My Winter Devotional Coloring Book "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart": The Last Pages of the Year

I have two devotional coloring books that I alternate during the year.  One is a winter devotional called "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart" and the other is a devotional on the book of Psalms called "Bless the Lord, Oh, My Soul" which I use during the spring and summer months.

Today's post features the pages I finished this winter from the book "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart".  I still have not completed all the pages in the book, so I will pick this devotional up again in the fall.

Each page comes with a short devotional and prayer and a page to color.  I read the devotional and scripture and pray and mediate as I color.  I purchased this book from Dayspring but I'm not sure if it's available anymore.  

This devotional page focused on rest and how important it is to not stress about life and situations and just trust in Him.

My next page shares how we shouldn't worry about anything but pray about everything.  Hard to do, isn't it?  I tend to not want to pray, because if I pray it brings to mind the things I don't want to think about and therefore worry about.  Silly isn't it?  But when I start praying about them, I start worrying about them so I'd rather just put them completely out of my mind and not think/pray about them at all.  Does anyone else feel this way?  But the Bible tells us not to do that.  It tells us to pray about everything and then leave it there.  But leaving it there is so hard to do!

Psalm 91 was the verse I clung to all the years of Covid.  I have a message board sitting on my desk and I had that verse on it for four years.  I finally took it down and replaced it with Psalm 17 because of something else I am going through now.  But Psalm 91 got me through the Covid time period and all the crazy things that happened during that awful time.  God was my shelter and I curled up under His mighty wings.

This devotional is a reminder for us to be kind.  I recently was hurt so brutally by a relative(s) and I'm still struggling to get over it.  He said the most unkind words to me.  It's really hard getting over cruel words from anyone, especially a relative, and to top it off a relative in Christian ministry.  I've done all I can to repair that relationship from my end, but I keep praying for him (them).  I was kind to him, when he was cruel to me.  All I have left is to let go and let God take it from here. 

I love how Colossians says  to "PRACTICE tenderhearted mercy and kindness".  That means, "on-going", "never stopping".  It is so hard to be kind when others are cruel, that's why we have to "practice" doing it. I've been learning so much about GRACE lately;  what is grace, how you give grace.  My husband said months ago he wished everyone in his family would have just given everyone a little grace.  They jumped to conclusions that were completely unfounded and untrue.  If only they would have assumed the best instead of the worst.  If only they would have just picked up the phone and talked  instead of assuming something that wasn't true.  If only they would have given some grace.

I love this photo of the coffee, multiple mugs and treats.  Doesn't this symbolize grace?  Sit down with people, talk with them.  You may find out what you think to be true isn't what the truth is after all.

Grace and Love go hand in hand.  If we love people, we give them grace.  We think the best of them.  We do what is right by them.  We care for them.  We love them as we love ourselves. 

When people hurt me, I tend to want to avoid them because I want to protect myself and not be hurt again.  Interesting that 2 Timothy tells us not to be afraid of people, but to "be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them".  I love the verse "strong" in there.  It takes strength to be around someone that has hurt you in the past.  To "be wise" is also interesting, often we can get past the hurt if we try to understand why the person said or did what they did and pray for them.

In addition to my devotionals I do each day, I also started a new coloring bible.  I completely finished my Inspire Bible, so I ordered a new Bible called Inspire Prayer.  My, this is a BEAUTIFUL Bible.  I will show more pages as the years go on, but trust me, this Bible is filled with gorgeous illustrations.

I'm working on a Bible study on Love so I started in 1 John.  I loved my new Bible so much, I wanted to be very careful with it so I decided to color it with colored pencils instead of markers or gel pens, and would you believe it got ruined right away anyway?  I was so upset I wanted to cry.  Yes, apparently even colored pencils smudge and bleed.  Lesson learned, keep a heavy piece of card stock in-between the pages for a LONG TIME after coloring.  I really did have the hindsight to use card stock between the pages, but I think I removed them too soon.  So please ignore my smudges.

Each chapter begins with two illustrations:  a big one on the opposite side of the chapter and a smaller one on the chapter page.

