A Hodgepodge of Creative Possibilities
hodgepodge: (noun) A confused mixture; a jumble
A lesson in creative expression from my preschooler
My 4-year-old son loves to collect random toys, trinkets and trash and call it his “treasure”. He will put his treasure in boxes or containers he takes from the recycle bin and either keep them in his room or show them off in the living room.
To myself and my husband it looks like a hot mess, but to my son, each part of his collection holds value (and we dare not say anything different)!
Very rarely, will the items he puts together make sense, but if you ask him to get rid of anything or suggest a different want to organize his “things”, you are met with a sharp “No”.
To him everything goes together.
Paw patrol figures, scraps of paper, band-aids, crayons, buzz lightyear toy, hot wheels car, magna-tiles, the list goes on and on.
He sees something in his “hodgepodge” of things that my husband and I don’t. His treasured possessions hold value and meaning to him.
Because they belong to him.
We are God’s treasured possessions. He sees something in us that we can’t see. The bible calls us God’s “masterpiece” and that we were created to do good works He prepared for us in advance.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 NLT
In many ways I admire my son, he is always throwing stuff together without second guessing himself. When I watch him build his masterpieces, aka hodgepodge of “things” he is proud of his accomplishment.
He is not second guessing himself or his ability.
He is not worried about what mom, dad or older sister think about his “masterpiece”.
He knows exactly what he is making and works hard to see his creative vision come to life.
He is free to create — without worry or fear.
There is true freedom as we experience the fullness of our creative expression, but the question is — will we let ourselves “go there”?
Upside-down vs. Right-side-up
As I write this, I am on a silent writing retreat. I’ve been away from my family for over 2 days and haven’t spoken a word to anyone in over 24 hours.
Even though I’m sharing a house with 4 other people.
Taking this time away from my family to remove myself from all the noise has been easy in some ways but difficult in others.
One thing I noticed about this “silent retreat thing” is that people either think it’s a brilliant idea or a terrible one— there is no in-between.
“Oh, that sounds like something I need.”
“I wish I could go on a retreat!”
OR
“I could never be silent for that long.”
“I need to talk.”
I’ve been journaling, reading and sleeping (yay naps)! I’ve also been tackling a form of creativity that I really like but have held myself back from fully embracing because it didn’t look “professional” and I didn’t feel “proud” of it.
Well, when you’re forced to “be still” and “rest” and you happen to bring your art supplies, it only makes sense that you bust them out a few times.
And that’s what I did.
I played around with doodling and drawing in response to writing out a scripture of the day as part of the #100dayproject (more on this later) and I also grabbed my watercolors and took to the dock to gaze out at the bay and paint what I saw.
It was a foggy, rainy, overcast day. Not exactly your typical “beach weather” —but it was beautiful.
The overcast sky, the water resembling reflective glass, and the clouds appearing as if expertly painted created an ambiance of mystery, casting everything in a veil of fog.
While I marveled at God’s creation — I created. I painted. I followed what I saw and blended colors together just like they were in front me.
And when I was done, I saw what I had made and concluded it was good. It was good not because I was good, but because He is good. Everything God created is good.
But it gets better.
I had oriented the page to draw the sky and the water a certain way, and upon grabbing my supplies I happened to glance at my picture “upside down”.
There was no doubt in my mind this picture was not upside down, but right-side up. I was so meticulous in my making, but God ultimately was the one who created through me. Which do you think is the “upside-down” one?
Immediately two insights come to mind:
Sometimes we need to just “flip our perspective”.
Things are not always what they seem.
Flip your perspective: Is it resistance or something else?
Speaking of which, I’ve been working on a book idea/project/proposal for over a year, and I’m at the point where my next step is sending query letters to potential agents and publishers. But before I start trying to climb that mountain, I figured I would have someone else look over my query letter since I’ve never written one before. It’s also worth noting my book idea/project is met with the same feedback every time, some positive and some negative.
When I’ve received these comments in the past my response is along the lines of:
“That’s ok, this book isn’t for them!”
