Homegrown Hospitality

Why I Document My Faith

On March 6th, I posted this on social media streams

  without knowing anything except for the feeling.  I have felt "shifts" happening in the past but I don't think I have actually announced them out loud.  For some reason, with this one, I thought I should.  

Okay, rewind back at least 2, maybe three years.

I have been hearing a loud whisper saying "use what you have" and I have honestly been practicing it myself and passing it along, encouraging and reminding you, fellow friends, followers, pinners, posters and readers to in fact, #usewhatyouhave.  I thought that I was practicing, encouraging and inspiring myself and others to, again, #usewhatyouhave when it came to our scraps, stash and unused inventory of stuff i.e. paper, paint, fabric, felt, ink, etc. because we all got too much junk. (remember, I use the word junk in a good way)

Now fast forward back up to a few days ago when I finished reading an AMAZING book called The Hope Quotient by Ray Johnston.  He is the Pastor of Bayside Church in Northern California and he recently visited Saddleback.  (you can watch his sermon here. p.s.print out the sermon notes and grab a pen.) After finishing the book, I went back through it and reread all of the areas that I had highlighted (I highlighted a lot) and came across this: 

"The greatest thing about discovering and developing your gifts is that it frees you to be yourself.  When you find and use your gifts, you will be encouraged to trust God for what is next"

woah.

wait.

#use what I have

my gifts, skills and abilities...

DUH.

I mean, I know this but maybe it is not just about using up all my junk...it is about using MY JUNK. The junk HE gave me and please remember, I am using the word junk in the most kind way. (not like junk as in junkyard or junk mail)

and my shift!?!

Maybe this is part of my shift. 

This is what I call a light bulb moment and it is how God talks to me (besides when I am running or in the shower and have no way to write it down.) When things start to connect, a "light" turns on and/or something "dawns on me" it is really important for me to WRITE IT DOWN so that I remember it because guaranteed, I will forget it and I know that I will need it in the future for myself and quite possibly as a reminder for someone who might already know, but forgot to remember (that is you)

THIS is why I document my faith.  

Notes To Self and Reminders

The past few weeks have been very similar to a circus in our lives, or at least the circus music has been cue'd up and playing CONSTANTLY in the background. Sound familar?

Note To Self: I am not a fan of the circus. 

Things have been up and down and all over the place, TRYING to be patient with this, patient with that, jumping through hoops, falling down, getting up, tripping over things, traveling and coming home, traveling again and then coming home and a whole bunch of this,that and the other.  

We all have crap going on and really, all of my junk and details are not important to share (although I bet you are wondering what the heck I am talking about, huh??)  What is important are the reminders and I am here to remind you (well, and really me) that NO MATTER WHAT...everthing works out the way it is supposed to work out.  The problem is, when things don't work out the way we think or thought they would or should, we temporaily fall apart. (well, at least I do.  You can admit that in the privacy of your own home) We forget what we tell ourselves when everything is in the air, in process...until things dont go the way we had planned, "That everything will go the way it is supposed to"

Note To Self: It is not about our plan..dang it! Another thing we forget to remember. 

 

When you find yourself in that moment where things not coming together the way you thought they should, when you feel like prayers are not anwered the way you think they should or if and when you find yourself woozy from the motion sickness of going in circles, falling down, jumping through hoops and all the other junk that comes when your plans fall apart, there is good news to remember:

There is something way bigger, better and brighter than you could have ever imagined. Its the truth and it is a promise. You have gotta hold onto that truth as hard as it may seem at the moment.  Cry about it for a little bit and then get up, brush off, use the middle finger emojii to flip off the devil and then keep going. 

p.s. All of the above it exactly how I document my faith.  I write it all down so that when the better happens, you know, HIS plan, I can look back and connect all the dots. 

yay, thank you and amen!

Permission Granted - Part Three

So long story short. within a three week time period in January a simple outpatient procedure turned into a bigger inpatient surgery that typically takes about 6 weeks to recover from.  Three weeks off of work and three weeks of slow moving and well, ya know the best and easiest way to explain things is to say when you see a commercial for a pharmaceutical and it takes 99% of the airtime to talk about the warnings and side effects for 1 -2 % of patients?

yep,

It was like one thing lead to another and it did.

