Karen Hunter- Illustrated Faith

 Bible Marginalia by Karen Hunter.

Spending some time this week 

getting ready for Tending the Flame.

 Here we want to lift up

 the heART work of Karen Hunter. 

She came for Open Studio at Creative Haven 

and shared with us some of the pages

 of her Journaling Bible.

She reads a section and then

"illustrates" the key words 

that the Holy Spirit makes

 come alive for her in the reading.

Karen is using simple prompts

 and vivid colors for her journaling. 

She often uses a reading from Portals of Prayer

 or the readings from the

 past Sunday's worship for her "starting place."

I look froward to her postings on her blog-
karenscraps
You can follow her on Instagram Here-
karenscrapsinva

Karen is also a regular contributor

 to the online Bible Journaling Communities.

Want to find out more? Check out these sites:

Journaling Bible Community
Illustratedfaith
Ask to join either one of these sites

 for inspiration on a daily basis of-

 Illustrated Faith.

Make sure you stop by sessions

 at Tending the Flame 

to learn more about Bible Journaling.

Karen was featured in a blog post
 here on Journeys of Faith-
karen-hunter-central-region


Want to know more about Bible Journaling
and how you might set up a group at your church?
Just let me know- Connie Denninger-Condoit@aol.com

Belinda Martin Bost- Southern Region

Belinda recently responded to a series of questions about Bible Journaling and Illustrating her faith. She is a presenter at the 2015 SED Tending the Flame Event in Richmond, Virginia. Stop by her workshop to learn more.. Tending the FLAME


1. How has the process of Bible Journaling changed your approach to Bible Study?

I have found that my note taking has changed, focusing on groups of words or phrases rather than a whole scripture verse. Most of the time a key word or phrase will jump out and I will use that as my inspiration for an illustration.

2.What do see as benefits for adding a visual part to your faith formation walk?

Pictures tell stories. One of my favorite activities with children in a classroom was to sit down with them and listen to the story that inspired their artwork. Sometimes the responses would be stories of happiness, friendship, family, pets and even sadness. For me, using visuals helps me to express a feeling or an experience that connects me with a particular scripture or devotion. My faith walk has taken many turns and curves over the past years and when I go back thorough my bible and journals and take a look at past entries, I can see my happiness, pain, sadness, joys, celebrations and struggles. All of this is the Faith Walk I want to remember. It is where I've been and am now as a child of God, wife, mother and grandmother. Illustrating my faith has been a very personal way of sharing what is on my heart and in my head one scripture at a time. It is simply..documenting my faith!

3. What is the class that you are currently teaching at church? 

I am leading a Bible study series from Illustrated Faith by Stephanie Ackerman called Bloom. We meet weekly in a home setting. We are blessed to have a house on campus that is used for Family Ministry and small group meetings. We sit in the living room and discuss the topic of the week using talk sheets that I create from the study. We share and apply the topic to our own personal experiences.It is a time where we can be real and support one another. After caring and sharing, we move to the activity table where we create bookmarks to place in our bibles using all kinds of art supplies to mark the scripture. I am introducing illustrating the bible study themes in the form of journals. Using our talk sheets from each evening we create a scrapbook type of visual as a reminder of each discussion. It is an activity that the beginner or the experienced can enjoy, creating a keepsake to be enjoyed now and later. 

4.How do you see the Holy Spirit working in this area of your discipling walk?

This has been my first year of retirement. I have spent 25 years of my life sharing Jesus and his love and forgiveness with preschoolers and their families. I love teaching. I love sharing. Life was evolving and I was missing elements of my former life in the changes. As a trained and active Stephen Minister, I was still having trouble helping myself.

When I ordered the Bloom devotional for myself, little did I know, that the Lord would lead and guide me with these materials through this transition. Each week I can see more light on my path. By the time I completed the Bible study, I knew that I had to share this process. I use my own Bible to share my Illustrated Faith. I use all of the social media sites to show examples of how others are expressing themselves through the art of documenting and illustrating. Participants are already asking about the next study. We will continue to Illustrate our faith! 

