Seasons

I'm a creative person. It's taken me a long time to finally allow those words to cross over my lips. Not sure why, exactly...maybe if I "admit" that to myself there is some kind of responsibility to actually create something unique and original. And that is a lot of pressure!

Just like you, my life has seasons. Sometimes I am crazy busy, no time to think, create or care for my soul. In those times, I'm dry, distant and feel a wee bit lost and can't seem to find my way back to me, let alone God.

I even have specific seasons that are associated with my level or interest in creativity. Sometimes I'll enroll in any class I can just to learn something new: a stained glass class, a jewelry class, pottery class - all at the same time! I'm pretty much a "jack of all trades, but master of none."

Other times I'm dead set set on focusing in only on one interest, say...writing, and all I want to do is that. Right now, I'm entering a new creative season ~ a new outlet for creativity...cooking. Lately, all I want to do is read cook books like they are intriquing novels and I meander the aisles of Giant seeking out strange ingredients for complicated recipes. The challenge of tackling a recipe with three parts and 30 ingredients is stimulating. It's funny because just a few months ago I shied away from any recipe that called for more than five ingredients.

I used to be hard on myself for trying many different creative avenues, driving down each one to see if it's a place I'd like to call "home." But I'm still exploring new roads to see where they take me...and I'm not sure I'll ever locate my final destination. But that is okay. I've learned to enjoy the journey that I'm on, seasons and all. God gives me these new interests - each time expanding my mind and stretching my abilities. He meets me in every one. Soon I'll have my hands deep in the earth's soil planting new life and creating a welcoming garden. I know I'll meet Him there too.

What creative season are you in? Maybe it's a blooming season? A place where He is calling you to try something new? Or maybe He's calling you back to an interest which has been shelved due to the demands of adult life? Or maybe you are in the dog days of summer season where creativity is low, or feels dry. Don't ignore the little nudge you feel to create. Listen, and let God surprise you...

grace & peace on the journey ~ deAnn

iTunes + Podcasts = Cool Stuff

I download songs, sermons and Podcasts regularly from Apple iTunes. Well, tonight, I thought I'd be wild and crazy so I type in strange things into their search engine. For instance, "pottery", "writing", "painting", "digital photography", "Photoshop" and there are a lot of educational Podcasts on these creative topics! So, I subscibed to loads of them, more than I'd ever be able to listen to in a life time. And get this -they are free!

So, if you have an iTunes icon already living on your desktop, explore it deeply. If you don't have an iPod or MP3 player - you can still download iTunes and get the benefits of the free Podcasts and explore a new hobby or learn more about one you already love!

Be creative! It's in you. Really it is.

grace & peace on the journey ~ deAnn

Necessary Togetherness

“I get so much joy out of creating that I’m always encouraging others to join in. They’re missing out on the fun because they’re too focused on producing a great result. Art is in the doing. It isn’t important how it turns out. The process is where the pleasure, the learning and the experience take place. A day without some sort of creative endeavor is a wasted and lost day.” ~ Myrna Wacknov (age 65)

What about this quote really speaks to you?
(if you want, respond by clicking "comments" at the end of this post)

For me it's the line, "focused on producing a great result." I admit, the creative life that lays below the surface of my heart is a scaredy-cat. It takes serious positive self talk to even get out my pencils and sketch pad! Crazy, I know. But we hear that "inner critic" and listen to that voice instead of the One who created the creativity within us. That is why we need one another, to encourage creativity. The Triune God created/creates in community. I think that is something we ought to do as well, hence the purpose for the ministry, Vertical Creativity. Creative synergy happens when two more more are gathered. I've heard the phrase, "God shows up when two or more are gathered." Coincidence? I don't think so...

Alone I sit here at my laptop, writing this post, and creativity is surging through my veins (this topic fires me up!). Writing is my outlet. It comes easy (most of the time). It's the other creative realms that I really need creative community to urge me along. Like drawing or painting. Cooking was that way for a while. I was petrified to cook because I never learned how to do it. But a dear friend took me under his wing and together - we have cooked up creative gourmet meals for our spouses. After spending time together in the kitchen, I now have confidence that never before existed. I've become a creative culinary genius! (well, that's a bit dramatic, but I now love cooking challenging recipes and they actually are quite tasty!)

