{Count Your} Blessings Journal

For my project this week for Word Art Wednesday, I chose to make a Blessings Journal.  Our verse this week is Proverbs 14:26 which says, "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence:  and his children shall have a place of refuge." To me, the Lord giving me a place of refuge, a place of safety, is an awesome blessing.

This little journal (approx. 4" x 6" - purse sized) is a place to record the special things the Lord does in our lives.  Sometimes that's an answered prayer, sometimes it's something He does before we even pray about it, and sometimes, it those things we realized His hand of protection kept from us.  Another way to use this journal is to write down 10 things every day for which we are thankful (no repeating from day to day is allowed).  Why write these things down?  Because, just like the children of Israel in the Old Testament, we are too quick to forget all that the Lord has done for us.  During times of discouragement, we can re-read our entries and see all the ways the Lord has helped us and blessed us in the past.  Because we KNOW that He is faithful, we know He will continue to care for us in the future.

I covered the journal covers (inside and out) with patterned paper.  I added some ribbon and a flower to the front.  In case it is carried in a purse, I tried to keep it flat so that it will remain pretty while being used.  a few brads were added for accents on the flower and title die cut.  I used white and pink gel pens for accenting both die cuts and the patterned paper.  This is a simple project that makes a great gift.  It's going to end up in the hands of one of the young mothers at our church -- she has 3 little girls so I think the flip flops and girlie colors will be perfect for her.

Supplies:
Journal - Mead
Cardstock - Georgia Pacific, Bazzill
Patterned Paper - The Paper Studio
Tools/Embellishments - flowers (Bazzill), brads (Making Memories), ribbon (The Paper Studio, Really Reasonable Ribbon), Sakura Gelly Roll pen (pink), Uniball Signo Broad pen (white), Fiskars border punch (Apron Lace), Spellbinders (Petite Oval Small, Petite Scalloped Oval Large, Floral Oval, Classic Oval Large)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Shopping Our Stash #103 - Graduation/Anniversary OR Use something at least 2 years old (the flowers and brads have been in my stash approx 3-4 years)
Tuesday Throwdown #149 - Inspired by your favorite book (The Bible is my all-time favorite book.)
Craft Room Challenge - Use Your Scraps (all the papers used on this journal were scraps left over from other projects)
Terrifically Thrilling Thursday (Shelly's Images) - Anything Goes
Crafty Ribbons Challenge - Anything Goes (must use ribbon)
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Be sure to stop by the Word Art Wednesday blog to not only see what the rest of the Design Team made but also to get your free WordArt of this week's focus verse.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you have a fantastic week and, even if you don't write them down,  remember to Count Your Blessings.

Edited to add:  I just found out this qualifies for the Gift Challenge on Moxie Fab World.  You can check out all the details on this blog post.