let’s count it all joy

welcome!

Welcome to June!

This month, we are looking at PRAYER. In many ways, this month’s mailer feels like a continuation of last month’s theme - Casting Our Cares on God. Not all prayers are casting cares, but many times they are. I love that we get some continuity here.

Prayer is a big topic for one little mailer of art and a few paragraphs of text to attempt to encompass. Instead of covering it all, I’ve chosen a few main ideas that I wanted to lean into:

Prayer is a conversation between you and God. We need to leave room for God in our prayers. A conversation requires two parties. This means we need to listen and look for His guidance. We need to give Him space to respond. We need to give Him time to respond. His response is often very different from what we might expect or plan and always happens in His own perfect timing.

Answered prayers can serve as personal altars. Prayers that have been answered remind us of God’s goodness and faithfulness. When I notice my prayers being answered, I am fueling my faith and my confidence in God. I am reminded that He listens and attends to the voice of my prayer. (Psalm 66:19)

We can bless others by praying for them. We can also strengthen our own faith and our relationship with God by praying for others. Take some time to add the concerns of others to your prayer lists and offer them up to God.

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Some words about the artwork in this month’s mailer:

I didn’t work to create a consistent artistic theme through this month’s artwork outside of color continuity. BUT, there is a consistent purpose for the art in this month’s mailer.

My biggest hope is that the artwork in this month’s mailer will serve as a reminder for you to pray. I hope that you will let it surround you - a piece on your fridge, one on your mirror, one tucked into your Bible or used as a bookmark, the printable prayer page (found below) on your bedside table, etc.

I love talking to God. I always feel a sense of peace after I slow down and talk to Him. And even more so when I remember to pause and listen. But that doesn’t mean that I do it often enough. As I share in the video below, I’m using this art to serve as reminders for

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Your mailer includes prints and stickers that I hope will bring your faith and your joy in Jesus to mind whenever you see or use them. More than anything, I would love for you to USE the goods from this mailer - to weave them into your projects and your personal devotions, to add color to your spaces, or to gift them to others and in so doing pass on Jesus’ love.

printable

I created a printable prayer page for you to keep a running list of prayer requests as well as a daily or weekly sheet to encourage you to spend time in praise, confession, and thanksgiving. I designed the sheets to fit into your PRAY folder with the idea of keeping the folder with your regular Bible Study items.

on this special “subscribers only” page, you will find:

• A video showing the ways I’ve used the products in this month’s mailer.

• A printable prayer sheet.

• Some additional quotes on casting our cares on the Lord.

• A verse and scripture-section list.

• Images showcasing the ways I used the products.

• Journaling prompts.

• A prayer.

• Links to all supporting supplies that I used (sketchbooks, frames, art supplies, etc.). Please note that many, but not all of the supply links are affiliate links. And if I missed anything you are curious about, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask.

PROJECT VIDEO

VERSEs

Psalm 17:6

Jeremiah 29:12

Matthew 6:5-15

Matthew 26:41

Ephesians 6:18

Philippians 4:6-7

Colossians 4:2

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

1 Timothy 2:1-4

James 4:3

James 5:13

1 John 5:14-15

quotes on prayer

Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference. -Max Lucado

I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all; -but whatever I placed in God’s hands, that I still possess. -Martin Luther

What wings are to a bird, and sails to a ship, so is prayer to the soul. -Corrie Ten Boom

God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer. - Mother Teresa

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh, what needless pain we bear - all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. -Joseph Scriven (What A Friend We Have in Jesus Verse 1)

Let us never forget to pray. God lives. He is near. He is real. He is not only aware of us but cares for us. He is our Father. He is accessible to all who will seek Him. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I think we have to pray in faith and with belief that His nos are always a providential yes to something else. — Melissa Kruger

We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. — Oswald Chambers

We never know how God will answer our prayers, but we can expect that He will get us involved in His plan for the answer. If we are true intercessors, we must be ready to take part in God’s work on behalf of the people for whom we pray. — Corrie ten Boom

Through praying the Psalms, I just realized that prayer is so much about who God is. And so much about reminding myself who God is in the midst of whatever I’m going through. So as cliche as it sounds, the Psalms have been really pivotal in my understanding of prayer. — Jasmine Holmes

We pray in Jesus's name—which is typically what we say at the end of the prayer to close—because we're acknowledging the reality of the gospel: that there is no way we can come to the Father, plead before the throne, even call him Father, without the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. — Emily Jensen

Those who pray well are honest, vulnerable, frustrated, hopeful, learning, and most of all they are listeners. — Scot McKnight

Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of Containing God's gift of himself. - Mother Theresa

Be still, my soul, before the Lord, for God is always near. Before your mind is moved to pray, God listens and will hear. You need not multiply your words nor pray with practiced art. Beyond all speech, God understands the hunger of your heart. - Herman G Stueple, Jr. (Be Still, My Soul, before the Lord Verses 1 and 2)

journaling prompts

I process my thoughts (and pray!) through writing. Perhaps you do too. If this is something you haven’t tried before, I would encourage you to give it a go. Sometimes, a little prompt is all it takes to get started.

1. I find it easy to pray when…

2. I find it difficult to pray when…

3. Explore your physical reaction following prayer.

4. Rewrite a favorite scripture as a prayer. Here’s an example.

5. Make a list of life areas you would like to regularly cover in prayer.

6. Write out a prayer of confession. If you’re uncomfortable writing down specifics in your journal, write them on a piece of paper and then destroy it, knowing that Jesus has removed your sins as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12)

7. Copy a meaningful prayer that someone else has written.

8. Record answered prayers - from the past or starting with the present.

9. Rewrite the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) in your own words.

10. How do you like to pray? Is there a certain place or posture you prefer? Do you feel more comfortable praying aloud, writing your prayers, or praying inside your head? Do you pray on the go or only when you pause? Do you have regular prayer times or do you pray more spontaneously?

SUPPLIES I USED alongside THIS MONTH’S MAILER CONTENTS

Journals:

EMSHOI dotted journal (my commonplace book journal)

Other ephemera used in my journal - from my currently on-hiatus 100 Day Project (100 Days of Joyful Printables!) and washi tape from Illustrated Faith and Vanessa Walker Designs

Art Journaling Supplies:

Favorite new permanent pen.

Here is a list of my favorite and most-often used art journaling supplies.

Frames:

Frame used above.

Other frames I have used and would recommend can be found on my Amazon shop framing page.

If there’s something I missed, don’t hesitate to ask!