Ladies, I asked a special favor of Abby this week . . . a picture.
Abby is the creative one behind all printed and published materials for our church and, well, I’m like the unashamedly proud aunty. I am delighted, and, yes, sometimes mystified by her creative talents . . . How does she come up with these remarkable graphics? So as we were considering how to close out our four-verse memorization of Psalm 73.23-26, I thought we all might appreciate a little insight into how Abby is inspired in her work for the Lord.
You have probably heard the phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Apparently, over the years there has been a great deal of confusion over who originally said it. It has been misattributed to the philosopher, Confucius, and labeled as a Chinese proverb. However, the phrase is credited to Arthur Brisbane in 1911. Brisbane, a newspaper editor, used the phrase in an article to encourage the use of imagery in advertising.
In 1921 journalist, Fred R. Barnard, wrote an article titled, “One Look is Worth A Thousand Words” encouraging the use of pictures on streetcars. Six years later Barnard used the phrase “One picture is worth ten thousand words” in another article. As it turns out he actually started the rumor that the phrase was a Chinese proverb. Apparently, he thought that would encourage people to take the idea seriously.
Well, wherever this phrase came from, pictures do in fact help us communicate and remember ideas. And when you read through the Psalms and Proverbs you find an overwhelming number of word pictures. You can’t help but visualize the authors’ descriptions of their feelings and of who God is. Those visuals help make the scriptures relatable and applicable. And while we with our finite minds will never completely understand or know who God is, these pictures help us piece together how great God is and how much he loves us.
Here is a little look behind the curtain into my design process. When Dad (Pastor Lincoln) and I start working on these Psalms and Proverbs workbooks, he gives me a list of all the verses he thinks would make good drawings. It’s like an intense game of Pictionary.
Some of them are easy, I read through them and I know exactly what to draw for example: Psalm 69:1 “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.” You can imagine the psalmist treading water just trying to keep his head above the water while he calls for help.
Sometimes he picks really hard ones like this one: Psalm 70:4 ‘May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”’
Colleen has been encouraging us to memorize Psalm 73.23-26 over the last couple of weeks. Today we are working on the last verse, verse 26. So, to help you remember it let’s make a drawing. (I can’t stand my dad’s name for the drawings! Verse-A-Doodle is incredibly insulting!!!)
Psalm 73.26
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Has there been an image during this study that has been meaningful to you or helped you see God in a new way? It doesn’t have to be one from the workbook, there are so many word pictures in the Psalms and Proverbs it would take a lifetime to draw them all.
-Abby
Psalm 73.23-26
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
My thanks to Abby! My great thanks to the Lord for His work amongst us, caring for us and strengthening our hearts. Blessings, Colleen