Hope Ladder for Chronic Pain, Depression or Suffering

  

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in

spirit.

Psalm 34:18

My Inspiration for a Hope Ladder

So, this post is going to deviate from my usual posts about Bible journaling. This post is a download for anyone who needs a "hope ladder". I got the idea from a video my older daughter shared with me. It was posted by a YouTuber called Martina. From what my two daughters tell me, Martina and her hubby, Simon, travel and share their adventures in the form of videos.

*Disclaimer: I am in NO WAY associated with Simon and Martina. However, I do share something in common with her, and that is chronic pain. I won't go into my story, but if you suffer from chronic pain, depression, etc., this video is VERY motivating and inspiring. Martina shares her real, raw feelings here, and I just loved it.
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Watch Martina's AWESOMELY INSPIRING video here:

*Caution there is one brief swear word in the video.
http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/an-open-talk-about-my-depression/

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 So....What is a Hope Ladder? 

 

In her video, Martina describes it as a way to pull yourself out of darkness. And that is what I had in mind when I designed it! Of course, she was talking figuratively about how small experiences, like learning to knit or going to a café, can help pull you out of your dark pit. And if these experiences make life joyful and hopeful, then why not keep them where you can see them and think about them? Hence, the Hope Ladder!

 

You can print the sides of the ladder and then add rungs as you go! You can put them on your wall and use them to record:

• your adventures
• good memories
• happy thoughts
• inspiring Bible verses
• photos
• ticket stubs

Whatever you like to help remind you that life is still fun and beautiful and worth living. <3
 

 

Print Your Own Hope Ladder

Below is the "hope ladder" for you to print and build with your own memories. I wanted to make it available to everyone. Here's how to do it:

1. Click on the pictures one at a time.
2. Then right click to "save picture as."
3. Save them to your computer and print as many as you want!

Choose from the plain wood, or the more colorful designs. Or mix and match. :) 

These photos are of me and my family in 2014 in Colorado... the last vacation we took before my chronic foot pain began, before walking became almost impossible for me. Before my life was turned upside down.
I miss the "old" me that could hike for miles, and ride horses, and raft rivers, and climb mountains.
But I know these light and momentary troubles won't last. :) There is still so much good, so much to hope for and hold onto.

 

Enjoy! And remember, there is hope. You are not alone. I've spent nights crying out to God, tears streaming down my face, clutching my body in pain. But I've also spent days laughing until I cry, and enjoying the people who love me, the taste of delicious foods, the feel of  the sun on my face, and the beautiful world around me!

Life has its bad days, yes, and sometimes our minds and feelings trick us. But don't lean on your own understanding. Remember there is a God who loved you enough to die for you. His joy comes in the morning. Hang in there. Climb another rung on your ladder. And if you're too tired, lean on Him.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have PEACE. In this world you will have trouble. But TAKE HEART! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

 

*Also, you can learn to make origami butterflies here:

https://youtu.be/60noHyyLDBE

 

 

Here are the rungs of the ladder. At the very bottom are the sides. Print your favorites!

 

These are the sides of the ladder. Print as many as you need.
Overlap them to make it as tall as you want!



Bible Journaling Using Gelatos

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit...
Acts 2:4

So, I finally did it. I finally broke down and ordered some Faber-Castell Gelatos. I have no idea what they are, but the idea of combining pretty paints and dessert sounded good to me. Plus, I've seen them pop up time and again on Pinterest.

Here's the skinny on Gelatos:

They come in tubes that remind me A LOT of Lip Smackers. If you've ever wanted to paint a picture using your lip balm, then these are for you. Seriously, though, Gelatos have an effect a lot like watercolor, but without the messy bleed-through.

I kind of love them.

When I sat down at the kitchen table this morning and opened my journaling Bible, I didn't have much of a plan. So, I found a good verse to read about and then went straight to art. I drew a lovely little doodle of a crown and some words with it.

I'll admit I didn't meditate as much as I should have. I was in such a hurry to try my gelatos, I kind of lost track of the real point of Bible journaling, which is to make the word of God personal in a beautiful, colorful way. (At least, that's how I use it.)

So, it's not surprising my first attempt was a fail. As I picked up my gelatos, I realized they are not really useful on tiny details, which this doodle had. They are very pretty for larger images or background color, though.

Attempt #2

I slowed down a bit and did a little research on Pinterest to find some ideas. Then I tried out my gelatos on paper to see how they interacted with each other, with water, with blending, with pencil on top and beneath.

How Gelatos interact with pencil and water and blending.

Then I turned to Acts.

I decided to use my Gelatos to try to capture the fire of the Holy Spirit.

I cut a heart out of paper and quite boldly put the gelato onto the page and just kind of winged it. I scribbled around the edges, using the heart as negative space. *Lesson learned here: take the lids of your gelatos and have them ready if you decide to do this. I had to hold my paper heart in place with one hand while trying to take off lids with the other. A bit tricky.

After I'd scribbled over the heart with my gelatos, I then wet a brush (they come with one in the package) and tried a little blending (with paper behind my page to stop bleed-through). I also tried blending with the squishy and not-so-squishy blending sponges (also included with the gelatos).

Gelatos = No bleeding through the Bible page!

HOW LONG DO GELATOS TAKE TO DRY?

I don't know how long these take to "cure". I don't say "dry" because they're not really wet. They are kind of like squishy crayons. They were "dry" to the touch shortly after use. The only "wet" parts were places where I'd put the gelatos on too thick. Still, I'm leaving my Bible open tonight. Tomorrow I'll close it and then update this post of the Gelatos leave marks on the opposite page. Sound good? :)

Update** Gelatos seem to dry fairly quickly. They're not really "wet" to start with, so if you leave your Bible open for an hour or two, I don't think you'll have too much trouble with smudging or transferring to the opposite page when you close it. However, I let mine stay open for a few hours just to be safe. :)

FINAL EVALUATION OF GELATOS:

• They are like painting with tubes of lip balm, only much brighter
• They blend nicely with or without water (some people say to use a baby wipe to blend)
• They look like watercolor paint when blended
• They do not bleed through thin Bible pages! Hooray!
• Bible words DO show up beneath Gelatos
• They DO work OVER Micron pen, but smudge over pencil
• Pencil DOES write on top of Gelatos!
• Not great for tiny details, more for use as background color or large images
• Do they need time to "dry"? The jury is still out on this.
• Fun and pretty to use!

 *Note: I dated my Bible entry wrong. This doodle was done on February 1, 2017. LOL!