Hope

This time last year I had just begun to doodle and to dream.....it's been an eventful year!

The "adventure" into colouring books was totally unexpected, and began with what seemed to be something negative.

I had strained my hand through too much intricate and repetitive hand embroidery and had been forced to take a break from my usual work. In hindsight this was such a blessing and opened doors I hadn't even dreamed were a possibility, but this came only after a time of questioning my career, my calling and future plans. I spent time seeking God and praying about what it was He'd created me to do.

During this time, God reminded me of the things that first inspired and motivated me. He renewed my passion to use scripture in my work, the words of the Bible have always been an inspiration to me and I began to become more and more excited about trying to capture something of what God was saying and communicate it and pass it on to others.

I have always been reluctant to show my work, it doesn't come naturally or easily and this was something else I felt God was challenging me about. I had huge stashes of work literally hidden under my bed! I remember sitting on that bed while I was reading the passage from Luke 8v16;

"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under the bed. Instead they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light" (NIV)

and Matthew 5v16 " Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven." (NIV)

I know that one of the things God was asking me to do was to show my work instead of hiding it away, and it was because of this I slowly and nervously began posting on Instagram and more recently on Facebook.

These were the first little steps that began the adventure into the world of colouring books as I began to doodle scripture verses and post them on social media!

A year ago I couldn't have imagined how popular and successful Images of Grace and Images of Hope would become. The books are selling in their thousands worldwide which is something way, way bigger than I could ever have dared to dream. This adventure is taking me a long way out of my comfort zone, but I know that it's something that God instigated, something He inspired and something He made possible.