I had to be still, be quiet, I had to rest, I needed to heal and most importantly, I had to be patient. I pride myself in being a good patient, but not so much when it comes to being patient. Being patient was easy for the first 10 days or so because I pretty much slept through them but 10 days turned into 10 more days which lead to 10 more days and so on and so on.  I can look back now and see that the only way to get me to stop so that I could pay attention was apparently to have me completely stop, so that I could pay attention and learn to be patient.

So sorry to leave you hanging again but I am headed to the airport in 23 minutes and will continue this in a few days,..Maybe we are all learning to be patient.  Speaking of patience, it is the word for July in Documented Faith and if you are not following along, consider going here.  Here is a printable for you to Download Week28 and use in your planner, binder or whatever sort of system you are using to document you faith and life.

 

Documented Faith Recap & Update

My 2016 Documented Faith binder is bulking up, the edges are starting to show wear, there are still TWO ribbons on previous month pages (that is HUGE for me!) and often times, things drop out that I have not secured in.  Although the first four months have A LOT of blank spots, I am really starting to love the way it is evolving.

Similar to when I am stitching something, doing mixed media art or doodling, there comes a point where I really have to push through the process and just keep going.  I think I just broke through this part of the 2016 Documented Faith process and I want to encourage you to do the same.  JUST KEEP GOING. Stop worrying about the fact that 6 months have gone by..just start now.Speaking of ENCOURAGE, I had a breakthrough yesterday with the chipboard word that is in the ENCOURAGE Companion Kit.  Truth is, I did not like the color of it and sadly just kept it in the kit packaging until yesterday.

Poor thing probably felt neglected.  

As I was working on something else, God threw down the idea for me to paint it.

True story, no lightning bolts, storming clouds or wild winds when God talks to me...just plain ol light bulb flickers.

I was completely immersed in something else when I happened to glance over at one of my piles and saw the sad little chipboard word peeking out (SQUIRREL!) and within a few minutes, it became this I was so stupidly excited about it, I took a picture, posted it on IG and FB, put the kit up on sale at 50% off but forgot to share it here on the blog, duh..so I extended the sale until tomorrow!

This morning as I was preparing this weeks Documented Faith message and taking photos of my binder, I punched a few holes in the word and put it in the "April" section.

THIS is the perfect example of how to use something in the kit "after the fact" that it came out a few months ago.  IT DOES NOT MATTER, yay.

Okay, so now it is June and there is a new focus word.  Yes, there will be a coordinating kit for the new word BUT it is not available yet because really, again, IT DOES NOT MATTER. For some of you it does, but I really really really want to encourage and remind you over and over and over to use what you have first (I am not trying to be the boss of you but really, do we need one more thing?)

If you are completely confused and do not know what the heck Documented Faith is, you can go here to read the weekly verses and you can sign up here for the weekly verses to be send right to your email box so you do not have to go anywhere to read them.

Have a great weekend!

 

Today..

is day 46 in the 100 Day Project and although I have yet to doodle out today's contribution, I am LOVING the process of Doodling my Faith (not just Documenting) in my DF Binder and have been thinking about doing/doodling it for 365 days in 2017.  Is that nuts? What do you think?  Wanna DO(odle) it with me? You can see some of my other pages here.

..I am a runner that now has a PURPLE tank (say what?) because I am in Stasia's Style School and we are learning about color and right now, she is the boss of me.....I am a backyard gardener for the 6th year and I proudly introduce you to the first zucchini of the Homegrown Garden 2016 ..I am a Mixed Media Artist who spent several hours playing with paint, paper and words to inspire, encourage and remind and today I feel like a travel agent because I booked my tickets for my workshop at Paper Crown in OKC on June 17th & 18th and for the Brave Girl Symposium in Idaho on July 6 (make sure to let me know if you are going to be in Idaho so that we can meet up) and I hope to see you in Oklahoma in a couple weeks.  NOTE: My WhimSoDoodle workshops will be open for registration in the next few weeks.  Here is a peek at the Stitching Collage "Sit & Stitch" we will be doing.  Please note that patterns and colors will vary but they are all adorable, dare I say "darling"
 
I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

Documented Faith Binder & 100 Day Project

Hello Monday! Hope that you had a great Mother's Day weekend,  I spent the first part of the weekend at Scrapbooking Forever in Westlake Village and then wrapped it up with Mother's Day Brunch with my family and a long afternoon nap.  

