Things That Make Me Creative

I recently read an article (which I will share with you very soon) about feeding the Creative Mind.  Isn't that a great title?  I personally think that every person is creative, some just know how to tap into it. Some were told early in life that they were not creative.   Some, perhaps, have just not continued to hone their skills and feed the mind in creative ways.  Everyone really has to answer this question for themselves.  But as I have said before, we were created by the Master Creator and in His image - His likeness - therefore, we are creative.  Ok, enough of that.

So, I know that there are certain things that make me feel more creative.  This is a funny list in a way, but over the years, I've realized

that these things work for me.  Maybe some of them will help you tap into your creative brain.   First, WATER.  At our church, we have 2 beautiful fountains on each side of our campus.  One is the fountain that is in the center of the walk way up to the Worship Center.  The other is a gorgeous fountain that flows down from the crosses.  It didn't take me long to figure out that I could walk outside, sit for a while, and come up with a solution to a problem.  The nice thing about Texas is that most of the time it is super nice, so walking outside is so easy, any time of day, and almost anytime of year.

But here is a crazier place where I am EXTREMELY CREATIVE...the shower.  I know, crazy, but this works for me.  There is something about getting in a steaming, hot shower that helps me think up anything.  Those who work closely with me know this, although I don't talk about it much, but most of my greatest ideas since going into full time ministry have come from showers.  One reason is that there are no interruptions there.  When the kids were little, this was the place that I could be alone, so uninterrupted thinking definitely helped.  There was actually a time here in Texas that I kept bathtub crayons in my shower to write down great ideas in case I forgot them before I finished.  I know...sounds silly doesn't it, but it is so true.  If I got on a roll, I just made a list and then when I was done, I would transcribe them in my journal.  This sounds funny, but you should try it if you find yourself day dreaming in the shower.  This was quite a discovery for me.

Here is another form of water, but is a little harder to get to than the previous two - THE BEACH!  I think the beach is void of distractions for me.  Once a year my family makes its pilgrimage to the beach and there I read, I cook, I sleep, I read, I tan, I read, I cook, I read.  It is the simple life and I get to drown myself in SPF 30 and read as many books as I can.  I always get in a good fiction book, usually a medical mystery and then spiritual growth books.  Sometimes I read fast enough that I get another fiction in on the way home.  The sun, the sand, the waves, the family time...it all adds up to great thinking.  This past year I didn't even take a nap out on the beach (yes, I am a terrible sleeper).  I read and then when my mind would get going, I would write in my journal.  I usually come back to work filled to the brim.  I love the beach.  Maybe I could Robert to fund another pilgrimage to the beach all in the name of work and creativity - well, probably NOT!

I can't finish this blog without talking about what a visual learner I am.  So, put anything that the eyes can see in this category - 

movies, billboards, commercials, magazines, conferences, videos, art....I could go on and on.  I can get great inspiration from anything that my eye can see.  So, I do practice that old saying, "Be careful little eye what you see..."  Not only am a totally visual learner, but I have a photographic memory that never ends.  A wrong image stays and stays with me.  Thank goodness for being raised by great parents and having great friends - and let's not forgot that our Lord can make all things new.  This brings me back to the picture at the very top of this blog - the mind.  Notice the cross in the middle of the mind.  This is how I stay at the peak of my creativity - by feeding the mind with the things of Christ.  Daily reading God's Word, hearing my Pastor preach scripture word for word, reading books that allow me to grow spiritually - I could go on and on.  I'm never as creative as when I am in tune with my Lord - the Master Creator.  What's on your list?  Maybe I can discover something new that helps me be creative....

Proven Peter & An Old Sturdy Tree

I told you my pastor is teaching through the book of James.  I love this book.  When I was a Junior in high school, my youth pastor/Bible teacher, Larry Ray, spent an entire semester teaching and leading us through the book of James.  It was so awesome to learn at that young age all the wisdom that James had to offer.  Ever since then, it has been my favorite book of the Bible.  I think of it as my Christian mirror.  I found myself feeling led by the Spirit to do my own study of James just last year.  I was in it so long.  There were verses that the Lord just wouldn't let me get past until I picked up that spiritual mirror and did not turn away until I had come to grips or should I say surrender of what needed to be fixed in my life.  So, now, my Pastor is walking us verse by verse through this wonderfully challenging book. All in the name of STORMS!  Yes, I did say challenging, didn't I.

