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Hello Everyone! Welcome to lesson one in the Bible Art Journaling Challenge series, Heaven Is Calling! I am SO honored that you would take time to join me in connecting with God… a GOOD God. As we begin our first devotional lesson in this 12-part monthly series, I want to tell you a personal story… It will give you a great starting place for this series before watching this lesson one video.

About 6 months ago, God started talking to me about an area in my life that needed more growth. Sometimes He speaks to me plainly, other times He likes to just show me so I can gather the conclusion on my own. I’m sure you have ways He likes to speak to you, or perhaps you’re just discovering those ways and this series is part of your discovery process. I love that God likes to keep some mystery in the relationship by changing things up now and then. 🙂

Anyway, God started showing me that I needed to think more like His princess and less like a pauper. I have grown so much in this area in the past, but I began to realize that recent seasons of hardship, had distanced me from my convictions on the matter and God in His grace began bringing it to my attention.

If you’ve been part of any church setting for long, you may be familiar with that concept which some like to refer to as God “testing us”, or “teaching us a lesson”, or even simply that “He is judging us” for something. Some like to put it… “Burning the chaff out of our lives”. Not a pretty picture. Fairly intense actually. In reality, a judge is required for more than just punishing someone. They also protect the vulnerable, cancel debts and other good things. Yes God “tests” us, but the phrase isn’t meant to define the concept of a bully making our life miserable, “because we deserve it”. He gives us tests to help us achieve more and cheers us on, like parents who help with long hours of homework to ensure our success. God? He is good and loves to help us become the greatest version of ourselves.

I remember as a young teenager when I asked God if it was actually necessary for Him to be such a “scary guy” who wanted to punish me or “burn out the sin in my life”, “for my own good”. I wasn’t opposed to Him growing me at all, I just questioned the methods. His response surprised me. I learned that I had shaped my views of God’s heart toward me, based on life experiences and teaching in the church. I’d grown up in a wonderful home, with wonderful family and had a wonderful church… but none of us get it right 100% of the time. [click to continue…]