Category: Creativity

What I have learned best is what I do not know. I do not know how to be gentle. I do not know how to be selfless and humble.  I do not know how to be careful of what I say.  There always is a flip side to your strengths. The other side is of course your weakness.

It is a fine line to learn to walk in humility and be a confident person. Also a fine line to being courageous and being gentle. Usually one will take over the other.  I admire people who are gentle and strong. What that looks like is someone who is not defending themselves but others, and someone who is thinking about conquering lands so that the greater good is accomplished.

I think of Jesus of course as modeling that. He could have obliterated everyone in HIs way but he remained meek.
Strength without gentleness is usually cruel. There are many examples of that as you know. I need not go into them because that is by far the easiest road to take.

The same goes for mild people by nature. It is equally hard for them to show strength when it is needed.  In this difficult world full of people with all these tendencies, it is wonderful to have Someone to turn to for help. Someone so much bigger than ourselves that it is astounding that He even lets us live one more minute.

Painting:  VanDyck, Suffer Little Children to Come Unto Me

One of the most helpful things I have learned over the years is not to take myself too seriously. That said, you should  be very serious about yourself. On the one hand, you don’t want to go marching around with a better-than-thou attitude. You also don’t want to walk around with a lesser-than-thou attitude.

I have found when I slip into the latter, I have all kinds of excuses for not doing hard things. “It is not my comfort zone”, “So-and-so is better at it than me; let them do it”, “I was never any good at that, so why even go there.”

Harumph . Those are big-time cop outs and are tremendously selfish and wicked. I think you should try everything because you might have something I need. I want it . I want you. I need you, and Everybody else needs you too. So stop complaining and making excuses . THE ENTIRE WORLD NEEDS YOU. because there is only one you in the entire world. Ever think about that????

To ask yourself that question, you have to know what the alternatives are. Is it worth it to exert all this energy on something that only has a slim chance of working? The alternative is don’t expend any energy on it and  see how that feels.

It probably will drive you crazy. to even have the thought of doing something hard, really hard, is not a normal state of affairs. We don’t want to do anything hard. WE want to be comfortable. You only have that drive if it is something that is compelling.

Nine times out of ten, if it compels you it will compel others. At least it will compel enough others to make it worthwhile.

If  you are like me — and I know you are — I am constantly looking for new things to grow, new ideas that I can use to help the compelling idea get off the ground and fly.  That is why you are reading this right now.  Sometimes I do post things you can use so that is why you are back. You want something.

Here it is. We all want the same thing. Help. We want to have a conversation with anyone who can help. And you don’t know where that help  will come from. Here is an example. My husband has invented this thing and does  not know how to go about getting patent for it. No clue. I was casually talking to my friend and she mentioned that a couple in our church do that all the time. Who knew. That just happened a few hours ago. Now he is on his way with step two of the process.

This happens thousands of times in ones life. And it all comes from a conversation. So my advice for today is Look , talk, look , talk ,write it down and then act. And it will be worth it.

Yesterday I was hanging out with my friend who is so different from me but in a good way. She is like a tight weave and I am like a loose weave. I was thinking how interesting it is having that combo in a relationship. We have known each other for years and years and have gone through a lot together. She has always been a loyal friend that never never forgets to call me on my birthday and keeps tabs on what is going on in my life. It is always so great to find what she has been up to and how time is treating her.

Together we make a nice potholder. Her tightness and my looseness combine to make a strong and flexible cloth.

Sort of like our lives. When she is down I am up and visa versa. She is a constant encouragement to me and I hope I  make her feel safe and secure . That is what she needs so that is what I give her.

Some friends need other things and we need other things from them. How wonderful to be here and not be alone in the world. On this Lords Day  think about how many people you have that care about you and know that they are not there by accident. It is not a fluke that we are where we are.

This morning I am talking about being glamorous. It is very late in life that I figured this out. The more glamour the better it is for everyone around you. I am a firm believer now in making yourself look really flashy for your husband and making your house feel glamorous for everyone who comes to call. That is because glamour is nothing less than joy of living. It is living with style and panache and joie de vivre and passion and all the good and beautiful things.

I started doing small glamorous things when I started wearing big beautiful bracelets. Every time I would look down and see it I felt better about everything. Taking that a step farther led me to thing well if a little is good more is better.

I heard a story about Jan Crouch once. She is a televangelist that is pretty far out there but she looks way way glamorous. At first I thought she looked silly but then I heard that she dresses like that because she once suffered from severe depression and when she came out of it she decided to live in a way that showed her appreciation for life.

When you hear the rest of the story it changes how you see someone doesn’t it?  Her fake eyelashes and wigs a mile high all really elaborate but they take on new meaning/ Well you don’t have to suffer sever depression to figure out that some glamour goes only to a good place for your life and everyone who looks at you and your house.

Be Extravagant and with audacity  and live live live. Or as Liza Minnelli said “Say Yes to Life!”