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.