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Tag Archives: Scripture Art
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{The Fruit of the Spirit available here}
TODAY ONLY the 8×10 fine art print is HALF PRICE over on my Facebook page!
The following is a re-post of one of my earliest blogs ever, talking about how Life Verse Design all started with this one little piece. Enjoy!
I thought I would tell you the story of how Life Verse Design began. I have a BFA in illustration and have spent my career as a book designer so, photography, design, and illustration are my heart and visually bringing this to life is my passion.
While pregnant with my third child (pumpkin-poos), I was mentally preparing myself for the fact that I would not have much sleep, nor have much focused time during devotions while trying to nurse my newborn and care for 2 other toddlers. In the past when my babies were born, I would handwrite Scripture on notecards and place them around the house so that I was at least able to see God’s Word and think about it through my busy days. It then came to me that since I was a designer, I could do much better than a 3×5 index card, so I started thinking about how I could visually illustrate the verse.
At the same time, I was in a wonderful bible study by Beth Moore focusing on the fruit of the Spirit. We were memorizing Galatians 5:22-23 and I thought it would be nice to design it for myself and my small group. I did and the women encouraged me to sell in the fall craft show at church.
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So, when pumpkin-poos was 6 weeks old, I brought 12 designs to sell at the church craft show and to my joy, they almost sold out! This was a huge encouragement and confirmation that this is something I should pursue, as well as the fact that it was such a natural part of me. So, in March of 2008 I launched my etsy shop selling scripture and inspirational art, and I guess the rest is history!
I saw Beth Moore teach at Tyndale House Publishers {where I formerly worked full time} and I took her the above artwork framed with a note of thanks for the ministry she has done in my life and for so many of my friends. I was not able to give it to her myself, but my friend who is designed So Long Insecurity was able to sneak it to her in the bathroom! I left Tyndale not knowing if she would ever really receive it, and about an hour later while I was crazily feeding the kiddos lunch, I got an “unknown name, unknown number” call (of which I rarely if ever answer) & low & behold it was Beth Moore herself calling me on the way to the airport to thank me for my gift!
I was so deeply encouraged by her words to me; to keep bringing God’s Word in my own, unique way, and she also totally encouraged me in my mommyhood. I am not very “star struck” with many authors or “famous” artists, as I try to keep in mind that they are just real people like you and me, but Beth truly has God’s anointing on her life. Her teaching at Tyndale was amazing and humbling and challenging, and most of all, her heart for God and the depth and passionate love that she exudes is something I just long for more of. So, needless to say, for her to encourage me to press on and keep glorifying my Savior meant a lot.
Grace & Peace,
Julie.jpg)
{best hubby model ever!!! & the kiddos had to dress up too!}
A few years ago, a customer of mine requested that I create Ephesians 6, the chapter about spiritual warfare, for him in my Life Verse style. I wrote it on my “to do” list, thinking that would be a very unique piece to create. The problem remained, where on earth would I get authentic looking armor to create such a cool piece?
I decided to use Facebook to ask people where I could find a suit of armor … I got lots of advice as to where to pick up some local armor and my best lead came from my Tyndale coworker’s wife {whose hubby creates some awesome covers btw} … I cannot believe I did not think of that. For, you see when we are creating fiction covers at Tyndale we sometimes need to rent costumes for those covers.
So, my art director’s advice was to go to a little shop in the burbs called Kult of Athena, where the owners of the shop were experts at armor {and any type of weapons you may be looking for in fact}. The shop rents out to both Disney and Hollywood! He also told me to be sure to take Sam & my favorite little mister, as they would LOVE the store {boy, was he right!}.
After I briefly explained to the store owner how I wanted to visually illustrate the Ephesians 6 passage, he immediately knew exactly what I was looking for. He said for that New Testament era the high Roman guard armor would be authentic to what I need and what Paul would have been referring to in his passage.
My knight in shining armor {aka my hubbalicious} was more than willing to pose for this shoot. He graciously suited up in all the layers (a wool tunic & all) in about 90 degree heat to pose for me. As we previewed the images, he would state how it “needed to look tougher”… oh so fun to get a man’s perspective!
I was really awestruck when viewing the pieces of armor in light of thinking about Paul’s instructions on how we ought to daily suit up to fight the spiritual battle.
put on the full armor of God
{every piece to be fully covered} the belt of truth
{which holds everything together in its proper place} the breastplate of righteousness
{Jesus’ righteousness covering our hearts}
your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
{walk your talk, go & share, be active}
take up the shield of faith
{which extinguishes the fiery arrows of attack}
the helmet of salvation
{protects our mind and thoughts}
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
{the only offensive piece with which to attack with:
the powerful word of God}
The piece that shocked me most was the shield. I guess I always just pictured a shield that you would carry around that covers your chest area, but they were saying at the shop that the shields were HUGE {as you can see from the proportions of my images} and were placed on the ground & then you were almost completely covered. So interesting to think of faith in light of that shield.
