Another month of transformation! I am finding that keeping my right hand occupied while praying has revolutionized my prayer life. My prayer time before was more about a dialogue - me talking to God- lifting up family, friends and issues. There wasn't a time for HIM to speak to me. Or I would fall asleep, or think about a thousand other things while I was praying.
This is different. Prayer is not something that I have been good at. I would tell people that I will pray for you, but found that after I said that it never entered my mind again, until I would see them and then feel guilty that I hadn't prayed for them! This is a tool to help me keep my word, and actually pray for the person/issue! It is a way to concentrate, to re-frame my life, to have it flow through me to the page.
At our workshop "Living Life as Prayer" with Connie, she talked about the reasons we don't pray:
1. the distractions of life
2. the fight of my will
Living a life of Thanksliving ( yes, I didn't spell it wrong) is a new way of living life and complements my prayer life. My Thanksliving book is set up the left page is my list of my 1000 gifts ( Ann Voskamp) and the right is my praying. God wants more than 10 minutes a day, He wants me to see the cross and live a life of redemption, to not turn from Him daily through my life interruptions. To live a life of mental dialogue with God all day and quiet time with him where the Holy spirit is allowed to indwell in me and speak to me through my hand to the page.
The first picture is what I began with back in January. The second is how I started with using watercolors to color the leaves at the beginning of April. Then God gave me this verse
John 17:15,17 "....protect them from the evil one. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
I decided to print that and add to my page. This month I just wrote names/words and then said that verse over the person. It was very powerful!
I want to encourage you to try new ways of prayer, to allow yourself to be transformed by new tools that can draw you closer to God. Don't reject my work because you say- "she is a good artist, she is so creative and I AM NOT." You are creative, God created you and gave you the gift of creativity, use it in your way to come closer to HIM. He will meet you wherever you are!
May God bless you this week and draw you closer to HIM.



