The “Why” Behind Thy Word In My Heart
“Thy word have I hidden in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
The very first Bible verse I can recall memorizing is, “Train a child up in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Even before I believed in Christ, even before Bible drill studies in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade, this verse was committed to my memory. Why? Because it was part of a cross-stitch piece that hung, framed in our living room in my childhood home. I saw it every day. Most days I read it, along with all the names and dates of the family tree that made up the rest of the cross-stitched needlework. Without even intending to, I’d memorized my very first Bible verse.
Fast forward 30-ish years, and I now have children of my own (in the same house, as it were, but that’s another story). As my husband and I are trying to teach our two young sons who God is and just how much He loves them, I realize how very little of Scripture I can quote word-for-word. I can paraphrase quite a bit, but word-for-word recitation? Not so much. This knowledge (or lack thereof) burdened me. How can I expect to teach our boys God’s Word when I don’t know it so well myself?
Then I remembered the cross-stitch family tree. And Proverbs 22:6.
And then a light bulb went off.
What if I created art prints featuring Bible verses? If they hang on our walls every day, will our boys end up memorizing them, too?
And thus, Thy Word In My Heart began!
Though my career is in graphic design—creating layouts for magazines, periodicals, marketing collateral, etc.—my first love is drawing. As a young girl, I was infinitely happier with paper and colored pencils than I was with dolls or other such things. It’s how God made me! So, to create art prints with my own artwork AND encourage our boys to commit Scripture to memory is a double win!
I can’t begin to tell you how much joy it’s brought me over the last few months to be drawing regularly again! Instead of pencil and paper—at least for now—I’m using the skills I learned though a digital drawing course I took last year, because the portability of the iPad suits my season of life. One of our sons is in speech therapy once a week, and I use the 45 minutes he’s in class to draw. (And answer alllllll the questions our other son asks, but that's a different story!)
My hope is that these art prints, though such a small thing in the grand scheme, have a tremendous impact in our lives and yours. When our boys were babies, I thought of Proverbs 22:6 often. Many times while rocking them to sleep, I pondered how we would train them—both intentionally and not—knowing when they are old they’ll probably not depart from it. I definitely want to be more intentional than not. So here I am, giving it my best!
Thank you for joining me on this journey, this walking of the narrow path (Matthew 7:14) to the best of our ability.
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