We need each other, a creative community, in which to explore the creative life that was given to each of us by the Triune God. We need encouragement from one another to live into the creative being within us.

Okay, so I have this "Knitting for Dummies" kit and I'd love to hook up with some people and learn to knit. Sure, I could read the instructional booklet by myself, but it's more fun learning when in creative community.

Grace & Peace on the journey ~ deAnn Roe

Lititz Outdoor Art Show

Are you looking for something to do? Well, I love the little town of Lititz, PA and they are hosting their Annual Lititz Outdoor Art Show today, Saturday, 7/26.

Lititz is easy to find and Wilburs Chocolate is right next door to the park where the art show will be. Plus, if you are jewelry designer, like yours truly, there is a very cool bead shop right down the street from the park. (Oh and a yummie mexican restuarant - which I can't seem to remember the name of right now.)

Enjoy this pretty day, a gift to us from our Creator God.

grace & peace on the journey ~ deAnn

Women's Writing Group

The writing group for women, Reflective Souls, is expanding! If you are a woman and have a little (or large) urge to write, check out the website for all the details. As a quick glance, the next RS gatherings are Tuesday, August 12 and Thursday, August 28. Hope you can make it!

First Friday Events

If you've not been to a First Friday in Lancaster - you gotta go! (Yes, it's the first Friday of each month). Grab some friends and have an awesome time exploring the many galleries, cool coffee houses and meeting local artists. While you are walking the streets and perusing the galleries, don't miss the opportunity to have an amazing coffee drink & gourmet dessert at the Prince Street Cafe. They have a gallery wall and full fledged art gallery upstairs!

First Friday events: August 1st, September 5, and so on...

Check out the links above for all the details and maybe we'll run into each one another there. It's a perfect date night or just to hang night with all your friends. It's always an evening filled with inspiration, beauty and creativity.

July's Divine Intersection ~ Lynn Royer

Each month, we highlight a person who has had a Divine Intersection ~ where their journey with Jesus has intersected with their creativity in a powerful way. This month, we have Lynn Royer's moving story how photography was her way of seeing God and His beauty as she walked through a heart-breaking time of life...

In October 2007 as part of Pastor Steve’s sermon series addressing Christian myths (that God doesn’t give you more than you can handle), I shared my personal story about my husband, Steve, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in May of 2004. The aftermath of this sudden discovery included a two year period of caring for Steve, who was left physically and mentally disabled following an aggressive brain surgery and subsequent cancer treatment. It was a very rough two years and despite the finest medical efforts and prayers lifted up on his behalf by believers across the globe, Steve died on April 6, 2006 at the age of 42. Though we grieve our loss, there is immense comfort in knowing that Steve is in the kingdom and that the entirety of our experience, including our pain and suffering, is ultimately for God’s glory.

This series of macro photographs represent a portion of ‘artwork’ that I completed during the difficult period of my husband’s illness. I am not an artist or a photographer but I have always been someone who likes to ‘make stuff.’ You could call it a compulsion. This urge was never so great as during Steve’s years with cancer. I suppose part of it was because I was home full-time caring for Steve and art served as an escape, a way to take my mind off of the tragic events that were happening around me–at least temporarily. A friend of mine who is a photographer suggested I borrow his digital camera and macro lens attachment. I had never used one before, but had admired his macro photos. The macro lens allowed me to photograph tiny subject matter in great detail. In a way, it’s similar to looking through a microscope, in that you can see details that aren’t easily visible to the naked eye. With it, I found a rich and beautiful world right in front of me, a world that I knew existed but never had the means to examine or explore. I was literally blown away and macro photography became my form of art therapy.

