Stepping Out Challenge - Day 25 - Gratitude's

Welcome to today's post, In which I will be talking about gratitude

Listen to the Podcast

Gratitude’s

The gratitude’s Challenge came about after listening to a motivational speaker online, he talked about gratitude and for us to think about what we were grateful for in our life.  He also mentioned the idea of writing them down, and meditating on them daily.  

I started to think of all the things that blessed me, that I know I take for granted, each and every day.  Some of the things would make an impact if they weren’t available to me so I thought about some of these things and began to take note of them.  Some of these things involve areas of our lives that we pay no mind, practical things, creativity, and my studio space.

What are the things that you are grateful for, we can become complacent not only about the what we have but the things that we don’t pay much mind to as it an automatic function, but would greatly affect us if we didn’t have it, like the air we breathe and the beating of our heart.  Someone has woken up with a faulty pacemaker, or has to use an oxygen tank.  Some have awoken and no longer have their sight or hearing, and now have that to deal with.  We can take our health for granted, not looking after our bodies, but wanting to be free from pain.

For years I was convinced there was a problem with my knees, I couldn’t bend down without being in some sort of pain, the doctor offered an anti-inflammatory which was a temporary fix, that I didn’t want to take and be dependent on.  When I started exercising and lost weight the pains disappeared, I had been causing the pain myself through not taking care of my health and then taking for granted what I had.

The challenge was necessary for me, as it allowed me to reconnect with all that was important in my life, not only physical and material things but relationships, and the things we take for granted around us, such as feeling the breeze on my skin, hearing the sound of the waves, the birds, the morning sunshine and much more.

What do you need to take stock of, as you consider the things that you have been taking for granted?

Tomorrow I will look at ways you can incorporate a practice of gratitude into your life.

Tomorrow I will share the second part of Gratitude's series.  I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.

Why not join me each day for the rest of October as we dive into to some exciting challenges and look at ways in which they can impact on your own life. 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Ps:  If you are on a budget and would like to check out some  supplies/books at a discounted price, check out one of the links below:

Adorn it - bit.ly/AdorAT18 

Dollar Tree - bit.ly/DolAT18 

Blick - bit.ly/Blick18 

Book Outlet - bit.ly/BOOKAT18 

Stampington - bit.ly/STAAT18 

C& T Publishing - bit.ly/CNTPAT18 

Dover - bit.ly/DOVPAT18 

Craftsy Kits - bit.ly/CrafAT18 

Amazon Store - 

www.amazon.com/shop/realityarts

Stepping Out Challenge - Day 24 - Creating in Faith Pt 2

Welcome to today's post, I will be sharing part 2 with the Creating in Faith Series.

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Thank you for coming back to today's Podcast. Yesterday I shared about how the ‘Creating in Faith’ prayer month started and was initially hosted by Artist Mika Diaz. I had really enjoyed taking part, and we connected as artists and friends which was great. Mika has a very clear and informative style of teaching, and is very giving, a lot went into all the courses that she runs online.  I also many years later was blessed to meet Mika and her beautiful family in Virginia.

When we completed the month on Creating in Faith I was asked by Mika if I wanted to continue and lead the sessions myself. It was something that I never thought of doing and I was very unsure that I had a strong enough voice to do it.  But there was a part of me that wanted to stretch myself and take the challenge.  Whilst I had a very different voice, I felt equally I had something that I could share, I couldn’t say no, as I am all about taking myself out of my comfort zones so I said yes!

It became almost like a meditative practice for me, I would take an encouraging word and scripture and see what it meant for me and what insights I would be able to bring, and also do a creative project. In the beginning I found it quite a challenge, whilst it was new to me I had to remember also that there are many who would participate silently so you weren’t going to get much feedback from some.

 There were times where I wondered if I really had anything more to share but I kept going. But gradually realised as I widened it and shared it on my blog and received encouraging comments from artists around the world that it was blessing others as well. You also have to develop a thick skin for the times when no one comments, it is alright because you showed up and that is all that matters.

The way I continued Creating in Faith was to develop a creative project along side. I created Bookmark pocket holders that you could put your prayers and thoughts in and at the end of a period you could bind it together as a journal, but you could also look back over the year to see which prayers had been answered.

I continued to lead the project for over a year and a half and it is great to look back and see the progress that I have made, the confidence in my writing, and being consistent in sharing and showing up, and best of all the creative bookmark pockets that I had created. I remembered how insecure I had felt in the beginning, but these feelings are all part of the experience and I am preparing for a season when I will be able to bring together all the things that I have been learning over time which is making me into the artist I have become and yet to become..

When you put your mind to it you can achieve some amazing things. Some things you create for a different reason, and the Creating in Faith was one of them as I read back some of the posts I am surprized how some of the reflections then have helped me even now, but I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t been asked and accepted the challenge.

So what are you going to do with the time you have left? What projects have you been asked to do that you need to step up and say yes to.

What are the steps you are willing to take, will you show up for you and step out of the comfort zone, shake things up and really surprise yourself at how much you have within you. It all starts with a step, then another and before you know it you are further than you thought possible.

Tomorrow I will share the Gratitude Series.  I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.

Why not join me each day for the rest of October as we dive into to some exciting challenges and look at ways in which they can impact on your own life. 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Ps:  If you are on a budget and would like to check out some  supplies/books at a discounted price, check out one of the links below:

Adorn it - http://bit.ly/AdorAT18

Dollar Tree - http://bit.ly/DolAT18

Blick - http://bit.ly/Blick18

Book Outlet - http://bit.ly/BOOKAT18

Stampington - http://bit.ly/STAAT18

C& T Publishing -  http://bit.ly/CNTPAT18

Dover - http://bit.ly/DOVPAT18

Craftsy Kits - http://bit.ly/CrafAT18

Amazon Store -  https://www.amazon.com/shop/realityarts

Stepping Out Challenge - Day 23 - Creating in Faith

Welcome and thank you for joining me today.  Today we will be checking out the Creating In Faith Series

Listen to the Podcast

Creating in Faith

Creating in Faith was a challenge that came out of an online gathering brought together by artist I met online called Mika Diaz. She was doing a Prayer Journal journey during the month of March where we looked at a daily scripture with a gathering of artists and sharing her thoughts and we would also journal what the scripture meant for us.

