Tag Archives: Inspirational Art

Psalm 34 Taste and See {Giveaway}

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{Art available here}

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
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Blueberry picking in Michigan each summer has become one of our family’s favorite summer traditions. We will drive up for the day, pick about 12 pounds worth, stick them in the cooler & head to the beach for fun in the sun!2013-10-02_0003

{Vintage Art style available here}

A few years ago, I decided to use a photo I had shot of my favorite little mister’s hands stained & full of those rich & juicy berries to visually illustrate Psalm 34:8.

This verse, and actually all of Psalm 34, has meant a lot to me over the years, as an encouragement and a huge challenge… verse 1 proclaims that I will extol (or praise) the Lord at all times … really? Will I? What a challenge. Back in 2002 my pastor was doing an entire series on Psalm 34 and I prayed about those powerful words and proceeded to go through the biggest trial and heart ache of my life. For the first time I understood the Psalm in more of it’s fullness, which talks about the concept of worship being a sacrifice. {Worship isn’t much of a sacrifice when life is good, right? And, up till then, life had been pretty darn good, so it was easy to give thanks & praise, but when you are crushed & heart broken, it is not.}

Then, moving on through the Psalm it gets to the taste & see part.

Some thoughts I had: Do I really believe that the Lord is good? Or do I just think the things He gives me are good? And, what does it really mean to taste the Lord?

When you taste something, you partake of it. It must enter in.

When thinking through a visual food to represent the tasting, fruits came to mind since they are naturally more sweet & tasty than other foods. Apples have too much of a symbolism with the garden of eden; bananas would like silly; juicy grapes remind others of wine; then, after taking the photo of the handful of blueberries, I thought, “This is it!”2013-10-02_0004

This is a book I designed for Tyndale House Publishers for the fabulous Lisa Velthouse. I wanted to show the cover {as well as the rejected covers on the left} as her concept for the book goes along with Psalm 34’s taste and see theme. {Side note here: While designing Lisa’s cover, I had the privilege of meeting her & giving her my Psalm 34 art which she said encouraged her to press on through the editorial process!}

In the book, Lisa relays an amazing story of a rabbi giving the pentateuch to his kindergarten class. The books he laid on their desks were fresh, brand new, and made of leather. He then goes around & puts wax paper on top of each and every book. After that, he goes around again and pours out blobs of honey on the wax paper. He tells the kids to taste and lick the honey & says to remember that this is what the Lord tastes like!
Oh, my! I just think that is the coolest image of partaking in the goodness & sweetness of God & His Word! When you read His Word, does it taste good to you? Do you take it in? Does it transform you? Does it nourish your soul? Do you crave more?

 

{btw, Craving Grace is available here}

It’s Giveaway Time!

Earlier this month,  I  introduced my new color line of inspirational art & today I am giving away one 12×18 Psalm 34 Taste and See fine art print.

 

How To Enter the Contest:

1. For One Entry: Hop on over to Life Verse Design & then come back here & let me know in the comments below which art is your favorite from my shop.

2. To gain a Second Entry: Hop on over & like my shop on facebook & then come back here & let me know you did in another comment here below.

3. To gain a Third Entry: Share this giveaway with all of your friends & family via facebook, twitter, your own blog, word of mouth… however you function & come back here & let me know in another comment that you did.

 

The winner will be announced Friday night! I hope YOU win! Thanks for passing the word along & enjoy!

Grace & Peace,

Julie

Ashley - I love this Bible verse, Julie!! You do such a great job at it!!

admin - Hi Tenille! Yes, it counts! 🙂 Are you back in the states? Hope you & your family are well!

Tennille - Does it count if I’ve liked the fb page for a long time?? Hope so!

Tennille - I shared on fb!

Tennille - I like the Micah 6 scriptural art. But I also love the personalized baby one that I look at everyday. 🙂

Louella - Shared!

Louella - I love all your work.. You have a gift!

Louella - Liked your page..

lindsay kauffman - I shared on fb!

lindsay kauffman - I like your fb page!

lindsay kauffman - My favorite photo design is your adoption one – so meaningful!

Erika - Beautiful Julie!!! Love ALL your work!!! God has gifted you!

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Pumpkin-Poos Turns 6 {and a Life Verse Design Psalm 118 giveaway winner!}

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Oh, my sweet little Pumpkin-Poos. You will turn 6 on Sunday. SIX.

I cannot believe how fast these years have gone, but some things remain: you are totally a mama’s girl & love being with me. You still wake up every morning around 5 a.m. & come down, crawl into our bed & snuggle your daddy {cuz you know I will not snuggle you then!} You still slip your hand into mine every time we are on a walk & I am counting my lucky stars that you still walk hand-in-hand with me, knowing someday that will cease & you’ll be off scootering with your big brother & sister. You are full of joy, singing throughout the day. You are my free spirit & wild one. You LOVE puppies & now have about 35 stuffed dogs in your collection. You are sensitive. You eat like a Chen. You are full of creativity. You tell me countless stories of your imaginary grandma day after day. Your life has taught me so much about trusting God, His plans, His ways, and His faithfulness. I am SO thankful for YOU!

YOU will always be my little Pumpkin-Poos.

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You may recognize this cute little one from these baby images of her & her Daddy Bear. My pregnancy with her was what motivated me to create Scripture art for the home.

It’s amazing what God does when you do not expect it.

OH & the winner of the Psalm 118 This Is the Day art is:

Stephanie Vander Wal

Email me your address at lifeverse@gmail.com

OK, off to celebrate for the weekend with Grandma & Grandpa!

