June in Review

Summer is here and the busyness of the school year winds down for just a bit. It amazes me when I think about the fact that my daughter graduated from high school 18 years ago! The first year after she graduated it felt strange not to have the school year dictating our schedules and our calendar. We got past that - along with numerous other empty nest transitions! But then our church began a ministry to the elementary school nearby, and I soon became the leader of that ministry, and over the past 11 years I find that the school year once again has the greatest impact on my schedule and calendar! So, while I am not a teacher or a school employee, I find I release a huge sigh in June when the calendar and the schedule slows down for a while.

As a result of the ministry we have in to the school and the neighborhood I have gained a bunch of God-grandchildren over the years. We have had many kids come to church without their parents and they became "our kids". Then a few of the moms started coming and soon became like daughters to me and over time "Grandma Mary" started. This month the first of those God-grandkids graduated from high school. It was made even more exciting as his mom told me he is the first high school graduate! I'm so proud of Shanon! He is an awesome young man and is an incredible role model for his younger siblings and the kids in our church community. 

"The thrill of the vintage hunt" has continued for my sister and I in June. We attended a great vintage market in Grand Rapids at Everlasting Blooms Greenhouse and Gift Shop.

It was a great show. We fell in love with one of the vendors, Urban Rewind, and visited her booth twice. Her booth is on the right in the picture below - the one that is packed full of people! We hope to run into her again. And we will definitely attend Everlasting Bloom's markets again in the future!

My weekend getaway to my sister's included a full day of thrift shopping in Grand Rapids. We are having a blast hunting down great vintage finds! We have done this all our life but now that we decided to be more intentional about it and add vintage goods to Found on Brighton we find we have a new level of excitement and energy as we travel and "thrift"! It also gives us an opportunity to spend more time together, and that's never a problem for us sister BFF's! 

My hubby is involved in this new adventure as well. We headed to Cleveland a few weeks ago to our nephew's graduation party and stopped at a flea market and some stores along the way. We made some great finds!

One thing I have found a good deal of recently is vintage office papers - ledger and graph and lined - so I have been able to add a new line of altered book journals to my shop. Using dictionary, encyclopedia, and ledger book covers these journals contain the same watercolor and patterned types of paper as my standard journals, but they also contain a variety of the office papers, more ephemera papers and an extra large shipping tag. 50 pages total!

There hasn't been a lot of art time this month as I've spent my creative time in other ways. We have some exciting news to share, but I'll save that for another post in a few days! Stop back soon!

Light and Sight

Last month I shared about a journal I made to record what I saw when I was studying John 9 about Jesus healing the blind man. I recently wrote an article for our church blog about my study for John 9 and I thought I would share it here as well.

Our church is journeying through the Gospel of John. When we study and read and hear messages in the context of the whole book we gain a much deeper understanding of the author’s intent. We get the whole story and we are able to better grasp how those who were there would have understood what was said and done. When we simply pull out certain passages or verses on their own we often miss out on a greater significance found in the context. One theme that has appeared as we have journeyed through the Gospel of John has been how John records Jesus’ use of the Messianic passages from the Old Testament to make clear that he is the Messiah. The Jews of the first century would have understood the significance of both Jesus’ words and his actions because of their lifelong hearing and understanding of the prophecies and signs pointing to the Messiah’s arrival. They were steeped in a longing and waiting and watching posture for the appearance of a Savior who would bring them freedom. A few weeks ago two members of our study team each spoke from John 9:1-41 (here and here) which gives the details of Jesus healing the blind man and the response of this event from the Pharisees, his parents and others. This chapter in the book of John is full of references to the Messianic prophecies. As I studied for Creative Team (this team studies the passages for the message and helps plan the service) for this chapter in John I got “rabbit-trailed” by the references to “light and sight” and I trailed them throughout the Bible, especially in relationship to Christ. In the Old Testament the giving of sight to the blind – both physical sight and spiritual sight – was a sign of the Messiah and the Messianic reign. Light in the Old Testament was often used as a metaphor for God’s salvation.

 Do you see what I see? 

