Faith & Lettering

Introduction

What Is Faith and Lettering?

Where It All Began

I was twelve years old, sitting on my hot-pink bedspread, surrounded by notebook paper, and chewing the cap of a Magic Marker. I loved handwriting, but I didn’t like my handwriting. I was intent on changing the way I wrote. As I looked at a penmanship book for reference, I carefully copied the letters over and over. I practiced by writing the lyrics to my favorite song and, pleased with the results, I taped my work to a wall in my bedroom. My walls became papered with Scriptures, poems, and more lyrics. I exchanged elaborately styled notes with friends and decorated their names with curlicues and dots. I loved lettering before I knew it was a real thing.

But I left behind my “childish” drawing when I got to college. I traded in my Magic Markers for a Mac as I entered the design world. It would be thirteen years before I rediscovered lettering, the art of drawing letters. But God eventually brought me full circle, and it changed me from the inside out.

O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

EZEKIEL 37:4 ESV

Dry Bones

My young-adult life was blessed. I was raised in the church under one of the most well-known pastors of our day. My childhood was full of sweet tea, sweet friends, and a close-knit family life. And as a firstborn, I was a rule-follower, always seeking to please and live up to the expectations of others. I became a born-again Christian at the age of eight, never had a rebellious phase, and never did anything that would bring shame to my family name. I was a good girl, and I knew it. Over time, my “good girl” status became more about me and less about God. I began to take my salvation for granted. While I still had a desire for the Lord, I failed to see the evil in my heart and my deep, deep need for grace. My clean “good girl” life that was blessedly free from rebellion and bad influences meant, in my mind, that it didn’t take as much grace to save me. What a powerful lie from the devil that was. I cringe at the thought now.

Because I took grace for granted, my heart slowly became colder and colder to the Word of God. I became critical and bitter. Though I was an adult, my childhood faith was still not yet my own. On the outside, I was attending church, singing in the choir, and playing the part of a good Christian woman. But inside, my heart was cold toward spiritual things.

In this dark period of seven years, God faithfully carried me through the profound grief of my mother’s passing from cancer and the fearful unknowns of new motherhood when my son was born shortly thereafter. In the spiritual dryness of my heart, I prayed that God would help me feel something new toward Him. For all my churchgoing, I lacked spiritual depth, and I didn’t know where to start.

God in His goodness used a friend to persuade me to join a Bible study with her. You see, God is continually drawing all people to Himself. He waits to be gracious to you. That Bible study was the very first time I opened God’s Word on a daily basis and began to study it from front to back, start to finish. I began to read it with a heart to know God, not for a quick fix for my daily problems or as a thing to cross off my to-do list. God took my heart of stone and gave me a heart of flesh. It was the most amazing, exciting time of my walk with God.

But within weeks, I was confronted with spiritual warfare. I came face-to-face with a sinful temptation that dropped me to my knees. In that struggle, I began to see my true aptitude for sinfulness. I saw that I wasn’t a good girl by my own doing. No, it was Christ in me that made me good. I finally saw the grace I’d long taken for granted as the great gift that it is.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;

I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

EZEKIEL 36:26 NIV

Can you relate to my story? Whether you grew up going to church or are just starting your spiritual walk with God, guard against spiritual apathy. When you realize the depth of your sinfulness and the measure of grace poured out on you, that is when you’ll stop taking for granted the precious salvation God lovingly and freely gives. God’s Word is life. The more you study it and saturate your heart in it, the more strength you’ll have to resist the devil’s flaming darts.

When did we decide we were too grown up to be artists?

Faith and Lettering

I rediscovered my love of letters shortly after my spiritual reawakening. As my appreciation for God’s Word grew into a deep love of truth, lettering became the way I could meditate on it—a way to make much of Him. King David wrote Psalm 51, in which he says, “Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise” (v. 15 NIV). My pen became my way of declaring the Lord’s praise.

One day as I worked at my computer, I stumbled upon a hand-lettered piece of art. It was beautifully done, and I was immediately inspired to try the technique myself.

My first attempt was Exodus 14:14. I remember penciling and erasing, penciling and erasing. The slow process of drawing it and reading it to myself became a powerful tool for memorization. How exciting, that I could do something fun as a means of learning Scripture! Hand-lettering Bible verses became my outlet; it fed me creatively and spiritually. It wasn’t long before I was lettering in my Bible, creating sketchnotes during sermons, and encouraging others to join me in the practice.