“They don’t get my vision, but there will be someone out there who does.”
And if I have been bummed for even a second — all I had to do was reread my proposal and sample chapters to pump me back up about the need to get my book out into the world and into the hands of faith-filled creatives that need to fulfil their calling to write a book.
For whatever reason, the feedback I got this time around rendered me ready to throw my proposal and entire book idea into the “meh, I’m not feeling it anymore” pile.
So, I resorted to my usual creative pep talk go-to.
I played my “reread your proposal and get excited again” game. Nothing.
I actually cringed in some places because many of my word choices are no looking working for me — to say the least.
I thought that my lack of interest and excitement in my project was a sign God didn’t want me to pursue it anymore, but thanks to the idea to bring The Artist’s Way with me on my retreat, Julia Cameron hit the nail on the head to what was really happening.
A creative U-turn. And a sneaky one at that.
A creative U-turn is basically the tendency to abandon ship due to fear, failure, rejection, or any combination of the three.
The only thing to do to fix your U-turn is to turn back and keep going.
So that’s what I did. I am determined to see the project through until the end. I still have so many questions about what this book is supposed to be and look like, but I know I’m supposed to keep going — even if “nothing” comes from it.
I’ll take care of the quantity; God will take care of the quality.
Questions for reflection:
What are some of your creative U-turns? What have you prematurely abandoned in the name of creative resistance?
How can you take one small step towards creative resilience?
Have you ever experienced freedom in your creative expression?
What does it look like for you to take care of the quantity of your creative works and let God take care of the quality?
Taking a leap (or two or three)
I want to share this podcast interview I did with Rachel G. Scott on her Taking the Leap Podcast last year. Her podcast is focused on the different “leaps” we make to follow God and His call on our lives. She even has a book on this subject that is coming out on March 15th and available to preorder now. During our conversation I shared my journey of God calling me away from teaching in academia several years ago in order to step fully into my calling as spiritual growth and writing coach, editor, author, and speaker. I thought I had fully leaped into my calling…
But as it turns out — He’s not done with me yet.
To Live and Create Transformed is my hope for all faith-filled writers and creatives. My heart is to help those who have a creative dream, but fear, worry and doubt hold them back from embracing their true calling.
And as a result, they have yet to experience the fullness of God through their creative expression.
For this reason, it is my desire to create content for those who are seeking to create for God and with God but want a little support, encouragement and accountability along the way.
I’d love your thoughts about some ideas and plans that God has placed on my heart for some “things” in the future.
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Client Spotlight: Shayla
I can’t wrap this up without giving an extra special shout-out to my client, Shayla! Shayla launched her book on Jan 25, 10 things I hate about my Husband, and it immediately became an Amazon best-seller! Even more important than becoming a best-seller, this book has ignited her fire and passion to help women thrive in their marriages. It was an honor to be able to help her bring this book to life, and I can’t wait to see where God takes her next! You can grab her book on Amazon here.
That “100 Day Project” thing
You thought I forgot, didn’t you? I told you earlier I was going to share more details later, and later is now. This year will be my first time participating in the #100dayproject, which means for 100 days I’m committing to making art.
I’m scared, but excited. For 100 days I’m going to be….
Painting.
I wish I could get out and paint something in nature or landscapes every day, but in the case that I can’t — I’m going to stick to my “color and paint” scripture response.
Meaning I will read a verse, write it out, and then paint in response to it. Sometimes the best way to express ourselves is not through our words, but through color. (The writer in me can’t believe I just said that!)
But here is your invitation to join me and so many other people doing the same thing!
check out the full details on Instagram @dothe100dayproject or learn more at
Hurry though, the official start is Feb 18th! I would love to know if you’re joining me in this creative adventure — comment below and maybe we can start a group for extra accountability!
I know this was a long newsletter, so thanks for hanging with me until the end!
Cheering you on in your creative journey,
I loved this installment. It encouraged me to keep going with my revisions...and to keep playing around with oil pastels.