We use many “light” and “sight” sayings in our day to reflect our grasp or understanding of something: I see, see the light, shed light on, bring to light just to name a few. At times we have light bulb moments or see things in a new light. Read the following passages and “see” if you can hear Jesus’ words and view His actions in a “new Light”. Hear them as the first century Jews would have. Look for the signs of the Messiah – the Christ, our Savior. (Note: this is not an exhaustive list)

 “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them – he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.” Psalm 146:5-9 

 “The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1 

 “You, LORD, are my lamp, the Lord turns my darkness into light.” 2 Samuel 22:29 

Of the coming Messiah Isaiah says, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of darkness a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2 

 “In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 29:18-19

A song of the joy of the redeemed when the LORD brings the reign of the Messiah: “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “be strong, do not fear, your God will come, he will come with vengeance, with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy.” Isaiah 35:3-6 

Of His servant, the Messiah: “This is what God the LORD says – the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open the eyes that are blind, to free the captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness…I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.” Isaiah 42:5-7, 16 

 “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6 

And then Jesus is born. His parents take him to the temple to be dedicated to the LORD. In the temple was an elderly man named Simeon, to whom the Holy Spirit had revealed that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah. When Simeon saw the baby Jesus “he took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all nations: a light of revelation for the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” Luke 2:28-32 

Jesus, now an adult, stands in the temple and reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:17-21 (Jesus read from Isaiah 61)

John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who is to come or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Luke 7:20-22 

Now we come to the Gospel of John. Read with the previous verses in mind: 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind…The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” John 1:1,4,9 

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 

In John 9 (you can read the full chapter here) Jesus heals a man born blind. The Pharisees question the man about Jesus. “They said, “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”….”he opened my eyes.” John 9:24-25, 30. 

“Jesus said, “For judgement I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” John 9:39 

“Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” John 12:44-46 

For those of us who follow Christ on this side of His death and resurrection: 

  “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness”, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 

 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

Did you see what I saw? After reading these passages did you feel the impact of what Jesus’ words and actions would have had on the first century Jews? Doesn’t it make you wonder why the Pharisees, the very ones educated in the Scripture, couldn’t see clearly that the Messiah was right there among them? Yet all of their education and tradition did not enable them to see that Jesus was the Messiah. Seeing Jesus for who he really was took faith. The blind man grasped that. After reading these passages, and then reading that the Pharisees still could not see the Messiah right there among them, it makes me wonder: What am I blind to? What things does God put right in front of us and yet we fail to see them clearly? I encourage you to dig into Scripture and get “rabbit-trailed” from time to time and see where it takes you.

I'm starting to fill in the journal pages with my study notes and will share over the next few weeks. Taking what I study in God's Word and making art journal pages is a way of reflecting on the Word and taking it deep into my heart and mind. I love how Bible study is  a creative spark for me and how it gives me emotional and spiritual energy. 

My Light and Sight journal

Meandering 1.13.2015 and DLP

I am finally getting around to posting the last of my 2014 Documented Life Projects pages. I must admit that I am quite pleased with myself. I have admitted in the past that I am a great started of projects but not always a very good finisher. I completed the full year of weekly pages for DLP! I'm so thrilled!!!

Week 48 page spread

Week 49 page spread

Week 50 page spread

Week 51

Week 52

Last page

Dlp Journal Volume 2

This has been a great project and I have made a lot of art friends in the group. I'm going to follow along with DLP 2015 and the new group Documented Faith. I may not complete each week's prompts since Take Me Deeper and Logos365 will be my main focus. I plan on incorporating them into my Take Me Deeper journal which I think will be in four volumes this year, one for each quarter.

Take Me Deeper WEEK 2:

Our devotion this week focused on our need for vulnerability in spiritual transformation. Our culture views vulnerability as a weakness of character. But I think being vulnerable takes great strength. We risk opening ourselves up and revealing who we are, trusting that God will work in and through our weakness. Our passage was 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

My Word for 2015

It's no secret on this blog that I continually struggle with issues of burnout. I think it may go hand-in-hand with the ebb and flow of life in full time ministry - or at least in my life in ministry. In the past few years this struggle has become more and more evident and, at times, incapacitating. It is a huge part of why I got connected to art and to art journaling as a way to help create balance and energy. At times my schedule is packed full of activities and events. In the midst of this there are kids and people with needs that need ministering to. My emotional, mental and spiritual energy can get drained and I have tried to find ways over the years to keep this all in balance.

In the past year, with the help of some spiritual companions, I believe I have started to really get a handle on understanding what I need to keep my energy and my outlook in balance and have started to put some practices in place that help. So, I felt the Lord telling me it was time for renewal in 2015. It sure feels like it's time! A negative attitude and outlook has crept in over the past few years and I haven;t felt like myself as a result of that. But slowly in the past year there have been some shifts.