So yesterday we had a great sermon about facing the storm of finances.  Awesome sermon.  But the Holy Spirit had my mind rolling on a particular example that Bro. John used in his sermon.  He was talking from James 1:12, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."    Great passage.  The example was the disciples.  After a long day of feeding the hungry crowd by a huge miracle, Jesus was tired and he put the disciples in a boat and told them to head across the Sea of Galilee and he'd meet them over there.  I'm sure they were thinking, he's be rowing across like there were, but we know better.  But, let's not jump ahead, shall we.  We might miss something good.  So, here the disciples are, rowing, rowing, rowing their boat, gently across the sea, when low and behold a huge storm blows up.  This time, they do not have their teacher with them.  And, of course, they choose chaos and panic, instead of calm and peace (see Saturday's blog post).  What do they do?  They are surely going to die.  And this was Jesus's idea!  He sent them over.  He told them to get in this boat!  WHY?  To test their faith.  Now, this is a great story.  They are all panicked and what do they see out ahead in this tumultuous sea?  A white figure heading their way.  Peter, he is the first to realize.  It is Jesus.  He asks, can I come to you Lord?  And since this is a faith testing exercise, Jesus says yes.  Oh, I do love Peter!  He just steps out, heading toward the one who is standing out there just looking at them.  But then the waves, which didn't fall in calm peacefulness like the last time they were in a storm with Jesus, they are hitting up against his thighs.  He realizes his garment is soaked.  He starts to look around and sees that this isn't normal and takes his eyes off the Lord.  And immediately, he sinks.  Can you imagine this with me?  How fast do you think Peter's mind was racing?  A mile a minute?  Yes, and do you think that he actually gulped up some Galilee in his lungs before Jesus reached and snatched him up? Then the Lord reminds Peter that he must act in faith.  His question, "Why did you doubt, Peter?"

Let me sum this up for you.  I was learning 2 lessons while my mind was noodling over another storm for the disciples - another testing of their faith.  Why?  Why this exercise?  And they had an advantage over us.  They could see, feel, hear Jesus.  They lived in the moment with this God-man.  James says "when he has stood the test".  Jesus put his 12 in the boat and then sent them a test.  But he didn't leave them in it alone.  He came walking out on that water to them.  He even let Peter leave the boat.  And even when Peter chose doubt over faith, thanks to his chaotic surroundings, Jesus didn't leave him.  He reached out, saved him and then reminded him of the lesson before him. TESTS OF FAITH.  That is why the storms are allowed or even sent our way.  To test us.  To prove us.  This is where I began to think about the tree.

Do you know how a tree becomes an old and sturdy tree...it survives storms and bad weather. Every time a tree is tested against the wind or a storm, it must reach its roots deeper into the earth to hold on through the test.  A dead tree, one not connected to its water source (ohhh, that would preach) will be uprooted in a storm every time.  But a strong, healthy tree, one with great, deep roots, will stand against the storm.  It will provide shelter for the birds of the air.  It will provide shade for little children playing in the yard.  Over time and tests, it becomes proven.  And then comes that promise in James 1:12, "the crown of life."  I know that is our ultimate goal.  When we stand, persevere against these storms - practicing, proving our faith - we find the promise of the God who loves us - the crown of life.  Worth it?  Absolutely!  And you know, Peter might have sunk in the sea, but he was the only one willing to step out of that boat. That lesson of doubt verses faith was personal for him.  He wasn't an onlooker, it was him who was holding Jesus's hand out on that wave-tossed sea.  And I bet that gulp of Galilee was there as a reminder for a while.  Personal Proving!  Jesus built His church upon that Rock named Peter.  What is Jesus trying to prove in your personal storm?  Keep your eyes fixed on the One who brought this storm your way, and who is standing right in the middle of the Galilee with you.  Look through the waves and the water.  He is there.  He's always there.  

Peace or Panic, Calm or Chaos?

