Inspire Bible -by Sharon King

On Good Friday I received my long awaited Inspire Bible.  As I browsed through it I immediately fell in love with it. You see although I love creativity, I cannot draw very well, although with practice it is improving. Isn't that true about life as well that with practice we improve???!!!!

Anyway as I looked at the beautiful line art, I knew this Bible was just what I needed, but I was also aware that it wasn't just about colouring the pictures, it was about learning more about God, His love, His Word and His direction.

The first picture I coloured was on Easter Sunday evening and I felt it was appropriate  to colour something relevant to Easter.

As you can see the verse is from Matthew 28:6. I coloured this picture using Crayola Twistable pencils.  The first lesson I learnt was that I had pressed to hard with the pencils as it left several pages with indentations. Relating this to life I thought about the impressions we make on people's lives, and this can either have a positive or negative effect.

I have been a keen scrapbooker and crafter for a long time.  If you are anything like me you buy materials and use them for a season and then very often they seem to go into natural hibernation!

As I looked at the double page spread on the inside front cover, I was thinking about how I could colour this when I remembered some gel pens I had purchased about 6 years ago.  They were the Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust Pens.  On finding them I decided these would be right for that page. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that the ink hadn't dried up, but I guess that was because of the money I had invested in them, they certainly weren't cheap when I bought them!!!

Once again that is like us on life. When we invest in people's lives our time will not be wasted because we have spent quality time with them and made a difference as we have shared God's love with them.

I was really pleased with the result, especially the glitter effect. I then wondered whether I would be able to use these pens on the thinner pages of the Bible.

There is a Facebook Group called 'Inspire Bible Journalers' and every week they suggest a page that everyone should colour and post.  It is interesting how the pages look different when they have been coloured by others participating.

Below are the pictures of the beginning of Joshua after being prompted to colour this by the Facebook Group. I have also included pictures to show the shadow that is visible from using the gel pens.

As I said earlier I didn't want this Bible to just be about colouring, so then I set myself a challenge - whenever I coloured what was perhaps a favourite text I would read the opposite page and pray that God would help me and inspire me to learn more about Him. The pictures below show a few of these pages.

There are times when I like to read the Message Bible Paraphrase.  This is mainly because it helps me to understand what God is saying to me, and speaks to me in a real and personal way. The last two pictures show how I have incorporated a tip-in with the Message bible paraphrase for Matthew 11:28!

I printed the tip-in on to a thin piece of card. Firstly I looked for a picture that I felt summed up this verse for me. I then pasted the words onto the picture.  Finally I added the full verse from the Message bible on the bottom of the card. Once I was sure the ink was dried, I then used my Sakura Stardust pens to highlight certain parts of the picture. Then using the same pens I traced over the words. 

Over the past few years there have been many times in my life when I haven't taken time to rest and recharge my batteries. I am continually asking God to teach me the unforced rhythms of life. The Inspire Bible is helping me to do this.

One last thing... whenever I colour, whether in my Bible or a colouring book, I use the time to pray. I find this allows me to focus on particular situations and people.

If you can afford to, I would encourage you to buy a Bible like the Inspire Bible, especially as over time it will become a very special, personal and unique Bible to own.

If at the moment, you feel you can't afford one of these Bibles look out for my next blog post where I will be sharing with you a very special colouring book that I have discovered.

How to Get Unstuck! by Deborah J Gregg

Hi everyone, it's Deborah again with a quick post today about what to do when you sit down to do some Bible Art Journaling, but you feel a bit stuck....

I'm sure I'm not the only one who suffers with occasional lack of inspiration. Where the blank, white page stares back at me, daring me to come up with something beautiful.

When my art supplies surround me, and yet I just can't settle on whether to use pencils, pens, gelatos, watercolours, etc.

Where I've finished my tea and biscuits and haven't even made a mark.

Here's my top tips for 'How to Get UnStuck':

1. Pray! Take a moment to commit it all to God. To thank Him for all His goodness. To praise Him for His great love for you.

2. Read the Bible! Re-read the passage you are led to, prayerfully, asking God to reveal His Word to you and to inspire you to respond creatively as you read. Maybe try reading a Psalm if you haven't read one already - it may help put you in a different mindset of thanksgiving and praise.

Gone green for this one! Horizontal stripes are great and make it easy to line up your words

When you've settled on a verse or passage you feel you'd like to journal:

3. Pick a colour - any! Your go-to favourite colour, or maybe try using something different for a change! Or if you are now feeling more inspired, pick two colours that either complement or contrast! Add the colour to the page to create a background, using whatever medium you want to...pencils, gelatos, paints, collage papers, etc. Make it as simple or complicated as you like. Use plain colour, or add dabs, stripes, patterns or doodles.

I love this verse! Acrylic paint background in blue & toned down with some white, added words with Sharpies and metallic marker to highlight

4. While the page is drying take some scrap paper and practice writing out your words, playing with the arrangements of the letters, size, font etc.

5. Take a black (or coloured) pen and add your words on your page. Embellish if you want to with doodles, stamps, metallic or glitter pens etc.

6. Sit back and breathe.... Pray again and enjoy looking at the verse you have just journaled. Take a moment to allow it to sink in and wash over you.

It's so important to enjoy the process, and I pray that this simple approach may help you as you soak in God's Word and unlock your creativity.

Of course, if you happen to get stuck while journaling with others, you can take a moment to pray together, and it's really great to share ideas and tips. 

And don't forget, we have such a lovely community in our Facebook group and we love to support and encourage one another. If you do get stuck, you can always give us a shout and we are here to help! :-)

Added diagonal stripes using watercolour paints. Added words filling in between diagonal pencil lines. 

I don't often use pink, but it's good to try different colours now and then!