Joyful Inspirations Coloring Book

When you look around in the world today, what do you think of when you consider God? Do you think of beautiful sunrises or sunsets? How about the wonder of a bird taking flight? Perhaps it is a field of colorful flowers of every shape and size? Or the beautiful stained glass windows in a church that reflect the colors from the sun? Or even the laughter of a child? Within each of us, we can see evidence of God's creative power in the world around us in unique ways and Robin Mead has brilliantly captured that in Joyful Inspirations Coloring Book.

Beautiful illustrations capture the beauty in the world around us in coloring pages we can make our own using various types of media from crayons, coloring pencils, gel pens or you name it. There are 96 pages of pages for you to color including the types I have mentioned above and more coupled with beautiful biblical scriptures to invoke a sense of beauty and peace. What better way to take a moment to slow down from our busy days and just appreciate all the God have so abundantly blessed us with. We don't live in a world of black and white but vibrant and brilliant colors.

I think this is a perfect way to simply take some time for yourself and spend time coloring and reflecting on those beautiful biblical promises. Maybe even grab your kids and teens and have a coloring day and post the pictures prominently on your refrigerator or even frame some. This are simply ways to remind you of the beauty that is all around us each day and so often we are too busy that we fail to take time and smell the flowers or even catch our breath as busy moms, and women!

I received Joyful Inspirations Coloring Book by Robin Mead compliments of Faith Words, a division of Hachette Book Groups. In accordance with the new FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book reviewed here at Reviews From The Heart was provided to the reviewer by the publisher, media group or the author for free and were received, unless specified otherwise. I would recommend not using markers in this coloring book as the pages have print on both sides. Some markers might bleed through and compromise the illustration on the reverse side. I used Prisma Coloring Pencils on mine and had no issue. Crayons and some gel pens might work depending on their absorption rate, so use caution when coloring in them. For that reason I give this coloring book a 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion just because of the issue with having bleed through issues. Would love to see single page illustrations to prevent that from ruining other pages you might want to color. Simply using other media forms would prevent that as well.

For more information about Joyful Inspirations Coloring Book, Robin Mead or where you can pick up a copy of this coloring book today, please click on the links below:

Joyful Inspirations Coloring Book by Robin Mead

You can find Robin Mead on Facebook to stay up to date with all her products.

To read more reviews on a Joyful Inspirations Coloring Book, please visit Faith Words' website. 

 

A Giving Heart

I have been a fan of coloring my entire life and love that coloring books are making a comeback and not just for kids either. You can find coloring books on virtually any subject or genre and even some of your favorite movies have spawned their own coloring books as well. Something as simple but meaningful is a coloring book designed not only for moms, but to encourage moms during their day. What better way to spend some quality time coloring with your  kids or teens and having a wonderful coloring book that celebrates motherhood is A Giving Heart by Stephanie Corfee.

These coloring pages are beautifully illustrated to capture all kinds of things that celebrate being a mom. Some of these are beautiful quotes from various speakers and even Scriptures that capture the beauty, strength and essence of being a mom. This would make a wonderful gift for that creative and artistic mom who is looking for something beautiful and unique. There is even a dedication page that you can fill out to give to that special mom in your life. Some quotes include ones from such notables like Billy Graham, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Michael O. Adesanya, Edwin Hubbell Chapin and so many others.

What I absolutely LOVE about A Giving Heart is that each page is uniquely separated by blank pages or a simple quote on the reverse side. This is really exceptional because so many coloring books print on both sides and depending on the media source you use to color your pages with, some may bleed through, like markers. I find that even using a spare piece of paper helps to prevent bleed through on some markers no matter how lightly you use them.

I received A Giving Heart: A Coloring Book Celebrating Motherhood by Stephanie Corfee compliments of Faith Words, a division of Hachette Book Groups. In accordance with the new FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book reviewed here at Reviews From The Heart was provided to the reviewer by the publisher, media group or the author for free and were received, unless specified otherwise. I love using all kinds of things to color with and perhaps my new found favorite is Prisma coloring pencils because they don't bleed through the pages and the ability to blend your colors together makes shading and highlighting so much easier. For me, I will use this whenever I simply need to take a breather in my day, perhaps taking on too much and the need to slow down, coloring helps. I easily give this coloring book a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about A Giving Heart: A Coloring Book Celebrating Motherhood, Stephanie Corfee or where you can pick up this coloring book today, please click on the links below:

A Giving Heart: A Coloring Book Celebrating Motherhood by Stephanie Corfee

You can find Stephanie Corfee on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest projects and books.

To read more reviews on A Giving Heart, please visit Faith Words' website.

Scripture Doodle and Scripture Doodle: God's Promises

I've been wanting to dive deeper into the Scriptures after going through my Bible now for a third time. Even though I find new meaning each time, I revisit those familiar books I wanted more in my personal study and devotions. Now there is a great way to do just that, thanks to April Knight, author of Scripture Doodles and Scripture Doodles: God's Promises. These beautiful books incorporate a deeper study into the promises we find in the Bible along with some colorful coloring to accompany your personal or small group studies. Each of these books incorporates a six-week devotional experience for the reader through your own individual creative expressions with God.

