Our family is not known for its vocal skills, but we do love music and appreciate how it permeates our daily lives.
Our sons have all played the piano and other stringed instruments over the years, so we've attended a multitude of orchestra concerts and observed the progression of skills growing over time. Sometimes those first concerts are all about the enthusiastic exuberance of the performers and the validating encouragement from the audience rather than the actual music.
Indeed, the early days of practicing a new instrument can be an earful for the whole household, but then gradually all that practice gives way to beautiful music streaming throughout the house and creates a delightful atmosphere in the home.
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King." Psalm 98:4-6
I think PRAISE goes through its own progression of growth, too. We "try out" new ways to express our praise and gratitude to God as our spiritual maturity develops over time. Our initial enthusiasm may gradually give way to a deeper appreciation of Biblical concepts and a greater understanding of the Lord's enduring love for us.
We become more aware of our unique spiritual gifts and can offer these in praise and worship to the Lord, allowing Him to delight in our difference expressions of praise.
Throughout July, our focus in the Monthly Bible Quilt Journal is going to be on the Psalms, a rich source of praises and joyful singing. Our Bible Quilting friend, Patti from Canada, has curated some specific psalms of praise for us.
I like to get started by adding all the references to the monthly calendar page.
Once you get the printable reference list, you can make a handy bookmark to use as you look up the daily scriptures.
The next step is to write out the daily verses onto a flip card set. This will familiarize you with the scriptures and also provide you with a handy resource to carry with you throughout the month. You can decorate these as you like to personalize them even further.
If you'd like a jumpstart on your flip cards, here's a printable set with all the verses typed and ready to print. Thanks, MaryJo, for your formatting help!
If you don't have the 2022 Monthly Bible Quilt Journal yet but would like to join us for this topic, you can download the Psalms of Praise template set here.
Patti graciously included the verses for this month in some different fonts. You can download these to use for your flip card set or your BQJ pages if you'd like.
Last summer when I was designing the Monthly BQJ for this year, I was inspired to create the layout of the 2-page Psalms spread so that we could use Patti's printed verses as a cut-and-paste or as a sticker sheet.
Example: Here's the Psalms of Praise template printed on blue card stock and the Psalms of Praise verses on white paper so that you can see the layout of the scriptures in order.
For my BQ journal, I decided to make clear sticker sheets of the scripture set to allow the background colors of my quilt squares to shine through.
I used a set of black number stickers for the days of the month (shown in photo below).
You can choose whether or not you want to number the quilt squares. You can use stickers, stamps, or simply write the numbers in with colorful markers.
I tucked the number stickers under the verse sticker whenever possible so they will be more durable over time.
I prepped all my background colors first on the 2-page spread before adding the verse stickers. Here's an overview of my process using gelatos:
The clear stickers worked great on the gelato-colored quilt squares! Ready to give it a try??
By the way if you don't have gelatos, you can create the same effect by using regular colored pencils or even using watercolor pencils that you can blend gently with a baby wipe.
However you decorate your pages, you'll be blessed by your time in the Psalms!
The featured template for July in the Monthly BQJ is the Music Notes.
I'm not quite sure how I'm going to complete this music page yet. What ideas do YOU have for this template?
During the summer when our schedules are a little wonky, we may be able to squeeze in some extra reading time (or not) depending on family activities. Since there's not a narrative or historical line to follow, Psalms can be read a little more "flexibly" than other books of the Bible. Many are richly laden "stand alone" Psalms that we can read again and again, uncovering new details each time as we savor the lyrical poem structure.
Maybe you like to add notes or doodles to illustrate what you're reading?
The Psalms are a great place to do some Bible journaling to highlight themes or phrases that particularly impact you.
Anyone want to read through the whole book of Psalms this month?
Or perhaps listen to it on Audible? Poetry on Fire
There are many ways to engage actively with the Psalms.
I received this book "Sing a New Song" earlier in the year and tucked it away to explore this season when our BQ Community would be focused on Psalms.
It provides some historical background and synopsis of each Psalm, so I'll be referencing it along the way.
Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis (audiobook on Audible $0) explores the themes in Psalms and may be another resource you'd be interested in. Anyone else have an idea to recommend?
July is going to be full of fun! Join us for a "Christmas in July" BQJ Open House on Saturday, July 9th to do some crafting with others. Here are the links for more info and to RSVP. Hope to see y'all soon!
If you're long-distance, get a sneak peek via Zoom.
Christmas in July SALE!!
To help us all get into the Christmas spirit, I'm having a sale on all digital products. Enter coupon code JULY22 to get 22% off digital goodies. I've grouped products into Collections, so if you're interested specifically in holiday templates, click on Christmas in the online shop.
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