Our Pastor is preaching a sermon series right now called "Peace in the Storm".  We're studying the book of James verse by verse over the next few weeks and this first one focuses on the storms in our lives.  You know that old saying...."If you're not in a storm, then you either just left one or you're heading towards one."  Isn't that true in life?  I'm also reading the Max Lucado book, "In the Eye of the Storm", so I've got this big theme going on in my life.  And you know how this goes...if you preacher decides to preach on it and you begin to study it or read about it, you just mind find yourself faced with it.  And I can give an AMEN right about here.  What was I thinking when I was telling people that January is my down time...things are so calm for me right now...  Can you hear me laughing as you read?

Storms are inevitable, right?  The Bible gives us such a great storm example of the disciples in a boat, WITH JESUS, and He's sleeping.  And of course, this terrible storm kicks up on the sea of smooth sailing and they find themselves being tossed to and fro and scared out of their brains.  Funny...they've got the Master of the Sea right in the boat with them.  But not knowing fully who He was and what He could do, they wake Him up mad!  "Jesus, what are you doing?  Sleeping at a time like this?"  Hey, have you ever felt this way?  You're in the middle of a storm and you're positive the boat is sinking, and it feels like Jesus is no where to be found.  You call out and He doesn't answer you.  Is He asleep?  Well, in this story, Jesus, fully God and fully man was sleeping, but He was there and completely in control of that situation.  And when they woke Him up with a panic in the middle of their chaos, He spoke a word and the storm obeyed and fell to a peaceful calm.  Can you imagine this with me?  What?  Do that again...oh wait, that would mean we'd need another storm.  Nevermind...but wasn't that a miracle.  At the spoken word, Jesus calmed the raging sea and brought them peace in the middle of their panic and calm in the middle of their chaos.

It got me thinking that this is always my choice in the middle of the storm.  I can run around, screaming, yelling, crying, PANICKED...or, I could choose to trust that My Lord is never far and if He brought me to this storm, He's gonna bring me through this storm.  The choice is mine, "Peace or Panic?  Calm or Chaos?"  

I know you're like me and you want to choose right, peace and calm.  So, let me leave you with another of my favorite sayings, "When you're waiting for the storm to pass, learn to dance in the rain."

Praying for My New President

Today my country installed its new leader, President Barak Obama.  I did not vote for Barak Obama, and I personally do not support much of the politics that he stands on, but today, he became my President.  And today, I have a responsibility toward him as the leader of this free nation that I live in.  I Timothy 2:1 says, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."  I don't know about you, but I want to live a peaceful and quiet life as a believer in this country.  I want to be able to freely strive for godliness and holiness here in this country.  But as believers all over the nation are talking about, it feels as if Christians are the ones who could possibly be losing our freedom to live out loud what we believe.  So, my responsibility to my new President is this one thing, I MUST PRAY DILIGENTLY AND FERVENTLY FOR BARAK OBAMA.  Our Pastor shared a wonderful verse with us in our all staff meeting today....I am going to memorize it and take it to heart, and I urge you to do the same.  Proverbs 21:21, "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes."  Friend, I don't know about you, but I take comfort in knowing that My Lord, the One by which "nothing is impossible", can change the heart of any man or woman.  I'm going to pray that God will surround my new President with godly men and women who will give him godly counsel about the affairs of this country.  Just this morning, a pastor that I respect and I admire from here in the DFW area, Bishop T.D. Jakes, was the first person to speak to and over our new President in his inauguration schedule.  Bishop was given the privilege to lead the private prayer service in the St. John's Episcopal Church this morning.  Don't you think he shared Jesus?  And then Rick Warren was given the privilege to pray at the Inauguration Ceremony...and don't you know he prayed/preached Jesus during that time.  The Lord has already begun to make a way.  And today, I take up my part in this prayer.  I urge you to do the same.  Our future religious freedom could very well be at stake from it.   

