Standing on the threshold

Standing on the threshold to the adventure of a brand new year.

So much promise.

So many possibilities...

Out with the old...

This time of the year is a good one for reviewing your life and deciding what changes need to be made. I like to make resolutions that are a bit more fluid than 'I will... every day.' Those sorts of things make you feel guilty if you don't stick to them. I like to make resolutions to change that I might actually be able to stick with :)

So this year I am aiming to take more photos, wrestle and win with Photoshop, learn how to use my Bamboo to full effect, stretch my comfort zone, tackle uncomfortable things head-on rather than retreating into myself, and dreaming big rather than dialling down my dreams.

What about you?

Open the box

For all of you who celebrate Christmas, I'm sure there has been a lot of giving and unwrapping of gifts going on in the last few days. My husband's sermon on Christmas Day was all about gifts. There are certain things that need to happen to get the most out of a gift.

First, you have to receive it. It is possible to be given a gift that we don't actually take.

Second, you have to unwrap it. A gift that is received but not unwrapped is just a pretty box.

Lastly, you have to use it for its purpose. A gift that is never used just gathers dust and is as useful as a block of concrete.

So my question is: have you truly received your gifts, torn off the wrappings, and plunged right in to make use of them?

Why can't I read all day, every day?

My husband found this question on pinterest which just sums up our household so I made this for our daughter. I had great fun making the pile of books for it which are made out of craft foam and covered them with patterned papers. The frame is an old chocolate box.

Reverb12 - day 20

Yes, yes, I'm a little behind on this. I have to admit that doing the A to Z challenge was easier because I knew what was coming and could prepare beforehand :) This has been harder. Sometimes I have to sit with a prompt for a little while and then I get behind...

So, today, What was lost and what was found?

Well, I like to think that the timidity I have always had about standing in front of others has now been lost - or at least is in the process of being lost - and that a new boldness will be found as time goes on.

As for some art work to go with it, I'm going to leave you with this, which I have blogged before, but fits the question.

Happy Birthday Sojourner!

I can't believe a year has passed since I set out on my journey into Blogland!

I would like to say a big 'Thank you' to all of you who have visited, commented, and encouraged me through this last year. I've had so much fun visiting your blogs and seeing the wonderful work that is going on in creative spaces all over the world. Keep up the good work!

As the year comes towards an end I am inevitably looking forward to the next one. What will it bring? Where will it take me? One of the things I want to do is learn how to dream big. To dream without limits. I am the sort of person who finds it easy to spot the flaws in a plan. Unfortunately that means I am not very good at dreaming because I can see the possible pitfalls and shy away from things that don't look as if they will succeed.

So I want to make 2013 the year of dreaming without limits. Of taking the chance to believe that the impossible can happen.

What new path are you going to take?

Linking up with Art Journal Every Day (see button in the bar) and finally getting around to putting something on Paint Party Friday!

Reverb 12 - day 14

I've been finding it difficult to keep up with a page a day for the Reverb12 challenge as it gets closer to Christmas. Some of the questions haven't resonated with me and a day isn't enough to ponder them and do a whole page. Today's page was done using minimal additions on a background I prepared a while ago and didn't know what to do with. I'm not really happy with it but wanted to get something done today.

So, today's question: What is the most important thing you learned in 2012? How does this learning shape the path going forward?

This really fits with 'what was the greatest risk you took' for me. In taking the risk to say yes to an invitation to speak in front of 50 people, I had to stand up to my fear of... well... standing up and speaking in front of people. In doing that I learned that fear is a bully. When we stand up to our fears they don't go away, but they stop having so much power over us. They're not quite so frightening any more.

Fear may stand in a narrow part of the path. We can either turn around and go another way, or stand up to it and move on through. It is a choice. As to how it will shape the path forward, I will be more courageous, taking on fear and facing it down.

Fall Fearless and Fly #6

Headline Prompt:  Divided by God:  What does "God" mean to you?  How do you access"God" or the divine or the sacred in your life?

Color Prompt: Metallics - gold, silver, copper, bronze, or all of them!

Quote Prompt: "This is my simple religion.  There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy.  Our own brain, our own heart, is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."  The Dalai Lama 

For me the answer is simple - God is my light and life and breath, the very beating of my heart. Without Him I cannot live.

How do I access Him? By prayer. By listening with my heart. By looking for all that is good and pure and right and just.

Some of the details don't show well in the photo. I wanted to keep the colours gentle rather than bold to show the gentle way that God deals with me - His patience is boundless for which I am hugely grateful :) The green is for life, the yellow for light. The gold heart in the woman is a smaller, not-yet-perfect reflection of the larger heart standing in for God's heart. Lines radiate from the large heart to show God's influence on my heart, my mouth, my eyes. 

Hop on over to Artists in Blogland (use the Fall Fearless and Fly button in the sidebar) and check out everyone else's take on this prompt.

Reverb 12 - days 10 & 11

Whoops! Missed yesterday's prompt. Here is my short answer to 'What risk did you take?' I said yes to an invitation to speak to fifty people for five minutes. The outcome was favourable in that I didn't throw up, fall over, or otherwise embarrass myself :)

Today's question was, "What was music to your ears?"

As you can see from the page above, "Thank you" is music to my ears for two reasons. Firstly because manners don't cost anything and rudeness is unnecessary,  and secondly because if I'm hearing it, I must have done something helpful.

Click on the #Reverb12 button in the sidebar to see what everyone else hears as music.

Reverb 12 - day 9

First up, apologies that there is no art for this prompt but Sunday is a busy day in the life of a clergy family so I haven't had time to do a page.

What was the best book you read in 2012, and why? (And by "Why?" I mean: Why did you read it? And why was it your favourite? Although these answers could be one and the same...!)

As an avid reader I read many books on a variety of topics for many different reasons. Just thinking about what I've read this year gives me a headache! I suppose the answer would really depend on what I was reading for. I read the Bible every day and obviously it is my best book in that if I was left on a desert island it is the one I would want. It is my life manual.

If you talk about reading for pure pleasure, I re-read all the Vorkosigan novels by Lois McMaster Bujold every year. I'm reading the latest one at the moment. One chapter to go and I don't want it to end. It makes me want to read all the others again. The writing is wonderful, drawing you straight in to a totally believable world with wonderful characters that you can't help rooting for. 

In terms of growth, I read Flourish by Catherine Hart Weber which was very useful and practical in looking at how we can lead lives that are flourishing - looking after yourself spiritually. It was so good I have started to read it again.

In biography, Delerious: my journey with the band, a growing family, and an army of historymakers by Martin Smith and Craig Borlase was a wonderful read because I lived through that era, having seen Delerious in concert when they were playing town halls and buying the Cutting Edge tapes that they made themselves and sold from a cardboard box at the gigs. Just a real nostalgia trip.

And to grow in artistic endeavours, I have enjoyed Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists by Carla Sonheim and The Journal Junkies Workshop: Visual Ammunition for the Art Addict by Eric M. Scott and David R. Modler. I borrowed both from the library, bought the first and would consider putting it the latter on my wish-list, too.

I guess that's enough to give you a flavour :)