I've added a special creative flair to my Bible studies lately and it looks like these beautiful word study cards! In the past I have enjoyed doing verse mapping and word studies, but I was inspired to bring some extra creativity to all of it and not keep these hidden in a journal.
I've been really getting into some deep study of the Hebrew language. Several things have factored into this, but most recently I've been reading an amazing book called, "Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus" by Lois Tverberg and I also purchased the Complete Jewish Study Bible. Guys, these two together have blown my mind and provided so much depth to my study time.
If you want to know more about my word study process, you can check that out - I wrote it out for you -> CREATIVE FAITH: HOW WORD STUDIES CAN DEEPEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH HIS WORD
I also have some inspirational friends to credit, but for now let's dive right into this creative word study!
EMUNAH - pronounced eh-moo-naw
Meaning: Believe, faith, faithfulness, persistence, steadfastness - all of which are OUTCOMES of true faith and fidelity.
There were many many verses to reference for the various contextual meanings of emunah. You can check those out
here; each has a link that will bring you right to the verse in Biblehub. Personally, I was really struck by the context of God's faithfulness and His fidelity, staying true to His word.
(which, He IS the word. The word is Him. I mean - think about that!)
The following verses are the ones that spoke to my heart and that I wanted to share on this card:
Psalm 33:4:
For the word of Adonai is true and all His work is trustworthy.
Isaiah 25:1 (Amp):
O Lord You are my God, I will exalt You, I will praise and give thanks to Your name;
for You have done miraculous things in Your name,
plans formed long ago {fulfilled} with perfect faithfulness.
Isn't He so good?
As it happens in my personal life, we are walking through a dark and uncomfortable hallway in my family. My mom was recently found to have lymphatic masses in her neck and we've been undergoing every kind of scan and test for the past several weeks.
Results have been inconclusive as of yet, so more tests were ordered and we are trying to reach the next "door" so we know what's next. However, we don't know anything - we only have reports and speculation coming at us from every angle. Well, from every angle in this world.
Most importantly, though, bigger than reports and speculation are His word, His promises, His faithfulness. We have those and it's a beautiful thing! God never said hard things wouldn't happen and He never promised we'd see all healing on this side of Heaven. In fact, several times we are told that we will have troubles here on earth - it's the way life on earth is, we live in a broken world.
Faith in Him is enough to console me, to keep me in peace. I look at the scriptures - the Greatest Story Ever Told. He weaved it, all of it. The wonders in His word, the miracles, the wonders.
Mostly I look back on my life and the lives of those around me. Imperfect - absolutely! Troublesome? YES! However, despite imperfection and trouble He has been there and it is so obvious looking back.
I trust in His faithfulness to me, to us, to all!
Am I scared? Heck yes, absolutely. I love my mom very much and to see her with this worry and to consider her very sick breaks my heart! But I will not live in that fear - I'm standing on His goodness and His promises as we walk through this.
There is a lot more to this study and I trust His goodness will shine throughout it when we get to tell the entire thing.
So in closing out this study, a quote from commentary by Matthew Henry struck me:
"As God weakens the strong who are proud and secure, He strengthens the weak that are humble and stay themselves upon Him. God protects His people in all weathers. The Lord ever was and ever will be the Refuge of distressed believers. Having provided them a shelter He teaches them to flee to it."
The word emunah was stamped using an alpha stamp set I purchased from Amazon in black Archival Ink to prevent bleeding. The Strong's number was stamped using Tim Holtz alpha stamps with Wild Honey Distress Oxide ink.
The mixed media art is made from an array of ephemeral elements from
Open Journey's "Do you Love Me?" kit, as well as some leftover elements from her Lenten kit, "Come with Me". I simply layered them and collaged them down.
The warmth of the golds and the comforting teals in the background and the floral elements reminded me (and always remind me) of the calming presence of the Holy Spirit.
To make His presence pop, I used the Open Journey stamp "I am" (with the Do you Love Me kit) and heat embossed the stamped image in gold.
I finished the card off by adding touches of Distress Crayon washed with a wet brush in the color Rusty Hinge.
The message I wanted the card to convey is simple:
He IS. He is the I AM. It is written.
Emunah.
Inspirational thanks:
I'd like to express thanks to Lindsey Lanning of LindseyDecor for the inspiration of doing mixed media art on these cards. Lindsey creates mixed media works on the beautiful Word Focus cards created by Ingrid for the Open Journey shop in her own creative word studies and inspired me to do this with mine instead of keeping my studies hidden in a journal.
I recently purchased the "Do You Love Me" devotional kit and almost added the cards - they're on my wishlist! However, since I have been doing Hebrew deep dives for some time, I decided to make my own to stay on my own course. I will definitely be adding them to my studies in the near future, though - I love them!
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