On The Wall

Back in the day, in what now seems like another world, I was a campus minister who lived in residence with the students - I'd lead bible studies and discipleship groups; I'd have breakfast meetings that would meld into lunch; I'd offer fashion advice before big dates, counsel both serious and somewhat frivolous concerns, give career guidance, discipline when needed, and even provide the occasional ride to the ER.

In addition, I put my oh-so-prestigious degree in Communications to use by  speaking at our weekly campus fellowship meeting every once in a while.  One talk I gave still resonates with me - I called it "Made in the image of a creative God."  My premise was simple, we are made in the image of God, our God is creator, he is creative, he created and he still creates beauty every day.  He is creative - I am his image bearer - therefore I am creative.  Now,  before I go any further, please don't make the mistake of defining creative as "good with markers, glue sticks and puff balls" and thereby dismissing it as "something I am not".  Creative is a big word - paint the definition with a broad brush my friends!

This year for Christmas my husband blessed me with four empty frames.
Four very large and very empty frames.
And he gave me the mandate to fill them.  Fill them with MY art.  Be creative.  Create.

I've been in a bit of a funk these last few months.  Not really feeling the creative juices flowing.
Those four empty frames were a blank slate filled with both possibility and potential disaster.
Oh the pressure.

But I am creative.
I am made in the image of a creative God.
I have a husband who believes in my creativity.

And so I pulled out the camera. I snapped a few photos.
I opened up file after file of old pictures on my computer.
A little editing for lighting, some cropping, and here you have it - creativity, no markers or glue sticks required.
It's an expression of me, of the me God made me to be, of the creative part of me that reflects our God who creates.

A funny thing happens when I'm messing around with my camera and my computer - I get energized, I get excited, I feel more alive. I feel more like the me I know I'm created to be.

Thank you George for the kick in the butt I needed to get the photos off the computer and on the wall.
Thank you for giving me the tools to get my creative juices flowing.
Thank you for pushing me to be me.
Thank you for the daily encouragement to remember who I am and in whose image I am created.

It's on the wall.
Come by and take a look!