What about Today?

"If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."
- a Jewish proverb

Well yes, my experience supports that quote. Things often don't turn out as I plan, especially the timing. A year or so ago I knew I needed to change the way I did things. What worked for me in the past was not going to work in my new phase in life. I've always had a "to-do" list, ever since I was a teenager. But it was frustrating now. I asked God about it and the thought came that I should not have a "to-do" list anymore. That made me totally uncomfortable. How was I to get anything done? So for a few weeks I didn't make a to-do list. Then the idea came to ask God the question: "What are you giving me grace for today?" I began to ask that, and He answered. I went with my "gut" after I'd ask that question. I often write it down. So it is a list in a way, but with a different focus or empowerment. Sometimes I still get frustrated and it's harder to measure what gets done, but that's when I need to trust and let go again. So the above page is about that. It challenges me to live, not just get things done.

"Don't let comparison steal your Joy"

When I read the quote in the post title Pinterest I thought, "That's good." So I made this journal page:

I must not measure my significance by what I think other people think of me, or by mere numbers. Actually maybe it goes even farther than that, that I shouldn't measure my worth by what I think of me either. I tend to judge myself with my feelings. It goes back to identity--what I've been learning and experiencing recently. I want to "level up, go "further up and further in" as C.S. Lewis puts it, but sometimes I get in the way. Am I willing to let go and focus on God entirely? Do I trust God, that He loves me enough to_________ ? 

Years ago I heard a sermon about the temptation of Christ and how He was tempted in the three areas we are all tempted: "satisfaction, security, and significance". I can't remember who said it but I think it is true. Jesus was tempted right after his Father had spoken out his identity, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Jesus had victory in all areas he was tempted in. It seems to me it was because He knew who He was, He relied on God, He knew God's heart and His voice, and He confidently and verbally combatted the enemy with Scripture and with power.

What does it mean to DREAM?

To me the word DREAM implies a sense of freedom and creativity. I decided to look up the definition in our big Webster's Universal Unabridged Dictionary, published in 1996 by Random House. I found the definitions got richer and broader as I read them. Here are some ways it defined the word "DREAM". 

As a noun it is:

- a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.

- the sleeping state in which this occurs

- an object seen in a dream

- an involuntary vision occurring to a person when awake

- a vision voluntarily indulged in while awake; daydream, reverie

- an aspiration; goal; aim

- a wild fancy

- something of unreal beauty or charm or excellence

As a verb (action) it is:

- to see or imagine in sleep or in a vision

- to imagine as if in a dream

- to pass or spend time dreaming…

- to form in the imagination (the action of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the physical senses)

As an adjective it is:

- the most desirable, ideal, bringing joy, mirth and gladness

DREAM is closely related to VISION

VISION refers to a series of images of unusual vividness, clarity, order, and significance, sometimes seen in a dream.

Reading that makes me want to peruse my dictionary more often. It also makes me aware that in order to dream I must be open and not feel guilty for taking time that may look like "wasted time" from the outside. That is challenging for an achiever who likes to measure personal success by accomplishment. But I know it's not really about that.

So then I looked up DREAM in the concordance of my Bible. In Acts 2:17-19 Peter quotes the prophet Joel and says,

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below…."

The context of these words immediately follow the coming of the Holy Spirit on believers on the day of Pentecost in the beginning of Acts 2 (NIV).

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

I used to read passages like this almost like a storybook or as a cool thing that happened to the people fortunate enough to live during those times and the benefit to us now is that we get to read it and hope that someday, maybe in the next life, we would get to experience something like that. I've had a paradigm shift. The past two years as I've read through the gospels and Acts, I see with new eyes. Jesus brought the Kingdom of God to us. Salvation is just a part of that not the whole. And the Holy Spirit who came like a blowing wind and tongues of fire is the same Holy Spirit who is alive in us now. And I believe at work with just as much power and reality as the times we read about in the Bible. So…

"Holy Spirit, pour Yourself on me, in me. 

Guide my dreams and give me Yours, 

give me Your words, Your vision, Your power

and most of all an awareness of Your loving Presence; 

Show me Your wonders, 

and make my heart to be like Yours…"

Copyright Valerie Sjodin 2012

Doodling & Painting Metamorphosis

The process of metamorphosis and the butterfly are very meaningful and symbolic to me. I have been using them for years to symbolize new beginnings, hope, fulfillment, purpose, freedom and beauty.

So here are some of the last pages of my "Explore New Ideas Outside the Box…" Journal. I had a blast making it and felt a sense of freedom in artistic expression in the changing season. 

These techniques will be taught in the Summer Art Journaling 2-day Workshop-Playshop.

Please feel free to email me with any questions and check out my website for more info.

Workshops can make a great gift. I remember when I first really delved into art as an adult. I wanted so badly to improve my art skill. Money was really tight and we had small children so taking a class was a big deal. My incredibly supportive husband gave me art classes for holiday gifts for holidays, especially for my birthday and Mother's Day, since they always are close together. And he spent time with our kids while I was in class. I still appreciate those gifts that keep on giving. Thank you my Darling!

Circle Doodles, a Key, Heart and Joy

I love circles. They are such symbols of wholeness to me. I often start with a circle when doing visual prayer. Doodling beginning with a circle is meditative and relaxing. We will be doing circle doodling in the Summer Art Journaling 2-day Workshop-Playshop. 

In this centerfold of my journal I use the circle doodles as a backdrop for the key...  

the heart...

and what can be unlocked on the inside: the joy of love and hope.

Cheers to a New Day! Mixed Media Journal Pages

One of the goals of this journal is to use basic techniques and simple materials in a new way. I limited myself to painting papers and using only those for collage, using the same paints for painting in the journal, black permanent pens, white gel pen and an acrylic medium. It's amazing to me how setting some boundaries can let the imagination soar. 

I've found a visual journal is a great way to explore ideas for larger paintings. 

The risk factor is low and the fun factor is high. No fear!

For info on the upcoming 2-day art journaling classes click here.