Happy Tuesday pretty people! Raise your hand if you’re a scrapbooker. *raises both hands!* Scrapbooking was my first love. At the ripe old age of 13 I fell in love with memory keeping. I was a journaler long before that & I was totes “Smashbooking” at age 6 WAY before it was cool. hahaha But scrapbooking had my heart in 6th grade. I mean… recording our thoughts & memories for our families!? What could be more important than that? Recording your thoughts, memories, & FAITH for our families! There’s nothing more inspiring than looking back on possessions of your grandmother’s or great-grandmother’s & seeing evidence of their unfailing faith!
As you may know, I recently visited Seattle for a retreat with the Illustrated Faith Creative Team girls & it was life changing. Documenting this feels INCREDIBLY important now that I’m back home. After leaving the retreat house crying & waving goodbye to my girls, we boarded a plane back to Indiana where I did a lot of thinking. Thinking about community & answered prayers & friendship. Thinking about how God doesn’t always answer us in the way we think He will.
When I moved to Anderson, Indiana with my husband, I didn’t know anyone from that town. We didn’t have a church family (& we still haven’t found a church we love.) I prayed for community. I prayed for friendships to form with like-minded women. And God answered that prayer… but not how I expected Him to. He didn’t give me a few women in my town to lean on; He gave me a network of Christian women ALL OVER THE WORLD through Illustrated Faith. And these 5 other women with me in the photo were the start of my community. He is faithful.
Taylor Rauschkolb released a set in the Print & Pray Shop called “Wait for the Lord,” all about His faithfulness & waiting expectantly for Him to answer. She uses a passage from Hebrews 10:23–
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
The key takeaway from that verse: HE IS FAITHFUL! It’s not ours to decide how or when He will answer our prayers, but if it is His will, He will provide! I feel like this is one of the things that Christians struggle with most since we’re living in a world with answers at our fingertips. Waiting is also one of the things I’m worst at. hahaha But these girls were worth the wait.
I used this printable set to embellish my scrapbook page along with the Seeds of Faith collection. I plan on doing a whole album with photos from this trip because I want to remember all the little things about these girls. Shanna’s ability to make people feel so loved & appreciated. How Heather loves to sit & watch other people create & soak in their inspiration. Amy’s fluid brushstrokes & boisterous laugh. I want to document Bailey’s way with words & her passion for the arts. Andrea’s scrappy attitude but soft gooey heart. All these things make up my community. I wish I could somehow bottle up their hugs & paste them in the book somehow, but these photos & memories will have to do. God’s faithfulness in bringing me to this wonderful community is among my greatest blessings. So they’re going in the book.
I can’t wait to open that book in 10 years & have all that love pour out. <3
<3 Elaine
Staz-On ink in Jet Black
LOVE LOVE LOVE