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Tag Archives: Life Verse Design
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Today marks my hubby’s last day as a neuro-cardiac ICU nurse. What this means is big changes for our family. A chapter of our lives has closed.
About 5 1/2 years ago, my hubby took a 2 year sabbatical from his anatomy-physiology teaching job to pursue his life long dream to do something clinical with all of that head knowledge and he got his masters level degree in nursing. It seemed to be a perfect fit: he is an amazing teacher & nurses are known for truly teaching you how to take care of yourself and compassionately help you through your hardest times. His personality and passion fit the bill. He then spent one full year working 2 — YES, TWO—full time jobs: teaching days & nursing nights. 7. days. a. week. {needless to say, it was not a fun year & anyone who met him at this time, I just feel sorry for as you did not get to know the real Sam.}
His amazing boss allowed him to go part time at the year mark, and then extended her graciousness to allow him to work 1—12 hour shift a week for the last year. All the while he has been teaching full time & recently added to his responsibilities department chair of the biology department. {throughout this process, he determines that teaching remains a passion & the ability to train up hundreds of nurses a year is a big vision for him in his career—to be able to influence the masses.}
As you can tell, it’s been a very “full” 5+ years, but with the busyness comes emptiness and you begin to wonder: do I work to live or live to work?! He has been wrestling with this for months. I was against him quitting, wanting all of this craziness to be “worth it” in the end & wanting him to be a nurse as he is GREAT, but then again, I am also sick of seeing my hubby work so much & stressed & missing out on LIFE.
Another influence was his patients themselves. They are unfortunately on their death beds & do you know what message they gave my hubby week by week? Spend as much time with your family as possible. ENJOY life. {These words coming while he’s missing the girls soccer games & our sons cello concerts, etc…} Not one of them told him, “I just wish I would have worked more!”
We are both so grateful to God for allowing us the privilege to actually have the freedom to pursue our dreams. We recognize most people do not have this option and are bound by money or debt or other limitations that do not allow them to just go for it. We are also thankful that this whole endeavor was never about money. It always made me so sad when people would comment how we must really be “rolling in it now” or “double dipping” as they obviously do not know our hearts nor know how we value our money. In fact, we essentially did not see a penny from all of his work. Rush University on the other hand saw a LOT of those pennies 🙂 but not us. This pursuit was always about fulfilling dreams and helping others.
I hope in the months to come my hubby truly slows down and feels refreshed. I also hope that someday God will open another door for him to use all of these nursing skills. The notes from patients and families have meant the world to us and made this all worth it. Nurses are truly amazing people who pour out their lives in order to humbly serve others.
Thanks for listening!
Grace & Peace,
Julie
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Remember a couple weeks ago when I shared my heart about the importance of Scripture art in your home?
Well, I have some good news for you:
Because I am SO PASSIONATE about getting Scripture art in your home, I am offering a buy one get one FREE sale on any 8×10 fine art print in my shop {sorry: no custom work included}, www.lifeversedesign.com + FREE SHIPPING on all orders. No coupon code needed. At check out in the special instructions box, just write in the name and color scheme of the art you would like for free.
Offer good now through Monday, January 26 on 8×10 fine art prints only.
You may use the offer as many times as you like & please pass it along to a friend!
Also, I am guest blogging today over on Forthefamily.org & discussing creative ways to get Scripture into your child’s heart. Please join me there!
Grace & Peace,
Julie
I discovered the importance of having Scripture art in my home about 7 years ago when I was pregnant with my third child. You see, I was chasing two toddlers and very sick throughout my pregnancy which basically led to what I call “mommy-mush brain”. I was studying Beth Moore’s Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit and I could NOT even memorize the fruit of the Spirit! That condition plus no real quality devotional times led me to put sticky notes with Scripture around my house so that I would consistently get glimpses of God’s Word throughout my day. Since I am a designer and photographer, I then decided to use my gifts to create Scripture art for the home as I could not find options out there that suited my style. Over the past several years of meditating on and creating Scripture art as a personal act of worship, I see more and more why it is so important to have it on display in your home and here are 3 reasons why:
1. Scripture displayed in your home is actually a Biblical concept. In the book of Deuteronomy right after Moses gives the greatest command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength, he follows it up by telling His people to write the commands on the door frames of their homes. Why? So that the commands {or truth} surrounds them, is in their face, and is visually before their children. Scripture art in your home is also a powerful witness or statement of your beliefs immediately displayed to all who enter your home. It is a powerful testimony of your faith and an easy way to get into conversations with your neighbors about what you believe.
2. Scripture Art is a constant {and beautiful} reminder of truth, encouragement or admonishment. I LOVE having Scripture on the walls of my home. As I brush my teeth every morning, I look to the left and see Proverbs 3:5-6 and am reminded to trust God with my day. When I am doing the dishes and quite honestly might be exhausted or crabby, I look to Colossians 3:17 and am reminded to do ALL things in the name of Jesus {while giving THANKS, mind you!}. At the end of the day, I gaze upon one of my favorite pieces, Zephaniah 3:17, for so often the battle in my mind tells me I’m not good enough, not truly loved, or cherished. God uses this verse and the emotion of the image to redirect my heart towards His truth and cling to His promises.