August Rush

Well, I know that I am behind on seeing this movie, but once I did, it was so inspiring.  I have a friend who told me that I would love it and I absolutely did.  Now, you know that I am a huge music lover, so this story about a child prodigy just feeling the music inside him, since both his mother and father were musical geniuses, and then just one day playing like he was B.B. King's guitar teacher, well, I can buy it.  Some things you are just born with, you know.  August's Rhapsody just flowing out of him was very inspiring, but for me, there was a whole other area of inspiration.  You see, I have 2 very impressionable kids.  Bailey is 10 and just about to start piano lessons, and Brody is 8 and just about to start guitar lessons...so kids and music is very much on my radar right now.  But also, watching a child, even one from a movie script, find his potential and realize that he's been given a gift that can change the world around him...now that is inspiring.  My kids are so like this. One day, Brody is going to be a professional football player on the weekends and an artist during the week...

Oh, and by the way, he's also a professional paper folder (origami is his new fave); he's going to be an American Idol one day, since he's got a good singing voice you know.  He'll probably do 

that and then become an astronaut since he loves outer space.  Oh, let's not forget that he plans on racing Nascar cars some day in his spare time.  And then there is Bailey.  She started out wanting to be a teacher, then a dance teacher, and then just a dancer.  But, then she came out of her shell and decided that her gifts were in front of the TV or movie screen.  Now she's toggling in between being an actress or a newscaster, we're just not sure at this time.  If either one of those don't work out for her, then she'll take to producing others on TV or the big screen.  So, all of this to say, that to them at this age, the world is completely open.  It is all possible and they can achieve just any of this that they put their minds and efforts too.  

Now, they are both believers, so we know that scripture says in Proverbs 16:9, "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." (NLT)  I can certainly see this to be true in my life, and of course, it is my prayer for my children.  So, I absolutely know that God has a plan for a hope and a future for Bailey and Brody (Jeremiah 29:11)...but until the Lord begins to open those doors and direct their steps, I want them to be able to continue dreaming that ANY and ALL of these dreams that roll around in their minds and over their sweet little lips...any of them ARE POSSIBLE, especially when the Lord is on their side.  My prayer as their mom is that I won't be the limitation force in their lives.  Anytime that Brody comes up with a new "thing" he's gonna do in the future, I want him to hear me say, "Yes you can, Buddy.  You dream it, you can accomplish it."  As a former teacher, I know that there was big truth to me looking into the eyes of a student and saying, "You just can't do that."  Sometimes, that was just the harsh voice of reality helping to steer them through the door God wanted them to go through...but unfortunately, at times it was me just putting limits on their budding minds.  What a heavy responsibility I'd been given in their lives at that time...and how shameful that at times, I wasted that chance by putting limitations on them.  Thank you Lord that You order our steps and not some stupid teacher projecting herself on them...  

I can honestly say that I was blessed to be raised by parents who did not say, "You know you can't do that...you should do this."  I always felt supported and that I could achieve anything I set my mind too.  My parents encouraged me to read, to travel, to dream and then put forth the work ethic to be able to achieve those dreams.  And now, it is my turn to do that with my kids.  So, with God's help and His plan, I just might find myself being the mom of a professional football player, an astronaut, a Nascar driver, an actress or movie star.  Dream big, babies.  And as Ms. Vicki said today, "Aim for the moon, and if you fall short, at least you'll be among the stars."  Only God knows what my babies will be when they are all grown up.  I can't wait to see what they become.  I sure do like the direction they are going right now.  

Life Is A Vapor

On Friday, my husband Bradley and I were driving down the road about to get on the highway.  Looking ahead, something in the sky caught my attention.  A deep, dark, black smoke began to billow into the grey sky.  It was obviously a real fire.  Of course, Bradley and I instantly began talking about it.  But as soon as it appeared in its big, foreboding way,  it began to dissipate.  By the time we turned on to the highway we were headed towards, it was almost gone.  And it dawned on me, that is exactly how life goes.  Scripture tells us in James 4:14, "You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow; you are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."  

