3 August 2016
They’re here! These brand new board books arrived filled with delightful stories by Amy Parker and darling illustrations by my sister Breezy Brookshire!
This series of three board books features an elephant, an owl, and a hedgehog:
(And there is a devotional available for pre-order, which will release November 1st: “Faith, Hope, and Love Devotional”!)
While I’m probably Breezy’s biggest fan, I’m also her visual editor. That basically means that I handle the digital side of her book illustrating – once she has finished each painting, it goes through my hands as I scan, edit, and prepare it for the publisher.
It’s amazing to hold the fruit of countless prayers and many months work by a great team with B&H Kids. From manuscripts to thumbnails, to sketches and watercolors, to scans and PDFs. *happy sigh*
There’s a calm to seeing a project come full circle, completed and ready to share with the world. Faith. Hope. Love. That joy of knowing it’s finished… and now it’s going out in an effort to encourage and inspire many little people, just like when “Audrey Bunny” and “For Such a Time as This” released.
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.”
—1 Corinthians 13:13
This post contains affiliate links – thanks for using them to shop on Amazon!
31 December 2014
Every year we like to welcome the new year at midnight with the clanging of pots and pans, laughter, and eager anticipation of the days to come. How quickly one year ends and a new begins! But the best part of it all? That our God is all-powerful and ever loving, good, and faithful.
Looking back with thanksgiving and forward with hope, I found the following both beautiful and humbling: A Prayer for Year’s End from “The Valley of Vision.”
O Love beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
when thou takest away,
when the sun shines upon me,
when night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me another year,
leading me through a twisting wilderness,
in retreat helping me to advance,
when beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.
A joyous New Year to you all!
25 December 2014
A very happy Christmas to you all!
Rejoicing in this good news…
“Who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
—Philippians 2:6-11
13 June 2013
We’ve enjoyed picking these juicy red beauties from our strawberry patch this week. God has blessed us with an abundant and oh-so-delicious harvest!
P.S. There’s a give-away of Breezy’s “Teach Them Diligently” chalkboard art print and an opportunity to help a family in need!
20 May 2013
Praising God for this new family!
It was a delight to stand and rejoice with this dear couple as they covenanted before God and man to be husband and wife. Looking forward to all that the Lord has in store for this family as they seek Him in all their ways!
“In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
—Ephesians 5:28-34
26 March 2013
Great joy comes with working together as a family. With businesses born and run in our home, we’ve learned what a blessing it can be to manage cottage industries.
Each part of the family contributes a different skill, giving the rest of us even more appreciation for the various talents God gives people. We’re all working alongside each other towards the same goal, growing in our relationships with one another and in our walks with the Lord. We love it! Whether it’s illustrating a new art print, or writing a note to be shipped off with an embroidery kit, we take pleasure in the work God has given us.
Although it wasn’t necessarily a dream of ours to own businesses, we are thankful that the Lord has directed our steps and laid in our laps many projects and opportunities over the past few years.
We’re certainly not business experts, but a lot has been learned along the way (more than we ever imagined!). There is much, much more to learn and we always find it a great opportunity when we can gain wisdom from wise and experienced entrepreneurs.
14 February 2013
The past couple months have been filled with a great many things! New patterns are in the works for Clementine, wonderful books are being read, coffee is being brewed (and heartily drank), memories are being made, and hearts are filled with gratefulness. (What a wonderful God we serve!)
One of the projects (details still under wraps) involves a good deal of this:
Breezy (left) illustrating and yours truly (right) scanning and editing illustrations. It is such a joy to be able to work alongside my sister. Not only do we share a home studio, but our interests and talents compliment one another, going hand-in-hand.
How wonderfully true this is:
“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?” —Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
To top it all off, we all – even our dog Bently – are enjoying every ounce of sunshine the Lord sends.
22 November 2012
Breezy drew this lettering based on Psalm 111:1 with chalk on a framed chalkboard.
In the kitchen, near The Thankful Tree.
“Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is His work,
and His righteousness endures forever.”
—Psalm 111:1-3
Have a most joyous and blessed Thanksgiving!
P.S. I would love to know what you are thankful for – feel free to share with me in a comment!
16 November 2012
Autumn is such a beautiful season – the colors, the weather, etc. More than that, though, it is beautiful to see people give thanks, counting how many ways God has blessed them. And for each and everyone of us living and breathing, that list is unending.
One way we display reminders to cultivate a thankful heart is with The Thankful Tree. This year instead of scrapbook paper we are using wooden chalkboard tags.
For assembling, all you need is:
• Sticks
• Wooden Chalkboard Tags (make your own with wood slices and chalk paint or buy them already made)
• Chalk (you can sharpen the chalk with a pencil sharpener)
• Scissors
• Glass Jar – gallon (shown) or half-gallon
• Assorted Nuts, for extra beauty
• Burlap and/or Ribbon, for extra beauty
• Thankful Heart (“I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart…”)
“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name;
make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
tell of all His wondrous works!”—1 Chronicles 16:8-9
Are you building a Thankful Tree this year? What blessings will you be etching on the ornaments?
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