Art Journaling with God - Over the Moon

My life has changed so much since I moved to New York. I feel content with life and my career path. However, ‘contentment with life’ for me is not a good thing - it depletes me to the point of incompetence and boredom. New York is a great city to fill your life with leisure after a week of battling people who lack the vision to do good for the company or for each other. Leisure is the greatest tragedy for a person who wants to leave a legacy for the next generation. Leisure brings death to productivity and creativity. For some reason, with all that New York has to offer, I still feel insignificant and fruitless the minute I walk into my apartment.

Lately, God has placed on my heart to stop planning, stop surfing the net to see what other creative people are producing and to start doing. God gave me enough skills (talents) to belong in this world. That was all I wanted – to serve and pay for my space here on earth. To be a part of something bigger than the Children Ministry teacher at Sunday School. Don’t get me wrong, I love the kids and what I offer them, but it is not enough. I am not using all of the talents God has instructed me. In the Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14–30, you will need to read it in the Bible, but this is verse 29, “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”  This message is for everyone. If we do not use the talents God gave us, He will take it away.

This morning, my neighbors in the apartment complex could hear “Your Presence Lord” by Kari Jobe blasting from my living room. I want to blast the spirit of depression, lethargy, anything and everything that is not of God out of my home. Tears poured from my eyes and my heart filled with the Holy Spirit once again.  I sang, “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus, God. Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.” I repented and sat down to do some art journaling with God. Here is a snippet of my conversation with Him.

Me:  Father God, help me to not use work as an excuse to go into my trance and push negative emotions aside. I feel that I am only starting to adjust to the change of moving here to New York, and adjusting the lack of a loving community that I had in California. I feel my life isn’t enough.

Father God: Daughter, the move is not the reason for your depression and change. The veracity is that you have lost touched with Me and the Holy Spirit. Yes, your relationship with Jesus is still there, but We miss you. We miss the time spent talking and creating art together.

Me: I am sorry, Father. I didn’t realize that marriage really does take up a lot of your time. As much as I need to build my relationship with my husband, I need to continue to build my relationship with You. Stay with me and help guide me to keep You with me at all times…

Using the SoulCollage® method, I created this image. “I am the one who will jump over the moon –over and over again – and bring color where there is darkness.”  This image represents me overcoming obstacles and achieving what is hard to reach even when it is dark all around.

I do not plan on losing my connection with God again. Join me on my walk. I am hoping to post one art journal with God each week.  

Matthew 25:14-30New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’