Thank you to Scrapbooking Forever for hosting two days of workshops and to all of the ladies who came out.  We had a great night of Bible Journaling on Friday and a day full of Sizzix dies, doodles and designs..and food...and coloring,.,and cookies on Saturday.

I look forward to heading back to teach a brand new mixed media class on Saturday, Sept. 17th. You can call the store here to get info and reserve a seat.

So about 20ish days ago, give or take a day, I posted on social media that I was joining in on what's called The 100 Day Project.   I am just following the basic idea that you do something consecutively for 100 days.  I decided that I was going to doodle a little something each day in my Documented Faith Binder and I AM LOVING IT SO MUCH. It is just a little area so it is not over whelming and now that I have done it for over 20 days, it has become a habit and it is pretty cool to quickly glance back and see what I have done.  I am coordinating it with the Documented Faith word of the month, verse of the week and using parts and pieces of the Companion Kits so it is like hitting three birds with one Nerf dart (not killing it!) 

Here is a quick look at some of my days.

Day Four & Five: I used pen, watercolor, white pigment pen and word stickers from the latest Companion Kit (Encourage)

Day 8 & 9 (Day 8 is when I decided to start) and PEOPLE, it is okay to start late. START NOW and move forward. Once you have got the hang of it, go back and fill in the blanks..I used a black pen and a gray marker for the shadows.  No watercolor on these, which is fine with me.

Day 8 - 13: A shot looking down on the week.  I mixed and matched with pens, ink, markers, watercolors and word stickers from the Encourage Companion Kit. I may go back in and add some color.  There are no rules so you can do this however you want. I used the bottom right area to announce that I was doing a Periscope that day.

Day 12 & 13 - Just pen lines here and then below where I added some shadows and a little watercolor to the flowers and background:

Day 14 & 15 has lots of color and an additional page that I just added color to. Now I just have to punch some holes in it and add it into my binder so that it stops falling out.

Day 21 & 22 : Pen, watercolor and this weeks Documented Faith verse which happens to be GREAT NEWS, yay! 

I have to admit that once I got my daily doodle done, I did not stop at just the little area and I added some doodles and color to the opening pages for the month of May:

If you are doing The 100 Day Project, I would love to see how you are doing it.  If you happen to be using or start using the Documented Faith Binder and post to any social media streams, please use the hashtag #documentedfaith so that I can see.

Have a GREAT day!

Periscope TONIGHT

I wanted to let you know that I am Periscoping tonight at 6:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. You can find me on Periscope by using my name, Stephanie Ackerman. I am going to simply paint the May divider (which is also referred to as a dashboard) that comes in my Documented Faith Binder and tell you all about how I am embracing the rainbow these days.

If you don't have the binder then you can do one of three things:

1. Buy one, duh.
2. Download the printable and color it as you wish
3. Just watch the Periscope and then be on your creative merry way

I am going to give you a heads up on what I am going to use BUT remember, I always suggest using what you have.  NEVER feel like you have to go out and buy a bunch of new things, unless it is the binder (see #1 above)

Supplies:

• Ranger Waterbrush
• Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Crayons
• Illustrated Faith .35 Pen
• Uniball Signo Broad Tip White Pigment Pen  
• Faber-Castell B Black Marker
• Kuretake Watercolors 

Printable:  Download Mayprintable

See you on Periscope. Well, I won't see you but you know what I mean!

Documented Faith Week 16

Welcome to Documented Faith Week 16 (to read all of the previous weeks of 2016 and 2015, you can go here) Each Saturday and Sunday the verse and the way I create based on it will be posted here too. 

This weeks verse:

"And let us not give up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing this. Instead, let us encourage one another with words of hope. Let us do this even more as you see Christ’s return approaching.” Hebrews 10:25 NIRV

We need to meet together, encourage each other and help one another. We gather together to share our faith and strengthen one another in the Lord.

To download this weeks verse and blah,blah,blah from me, Download Week16

I mentioned last week that I am changing the way I create in my binder and this past Monday I shared with you that I fell creative victim to the planner world.  You can read the post here.  I showed you the two Documented Faith Binders I have now and eventually I plan to merge them into one.  I had forgotten to remind myself that however I create is OKAY (and the same goes for you.)

Yay us!

