The Psalms — Blessed Hope

Happy Friday, friends!  Today, I want to jump into a new bible study with you…. let’s each go grab a cup of coffee, a cozy blanket [come on, autumn!], our Discovering Hope bible study guide and meet right back here in a few minutes.

You back?? Okay, great! Now let’s just pretend we’re sitting together chatting all things God + bible journaling + hope.  Maybe we could flip open our bibles & chat about the idea of Discovering Hope in the Psalms.  The Psalms, such a beautiful collection of worshipful songs + prayers to our Savior, are filled to the brim with transformational hope.  Hope for a blessed life, a life to which we have been called!

After reading through chapter one of Discovering Hope in the Psalms & digging into the very first Psalm presented in the bible, my very first takeaway was found in the beauty of verse three….

He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season.

[I added the emphasis on “in its season” because it got me right in the heart.  Maybe you, too?]

The study guide for Psalms 1 defines being blessed as “the joyful spiritual condition of those who are right with God & the pleasure + satisfaction that is derived from that.”

When I plug these two thoughts together, I know that God is leaving me with the whisper that I can enjoy a blessed life no matter what season I’m in.

Sure, it feels great + awesome when I’m up on the mountaintop of life — work is going smoothly, long-distance friends are moving closer, exciting opportunities are presenting themselves left & right.  But what about during the valleys of life?

Yup…. I’m still blessed then.  I may not be happy about the hard times, but I can choose to be joyful in knowing that I’ll yield my fruit in my own season.

Speaking of seasons…. y’all, I’ve been feeling so stinking crafty lately!! I want to show you a quick, fun + SUPER easy/basically free DIY for adding some color on your bible, hymnal & journal pages!

Gather up a few supplies….
Crayola markers
Ziploc Bag
Water

Yep…. I told you it was basically free ;)

Cut a piece of your ziploc bag out with scissors & color with your marker straight on the bag.  Next, you’ll want to add a spritz or two of water.  The more water you add, the more runny the color is on the bag, so go easy at first.  Alternatively, you could spritz the water directly on your bible page!

Psssst…. You’ll want to be sure to protect your other pages by using your bible mat behind the page you’re getting ready to SMOOSH with color!  Trust me on this.

Next, flip your colored + spritzed bag over & press it down on your page.  The technical term here for this is smooshing.  Very technical.  Rub your hand over the color to move it around under the bag….this is the smoosh effect.  Peel the bag back & admire!! If there are any color droplets left on the bag, you can smoosh again on another area of your workspace.

I added more color on the opposite page of my ESV Psalms book that I’m using specifically for our Discovering Hope study & then dried everything with my hot air gun dryer.

A few things I learned along the way…. smooshing with markers [even washable crayolas] is MESSY, so have those baby wipes ready! You can use them to sop up some of the extra run-off of color or if an area got too saturated, you can gently pat the space with a wipe before drying.  And the marker technique DOES bleed through.  However, I have it under good authority that you can get the same beautiful affect smooshing with watercolors with much less bleed through.  Or grab up that dusty jar of gesso & prime your page first!

I’m already loving this new bible study with you, friends.  I can’t wait to start digging into Psalm 2 when we meet up over coffee next time!  It’s completely optional for following along, but if you want to go even deeper with this study, grab your own study guide book through the link below & tackle more of Chapter 1 on your own.  Be sure to tag me on instagram with your beautiful Psalms discoveries!

addtional supplies: Studio Calico Mega Date Stamp