The reason this struck me so powerfully at this moment, was that we were on our way to the funeral of our friend, Alton LaGrappe.  In short, Alton was too young to die.  He was only 46 years old.  He left behind a daughter, Chelzi, that is only 13 years old.  He didn't show up for work on Sunday, and knowing his health problems (diabetes and heart problems), his co-workers began to look for him.  The instant the phone call came and I was told, I knew.  I know Alton, and he would crawl into work to not miss.  One reason, he was a servant.  There was no other reason in my mind for why he wouldn't be there to serve, but I needed there to be one anyway.   But that call did come.  Alton was gone.  The Lord decides when our time on earth is over, and as His ways are higher than our ways.  And on Sunday, January 11, 2009, our Abba Father decided that Heaven needed its son, Alton Joseph LaGrappe, Jr.  Our huge loss is heaven's wonderful gain.  

Alton served as my partner in the Worship Ministry at First Euless.  He had served there many years in a contract position, but in 2006, he came on staff full time to be the Technical Associate.  And thank God that our Pastor listened to the Holy Spirit in Alton's interview and

asked Alton if he was confident that he had made a decision in his life to make Jesus His Lord.  Now this man had worked on our stage for over 6 years...he had heard 100's of sermons.  But this was the first time he'd been faced with this question in a one on one situation.  And he answered no.  Our Pastor lead him to the Lord on that day.  And as a church, we celebrated Alton's baptism on November 19, 2006.  I'll never forget the roar of a cheer that the choir let out when the minister baptizing him said his name.  It was secured on that day that Alton had a home in Heaven.  

No one knew how soon that day would come for him.  But as we sat through his funeral, in a crowd of people from many different walks of life, no one talked about what an amazing resume' Alton had accumlated.  No one dropped names of the big country music stars that Alton had mixed sound for in Nashville and on the road.  No one discussed how well he knew how to EQ the system or his love of reverb at the end of a moving song.  No, on the minds and lips of every person in attendance was how much Alton loved his wife, his daughter and his family and friends.  How personable he was.  How present he was when he came to have a conversation with you.  How servant-hearted he was.  How precious he was.  And as we grieved his loss and celebrated his life, through many tears, I was reminded of the vapor - here today, gone tomorrow.  And the Lord, whom I trust needed Alton to move on to his final home, reminded me of this, "Life is not summed up in our accomplishments, but in our relationships."  

We've had many loved ones pass since we've lived in Texas.  It's been hard to be so far away.  None of these losses have been expected.  We just weren't prepared.  Goodbyes were not said.  Thank God as believers we have no final goodbye.  And now we've lost one of our Texas ministry family.  We are just not meant for his world are we?  So, I say, come Lord Jesus, come.  Until then, I will love...life is about relationships.  

Don't Limit the Impossible

I've been noodling something all day long and I just have to share with you.  I am using the 5x5x5 Devotional Guide that our Pastor has suggested we all use to read the New Testament through this year.  It is so simple - 5 minutes a day, 5 times a week and it gives you 5 ways to dig deeper each day as you read.  Loving it!  And they didn't just start us in Matthew, but the Gospel of Mark.  The guide spreads the Gospels out throughout the year so that the life and words of Jesus are a part of the entire year.  Great idea!  So, we just finished Mark 10, but Mark chapter 9 has one of my very favorite miracles that Jesus performed.  I mean, every one of them is amazing, but this is so me!  A man brings his son to Jesus out of a huge crowd.  This child has been inhabited by an evil spirit, and in the presence of Jesus, this spirit throws the boy to the ground.  In front of everyone, his little body is writhing around; he's foaming at the mouth.  What a terrible scene!  Can you imagine the father at this moment?  He came because he was absolutely desperate for help!  He loves his child, but he is at the breaking point.  Maybe, just maybe this young Nazarene he's heard so much about can help him.  Maybe the news spreading through each town about his wonders and healings are true.  He's got to at least try.  He makes it through the throngs of people and just at the very sight of this man they called Jesus, his son has an absolute fit!  Jesus just looks down at this boy, who is not in control of his own body, then he asks the father, "How long has this been happening to him?"  The man begins to describe the agony that this child has been through since he was a young boy.  And then the man makes this statement...oh, my heart breaks for him, for his desperateness.  He says, "But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  He's got Jesus full attention now.  Jesus responds questioning, "If you can?"  Ouch.  Jesus got the doubt in his voice and his question.  Then Jesus says, "Anything is possible for the one who believes."  And as quick as I'm sure he could form the words, the father yelled out, "I do believe!  Help my unbelief!"

