My wonderful Divine journey is
continued  (A link back to 1st page)

… I barely just started getting my head into praying on a regular basis with just saying grace at dinner.

And that was the only time I prayed and the words were recited by Jean, my 30 year love of my life and a spiritual person. She mentally relaxed me into thinking about praying, however, I was a little hesitant to go any further.

Was First Religious Poster Design a Fluke?

I was sitting at my desk staring at the computer screen wondering how I was going to work on this complicated religious poster design from my sketch.

Actually, I had no idea what so ever. So, I just sat there and pondered my thoughts of design nothingness. It was like staring at an empty wall.

Surprised? Not me. I had no damn idea of what I was going to do. I sat and thought. Even looked through some PS books to see how I could accomplish this crazy feat. Nothing. Nada.

Going to search on-line wasn’t helpful either. It gave me just a few possible ideas, but not enough to make it simply work.

I was very frustrated and at times annoyed that I couldn’t figure it out. There were times I just sat at my desk and did others things instead. I don’t remember what things, but it was not working on this poster.

And the frustration continued when I had to figure out how to adjust all the words to make them fit right.

Dealing with frustration. The very sound of the word is frustrating. Now when I am frustrated I look to the Holy Spirit for calm and guidance.

Talk about wanting to scream. I probably went through several cups of coffee a day with this confounding project.

Looking back on that time, I believe I was being tested by God to find my weaknesses and strengths. Of course, God already knew them. It was the fact that I didn’t.

PS is no cake walk, but if you practice and dedicate your time, you can learn how easy it works. It also takes patience which I was just getting to know.

When it was finally done I was ecstatic. Not because I finished it, but because it looked much better than expected. And just to be sure it was correct, I physically spell checked every single word. I really didn’t trust PS to do it since it is really just a design program and not an editor.

In the end, I was extremely happy and proud with the final results and now what? I did it, but what do I do with it? I really had no idea, so I moved on to do other non-profit design work.

The Poster Ideas Stop, But the Holy Spirit Appears

I very surprisingly designed several more religious posters (three in total) in 2016. I am not sure what inspired me to do them, just that they came to mind.

What happened? I am not sure and started questioning the ideas and their origin.

As time went by, I would hear Jean in the back of my mind speaking about how praying would soothe her mind, so I started praying.

Slowly at first because I wasn’t sure what to say or why. It was kind of like learning to drive for the first time. You are excited, but nervous because you don’t want to get into an accident.

“Was I allowed to pray? What if I did it wrong?  Well, I learned it doesn’t matter as long as you pray”.

My limited understanding of prayer was eventually enhanced by Jean. Her faith encouraged me to believe my hidden spiritual beliefs and gave me some guidance.

“Find someone who has faith and believes to make it easier to find the Holy Spirit in your life”.

It has been a significant turning point in my life, and I believe prayer has made me a much better person both mentally (I will call it attitudinal) and eventually physically. Physically in the sense that this body represents God’s gift to be taken care of and strengthened.

“Prayer helped me gain control of the out-of-control parts of my life”.

Then without any warning, notice or advanced thought, the poster designs started coming to my mind extremely slow.

Whenever you do design work it is for compensation, but there was still no paying client.

Keep reading, and you will know who I discovered was the client and the audience.

So What Is My Earthly Purpose?

As time went on, I started wondering about my purpose in life. Why am I really here? What should I be achieving if anything? I am sure there is a plan, but I didn’t know what mine was, how it would unfold or if it would scarcely appear at all.

“Have you ever felt you were not doing what you were put on earth to do?”

So I decided to ask God. “Please reveal my purpose and give me the wisdom to pursue it.”

Then the ideas would start to surface while I was watching TV, reading, getting ready for bed and even waking up in the morning. No internal voice that I was aware of, but who’s to say it wasn’t?

I constantly kept a pen and pad on the nightstand. This was in case ideas would come in the middle of the night and I wouldn’t forget them by morning.

So this pad became very helpful in recording my ideas while trying writing while half asleep. I am delighted that I was able to decipher my scribbling.

“How many times have you felt like you were on the right track only to be derailed?”

A Slight Detour in My Life

One nice and sunny day we were heading to relatives, when suddenly and with only a few seconds notice, my life was interrupted by an auto accident. The day was going great. Meeting up with family and friends and then… Bamm!

I only remember a few things; including the ambulance race to the hospital with the siren blaring.

The recovery time was traumatic and long with about 6 months of painful physical therapy and recovery from surgery. But, I was grateful to be alive.

“Are you wondering whether God is really watching? Personally I know God is always watching”.

Unfortunately, I was incapable of doing Photoshop work for quite a while. I use a graphic design tablet with my left hand and the mouse with my right hand.

That’s very hard employing only my left hand, but after many months of physical therapy, I had limited use of my right hand.

A Change in the Speed of Poster Ideas

I have implored God to reveal my purpose again and believe that was the time when the ideas started coming in much faster. Actually faster than I could have come up with the ideas myself.

“Do you think God is in your life? Keep reading”.

With the number of ideas, I figured it would require many months to complete the designs, but it was only taking days. How? I am not a design legend who can bang projects out like pouring water.

My conclusion and Jean’s revelation was that it has to be Divine intervention and my life’s Divine path.

In 2018 the poster ideas came much more frequent and at times even more then I could indeed remember.

But, it seemed like there are many distractions in life, but you have to focus on the work at hand and that’s what I managed. Focus.

“Too many distractions? The Holy Spirit can help you focus and it is working for me and can for you also”.

The idea process is a rough drawing in my sketchbook. At that point I would set them up in Photoshop as simple words with no design. Save them as JPEGs (picture) inside a specific folder for each design to go back to later.

