Marydean Draws

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Projects, a dream, and a lesson from Samson
May 27, 2015 illustration

Projects, a dream, and a lesson from Samson

I’ve been able to work on some fun projects over the last few months, so I thought I’d share a few, and also an exciting one in the works!

I did this custom print for an adoptive family. The quote is by Fleur Conkling Heyliger.

Our church’s women’s retreat this year was about being “fearfully and wonderfully made.” I created this image for our materials and promotions.
 
 
Friends of my sisters in Emerald Isle, NC are starting a cheesecake business. They loved the faithfully fed print that hangs in one of their bedrooms, and decided to use the phrase for the name of their cheesecake company! They asked if I’d work my bird drawing into a logo. I have only done a few logos and am still learning, but it was really fun to see their brand come together. We created both a round and a long version of their logo, and two secondary “ff” marks. They wanted something hand-drawn that reflects their homemade values. 
 
I love how it turned out, and hope it creates a solid piece of the foundation of their business. And I hear their cheesecakes are amazing, so make sure to check them out if you’re in the area!
 
 
And this is what’s in the works. 
 
 
With this set of printables, I am trying to choose Scriptures that span the Gospel story from Genesis to Revelation, and from Creation to Fall to Redemption to Restoration. There will be a card and a coloring page for each Scripture. 

I have a dream of putting fun, visual tools into the hands of all kinds of teachers out there–mamas, Bible study leaders, mentors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers–tools that will help you communicate who God is and all that He has done for us.  But please pray God will guide me and use my art however He wants. 
 
I don’t want to take any steps without His strength, friends. My husband and I recently taught the story of Samson (we use the Gospel Story Curriculum) in Sunday school. For the first time I saw this story as one of a man blinded to his own pride. God had greatly gifted him with strength, but Sampson had forgotten its true source. In the end, he became so accustomed to functioning in (what he thought was) his own strength, that the Bible says God left Sampson and he didn’t even notice (Judges 16:20). That was a pretty sobering thought for me. Would you notice if God withdrew Himself from you? 

Thanks for reading this random post!

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Previous Printable Scripture Coloring Page: John 1:12
Next Grace for the Growing

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Welcome to the blog!

I’m Mary and I’m glad you’re here! Since 2014, I’ve been sharing encouraging words, fun Bible printables, and accessible art activities.

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If you look up artwork or movies featuring Mary Ma If you look up artwork or movies featuring Mary Magdalene, you’ll often find her depicted as a penitent woman or as sexualized, with her clothes literally falling off her body. It was Pope Gregory the Great who proposed that Mary Magdalene’s seven demons represented the seven deadly sins and that she was both a prostitute and the penitent sinner who anoints Jesus in Luke 7:36-50 (Jennifer Powell McNutt).

Later church historians assumed that Mary Magdalene’s great sins were to blame for her demon possession (McNutt). While the Western Church came to see Mary Magdalene as a prostitute and a great sinner, the Eastern Orthodox church honored her as the leader of the “myrrh-bearing women” (Taylor and Bond).

Read some research into the REAL Mary Magdalene story here:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/jesus-speaks-to-women-chapter-16
In today's Friday newsletter: 🌸 Mother's Day Sa In today's Friday newsletter:
🌸 Mother's Day Sale! 20% off with the MOMLOVE on my website. Mother's day is Sunday, May 10 this year.
🌸 Part 1 of the Mary Magdalene study is up on Substack. Have you ever heard that she was a prostitute? Where did that come from? Is it Biblical? I was fascinated by how her story has been told through history, the origins of her name, what it means that she had been possessed by seven demons, and her place among Jesus’ disciples. 
🌸 The Holy Post podcast episode with Bri Stensrud, the director of Women of Welcome, “a community dedicated to diving into the whole of scripture to understand God’s heart for the immigrant and refugee.” 

Read the newsletter here:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/marys-friday-newsletter-41726

Read the Mary Magdalene post here:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/jesus-speaks-to-women-chapter-16

If you sign up for my newsletter, you can receive all my posts in your inbox. Sign up on my website at www.marydeandraws.com or find me on Substack. You don't need the Substack app to read my posts, but it's easy to use, and you can listen to any of the stories with the playback feature.
When I started writing the Jesus Speaks to Women B When I started writing the Jesus Speaks to Women Bible studies last year, I started collecting books on New Testament women. I really didn’t know where to start at first. I wasn’t familiar with the scholarship about women in the Bible, and I hadn’t even heard of any female theologians doing this work!

So you don’t have to start from scratch if you’re like I was, I’m going to share a list of books I’ve learned from in the last year. Some are more academic than others, but all have been helpful. 

See the list here or find me "Marydean Draws" on Substack:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/books-about-women-in-the-new-testament
In today's Friday newsletter: 🌸 things I learne In today's Friday newsletter:
🌸 things I learned from my pastor dad (in honor of his birthday)
🌸 upcoming bird collage workshop at Friendly City Clay and Art Center
🌸 using oil pastels + a recommended set from Blick
🌸 book about women in the New Testament 
🌸 preparing to write about Mary Magdalene and the resurrection stories

Read it all here:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/marys-friday-newsletter-41026

The post about books about New Testament women:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/books-about-women-in-the-new-testament

If you sign up for my newsletter, you can receive all my posts in your inbox. Sign up on my website at www.marydeandraws.com or find me on Substack. You don't need the Substack app to read my posts, but it's easy to use, and you can listen to any of the stories with the playback feature.
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