The Winner of The Scrapbook of Scripture Book Giveaway Is...


I decided to write the names of the giveaway on slips of paper and have my daughter Sarah pick the winner. The winner is Suze from Sues Views. Suze is a very talented mixed-media artist who lives in the Midlands in the UK. Congratulations Suze. I have already ordered the hard copy version of the book, and as soon as it arrives I will send it to you.

rose


A Scrapbook of Scripture A Scrapbook of Scripture is my first book, published by Blurb and is a devotional found in their book store under the category of Religious and Spiritual books. They have provided a badge on my sidebar that links you directly to Blurb to preview the book. The images on this post are taken from the book.

I discovered years ago that standing on the Word of God truly helped me. It relieved me of stress, and enabled me to let go and surrender worry and grief. Every time I began to worry, I would read a verse that spoke to my mountain and I was able to allow God to take over my circumstance as I surrendered and believed the words found in the scripture. This was not an easy undertaking in the beginning, and I had to practice changing my mind. Every time a nagging thought would try to break into my mind, I would read the verse that spoke to the situation. Some days I would read it over and over again. I say read, because I am not very good at memorizing scripture, so I wrote it down in journals. Year after year, for twenty-five years as I practiced this exercise my faith was strengthened. I also ended up with many journals filled with scripture that fit specific circumstances in my life.

Swan heart "meet cute"


God continues to lay parables at my feet to illustrate how He is working in my life one day at a time. As an artist, the Lord speaks to me through visual images, which I can see as parables that teach me how God cares about even the smallest details. The visual images reflect how the Word of God is alive. My devotional is place where I share these images and thoughts.

Pumpkins in Concord


Living abroad taught me many lessons. I came home after being away from my country for ten years. I think I learned to appreciate everything even more, especially differences. I love different cultures, backgrounds and traditions. I learned that it doesn’t matter where we live because we bring the sense of home with us. I think I will have wanderlust for the rest of my life. Yet I have learned through all the disruption of moving, how to create comfortable places and decorate them from my heart. My goal is to decorate this corner in Blogland, which I call My Devotional with the Word of God.

pink hydrangea watercolor


I have been on a spiritual quest for most of my life. Studying everything that seemed spiritual. I gave my life to Christ twenty-five years ago and have never wavered in my decision. Once I had given my heart to the Lord, I searched for a church that would speak to my spirit. It was not until moving to Hong Kong that my faith became deeply rooted. The church I found was alive in the people I met, whether Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Spiritualist or Christian. No matter what path they followed as long as God was the focus of their lives I learned how to apply that mindfulness to my own faith.


Swan's Nest


I adore devotionals and I have many that are stacked for me to read every morning and evening. Devotionals usually hold a message accompanied by scripture. I wanted to create something that was a little journal that you could pick up from your purse, your briefcase or in your studio, kitchen or office when you needed to renew your mind. So, I set out to create a series of devotionals that will hold images and words of God's beauty and promises. My first book is a devotional for One Day At A Time, the same name as my on-line devotional. This is the little book that I wish I had when I was first learning to read the Bible. The book I wish I had at work, or when my children were small, so that I could pick it up whenever I needed a reminder of God's promises. To celebrate this first little book I am offering it through Blurb profit free. It will cost exactly what it would cost me to purchase.

A Scrapbook of InspirationI am so thrilled at the gorgeous product that Blurb offers, and the ability to design a book that they will expedite and ship to anyone who is interested in buying it. The book is offered in a softcover for $12.95 and a hardcover for $22.95, not including shipping costs. When I received my first copy I was so impressed with the packaging. I ordered the book on February 22nd and it was received on February 26th. They offer a preview of the book, which is available if you click on the badge on my sidebar. It does take a few minutes to load, so be patient. Once the preview is loaded, you may scroll down to a few pages. I dedicated this book to my mother, Doris, who has been and continues to be my spiritual friend.

After The Rain


My plan is to write a series of devotionals called A Scrapbook of Scripture for different topics. They will have scripture that I have used over the years to comfort, encourage, renew, celebrate, and help me through the ups and downs of life...one day at a time. I have taken my journals for the last twenty-five years and selected my favorite scriptures. I will be hand-picking favorite photographs that I have taken and artwork that I have designed to bring to life the beauty that we see daily that remind us of how much God loves us.



To further celebrate I would like to give a copy away as my gift. If you leave a comment on this post I will use the random number selector to chose the winner and have Blub send you this gift from me. I will announce the winner on Monday, March 3, 2008.

"Everything that was written in the past was written to teach me, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures I might have hope."
Romans 15:4


The song for this post is Wonderful, Wonder.

A Scrapbook of Scripture
Anonymous said...

Congratulations! It looks just beautiful - the phots are gorgeous! That's so exciting that you plan on doing a series! Good luck!

manuela

~~Deby said...

What a wonderful giveaway...
This is very generous.
Deby

Kathleen Grace said...

Congratulations on your beautiful book:>) How exciting to see something you made in print, I would love to be added to your give-away!

Mary Isabella and Kiley too! said...

Congraulations!!! Do you know how much I would love to own a copy of this book. It is so beautiful. When one speaks from one's heart to another it means so much more....Blessings

Tara said...

This was the most fulfilling post I read today--thank you!!

Cherish the Home said...

I'm so excited to get the art I purchased from you, yay!! (o:

And I agree with Deby, it's very generous of you to give away a copy of your new book.