I had not used my art journal in this way before, and realised that sharing my faith using my creativity was something that I really enjoyed, and it had been relatively new to me. But each day that passed I became more confident preparing my pages and seeing what came up for me as I meditated on the scriptures.

I was able to explore many thoughts, questions, dreams and desires within my journal and working alongside a group of other people all at different levels in their creative and spiritual walk was encouraging. Not everyone shared their pages and that was alright, you were able to share a comment or just say what the scripture meant for you - if you wanted to. 

30 Day Prayer Journal - is what you want it to be

I think there is a strong connection between the spiritual and the creative practice. Some of us don’t even realise that connection, and I think that you can delve into it even more when you get into the habit of playing with your supplies.

 When you are hung up about how to use materials or what to create you can get in the way of opening up your spiritual practice. Several years ago I decided to let go of what I thought I should create and focus on what wanted to be created. As part of my spiritual creative practice I prepare by using play within my studio. 

 I always give time to playing with supplies, and exploring, being curious, cause the learning comes when you least expect. I use play to prepare backgrounds sometimes working with what I have to hand or other times selecting specific things that I feel like working with on the background, sometimes they get used and sometimes not.

Mixed Media Art - 30 Day Prayer Journal

From the background that I create I will see what images want to be represented or that I can see within the background, and that’s essentially how I start my art, whether it be in an art journal, clay figure or wall hanging. It calls on you to get to know your supplies, and in the same way that you might say write in your journal each morning, which I do, spending time daily seeing which ways you can use your materials is essential.

That said have you tried Bible Journaling, or do you use an altered journal to express yourself in.  How have you developed your meditative spiritual creative practice. It would be great to hear from you.  Check back tomorrow how the course progressed for me 

Tomorrow I will share the second part from my Creating in Faith series I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.

Why not join me each day for the rest of October as we dive into to some exciting challenges and look at ways in which they can impact on your own life. 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Ps:  If you are on a budget and would like to check out some  supplies/books at a discounted price, check out one of the links below:

Adorn it - http://bit.ly/AdorAT18

Dollar Tree - http://bit.ly/DolAT18

Blick - http://bit.ly/Blick18

Book Outlet - http://bit.ly/BOOKAT18

Stampington - http://bit.ly/STAAT18

C& T Publishing -  http://bit.ly/CNTPAT18

Dover - http://bit.ly/DOVPAT18

Craftsy Kits - http://bit.ly/CrafAT18

Amazon Store -  https://www.amazon.com/shop/realityarts

Bible Journaling

Stepping Out Challenge - Day 22, 52 Weeks of Colour Pt 2

Today we will look at Part 2 of the 52 Weeks of Colour and Inspiration.

Welcome to today's post, I am taking part in a 31 day blog challenge where I post everyday in October.  I love creating challenges for myself and joining ones by others.  My challenge for the rest of the month is to reflect on some of the series I created for myself and inspiration that I have taken away.

Listen to the Podcast

Welcome to todays post. I am going to be talking about a series called 52 Weeks of Colour and Inspiration. 

Not one to shy away from a challenge I constantly push myself to show up on a daily basis to work on my creative practice and reflect on how far I have come.  It is really useful to spend the time getting to know yourself better through your craft and seeing if there are any areas that you can push the boundaries even further, whether it is trying new materials, using your materials in an unusual way and just playing and mastering your craft.  

When I decided part way though the challenge to write longer reflections I thought back to the challenge that I did on Day 17 & 18 for the 100 words minimum per day.  I had days where I couldn’t think of anything to write much less than 100 words, but I was present and got it done.  

It showed me that the work that I had done writing 100 word challenge put me in the perfect place not to be overwhelmed by writing and there wasn’t any one standing around saying it wasn’t perfect or I shouldn’t do it as I wasn’t a writer. 

The ‘critic’ did try and get in there every now and again but I did it anyway, feeling the fear and focusing on the one person that might be blessed from what I was doing.  I really enjoyed that particular challenge.  Along with the others that I have worked on I have additional content that I can re-purpose in some way.  There are so many ways in which they can be used, that now I look back I never thought I would be in this particular space

The other thing that I was able to do is practice working on digital images. I came across a number of additional flowers that I had photographed which had been sitting on my computer, they were beautiful and I was inspired by the quotes and scripture as I typed each of them out, there are amazing ways that you can be blessed that you may not have even thought of yourself.

What will you do?

I encourage you to start something different - try some of these ideas:  

• You can start small to begin with say 5 days, just dive in.  Plan what you need to but don’t over think it so that you talk yourself out of doing it.  
• You don’t have to post it online for others to see but if you do you will have a cheering committee who want to see your success and it will keep you accountable.  
• You will clearly see if it is something that you want to keep doing or not but you will also come out of it richer for having tried it.

Tomorrow I will share the challenge I did called Creating in Faith.  I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.

Why not join me each day for the rest of October as we dive into to some exciting challenges and look at ways in which they can impact on your own life. 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Ps:  If you are on a budget and would like to check out some gardening supplies/books at a discounted price, check out one of the links below:

Amazon suggested gardening books

Adorn it 

Dollar Tree 

Book Outlet 

C&T Publishing 

Craftsy Kits