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Every year I receive the greatest gift in the form of a three day scrapbook retreat with sweet friends from our old church. Women from across our state meet up at a campground in the middle of nowhere and lock ourselves in with papers, scissors, junk food, coffee, and the sweet buzzing of those miraculous Cricuts.
Yes, it sounds dorky, if you are a non scrapbooker. For scrapbookers and crafters, though, it’s a dream.
But I’ve been thinking lately about why this weekend refreshes my soul, even when it’s something so seemingly “unspiritual.”
I’ve come to a few conclusions, and the application is for crafters and non-crafters alike ;)
1) Our spirit was made to be quieted. Especially in the land o’ the blog, it’s rare than any of us fully remove from the noise. Your house could be still and quiet and kid-free, but the blog feed is rollin, tweets are chirping, and the inbox is ever full. It’s hard to get soul quiet when the busyness of life, internet, and media bombard.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul. -Psalm 23:1-2
If you close your eyes and get a mental image of Psalm 23, I doubt that smart phones and TV shows and people hurrying and hollering comes to mind.
Listen, all these things are a part of my life. Phones and emails and internet and television. Dare I say: I like them all. But we have to allow for quiet spaces. We have to let the Lord lead us to the quiet waters.
2) Relationship is holy. Being with old friends and catching up on our lives brings peace because we were made for relationship. Community is holy. The women I connect with over the weekend know me. They know my fears and my heart. We laugh and cry as our hands are busy cropping photos and making layouts.
And more than knowing me, they know Him. We love the same Jesus and so we breathe life into each other in the midst of both simple and spiritual conversation. My introverted self is typically content to be alone any chance I get, but God created me for more.
3) Creating is worship. It’s taken me years to fully recognize and appreciate the gift of my creativity. And by that I do not mean that I’m overly gifted artistically, but that I have come to appreciate that being creative is spiritual. It is a holy thing. We are made in the image of the God who created the universe, and creating is a reflection of His goodness.
Y’all, I’m a slow learner. When I say it’s taken me years to understand that creativity is a gift, I mean years. Years spent digging around and searching my soul to know what my spiritual gifts were; to try and uncover gifts that fit more neatly into standard Spiritual Giftedness tests and inventories. Nothing ever clicked like I wanted it to.
One of the beautiful things about the internet and being a part of the Etsy community has been discovering so many artists using their art to His glory. In the past I even felt tension over wanting to create beauty, like decorating my home, while something I love and enjoy doing, was inherently sinful. And here’s the thing: anything can become an idol. Decorating and shopping and stuff can be sinful when they reign supreme in your heart and become an idol, as can people or relationships or religion or beauty. Anything that replaces Christ on the throne of your heart is an idol.
But when our hearts are right before Him, creating can honor His name and reflect His image.
So, that’s what I’ll be up to this weekend: worshiping.
And for the record, I don’t believe that you have to literally pack up and leave town to find spiritual green pastures and quiet waters (although it won’t hurt!). We can make space for refreshing daily; still places we carve out of life for less of us and more of Him.
In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength… – Isaiah 30:15
{sharing this post at Amanda’s and Mommy-Brain Mixer and Thrive @ Home}
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Can I just tell you I just love reading your blog. You are such a great writer and bring such encouragement to me. These words are ringing so true for me today. I feel like you have just written from my heart, haha. I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Praying for you, your husband and his student ministry today! Take Care!!
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My friend, you are so kind! Thank you for your sweet words + prayers! Grateful to have connected with you in this strange world o’ the blog!
Lauren recently posted…Words Hard to Say
I’m not much of a scrapbooker but I am a writer. With one finished novel in need of revisions and a second novel that also needs attention. As much as I talk about writing and wanting to be a writer, I struggle to see it as a spiritual gift. I want to fit into some sort of a mold – to feel like I belong when it comes to spiritual gifts. So thank you for this reminder that being creative is a spiritual gift.
And quiet? I need more of that in my life. Spending so much time on the couch lately has led to me not being busy, and I’ve considered that quiet and stillness. Except I haven’t allowed myself to be in quiet. I always have my phone on or the Internet pulled up or Hulu/Netflix on the TV. I am excited to spend some time in true quiet tomorrow. I know my soul needs that.
So glad for this reminder.
Leslie @ Body Won’t Break recently posted…desire to inspire (link up) – celebrating three years of blogging
I totally get it. But then, I’m a fellow scrap-booker. :)
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well, there ya have it ;)
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So great!! I love this and desperately needed to hear it this morning!
Thanks Laurel!!! ;)
Lauren recently posted…When Scrapbooking Has Nothing to Do With It: 3 Insights to Refresh Your Spirit
I also used to struggle with understanding how God could use my creativity for His glory. I’ve come a long way in my understanding of that; realizing that God is the author of creativity and the ultimate artist helped! A weekend scrapbook retreat sounds AMAZING. I just opened an Etsy shop, and I’m excited to discover more artists there.
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It seems so obvious to me now, but for some reason was a hard lesson to learn. Appreciate your thoughts on this, Emily. AND, I’m so excited about your etsy shop! Headed your way now + hope to find a link to check it out :) -l
Lauren recently posted…When Scrapbooking Has Nothing to Do With It: 3 Insights to Refresh Your Spirit
Have a blessed time. We worship right where God has placed us.
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You are right on target! I actually went away 9 weekends last year which is more than the 10 years before that! I had a retreat for adoptive moms, 4 scrapbooking weekends, 1 homeschool moms retreat, 1 church retreat, vacation with the family and a blog conference. This is a new season in my life with 2 grown children and 2 8th graders still at home. Each of those retreats served a purpose, with half of them being ministry to others. We go scrapping to a youth center close by and drag all our stuff and eat and talk and create and commune with nature. It’s the best! God did make us to create but we also have to resist making our blogs or homes or even our kids an idol for self promotion. Good for you for sharing it like it is. Thanks so much!
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Beautifully said! I too do the scrapbook retreat with friends and while it is so hard to leave my 3 little ones, I come home so refreshed – the quiet, the creativity, the laughs shared with other moms, the amazing food, and the cozy bed with no one waking me in the night – ahhhh! I am a new woman when I come home! So good to have you put into words what I was feeling! I especially love your “creating is worship” part!
I love this post! Yes, creating is worship. Something I have struggled with this.
I do agree that things can become an idol as well, but if our heart is right then it is a delight to HIM! This is word in due season for me to read, thanks so much Lauren!
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Totally understand, Denise! Thanks so much for your sweet words… yes, our desires should be to bring delight to His heart. Amen!
Heading out for a crafting getaway with girlfriends this weekend! (I’ll be scrapbooking too ;))
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