The Word Became Flesh

Two of my "loves" have been in the forefront of my mind this week: CBS and Decoupage. I had the privilege of combining them for my most recent art project. Allow me to explain:

CBS is an acronym for Community Bible Study, an interdenominational Bible study for different communities around the country. I have been apart of CBS, directly or indirectly, for 4 years. This past year, the group of ladies I met with every week studied Job, Hebrews, and 1-2 Thessalonians. I have grown so much through these studies and through the relationships I've built in my little group. A major influence on this was my group leader, Cathy.

Cathy is a wife and mom of 3, just like me. The moment I met her, I knew she was going to make a huge impact on my life. Her words are absolutely saturated with grace and humility. God has given her such a gift for hospitality and encouragement. She's really present in conversations--like there's nowhere in the world she'd rather be than with whomever she's engaging with. No matter what is going on in life, there is a feeling that everything is going to be okay when Cathy is in the room. Yesterday was our last day to meet before our summer break, so I wanted to do something special for her. This brings me to the "decoupage" part of this conversation...

I knew I wanted to paint something for her, but had a hard time deciding what to do. Then, I remembered that my daughter had put her Bible in the washing machine a few weeks ago. Don't ask. 

AND I happened to have the materials from my previous project still out on the table, so I decided to decoupage. I carefully tore out the fragile, wrinkly pages of Job, Hebrews and 1-2 Thessalonians and "aged" them. They were glued onto an 8x10 canvas and left to dry. I used oil pastels to create 3 different crosses, then covered everything with a sealant. Here is the finished product:

In creating these crosses, I asked myself this question: If the people addressed in each of these books of the Bible (Job, The Hebrews, and The Thessalonians) were able to create a picture of a cross, what would it look like? I leave it up to you, the observer, to interpret why I chose these 3 designs. 

Coming up with a name was the easy part. "The Word Became Flesh" is taken from several places in the Bible, indicating that Jesus was always with God and that His sacrifice for the sins of mankind is what the entire Bible is centered around. This truth never ceases to amaze me! 

Cathy loved it! Here's the picture I took of her holding her new artwork:

May it always remind her of our sweet little CBS group and, more importantly, of the peace God has made with humanity.