Blessings,
~Mrs.B

Lin said...

CONGRATULATIONS, KAREN!! IT'S ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL .......

kari and kijsa said...

Congratulations...you are so talented...we absolutely love the layout of the book! What a blessing! Thank you so much for sharing your devotions with us!

smiles, kari & kijsa

Tina Leavy said...

congratulations on your book! it looks lovely. the photos also on this post are so pretty.

winnsangels said...

Karen, I am brought to tears. I am so impressed that you have had this book published. Your photos are all so inspiring, as are your words. I feel so touched with your blessings every time I have contact with you. And I suspect that is much more often than I ever realize.
Thank you.
Blessings and many angels,
Wendy XO

One Knit One Purl said...

Karen,

It looks so nice! God has favor upon you!

Love, Susan

Kathy said...

Dear Karen,
What a blessing for you to be able to share your talent in such a beautiful way. While it would be a pleasure to win the book, I look forward to owning it either way. You have been such an encouragement to me in blogland. I know your book will bring glory to God and encourage your readers in new ways. Best wishes at its publication. ~ Kathy

Anonymous said...

Hi Karen! Just flying by to one of our favourite places to visit, we miss you already!! Just wanted to say Congratulations on your beautiful book, that is just fantastic! We have also caught up with your previous posts and my goodness the snow in New England is an absolute treat, how divine your photos!!! We will be coming back to look again when we have much more time next week. It occured to us you may not have our email address, its' jennhudson@bigpond.com as our blog undergoes a revamp comments are off for now. Thanks for a wonderful post Karen, a true joy to enjoy :) Jenn and Jacqui

Our Hands For Hope said...

This book looks just beautiful. Isn't it amazing how our Creator imparted creativity into us! I love it. My prupose in this season of my life is to let others know creativity can be a form of worship. Thank you for sharing yours.
Terisa

Celestina Marie said...

Karen, Congratulations on your beautiful book. What a blessing and talent you have been given and to share. The pictures are lovely. I too, would love to own one of your books. God Bless You!
Celestina
La Rea Rose

Natasha Burns said...

Karen your book is beautiful! Congratulations!!! And wow you are giving one away? Even more wonderful! Thanks for your generosity!

Cape Cod Washashore said...

Congratulations on your endeavor! What a beautiful way to present what you have learned through the Scriptures. I, too, collect passages which help me, although mine usually end up on scrap-paper stuck in my handbag, jeans pockets, or on the highchair in the kitchen! lol I'm going to have a look on Blurb right now! =)

Rhondi said...

Hello dear Karen Your book is wonderful!!! I am so happy for you that you were able to publish a book. I sure hope I win it. But if I don't I'll be purchasing a copy for sure.
Thanks for the kind comment on my blog. I'm thankful I found you too! The word of God has been my comfort and strength for many years too.
Rhondi xo

K said...

This is so wonderful, Karen! Congratulations on putting this altogether. I think it is a lovely idea and I know it will be so beautiful to see all your wonderful work and the scriptures together.
Bless you!!

Anonymous said...

Hello Karen,

Congrats on our book!
Such great content and beautifully designed.

Gabriela

Anonymous said...

How lovely! Congradulations on your book! Thanks for sharing with us!

Anonymous said...

So beautiful - and lovely artwork! Congratulations!
Jane

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Karen,
What a beautiful book! Just beautiful!
Penny

The Feathered Nest said...

Karen, I would love to be entered into your giveaway!! Your photography is absolutely gorgeous and I'm sure that your book is as well, to read and to see ~ Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for you kind words! Have a wonderful weekend, xxoo, Dawn

Anonymous said...

Congratulations dear friend, on such a beautiful, beautiful project (and blogpost). I would very much love to have my name in the hat for this draw, please. Third time of trying, as wordpress & blogger seem to have fallen out with me lately, and keep losing my comments :(
Tomorrow is Mother's Day here in the UK and I very much hope to treat myself to a day of writing letters! I owe you a loooong one :)
Much Love and Many Blessings to you, dear Karen. You are such a blessing to us all xXx Thank You!

Unknown said...

Thank you for leaving your lovely comments. I can't wait to announce the winner on Monday.

Blessings, Karen

PattieJ said...

What a beautiful book! Congrats!

Pattie

Anonymous said...

Please tell Sarah that I love her! :D I can't believe I won and am so very excited. I will treasure the precious book forever, Karen. Thank You so much!
Blessings, always.
Suze xXx

Unknown said...

Your welcome Suze. I can't wait to receive it, so that I can mail it to you. I could have Book Smart send it to you direct, but I want to put some goodies in the box too! Blessings, Karen

SweetAnnee said...

It looks most lovely..I am going to go look for it.
lovingly, Deena

winnsangels said...

WOW! Congrats Suze. You are so very fortunate. I am envious. :D
Karen, I want you to know that I feel so honoured knowing you, just for who you are but also for the fact of publishing this book. I know that I will be ordering a number of copies to give as gifts. It is so beautiful, so filled with grace.
Thanks for telling us about this very lovely treasure.
Blessings,
Wendy XO

Melissa said...

all of your photos are sooo beautiful and rich!!!! how do you do it!

Cherish the Home said...

Congratulations Suze!

Karen,

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your new blog look! I really think your lovely photos stand out even better and the layout seems more spacious. Easier on the eyes too.

Great job!

Blessings,
~Mrs.B

Anonymous said...

yo... luv this thread..

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