My Bible Study uses the "Berean" method which I really don't like at all.  They have you mark and underline so much that by the time you're done you can't even read the text anymore.  There is so much marked there is hardly anything unmarked.  So I decided after one page, that I wasn't going to mark my Bible up like they say anymore.

This page really shows the smudging;  I tried to erase it, but it didn't help much.  Does anyone have any other suggestions?

And here you can see, that even when you use pencil it still bleeds through the other side.  Ugh, it's so frustrating.  Anyway, I also wanted to point out that because this is a prayer Bible they always leave spots open like this so you can write a personal prayer too.

Here is finally a page I didn't ruin 😃.  Hopefully I can keep this up from now on.  I always say Bible Journaling is so much harder than card making because if you mess up a card you just rip it up and start again, but you can't do that with a Bible.  I have discovered craft paint helps but I don't want to use that too often as it makes your Bible really thick and sometimes warps the pages.  Painting the page with Gesso before you color also helps prevent bleeding on the opposite page, but again, it makes the pages thicker and warps slightly.

I hope you enjoyed my Bible Journaling and Devotional Coloring Pages and have been inspired by God's Word today!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more posts on the "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart" Devotional Coloring Book, see these posts:

Back to Coloring in My Devotional Coloring Book:  Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart

Coloring Pages from "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart

More Coloring Pages from "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart"

"Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart" Devotional Coloring Book

Harper's Ferry West Virginia

I'm so excited to begin a new travel series with you!  This time we are exploring the great state of West Virginia!  My, what a gorgeous state this is, in fact, you will be hard-pressed trying to find a ugly spot in this state as it is filled with stunning vistas of mountains and green valleys and lots and lots of waterfalls!

We began our adventure at the farthest northeast corner of the state:   Harper's Ferry.  After spending Easter at my daughter's home in Indiana, we drove nine hours east until we reached the Harper's Ferry area where we would spend the night,  the following morning we went to Harper's Ferry.

Harper's Ferry is a National Historical Park.  It is a historic 1800's town.  Some buildings/homes are owned by the government and others are private residences/businesses.  What makes Harper's Ferry so unique is that it was the site of a rebellion of the abolitionist John Brown and his followers  who were determined to arm enslaved people to help free them.  George Washington's armory  was there and John Brown seized it and several other strategic points.  Ultimately the raid failed with most men killed or captured and Brown was executed.  Brown's trial and execution focused attention on the issue of slavery and propelled the nation toward Civil War.

All the buildings are original and absolutely fascinating to view.  They are constantly working on them to keep them standing;  like Europe, we saw lots of scaffolding and work being done on them.

Most of the buildings are museums and stores.  Some are B&B's, private residences, or empty.  This building (the Restoration Museum) was left empty to show the excavation and discovery process.

The old cobblestone streets are so fascinating!  My husband said it would be charming to be here at night to see the town lit up with the quaint lanterns.

Just look at this trio of homes! Oh! I just love it!  They just don't make homes like this anymore!

The town is located on the point of land where the Potomac River cuts through the Blue Ridge so you have to climb a lot of steep streets if you want to see all of this town!

We climbed upwards to see Jefferson's Rock and saw the ruins of an old Episcopal church on the way.

The original Episcopal Church was built in 1852 and served as a hospital and barracks during the Civil War.  It suffered considerable damage and was rebuilt afterwards but was abandoned in 1895 when a new Episcopal church was built in the upper town (pictured below).

This is the story of Jefferson Rock:  named after Thomas Jefferson of course.

I could see why Jefferson fell in love with this view!

And here is the rock as it looks today.  I must say, I don't care for the pillars, but I understand why they are there. 

Photo Credit

Now it was time to visit the church, which is open to the public but unfortunately was closed the day we were there 😢. I've never seen a church closed before and I have no idea what that was about.  I was so disappointed. 

The church stands high on a hill overlooking the town and the beautiful Potomac River.

We enjoyed the views walking down from Jefferson's Rock more than we did walking in town.

