As I’ve mentioned before, I am a huge fan of adult coloring books. The intricate pages and endless possibilities can keep me busy for hours! I absolutely love Daria Song’s first book,  The Time Garden. Unlike most sequels, this one is a winner. I absolutely adore the idea of a story within a coloring book, which is exactly what The Time Chamber is. The Time Chamber follows a young, red-headed fairy who lives within a cuckoo clock. She ventures out of her enchanted clock into a little girl’s room. Everything the fairy touches somehow turns into a magical adventure that fills the pages of this detailed coloring book. Much like the first book, this one has images that span double pages. Most are scenes of the imagination, but a few are wall-papered patterns. They include scenes of a chinese garden, a whimsical, winding library, delicate teapots, spools and spindles, and a  wise old owl who makes repeated appearances as the young fairy’s guide. 

The books are identical in size and design. The Time Chamber has a dust jacket that can also be colored, as well as a dedication page which, again, makes it perfect for gifting. The inside of the dust jacket can even be colored— how awesome is that? The illustrations are printed on both sides of the page, but the paper is of quality stock. Some bleed through may occur with heavy markers or gel pens, but for the most part, I have not had much of a problem with this. I think I like this book even better than the first. It is the quintessential adult coloring book— a must for anyone who enjoys this classic past time. If you need an easy gift or feel like treating yourself, you can purchase this book HERE on amazon.

This book was sent to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

If you’ve ever had a friend who is suffering something hard in life, you know the tension that exists between wanting to do something and knowing the right thing to do for them. In Just Show Up, Kara Tippetts and her friend Jill Lynn Butelyn share candidly with great grace what it means to show up for a friend who is hurting. You may recognize Kara’s name from the blog Mundane Faithfulness. Through this blog, Kara provided a window to the world of her suffering from cancer but more importantly, she threw back the curtains on what it means to live and die for Christ. 

Though death was nearly certain for Kara while she and Jill were writing this book, both women spoke at length at the need for community in the midst of struggle. Kara writes in Just Show Up, "giving and receiving get blurred in Jesus. We have received so much from others, but I believe if you were to ask them, they’d say they’ve been on the receiving end.” This book is all about how to give when it hurts and receive God’s ever present peace in return. I can think back to my own season of tremendous loss, when we discovered our unborn daughter Whitney had a chromosomal abnormality that was incompatible with life. Through the pain of this diagnosis, we clung to the Cross of Christ, and were able to experience the blessing of community. Friends brought us meals but didn’t expect to be entertained. When we got home from the hospital after I had given birth, our fridge was stocked with fruit, cold-cuts and other sandwich fixings. My very best friend who was hundreds of miles away (and very pregnant still with her own daughter) called every single day. At the time I just couldn’t pick up the phone, so she started calling my husband. Not to be annoying, but simply to check on me and pass the message along that she loved me. It took a couple of weeks for me to be in a place where my grief allowed me the energy to talk on the phone again. But you know what spoke volumes in that time I was silent? My best friend continued to call and leave a message with my husband. Every. Single. Day. I will never forget the way she selflessly loved me in that season as we were both hurting. 

Have you ever heard of a friend who was hurting but you didn’t know what to do? Maybe it was a woman listed on the prayer chain at your church. Or an elderly neighbor who has just lost his wife. Sometimes, it is people close to us who are hurting, but often it is someone we would only consider an acquaintance. The Spirit may move us to do something, but our own insecurities prevent us from stepping in to just show up. Jill Lynn offers some beautiful examples of practical ways to be present for a hurting friend. One of my favorite suggestions from this book is to offer specific means by which you wish to help. The generic “Let me know if I can be of help!” has become a catch-all phrase without much meaning behind it. Instead, offering up a specific service is much more likely to get a grateful response. Jill Lynn writes, “The beauty in offering a specific help instead of a broad one is that we get to help within our gifting.” I never feel like a good enough cook to offer meals to someone. But I LOVE cleaning & doing laundry. So when I offer to come run the vacuum and fold some laundry for a hurting friend, that is a specific request that they can then accept with confidence. 

While the difficult subject of this book may be intimidating to some, I can assure you that reading it will bless your life. You will come away from reading it with a greater understanding of what being a friend is, what living in community looks like and how to just show up. If you are interested in reading Just Show Up, you can purchase it here on Amazon. Also, you don't have to just take my word for it. Join in on the blog tour HERE to see what other readers have to say about this phenomenal new book. 

And now for the giveaway! 

 

The NIV Bible for Women is a beautiful Bible filled with 260 devotional readings, which can be read Monday through Friday for an entire year. There are also 52 Myths, one for each weekend of the year. Following this built in reading plan is easy, as there are notes at the bottom of each devotional that guide you to the page number of the next reading. The devotional readings are short, but they have reflections questions and prayer prompts to enhance your quiet time. There is also a topical index at the back of the Bible for quick reference to specific scriptures or readings. 

This is definitely not a study Bible, as there is no extraneous commentary or information given on any of the Scriptures beyond what the translation provides, it is a great Bible if you are looking for something that will guide you through a reading plan. It is also a great Bible for new believers who are looking to get a good overview of the Bible. The pages of this Bible are a bit thinner than others that I have seen, but the Bible still has a very nice and aesthetically pleasing look/feel overall. It is rather thick, so it is not one that I would personally carry with me everywhere (I prefer a more thin line Bible for that), but for reading at home it is great. You can purchase this Bible here on Amazon. 

Have you jumped on this Adult Coloring book craze yet? I certainly have! With two little girls in my house who love to color, adult coloring books are a great way to keep me busy alongside my little creative ones. The Time Garden is a beautiful, unique coloring book, unlike any of the others that I have seen. It is set apart in that it actually tells a story throughout the pages of the coloring book, rather than having a bunch of disjointed pictures put together in one book. The Time Garden is a magical journey of a little girl who travels through a clock to magical places far away.  There is a little bit of text nestled amongst the coloring pages that help give dimension to the beautiful story. 

There are 42 intricate illustrations, printed front and back on heavy, bright white card stock. This book has a great mix of whimsy with architecture, detail with abstract. I am usually not a fan of coloring books that are printed front and back, but the quality of the paper is such that I have not had any problems with bleed through. 

One of the things I look for in a good adult coloring book is whether or not the binding allows the pages to be easily colored. In fact, I prefer spiral binding for most things I write or color on. However, the binding on this color book is strong and it can bend open to where it is nearly flat. This is useful when coloring one of the twenty or so pages that are actually double-page spreads.

Finally, this book would make and excellent gift. It had a beautiful metallic embossed removable dust jacket as well as a dedication page. Pair this book with a set of colored pencils or skinny markers, and you have one excellent and easy gift that will bring hours of enjoyment to its recipient. 

For anyone who is looking to get into the Adult Coloring book scene, this is a great book for you! It is equally excellent for the seasoned coloring fan who is looking to add a little more peace and beauty to their day through the therapy of coloring. You can purchase it here on Amazon. 

Here is a look at just a few of the pages:

This book was sent to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.