From a practical standpoint, the digital camera allowed for results that were relatively immediate; I could satisfy my creative urges without travel, expense, or a big time commitment. I could literally walk out into my backyard and find an endless supply of subject matter. And that is what I did. I found that the macro lens exposed the artful elements of otherwise mundane subject matter – a weed, a dead leaf, a pebble – things that we normally dismiss. None of my photographs have been digitally enhanced or altered in any way. Ultimately, I was struck by the infinite detail, order, and creative mastery that seemed to pervade everything I photographed. Perhaps most importantly, my simple photographs gave me assurance of God’s hand in all things great and small. I knew that our circumstance – my life, Steve’s – fell somewhere on that continuum and there was immeasurable comfort in that.

When I look at my photographs, I am reminded of the trying years of Steve’s illness. But at the same time, I am calmed by them. For me, they are more than just pretty pictures and until now, they existed only on my hard drive. A source of both sorrow and joy, they will always be associated with that time period of my life that includes the most significant, life-altering events I’ve ever experienced. Yet they are also a comfort to me revealing God’s power and presence and love. I am so grateful to my friend who lent me his camera and suggested I experiment with it. It became a means of self-preservation which I thoroughly enjoyed during an otherwise unpleasant and heartbreaking season. I took hundreds of photographs during those two years, usually in waves, until Steve died right before Easter. Interestingly, I no longer feel the need or desire to pick up the camera and have not taken a single photograph since.

Ripple-Edge Leaf

I’m not entirely sure, but I think that this is a geranium leaf. If anyone knows plants and can confirm this, please let me know! Except for the subtle grey-green tints this photograph ‘feels’ like a black and white photograph to me. I like how the composition is
divided diagonally into light verses dark by the leaf’s scalloped edge and the silvery fur looks just like felt.

Blue Flower with Morning Sun

I used to walk out in my backyard in the morning as the sun was coming up and sometimes it would hit my garden in such a way that certain flowers glowed—but not for long.
I remember taking this specific photograph and having to hurry before the sun moved too much to what I was attempting to capture. Unlike so many of my other photos which
highlight curves, I like this one for the dramatic angular lines and the striking color.
This particular flower would open and close every day. The blue petals seem to capture the morning sun like a spotlight.

Curled Leaf

One of my favorite photographs. When fall brought the changing leaves and the vibrant colors of summer gave way to browns, I couldn’t help but discover the beauty in decay through the macro lens. I photographed a lot of dead or dying plants and flowers. Of all my photographs I prefer these photos to the others. I found assurance, comfort, and value in the beauty of this phase of the life cycle knowing that it is all orchestrated by God. There is a graceful quality to the delicate spiral of this deteriorating leaf.

Spent Dandelion

How many times I’ve cursed the tenacious dandelion! But I must say they have given me many interesting photographs at various plant stages. This dandelion had already gone to seed. It had done its work, its life complete. It also somehow escaped my blasting rounds of weed killer. I’ve changed my perspective regarding the annoying dandelion to something more positive: dandelions personify persistence. Perhaps I can learn something from them. This one almost seems proud—standing valiant, face to the sun, with windswept tendrils. So much drama from a weed!

Shane’s Eyelashes

These eyelashes belong to my son , Shane, who was 12 at the time I took this photograph. Who doesn’t marvel at every inch of his own child? That day I photographed the eyelashes of all my children. They thought I was a little crazy for doing this but were patient with me. It turns out that their eyelashes vary as much as there personalities do. Shane’s eyelashes were the thickest and the longest—downright pretty. Besides being jealous, I am simply struck by the gentle curve of the lashes, the diffuse pink of his skin behind them, and the ethereal quality of this unusual photograph.

More Than Art

I've been glued to one of the many books I picked up at Hearts and Minds Bookstore last week. The excerpt below is from, "Creativity and Divine Surprise" by Karla M. Kincannon. As I read through the chapters, I plan to post her thoughts and my reflections as, hopefully, an encouragement as we walk this journey with God.