I am really changing the faces of my pages and wanted to show you another way I have been creating in my binder.  Here is a look at the blank two page spread in the Documented Faith Binder:I grabbed several scraps printed papers (use what you have)  and trimmed them to fit into the area of each box.  Because the printed page box corners are rounded, I used my corner rounder to round the edges of the pieces I had cut:Using a glue stick, I applied glue to the back of each individual piece that I had cut and placed them onto my page. Then I decided to add a thin loose doodle-ish line around each box.  (Yes, I am holding the pen with my left hand but no, I am not left handed. I had to hold the camera with my right hand to take the photo!)Now I am not super sure what I am going to do next but I sure do like looking at my pages.

Because the new ENCOURAGE kit does not start shipping out until Monday, I wrote last weeks verse on the last page of the verse booklet from the Devote kit. To coordinate it with my pages, I grabbed a little patterned scrap of red paper and simply cut out a heart that would cover the one printed on the page. Yes, I could have just colored it but this is where my simply-complicated-ness comes in.
I used the glue stick to adhere the heart to the page and then I traced around it with my pen and added a little shadow. 
That's about it.  I used what I had, mixed and matched the past few kits with my pages and I am happy with it.  

Speaking of kits, the ENCOURAGE kit starts shipping on Monday and you can place your order now right here.  Something important to remember about all of the kits is that they are based on a word and all of the pieces of the kit and verse booklet coordinate with that word.  It is no longer based on a specific time line or month.  This allows for you to create when you want without feeling like you are behind.  It works for me and I will continue to remind and share with you how to incorporate all of the kits to your existing planners, binders and creative arts.

Encourage Kit Includes:
Encourage Chipboard Word
Verse Booklet
3 Journal stickers
Alphabet Stickers
Sticker Strips
Notepad  - 25 sheets
3 Journaling Postcards
4 Scripture Sharecards

This and additional Documented Faith Companion Kits can be found in my ETSY Shop here.

 

Lastly,  to remind you of the what and why of Documented Faith, I typed up a little something and had it printed out on a card.  All orders will have this reminder inside their packages so that you can share with others about what we are all doing together.

Q: What is Documented Faith?

A: It is a creative way to record, illustrate, document, journal and doodle the everyday moments, Bible verses, inspirational quotes and a growing relationship with Jesus and with others in a planner, binder, art journal, notebook, on a post it note or inside and outside the margins of a journaling Bible.

Q: Why Document My Faith?

A: To develop the habit of spending time reflecting, reading, worshipping, learning and memorizing God’s word in a creative way.

Q: How Do I start?

A: First, it is free. All you need to do is register your name and email so that you receive a weekly email. You can follow along each month with a specific focus word and weekly with a verse that coordinates with that word.  What and how you create is totally up to you.  Whether you journal, memorize, reflect,  create and/or apply the verse and word into your everyday life, the most important thing is that you are in the word.

To register for weekly verse emails, please click here

 

Documented Faith 13, 14 & 15

Remember when I posted a few weeks ago that I was back, sorta??? well. I had spoke too soon BUT I am thrilled to tell you that today is the second day in three months that I am feeling more like my old self. I still have to take time to continue healing and go slow but I am over the hump and making strides forward each day. Now I have to apologize for falling behind in just about everything and thank you for your messages, cards, flowers, prayers and concern.  Your prayers have been felt and I am very grateful for each one of you. 

To catch up on Documented faith, there are three verses for this post, the last two for March and a new focus word and verse for April.  To get the week 13 & 14, click over to the Documented Faith page here to get up to speed and remember, there is no timeline or hurry.  Don't stress yourself out thinking you are behind on anything.  You can do what you want, when you want wherever you are.

YAY.

A new month means a new word and the focus word for April is ENCOURAGE. We need to encourage one another to have greater confidence in God and to be bolder in living out our faith.

Week 15 April 4/3-4/9  “We all have gifts. They differ according to the grace God has given to each of us. Do you have the gift of prophecy? Then use it according to the faith you have.  If your gift is serving, then serve. If it is teaching, then teach.  Is it encouraging others? Then encourage them. Is it giving to others? Then give freely. Is it being a leader? Then work hard at it. Is it showing mercy? Then do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:6-8

To download this weeks message and artwork, click here.

Now in the spirit of encouraging, I am going to share with you what I have done with the first few pages in my Documented Faith Binder.  This is going to drive some of you crazy because it is a huge change from what I have been doing but for others, this may just be the something you have been looking for. Just don't freak out with the curve ball I am going to throw you because remember, there is no right or wrong way to create.  

