Mondays with Martha: Abby's Favorite Home Space

The highly talented and creative Abby blogs over at To Form a More Perfect Union. Her blog is fabulous and oh-so-inspiring. And she's such a wonderful person. Abby was kind enough to send me a picture of her favorite place in her home.

Look at that natural light! And the cute cabinet in the corner. And that light fixture. Love it. And I happen to know she cooks some pretty fabulous food to go on that table.

My sweet friend Karil didn't send a picture, but did offer a description of her favorite home space: "I think my favorite spot in our house is the couch by the front window last week when the leaves outside were all yellow and gold."

How about you? I'm still waiting for a picture of YOUR favorite space.

Releasing the Creative Wonders Within, Part 2

Last week I wrote about part one of the creative process: just go do it. There is discipline involved in this soul-healing act of creating. Sitting down in your creative space is half the battle. But there's another part too, and that is learning to silence the critic in your own head.

It's not good enough. I don't like this part of it. This isn't how I thought it would turn out. I like hers better....

It's kind of a metaphor for life, isn't it? We look at our circumstances and think we're not doing well enough at life. We feel like we're failing someone. Or everyone. We don't like what's happening around us. Things don't turn out like we expected them to, and we would rather have someone else's life. We acutely feel the disconnect between the-way-it-was-supposed-to-be and the-way-it-is. The curse of sin and death is all around us.

So, what should we do about it? And how does this relate to creativity? I think the way we are supposed to face life is to focus on the constant of God's character and filter our impression of life through the lens of that truth. If you look at the book of Job in the Bible, Job's problem wasn't that bad things happened to him and his friends gave him bad advice (although both of those things are true); his problem was that he lost perspective. He began to view God in terms of his experiences rather than viewing his experiences through the unchanging truth of who God is. God didn't change, and His love for Job didn't change, but Job allowed his circumstances to deceive him. He began to suspect God rather than trusting Him.

I think all of this relates to the creative process. The most important aspect of who you are is that you are created by and loved by the almighty God. And if you rest in that truth, the flaws in your creations don't matter so much. You can ease up on the negative self-talk and enjoy creating because you know your Heavenly Father delights in you and in all you do in His name. Just as you delight in everything your child lovingly creates for you, God lovingly delights in YOU, and in everything that you pour out of your soul and into your creations. Your accomplishments start to not matter so much, because you know deep in your soul that you are loved absolutely. And when you feel that way, you are freed up to enjoy releasing everything God put inside you without worrying about what others think.

The just-turned-three-year-old's self-portrait.

The almost-six-year-old mainly draws monsters these days.

Something I created this week.

So, dear sister, I hope that today you know that you are loved, and I hope that you know that no matter what your life looks like God is still good and He will always love you and work for your good, and I hope that the deep knowledge of those truths enables you to live free from self-criticism, free to be all that God created you to be.

Releasing the Creative Wonders Within, part 1

I started writing this last night, when the children were heading for bed and I was in a peaceful frame of mind. This morning has not been very peaceful, and my children have made me feel like an absolute failure as a mother. The weather outside is cold and gloomy, and the last thing I feel like doing is being creative...so this is now for me more than you!

You, dear friend, are an artist. You can create amazing things. And in fact you are supposed to create amazing things. That's why God created you in His image--to create.

So, today, go create something. It'll make you feel better. I promise. Maybe you want to get out some crayons and color something. Maybe you want to write. Or cook. Maybe you want to sew, or make jewelry, or garden. Maybe you want to make music. Whatever it is, go do it.

I give you permission to leave the dirty dishes on the counter, to ignore the laundry for one more day. I give you permission to order pizza for dinner rather than cook. I give you permission to let the kids create along with you or do their own thing, whichever they prefer. I give you permission to give a few precious minutes to yourself, to create whatever makes you smile.

You don't have time, you say? Ninety percent of this creative process is showing up. It's pushing aside all the excuses and going into your creative space (which may be your kitchen table or your yard) and doing something. It's starting anything, even if your first few tries are not things you ever want to be seen or heard by anyone else. It's taking the risk of putting pen to paper or hand to trowel or spoon to mixing bowl.

So stop worrying about whether you  have three hours to devote to it, or if you're in the mood, or if you're going to like what you come up with. Stop feeling guilty about the should-be-doings. And just let the creative juices flow for 15 minutes. Or five. Or However long you have. Put away the excuses and create.

Ready? Set. Go!

p.s. Tell me what you made. But more importantly, tell me how it made you feel. I bet you'll feel happy and content and empowered when you're finished.

Glorious Boredom

Summer vacation starts in just a few short days. As you saw in my post last week, I've been in an organizing frenzy. I think I'm trying to get a hold on my sanity before the kids are home. All day. Every day. Including the days when I'm packing for our vacations, which as you saw in my other post last week are a lot of work. I have a plan for how we'll all get by this summer, which I may share tomorrow. Or I may wait to see how well it works.

I want to let you in on a little secret that I don't think my kids know: I think it's good for them to be bored. When they come to me with wails of "I'm bored! I have nothing to do!" I don't panic, I secretly rejoice. And then I offer to find them something to do, which of course they decline because they know it will involve work on their part.

