Perfect Peace - by Sarah Anderson

 I have admired this effect on a number of bible journaling pages on Instagram and decided that my declaration of peace page in John 14 would suit it perfectly.

I dip into Steve Backlund's book 'Declarations - Unlocking your Future' a lot!  Through attending therapy, after experiencing depression a number of years ago, I am now much more aware of the negative thoughts I have a tendency to listen to, and am making a conscious effort to now listen to the truth.  It's transforming!

I wrote out my notes, declarations, reference and date in the margin with my favourite pen - a fine Bic..

then used a flat brush and my Winsor and Newton watercolours to add patches of blue around the margin.

I continued adding a range of blues and a purple until I was happy with the effect - a simple but very effective way of adding colour to a page.  And for those of you who would like to know about bleedthrough -

None there :)  The photo was taken immediately after adding colour to the page so it will smooth out after being in a closed bible for a while.  I rather like the crinkly pages though :)

I'd forgotten I'd written this in my bible, in early January apparently, and used it again this weekend as part of our Creative Worship service at church.  It's not that we're not creative in other weeks but once a month we dedicate a whole service to an idea we explore creatively.  This week we asked people to bring an empty wine bottle to church as we were considering Song of Songs 5 from the Passion Translation which talks about Jesus' enjoyment of each one of us like this -

Jesus, your Bridegroom-King, says to you:

"I have gathered from your heart...

I have tasted and enjoyed my wine within you"

Imagine enjoying your favourite drink, whether it's a hot chocolate with marshmallows, cold elderflower cordial, or a large glass of wine - that's what Jesus is like, and more, with you!  

Sadly I forgot to take a photo of the finished wine bottle (It has been gifted to a friend who needed to hear this too!) but we gave everyone a large label to put their declarations of who they were on (and a sticky label with the Song of Songs verse for the back).  I chose to write a declaration of peace and after writing out the declaration from Steve's book, wrote my own around the edge.

And yesterday I was sooooo chilled despite some difficulties at work :)

The Colouring Craze - by Sharon King

Ever since I was a small child I have loved colouring. One of the favourite presents I received every Christmas was a Platinum Colouring set that my Aunt and Uncle gave me every year. I used to love spending Christmas Day afternoon, sitting at the table colouring.

Over the last year Adult Colouring Books seem to be everywhere and there seems to be so many different ones available.

I was spending time colouring long before the craze took off.

I have discovered that colouring is a great aid in my prayer time, over the last three years I have coloured in many pictures, nearly all of them with a Bible Text or some words of Spiritual encouragement. As I have coloured I have discovered that it helps me to focus, to spend time with God in a very special way.

I am one of those people who cannot draw, well at least that is my opinion!!!! So I thank God for the many talented artists who have been willing to share their work in such a way that encourages and helps me.

I first discovered Lindisfarne Scriptorium about 4 years ago when I visited the Christian Resources Exhibition at Sandown. It was there I purchased my first colouring book. Mary Fleeson is a talented and God inspired artist who uses her art to bless others. Here are some of the pictures that I have coloured in over the last few years.

Some of her pictures are really intricate, and at times are challenging, but isn't that like life,there are times when things can be challenging and we need to persevere.

Others contain prayers, which as I have taken time to colour them in, the words have been digested into my heart and soul and have become so meaningful.

Some her pictures allow me to just praise God for who He is,

The above picture is one with words and a pattern, because the pattern is very involved it is still a work in progress!!! Just like our lives , they are works in progress with God forming us into what He wants us to be. Placing everything in its right place, filling our lives with colour and detail.

Sometimes we are not sure which way we should go or what we should do. Once again a prayer that I could use and pray through.

The Magnificat.

Sometimes as I am colouring God speaks to me in a very special way. This was one such occasion, I was struggling to work out the best way to go with a situation I was facing. As I prayed and coloured God reminded me that He was with me in the Mess. I didn't have to struggle alone because He was surrounding me with His love. He was enough in every situation. So I annotated the picture to remind me of this.

All of these pictures come from the book below by Mary Fleeson called Multicoloured Prayers, you can purchase this through Lindisfarne Scriptorium.

In my next blog I will share some more books from them.

