By now you may have noticed that rather than camping out in eight different topics, there really has been a lot of overlap and integration between each chapter. As you look back at the different journal pages you created do any themes emerge?
Or like me praying through the ACTS acronym at night, have there been any application ideas that the Lord keeps giving you?
As this course draws to a close, I suggest you take a bit of extra time and go back and review each of your drawings as well as your applications through the past eight weeks. You know how with weight loss programs they often have people take before and after pictures? It really can be a great encouragement to take time to consider in what way is your life different after having gone through these past eight weeks focusing on your identity in Christ?
If you have time, creating a summary page can really help you remember the key thing the Lord has been teaching you through this!
But there’s an even greater benefit than what you get from looking backwards – and that’s how this can motivate you to keep moving forward. And help provide insight for the next step(s) the Lord has for you to take in your journey. You see, embracing our identity in Christ is a lifetime journey.
As Jerry Bridges emphasizes, it is so key we learn to preach the gospel to ourselves daily – and remembering who we truly are in Christ is a key part of this! So what can help you continue to remember these truths on a daily basis?
I have found passing on what I’ve learned, sharing it with someone, can be a great way to keep remembering and learning and embracing these truths on an increasingly deeper level. During the past three months I have practically been living, sleeping, eating, breathing these truths as I’ve been doing them with nearly everyone I meet with. And considering one usually gets out of something what one puts into it, I am so excited as I keep growing in response! Each time I read and art journal these chapters I’ve been getting something different out of them and previous lessons become even more entrenched into my thinking and my heart! Like a diamond, there are many facets to each aspect of our identity in Christ.
So don’t let this be the end of your journey!
It’s not hard at all to duplicate what we’ve done here in your one on ones with people you meet with. You don’t even need the videos!
When I meet with someone to do this one on one, we pray, then read through the chapter together underlining with a colored pencil what stands out to us (it usually takes about 15 minutes to read the chapter aloud together), then we go over to a table and create a page representing the key thing that stood out to us. Finally, we share our pages and applications and pray together. This usually takes an hour and a half, though I have done it creating a quick, simple page in an hour.
So one final application could be to ask the Lord to bless you with the opportunity to pass on to someone else what we’ve been doing here.
Another idea is to go back through your art journaling pages and write up a summary for each page explaining why you created it the way you did – can this ever help to solidify and pull together what the Lord’s been teaching you.
Or the Lord may give you a completely different idea for what your next step should be! Please do feel free to share your final thoughts in the comment section below! And may we all continue to keep growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, embracing with all of our hearts and daily living out who we truly are in Christ for His glory!
Your sister in Christ,
deb
Who Am I? 
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