There are enough exercises to do one per day for six weeks with a few bonuses at the end, but you can work at your own pace or with a small group Bible study meeting one a week. It is intended to be progressive, so you might want to follow the books in chronological order, but you might want to jump around to whatever inspires you or for a specific Bible Book study you might be working on. There are no rules and the only way to do it wrong is simply to not do it at all.

Some things you need to have on hand when completing either book is a Bible, a sharp pencil or two any color, pencil sharpener, a large eraser, colored pencils or your media of choice, pastels, ruled notebook paper (for lettering practice) and some blank index cards. The books come with some great tips to get you started. Each exercise begins with a Bible verse and proceeds into a creative worship activity. Don't worry about trying to be perfect, just go with what creativeness you feel at the time and let God inspire you. The books also encourage you to share your creations with others at @scripturedoodle or #scripturedoodle.

 I received Scripture Doodle and Scripture Doodle: God's Promises by April Knight compliments of David C Cook Publishers and Litfuse Publicity. For me, these books have allowed me not only to focus on specific Scriptures in the exercises but to remember these verses better, something I have been struggling with more as I get older. Now I can create something truly beautiful while I work on these each day. I would love to get a group together to work on them over the duration of a year and share not only our own artistic creations but also to see what God does in each of our lives along the way. I would easily give these books a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Scripture Doodle and Scripture Doodle: God's Promises, April Knight or where you can pick these books up today, please click on the links below:

Scripture Doodle and Scripture Doodle: God's Promises by April Knight

You can find April Knight on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest books.

To read more reviews on Scripture Doodle or Scripture Doodle: God's Promises, please visit Litfuse Publicity's Book Tour Page. 

Christmas Quiet

I can't help it! I love to color! I have loved coloring since I was able to hold a crayon and now there are so many coloring books to choose from, there is something for everyone. Yet I found a true treasure you will want to order for anyone this Christmas season that combines both a 25 day devotional along with some amazing coloring pages all in one book!

Christmas Quiet by Maisie Sparks and Lauren Younis is designed to have you spend some time just appreciating the time that December brings. Too often we are racing against the clock to get presents bought and wrapped, baking complete, and all the items off our to do list checked off. Yet when it's all over, we feel we missed out on what is important and that is understanding and spending some time with Jesus since it is His birth we are celebrating.

Christmas Quiet takes one page and simply reflects on some theme about this time of the year coupled with a Bible Scripture verse, it takes readers into the quiet time of meditating on the meaning of the theme of the day, from gifts, waiting, worship, hope, joy, Sabbath celebrations, AWE, and even pain. As the author shares in the preface of this book, "I didn't have to rush around at Christmas; I could just wait for it. The Gift of Christmas can't be bought. But He can be received. And to receive Him we must be present. We must sit with the mystery that God became human and came to live among us."

"At first, for many of us, it felt unnatural to slow our pace when everyone else was speeding theirs up. How can a respite be possible with the onslaught of activities the holiday can bring? But for those of us who had the faith to be still - to be present to God's Presence - the Christmas experience had become more than crowded shopping malls and unending to-do lists. The Presence of Christmas is a gift we gave, and continue to give, to ourselves. The gifts of Christmas Quiet came with questions to ponder, as well as contemplative practices that enrich the time given to noticing Christ in Christmas."

I received Christmas Quiet by Maisie Sparks and Lauren Younis compliments of Faith Words, a division of Hachette Book Groups. Since I had a dear friend going through cancer for her third time, I was drawn to Christmas Pain and the coloring page associated with it. It reflects on the pain of birth is real when it is happening but the joy of bringing new life into the world is more powerful than the pain of giving birth and is quickly forgotten to enjoy the moment of new life in a mother's arm. The scripture reference of Isaiah 66:9 ~ "I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born." seemed to speak encouragement to my friend as she was going through her second chemo treatment this round. At the conclusion of this devotion, there came a question, "If you are entering the Christmas season with grief and pain, how might it be an invitation to know God, yourself, and others in new and deeper ways?"

This is just how this book is laid out, designed to get you to spend some time reflecting on the deeper meaning in each day of the advent along with a beautifully designed coloring page. The one thing I really LOVED about this coloring book is the white space between each page, that even if you are coloring with markers and experience bleed through, if you add a couple sheets of paper in between, you won't ruin the next pages. Finally someone is getting it right. For me, this one is one I will enjoy working on throughout the month of December with my kids and thus a 5 out of 5 star rating.

For more information about Christmas Quiet, Maisie Sparks and Lauren Younis or where you can pre-order a copy of Christmas Quiet, please click on the links below:

Christmas Quiet by Maisie Sparks and Lauren Younis

You can find Faith Words on Facebook to stay up to date on all their latest releases.

To read more reviews on Christmas Quiet, please visit Faith Word's website.