Blog: be creative
Posted: October 8, 2024
My favourite festivity of the year is, hands down, Thanksgiving. It surpasses Christmas and birthdays. I love it for many reasons. The changing of colours in the landscape into yellow, orange and red. The smell and variety of harvest fruits and vegetables. Cooler days which invite perfect days for hiking and golfing. A heart filled with thanksgiving and the best part…we don’t have to expend energy to buy unnecessary gifts. Little bits of fall decorating in my home help to set the ambiance and getting the house ready for a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner. And we want it to be perfect don’t we? Sadly I’ve had many disappointments and disasters. Let me take you back to the worst one in 2018. The worst one was in 2018. The Thanksgiving table was beautifully decorated with my best linen tablecloth, candles, leaves, dried wheat and all my best china and crystal glasses. Because…
Posted in: adventure, ambiance, be creative, circumstances, confront conflict, decisions, desires, disappointments, disasters, each day has enough troubles of its own, Encouragement, Expectations, Families, fresh joy, fUN, good conversation, happy meals, home sweet home, hospitality, joy, Laughter, love lives here, presents, regret, Tension, thankful, thanksgiving
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Posted: October 7, 2023
When a word keeps showing up I believe God is trying to teach me something. That’s part of the enchantment. Today I was intentional about practicing enchantment. Here’s what is looked like. On my 5 km walk I decided to put away my phone and NOT listen to any sermons or podcasts, I chose to let God enchant me. Let me explain. Today before Canadian Thanksgiving 2023, the day is showing off its glory. It’s 22 degrees Celsius, no clouds in the sky, the trees and foliage are golden yellow and orange and from just the angle the lake is a sparkling diamond. With every step I soak in the extravagant beauty and at times almost overcome with tears. Walking up towards the Mission Hill Winery I encounter 2 beautiful young women who are awkwardly trying to take a selfie. I offer to take their picture, and then have a…
Posted in: ask God, Awe of God', be creative, beauty, beauty and joy, beauty in God's creation, enchantment, glimpse of Heaven, glory of God, God's creation, majesty of God, nature, practice enchantment, presence of God, thanksgiving
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Posted: May 14, 2023
The first time it happened I was only four. “Mommy why are we stealing these lilacs?” “Do those pretty flowers belong to us?” I was bewildered as I watched my gentle mother on her tiptoes reaching and snapping the branches from the vintage purple lilac bush. Soon her arms were filled with bunches of purple and the succulent aroma made her smile from ear to ear. I must have been mistaken, my quiet and tender mother would never do anything wrong. Certainly not steal. Captivated by my mother’s joy I clung to her hand and bounced along as we headed back to our compact bungalow nestled in a small village in Germany. World War Two left bomb shelters, broken dreams and poverty throughout Germany. Yes, the rubble was being transformed into its former beauty and culture, but families were still struggling to re-establish their former lifestyle. My young and innocent…
Posted in: Acts of Service, ambiance, be creative, beauty, beauty and joy, beauty in God's creation, Families, gardening, God's creation, home sweet home, homes, lilacs, nature, relationships, stealing
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Posted: April 10, 2023
Beautiful things draw me in like a magnet. Whether it’s a pair of shoes, the sunset over the ocean, a painting, a vase with flowers, pottery or the feel and texture of beautiful cloth. Anything which has colours, unique styles or something that brings ambiance into a room makes me yearn to reach out to it. Editors from my publishing houses have cautioned me about using the word “beautiful” too often. I’ve had to find synonyms to describe the magic and wonder of everything in God’s creation. Describing beauty is often beyond human expressions. I’ve often wondered why beauty impacts me so profoundly and I believe I know the answer. The Bible makes it quite clear in Ecclesiastes 3:11 “…He has set eternity in our hearts.” And in the spiritual realm we are already “…seated in the Heavenly places with Christ” (Ephesians 2:6). Our relationship with Jesus Christ gives us…
Posted in: Ecclesiastes, a time for everything under the Heaven, ambiance, be creative, beauty, disappointments, eternity, glimpse of Heaven, Made for more, passion, purpose, worship
