For December 5th:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit;…To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:4 & 7

“Five Ways to Make Art in Less Than an Hour…I have a thing for art – both the kind we make with our hands and the kind we live with our lives. I wrote an entire book about uncovering the art you were made to live because when I talk to people who are made in the stunning and spectacular image of God but genuinely believe they have nothing to offer the world, I get a little twirly inside. Are you aware of a scrap of a desire deep within you but your first response to it is to toss it aside and label it selfish instead of considering is as sacred? Or maybe you respect the idea of your art and your desire, but you don’t see any tangible ways to practice it at this stage in your life?

We tend to think we have to have weeks to re-charge, endless open days to plan and prepare, a retreat to re-center and re-focus. Those things will help, for sure. If you get them, soak them up and roll around in the blessing of them. But most of us don’t have the luxury of wide-open days or weekend retreats on any type of regular basis. So what’s the alternative? Never pursue the art?...

Here are 5 ways to begin to tap into your gifts in less than an hour:

1. Consider the gifts where you are right now and use your time to write them down.

2. Write (paint, play, bake, create) for 30 minutes. Reject every temptation to believe you are wasting your time.

3. Dare to believe you have something to say and say it out loud.

4. Sit in the quiet just because. A lot more may happen there than you might think.

5. Don’t try so hard to block out the critical voice. Take some time to listen and decide if it’s true. If it isn’t? Dismiss.

Do the work you love when the early morning lifts up her head with a smile and a high-pitched song. Sit at the table and make your art when the evening sky fills up the yard right outside your window. There is no formula and there is no wrong. There is only you, showing up as the person you already are, willing to offer whatever you have, no matter how small. Go make some art today.” Emily Freeman, the blog “Incourage.me”

Entry submitted by Claire Frye