There are several museums in the Historic Site:  "A Place In Time" where you can view a film on the town's history, an Industry Museum, an African American History museum, the John Brown Museum (pictured below), Civil War Museum, Restoration Museum, Meriweather Lewis Exhibition,  and more.  Not all of them were open when we there as it was before the tourist season, but we saw enough.

Across the street from the John Brown Museum are some historic sites of the great battle and an armory building.

High up on a hill, near the old armory and battle sites is a monument dedicated to John Brown.

I loved the views from the opposite end of town, near the Potomac River;  the church can be seen so well.

Many of the buildings are open to the public, like the tavern below, and inside you can see views of how people lived and used the space during the time period.  Some are just informational and have museum displays inside.

And that is all I have to share about the town and history of Harper's Ferry.  There is much more to do at Harper's Ferry other than visit the town:  scenic trails, battlefields, and so many more historic sites.  Next week, I will share our experience on the Maryland Heights trail.

Until then,

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

 

Our Easter Weekend

Happy Belated Easter everyone!  I hope ya'll had a great Easter and spring break.  We just returned home from seeing family and a week's vacation in West Virginia.  A new travel series of our trip to West Virginia will begin next week Wednesday.  Gosh, that's a beautiful state!  No wonder they call it "Almost Heaven"!

We arrived at our daughter's/son-in-law's home the Saturday before Easter and just enjoyed dinner and playing with the grandchildren.  They just got rid of all their carpeting and had new laminate floors put in, so little Laz enjoyed Grandpa pushing him across the room in his toy wagon.

The next day was Easter Sunday so we went to church.  I asked my son-in-law if they could leave a little bit before us so I could hide the children's Easter Baskets.  I had never done that before because the little ones were always around so it was impossible.  When we returned home from church I told the kids that somewhere in this house were four Easter baskets, and they had to find them.  They were SO excited and had so much fun searching for them.  I really didn't hide them too much  (I just put them inside closets), yet they still had such a hard time finding them.  I was so surprised by that.  I eventually had to give the older two a clue.  But despite the difficulty of them finding the baskets, they sure had fun and were so excited when they eventually found their own basket.

Laz was the first to find his but I put his basket in the most obvious spot (next to the couch) plus we told him where to look.  😀

The next one to find his basket was Elisha.  I could not believe how excited he was to find it!  It made me so happy to see the joy on the grandchildren's faces. 

I knew they would be hunting for Easter Eggs later in the day, so I didn't give them much candy.  Most of the baskets were healthy treats and inexpensive toys.

They loved everything in the baskets.  Laz always likes the treats the best.  The boys loved their squirt gun swords.

Alethea was the very last to find her basket, but she sure was excited!

She is growing up now and doesn't play with toys anymore so I gave her some blue and turquoise nail polish which she was thrilled about!

For supper we had a simple Easter meal of ham, potatoes, veggies, and sourdough bread.  I couldn't believe how fast the grandchildren gobbled up that ham!

Laz especially had quite the hearty appetite!

My husband and I.

My daughter and son--in-law.

After dinner, we took a walk.  It was a chilly Easter, and Monday was even colder, but by Tuesday the temperatures started to rise again so we had a great vacation!

Atticus and Elisha were constantly running ahead of us so they got hot and took their coats off.

I, on the other hand, was so cold I had to put my hood up!

The kids led us to a new section of the trail that was recently renovated to include ponds, boat docks, piers, bridges, and picnic tables.  It is not complete yet, but it sure looks beautiful already!

The geese are sure enjoying the new pond waters!

The next morning my husband, son, and I started the nine hour drive all the way to the far east side of West Virginia.  We would start our adventure there and make our way back to west across the state the rest of the week until we ended back at our daughter's the following weekend.

When we arrived at my daughter's house a week later, the temperatures were much warmer and we were able to spend a lot of time outdoors.

My husband and I spend hours just pushing Laz up and down the sidewalk in this little toy car.  He loved getting in and out of the car, pushing it himself, and even "driving" it himself with his little feet.

We returned home the next day.  It is always fun to take a vacation, but it's nice to come home again and back to a routine.  The kitties were sure happy to see us!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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