Glory {Art 2016} Scripture Challenge #11, Waiting Well

The Study

A couple of weeks ago, I attended our church's womens retreat. It was amazing. Our guest speaker was Logan Wolfram. I encourage you to get her book "Curious Faith." It has a study guide in the back, and she has free study videos on her website. Anyway, I was up at 4:30 AM on Saturday morning of the retreat, and I began reading Chapter 7 of her book because I was drawn to the chapter titled "Waiting Well." As I told Logan later that morning where I started in the book, she laughed and encouraged me to start the book from the beginning. 

So why did I start at Chapter 7? Why did I choose the "Waiting Well" chapter? At this point in my life, I am now waiting for whatever is next in my life. I am officially an empty nester. I am no longer in BSF, and I find myself wondering where I am to go from here. Right now I am waiting. And I know most of us think that this time of waiting has to be bad, right? Well recently, there were two people waiting, and I realized that waiting can actually be filled with something great including joy. Have you ever thought about it that way?

One woman was waiting for the results from a biopsy. She was filled with joy, and she was always praying for others. Someone mentioned to her that sometimes we have to go through the hard stuff not because it's going to turn out bad (it may or may not) but maybe because there is someone we will come in contact with that needs to hear about Christ. She was truly okay with whatever the outcome was. It was beautiful to watch her. Not only did she share Christ with medical personnel, she was also an example to me of "waiting well."

Then there was a man that lost his job recently. Instead of waiting at home and being down, he is now volunteering with a Christian organization. He is doing work for them while he waits for a paying position somewhere. What a beautiful way to "wait well." And did you notice the theme there? She prayed for others while waiting, and he is serving others while waiting. Wow, what an example!

So what do you do while you wait? Do you fret? Do you chatter about the issue non-stop with everyone you come in contact with? Do you curl up and cry? How about being frustrated with the Lord? Have you ever thought about waiting with joy and excited anticipation to see what God will do next? I am trying to do that. What does He have for me? What does He have for you? Logan says this about waiting:

"Waiting isn't a delay of the thing we have in our mind's eye. It's about being present in the now and placing a longing hope in God. It's the space in which we root ourselves in truth and learn to want God more than our own desires." — Logan Wolfram

So what should you do while you wait? How about diving into His Word and praying while you wait. Ask Him what He would have you do while you wait? Are there other people you can be praying for? How about serving somewhere? Or maybe He is putting people in your path to share with them about Jesus. Or it could be that you just need some time to be alone and be quiet and listen. There are all sorts of possibilities as you wait. And you know, you might even find that the wait is joyful!

We studied the word 'wait' back in 2008. If you want to read that short study, click here.

I love how Psalm 27 starts with this:

Verse 1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?"

Who or what should we be afraid of or fear? Should we fear the wait? No! Look how Psalm 27 ends:

Verse 14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

And here are a few other scriptures for you:

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."

2 Corinthians 4:17 "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."

Nehemiah 8:10 "Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.'"

Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him."

Psalm 86:4 "Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in You."

He is your strength. He is your shield. Put your trust in Him and wait with joy and anticipation knowing that this momentary time of waiting is achieving an eternal glory that far outweighs them all!

And for a little fun, here I am with Logan Wolfram. She was teaching me how to take a selfie. I am SO bad at them.

The Art

For today's art, I started this art journaling page by using a printed copy of the collage I made last week. I made this art available to you for free. If you missed it, please click here to grab your free copy. Once I adhered the collage to my journal, I put a layer of clear gesso on top. Then I was ready to begin creating on this new page. This was a very quick way to start a page. I also used a numbers stencil to think about time or days while waiting. 

The scripture I chose to focus on was the 2 Corinthians 4:17 verse listed above. I know it talks about troubles but it helps me remember to wait well because it is all for His great purpose and His glory.

Papers: collage paper of my own work 
Stamps: AC Moore typewriter lowercase alpha, October Afternoon decade stamp 
Stamp Ink: Archival jet black 
Paints: Ranger Multi Medium Matte; Prima Art Basics clear gesso; Liquitex light modeling paste; Golden Fluid Acrylic cobalt teal, raw umber, and quinacridone magenta; Americana lamp black; Golden High Flow Acrylics teal and quinacridone magenta; Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid Satin; Apple Barrel white acrylic 
Tools: brayer, Donna Downey mini numbers stencil, palette knife, Stencil Girl Playful Bloom stencil, Pigma Micron pens 0.3 and 0.5, Generals charcoal white pencil, Simply Simmons liner 0, typewriter, glue stick, sewing machine 
Embellishments: misc. washi tape, American Crafts Runaway letter stickers

Also, as I wait, I am praying about whether or not to continue these studies. As we end next month, we will have finished up nine years of scripture studies here on my blog. Have you enjoyed them? What would you like to see? Would you like to continue? God speaks through His people so I hope you will share in the comment section what God puts on your heart about these studies!

Thanks for joining me today. To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Have a blessed Thanksgiving! 

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