Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Reading the Artist's Way

It's summer time and school's out - yay! I would like to read a book with you this summer. Most kids would think that's torture. Books are school work. No one wants to do school work over the summer. You're different. Books mean something to you. You find wonder, wisdom, and new lands in your books.

I found a book that opened up new lands for me. It's a feast of wisdom and encouragement. You and I are very much alike. I hope that you will find this book as bountiful as I did. 

I remember being your age. Non-fiction books were not really high on my list of things to read. I like mysteries and stories. Books that created movies in my head. This book is not that kind of book. It is a book about using that creativity. The book comes with homework. And oddly enough, that homework can be reading the books you do like. Or drawing. Or coloring.

This book is about the creativity in you. It is about seeing that creativity in a new light. Feeding the creativity, nourishing it, and letting it grow into a tall, strong, healthy tree. Big trees start little ones. Big trees give shade, bring color and fresh air. That's what I think of when I think of you.

A copy of The Artist's Way comes with this letter. The book has 12 chapters plus the introduction. We'll read both the introduction and chapter 1 for this week. Do you think you can do that by Thursday night? You and I will find somewhere quiet and talk about the chapter. 

The homework involves 3 things... Morning pages, artist dates, and activities. The introduction explains the morning pages and artist dates. We will do these two things every week. Also, each chapter ends with a list of activities. I ask that we each do one or two activities each week. You can pick whichever activity you want. You do not have to share the results, unless you want to. Each week, we just need to tell each other which activity we did. Honest, the activities are small, sometimes fun, and won't seem like work at all.

What do you say? Are you ready to see the person that God created you to be?

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

There is an empty place...

There is an empty place
Deep inside my soul.
There is an empty place
Where loneliness grows.
A hole, a need, a desire
That hides all else.
There is an empty place...

I see the things that come so close.
A touch, a hug, a word of peace.
Everyone smiles. What is that they have?
There is an empty place.

You're supposed to fill it.
You're supposed to be so big.
What is this place that eludes Your grasp?
And leaves me feeling lost.
I look for You and You're not there.
I wait and long and cry.
And all that echoes in my ears
Is the sound of silence and days gone by.

There is an empty place
Deep inside my soul.
Where there is no cross
Or voice that's not my own.
A longing for someone
Who has no name.
A cry for something
That never came.

There is an empty place
Waiting for You.