Getting A Little Messy Lately

Lately, I've been getting a little messy.  I've been bitten by the Art Journaling bug and find myself spending early mornings surrounded by pencils, pens, brushes and paints.  After a year of thinking about it, I finally delved in during Advent and loved every minute of it.  After teaching a one-time class at church with Callie, we both began in earnest on our own, often sharing pictures back and forth via texts.  We used the wonderful Advent Art Journal by The Handcrafted Story.

For the most part, it was a daily practice for me, but even when I missed, I was able to catch up without getting too far behind.  Although there were days when my creations were not quite what I had pictured in my mind, in the end, they looked pretty great as a group and really helped to focus my mind on the story of Christmas.

At the beginning of January, I switched to using a hymnal to do my personal faith journaling.

I have continued to use 15-20 minutes each morning to flip through the pages until a hymn sparks an image or thought for me.

It has become a time I look forward to for the creativity and reflection I discover in the process.

Some days, I just practice hand lettering---with some days being more successful than others.  :-)

Again, some pages are more creative than others, but, in every case, I find myself more in touch with the words of the song and the feelings expressed through them.

Recently, I began adding washi tape tabs to the pages.

Callie and I even have a new class beginning in a couple of weeks to help us (and others) journey through the Lenten season together.

I'm learning as I go and one way I've chosen to do that is to join the Get Messy group over here.  (By the way, it is not too late to become a messian yourself)  I'm hoping to learn lots of new techniques, learn to be okay with imperfections and maybe even get a little messier in the process (Sorry, Ron,  we might never eat at the dining table again).   The first "season" of Get Messy began yesterday and the theme is:  Happy.  For my first pages, I made a title page and then reflected on a quote that was provided, using colors that just make me happy. 

Everyone is an artist.   If we allow ourselves to explore that part of ourselves and to cultivate and savor what we find, it can be such a rich world and a wonderful way to learn more about ourselves and the world around us.  For me, having some sort of creative outlet is as essential to me as BREATHing -- not only does it help me de-stress, but it lets me express myself when words escape me. 

Welcome 2016

It seems like just a year or so ago that we were all looking forward to the year 2000, wondering what new and exciting adventures were coming and some even worried that the world would not even exist after that.  Here were are, sixteen years later, wondering some of the same things.  The world has changed a lot since then, and so have I.

Several years ago, I gave up making New Year Resolutions and instead began focusing on a single word for the entire year.  Instead of resolving to "not do __ anymore", I now invite a word into my life throughout the year in various ways.  This year, I have chosen the word BREATHE.

I try to choose words that are broad and can be used in a variety of ways in my life and I think BREATHE fits that criteria quite nicely.  I want to focused on the literal meaning of BREATHE in my exercise and running.  It seems like breathing is the hardest part of running for me.  If I could get my breath patterns down, I would be able to run easier.

In situations that are challenging, at work and personally, I sometimes react rather than slowing down to think about my words.  This year, I want to be more intentional about changing that behavior.
I want to to take the time to BREATHE more before I respond.

2016 promises to be full of changes for me again, as I will be retiring from work at some point during the year.  BREATHE takes on yet another meaning for me when I consider what it means in that regard.

And finally, I want to invite more time in my life to BREATHE and reflect on God's word through a 52 Week Project of my own--one of Faith journaling.   I am beginning the year using a hymnal, but plan to switch to a journaling Bible at some point.  While I might do it more often, I plan to complete at least one page per week.

So there you have it--my One Little Word for 2016.  While I won't be participating in Ali Edwards' class this year (I have been a dropout the last two years), I will be using some of the same exercises on my own and might document some of my progress on here, as well.

What about you?  Have you chosen a word for the year.  If so, please share it in the comments below.

If you'd like to take a look at my previous years' words, you can click below:
2015 - Home
2014 - Grow
2013 - Beginning
2012 - Open
2011 - Purpose
2010 - Risk