The best thing to do is create the way YOU create.  

I mentioned weeks back that I was struggling with the pages and I heard from some of you about the same issues. Just today, I gave myself permission to change it all up and I am feeling better. So much better that I think I have decided to create a new online workshop all about my new pages.  Until then, I have given you a download of my actual pages for you to either just be inspired by them or print them out on card stock, trim, add your own touches and use them in your planners, binders and journals.

Here is a look at my April Dashboard before and after:  Here is a look at my Dashboard, "Speech Bubble" Page and first page for April: Now that my pages have a foundation on them I will go back in and add my verses and journaling.  What I am most excited to share with you is that the weight of the paper of the dashboard and the individual pages hold all of the layers of paint and paper perfectly! These pages have layers and layer of texture and I really love them.  I am going to continue on this way and will share with you each week.

If you happen to share your pages on any social media streams, please be sure to use the hashtag #documentedfaith so that I can check out and share it with others. 

For those of you wondering if there is going to be an ENCOURAGE kit, yes, there will be and I will have information on that for you next week.  

Documented Faith Week 1 - 8

Man I am behind on EVERYTHING so I am just going to jump in and get you update on what is going on with Documented Faith since January.  I have decided to run the Documented Faith site with this blog so there is no way anyone can't catch up, join in or read along.

Yay! 

To take a look at how I set up my binder, you can go here. I have decided that I am using Documented Faith Binder for gratitude, prayers, verses, quotes and doodling.  Not too far off from my original thoughts but I will admit that I was so used to using the Moleskin that it has taken me 7 weeks to really get into the groove.  
Here is what I decided to do: Whatever I want, whenever I want, where I want.  Just because there is a specific space for each day of the week does not mean you have to stay in those lines...and I would be the first one to remind you of that but when it came to doing it myself, I found that I was unconsciously restricting myself to the area..until now.

#duh.

Here is an example of how regardless of the "space" for a particular day, I just wrote out what I wanted (this is the week 6 verses) and then I created a box all the way around it and did not care whether it fell into one days space or the other..

Are you pickin up what I am puttin down?

If you look closely at the doodle, you will see the gray line that runs down the center.  That is the image that is printed on the page to section off the spaces for each day.  It seems I am now quite the rebel and am not only going outside the lines but over them and right through them and guess what???

It is OKAY!

To check out what I have been posting for the last 7 weeks, jump over to the Documented Faith site and simply do as you wish.  Some just check in each week to read the verse, some choose to have the verse sent to them via email weekly, some download the message and the verse and create in their binder, planner or art journal. Like I said, you get to do what you want, when you want wherever you want. Yay, again.

In addition to the Monthly focus word and the weekly verses that are sent out, there is also a "companion kit" that is available to purchase that compliments the Documented Faith Binder but was really created so that you can use it with whatever style of planner, binder or journal you are using.  The thought was that each month there would be a new kit but when I used the words "January" and "February" to name the kits, people that were just joining in with Documented Faith felt behind before they started and THAT IS NOT WHAT I WANT.  

Remember the phrase "you get to do what you want, when you want, wherever you want" so now each monthly kit is named after that months focus word.  Example, January's word was PRAY.  February's word is LOVE

The kits are always available (until sold out and re-stocked) so that you can use them ....when you want, wherever you want (you might get sick of reading that!) but it is true and worth repeating. 

In the LOVE kit there are five coloring loose pages that I have been coloring with Prismacolor markers.  I have laminated them. punched holes and have added them to my binder as dividers (well, Dashboards but you know how I think that dashboards are in cars) and speaking of dividers and laminating, I also have been laminating the dividers that came with the DF binder to reinforce them.  They have to last a year.

As I mentioned above, many choose to get the monthly word and weekly verse emailed to them.  If you would like to register your email address to get those, simply fill the form below: 

 

 

 

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Documented Faith 2016 Weekly & Monthly Verses

To receive the 2016 Documented Faith monthly WORD and weekly VERSE email please register your information here. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to document your faith. What you do with the words/verses is completely up to you. Some just read it, many download and print it, several create around it, study it, memorize it and/or journal about it. The important thing is that you are in the Word.

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 Have a Great weekend and sorry I have been gone so long!