The first thing we learn about God in the Bible is not that He is holy, loving, omnipotent, or omniscient. The first characteristic He reveals to us is that He is creative!

JORDAN RAYNOR, Called to Create

Rediscovering Your Creativity

I tell you my story because I hope it will resonate with you on a spiritual level as well as a creative level. Remember, when I rediscovered lettering, I had put away my pens and markers to pursue a career in graphic design. I thought playing with letters was a thing for kids.

Did you also enjoy being creative as a kid? Did you fill notebooks with your artwork and present them to your parents? Did you doodle on your class notes? Maybe you picked up this book because you love expressing your creativity. Or perhaps, instead, you yearn to be creative. Maybe you often tell people, “Oh, I’m not creative, but I wish I was!”

Let me tell you something—You are a child of God. You were made in His image. And guess what? Our God is a creative God! He is the Creator, the ultimate Maker. So there is creativity in your DNA that you cannot deny.

This book will teach you that you can learn lettering. Yes, you. And you’ll find that lettering is a powerful tool to grow your faith.

How to Use This Book

There are many ways to incorporate hand-lettering into your life, spiritually and practically. This book will show you how. Its purpose is to inspire you, to reignite your devotional time, to imprint Scripture upon your heart, and to help you dig deep into the Word of God through the art of lettering.

Faith and Lettering is designed for you to read from start to finish, because each chapter builds upon the last. It can also be a future resource for design inspiration, practice prompts, or reference. You’ll learn the basics of hand-lettering, Bible journaling, sermon sketchnotes, and even creating encouragement cards for friends.

Something special happens when you slow down and take time to focus on Scripture in a creative way. God’s Word does not return void, and anytime you’re diligent about saturating your heart with biblical truth, our creative God will use it.

Let’s rediscover our creative sides, our penchant for doodling. Let’s “letter for the Lord” together.

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds.… Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

DEUTERONOMY 11:18, 20 NIV

Getting Started

The first thing you should know about lettering is that all the supplies in the world cannot substitute for consistent time spent practicing. All you really need in order to learn lettering is a pencil and notebook paper. But if you’re inclined to add some nice supplies to your toolbox, here is a list of my essentials.

Essential Tool Kit

1. Pencil. My favorite pencils are the Blackwing pencils because of their soft, buttery lead. These are premium pencils but amazing to sketch with. Economy runner-up: mechanical pencils.

2. Fine-Line Pen. You’ll need some pens with fine tips to add small details to your lettering. The Staedtler Pigment Liners and Sakura Micron Pens are widely used. They have archival ink that is waterproof and fade-proof, so you can easily use watercolors with them. Best of all, they come in many different line widths. These are my go-to lettering pens.

3. Brush-Pen. A brush-pen is a calligraphic pen that gives thick or thin lines depending on the pressure you give it. The best brush-pens to start with when you’re learning are the Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip and soft tip. If you’d like to add some color, try the Pentel Touch pen.

4. Eraser. With a quality pencil, you need an equally good eraser. The Tombow Mono NP eraser is my favorite, and I’ve tried a lot of erasers. It erases cleanly without any smudging or smearing. Economy runner-up: PaperMate Pearl Eraser.

5. Ruler. A ruler is a must for hand-lettering. Look for one around 6”–8” long.

6. Colored Pencils. My favorite colored pencils are the Crayola Twistables. They’re easy to use, don’t require sharpening, and are inexpensive. You may even have them already in your art supply stash.

7. Sketchbook. Paper is important. Look for a plain sketchbook that you don’t mind messing up. If it’s too pretty, you may feel intimidated and not want to use it. My favorite is a sketchbook with a spiral on top so that the spiral doesn’t get in the way.

8. Notebook or Journal. Any high-quality notebook that’s a good size for carrying around works. I keep a Moleskine Cahier by my Bible to use for creative sermon notes and a notebook at home for lettering special verses. Some have covers that are plain so you can customize them yourself. Others already have beautiful designs. There is a companion journal to this book that has lots of practice space, lies flat, and has more tips and practice prompts.

9. Bible. A Bible is a must for Faith and Lettering, but you don’t have to buy a special Bible to write out Scripture. Note: In the Bible Journaling section, I’ll cover several different journaling Bibles.

What Is Lettering?

Lettering is a fun and relaxing pastime. It’s perfect for Scripture meditation and reflection.