Some people say I act like me Dad

Ahhhh - the still of a quiet, gone- midnight house again.

I think I will start of with this little burst of joy which adds a big smile to my face...

Why? No particular reason apart from the fact that whether we feel it or not, whether we are aware of it or not, whether it actually looks like it or not, God is good - always - all the time. I need to remind myself regularly!

Meanwhile, this week has been filled with things and today, I am sharing what I thought was a great revelation to me personally and I hope will throw you a few challenges too.

My year began with the decision that I need to spend more time in my Bible one way or another - reading, studying or whatever else came to mind to help me rediscover the wonder of His Word.

One thing that came up from a friend was simply to write out scriptures and there was a list of verses to pen. I dithered for a day or few thinking to myself, 'What difference could it possibly make just copying out verses from my bible when I can simply read them?'

My other obstacle is that I am a person who struggles sometimes to do things if I don't think I can make an ace job of it. It's something that comes from some childhood incidents but it is somewhat of a millstone! I wish that I could have had Thomas Edison's take on experimenting ...

But no - not me. I have always liked to get things right first time...or very soon after. So, knowing some wonderful calligraphers, I hesitated. But finally, I thought I would give it a go. I was sceptical! However, having tidied out my bedroom and uncovered a new notebook... (or two or three - but who is counting? Actually I am not going to LET anyone count so don't ask!)...I grabbed a wallet of pens Hubs had bought for me as an anniversary pressie and duly began. 

One daft thing from my perspective was that the plan doesn't even suggest you do anything other than pray, 'Open my eyes that I might see wonderful things out of Thy Law' (Psalm 119:18) and plainly write out the verse on a piece of paper! But I thought I would like to put a bit of artistry into it at least, picking up a shiny gel pen to get started. 

First, starting on the right-hand page of a double spread, I enjoyed deciding how to write each word and watching the pen move on the paper, with a change of colour plus added glitter-effect to write words inside a heart shape. I changed the style and font of words; added an illustrative flourish here and there, and was purposeful as I wrote, letting the actions of writing  speak to me as much as reading what I was writing. And so I continued until I reached the end. Then, I took a few minutes with an ordinary biro to jot down some thoughts on the left side page - things I thought God had highlighted or said to me as I wrote.

[For those of you who may not be familiar with how God would have 'said' things to me, I would have an out of the blue, or relevant, unexpected thought about something drop into my mind as I wrote - I took that as being from God, having prayed the verse above from Psalm 119]

This went on for 10 days and here are a few of the pages - 

By day 11 of enjoying my daily time, I decided that, to help myself not get into the 'rule' of having to write everything out illustratively, I would just write out the day's words in plain handwriting,which I proceeded to try to do. BUT I found I myself making the first letter a tiny bit of an event...here's the page...

I DID almost manage JUST to write plainly - and with the added concession of using a glittery pen and keeping things neat.

Then...I had a revelation! I had recently read a quote in a current book - on creativity, strangely enough -  'Every moment in your life is infinitely creative' . I was struck by the fact that my heavenly Father is the Creator of all things and I am made in His image and so this compulsion that I felt to make something of something as simple as writing is just a trait resulting from my spiritual heritage! I am 'acting like my Dad!' 

The passage I had written out says, 'Make known...tell of...remember' all the things God has done. Yes - I can do that by the words of my mouth but also through creative expression - and that is all for the purpose of 'giving thanks' to Him. He makes. I make. He speaks. I speak. He chooses colours. I choose colours - and on and on. Even something as basic as choosing the shape of a cup to drink my tea out of is a form of my creative expression. How wonderful! Even though I don't sing nor dance as a performer, doesn't mean I shouldn't do these things if I am not as good as someone that is paid for them. I CAN do them with the voice and feet that I have because it's an expression of myself, of who my heavenly Dad is in me and who He created me to be and maybe especially, therefore, because it puts a blooming great big smile on the face of God!

No wonder those who seek the Lord are told to rejoice because one thing about both the seeking and the finding is that it's truly a lifelong voyage of discovery and if I seek Him and His presence continually, life need never be boring, that's for sure! I'll keep reaching out. I hope you will too.