"Creativity is so much more than art making. It is the tool for navigating through everyday experiences to find the sacred in each God-given moment....The need to rediscover our creativity is more urgent than we might think. When we exile creativity to the corners of our existence, our ability to perceive the things of God in our life and the life of the world radically diminishes...Creativity fine-tunes our listening. By focusing our full love and attention on the creativity buried within, we train our awareness to see the Spirit's subtle stirrings over the waters of that which wants to be created in us."

Yesterday the flowers in my back yard looked so pretty, the colors seemed vibrant, more than usual - I had to see them up close. I grabbed my camera, screwed on my (cheap) close-up lens filters and headed to the Shasta Daisy's in the corner of the yard. I squatted down low and came in close to one particular flower. The sun was setting but one lonely ray of sun light found its way through the neighboring hedge and landed right on my daisy. It sparkled in the warm evening sunbeam. I was so enthralled that I almost forgot about my camera weighing heavy in my right hand. Bringing it up to my eye to frame the shot, I could see through the lens the delicate beauty of this creation initiated by God. A simple white and yellow flower, I see them everyday as I walk across my yard. But today, because I took the time to slow down and observe, really look at the flowers, I was in awe of God's creative work. I lingered there with that flower for what seemed like forever when the thought passed my mind that my neighbors must think I've lost it. But I tried not to let that matter to me - and just relaxed there in the garden of flowers, watching the bugs pass over by flight. Photography is a love of mine. I enjoy capturing something usually left unseen or unnoticed. I can peruse our tiny back yard for hours, never becoming bored of the limited subject matter. There is always movement or change to capture. The sunlight dances differently in the evening then in the morning. Certain bugs, like glo-bugs, come out at dusk and without a care in the world they hop, bounce and hover over each plant in the garden as if making a new friend for life. Birds gather up worms and then look around hoping no one is watching as if they are a cat burglar at an expensive high end jewelry store. Take a close look at the butterfly below. You can see the long proboscis extending from its head as it busily sucks nectar from the flower.

When I'm doing something creative, like using my camara, it's an adventure, so much to take in. The whole time, I'm fully aware and enter into God's presence, taking in His creativity and then using my creativity to capture an image that will last longer than the blossom at the height of its glory. In these moments, I feel closer to God and have an intimate encounter with my Creator.

Creativity does fine-tune our listening, or seeing, the things of God. It also sparks something within us that leads to an awareness of the Spirit's movement in our lives. Again, here is a line from Karla's book, "As we engage our creativity in the service of our spirituality, we discern the frequency of our soul's yearnings and the deeper currents of life."

May you live with full awareness God's presence and follow His lead towards your creativity. Listen to that still small voice that patiently waits for your hearts attention and courageously dive into your God given gift, the gift to create.

Grace & Peace on the journey ~ deAnn

To share your creativity through the art of photography, visit VC::Photography (an extension of this site.)

gift

"Archaeologist have not discovered any stage of human existence without art. Even in the half-light before the dawn of humanity we received this gift from Hands we did not manage to discern. Nor have most of us managed to ask: Why was this gift given to us, and what are we do do with it?" ~ Alexsandr Solzhenitzyn, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

What is the gift you posses that came from the hands of God? What are you to do with it...?

grace & peace as you give voice to your special gift...

Happy Independence Day

May you find rest this holiday weekend, enjoy friendships and family, feel God's love and peace as we celebrate freedom, physical freedom and spiritual freedom. Amen.

comparing

This morning was so nice and cool, I had to go for a run. But I am so bored of my normal routes so I decided to be adventurous and wing it instead. Before long I noticed fresh white spray painted arrows on the road and, "5K Race" denoted. I didn't think much about it, and keep chugging along. I came to an intersection and there again, another directional arrow, so fresh, in fact, that the air was saturated with the obscene scent of paint from an aerosol can. That arrow was pointing up a big long hill that loops back around and that was the way I was heading (a glutton for punishment.) It became obvious that Dallastown was preparing for a road race and had just marked the route for the runners.

