Scrapbooking Bible Study: CHOOSE JOY Session 4

Hey Scrappers!
I hope you had a chance to really dig in to your life experiences as well as Scripture last week for your layouts.  It was a heavier bit of material, indeed, but in breaking us down, God has a chance to mold us and build us up to something even better, stronger, and more amazing.  I saw this quote last week that I thought was applicable:

He yearns for us to look to HIM for comfort, support, knowledge, advice, wisdom, and solace.  He is eager to use us to demonstrate his love and power.

For my layouts this week, I chose to chronicle our sons' birth defects of bilateral club feet.  When both Jack and Luke were born, their little feet were all turn in like little flippers!

(Jack's Feet)

(Luke's Feet)

  When you've got a Dad who LOVES sports and a Mom who was a dancer in high school and college, it's hard to imagine how these little "crooked" feet could be healed.  But God put so many things in place for us!!  Googling bilateral club feet back in 2000 led us to a LOCAL couple who were blogging their story.  They met with us and connected us with a skilled and experienced surgeon at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.  They passed us a special bathtub that we would need to soak off the plaster casts.  They showed us their own son's PERFECT piggies; after just a year of castings and a surgery, their son, Michael, had beautiful, working, "normal" feet! 

The journey from crooked-to-straight feet is long and stressful.  Casts every week for 5 months.  Multiple "heal-cord releases" (which is a nice way of saying the surgeon slices through the Achilles tendon, stretches the ankle, and casts it.  In babies, the two pieces of tendons grow back together, longer!).  We worked with plaster and fiberglass casts as well as foot-braces.  At 9 months, each boy had one LARGE surgery where the doctor cut through the tendons in the ankles, re-positioned the feet with pins, and casted the feet for 10 weeks.  At the end of this process, we had perfect, STRAIGHT, wonderful, kissable feet! ♥

So, here are the layouts I came up with:

Kit is the Thunderstorm Collab from PickleberryPop.  Song lyrics are from Casting Crowns' song, "Praise You In This Storm."

I love the final quote (spoken by our Pastor in a sermon just last weekend - how that for "coincidence?!") that you can NEVER give up on God redeeming your story because God takes the broken pieces and turns them into a beautiful mosaic.

God CAN redeem YOUR story.  No matter what. :)

For Session 4, we are "Finding JOY in Jesus."  

You can download the Study Guide for this Session HERE.

To get you started, I have some Christian Funnies for you...

  

I LOVE the way Proverbs is written in The Message version of the Bible.  The plain-spokenness of it just cracks me up.  Like these Proverbs, for example:

People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed? 

-Proverbs 19:3

Even dunces who keep quiet are thought to be wise; as long as they keep their mouths shut, they're smart. -Proverbs 17:28

and my personal favorite...

Having a fool for a child is misery; it's no fun being the parent of a dolt! 

-Proverbs 17:21

As you work through this week's discussion points, think of Bible stories or verses that make you smile... or even laugh.  Know that God is JOYFUL with even the smallest steps you take towards Him.  Perhaps those baby-steps of faith are something you can scrap?

Remember...

Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

-James 1:12

A very talented lady named Louise Dusing is in my class, and she is a painter.  She took on the challenge of painting "Happy Jesus," and I wanted to share her amazing painting with you..

He came ENJOYING life.  And, He hopes YOU will too. :)

I'm looking forward to seeing your next layouts!

Please join the MagsGraphics Gallery Showcase Group to show them off!

Blessings to you this week!

:) Mags

PS - A few years ago, I taught another Scrapbooking Bible Study based on The "Fruit of The Spirit" and I chronicled our club feet journey for "Patience."  You can read it on my Christian blog, Everyday Places.