Keep in mind that these posters ideas need words as well as layout and colors to complete a design.

Next, come up with a design and the colors for the design. Then it’s on to deciding what typeface to use and how to place each item within the posters size.

Once you get to that point, you start adding the items one at a time to the poster design.

It is similar to cooking. You need a recipe, the ingredients, and the utensils to produce your meal. Design essentially has the same steps to produce a finished product.

Naturally, like a recipe, you might make a mistake and it doesn’t taste so good, so you have to start over again.

The Poster Designs Continue to Fill My mind

As of this publication, I have completed well over 700+ designs with 60 being in the last 2 months. One design a day is extraordinary to me, but not because of my design skills, but because of His hand helping me through the Holy Spirit.

This has been a real mind blowing experience. It felt like I was on a speeding train with no train, tracks, people or terminal. Yes…it’s that incredibly unbelievable.

“I figured out that God and the Holy Spirit were using my God given art abilities for the posters with my Divine path”.

I genuinely enjoy design projects but in my heart, I know my mind is not capable of coming up with so many designs. That is not putting me down, but a genuine reality of what I am capable of doing from past experience.

“So that influences me to genuinely believe the Holy Spirit is leading me with the ideas, words and most likely designs”.

The other amazing part is that each design is uniquely different. Sure anyone could have the same design for all the posters, but that is not really design and not my apparent purpose.

“Praying and having faith can help change your thinking”.

The purpose of each unique design is to engage people to see, read and comprehend the words communicated. They are, a kind of discovering experience to hopefully alter lives for the better.

My praying has become daily and my thinking and interactions with people have become much better. I feel I can see who they are inside while talking and appreciate them better now than in the past.

I feel more compassion and caring and really like that feeling. It has given me new personal growth and a fulfilling upbeat spirit.

“Are you angry at the TV, people or just life? Here are some of my thoughts that might help you”.

I have learned through God’s wisdom to prevent the things that makes me angry or upset as much as possible.

This includes the TV news (which can easily disturb me) and negative people (unless they are seeking help with a better way of thinking) in friends and family.

However, I do follow the news for the local weather and to see if there is anything genuinely critical to know. That usually happens in the first 5 minutes and then the news gets turned off.

In addition, I don’t receive any news on my browser homepage because it’s set to go right into my email page.

My first thing in the morning is inviting the Lord to guide me with my words and actions. That is to be sure my past doesn’t squeak in and it assures me of building a more solid foundation with my faith.

“My spiritual growth in faith has made me mentally stronger and forced my arrogant past out of my life”.

I genuinely believe my life is better now because I allowed the Holy Spirit into my life and that has made things much less stressful.

“Are you a believer? Want to be? The bible is your first step”.

At this point in my life, I absolutely maintain a connection to the Holy Spirit, and it allows me a calming feeling that never really existed before.

“Having the Holy Spirit in your life can help you with anything. It definitely has for me and can for you also”.

So, what is the ultimate plan for me with the poster designs? I have no idea or even when or if it will stop. I will admit it does get frustrating at times, but I keep asking for more guidance. All I know is that if the ideas keep coming I will work on them. Only the Holy Spirit knows the answer to my question. and it seems to be my Divine path.

“My life did change for the better and I feel great”.

How Has The Holy Spirit Changed My Life?

So, you must be wondering, how has God helped me?

1. Bringing Jean into my life early on and me not being aware until later in life (God does work in mysterious ways).

2. Protecting us in the auto accident which could have been considerably worse injury wise. Then, it was the first poster idea to prepare me for my Divine path.
3. Giving me sight to see others clearer without hate, anger or indifference.
4. Naturally, the hundreds of poster ideas to empower me and I know I was being guided by the Holy Spirit that would affect my life for the better.

5. Even the poster ideas helped transform my life for the best. Writing them encouraged me to observe what was also missing from my life.

6. Continuing on my path until I am ushered to the next step.

You may want to check back to glimpse what that might be.

How Can The Holy Spirit Help You?

I am far from an expert on the subject, but I guess that all depends on what you desire to change in your life to make it better.

Many of us have problems we don’t believe can be fixed or changed. But I am a good example to know that the Holy Spirit can transform each and every one of us if we merely ask.

“My comment to you is to start on your journey to discover the Holy Spirit and the Bible to give you all you need to build a better life”.

Do you suffer health problems? Pray to the Holy Spirit for healing. Need an attitude change? The Holy Spirit can restore you quickly and positively if you accept the help. Are you coping with stress? The Holy Spirit can quiet you down if you have faith and seek guidance.

Trying to accomplish something, but don’t feel like you are getting anyplace? Look to the Holy Spirit inside you for help.

“The Holy Spirit is ready to restore you, but you need faith and belief in God and Jesus Christ”.

The only thing I can end this with is if you are a believer in God, it will help you on your journey if you just ask for His guidance. Realize the Holy Spirit is in everyone and you just need faith and belief for peace, calmness and understanding.

And if you are not a believer, you may want to reconsider and pick up the Bible to read some uplifting stories and life guidance wisdom.

The Bible is not contagious in an unpleasant sense, but it is in the deepest sense of the word.

Caring, loving, forgiving and understanding are the best ways to live the life we are blessed with and leave behind all the hate, anger and stress created by society and the world.

If you have any questions, thoughts or comments please let me know.

H John Johnsen

NOTE: I am still doing the posters, and post updates on my website https://ourdividedworld.com with my thoughts and new poster designs.

Images: Courtesy of www.Pixabay.com

Questions? Feel free to contact me at john@ourdividedworld.com