3. Scripture art is a powerful tool to teach your children about God. Not all of you may be visual like I am, but I guarantee you your children are! Just think about children’s picture books, television, or computers for that matter. Your kids are being bombarded with images every day. Throughout history, the church has used art to illustrate the Bible—think stained glass windows which spoke truth to illiterate generations. So, to display Scripture art in your home tells your children several things. First of all, it shows them in a physical way that the Bible is an important part of your family’s foundation. Secondly, it displays God’s Word before their eyes and hearts. Third, it draws them into the Bible in a way that may uniquely connect with their personalities and visually savvy generation.
The bottom line to me is the fact that Scripture art in my home is of the utmost importance because I do not have an open Bible in every room of my house, but I can have His powerful and living Word up on my walls!
I would love to hear why Scripture art is important to YOU! And what Scriptures have ministered to you the most?
Grace & Peace,
Julie
Dear Friends, Family, & Faithful Customers,
Merry Christmas from the bottom of our hearts!
We hope you’ve had a wonderful year & experience the true joy of Christmas.
Now, enjoy some out takes… can you tell who is the ham of the family?!
{photos courtesy of a tripod + a remote clicker in my hubby’s hand}
I seriously cannot even remember what was happening here or what possessed my kiddos.
I know there was something about “playing” their letters as instruments &
how Sunshine Girl turned that into ninja moves is beyond me {& yet really no surprise at all!}
Here’s a brief year wrap up:
Hubby: Anatomy/Physiology Teacher, Biology Departmental Chair, part time Neuro-Cardio nurse, worship leader, best hubby & Daddy Bear ever
Me: Wife, Mommy, Photographer, Creative Director of Life Verse Design, book designer for Tyndale House Publishers, soccer coach x2 girls’ teams, Bible study leader
My Favorite Little Mister: 11 years old, 6th grade, piano player, cello player, origami master, Lego Mindstorms enthusiast, Lego builder, creating something constantly, book worm
Sunshine Girl: 9 years old, 4th grade, piano player, soccer, volleyball, athlete {basically she would do every sport if I let her!}, comic enthusiast {ask her anything, she will know}, book worm {she’s my one who is “too busy reading Nancy Drew to have a playdate”}
Pumpkin Poos: 7 years old, 1st grade, soccer player, dancer, singer {spoiler alert: can you say karaoke in our near future?! ahhhh!}, artist, pretend play constantly {teacher, restaurant owner, librarian, mommy}, Frozen enthusiast, book worm
Highlight of the year was definitely our camping trip to Yellowstone, Tetons, Badlands, & Mount Rushmore. It’s also been fun watching the kids grow & though there have been struggles, we trust they will bloom into who they are meant to be.
Merry Christmas again!
Grace & Peace,
Julie
Well, HELLO THERE! Long time no talk, eh? There is a good reason for that… it’s been my busiest season yet & I am so grateful, humbled & honored to be providing you with meaningful gifts & memorable photography.
My kids LOVE Christmas. The excitement over here is quite high & we’ve had loads of fun decorating, baking, shopping {ahem. my least favorite thing in the world}, wrapping, singing & dancing. Above you will see their gingerbread houses. First year we have ever done gingerbread houses & one of the best parts to my hubby was the fact that these sugar filled beauties were not created inside our home, but rather at a local architecture firm who generously hosted the event. It was SO COOL… so fun in fact that we stayed for 3 full hours building & decorating! The architects had cut rectangles, squares & triangles out of styrofoam and then gave you a sleeve {or 2!} of crackers & you went to town. Then there was an entire table filled with bowls of candy. It was fun to watch the kids’ personalities & creativity come through.
My Favorite Little Mister actually won the contest & his house was fully landscaped & thought out to the “T”. {He already has plans for next year!} {I wish the prize was a one-on-one mentoring session with an architect so he can really see how they work! But, I’ll probably just knock someday & ask if one of them can share with my son their knowledge.}
My Sunshine Girl was very intricate & reminded me of a Swiss chalet with so many of the unique triangle pieces used & of course, she was the one who was constantly giving help to her siblings.
Pumpkin-Poos designed a castle {of course!} I think her design was the largest of all we saw!
Last weekend we spent the day baking. Every year we do cut out cookies & peanut butter kisses for Daddy Bear. It was fun. I think it was the first year I did not end up yelling or frustrated, so you know, that is a success right there. The older they get, the more fun!
That ADORABLE plate is courtesy of my good friend Sara over at Sarah and Abraham who creates THE CUTEST personalized gifts for your entire family. You can head on over, choose a product & build your child’s likeness. We also have plates, bowls, & pillows for the kiddos & they TRULY love them. {Thanks again Sara!}
I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. Next up… Christmas pictures!!!
Grace & Peace,
Julie
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Barb Bezanson Wrought - Julie – You and Sam are amazing people! Love this entry in your blog. I am glad that Sam will have more time to spend with you and the kids. That is very important. Those times cannot be replaced. Nurses like him are also very special. Please give each other a hug for me! (( )) Love, in Christ, Barb