Day 16 - The Online Me

Today's prompt in the Blog-tember Challenge (can you believe that I have posted 16 days in a row!!! and twice on a couple of days!!)  asks the question, "The real you vs. the online you. Are they the same or different?"  Hmmmm. . . . I guess I have never really thought that much about it.  But, I think that for the most part, we are the same.  I started this blog for purely personal reasons---a way to document things that are happening in my life, with the people I love most.   I don't have huge following, so I think that most of the people that read my blog already know me.  

For those of you that don't, it's no secret to any of the people that know me best that I don't like to cook much (although that has changed some in recent years) and I love to make a mess with anything creative, but really don't like having to take time to clean it up.    The only thing that I think is probably different is the way my home is portrayed online vs. what it looks like in real life.   When I complete some new home improvement project, I take photos of it, and of course, try to capture it in the most flattering of ways.  But, in real life, there often is a lot going on "behind the scenes".   For example, you rarely see my coffee table in any photos because it most often looks something like this.

And the gallery wall that I completed over my couch??

Well, when you zoom out, it looks something like this right now.

The pretty headboard that Ron made for us and I painted?

Well, it looks like this right now.

The newly remodeled bathroom?

Well, it often serves as a place to hang all of our wet running clothes after they are laundered.

Sometimes, one of my friends will comment that they don't know how I have time for all the projects that I complete.  Well, I guess when you take a look at the house, it becomes pretty clear that I've made the choice to create rather than to clean.

So, now you know the REAL me.  Excuse me while I go make my bed and hang up some clothes.

Day 4 - Passions

What am I passionate about?  Well, here are my top four:

1.  My family--- For the longest time, it was just me and my daughters and we became the epitome of "Steel Magnolias" together.  We made it through some tough, tough times together and there really is nothing in the world that I would not do for them.  Now, there are a bunch more boys in the picture as well (after all, I have 3 brothers already):   son-in-laws, baby boys and a husband.  Not to mention that I also now have 2 step-sons, a step-daughter + more grandchildren!  I love them all so much and enjoy being with them more than anyone else.

2.  Embracing differences and treating others fairly--- I grew up in a household that stressed being open-minded enough to respect the point of view of others and I hope that I have passed that on to my own children.  Perhaps it was because one of my brothers has special needs and my parents were his greatest advocate and they could see so much more potential in him than the rest of the world could see.  Or maybe it was because both of them were from the "north" and were now living in a very conservative "south".  They were determined that we look beyond a person's obvious differences (skin color,  learning abilities, religious beliefs, political views, etc.) to see their heart.  One of my mother's favorite quotes was:  "If the world was filled with people that were just like we are, how boring the world would be!" By the same token, I think that this is the area I get the most frustrated with in other people---when they seem to be so close-minded that they can't appreciate others' points of view.

and this brings me to my number 3 . . .

3.  Serving others--- The world, and particularly the western hemisphere, is spectacularly unfair when it comes to the opportunities afforded to people, and life simply is not fair to everyone.  While it is sometimes hard to do so without judgement, I feel that I am called to serve the poor,  the widowed, the orphaned and the "least of these" in whatever ways I am able.  It is often a messy calling--one that is sometimes "thankless" in traditional terms, but what God has called me to do.   What He has actually called every one of His children to do.   And you know something?  I've discovered that as I get to know someone and develop a relationship with them---beyond their physical appearance or socio-economic situation--it is easy to find a common bond that we share and to see how we are generally much more alike than different.   After all, we are all made in His image.

4.  Creativity--- Creativity unleashes a freedom in me that is sometimes hard to find in any other place in my life  For an introvert that lacks confidence in so many other areas of my life (please, please don't put me in a room of strangers--or even acquaintances in some cases--and ask me to make small talk), being able to create something beautiful from nothing--whether it be through sewing, crafts, scrapbooking or photography---releases a confidence and a way to express myself that I can't find anywhere else.  Too bad that creativity doesn't extend to cooking.  ;-)

Art School

Noel UMC just began their newest outreach project, the Noel Community Arts Program. I've been helping with the organization of the program, so it is certainly a relief to finally have it up and running. As I'd thought, we didn't have enough advertisement time to fully enroll all the classes, but I personally think that starting small is the way to go anyway.

I was interested in several of the new art classes, but I hated to take away a night from my barely-established exercise routine. However, at the last minute, I decided to go ahead and enroll in the Thursday night class, which focuses on "collage" I'm so glad that I did!! I had such a good time and am already looking forward to the next class.

The last real art class I took was in college and in fact, the teacher of my collage class was in that class, too! Only he's a real artist, unlike me. Or so I thought. . . I love Jamie's thoughts about that---"If God created the whole world and everything in it and we are created in his image, then we all must have some of that creativity in us." I've always loved art and love creating just about anything with my hands (with the exception of cooking). But, I still doubt my abilities regularly and find that I focus way too much on what others might think about my creations.

Last night, as we just doodled on paper and colored with markers, we talked about our lives and experiences. Then Jamie took each person's "doodles" and highlighted the artistic principals that each of us had used--completely unaware of what we were doing! Even our most primitive attempts seemed to point once again to the belief that we all have innate gifts that are just waiting to be discovered!

So what do you think---if these were wall-sized and hanging in a museum, would we say "Wow, isn't that great art?" :-) Okay, so maybe not, but I did use some "very architectural shapes" and if you look really close, you might even find "Spider Man" hiding in there somewhere.