Let's just stop and ponder this for just a moment.  There must have been something in Jesus' voice or His deep, dark eyes that look through this father to his very core.

Jesus must have known, being fully God and fully man, that his dad was crying out in desperation.  He had no hope left but to call out for a miracle o his son's behalf.  But then, not knowing Jesus or His healing power, he asked his question with doubt.  Jesus had to make sure that he understood that the question wasn't IF Jesus could do it, but if the dad would believe it could be done!  He was looking at that face and there, he found the courage to in his soul to cry out his belief, and because of who he was standing in front of, he was honest enough to include his unbelief too.  And that was all that Jesus needed from this dad.  And the evil spirit fled so fast out of this boy upon that's father acknowledgement that Jesus had the power and his confession of his doubt.

So many times, because I have read this book and have heard these stories and have known Christ for over 30 years now, I find myself forgetting that Christ "can do all things."  He reminds the disciples in Mark 10:27, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; with God all things are possible."  Lord, I believe, forgive my unbelief.

There is a song that I love to sing in my secret place when I am alone, just me and Jesus.  It reminds me clearly that God has no limits.  He is only limited in my life because I put the limits on Him, and all because of my doubt.  Forgive me Father.  If you are reading my blog and you find yourself faced with doubt of something that seems impossible in your life, hear Jesus' sweet voice sing this song over you.  

It's called "Take the Limits Off":

Verse 1:  I'm not a man.  I cannot lie.  I know the plans for your life.  I'm asking you to dream again, believe again, and take the limits off of me.

Verse 2:  No, I'm not a man.  I cannot lie  I know the plans I have for you, they're my design.  So I'm asking you just to hope again, and trust again, and take the limits off of me.

Chorus:  All I'm asking is take the limits off.  Take the limits off.  Release me to accomplish what I promised you.  Take the limits off me.  Take the limits off.  Release me, Release me....

(Music and lyrics by Israel Houghton)

Let's watch the Lord be unlimited in our lives this year!     

This Mom loves "The Diary of A Wimpy Kid" books!

So this blog is not just about work related things.  If you are a full-time working mom, like me, then you know that we actually have more than one full time job.  And when I finish the one that writes my name on a paycheck, I come come to the one that is more valuable the one I just left. Actually, I never stop my mom job...it actually makes me better at my producer job.  :)

Ok, back to children who love to read.  My daughter seemed to come out of the womb loving to read.  From the moment that she ate through her first Golden Book book, she'd loved to read.  "Read it again, Mommy", over and over and over again.  I never had to help her study for a spelling word or learn a grammar rule or work on a phonics lesson.  Nope and I totally and completely attribute that to her love of reading.

And then came my son.  Brody started school her in TX and everything was different, so as a mom, I got thrown for a loop.  When Brody failed his first spelling test in Kindergarten, (oh I'll never forget that frowny face sticker on the top of his paper...) I realized that this was a completely different ballgame than with Bailey.  So, being the great mom that I am, I put all of the next week's "sight words" and the ones he had just failed to learn, all on little bl

ue sticky notes and attached all 16 of them to the bottom of our fridge.  Just at Brody's eye level.  And every day, he and I would go into the kitchen of our little apartment at the time, and sit in front of the fridge and practice our sight words.  Now, let me just give you a picture into my world at this time.  I pulled the sticky note with the word "MY" off the fridge and held it up to Brody.  He looked over the top of it directly into my eyes and said "CAN".  Calmly, I held the note a little higher so that his eyes would fall on it and repeated "My..m..m..my".  And he said "my" and I put it back until a little later.  So, a moment or two later, I pulled "MY" off the fridge again and said, "What is this word?"  He again, looked over the top of my blue sticky note and said "CAN".  Yes, you can see where this is going.  Let me fast forward for you, on the 4th time that Brody looked over

