Happy Independence Day!

"I thank my God every time I remember you." ~ Philippians 1:3

 

 



Hope everyone had a happy Independence Day! I'm thankful we did not have any injuries from fireworks, but it sure was smoky from all the people out celebrating and shooting off firecrackers in the streets this evening.

 

I finished up reading this book. I like this concept of documenting my faith more and more and I hoped this book would give me some ideas as to what to gather for my Documented Faith scrapbook and it did!

 

Pages of Faith: The Art of Spiritual Scrapbooking.

By Sharon Sheridan.
Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, NY: 2007.

 

To give you an indication of what's covered in the book, here's the Table of Contents:

1. A Place to Tell Our Stories

2. The Modern Scrapper

3. A Chance for Reflection and Witness

4. Recording the Journey

5. Wedding Bells

6. Miraculous Beginnings

7. Teaching Tools

8. In Loving Memory

9. When Two or Three Are Gathered

10. Celebrating Shared Ministries

11. A Lasting Witness

12. Tools of the Trade

13. Page Design

14. Words to Scrap By (poetry, quotes,  scripture, etc.)

15. A Scrapbook Timeline

16. Resources and Notes 

 

I wrote down meaningful ideas and quotes on index cards and will be storing them in the backs of the flip-up photograph sleeves in my notebook, so I can refer back to them as needed. There are many ideas in this book for compiling a faith-book and I would recommend a read if you have no idea as to what to gather for your Documented Faith notebook, other than the paraphernalia I mentioned before. Perhaps a few of the  quotes below will help you get a handle on what to insert into a faith-book.

 

"It really is amazing just to see how people often don't record the very things that do give us hope for the future." ~ Rhonda Anderson, Creative Memories founder.

 

"In our ever busier world, spiritual scrapbooking offers an opportunity for quiet reflection and new insights into God's importance and influence in our lives. It lets us join with friends and share our faith stories in community. And it provides a lasting record of our spiritual journeys, a witness of faith for the generations to come." ~ Sharon Sheridan

 

"It is often said we learn by doing. The truth is, we also remember by doing. This happens in simple ways. Just writing down something I need to do and seeing it in print often helps me remember the task, even if I never look at the list again.

Remembering by doing happens in more profound ways as well. When Christians celebrate Holy Communion or the Lord's supper or the Eucharist, they retell the story of salvation through Christ. But more than that, they perform an act of remembrance. . . So when God tells the Israelites to remember something, he also calls them to actions of remembrance. . . In Deuteronomy, for example, God commands the Israelites to keep his words in their hearts, recite them to their children and discuss them. 'Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:8-9).  ~ Sharon Sheridan.

 

"While very intense at the time experiences such as attending seminary or participating in another spiritual formation program often pass quickly. In time we lose the intensity of those thoughts and experiences. A scrapbook helps preserves those memories. It also shows us the steps of our spiritual development: the things we discovered, the challenges we overcame, the highs and lows of our lives and how they relate to the peaks and valleys of a faith journey. We can see how much we've grown spiritually, how we've acquired new leadership skills and taken on new responsibilities in God's service and where God may be calling us to future ministry." ~ Sharon Sheridan.
 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Strips and scraps and plastic sleeves,

Kaleidoscope colors and memories,

Die-cuts and stickers and two-sided tape --

Dear Lord, what a glorious mess it all makes1

 

But out of these tools and crafter's passion

A powerful album I hope to fashion.

Guide my art as I tell this story

And make this record to your glory.

~ Sharon Sheridan.