"Man, I wish I could run in a real race. But, who am I kidding, I can't run," was the thought in my mind as the arrows passed below my feet approximately every 50 yards.

That's when God spoke up and said, "ah...what are you doing right now, young lady? I believe I call this running." I replied (all in my head of course, I live in this area and don't want to be known as the barely-can-run woman who talks to herself), "yeah, technically, I am running. But I am not good enough to run in a race. How embarrassing it would be to run with real runners, people who could leave me in the dust! No thank you - I don't need that humiliation."

It was in that moment that a huge metaphor appeared and landed on my mind. I say I can't run because I compare myself to others. But the truth of the matter is, I can run, in my own slow and interesting style. A style that God gave me and I shouldn't look at myself negatively because I'm different from "them." Okay, now for the metaphor ~ it's easy for me to say, "I can't paint, I mean look at that person's work - it's amazing!" Again, that comparing thing. I'm not so sure God likes when we negatively compare our abilities with other people's especially when it impedes us from trying or pursuing something of interest.

From the sentence above, remove the word paint from the statement, "I can't _______," so, what word would you put in there? What is it that you always compare yourself to others and then say you can't do it? Maybe it's to cook, decorate your living room, write the novel that has been drifting in your mind for years, learn stained glass work, create a garden-scape, solve a problem at work with a creative solution, etc.

What would it look like if you didn't compare yourself with others and instead, saw your abilities and gifts through Jesus' eyes? I bet He'd say, "nice job. I love what you have done, it's beautiful." How would your life be different if comparing didn't hold you back from doing what you like or feel lead to do?

So, I wonder when that road race is in Dallastown.....? :-)

grace & peace on the journey...

prayer wall

Grapevines are beautiful plants. I've never really looked at them before today. I spent a few hours this morning knee-deep in a friend's grape field (not the photo below) cutting about 70 feet of vine so that the prayer wall at LW can be re-made and ready for prayers this Sunday. As I stood there, gazing at the huge pile of leaves, vines, branches and tendril, I wondered where to begin. So, I grabbed the end of one branch and followed it as far into the mound as possible before being engulfed and never seen again. Then I clipped the branch and gave it a pull to release the clipping. But it didn't budge. The thousands of curly tendrils securely anchored the clipping to many other branches and even around a poor little tree that was trying to achieve life. I couldn't just pull the clipping and rip everything to shreds, so instead I gently clipped each tendril that was holding it firm.

I remember in John when Jesus said, "I am the True Vine and My Father is the Gardner." Later He continues, "I am the Vine, you are the branches." As I continued cut away the branches needed to re-create the Prayer Wall, I took note to the way they were safely attached to the thick woody vine, which sustains life. Some branches were extremely healthy while others were not so much. There were many branches in a huge pile, all leaning on one another, attached with tendrils, and reaching for the sun.

No grapes were budding yet, but I could see how the branches were preparing for the weighty and precious fruit to appear. Hence the tendrils and the importance they have...providing support by reaching out and holding on for dear life. Creating a strong foundation for the branchs to bear their fruit. One day soon, full round grapes will hang as a bunch waiting for someone to enjoy them as a snack.
Being the visual person that I am, I stood there in awe gazing over the pile of greenery, imagining true community - the way Jesus longs for us to live. Each branch securely attached to the life giving Vine. Living side by side with it's sibling branches. Tendrils reaching out for one another in support, support for the fruit that will grow. A single branch alone, unattached to fellow branches, can not grow and support healthy fruit. They need help from the pile. Jesus longs for us to live like this. Attached to Him, drawing upon each others strength to grow lots and lots of fruit.

The Prayer Wall will be in place again this Sunday, 7/6, in the lobby of Living Word. Little slips of paper and twine will be provided so you can write your prayer and offer it up to God by tying it to the branches of the wall. There's a group of people who stand before that wall regularly and lift up each prayer mentioned.

If you are struggling, have a need &/or your heart longs to know God deeper, go to the wall. Offer up your prayer. And live in the Peace that goes beyond all understanding.

Grace on your journey ~ deAnn