My Mom's Sermon Book

My mom is genuinely one of my heroes. She was classically trained as an opera singer and so our house was often filled with music. I remember being a little girl and getting to dress up to see her perform in various operas at TPAC in Nashville. As I grew older, she shifted out of the Opera world and into being a personal ministries pastor. She still sings often and occasionally performs, but her primary focus is helping the church live from healed up hearts and a revelation that the Lord is glad to be with us. 

 Even with her shift of vocation, the heart of my mom still beats for singing, so when I was envisioning what I wanting to create as a Christmas gift for her last year, I knew I wanted it to nod to that part of her past, but also point towards her future. 

Shelby Foldy Photo

I was searching through piles of music books, when this one appeared as if it was calling to me. This cover felt significant for what I wanted to communicate to my mom--"You are strong and courageous, you couldn't be held by pain in the past nor will you be bound by fear of the future. Your song is one of healing but also of victory--like King David, the duality of your voice is a gift; worshipper and warrior, working jointly to bring freedom." Basically, my mom is a bad ass, you guys.

But in a sneaky way, because she is so kind and loving and warm that before you know it, she's hugging you and you think she's just a nice lady, but then you're crying and crying and she's ministering to you. My mom is an expert at administering emotional first aid.

Shelby Foldy Photo

But she's also lived a lifetime of her own stories and victories and is full of wisdom. My mom is an incredible teacher, and I believe there are sermons just waiting to burst out of her. So I set about to create a book that could facilitate that journey. 

Shelby Foldy Photo

My brilliant idea involved pockets. I created 5 velcro pockets that each held a different paperback journal inside--ideally to hold individual sermons. 

Shelby Foldy Photo

Shelby Foldy Photo

Each sermon book has about 16 pages of lined paper, and 4 pages of unlined blank paper (because my mom is a fan of charts).

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I bound this journal up using the Secret Belgian Binding format, and included an elastic closure to help with stability.

Shelby Foldy Photo

I haven't made another journal like this one--somehow it just feels really unique to my mom. But who knows, maybe I will make a few available to the general public. Does this style speak to anyone?

Also, I know I keep saying I have a big announcement coming up, but I really do mean it. I'll be sharing it next week, so for real, keep your ears to the ground. I'll just say it's going to be really fun. 

Until next time,

Abigail