Would you like to create a photo album filled with stories and special photographs, beneficial values, ensuring your love is passed along a much smoother pathway for your loved ones to know and follow? Have the difficult places in your journey been used in positive ways to shape you? Possibly the heritage path you were given to walk may have been a rough one lined with pain and heartache. But that doesn’t have to be the legacy path you leave behind, does it?
Would you like to join us as we climb aboard this modern-day Ark, sailing the internet waves, casting our nets far and wide, sharing our stories with our personal photographs, to help bridge the gap from generation to generation? Could such photo album be helpful to share how the deep, rough waters can be made smoother when we cast our nets to encourage others to trust and draw near to God so He will draw near to you, for He loves to bind up broken hearts, set captives free, give a crown of beauty instead of ashes, fill our hearts with joy instead of mourning, and praise instead of despair (Isaiah 61). Who knows, possibly such a project could be encouraging to ourselves as we reflect looking back in our rearview mirror upon our lives as we ask God to see it from His perspective.
History is important, it helps us not repeat mistakes. Consider it as simply His Story, God’s story, through our stories with personal photographs that we can enjoy as well as our family and friends for generations to come. So let’s “not hide them but tell the coming generations the glorious deeds of the LORD, and His might, and the wonders He has done” (Psalm 78:4 ESV). It is our hope these various template-guide themes will help you organize your thoughts, give you ideas and suggestions so that you can create a photo album that can be printed or used in electronic format to “write down for the coming generation what the LORD has done, so that people not yet born will praise him (Psalm 102:18 GNB).
We all have a history to tell
His story in us will do very well!
So with your stories and photographs
Share times of tears and of laughs
Tell how you found The Oasis
In your desert, wilderness places.
Tell how you gained victory
Like our Savior, over the enemy.
For the trials in life are the cost we pay
To gain flowers of compassion to give away.
Let’s share with the next generation so they will praise and know
How our Good Father and Master Gardener does water and grow.
He works for good our seasons of fearful, torrential rain,
And the sun's wearisome, thirst-inducing, blistering pain.
When we set the eyes of our heart on His kingdom above,
For this walk by faith opens the flood gates to His provisions and great love.
When we keep looking up towards the rays of light given by the Son,
The dark shadows fall behind us, the victory has been won.
Do you see how journaling is a must?
When in quietness and hopeful trust,
We get to document the strengths we’ve gained,
Telling of God’s loving and faithful provisions obtained.
It is my prayer-filled hope that our stories will be,
Miracles of glory all for Thee!
So will you come join us and climb aboard this Bridge the Gap Ark?
Let's sail the internet waves, His glorious deeds, mighty love, and amazing grace
we shall impart.
--NanaV
Have you thought your story was boring or you don’t really have anything to say? Well, I surely thought that when God started pressing me to help his people write their stories…and I asked how in the world can I do that when I don’t even know how to write my own story. Did you know God has a sense of humor? It seems He loves to use the “least of these” (and that would be me), along with His powerful Word to open blind eyes to do things they cannot do so He can do it through them.
That’s what He began doing! While reading His Word, poems would come rushing up like “Old Faithful Geyser” that explain our story is simply our history, that is HisStory in us reflecting His goodness and faithfulness throughout our lives, especially when He brought us through those stormy seas that He has used for our good in shaping our lives and character. So surely we have stories to share … If not, I challenge you to ask God to see your life from His perspective and you, too, may find yourself looking back in your rearview mirror and see your life in a whole new light!
Will you take God’s Word to heart, for we all have a story to tell, His story in us will do very well so watch out for you just may discover when you … “Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back — given back with bonus and blessing.” Luke 6:38 MSG
As adults, we all know life can be grueling and hard. One of my favorite things to say to remind myself and encourage others is “Life is hard BUT GOD is Good!” Creating your story photobook may be just the thing that helps a loved one find the encouragement needed to not give up and press on, all because you opened the window to your heart and passed along a heritage that cares for the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of your children, family, and future generations.
Bridge the Gap Ark.com can help you build a modern-day Ark to sail the internet waves providing a better bridge to span the gap from generation to generation through telling your stories combined with your photographs. Who isn’t interested in old and new photographs? Could they possibly be used to attract the interests of your family, friends and future generations? Do you need a little help getting started?
Try one of the story template guides under the “Templates” section for they are filled with suggestions and ideas to jog your memory and get your photos out of computer prisons and dusty shoe boxes. These guides can help you map out your stories and adventures to create heirloom photo albums. Who knows how far the ripples in the water may go?
Simply select one of the themed template guides that best meets your photo album project goal and may you and others reap the blessings of telling your stories with your photographs.
Your life may not seem very remarkable or your work significant until you stop, look, and listen as you seek God’s perspective and how He sees you. Knowing you are loved, enables you to live loved and love others well, it gives you a higher perspective to see yourself and others as God sees you through eyes of deep love, compassion, and mercy for people matter to God and they should matter to us.
As we seek to better understand this passionate love God has for us, our rear-view reflection of the events of our lives takes on new meaning and purpose when we frame it through our Heavenly Father’s eyes. Perspective is the key to writing your story to pass along a meaningful heritage filled with genealogical information, details about events during your growing up years to present time, how these events impacted your life, how God helped you, provided for your needs, gave you strength, protected you, funny things that happened, memorable things of importance that your family or friends may have said or done, and wise lessons gleaned along the way that you may wish to pass along.
Our story becomes a window into our hearts for our family to understand and know us better. It also takes to heart God’s Word to “tell the coming generation of the glorious deeds of the LORD, and His might, and wonders that He has done” in our lives (Psalm 78:4 ESV, Psalm 73:28 NKJV, Psalm 102:18 NIV).
Events, awards, accomplishments, travel, family holidays, funny or interesting things, experiences with God, how God spoke to you through what happened to you or through the experiences of others. This gives parents an opportunity to affirm and brag on their children’s accomplishments and affirm their love for one another.
Events, awards, accomplishments, travel, family holidays, funny or interesting things, experiences with God, how God spoke to you through what happened to you or through the experiences of others.
Stories of answers to prayers and gifts from God, reflecting a faith, lived out in actions and words, anchored in Christ, can be a powerful influence and source of encouragement to oneself and a powerful influence for others to know and trust God. As was the practice of some in the Bible’s Old Testament, “stones of remembrance” were erected to remember and pass along the stories of God’s faithfulness.
As we write of “the glorious deeds of the LORD” sharing our prayers and God’s answers of provision, how our faith grew in seasons of loss or discouragement, recording God’s affectionate ways, love, and provisions, will be our “stones of remembrance” helping remind ourselves as well as others such seasons will not last forever when our hope and trust is in God for deliverance. Such hope may be just what we or someone else needs to hold on a little longer by putting one’s hope in trusting the Living God with the outcome and move forward to meet fears with faith and courage. For God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
“There is a reason behind every season and when we are ready, in His due time, our deliverance will come.” – NanaV
A storybook about the birth or adoption of a child, events leading up to the birth or adoption, events and experiences during preschool years, family holidays, funny or interesting things this child did or said, how God may have helped or spoke to you through these experiences. Grandparents could start a storybook for each grandchild and give as a gift at pivotal place in the child’s journey having recorded their prayers and answers to prayers along with the child’s birth details, childhood illnesses, accomplishments and adventures.
A storybook of favorite vacations, unique adventures and experiences, trips, funny or interesting things, experiences with God along the way.
A storybook to share favorite pet stories, their unique skills and abilities such as with pet therapy or use in rescue missions, funny or interesting things, experiences with God, how God spoke to you through what happened to you or to others with this very special pet. It would be fun to write from the pet’s perspective as though the pet were speaking.
A storybook of a special person in your life who, though they are dead, their life “still speaks” through the written words leaving their legacy to remember, like Abel (Hebrews 11:4). By faith Abel brought a better offering to God than Cain did, and God spoke well of his offerings, so “by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.”
A storybook of a child who has passed or of a miscarriage, for though their life was short here on earth, their memory will carry on until you see the again in Heaven.
A personalized greeting card for any occasion to encourage family, friends, children, grandchildren.
A donation is requested for use of a graphic photo or a “Doorpost Creation” that incorporates an inspirational verse or quote with a nature photo. The Doorpost Creations may be used to insert in your story or for other graphic projects for home or other personal uses to create coffee mugs, blankets, wall hangings, etc., as we are reminded "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:9).
The mezuzah, is a well-recognized, visible sign of a Jewish home or place of business that contains a powerful message; the presence of a mezuzah on the doorposts of a house is a testimony that this is the dwelling place of people who honor God and are dedicated to His service. The Hebrew word mezuzah simply means doorpost; however, the doorpost of a house can be a sign of what a particular house epitomizes. The mezuzah may serve as a reminder in a Messianic home that we are called to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). When we understand the significance of doorways and gates in Jewish culture, the words of Yeshua become even more meaningful: “I am the gate ….” (John 10:7–10). The door or gate was a vital place of entry for a sheep to enter into the protection and provision of its shepherd. At night, the shepherd would even guard his flock from predators with his whole body by lying across the entryway.
May “Doorpost Creations” be a reminder for those who put their hope and trust in the LORD “The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever” (Psalm 121:8).
Resources will be coming soon explaining how to publish photo albums using such services as Shutterfly, Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart, that currently allow too little space for text to fully share your memories that need to go with your photos. The resource section will also provide quotes and encouraging words you may find useful to include in your stories along with helpful storytelling and counseling weblinks if you want to do a little research.
To provide various themed template guides to help you map out your stories and adventures with your photographs, and print through convenient photo album printing services currently available.
Coming Soon
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