"Step Out"

Hello and Happy New Year friends!

Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Jill and I'm one of the newest members of the Creative Worship team. I received my first journaling Bible in August 2017 for my birthday. My twin sister had introduced me to this amazing form of art worship just a week or so earlier. I've never known people who wrote much in their Bibles, and I've never known anyone who painted and stamped and created such beautiful pages. I was instantly hooked. Let me clarify that Bible journaling, for me and most of the community, is not about the art. The art is an outward expression of what I have read and studied, and the artwork I create on my pages help me remember the lessons I've learned. It was those beautiful pages on Pinterest and Instagram that intrigued me at first, however. I am grateful that my sister introduced me to it and for the amazing community of ladies that God has brought into my life because of it. Journaling has me in the Bible and studying the Word more than I ever have in my life.  I am so excited that Korin asked me to join this amazing group of super talented, God-fearing ladies on the Creative Worship team. If I'm being honest though, I'm also pretty nervous.  I’ve always been a bit of an introvert and have never really liked stretching the limits of my comfort zone. I tend to over-think anything I put out there for others to see, so the fact that this is my very first blog post...EVER, has me second guessing everything I type! 😂    

That brings me to how I chose my “One Little Word” for 2020. Have you heard of OLW? Much of the Bible Journaling community and other crafters, choose a word at the beginning of the year to focus on. We use it throughout the year to study, write about, craft with and reflect upon. I’ve been praying for weeks, for the word or phrase that God wanted me to focus on for the year.  Last year, I heard “Change” as clearly as if someone spoke it out loud to me.  This year, I’ve received much more subtle nudges.  I made a list of the words that I felt God was laying on my heart.  They include: Move, Grow, Purpose, Action, Intentional, Start, Begin, Do, Equipped and finally, Step Out.

I can definitely see a pattern in the words God has given me.  He’s calling me to step out of my comfort zone.  He’s reminding me that over and over in the Bible, He uses people who feel unworthy of the calling He has bestowed upon them.  He’s asking me to face my fears and trust Him to equip me for what lies down the road. He's giving me a call to action, to do more for His glory. Wow! That's super scary!

As I sat down to journal, I was led to Matthew 14:22-33

²² Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Well into the night, he was there alone. ²⁴ Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. ²⁵ Jesus came toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ He said, “Come.” And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ Then those in the boat worshiped him and said, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Just as Peter had to leave the relative safety of the boat to go to Jesus in the raging sea, when we choose to walk in faith, we may have to leave our comfort zones for something that seems scary. BUT GOD...He's there, right beside us, waiting to catch us if we fall. Stepping out in faith requires us to trust God and His infinite wisdom, to guide us safely on our journey. We may have to let go of what we think we control and trust the one that made it all.

My prayer for 2020, is that I will not be afraid to “Step Out” in faith, trusting that Jesus is there to cover me in grace, even if I stumble.

Page Details:

I did a simple watercolor background for this page and used Chunky Alpha, Mini Grunge Type Alpha, and Women of Praise stamp sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps to create my title and stamp the silhouette of the girl in the water.  I used some white acrylic paint on a Q-tip to create the foam in the water.

You can catch up with me on Instagram @simplyjillsjourney

Until next time, I wish you many blessings,

Jill