Joy Through Creativity

This is a series I am doing for the month of October. If you are new, you can start HERE.

Day 26

Thoughts on Joy:

I admit it. I'm crafty. I like creating things (just usually not things involving 2x4s, old nylons, or pipe cleaners,  but that's just me). Sometimes I feel an almost visceral need to create--an aching longing to make something beautiful, useful or delicious. I don't know exactly  how to explain this need I have, but chances are you've felt it before too to some degree. Sometimes it is closer to the surface and other times it retreats into the background, but it's always there inside me. 

Creating is cathartic for me. It calms me, fills me up and brings me joy. It gives me satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. It makes me feel more radiant. When I am creating, I can relax and maybe not entirely forget my worries, but at least bring them into perspective.

This evening I made oven fries for part of our dinner. These were no ordinary oven fries mind you--these were the best oven fries I have ever made in my life, hands down. One of my kids said they tasted like they were from a restaurant. I thought they were better than restaurant food. I mean, I hit it out of the park with these fries. Seriously so good. Everyone--EVERYONE, loved them. 

That small creative act of making something completely delicious that was also appreciated by my family, made my day. Those fries nourished me physically and emotionally. Silly maybe, but true.

"We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.

You might say, 'I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.'

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination. But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things." ~Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Read the whole thing here or watch it below:

My efforts at creativity fall short sometimes too though. I am learning to relax, laugh about mistakes and realize that things do not have to be perfect to be perfectly acceptable. And even those imperfect things can bring me joy.

Today I Found Joy in My Journey:
--creating the most perfectly delicious oven fried potatoes I have ever made in my life for our dinner. Recipe HERE.

--getting up early. ;)
--doing a little shopping and finding some great deals for upcoming holidays (namely a $4 Halloween costume for Specs and a few presents from Santa).
--getting lots of laundry done.

 What brought you joy today?

Other posts HERE