The thing is, I think it is in boredom that creativity is birthed. Boredom necessitates growth. It drives kids to think and do new things. Dissatisfaction dissolves as simple joys are rediscovered.

If we fill boredom with constant outings and mom-directed activities and that brain drain called TV, it never achieves its purpose of creative discovery. But if we let it fester for a few minutes, or even a few days, it's amazing what happens. New games are created.

(okay, this was maybe not my favorite game, and that's obviously an old picture, but I couldn't resist including it.)

Old toys are rediscovered.

Siblings become friends.

 Children curl up in corners with good books. 

Culinary masterpieces emerge from the kitchen.

Stories are imagined.

 Artistic masterpieces appear on bedroom walls as if by magic.

Scientific experiments are unveiled.

Tadpoles are captured and observed.

Entire cities are built (yes, this picture is a few years old too).

So as you start this summer, go ahead and make your bucket list. Hit the waterparks and museums and mini golf courses. Take advantage of the wonderful treasure that is summer with kids. But on your days home, don't be afraid of a little boredom. Don't view it as a problem to be fixed or feel guilty if you haven't kept your kids happy and busy every single second. Don't pressure yourself to maximize every opportunity for activity or feel like a failure if days go by in which you accomplish nothing. Embrace the boredom, let it simmer for a little while, and then see what wonderful discoveries your kids make. And if you can find time for a little of your own boredom, that's even better!

Christmas Crafties

Tis the season when I start buying craft supplies for projects I'll never get to. Somehow the Christmas spirit just brings out the crafty urge in me. So, for those of you who have the same urge, here is a post all about cute Christmas crafties.

Here is my favorite homemade ornament. It's easy, cute, good for little people, and uses materials you already have.

To make this little sheep you start with a manilla folder. Cut it into a sheep shape and paint the head and feet black. Then wrap the whole thing in sheep-colored yarn (white or grey or maybe black). Tie a little red ribbon around his neck and add a bell if you want to be fancy.

For those of you with babies or toddlers, here are two handprint ornaments I've done.

The top one is made of craft foam. If you can get the child to spread their thumb apart from the rest of their fingers when you do their handprint, you can cut it into a mitten shape. The bottom one is made of wood. I'm not sure where you can get those now--they didn't have them at Joann's when I was there this week.

And here's my old standby of the last few years.

These are at Joann's right now for 50 cents each. It's fun to see the progression of coloring skills as the child gets older, and I love having each year's school pictures on the tree.

What are your favorite homemade ornaments? Share them in the comments section!

Art Class

My oldest child is in sixth grade, and in our town that means that she cycles through four "art" classes, one per quarter. The four courses are drama, art, music, and computer skills (which I have a hard time calling art, but I suppose you use it in various artistic endeavors). This quarter she's in art, and as I thought about her being in an art class for 45 or 50 minutes every day, I got a little jealous. I think at her age I would've felt intimidated by the prospect of a daily art class, since I'm not good at many of the activities you do in art class. But now, at 30-something, I'm jealous.

To have a span of time each day when your only job is to express yourself sounds heavenly. To be told to pick up fun art supplies and use them to create whatever your soul is telling you to sounds so peaceful and liberating. Maybe I just like the thought of having control over something. I can't control my screaming toddler or my obstinate 4-year-old or my sometimes challenging pre-teen, but I can control the colors and materials I use to create a picture. And while the outcome of my artwork may not be any more predictable than the outcome of my parenting (remember how I said I'm not so good at art?), at least I know it won't talk back to me or sometimes make my heart ache.



As I was contemplating the gift my daughter has in this daily art class, it hit me: I can schedule my days more or less how I want, and if I truly believe that each person is made in the image of a creative God, then my lifestyle should include artistic expression. Call it art therapy, call it worship, call itself-expression. Call it what you will, I think creativity is part of our makeup, not just a recreational pursuit. I think it's how we're supposed to live each day we have on earth, not something that should be pushed to the margins and engaged in if we have extra time. (And how many of us have much "extra" time?)

The creative expression I'm talking about could be something like cooking, or sketching a picture, or expressing myself in music. It could be coloring with my baby or writing in a journal. It could be experimenting with my camera or rearranging the furniture in the living room. It may or may not have some specific outcome, and it may not be "successful" in terms of turning out like I want it to. Perhaps the only rule for creative expression is that it is something that doesn't need to be done, that doesn't meet a purely utilitarian need (although of course it may be useful).

And so as an act of gratitude for the way God made me and the place he's put me, I'm going to give myself the gift of daily creative self-expression. I'm giving myself an art class. I'm going to have creativity be one of my daily goals, not the thing that always gets pushed aside. Or to be more specific, I'm going to set aside 45 minutes of every day for the next month to be spent in a creative endeavor of my own choosing.

Now, this is not going to be an easy month in which to set aside 45 minutes each day. I'm going to be a single parent for two weeks. And Thanksgiving also falls in this month. And the beginning of the Christmas rush. But perhaps with these added stresses this is the best possible month for this new goal of mine. What better way to help myself tackle a challenging month than to give myself the gift of time and space and peace that creativity offers? And what better gift can I give my children when I'm juggling a full schedule than a peaceful mom who encourages them to express themselves creatively also?

Is anyone ready to join me in this daily "art class" challenge? I'll keep you posted on my progress if you keep me posted on yours!