Lily

Those lashes hide her intelligence, hilarity and third-born-ness, but not for long.

Audrey

Her softness hides her silly fun nature, but at any moment the lurking smile will emerge.

Alex

Her beautiful freckles bring light-heartedness to her serious nature. Her sweetness is as depicted.

The Question of a Friend

A friend asked the question recently:

How can our artistic abilities help in our ultimate goals?

There's so much I could say....so much the question stirs up in me. But my resounding answer for myself is that using my artistic abilities is what brings me pleasure and fuels me for so much of the rest of life. Gardening, singing, taking pics, drawing, song writing, poetry writing, midwifery and just enjoying God's artistic abilities (all of nature including bugs, flowers and storms) are some of my delights. And funny enough, I find myself REALLY enjoying my kids in their most creative moments. Just taped Lily making up songs this morning...sweet and amusing. Even the Swing dance I'm learning with my husband stirs up some lurking creativity that brings fun to the relationship. Upon contemplation, I find myself incredibly thankful that I have found some artistic interests. And I am also made aware of how few are refined in any way. I look forward to an eternity of exploration in all aspects of creativity. I'm also genuinely satisfied and appreciative of the times when I can engage my artistic abilities in the present. I find myself less restless, more satisfied and joyful, and possibly more energetic. And I certainly gain perspective. Whether it is the result of directing my focus on something beautiful or whether it's drawing on the moment of pulling my head out of practicality and daily details and allowing imagination, I don't know. I also can't help feeling like the Creator of All is enjoying and taking pleasure in the glimpse of creativity I may be caught up in.