Haggai 2:8-9 & Joshua 24:15 - Praying for Glencoe

“The silver is mine and the gold is mine,” declares the Lord Almighty. “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the Lord Almighty. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the Lord Almighty.’

 - Haggai 2:8-9

Over the last few years I've been regularly visiting Glencoe Outdoor Centre in Scotland - a Christian outward bound-type activity centre. My husband worked there many years ago and has said it's somewhere he wouldn't mind working again, and we got engaged on a visit there in 2013, so it's a special place for both of us.

This week we received an email update from the centre asking for urgent prayer, as a major source of gift income, received since 2011, will cease in the next three months. This gift income has averaged just over £30,000 annually over the past 4 years and its loss appears to make the centre no longer financially viable.  

I journalled this page as I was thinking and praying about the future of the centre as part of a 25 hour prayer day organised by the staff. The verse from Haggai was one of four included in the email, and was the one that jumped out at me the most. The other verse, from Joshua, is one that I've always associated with the centre, and I believe is written underneath a picture of the cente which hangs in its hallway.

The work the centre does with children in particular is wonderful, and it's the only centre that I know of that combines outdoor activities with faith content (although I'm sure there are others). I am praying that God will provide the finances for the centre to continue, the wisdom of the leaders there to know how best to steward the money they get in and whether they need to change the way they do some things in order to be more financially viable, and if the centre does close (although I really hope this won't happen) that God will send along someone with similar aims to continue to work there.

The image I journalled is of the centre itself in watercolour pencils. The green text at the side simply reads 'Lord, please bless Glencoe Outdoor Centre'. The washi tape at the bottom seemed appropriate - Trust in Him - Rejoice in the Lord - God is good.

Joshua 2 - Learning from Rahab

Rahab and the spies
So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
... she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.
‘I know that the Lord has given this land to you ... the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.'
'...we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.’
And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

- Joshua 2 (selected verses)

I decided to look at some of the women of the Bible recently and, although I wasn't intending to journal about them, I did get inspired by the story of Rahab.

I recently bought the Complete Guide to Bible Journaling by Joanne Fink & Regina Yoder and it has pages of templates and ideas in the back. One of them was a town scene with a heart hanging from one of the windows. It reminded me of the story of Rahab hanging the scarlet thread from her window. I copied the image into my Bible and coloured the town in drab colours, making Rahab's house the only bright spot in the image, signifying Rahab's faith in the spies' God.

The lettering reads 'Rahab recognised God, responded and was saved'. I love that Rahab was paying enough attention that she saw something good in the spies, acted to help them, and as a result was saved (and became one of the ancestors of Jesus!). She is also a perfect example of an imperfect person being used for God's purposes, which I love. It's a great reminder that God can use anyone if He chooses to, and that even the most messed up of us can still be saved.

The art was quite simple, but I enjoyed doing it. I used pencil crayons to colour the image and Pitt Artist pens to do the line art and lettering.