Re-LENT

This season of Lent is a season of simplifying in our household. We are paring down with The Minimalists challenge #minsgame and hoping to find some rest through clarity. There is so much noise around us that sometimes it's hard to even tell what messages are being thrown at us. Let alone, hear our Lord speaking to our souls. Then, we tend to get confused and scared and forget that Jesus has promised us that we are not alone and that he is there. Lent is a six week season of reflection that includes prayer, fasting and alms giving (money for the poor). It is a preparation for observing Holy Week which includes Jesus' last days, death and then resurrection on Easter.

For a Visual Faith devotion, I created a prayer page reminiscent of a prayer labyrinth. The opportunity to step into God's presence every day and remember his promises. You may color in or doodle each circle as you move through the 40 days of Lent. I counted the 40 days starting Thursday after Ash Wednesday, resting on Sunday and then ending with Easter in the middle. Find page 1 HERE

The second page of the devotion includes a verse to reflect on and truly digest throughout the six week journey. It is from Matthew chapter 11 of The Message. Here I hope you find relief and renewal as Jesus invites you to recover your life with him. There are questions to help guide you through your time in God's presence, they are meant to lead to a realigning of our thoughts with God's desire for us to live confidently knowing we are safe in him. Find page 2 HERE

I pray that as you re-lent and let go of the crazy clutter of this world, you are able to feel secure in God's promises and live free. And remember that God relented our separation from him by sending Jesus as our salvation. May you experience the unforced rhythms grace this Lenten season.

If you like keeping with a theme of simplicity, I also created a coloring page with the words 'keep it simple'. Find it HERE

My Visual Faith Story

Exactly 2 years ago today, I learned about this cool way to interact with your bible and prayers. Immediately my family and I went to a discount warehouse store, bought inexpensive bibles, journals and colored pencils. We were hooked! I can't say that all my Visual Faith practices happened overnight but something awesome happened that day. An amazing journey began that would heal me, grow me, stretch me, lead me and most of all become more aware of God's presence in my life. Thank you Connie for introducing me to Bible Journaling and Praying In Color that day. You may of had no idea what God was doing but it was big. These faith practices have been used by God to transform my life. And point my family in a direction of grace and freedom. As Christians we can walk through this life with blinders on or with spiritual amnesia, how much sweeter is life when we are aware of God's presence, hold steadfast to His promises, feel safe and secure in Him and then share that with the rest of the world!?

Here is a link to my Visual Faith Story published just yesterday on www.journalingthebible.com
Sally is an amazing child of God and has a great number of resources for Bible Journaling and interacting with your faith on her site. For more of my journey visit my guest appearances to the left of here. I also have a list of other fantastic sites to learn more about Visual Faith it is to the right of here under Reference. Vintage Grace is Connie's blog. Her story, her faith, the projects are all inspiring. My first one was the Prayers for My Children. Click on her Visual Faith tab and scroll down to find it. It blows my mind to think I didn't have a committed prayer time for my kids before. What an awesome difference God has made in our lives through Visual Faith.

It's a Matter of the Heart

The scripture readings continue in Matthew 5, The Sermon on the Mount, at St. John's this Sunday. Pr. Cj's sermon will be titled, "It's a Matter of the Heart." The sermon note sheet is covered in hearts, which could be used for several different topics and is appropriate as we celebrate St. Valentine this coming Tuesday. You can download the Sermon Note sheet click here Heart Matter Sermon Notes.

Again, these files are made as legal size pdfs. If you don't have legal size paper, print on regular size and cut off the extra. PS they do NOT print pink.

Heart Prayers

Here is a new prayer sheet for Valentine's for you to doodle and pray for loved ones. Praying in Color is a wonderful way to slow down and focus on your prayers. For more instruction on how to practice Praying in Color go to  www.prayingincolor.com . For examples of other faith book inserts and what they look like completed visit my post for Sept. 29th, Examples of Faith Book Inserts. To find out what a faith book is, click on the link to the left. For more pictures and project postings, follow Melinda Ransdell on Instagram and like Unconventionally Steadfast on Facebook.

Click to download Heart Prayers

Coming Home

We are home now! What an amazing experience. I have been sharing about it on my Instagram account. Find a link to it on the top right. It was most definitely a transformative pilgrimage. Now that I'm back home, it's time to get back into the swing of things. Although we must return to our ordinary routines, I know that they will now be fueled with something extra special. If you ever get the chance to visit Israel, please do!

Here is a picture of the Sermon Notes for this week. The file can be found under the Faith Book & Sermon Notes tab, file titled Sermon on the Mount. We actual stood there last week! The image I drew is my memory of hiking down the Mount of Beatitudes while the sun was setting with the other hills to our right and the Sea of Galilee in front of us.  It was breathtaking!