Lindsey Stirling strings, autumn leaves, pattern, floral, clean lines, crisp mornings, Mucha, sunlight, comfy sweaters, and the list can go on and on. Many things inspire me, constantly. It wasn't until this week I stopped to actually LOOK at what inspires me, and WHAT it does to me.
I am changed by it, and I alter myself to fit whatever "it" is. If an artist inspires me, my work takes on some of their style and technique. The same goes for clothes and fashion. Or quite possibly the way I arrange my house. How about changing myself because of how someone lives, and being inspired by their beautiful life? All based on what I see, of course, not knowing the day to day. Which leads to how my life is seen on social media and in crowds of other artists.
I'm impressed by how impressionable I am, and this week it made me wonder - "Am I missing who I am?"
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"Believe in Yourself" Original Art Journal |
I believe it is healthy to be inspired by others. Jesus asked us to follow Him, do as He did. It isn't mentioned to be inspired, but He inspires me to be loving, caring, and full of grace. Yet on the other hand, there's a line that can be crossed into changing just to be accepted, to feel worthy, or to gain superficially.
I asked a fundamental question in church one Sunday about six months ago...Who Am I? I prayed to be shown who God says I am. It's a very large struggle of mine - for many of us - and it's been present for as long as I can remember.
My Quest? To feel free to be who I was designed to be. The other night I stumbled upon
Kelly Rae Robert's website. An artist I have always been drawn to and admire, yet just now actually following her. She openly shares her self discovery, and while reading her website it clicked. Her story, along with her business, creative soul, being a first time mom, and insecurities that are faced made me realize I'm OK.
I felt this release to BE ME. You could actually see the JOY in her. The PEACE within herself. I have been seeking peace my whole life, especially since my daughter was born. It could be the new mommy stress and sleeplessness, but I believe it's old stuff heightened.
I have this tribal, gentle, feisty, fiery self inside waiting to take off and
FLY.
Who am I? Who do you say I am?
I am free to be who you created me to be. I am free to express my light with no fear of what this world will say.
I was given an imagination to share. To lift peoples hearts, to bring them peace and love. To take them into their dreams and fantastical places.
I am a person and soul very much loved. I am loved by SO MANY people! I am so filled with love I even have some left over to give. I am more full, more accepted, then I ever realized.
I am a child of light, of His light. A light of love. I am His child filled with the grace, mercy, power, love, strength, courage, and forgiving spirit that He has. I am a child of light called to share my light. I am NOT darkness, I am NOT pain, I am NOT disgusting, dirty, unforgivable, or hopeless.
Another thought Kelly brought to my heart through her writing, was her understanding of who she is. A seeker of Joy. She lives for joy through and through. I am meditating on this. If there was one word to describe me - humm...I'm not sure yet. I'm still figuring this out, but it gives me one thing..focus for my spirit, soul, art, and not just for me, but for my daughter Norah (light), and my husband Brian (strength).
My name, Sara, means princess. I want to be a princess of dreams and light.
An appropriate quote, especially for me as I get ready to go to Canada midweek.
Happy weekend everyone!
xoxo
Lo♥
You may have read the recent CNN article, “More teens becoming ‘fake’ Christians,” which extensively cited the research of Kenda Creasy Dean and her book Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church. In the original article below, Dean expands on these ideas, clarifies others, and explains just how American teens are practicing their Christian faith.
By Kenda Creasy Dean
Have you heard this one? Mom is angling to get 16-year-old Tony to come to church on Sunday, and Tony will have none of it. “Don’t you get it?” he yells, pushing his chair away from the table. “I hate church! I am not like you! The church is full of hypocrites!” Dramatic exit, stage right.
This story sounds true – but it isn’t. Today’s parents and teenagers rarely fight about religion, according to the 2005 National Study of Youth and Religion – the largest study of teenage faith to date. Interviews with more than 3300 teenagers and their parents showed that American teenagers mirror their parents’ religious faith to an astonishing degree. Teenagers and parents seem to be on good terms about religion because 1) they believe pretty much the same things; and 2) religion doesn’t matter enough to them to fight about it.
3 out of 4 American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 call themselves Christians, yet most adhere to a default religious setting that does not truly reflect any of the world’s great religions. Instead, say NSYR researchers, American teenagers’ de facto religious creed is “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,” a view that religion is a “very nice thing” that makes us feel good but leaves God in the background.
How did that happen? Short answer: This is what parents and churches are teaching them.
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism – the view that religion is supposed to make us feel good about ourselves and turn us into nicer people – appears in American teenagers of all religious persuasions. On the surface, that sounds like a good thing; at the very least, perhaps it is a corrective to abuses conducted in the name of religion.
Yet MTD is also a self-serving approach to religious faith. Moralistic therapeutic deist youth view God as a divine butler, invisible unless called upon, whose primary purpose is to make them feel good and to sanction things that they want to do anyway. Researchers were mum on MTD’s effects on other religious traditions (the number of non-Christian religious teenagers in the sample was small enough that researchers were cautious about their claims), but they were unsparing when it came to American churches. In Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, lead researcher Christian Smith claims that Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is now the “dominant religion in the United States, having supplanted Christianity in American churches.”
I helped interview teenagers for the NSYR, an exercise that convinced me more than ever that parents, congregations, and pastors are operating on some pretty shaky assumptions about Christian faith and teenagers. Other religious leaders may comment on the implications of this study for their own faith traditions, but let me
Hope it is a good trip for you Lo,and happy weekend too and lotsa wfs.
A perfect quote to enhance that painting....
This trip WILL be good for you! Your *LS* feels this in her heart.
Let's talk before you go...
Love,
♥ LS ♥
have a wonderful trip. i hope it is fun and enriching to your spirit.
Travelin' girl! Have a safe fun trip
Oh I love this snippet. And to me it is a truth as well.
Wow It is finally happening! Have fun dear!
Enjoy everything about it
Hugs and save travels >M<
♥♥♥
Oh did I miss something. whats happening in Canada? Have fun.
The whole card is gorgeous and the quote is awesome!!
so good to finally be able to visit friends again.
Happy trails Lolo.
Lovely quote. I just cleaned my art studio and fridge so when I come home from my trip next weekend my house will welcome me and I too will feel satisfied to be here!
You have a wonderful time. I can't wait to hear and see all about it.
Have a great trip lo! It's a week for traveling it seems! And your so right, its good to go away then coming home with a new appreciation!
xoxo
Have a wonderful time! :)
Possibly, but these things can also work the other way. For example, I also remember a period during which every time I went away, I hated coming home even more.
Have a great time in Canada visiting your family, lo! And thank you for the spider's webs, which just arrived on Friday. I am amazed at how well they work!
The only thing is, I quite frighten myself when I open the glass door and I see it out of the corner of my eye. It looks so much like the real thing!
You'll be fresh for anything when you return home!! xoxo
This speaks to me on a level of relationship. One that is a struggle. My new partner is having a hard time and pulling away - painful for me, but perhaps, I need to go away and come back to myself and see what is at home, inside.
Thank you and have fun and safe travels!
What a striking quote. Its message can be applied on so many levels. :)
May your trip be full of wonderful things...:)