Category: growth

Self Portrait/ A lesson in how we see ourselves

I originally wrote this lesson back in 2015 and I thought it was a good time to share it again with a little editing, since it was originally done for a women’s Bible study but since then others have asked if they could use it with the men in their church as well.

How we can see ourselves and how God our Heavenly Father can be two very different pictures.

Self Portraits Lesson

Self Portraits / Julie Sheppard

A lesson on how we view ourselves and how God in His Love and Word can transform us. How we see ourselves, and how others see us can be completely different. Then there is how God our Heavenly Father and our Creator sees us. How do these views reflect the other is what this is part of what this lesson teaches.

Taking a good luck at ourselves is not easy for most of us. We can look into a mirror and see our reflection but this is not all that we are. God created each one of us individually and He knows our hearts, our thoughts, and everything else about us. He created each of us with a purpose. We are beautifully and wonderfully made. Each one of us is His masterpiece. Most of us do not see this though. I admit that I do not see what God sees, but through this study, I hope we will have our eyes opened, and that we see who and what were created to be. We are His daughters and His sons. We are His chosen, and we are His bride.  We do not usually see ourselves in the best light. It is time that we see ourselves in the Light of Jesus, which He shines favorably upon us.

The worlds view of women has taught us that we to look a certain way be seen as beautiful. Men are supposed to be rugged and strong to be considered men. TV shows, movies, magazines, and fashion has reinforced this view into our own way of thinking. We are not only guilty of putting each other’s down, we also put ourselves down. If a person doesn’t fit our view of what we think they should be or act, we often criticize gossip and make jokes at the others expense. We may be nice to their face, but slander them behind their back. Let us break this terrible behavior. We are called to love each other. The Word even tells us to go a step further, and to love our enemy! But how can we love, if we do not love ourselves? It is okay to love yourself, because God created us in His love, to be loved.

Will you now take the time and see who you are created to be. In the first part of this four part lesson, we will make a self portrait of ourselves. You do not have to be an artist to do this. This exercise is to be fun and an opportunity to be creative. This is not a pass or fail exercise. Paints, pens, pencils and crayons are usual art supplies, there is also pictures from magazines etc… that you can make a collage. This is an opportunity to show off your creativity, and to take a look at ourselves in a new way. When you have completed your portrait take some thought and think of a scripture(s) or a person in the Bible you can relate your portrait to. You can write as many scriptures as you would like. One thing if you want to get something more than an arts and crafts lesson. I do hope you will be honest with yourself as you do these lessons so that you can really get something from them.

Lesson one

Draw, paint, or make a collage of how you see yourself. Remember to be honest to yourself in this portrait and the others in the following lesson. This may be the hardest of the lessons. No matter how you see yourself it is okay. I am hoping by the end of these lessons that you will see yourself in a new light. When you are done with this portrait, see if you can find any scriptures to go with it. Most Bible studies or life groups meet once a week, so I suggest that in the first week you create your portraits, and follow up the next week by sharing them and any scriptures in a loving a supportive way with each other. This should be done with each portrait making this lesson eight weeks long if to get the most out of this lesson.

Example

In this first picture, I see myself alone in the darkness even though I know God is there.

Isaiah 49:14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me.”

The second is a collage.

Lesson two

The second lesson is not going to be much different than the first lesson except this portrait will be one to portray how we think the world sees us as. We may say we do not care about what others think of us, but if we are honest with ourselves we do care. Sometimes this can cause  our view of ourselves to diminish. This can keep us from doing what God has called us to do, because we are afraid of being judged, this can also cause us to harshly judge others out of this fear. (Strike first) So this lesson is to get us beyond that fear of being judged and criticized. Once your portrait for this lesson is done, think of someone in the Bibles who makes you think of this portrait. Then ask yourself does their story reflect how you feel you are seen by others? Discuss with another if they see you as this portrait or not.

Lesson three

The third part of our lesson is to do a portrait of one of someone else in your group. Names will be put into a bag and each one of us will pick a name from this bag. This is not an easy exercise, because of how we may feel that we are viewed.  Yet one rule to this lesson is we will not be tearing each other down. This is a lesson in how we can build each other up. To show the other person the beauty, strength and value that they may not see in themselves.  Here we will also learn some truth about ourselves we didn’t know about before. This will also reinforce that we do not need to fear judgment and criticism. Just as in the previous lessons choose a scripture or person in the Bible who reflects this portrait. If you are not sure of what this portrait should look like pray and let God’s Holy Spirit guide you. You may even choose you scripture or biblical person first. Remember to build your sister or brother up. Make sure to stay away from all things negative.  Remember the saying a picture can speak a thousand words? So let us watch our words. Speak LIFE! When you have completed this portrait and added the scriptures or person from the Bible present it to the person you made this portrait of. In this you will both be blessed. The following week discuss the reason for your choices in making this portrait, the scriptures or person from the Bible that made you think of this person. Then ask the person if they can now see themselves in this way.

