Category: Creativity

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Good

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I have been thinking a lot the last few days on why I’m doing this blog.

Why I’m drawing each day and posting from my visual diary.

Why I want to inspire people?

I’ve been learning so much on this journey and my motive is in no way to make money or create a business.

I just want to live inspired and therefore inspire others to do so as well.

My blog is imperfect.

My drawings aren’t that great.

In terms of the worlds success model and standards I’m not producing world changing content.

So why?

Why, stay up late after my Mr and my Max have gone to sleep typing and thinking about what to write?

Why, take time from producing and making creative pursuits for gifts and friends?

Why?

I think in the midst of being made aware of your imperfections, it is a natural process of thinking, that we come to a place of why bother.

I started #inspire14 this year, because I know every time I start something and try to do it often, the tyranny of the urgent takes over.

I know in my own life, when I commit to something creative and there is accountability attached, then I am more likely to follow through.

The reason why for me?

When I do something consistently for myself and others are a part of the journey, I overcome all sorts of internal dialogues that want to tell me I am crap!

The achievement of doing something simple for other people every single day empowers me towards living a more whole life.

Essentially when I produce (even something not that brilliant) I feel more empowered.

When I feel more empowered my family feels more safe.

When my family is feeling more safe, we impact and inspire other friends to feel the same.

It is good.

It is contagious.

Living an inspired life is an empowered one that helps and spreads goodness to others.

So nice to rediscover my why.

I could have easily given up yesterday, feeling naive in my imperfection and lack of knowledge in the ‘business of all things blogging!’

But I came back to my why.

There is too much negativity and discouragement out there.

I want to spread some goodness.

Love

Amanda

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Tomorrow

20140130-143145.jpgThe last week has been full of much bad news. Accidents, Illness, Job concerns, Property being stolen, you know those weeks.

I still choose to believe that tomorrow will be a better day though.

I choose to live in hope.

Sometimes we are surrounded by bad news and reality checks. We are opposed and weakened, overwhelmed by it’s gravity.

We are not overcome though.

We have a hope in a better day tomorrow.

I love this quote by Martin Luther

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. Martin Luther

The reality is, the opposition and difficulties we face in the western world are nothing in comparison to that of the Third World. If you are having a bad day or a bad week, it is very likely someone, somewhere is having worse.

So for me and my household, we are hoping and believing for a better tomorrow.

We will not be beaten, we will not lay down.

We will stand and we will fight.

We will give and we will love.

We will forgive and we will forget.

How about you?

Are you believing for a better tomorrow?

What are you doing today to impact your tomorrow?

Sometimes it can be as little as believing and hoping that it is a new day, bringing with it new mercies.

Till we meet again tomorrow

Amanda

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Build

20140128-125538.jpgRecently My little man, Maximus has been interested in Bob the Builder. The song has been getting stuck in my head and all day I have been thinking about the word build.

What am I building?

Who am I working with to build something?

What is my contribution to our world?

One of the greatest things I miss about working in a large organisation is building towards a goal, a vision that is greater than myself.

When you are not involved in something larger than yourself, I find it is easy to sit on the sidelines and criticise. It is harder to criticise when you have rolled up your sleeves and being a part of the answer. With its flaws and its problems, you are still getting dirty and making a difference.

At the end of my days I would want to know that I lived a life contributing and living beyond myself, than a life of tearing down.

Are you building or are you doing the opposite, tearing down?

Just like building a house there are so many niggley issues, and problems and project managing all the different contractors and people. It is difficult because everyone has different opinions and ways and outcomes.

The end result though is something to marvel at.

At the moment, my main focus is building my own house. As a stay at home mum, I am the builder of culture in my house. I am the one impacting my children and my family, I am responsible to build them up or tear them to pieces.

Proverb 14 says

The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.

I want to build a house of life, one of encouragement, one of wisdom, one of authenticity, one of innovation, one of health.

Today I have been reading my bible and this verse in Isaiah really impacted me;

Remove the heavy yoke of oppression

Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumours!

Feed the hungry and help those in trouble.

Then your light will shine from the darkness, and the darkness

around you will be bright as noon.

The Lord will guide you continually,

giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.

You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.

Then you will be known as rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes. Isaiah 58: 9- 12

The last few lines of this verse from Isaiah have really challenged me today.

I want to be a builder of life.

I want to build my home and encourage those around me to build into their future as well.

I want to rebuild places that have fallen into ruins and restore homes that have become run down.

I want to build?

How about you?

Love

Me

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Silence

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Late last night, just as the last Australia Day firework smoldered, I got a phone call that silenced me.

I didn’t cry, I didn’t shout, I just listened and stayed quiet.

My sister called to say she was with our 90year old Granma, waiting for the ambulance and as she had suffered a stroke.

Many texts later, late into the night, the doctors in fact confirmed she had endured a minor stroke at home by herself, whilst we were all celebrating and she was intensely scared.

Silence.

Her greatest consequential struggle was with her speech, the stroke had slurred and she was very upset.

You see my Grandma, is legally blind, yet still lives by herself so losing her speech as well was intensely distressing for her.

I have been silent most of today.

I spent the afternoon in hospital with her and joked she must have had too many Australia Day beers, but a soft chuckle ensued as she grappled with her words.

Gradually her coherency has come back slowly throughout the day, but there still is a slight impediment.

Silence.

Honestly so much that goes on in social media land, makes me so sad.

Sometimes people just need to gain some perspective and practice the spiritual discipline of silence.

I think we often have way too much to say.

I think we often have way too many opinions.

I think we just spew out our responses to the difficult things that hurt us and forget that some times we require silence to heal.

I love a scripture in Thessalonians which says ‘I make it my ambition to lead a quiet life.’

I don’t think a quiet life means an unresolved one.

I don’t think a quiet life means an unproductive one.

I just think it means a life that speaks with wisdom.

Proverbs also says about a Godly woman;

‘She smiles at the future, and ALWAYS has something worthwhile to say’.

Silence.

Sometimes in our life, when we are hurting, the best thing we can do is remain silent.

To bow in prayer,

To bow in humility,

Wait for an answer and forgiveness to appear,

Wait for wisdom to reign,

And until we can trust that God has it all under control, to stay silent.

It’s not until someone close by you finds their speech impeded that you realize starkly how often we waste our words on the trivial and miss the opportunity to speak life into our future.

Whether written or spoken, don’t you realize words have immense power?

Scripture says life and death are in the power of our tongue.

The beginning of the bible begins by God speaking the world into being.

I have so much more I want to say, but I must restrain myself.

Amanda