Glory {Art} Scripture Challenge for 2016

Welcome to another year of glorifying God through art. I have been sharing God’s word through my art and paper crafting for 8 years now. Can you believe this will be my 9th year leading Bible devotions and studies through art on my blog? I am so blessed that He continues to allow me to share His Word through words and art. For 2016, we will continue to study His Word as we have in the past. I will still be sharing 12 Bible teachings based on word studies, hymns, or whatever God brings to me over the course of the year. I will be creating through various art mediums each month. I will be sharing different pieces of art depending on where God leads me that particular month. This will be just like I did in 2015 except for 2016 we will just have a monthly challenge. Some weeks I may share an art journaling page, some weeks Scripture Art Cards, another week might be a scrapbook page, and others a Bible Journaling page, etc. God is pleased with any of our art forms, and my greatest desire is to glorify God. I try to do that through everything I create whether it be paper crafting, mixed media art, etc., thus the birth of “Glory Art—Bringing Glory to God Through Art.”

Exodus 31:4-5 ". . .to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts."

First let's look at the types of art you might create in 2016. Then below my samples, you can read all of the details on the study.

Scrapbook Album, ATC, Art Journaling Pages, Cards--What Will You Create?
So, what will you create for 2016? What have you done in the past? You may have noticed this year that I have been creating different things each week. Maybe you are new to these challenges and would like some ideas. You can:

*Create Scripture Art cards and put them in page protectors.

*Create ATCs and put them on a holder or in page protectors.

*Create any size scrapbook page and put the pages in an album (here are some 8 1/2 x 11 pages and an 8x8 page).

*Create an art journaling page.

*Create a Journaling Bible page highlighting the verse you have chosen.

*Create a card and mail it to someone that might need to hear the words you have for them.

*Create a journal and put your 2016 study in this journal.

*Or create anything else you can think of; let God lead you.

Wow, just look at all of the different ways you can worship and glorify the Lord through art! You can create anything you wish, and it can vary from study to study. These are just ideas! It is truly a blessing, and I hope you will join me! Now for more specific details.

If You Participate, Do You Have to Create Something?
Absolutely not! :) You can just study God's Word and keep notes. You do not have to create a thing! I personally love the creating part and someday my kids can have these creations too as part of my faith legacy. For those of you not creating, you may just want to keep a journal with your study notes. Those too will be treasures for the generations to come.

What if You Want to Study with People at Church?
Wonderful! Please have them study along. However, I ask that you not copy my work. I also ask that you have the participants print the study directly from my blog post each time. It takes me many, many hours to prepare these studies, and they are inspired by the Lord. The studies are copyrighted, and I pray that you respect that. Thank you! For more information, please see the section below titled "Will this challenge be hosted on other sites? What about posting on my own blog?"

Now let me share a bit about how this challenge will work.
**I will post one study a month beginning Sunday, January 10, 2016. Mark your calendars, and see the entire 2016 calendar below! :)
**Challenges will usually be posted by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on challenge Sundays.
**My post will also share some thoughts, scripture or scriptures that I chose (usually from the NIV), and a picture of my art for that week.
**Then you will study your Bible and find scriptures that are meaningful to you based on the study and truth posted for that week.
**I love using Biblegateway to look up single keywords in the Bible. It is a great resource for this study.
**For hymns, Hymnary is a great resource for scripture text based on a hymn.
**Then you can create your art using your selected scripture and thoughts based on the study for that week.

Why Are You Only Posting Challenges Once a Month?
I know in years' past, I have done 2-4 challenges a month. These challenges take a lot of time to write and create. They are a true blessing to me, and God teaches me a lot through them. However, with my daughter's upcoming open heart surgery this year, I need to make sure I am available to her and also available to write and prepare these challenges with excellence and not in a rush just to get something out to you. I pray this will give you time also to really soak in His Word and enjoy the study also.

Will you share any art tips?
Yes, sometimes within a post, I will share tips on how I created the art for that day.

Is there a time limit to complete the challenge?
No, there is not a time limit to complete the challenge. This is for you so that you can study and learn to apply God's truths to your daily life! You do what you can when you can. You may join this challenge at ANY time throughout the year! Encourage your friends to join along throughout the year!

Do I need to sign up?
No, you can just subscribe to my blog to get the updates e-mailed directly to you. Also join us on the Facebook page. See details below.

Will this challenge be hosted on other sites? What about posting on my own blog?
No, you will only be able to find the challenge here on my blog. Please do not copy the post to other websites or your own blog. You may certainly link the study but do not copy the study. Feel free to post a quote but not the entire study. Remember, this study is copyrighted. Thank you! And make sure you subscribe to my blog if you haven't already. :) If you have friends that you think may be interested in joining us, feel free to send them the link to this post! For more information, please see the section above titled "What if You Want to Study with People at Church?"

Will you have a Facebook page?
Yes, I have created a Facebook page for our discussion and sharing of art. You can find our page here. It is a closed group so you will need to be invited to the group to join in.

Where can I share my work?
You can share wherever you feel led—your blog, Pinterest, our Facebook group, Flickr, wherever. I will also use inlinkz.com for this challenge so that you can leave a link to your work here on my blog for others to see.

What Hashtags Should I Use?
You do not have to use hashtags if you are not interested. In fact, I only started using them on occasion over the past couple of months. Here are some ideas for hashtags: #GloryArt2016 and #GloryArt.

Where Can I See Sample Lessons?
All of the previous six years of study are here on my blog. But I will link a few here from over the years to give you an idea. Just click on the title, and you will be directed to the study.

*He Knows my Name
*Something in the Water
*Come Thou Fount of Every Blessings
*Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
*Creator

Is there a blinkie for this challenge?
Yes, but let's call it a button instead of a blinkie. :) It's a miniature version of the picture at the beginning of this post. I did not make one that blinks. It is a "stand alone" button. You will find this button in the sidebar of my blog and below this paragraph. Right-click and save it to your computer to add to your blog. I also ask that you link it back to this post or my blog. Feel free to add it to your message board signatures too. I hope you like it.

2016 Glory {Art} Scripture Challenge Schedule:
Challenge 1: January 10
Challenge 2: February 14
Challenge 3: March 13
Challenge 4: April 10
Challenge 5: May 8
Challenge 6: June 12
Challenge 7: July 10
Challenge 8: August 14
Challenge 9: September 11
Challenge 10: October 9
Challenge 11: November 13
Challenge 12: December 11

To see all of the current challenges thus far for 2016, please click here.

Remember to bookmark this page. It will be the "main information page" for the {Glory Art} Scripture Challenge. Please e-mail me if you have more questions, and I would love to know your thoughts on this upcoming challenge. Feel free to leave comments here or on the Facebook page! Blessings, and see you January 10th with our first study for 2016!