So, let me ask you a question, when did you last colour a picture.?

Can I challenge you to experiment in your prayer time. I am not saying this is right for everyone but it works for me.

As I colour I listen to the devotion from the Pray As You Go App, as I listen to the Bible Reading, I colour, and as I colour I consider what is being read, and the thoughts I have help me to pray in a more detailed way.

Why not give it a go and see what you think?

Finally I would like to share with you a picture I did a couple of years ago.

I pray that though this coming week you will truly appreciate the God colours in your life and be willing to share those God colours with others.

My Bible Art Journaling Journey - by Lori Weeden

This week's blog post is by the lovely Lori Weeden, who is sharing about how she got started with Bible Art Journaling, and what it means to her. Enjoy and be blessed by some of her lovely artwork! 

About a year ago whilst studying my Bible, I wanted to write down scriptures on love in a way that was easy to remember and that helped me to meditate on them. I wanted to make the scriptures more memorable by decorating each one on different pages. Not long after I started to decorate some pages, I spoke to Deborah Gregg at a Come Closer meeting and she shared her Bible Art Journal with me which gave me more inspiration to continue being creative with the scriptures. She held a workshop at her house and explained what Bible Art Journaling was all about and tips about how to use different mediums to create your art work.

By doing Bible Art Journaling, it has helped me enjoy studying the scriptures in a different way and be more focused on them. It has also drawn me closer to the Lord. There has been many times where my artwork has helped minister to others, so it is doesn't just bless me but helps bless others too.

Thank you so much, Lori, for sharing this with us! If anyone else would like to contribute to our shared blog, do get in touch with Deborah Gregg, Sarah Anderson, Jane Butcher or Sharon King - we'd love to hear from you! 

Claire Graham - my Bible Art Journaling Journey

This week's fabulous blog post has been written for us by Claire Graham - it's so exciting to see her Bible Art Journaling journey over the last six months! 

New Wine 2015 is when my Bible journaling journey began - less than 6 months ago! I arrived at New Wine exhausted; desperately seeking healing from past hurts which still had a huge grip on my life and eager to rejuvenate my relationship with God. While I was there I was definitely restored and healed from those past hurts, finally able to move forwards after nearly 18 years and my relationship with God was kick-started as through various meetings and workshops at the arts venue I realised that it was OK to be arty, in fact, better than that, being arty was part of what God made me to be. I'd never really thought of how arty God is before.. but He created the world and it's a beautiful place... think rainbows, autumn leaves and dew on spiders webs just for starters. He also created me, a creative being!

I remember going to a Bible Art Journaling workshop, focusing on lettering and tangling (2 things which I am now completely in love with!) I produced my first official page and experimented with some simple tangles:-

I knew that I wanted to do more and soon I was addicted, journaling some of my favourite verses, picking themes out of the Bible to follow (I officially love stars!) and creatively responding to issues both in the world and at a more personal level.

Then while searching for which journaling Bible to put on my Christmas list I stumbled (definite Godincidence!) upon Advent Illustrated... a book, Facebook group and Instagram tag that gave prompts throughout Advent for journaling. I've officially loved having guidance verses for what to journal each day and a plan which guided my thoughts from Creation to Christmas, I've also loved the discipline of journaling and therefore studying the Bible every day and having to carve time out for that and I've been able to see my skills develop over that time. Here are a few of my favourite entries from the plan.

I'm really looking forwards to continuing my Bible journaling adventure, I'm going to carry on with Seasons and Advent Illustrated (the new name for Advent Illustrated) following the weekly prompts through the book of Esther and beyond, to learning new techniques, to playing with my Christmas presents (Journaling Bible, stamps, chameleon pens, etc!!), to growing new friendships through a mutual love of Bible journaling and to growing my relationship with God as I journal, doodle and draw.

Many thanks for sharing with us this week Claire - such a blessing to hear your Art Journaling story - and looking forward to hearing much more from you!
If anyone else would like to share your Bible Art Journaling journey with us on this blog, or if you have something on your heart to share, please do get in touch with Deborah Gregg, Sarah Anderson, Jane Butcher or Sharon King - we'd love to hear from you!