 Other info:
Blog-Do You Frog http://www.beebeebost.blogspot.com

Facebook page- Do You Frog-DoUFrog?

Belinda is a wife of 37 years, 

mom to 2 adult children and one granddaughter. 

She is an active Stephen Minister and 

veteran Early Childhood Christian Educator.

She lives in Hickory, NC. 
and is currently teaching the Illustrated Faith Bible class
 at Concordia Lutheran Church, Conover, NC.

Betty White- In Memoriam

Reality: The Loss of our Pew Mom.

Three years ago this week, my husband had just been ordained and installed, and I found myself alone in the pew with two boys under the age of two.  As I walked in that first week after the ordination, the nerves were flowing.  I made my way up to the fourth pew, a close enough seat for the boys to see but still a buffer from their daddy pastor.  I was thinking to myself, "I hope I don't sit in someone's seat that has been here for 55 years...I hope my kids don't scream the whole time and try to run to daddy...I hope I can make it through this and possibly still hear the sermon. Heck, I hope I don't start crying at this very moment."

As I turned into the pew, a woman from across the aisle stood up and came towards me.  She said, "Would you mind if I sit with you?  I thought you might like someone in the pew with you with those little boys.  I wouldn't want you to be alone."

And so my relationship with Miss Betty White began.  She flew in that Sunday morning like an angel sent to sooth the fears of a pastor's wife with littles in the pew.  For the next three years, with barely a failure, she sat there in that pew with us.  She didn't judge me when they threw fits.  She didn't get discouraged when they inevitably were rude to her about something.  She brought them a little snack bag each week.  She held them on her lap.  She acted as a bookend on the pew when all they wanted to do was escape.  She sang the songs of the faith boldly into their ears.  She held them while they slept.  She held their hands while taking Communion.  She welcomed our new daughter and greatly anticipated our upcoming blessing to join us in that crazy pew.

A woman who had spent her whole life in the church chose to leave her pew, even her beloved SIDE of the church, to venture into a territory unknown with small children.  A unmarried woman with no children of her own found value in aiding me, a woman with an abundance of children.  The family of the church is so beautiful.

Last Sunday, the churches threw a surprise ordination anniversary dinner for my husband.  She walked up to me and said, "I know this is for your husband, but I want you to know it is for you, too.  I love you and the kids so much.  We are so happy you are here with us.  You and your husband are two of my favorite people in the world.  And I mean that."  I was so humbled and honored by her words.  The woman who went out of her way for three years to make me feel included and loved would say this to me?  I needed to say it to her.

I couldn't have known and neither could she what those words would mean to me just a few short days later.  Miss Betty, our "pew mom," as the children refer to her, died unexpectedly this week.  The ache in my soul is great.  The empty space in our pew will be vast tomorrow and every Sunday to come.

During our breakfast devotions this morning, we told the kids.  They have never lost a grandparent, and this is the closest they could come to that type of loss.  Since they are all very young, death is still a relatively unclear subject.  Our oldest said, "Miss Betty died?"  We said, "Yes, Honey.  Miss Betty died and is in heaven with Jesus now."  He just stared for a few moments, and we decided to go on with our prayers.  Today's prayers were focused on our extended family.  When I finished listing the prayers, he quietly said, "And we pray that we get to see Miss Betty at Mt. Calvary again."

My heart broke.
But we will see Miss Betty again, my dear son. 

And we get that joy because of what happened on the original Mt. Calvary.
Until then, our dearest beloved Miss Betty, we will be missing you, while rejoicing in knowing that with all the company of heaven, including you, Saint Betty, we are joined at Holy Communion.

And I will smile thinking of you holding the hands of our children during so many Sundays of Communion.  You will hold their hands again, my friend.  I love you.  I miss you.

Article submitted by contributing writer- Kelly Stout.  Our condolences to the WHITE family and all those who have loved Betty.