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Posted: June 12, 2022
Based on electrochemical brain activity, our present moment lasts about 200 milliseconds.[1] In a millisecond all of life is behind us and the future looms before us as one big unopened gift. Aren’t you eager to open it? I have this sign in my home that says: “LET’S DO THIS”…whatever “this is.” For me it means to step into the now and savour the sweetness of the moment. Right now many of you are thinking that your present moment is anything but sweet. But think about this. This moment will never come again so are you living it to the best of your ability? As my days before me are shorter than the days behind me, I am savouring every moment and treasuring them in my heart. Because I can never relive them in the same way. You may be thinking that you probably never want to see these moments again,…
Posted in: be creative, comfort zones, Encouragement, familiarity, goodness of God, Laughter, Let's Do This, miracle moments, regret, step into the future
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Posted: June 13, 2021
It’s time to laugh again. We’ve toughed it out, physical distanced and stayed indoors too long. It’s time to get the limbic brain dancing. The limbic system in our brain is the seat of emotions, memories and is responsible for our well-being. In fact, if you place the limbic brain under an MRI when you’ re happy and energized, it displays beautiful colours and dances. It’s time for some colourful dancing and fresh joy. Yes, a chocolate bar or bowl of ice cream will help. But, therapists tell us that one of the best ways to help our brain do the limbic dance is to get out into God’s creation. We’ve been so caught up in the latest Covid reports, politics, vaccines, and homeschooling that many have forgotten the power of creation. God is the master creator. God is the master creator. He created thousands of orchid species and butterflies,…
Posted in: be creative, beauty, beauty and joy, Covid-19, disappointments, fresh joy, friends, girlfriends, God's creation, happiness needs to be shared, hiking, Laughter, limbic dance, limbic sytem, lower than the angels, mountain top, nature, physical distancing, rainbows, sweat a little, troubles, waterfalls, worry
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Posted: April 19, 2020
In the last month Amazon has run out of bread makers, we’ve pulled puzzles out of our closets and even stopped scoffing at paint by number projects. In my own family my granddaughter has taken to painting rocks, we’re learning German, canning pickles and there’s heated bread-baking competitions. During this harshly imposed isolation I am left to live alone. I’m an extrovert and I love being involved with people and events, and within a week all my speaking and travelling events were cancelled. My calendar was wiped clean. After gasping for air and realizing none of this was a joke I made a deliberate choice. This Covid-19 would not wreck me. First, I had to settle some truth and facts. In our family when there is an unexpected or unpleasant turn of events we use this phrase, “accept and allow.” To “accept” the Covid situation I had to be real…
Posted in: accept and allow, adversity, all alone, alone, anxiety, ask for help, be creative, Christ, companionship, Covid-19, crisis, decisions, Encouragement, Expectations, Faith, Families, Finding Truth, friends, heart of God, homes, isolation, Jesus, loneliness, love, make your bed, Making Wise Choices, Overcoming Struggles, temporary, trouble, trust, trust Good, we need each other
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Posted: March 22, 2020
Nature abhors a vacuum. The last two weeks have sucked the air out of many of us. Suddenly our calendars are empty, sports events gone, meeting with friends in a restaurant no more and all church activities stopped. Our entire rhythm is off kilter and it’s startling. So let’s be careful how we fill that unexpected and shocking vacuum, because an empty soul is a danger just waiting to happen An empty soul is danger just waiting to happen. Let’s play the movie forward by eight months. Were we a fearful hoarder or a helper and a beacon of hope? Did we see this time of isolation as a gift or were we angry that it disrupted our perfect plans? What did we model to people around us, our children, grandchildren and friends? Were we like chicken little screaming that the sky is falling or did we point people to…
Posted in: be creative, chaos, Christ, Covid-19, crisis, Faith, God Who Is, intersection of faith, Making Wise Choices, resilience, trouble, vacuum
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