Illustrated Faith | Jeremiah 29:11

I'm up on the Illustrated Faith Blog today, and wanted to stop in and share with you here!  I've been going through the Brave Devotional by Emily Karwoski, and on Day 2 the words Grand Plan caught my attention.  I'm a planner.  I always have been, for as long as I can remember.  I remember packing a week in advance for a vacation and having a check list to make sure I had everything I needed for the trip.  As I've gotten older (much older!), I've realized that my plans don't always work out the way I think they should.  And when that happens, it usually leads to disappointment and frustration.  

Emily's words in the Brave Devotional immediately brought Jeremiah 29:11 to mind.  It's a verse I've known and committed to memory a good many years ago.  "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (ESV)  So it makes me wonder why I don't always live like I believe that God's got it all under control.  It kind of reminds me of the scenario with your kids...don't touch the stove, because it's hot.  I don't know about your kids, but mine are most definitely going to touch it, even though I told them it was hot.  I am the same way.  I want to know for myself, right now, on my terms.  What if God's plan for me isn't my plan for me, what if He doesn't tell it to me right now, what if I have to do something I don't want to do?  And let me just answer those questions for myself right now...yep, that's pretty much how it's going to happen! 

I know from many years of experience, that when I try to plan my life, it somehow manages to end up as a small catastrophe.  And I do have the reminders and moments to look back on in my life, when I've followed God's plans and how they have been just what I needed, just when I needed it.  But I still have those temporary amnesia moments, when I think okay, I think I've got things figured out and I'll just handle this life stuff all by myself.  

But I am thankful that God does send us those reminders of His faithfulness.  When I sat down to the devotional, I didn't even plan (see what I did there?) to work on Jeremiah 29:11.  But that's where God spoke to me.  Someone else could take away something totally different from Day 2, but God knows what we need to hear and when we need to hear it. 

I really wanted to highlight the verse illustrating it with a mix of typography, hand-writing and water colors.  I wanted it to be BOLD and stand out, as a reminder that it's okay to plan, but to make sure that my plans line up with God's plans for me!

Supplies:

Be Brave Devotional
Illustrated Faith/Bella Blvd. Genesis Kit
Water colors
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Amy Tan Stamp
HS Black Color Shine

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