Grace & Peace,

Julie

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Psalm 118 This is the Day {Giveaway}

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Hello friends! Here is a sunshine-filled, beautiful reminder that THIS is the day the Lord has made we will REJOICE and be glad in it!

 

When I think about this verse, I ponder a few key phrases, the first of which is “this” … THIS is the day. Today not tomorrow. If you are like me, many of you live in the “what if” or “someday”. I remember when my kids were newborns nursing through the night & all I could focus on was the someday when they would sleep, as opposed to the then & now of those quiet, tender, private moments I had snuggling my babies. So, think about this: God has given you TODAY. He does not guarantee tomorrow. What will YOU do with this gift of today that you have been given? I pray we all view it as the gift that it is & make the most of it to share love with others.

 

The other word I focus on in this verse is “WILL”. We WILL rejoice and be glad in it. It is a call to worship & worship is a choice, even often despite how we may feel emotionally. It takes a special mindset to capture this heart, one that is full of thanksgiving and praise toward our creator. It is a choice to worship and rejoice despite hard circumstances, simply because we have hope in Jesus & His redemptive work in our lives.

 

I chose this image, which I shot this past summer in Grand Island, New York just miles from Niagra Falls, because the sunlight was so rich & warm and it reminded me of that full-of-life feeling when you break the morning in joy. The flowers are springing up out of the prairie grasses and they can turn toward the sun and be fed or they can get choked out by the weeds and worries of this life.

 

I wanted it bright & cheery because I for one am NOT a morning person and I would love that sunny motivation to rejoice and be glad that I get the gift of one more day of LIFE!

 

It’s Giveaway Time!

Earlier this month,  I  introduced my new color line of inspirational art & today I am giving away one 12×18 Psalm 118 This is the Day fine art print.

 

How To Enter the Contest:

1. For One Entry: Hop on over to Life Verse Design & then come back here & let me know in the comments below which art is your favorite from my shop.

2. To gain a Second Entry: Hop on over & like my shop on facebook & then come back here & let me know you did in another comment.

3. To gain a Third Entry: Share this giveaway with all of your friends & family via facebook, twitter, your own blog, word of mouth… however you function & come back here & let me know in another comment that you did.

 

The winner will be announced Friday night! I hope YOU win! Thanks for passing the word along & enjoy!

Grace & Peace,

Julie

amy - Shared!

amy - Liked on FB…Already.

Amy klug - The adoption art….of course!

Veronica Mascena - …and shared your giveaway post!

Veronica Mascena - I liked you on Facebook

Veronica Mascena - The Prayer of Jabez is my favorite for sure! I pray this daily 🙂

Reba - I love the Required of You print. It is one of my favorite passages of Scripture.

Katy Staley - . . .and shared the giveaway post!

Katy Staley - also I liked you on facebook

Katy Staley - I love this print as well as the “taste and see” Psalm 34 print!

jane hsu - hard to chose, but i especially like the “This is the day art” 🙂

Lisa lewis - I love the new color scripture line. Taste and see is gorgeous along with the new creation one. great addiitons!! Also still love the vintage line especially the baby ones.

Lynn Zastrow - I like “Friendship Tree”

Jennifer Abraham - I already liked your fb page and I shared your stuff with fb friends!

Jennifer Abraham - How am I supposed to pick a favorite!? I choose the color All Things New

Kelly McCaig - I like all your work and have several in my home. 🙂 Already liked your page, and will share b/c I know exactly where I would put this art!

Marilynn Driesenga - I love ‘New Creation”.

lindsay kauffman - I shared your giveaway post

lindsay kauffman - I like your fb page!

lindsay kauffman - I LOVE your adoption prints!!

Lisa Velthouse - This one got shared on the “Craving Grace” facebook page, for all fans of the book design (and cover model!) Love Julie’s work!

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The Serenity Prayer {Giveaway!}

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It’s Giveaway Time!

Earlier this week I  introduced my new color line of inspirational art & today I am giving away one 12×18 Serenity Prayer fine art print. This is one of my favorites in the collection. The image is of a white magnolia bloom I shot a few years back at one of my favorite local arboretums. I feel the peace & tranquility of that perfect, pure white flower visually marries the text of the serenity prayer so beautifully.

 

How To Enter the Contest:

1. For One Entry: Hop on over to Life Verse Design & then come back here & let me know in the comments below which art is your favorite from my shop.

2. To gain a Second Entry: Hop on over & like my shop on facebook & then come back here & let me know you did in another comment.

3. To gain a Third Entry: Share this giveaway with all of your friends & family via facebook, twitter, your own blog, word of mouth… however you function & come back here & let me know in another comment that you did.

 

The winner will be announced Friday night! I hope YOU win! Thanks for passing the word along & enjoy!

Grace & Peace,

Julie

jessie hillinger - …liked on facebook too!

jessie hillinger - shared on facebook! 🙂

jessie hillinger - oh julie, i love your ephesians 3 print. it hangs next to my front door and i love that it is a reminder to all that come into our home of Whom we serve.

Lorna Morris - Happy to have shared your work on facebook.

Shauna Letellier - The Vintage Love of God Hymn!!
Liked and shared 🙂
So much hard work and creativity!

Megan Parsons - I tweeted: https://twitter.com/mustangmeg6/status/380395139874582528
makeighleekyleigh at yahoo dot com

Megan Parsons - I like your facebook page: Megan McGowan Parsons

Megan Parsons - HAPPILY EVER AFTER KEEPSAKE is my favorite!

amber burger - shared on facebook 🙂

Kari Gates - Hi Julie…it’s me again…I shared your giveaway on facebook with ALL my friends 🙂

Kari Gates - I liked your page on facebook 🙂

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