If you would like to find out what we have doing lately, go read this… and then read this.

Life in Christ is so good!

I was introduced to a wonderful blog recently, Wrapped Emotions. The author of this blog is encouraging others to use an artistic expression of their emotions and create something….anything….with their hands. In her words:

“So I created this blog to hold myself accountable to spend more time expressing myself creatively…connecting with my heart…creating with emotion. I want to encourage you to do the same. There is no better way to do this than working with your hands, your mind…connecting them with your heart. This blog’s purpose is to encourage you and me to do just that and share it with others.”

This is very intriguing to me. So, I have decided to join in the hope that the creative juices to begin to flow again!
I’d like to share the latest challenge on Wrapped Emotions:

“This week let loose…get edgy with your style…free your spirit…absolutely no fear. We had enough of that last week. This prompt is not associated with any tangible or figurative wrapper. I simply want you to experience the fun of creating. This week we’re working to feel the emotion of JOY. Not necessarily expressing the actual word or symbolism of joy in your art…you can celebrate shoe polish if you choose. But enJOY the process. Let’s create our own graffiti.”

I actually came up with two works. I first one is something that I created by starting with the word JOY. It actually just flowed from there. In the end result, I think I can see how I deal with challenges in my life. The mountains of patience, personality conflicts, misunderstandings, etc and the unexpected issues that seem to “rain” down on me at times, are all overcome by the light that exudes from the JOY that only comes from Christ.

The second work is one that basically evolved from my doodling. I had created several different shapes and colors with their own distinct expression. Beneath those shapes I used the same colors together unified in a beautiful rainbow. To me this symbolizes my thoughts about relationships within the body of Christ. We can live separate lives from those we call our brothers and sisters in Christ not giving a thought to what is really going on in each others lives. But when we make the choice to come together to encourage and support one another intentionally, the result is something more beautiful than we could imagine.

I would encourage anyone to do this activity. Whether you post your results or not, this is an activity that can give you a way to express your emotions and release the artistic abilities that are within you. I know many people would say that they have no artistic abilities to be released….I would disagree…I believe we all have emotions that can be released though creating art with our hands. There is no right or wrong way. It becomes something that is all you…it is something in you that is released on paper, canvas or whatever you desire to form your creation. So, be bold, express yourself!

I feel like I have really neglected this blog. It’s not intentional… I don’t have any reservations about writing, no desire to take a break from it…..it has just turned out to be on the lower end of my list. I also have other blogs that have been gathering dust as well. Our family blog, my homeschool blog, our foster adoption blog….all are being neglected at this point in time. It also is not that I don’t have multiple thoughts running through my head at any given time… they just end up being either thoughts that stay in my head or thoughts that I share with the person closest to me…and that is where it ends. So, if for some reason you have been waiting for me to share my thoughts, I am sorry the posts have been sporadic. I also thought I would share what is taking my attention at the moment:

In August, Steve and I made the decision that I would return to work half-time. I had taken a year off from my teaching job in the school system, so that we could homeschool our son. I had a desire to be with our son at home and a desire to use the skills and talents that I have acquired over the years with other children as well. So, going back into the school system half time seemed to be able to fill that desire. I could work in the morning (while Steve is teaching a few subjects to our son) and I would return after noon to complete the remaining subjects (when Steve started his day at ASU). Sounded great in theory, but it has actually been a hard schedule to accomplish. We’re doing it, but we are also exhausted. I had forgotten how much of your life is invested in the people you spend time trying to help. A half time teaching job doesn’t really exist. It does on paper, but in reality, I have brought work home with me many nights since August.

The other aspect of this schedule is that we don’t want our son to get shorthanded. We want him to be fulfilled and know that he is important. So, with this schedule, we make sure that we are spending time together. We’re taking a pottery class together and spending weekends as a family going on trips…it seems like we are always going somewhere!

So, this should explain my absence here on the blog. It is not wanted but it is needed at the present time. I am sure that life will begin to balance out soon for us as we adjust to new schedules and possible changes in our lives. I may have time to blog and yet I may not….and for now that is the reality of my live right now.

In all this we know that God’s love for us is real. He is showing us new opportunities and is blessing us all the time! I will look forward to sharing all that He is doing in our lives very soon. We continue to look for opportunities to love and bless others as we have been blessed by God. Sometimes it is a hard task, but looking for those moments of sharing the love of God with others is really what drives our thoughts and actions.

I really would like to continue writing about life in Christ from an artistic standpoint. I am reminded every day of the creativity of God. Hopefully, you will be reading a post about this soon!

Be blessed in your walk with Him,