Creativity

Being creative isn’t always easy. There are certainly the fireworks moments where you are overwhelmed by an idea and hold on to the handle of a bottle rocket that shoots you into whatever it is your “thing” is. But most times, being creative is a willingness to sit down, push through your doubt and fears, and apply sweat and hard work to creating something.  -- Jon Acuff (http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2011/01/4284/)

I have LONG said I am not a creative person. I'm about concrete instructions, not flying by the seat of my pants. Yet, people have argued with me over this and told me that I AM creative. Maybe, just maybe, I have been all wrong about what this word really means.

Without realizing what I was going, I've been cultivating my creative side recently. Starting this blog is one way that's happening. I'm playing around with ways to not just blog, but BE a blogger. Wait and see, my creativity might surprise us all.

The trouble with fruit. | Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff

The trouble with fruit. | Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff

I'm linking to this post from SCL because it mirrors my post last night about self-discipline.

Bucking the trend

This is America. I'm a single adult living alone. I live in a bustling metropolis. Indulgence is the name of the game. And indulgence leads to laziness pretty quickly. 2011 is the year to stop playing the game. Self discipline is the new mantra.

Dishes? Done at least every 36 hours.Other cleaning? Weekly. Gym? Five days a week. Spending? Not much. Bible? Read it. Goofing off? Earn it.  Junk food?  Nope.

I think it's time to start a star chart.

Home, so very Sweet Home

The big moving day has come and gone.  And the refrain of my heart is that I am BLESSED!  The day went better than I could have imagined.  Moving in mid-January was freaking me out a bit, but we had sun and it was easily 10 degrees warmer than it had been in a week.  I have the most amazing friends who moved everything I owned out and then back in in well under 3 hours with the skill of pros.  Not a nick or a scratch.

Have you ever felt that feeling that you are EXACTLY where God currently wants you to be?  That feeling of rightness, contentment and excitement?  I know it's just an apartment, but this place feels like it was built just for me.  From the built-ins that make me happier than any sort of architecture should, to the way my kitchen table slips right under the counter overhang, to the way my cedar chest perfectly fits under the window.  The tiny kitchen is a pass-though which everyone who's grandma had a pass-through knows it the COOLEST type of kitchen.  And who has SIX windows in their basement apartment?  Yes, some things are small.  But I feel like they are leading me in a direction of learning about self-discipline.  I've been too indulgent and lazy and it's time to turn that around.

My landlords are amazing and kind.  The basement renovations are only recently completed and they are wide open to feedback on how we can make it as comfortable and practical as possible.  There is an openness that makes them much more like upstairs neighbors than landlords.  Though I've never felt unsafe living alone, I feel very safe here knowing that there are people who care nearby.  I hope to be able to bless them as much as they have already blessed me.

Being 2.5 miles from work will reclaim at least 40 min of every day and allow me to go home between work and going out on weeknights.  How nice it will be to go home and whip up some dinner before heading back out!  That right there will save me a little cash and add a little health.  I could even run home on a lunch break if I had forgotten something or need a mental break (since I don't actually TAKE lunch breaks...)

My new home is beautiful.  It's truly a blessing from God.  I talked with friends over Christmas break about God's tendency to pull a bait-and-switch on us occasionally.  I knew He wanted me to give up my place, but I thought I was headed in the roommate direction.  Instead He had this place in mind for me.  All I had asked for was to save money and stay inside the Beltway.  He answered those desires and more.  I know He has even more in store for me as well.

Now I'm going to take those first couple months of savings and have some shopping fun!  I need a small rug for my bedroom, a larger one for my living room, a big chair/small loveseat and new bedding and towels.  I can't wait to see how good it all looks in a couple months!

Cleaning House

The big count down is on.  Eleven days until the big move!  Or, the little move if I reach my goal.

I have a family history of pack-rat behavior.  The idea is to save anything you might use again, ever.  Personally, I'm also very sentimental and keep too many mementos.  So while the amount of furniture I have to move is rather small and mostly every light-weight, I always have too many boxes of STUFF.

I started the cleaning/packing endeavors on Thursday and so far I have a carload of stuff to take to Goodwill and have taken 5 kitchen trash bags out to the compactor.  I've been more ruthless then ever before.  There is no reason to have enough pajamas to last two weeks without doing laundry.  And why did I have a box with 5 flashlights?  I think one flashlight will get me through any power outage.

The books right now are my sticking point.  I had every intention of giving away MANY of them.  But when I went through the shelves, I pulled out less then a dozen I could live without.  Yet, each time I've moved, my friends say HOW MANY of those boxes are filled with books???  Last time I moved a bunch of them myself the day before the real move because I felt so guilty.  So I will go through the shelves again and do what must be done.  *tear*

And after the books, comes the Pampered Chef tools!  Can't keep all of that stuff....

What do YOU tend to hoard?  What tips/hints/motivation can you offer to keep me tossing?