Scrapbook Your Christian Faith—the Beginners Guide to Scrapbooking Your Spiritual Legacy

Donna Riner Weber is the author of Scrapbook Your Christian Faith—the Beginners Guide to Scrapbooking Your Spiritual Legacy. We have conducted an interview with her.

Which are Your Most Life Changing Events?

Life events that most altered my life are very similar to those of many people today. We all have trials and troubles—whether it’s the heartbreak of losing a baby or a divorce. My heart suffered through both.

Both changed me. After I miscarried my second baby, I returned to college to finish my degree in Elementary Education. The week I finished my student teaching, I became ill. What a virus! In nine months my precious little bundle of a bouncing baby boy was born. Becoming a parent is one of the most life changing events ever! I didn’t realize one tiny baby could ooze so much love from me. Years later, another major change occurred on a chilly September day. I flipped the lights out at school, and thanked God for the week, my students, and the upcoming weekend. I didn’t know I had just taught my last class ever.

I had been living with 3 chronic lung diseases, although I had never been a smoker. This caused me to have a life of doctor’s appointments, medicines and hospital visits. But with God’s help I continued to teach.

But this time things were different. I was expecting my doctor to call in an antibiotic but instead, he wanted me to go to his office. He then admitted me to the hospital. Several weeks later I was sent to the National Jewish Hospital in Denver because of their specialty in lung diseases.

Brian and I flew cross country to Denver where they did many tests and evaluations on me. They also had both of us to go to classes to learn how to live with chronic illness and pain. When we returned home, they gave us a huge binder full of information about my illnesses. Inside the binder was an article entitled “Prepare to Die.” Wow! That was a life changer! As Christians we are prepared to die. We know when we’ve invited Jesus to come inside of us that one day we will go to Heaven.

But I had a problem. I wasn’t ready to die. I wanted to live. Brian and I had a wonderful “match made in Heaven” marriage. I didn’t want to leave him. My son was about 20 and I didn’t want to leave him or any of the rest of my family. I wanted to Live! Brian and I did get our affairs in order with our wills and legal things.

I believed so strongly in the verse “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah. 29:11 (TLB)

Doctors told me I would not be able to return to work. If you are still living on this planet earth, God still has plans for you. I’d lie on the sofa and cry—“but God what are your plans for me? I know it’s not to lie around, watching TV and waiting to die.”

Before long, it seemed that God was impressing in my heart that I should write stories of how He had been Faithful in our lives. I started writing my stories and filing or piling them. What to do next?

My cousin, came for a visit and brought her scrapbook. It was beautiful. I was in awe of it but I’m not artistic. I couldn’t do anything like that. But God had used Nora and her scrapbook to plant a seed in me. I became interested in finding out more about scrapbooking. I took three scrapbooking 101 type of classes. I made a few scrapbook layouts and realized that something vital was missing. It was my Faith. God has always been an important part of my life.

I needed to find out how to include Him in my Scrapbook. I searched and searched. On line and in book stores and libraries. While there were many written about Scrapbooking techniques, there were very few written about “Faithbooking” at that time. As a non-artistic person, I didn’t understand techniques or even the language. I set out to write the book that I needed. I pray that it will help other beginners to be able to create their Spiritual Legacy in a Faithbook in a much easier and faster way.

There’s one more life altering event which I’d like to share with you. That is the day my son laid this precious little pink bundle in my arms. Her tiny eyes appeared to look into my soul, and it was love at first sight. I was a Grandmother! And now I have to create my Spiritual Legacy for my precious little granddaughter—and my son!

What is Your Purpose of Writing this Book—Scrapbook Your Christian Faith—the Beginners Guide to Scrapbooking Your Spiritual Legacy?

Take a look at the daily tragedies that are played out every day on our TVs news stations. Those of us who are old enough to be grandparents realize that these atrocities are accelerating at a rapid rate.

Now if you will, close your eyes and imagine looking into the innocent faces of your grandchildren. What does the future hold for these precious children and their grandchildren? There is nothing new about trials and trouble. The Bible tells us we will all experience them. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down but God never abandons us. 2 Cor. 4:8-9 (TLB) We must tell our grandchildren how God has been with us in our lives and He will be with them if they will allow Him.

Who are You Trying to reach with your book and why is it important?

I’m trying to reach Christian Grandmothers and encourage them to tell their own stories of how God has been active in their lives. Creating a Faithbook will give them a place to preserve stories of their Faith, Prayers of Blessings, and Special Scriptures as well as meaningful photos. After I became chronically ill I felt God leading me to create my Faithbook. Until then, I did not realize how many times, we are told in the Bible to tell the next generation about what God has done for us. Here are just a few:

• One generation makes known Your (God's) faithfulness to the next. Isaiah 38:19 (TLB)

• Teach what you've seen and heard to your children and grandchildren. Deuteronomy 4:9 (MSG)

• Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. Deuteronomy 11:19 (MSG)

What is your one advice you would like to give?

As Christians, many of us have been complacent about our Faith. It’s time for a change. We have to be bold, take a stand for what we believe and give our Spiritual message to our loved ones today. Furthermore, we need to write them and preserve them so that we can send them into the future for those who will follow us.

Scripture marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible ©1971 Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL 60187. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved