Author talks about her inspiration

The author sees scrapbooking as a link to the past.
Sandra L. Joseph, author of "Scrapbooking Your Spiritual Journey" and "The Women's Ministry Guide to Scrapbooking," recently presented a workshop on scrapbooking for The Way Station in Columbiana and shared how she developed her love of scrapbooking.
Joseph learned about the importance of scrapbooks and their places in people's lives by way of her paternal grandmother. "I remember looking at her scrapbooks every Sunday when we visited her and my grandpa at their rural farm," Joseph said in an interview by e-mail.
These treasured links to the past reminded Joseph of her grandmother's life and what was important to her. And so, she too, became what she calls "an avid memory keeper."
Getting involved
Though Joseph has kept scrapbooks since her school days, she learned about the new trend in scrapbooking in 1996 and became involved in the industry. She served as national director of Memories Community and traveled and taught with Memories Expo.
"Since the beginning of my career in scrapbooking, I had felt the call to help others document their faith and what God is doing in their lives. I had a book deal on this subject that I walked away from because they wanted me to soften my religious message," Joseph wrote.
"But always in my heart was God's calling to teach scrapbookers to create reminders of God's faithfulness in their lives. Over and over again, the Scriptures tell us to remember what God has done in our lives and to tell others," she wrote.
At one point, Joseph said she prayed that God would take away this calling. But things happened to make the concept a reality. Joseph and a partner, Kathy Brundage, started their business venture, Reminders of Faith. The Web site, www.remindersoffaith.com, offers information on the topic, testimonies, products and related links.
Since they established the business, Joseph said she has learned of various churches that are starting a women's scrapbooking ministry.
Joseph said, "A scrapbook ministry is where people [mostly women] come together to scrapbook their faith stories. This can be under the ministry of a church or even in someone's home. As women come together to work on their scrapbooks ... they also have the opportunity to share their lives and their faith with each other."
Emphasis
But Joseph said that the emphasis is not on creating a beautiful scrapbook, though women use a lot of creativity for the project. "I truly believe that in years to come, as our families view our scrapbooks, they won't be interested in the design aspect but in the stories of our faith and how it impacted our lives. They will want to know if they can trust the same God as we did ... Will He be with them through their high and lows? Hopefully, our scrapbooks will tell the stories of how we found God faithful," she wrote.
In her workshops, Joseph said she tells participants to incorporate photos, memorabilia and scrapbooking items such as decorative papers. But the most important aspect is "the journaling of who, what and where of the photos and the faith story behind the photos," she said.
Joseph and her husband, Bill, have been married almost 25 years and have three daughters. They live in Darlington, Pa. Joseph has a bachelor's degree in communications from Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pa.