplies, a thought occurred to me. I have all this vellum that I bought for printing and adhering to pages, so why not just cut it out and adhere it. When I got to church, I realized I had no scissors and I almost went to the office to grab a pair to borrow, when I realized how awesome torn tabs would be! I am torn, messed up, and broken, and God forgives and makes me whole.

As I began tearing, a thought came to me how God's Word in the Bible is perfect and how I am imperfect. Taking it a step further, I do not feel artistic at all and feel that anything I do in this Bible in the way of drawing will be totally imperfect. As I tore piece after piece of paper, it was like therapy considering my imperfection and God's perfection and how He alone can fix my imperfection and turn it into perfection.

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48

As I affixed each tab with washi tape and let my self go from trying to put them on perfectly, allowing them to be crooked and ripped and sometimes going over the edge, I felt God's love for this imperfect sinner in that He loved me anyway.

but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 1 Corinthians 13:10

When I was done with the tabs, I decided the "preface" page in my Bible would be a good place for me to preface my thoughts on my tabs, so I got out some pencils and created imperfect text.

I've been struggling with beginning this journaling Bible journey wanting to be careful not to make my art a graven image, but that any art be there to glorify God and to use the time in creating the art to grow closer to Him. It seems like such a fine line to me and something that would need treading carefully. Yes, I personally feel closer to God when creating the art and that is good. However, when I share it, I need to be careful that it glorifies God and is not something I would do feel good when sharing by receiving praises.

Yes, images can certainly be something that is a form of communication to help one understand the Bible, so art is good. It needs to be shared. It draws people in and makes them think. Everyone learns in a different way (some text, some visual, some hearing, etc.).

So for me, not being a good drawer, I am comforted in the thought that I am imperfect when drawing in my Bible and God is, and was, and always will be, the Perfect One and the Perfecter.