Joy, Freely Given

Today I dedicate this blog post to a fellow artist whose generosity of spirit overwhelms me.

Amanda, persistentgreen.blogspot.com, has long been a source of inspiration to me. Her commitment to a vibrant, juicy, artistic life spurs me to aim for the same.

On Amanda's blog for today, persistentgreen.blogspot.com, she has launched her first e-book and wonder of wonders, is offering it as a gift. Wow.

My copy is already downloaded and printed out and displayed, eye level, at the nexus of my home.

I plan to change the pictures often, as the spirit moves me. In fact, as I was taking these pictures, I switched out the pages--look closely and you can tell!

Already, after only a few hours of walking past these vibrant pages, the level of joyful expectancy bubbling in me has risen markedly. I am finding joy everywhere, even on the sticky wrapper from a recently slurped down waffle cone :)

Amanda, sister artist, lovely  human being, fellow child of God--I salute you. And I thank you.

"He knows the angels . . . "

"He [God] knows the angels that you need,

and sends them to your side,

to comfort, guard, and guide.

These words from a favorite hymn capture the feeling of how God met me right where I was a couple days ago, and showed me quite vividly what an incredible tool He has given me, in the form of artistic expression.

Sunday afternoon I found myself swamped by some unsettling thoughts. I knew I had to l eave for house church that evening in less than an hour, but I couldn't see how I could pull myself together in time. Right as I reached out in wordless prayer, I heard, "do something arty." Before I had much time to process that, I called my sweet daughter/friend/fellow artist and really wasn't surprised to hear her echo that thought, "Why don't you work on this week's prompt for ThursdaySweetTreat?" The next 30 minutes were amazing.

My hands felt as though they were moving of their own accord, but I know it was the me deep inside, responding to the great Creator, the great Artist. I kneeled on the floor and taped out a message.

Then came drips and drabs of the two colors in my nickname: AquaMaureen. Then came blowing through a straw and the pure fun of seeing how different puffs of air and wiggling the straw to semi-direct the flow made magic happen.

Then the peeling away of the tape.

Ah . . . by me just being me, the me God made me to be, joy is exposed. Joy shows itself to lie underneath all of my life. Joy tells me that God, divine Love, is everpresent.

The alarm goes off--time for church--time to wash my hands and leave my little spot on the floor . . . let the paint dry, but take the newborn joy and sweet serenity with me. Thank You, God of all good, for showing me these ways of turning to You when my world seems upside-down. Thank You for showing me my world in all its upside-up beauty and glory.

late at night

I just composed a fairly lengthy entry . . . and for the first time since I started blogging in January, it would not post and was lost. Oddly, or perhaps not so oddly, I had questioned from the beginning whether or not I should publish that post. I guess that decision was taken out of my hands.

I'm not gonna try to re-create the entry. Instead, I'll trust that the sadness in it was NOT meant to be given any more air time.

I'll do what I had decided to do at the end of the post, and follow the example of my daughter and rouse myself from whatever I'm currently mired in via involvement in something artistic: before heading to bed, I'm gonna slosh some swipes of watercolor over the next open pages in my journal. Then, tomorrow morning, when I get ready to write, beautiful color will underlay whatever I say.

Goodnight.

Grateful for family

I'm still away from home, 12 days into my 16-day visit with my sister and brother-in-law down in Mississippi. Brother and sister-in-law from Virginia here last weekend. (My nephew snapped this great family photo--I haven't asked him yet if I can post it--hope that's okay!! Aren't we a good-looking bunch?)

I've spent two days in my sister's classroom, as a visiting author and artist. Experienced the joy of introducing watercolors and haiku to 2 dozen eager and bright-faced second graders. I will take their joy and exuberance home with me as inspiration.

We've had tons of rain here, while home in SD they are still shoveling out from a heavy spring snow. I'm due to fly home Tuesday and my daughter just told me another storm is expected Sunday and Monday . . . so we'll see who flies where, and when.

I am filled to overflowing with gratitude for family, both near and extended; for spring with all its surprises; for new beginnings and hope and renewed joy; for a fresh commitment to dare to love, no matter the cost.

Playing like a Child

I've been having the best time, re-learning to play. ThursdaySweetTreat, which you can link to from a button on my blog's home page, is a wonderful opportunity for writers and artists to play and explore and create new beauty. Many of the artists there produce items they then sell. Others of us are just creating for the sheer love of it.

I had no idea how very much I censored myself, until I started responding to these weekly prompts 4 or 5 weeks ago. I'd have an idea, have it not work out, fuss a bit and then just say "Phooey" on the original idea and begin putzing around with whatever "mistake" was before me. Soon I stopped fussing, stopped labeling anything a "mistake." Those negative assessments were very quickly replaced with "hmm, that's interesting . . . I wonder what would happen if I . . ."

Not surprisingly, a lot more giggles started escaping. A few loud whoops were heard. Many smiles silently bore witness to the birth of beauty and spontaneity and joyful expression.

Anybody out there want to give it a try? Just click on the button to the side of my blog . . .

Brave New Thing

A few weeks ago, my daughter introduced me to a blog devoted to giving artists and writers a place to explore creativity, not necessarily for profit, but for the sheer fun of it. When this week's prompt was offered, "Where the wild things bloom," something sprang to life inside me immediately. The finished product was not exactly as I'd first imagined, but even better, because the end result came about as a result of unrestrained play.

If you'd like to see more entries, visit Thursday Sweet Treat.