The Watered Soul

Finding Refreshment in the Word

Coloring Your Way Back to Peace and Rest

By

When’s  the last time you took on a task with childhood joy and abandonment?

The responsibilities of life and the constant pressure to do more can rob us of our peace, if we are not mindful to embrace moments of rest and activities that awaken joy. Recently I rediscovered a childhood past-time–coloring. Pulling out my copy of Whatever is Lovely coloring book has been the perfect way to quiet the internal rehashing of my day, to de-stress, and to find my way back to a peaceful place of solace.
whatever_is_Lovely

It’s been said you can’t judge a book my its cover but when selecting this book through the Blogging for Books program, the cover design was one of the first things that attracted me. And it didn’t disappoint seeing it person. This beauty contains 45 pages of illustrations that are interlaced with a faith theme scripture or quote.

Things I liked

  • Includes a mixture of intricate and more simple designs: While I do find the intricate designs pretty on some days I’d much rather tackle just a simple page and find the intricate details stressful.
  • Paperweight is heavy and the coloring book is one-sided
  • Contains scriptures along with quotes from hymns, writers, and popular bloggers
  • Spotify playlist: The inclusion of a playlist is a nice addition as the books purpose is to help you engage in a rich worship experience and to uplift your spirit and soul. I have never really connected coloring with worship but I do find both coloring and listening to music relaxing.

Adding perforated pages to the book  would be the one thing I believe would enhance the book. My niece was surprised to find my coloring book and she wanted to color and I would have loved to be able to easily tear a page out for her to carry home.

Here’s a sample of my coloring art:

Whatever_is_lovely_sample_page

About the Book


Whatever Is Lovely: A Coloring Book for Reflection and Worship by Waterbrook Press
Published by WaterBrook Press on December 15th 2015
Pages: 96
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Ratings:

 

What activities bring you delight and peace? Have you joined in the adult coloring trend?

 

Disclaimer

Comments

  1. I’ve been looking at these, but haven’t found one that really spoke to me. I love that this one has scripture in it–thank you for the recommendation!

  3. I have one of these coloring books, too, Wanda, and my thoughts on it are exactly like yours. They are beautiful and the paper is lovely, but I find the designs a bit intricate and time consuming. Since I am a person who likes to complete the page in one setting, I sometimes just pull out one of the books I keep here for little visitors and color in it.

    • Oh Pam, I glad I’m not the only one. I don’t mind not completing them in one setting but something about me wants to color in all those details and I find it hard to leave some places blank. It offers me to me decisions it seems. But they are a beautiful.

  4. Blessings…..
    girl i do it all the time, on the bus & subway during commutes, at home and anywhere else i care to express my inner child. Trust my child is alive and well, in fact i have some of my colouring on on my blog in a few posts…..browse through when time allows.

    peace.
    Rhapsody

    “The highest education is that which does not merely give us information, but makes our life in harmony with all existence”-Rabindranath Tagore
    Rhapsody recently posted..PUBERTY, SKITTLES & THOUGHTLESSNESSMy Profile

  6. What a beautiful job, Wanda! This is so pretty. I haven’t tried the adult coloring books, but I sure do enjoy coloring with our son. It IS extremely relaxing and is a great way to just spend quiet time with our children. Thank you for sharing about your experience. You convinced me to try an adult coloring book now. 🙂 God bless you, and Happy Valentine’s Day!

    • I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed coloring back in the day Cheryl. What special treat to be able to enjoy it with your son. Hope you and your family enjoyed a Happy Valentine’s Day.

  7. I laugh that coloring is a big trend now. I never stopped doing it–now I can color out in the open! 😉

    In fact, we did so at my Doctor Who group meeting last night. Was fun and relaxing, LOL. 🙂

    • You’re an out of the closet colorist Elizabeth. I love it! Isn’t funny how there is really nothing new under the sun. A Doctor Who group meeting sounds interesting.

  8. I’ve always liked coloring, and I find doodling to be quite soothing. In fact, my brother just bought some adult coloring books for my mother. Also with a Biblical theme. I think she’ll find the coloring a peaceful pastime, as the words sink into her soul.

    GOD BLESS!

    • One of the clients I saw recently was telling me how much she was enjoying her adult coloring book. I think it’s great so many people are embracing that art form. Not sure why I neglected it for so long.

    • Hi Shannon, the intricacy causes me to overthink a bit but I learning not to take it so seriously. It’s meant to be fun and relaxation. So good to hear from you Shannon!