 the sticky note...wouldn't even look at it, and said "CAN", I just said "Yes, that's right!" and put it right back on the fridge to conquer another day!  Well, Brody spent all of 1st grade attending "Reading Recovery" with a reading teacher who sent home "ouch words" - words in cards with bandaids that Brody needed to work on ( I know, regretting the sticky note moment now).  But he did recover and in 2nd grade, was in the top reading group of his class!  Success!  But reading was like a battle at home.  He was supposed to read 20 minutes every day.  One time I sent him up for a book, and then found him reading it just a bit later.  It was a book about the movie "Cars".  It had pictures of scenes from the movie with a one sentence description at the bottom.  I calmly said, "Bubby, that's really a picture book.  It barely has any words."  He looked at me with those beautiful eyes and said, "Don't worry mom, I am reading the scene from the movie in my mind."  Well, how do you argue with that.  So, now we're in 3rd grade and we start TAKS tests this year.  It all counts.  I've got to conquer this mountain in our lives!

ENTER THE DIARY OF A WIMPY KID!  We bought these books for Brody from a Scholastic Book order and he began to read them.  The first day, he read 100 pages - of a real chapter book!  He finished that book and read Book #2 right away.  I was amazed!  I was hoping that his teacher didn't think we were cheating on his reading log since every day had "The Diary of A Wimpy Kid" on it.  But it was happening!  Brody was reading, chapter books, and ones that are listed at a 4th to 5th grade reading level.  Then, for Christmas, Santa brought him a LED bendy Lightning McQueen book light, a digital bookmark that will keep up with your reading time (20 minutes a day) and "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Do It Yourself Book".  And the next time we were all at church together, he said Mrs. Vicki in the hallway, "I love to read!"  What?  Yes, you heard me!  My son loves to read!   So, as "The Diary of A Wimpy Kid, The Last Straw" hit stores today, and of course, I had pre-paid for a copy of my son, who by the way was jumping up and down, standing in the doorway when I arrived home from work today with excitement for his new book...YES, I SALUTE YOU JIM KINNEY and send my SINCERE THANK YOU for writing a series of books that has finally helped me to see the love of reading in my son!  And since Book #4 is already in the works, I'm feeling really good about 3rd grade reading!  

Blank White Pages

If you know me, then you know I carry around a big black book that I call "My Brain".  It is my journal and has everything, and I mean everything in it.  Years ago, I decided to stop keeping separate little books for office things and for home things,

 and just combine all of me into one book.  And this week, I have to buy a new journal.  The one I have right now was started in July of 2007.  Yea!  That is a lot of me, my thoughts, ideas and plans on paper.  It has become like an old friend...and I always have it with me.  I can turn the pages of it and it is like having a conversation with an old friend.  So, starting a new one has always been a little sad for me.  What if I need something that is in a past book when I'm not near the old journals that I store in my desk.  What if?  Aaahhhhh....it is a big deal to me to be staring at a big, blank, brand new journal that is absolutely EMPTY!  Will this new book find itself filled with ideas that were as impactful as the last one was?  As a person in the creative arts field, this can be daunting...the bare, empty page, void of any idea, any thought, any plan.

Last year I read a new book by Twyla Tharp called "The Creative Habit".  I loved 

it.  I refer to it often and think about the things I learned while reading it.  And better than that, I actually use a lot of what I read about and learned in my job and in life.  If you haven't read this one and you serve in the creative arts field, this is a must read!  Twyla is a choreographer and has had great impact on the world of dance.  She just recently received her lifetime achievement award from the Kennedy Performing Arts Center.  WOW!  Quite a big deal.  She writes about what has always scared her as a choreographer and that was the big, white, empty dance room.  Whenever she was to start a new project, she started with an empty box that she filled with things that inspired her steps, the music she picked, the costumes, etc.  No big, organized filing system, she'd just drop these items into this box labeled with that particular project's name.  She also videoed herself working out her choreography in her studio and that always went into the box.  But she admitted that at the beginning of a new project, there was always that bit of fear of "what if those great, creative ideas just don't come for this project?"  It is kind of like staring failure in the face at the very beginning.  Would fear keep this project hostage?  Would there be a creative road block ahead - a rut, or just nothing....SILENCE?  Twyla writes in her book about how she learned to take that white, bare world and own it and make it work for her.  Instead of fear, it became a challenge, a clean slate of fresh new work.  And because the box had all her ideas, she knew that they could be used to possibly finish another project in the future.  And as I have to begin carrying around a "new brain" for this upcoming year, I was reminded that I needed to embrace the blank, white pages that lay before me in my new journal.  Where is the faith that God will fill it with even better ideas?  Where is the joy for getting a fresh start on ministry and home with this new book?