In a sense I have been renewing my mind over the past year and am anticipating renewal in many areas in the year ahead. 

I posted my page with my theme passage of Scripture last week, but am posting it again with some explanation this time.

There are quite a few places in the Bible where renewal is talked about, but the passage in Isaiah 61:1-4 really connected with me. Jesus quotes this passage from Isaiah and applies it to himself in Luke 4:16-20. This passage describes a Savior who heals brokenness in whatever form or circumstances it is found in us - poor, captive, in darkness, mourning, grieving, despairing - He heals us. In healing He rebuilds, restores, and renews our lives. I'm looking to be renewed this year. To have my energy (emotional, mental and physical) renewed. To have my passion and vision for ministry renewed. To have my health renewed. To have my spirit renewed. To have my emotional equilibrium renewed. It all starts with having my mind renewed and this I cannot do myself. I can only place myself before God and position myself through spiritual disciplines and practices in Christ, ready and willing for transformation.

I completed a few of the Logos365 prompts we posted on the HKC site:

Definition page

Goals page

In order for habits to change and transformation to take place we need to be intentional and set goals. I decided to select 5 areas where I feel I need renewal to take place. I am going to set small, manageable goals monthly in some of those areas. It is said that it takes 6 weeks to make or break a habit and that slow is best in order to see lasting change. I'm interested in lifestyle changes not simply in behavior modification. I think the key to change is in making small baby steps that lead to lasting change, rather than trying to look at the full year and then giving up not too far into it. That may have been why I was able to complete the 52 weekly art calendar pages for the Documented Life Project when I usually struggle to complete projects. It was easier to just look at each week as it came rather than thinking about a full year of weekly projects and trying to plan it out.

To make things more manageable I am combining my Logos 365 word projects in my Take Me Deeper art journal.

Are you participating in one of the many word-of-the-year projects? If so, share your word with me in the comment section below. :)

{found on Brighton} Anniversary and A Giveaway

My Etsy shop, {found on brighton}, 

is celebrating its first anniversary today! 

The little shop I started a year ago as a way to use up the books and vintage papers I collect for my art journaling hobby has managed to stand on her own feet. I have enjoyed all the wonderful people I have connected with through the shop and it has opened up another avenue of creativity for me. As well it has fed my enjoyment (addiction?) of digging through library book sales and giving a new life to old and falling apart books.

Some recent additions to the shop:

So to celebrate our first anniversary I am going to give away an altered book journal. Simply visit my Etsy Shop, then comeback to my blog and tell me which journal is your favorite in the comment section on this post. Tomorrow I will randomly draw one winner from the comments and that person will win their favorite journal from my shop. Comments must be made today only.

I appreciate all of you who follow my blog and join my journey in art, faith and Etsy ventures!

Introducing...

After much thought I have decided to open an Etsy shop. My passion {obsession} for making altered book art journals and collecting old books and paper ephemera has overflowed beyond what I can use for personal use. Two things also helped me in this decision: the altered book art journal I made for my sister and the vintage paper pack I put together to giveaway on my blog back in July. I really had a blast making those items for other people!

So I have launched my shop: {found on brighton}! It was so hard selecting a name. I love vintage things and I especially love re-purposing them in my art - altering books into art journals, using book pages (especially from dictionaries!) and other paper ephemera on my pages and taking everyday "found" things and suing them in my art or as a tool to make art. Nothing is safe -  bubble wrap, my husband's drywall tape and our plastic paper plate holders have all been used as stencils or masks. Envelopes, book pages, receipts, clothing retail tags, and junk mail have all made their way into my collage and mixed media art. I use "found" items all the time! Brighton is simply the name of my street. So I just pulled this random name out of the hat and it stuck.

In addition to carrying altered book art journals and vintage paper packs I will also sell vintage items. Some books I run across at book sales are simply in too good condition for me to allow myself to rip them apart for art. I also run across and have collected a lot of vintage items over the years that I will be adding. A girl can only collect and keep so much! I will also be offering themed vintage paper packs, themed around items, interests, initials, names, locations, etc..

So I invite you to stop in and visit my Etsy shop! There's a little Etsy link over on the right side of my blog. Open the door, hear the little tinkling bell as you do, smell the old books and paper and glue as you explore the shelves of my "found" things. :)

Altered book art journal:

Vintage paper packs: