Featured Guest – Tracie Claiborne | Do Not Neglect Your Gift

Tracie Claiborne is host of The Scrap Gals Podcast with Tiffany and Tracie and Magic Memory Keepers. She teaches at Big Picture Classes, Get It Scrapped and at her site,
tracieclaiborne.com.
Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter/Periscope

I remember the first time I saw Shanna Noel’s Bible with art she had created. I was browsing Pinterest and there it was…stickers and writing and paint splatters in a Bible? I did a double take, gasped and pinned it with the caption, “Oh my goodness…what an AWESOME idea!!!”

I joined the Facebook group and watched as other people began sharing their Bible art. I was intrigued but hesitant. You see, I am a perfectionist to a fault. I’ve been creating in my scrapbooks for 14 years but I’ve never written on a page: I use the computer to write the story behind my photos.

I’ll just use stickers, I thought to myself and I ordered a Journaling Bible. A few weeks later, the Bible arrived. It sat on my desk for weeks before I was brave enough to even think about writing in it. I knew that when I attempted to create art in my Bible, I would have one chance to do it right!

During this same time period, I became absolutely obsessed with hand lettering. I studied it extensively and taught myself the style I love. As I became a bit more confident in my lettering skills, I decided my journaling Bible would be the perfect place to put it to use. The fear of the blank page hovered over me but with trembling hand, I wrote out a verse. I didn’t love it but I lived with it. I tried another verse and another until I gained a tiny bit of confidence.

I watched as a community grew around this amazing art form. I wanted to be more artistic in my Bible but I was still fearful! I was gaining confidence in my lettering skills but I saw so many artists whose work I liked better than mine. I was still a beginner lettering artist and I wanted to be an expert overnight. As I continued to practice, my skills grew and within a year, I was finally content with what I was creating.

As I prepared to write this post today, I reflected on how far I’ve come with feeling confident in creating in my Journaling Bible. Truthfully, I was a bit fearful to share my work with this awesome creative community so I prayed and asked God to tell me what to say. Within two minutes, He led me straight to this verse which I read with tears streaming down my face:

Do not neglect the gift you have…..practice these things, immerse
yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. -1 Timothy 4:14-15

Okay God…thank you, I hear you. That verse is for me but it’s also for you. God wants us to know that we all have to start somewhere! You have a gift within you to create art in your Bible. So do I. Whatever God calls us to, He also equips us for it. He wouldn’t have led you to this art form if you were not capable of making something beautiful.

Your art doesn’t have to be like everyone else’s. I don’t do anything messy or use paint except for a bit of water coloring. I just do lettering or I use stickers and scrapbook supplies. If you haven’t learned hand lettering, trace someone else’s art into your Bible. That’s the beauty of creating on thin pages! We can copy anything onto these pages! Imagine the possibilities!

I want to encourage you again, do not neglect the gift you have, practice these things, immerse yourself in them so everyone can see your progress. People will be blessed. Every time I share my Journaling Bible with someone, they love it and want to do it! I believe that for many people, Bible Journaling is the gateway into being artistic. This art form is so meaningful, it beckons to us. It calls us to create. God uses it for His glory. I can’t think of anything more wonderful than art that glorifies God!

If you’d like to learn the style of hand lettering that I do, now you can! I just launched a lettering course that teaches you everything I know about hand lettering in ten easy lessons and twelve practice worksheets. I poured my heart and soul into this class and it’s been a blessing to share it with the world. You can find more information about it at tracieclaiborne.com.

May God bless you as you create and share your wonderful Bible art with the world around you! God be with you ‘til we meet again.