Lesson four;

The best lesson is for last. This portrait is how God our Father sees us. His view of us is so much better than what we see ourselves as.  It is time to see ourselves through His loving eyes. Allowing Him to open up our eyes to see the beauty of His creation. Now in this lesson you should have no trouble finding scriptures detailing how He sees us. Not only should this lesson help us to see the beauty in ourselves but in each other. Then we can learn to be more encouraging, lest critical, and to let go of our fears. Learning to see ourselves through His loving eyes. Now complete your last portrait. Once you are done let us discuss how has your view of yourself changed through these lessons? Do you see yourself as being loved? Do you see how beautiful you are? Do you see your value? Do you see how important you are?

I only included a couple of examples to help give you ideas. If you choose to do this study please let me know. I would love to see your portraits  and read what you have learned and if there are any lessons you learned that you would share to help another. I am hoping that we all can learn to see our true value.

Tradescantia Pallida

Tradescantia pallida, also known as Purple Heart Plant or Wandering Jew, I was also told it is also called Moses in the basket because of how the little purple flower looks. I love how easy it is to grow this beautiful plant. I received my first cuttings of this plant years ago. All I had to do to transplant them was to poke a hole in the soil and put the cutting in the hole. Not only did it take root it began to spread. It does die or go dormant during the winter if planted outside but it will come back every spring. It is a hearty and vibrant plant and I love the color purple.

Plants are therapeutic to me. I love watching things grow, they uplift my spirit. This plants heartiness reminds me that even if I am in a wilderness period of my life God will see me through it, and just like HE sent Moses to set HIS people free from Pharaoh, HE also sent HIS Son Jesus to set us free from our sins. Let us continue to grow in the love of Jesus and in His Spirit and Word.

Don’t Give Up!

After the tree in front of my apartment had to be cut down, my apartment manager planted three tomato plants in the flower bed. Even though I watered them daily, the triple digit temperatures of summer kept the blooms from turning into fruit. At one point the plants looked like they were dying. A neighbor had even told me I should pull them up and throw them away. I chose not to do that but continued to water them in both the morning and the evening. The plants barely remained alive. The temperatures have cooled down and the plants are still alive and now have blooms again.

I did not give up these plants and now are they not only alive but the blooms have now begun to turn into tomatoes.

If I had given up and considered these plants dead, I would not be seeing the fruits of waiting. When you are waiting for something it is so very easy to give up. In life we often have to wait. I have many times wanted to give up. Exhausted, worn out and at times feelings of hopelessness I wanted to just give into despair and stop trying. Thankfully God did not give up on me and has kept me going even when I did not have the strength to do so on my own. I am still waiting and hoping. Trusting that I will make it through this period and that my needs will be met even though I can’t see it right now. I cannot give and what ever you may be going through right now, you don’t want to give up either. The fruit of patience will be produced.

From Scars to Beauty Marks

I wrote this post back in 2015

From Scars to Beauty Marks

As I look at the scars on my body I realize things are not always what they look like. Yes the scars are real, from the burn scar on my wrist which originally was done to my hand as a child to the other scars both seen and unseen. To the world they look ugly and even to me for most of my life. It was only recently that I can look at these scars and see them as beauty marks. Why beauty marks? Well, because what caused these scars were painful events in my life. Yet they are what make me the woman I am today.

The first two pictures are of the same scar. When I was around four years old almost five I received a cigarette burn on my right hand. Over the years while I grew the scar moved as I grew and is now on my wrist. The fact it resides on my wrist shows how much I grew. So this got me thinking.

What things look like is not always how they were perceived. You look at a scar and most would say they are ugly, some when bad enough are looked at as grotesque. Most of the scars on my own body are small and most probably do not notice them. A scar in the shape of a circle on my wrist is probably the most noticeable. A small scar from a knife a little further up the inside of my forearm is probably the least noticeable. I can continue to list the other scars which decorate my body, and then there are the unseen scars that no one can see because they are not visible to the eye. These are the scars left by the abuse that comes before the punches, the burns, the broken bones etc… These are scars that were left on my heart and mind. There are only two who know their true depth are me and my Savior Jesus.

It has taken most of my adult life to admit that I had these scars. I could write in detail all the events that left these scars, but today I choose to direct my focus on how Jesus has healed me and taken these scars and turned them into beauty marks. You see He too has scars on His body. He allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross so that I would be forgiven, healed, redeemed, and to know what ever pain I might have suffered He felt a pain much greater than mine. He did this all so that I would know that He loved me. His love and the life He gave for me has made me new. I am not who I used to be. I am not a punching bag, and I am not a victim. Through Him I have the victory because He gave it to me. He has caused me to grow in His love and to have hope and joy, even when the days are cold and stormy; I know I am not alone. Everything is okay. These marks are little maps that show how much He has changed me. I hope when you look into the mirror you will see all the beauty He sees when He looks at you.

Since I first wrote this post I have continued to grow and heal. I am not who I was and not yet who I will be. God is continuing to transform me. The pain I have survived did not kill me by the grace of God, but like a sword as it is being forged I have been through the fire and HE went through it with me every time. He is refining me and molding me into a new image and when HE is done with me, I will want to look in the mirror and see the beauty HE has created.

Art by Julie Sheppard aka Reiko Chinen

If interested in purchasing prints contact me by emailing me including in subject line prints for sell:

sheppaja@yahoo.com