I often feel the same way about my Mondays like I do about starting new journals...however, they come EVERY 7 DAYS!  Think about it.  We work to create worshipful moments, and then we invite our people who attend worship on Sundays to join us in a time of giving back praise to the One who directed the service we crafted for them.  I am always moved and honored that God takes the work of our hands and uses it for His good and glory each week.  And then, it is gone.  Monday hits and we have to start all over again!  A big, blank page sits in front of us as we meet together.  We take a little time to stop and celebrate the day before, but time ticks on and at some point during every Monday, our focus must change to the Sunday that lie just ahead.  But as I have decided to embrace my new journal, I have decided that this year, I'm going to embrace my Mondays.  I am often heard whispering to my husband at some point on a Sunday night, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow."

It's not because I don't love my job - you know I do!  But the next day is so blank...it needs to be filled.  And what my little whisper is, is actually me giving into fear that the next day might not find itself having creative thoughts coming from me.  But God gives this wonderful promise in Lamentations 3:22-23, "The faithful love of the Lord never ends.  His mercies never cease.  Great is His faithfulness.  His mercies begin fresh each morning."  Right there is my reason to stop whispering my fears.  God's mercy that brought us through last week, that filled the last journal full of creative ideas (and the one before that), He did not forget me last night.  He did not run out of something new for me.  He wants to continue to use me for His good and glory.  I just have to celebrate and embrace the freshness and newness of His mercies each and every day.  

So, I challenge you this year to walk this journey with me.  To look at the blank page as an awesome opportunity, wake each morning with an anticipation of the Holy One pouring over you fresh, new mercy for this day.  I'm not afraid of the new, blank, white pages that lay before me.  I'm anticipating just how God will fill up my new book, and in turn my life and the lives that I am privileged to touch in the year 2009.  Give me that new book...and let's get going Lord!  I'll meet You at the top of that very first blank page, and we'll see how You create through me.  

Created to be Creative

Psalms 139:13-14a: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made...."

Well blog world, here I am! I started blogging for our Imagine Christmas production this past year and I have to admit...I loved it. Now, I follow many blogs...see the list on my sidebar, but until the Imagine Christmas blog, I have never blogged. It was fun to have an outlet for all of my thoughts and imaginations of how the first Christmas could look to a man, woman or child in the year 2008. But once Christmas was over, I kept thinking about blogging. I found myself missing it. And when a thought or idea just won't leave my head, for me, I can trace that back to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit inside me giving me direction and guidance.

And didn't the Holy Spirit play a part in that very thing? CREATING things... In the beginning, God created...and he formed man into his image - the image of the Trinity - God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Comforter, The Holy Spirit. And once I invited Christ into my life to come and take residence in my heart, He gave me The Holy Spirit - a part of the creator dynamic trio. SCORE!

I figured out many years ago, partly by the guidance of this very Holy Spirit I just wrote about, and partly by the amazing mentors that God placed in my life over the years, that I have a flair for the creative. I like to dream, imagine, wonder, figure things out a brand new way....and being an extrovert, all of those thoughts that I "noodle" on just come spilling out on others. Hey, and I get paid to do so. Now I want you to know that I am not the end all of creative matters at my home or my church. Collaboration is the name of the game. I call my husband, Bradley, my secret weapon. I have amazing friends who are constantly emailing and calling with the "I have an idea" conversations (see some of their blogsites on my sidebar). And because I am blessed to do what I believe I was called by the Lord to do, I get to implement those ideas for the body of First Euless to see and experience. What a blessing for me and hopefully for others.

So, my hope with this blog is that I can inspire some of you with my noodling. Some of you, I hope will be touched by how I am praying the Lord directs my life this year and uses me to touch others. Some of you...I hope will simply follow along and join me on this amazing, imaginative, creative journey we call LIFE!

Look out blog world...my imagination is a big one....