I hope I utilize my spiritual armor in a more powerful way in light of this passage.
The art is available here with FREE shipping for a limited time.
Thanks for listening.
Grace & Peace,
Julie
{all art available HERE]
After a longggg, cold winter I felt the urge to add a little color to my collection, so I came up with the new “Blessings & Friendship” set of 4. These are perfect to give to a friend or loved one to let them know how special they are. With Mother’s Day quickly upon us, these would be a great gift for any mom, aunt, grandma, stepmom, or friend as they are sweet enough & yet general enough for anyone!
Here is the rest of my full color series:
I’ve got more goodies up my sleeve… dying to share it all with you, but alas, another day! Come back next week for a FUN Mother’s Day giveaway!
Grace & Peace,
Julie
{Art available HERE in larger sizes}
Psalm 33:20-22
We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
This verse has meant a lot to me and my husband over the years. The first time I remember it “coming to life” {ie: putting this verse into action in our personal real life} was when we walked through our first miscarriage. This Psalm along with Psalm 34 carried us through. We waited with hope in the Lord, not that the baby would come back to life, but that the Lord would bring healing to our hearts and pain. We understood His presence surrounding us like a shield of protection. We trusted in His holy name, not in the situation or circumstances {though we truly could not begin to understand it}. And, ultimately, we felt His beautiful unfailing love amidst such loss and sorrow.
Over the last couple weeks I once again cling to this verse. All around me is sorrow & suffering. We are broken people living in a broken world. My friend just lost her mom to a battle with cancer {of which she fought like a champ, btw!} A 10 year old child at my kids’ school suddenly died last week & our entire community is simply heartbroken.
In the midst of the pain all we can do sometimes is wait.
We wait for God’s comfort to fill us. We wait for redemption of this fallen world. We wait for strength and healing. We wait for Heaven. And it is only because we trust in His holy name and His loving character that we can even begin to have hope amidst our sorrow.
I chose the image of the couch in the field for 2 totally different reasons:
1. That beautiful red velvet couch is where I find rest & peace so often, so to pair it in nature was natural as I also find solace in the outdoors as I drink in the beauty of God’s creation. I am reminded to to hope, find peace, be still & wait.
2. That said, an empty couch in an empty field symbolizes just that: emptiness. So often when we are walking through suffering or a trial and we are so helpless, and a part of us feels empty. Empty of control. Empty of assurance, strength or confidence. Rather we are broken, awaiting His unfailing love to fill that emptiness in a way that only our Lord can do.
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE 4X6 PRINTABLE DOWNLOAD!
CONDITIONS OF USE
All photos and artwork are ©Julie Chen of Life Verse Design. Artwork in the downloadable 4×6 jpeg is free strictly for personal use, not for commercial use. Sharing these photos via Facebook, Pinterest, or your blog is welcome only if you agree provide credit to me as the artist and link back to juliechenphotography.com. Please be respectful and have integrity when choosing to download the free art. By downloading the art, it does not give you the right to sell it digitally nor on print nor in any other format. Thank you for furthering God’s Word in new & fresh ways.
Grace & Peace,
Julie
We are crazy about owls in our house. Ever since My Favorite Little Mister read the Guardians of Ga’hoole series {combined with his love of nature & all things animals}, owls have become a permanent fixture in our home. He still sleeps with “Bubo” his great horned owl and this past weekend when the kids got quite an Easter candy haul, I woke up Sunday morning to his newest owl creation. I LOVE my son’s creativity. It never ends. From music to Legos to origami to drawing to building scenes out of colored rocks and now, CANDY!
He made the owl candy for me and I made the Proverbs 9 owl art for him. It hangs in “Owland” {his bedroom} & I will show you more photos of that at another time. I love you My Favorite Little Mister!
Grace & Peace,
Julie
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7 Years {Pumpkin-Poos Birthday} | Life Verse Design Blog - […] Pumpkin’s life has taught me so much. The first & biggest lesson is that God has bigger & BETTER plans & they are not always our own. {You might call her our love child or our little surprise blessing, ahem.} She’s rocked my world as my “life plan” exploded for the better. It was because of her that Life Verse Design even began. {You can read more about that here.} […]