by Chris Boersma Smith | Jun 21, 2017 | Sacred Calling, Spiritual Practices
We Can’t Do It All, and We Can Be Our Best
In an earlier post, Serving God and Money, I wrote about a nightmare, along with some physical health issues, that convinced me to revamp how I steward the time, talent, and treasure God has given me. Scripture makes it clear that time and energy are abundant but not unlimited. Therefore, I choose to devote myself toward walking humbly with my God and letting my light shine, hoping others might see God’s light shining through me and be blessed. Of course, that means I need to be the best version of myself, which means trying to be more like the person God created me to be (my True Self)! So, I am devoting myself to lots of Quiet Time as the Holy Spirit helps me launch this transformative 5 Keys to Freedom in Christ ministry. And that feels authentic and exciting.
God Directs Our Steps, Even When We Choose a Detour
I believe God has led me throughout my journey, making the best of any choices I made that weren’t exactly how God meant to lead me. It’s finally hit me. I was inspired recently by a series of dreams. Then someone asked me to write about how I transitioned from lawyer to entrepreneur. A statement by a free-motion quilting teacher, Sue Rasmussen, also struck me. She spoke about the need for intentionality behind every stitch we take. I related that to the importance of careful or Spirit-led choices in far more than a line of stitching! I finally concluded that I’m meant to be—and now am—in ministry rather than business.
My Clarified Ministry Focuses Are Now:
- In everything, being in partnership with the Spirit of God for wisdom and guidance, humbly acknowledging that my gifts (including my writing) were given to me to be used for godly purposes, helping to create solutions, joy, peace, and freedom in others’ lives;
- Seeing the manifestation of each person’s heart’s desires as essential to living out their sacred callings, honoring that aspect of us that’s in the image and likeness of the Great Creator, who endowed us with gifts and uses our creativity and experiences to accomplish the purposes for which each one is on earth;
- Offering my services as a Holy Spirit-led Spiritual Director—enhanced by my expertise on the spirituality of quilting and other practical and spiritual tools: those of a trained Creativity Coach, Spiritual Coach, Christian Healing Prayer minister, and an UNBOUND minister. The combination helps me, with the Holy Spirit, to be a catalyst for personal transformation through powerful questions and compassionate listening, as well as creativity, dreamwork, forgiveness work, healing and deliverance prayer, plus mindset work.
- My ultimate goal is to show members of the Body of Christ how they can experience the freedom Jesus intended them to have on the way to enjoying the abundance of “life to the full” here on earth.
Do You Know How You’re Meant to Serve?
Do you know what you’re on earth to do? If you, are you doing it or are you ready to make the transition to serve as called? If you don’t know, would you like to discover your calling? How about starting with the free resources we offer and then considering spiritual direction?
First, an invitation. Last weekend, our newly formed UNBOUND prayer group prayed for people who’d asked to receive prayers using the 5 Keys to Freedom in Christ. They prepared for their sessions, but God still had delightful healing surprises for them! They were indeed set free of major hurts in their pasts, the unforgiveness that had hardened their hearts, and they experienced a release of old ways of feeling and thinking, of blaming, judging, and feeling helpless. They received empowerment, peace, and a new way forward.
I was also privileged to spend many hours with the inspiring woman who coordinates an UNBOUND prayer team in another city. She shared with me how they use this model, which involves declarations of faith, forgiveness, renunciation of lies and darkness. Through this model, people are set free by the authority of Jesus, who then releases in them the blessings of the Father and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. That experience then becomes the entryway for much more healing, the use of their gifts in service, and greater intimacy with each person of the Holy Trinity. So, I’d like to invite those open to Jesus and freedom to read Neal Lozano’s book, Unbound, and to make an appointment to receive prayer through a ministry using the UNBOUND model. There’s more about this here.
There are also many things you can do in the privacy of your own home.
Here are Some of the Spiritual Practices that Work for Me
Journaling (writing “morning pages”) is a practice I’ve followed since The Artist’s Way came out in the ’90s. It’s where I pose my questions to God and often receive answers. It’s how I plan my day and vent when necessary. It’s where I take notes of things I won’t want to forget. It’s where I start poems and blog posts! I write down the scriptures that struck a cord with me.
The Word of God is God’s gift to us for learning, guidance, encouragement, inspiration, and more. It’s a great way to start every day, to get a pick-me-up in mid-afternoon, or to prepare for bed.
Our Heart’s Desire is as relevant to God as it is to us! So by all means, be aware of it and honor it, as the Holy Spirit guides you. When we serve in alignment with our heart’s desire, then we serve joyfully!
The Open Doors Prayer is a favorite of mine. “Lord, open the doors you want opened to keep me (or someone I’m praying for) in the center of your perfect will and close the doors that will not lead me (or the other person) to truth.” Then watch and heed the opened and closed doors!
Quiet Time and Creativity are essential for me! That includes time with Scripture, contemplation, meditation, or centering prayer, and Spirit + Creativity—what I call “spiritivity”—activities like quilting when I can “be still and know” that God is God. During those times, it’s important to enter into them in a state of openness to receive communications from the Divine.
Soul Companions have been a vital part of my journey, and I urge those who don’t have a soul companion or spiritual director to find one. There’s more about spiritual direction here.
The Image at the top Provides Some Words to Ponder, to Ask the Holy Spirit About, or to Journal!
Please feel free to share this or to comment. It is Post #5 in a series which began with a post on Sharing the Messiness of Our Stories. If you’d like me to expand on anything I mentioned here, also please let me know. Thank you and God bless you!
by Chris Boersma Smith | Feb 13, 2017 | Blessing, Creative Expression, Encouragement and Inspiration, From the Heart, Life Stories, Sacred Calling, Spiritual Direction
I’m basking in the joy of two recent Love Trips: a week in Mexico with my daughter Kacie, during which we finalized the design for a multi-generational wedding shawl; the other a visit to see my parents, during which my Mom and I started making that shawl. Not only is this bridal gift now in progress; I also learned a lot along the way. If you’ve been wracking your brain for a special gift idea, you know the challenge of coming up with a gift that truly shows your feelings. It could be just the time to brainstorm unique ways to honor a loved one for an upcoming occasion, whether you express your creativity in tangible or intangible ways!
Mom & I on Day One of the Wedding Shawl project, practice piece on the left.
Sometimes it can feel impossible to give a meaningful gift to someone like my husband, who has everything he cares about and wants nothing material. And what can you give an older person who’s been giving away her belongings and isn’t as active as she used to be? We’ve all faced the gift challenge with someone! But let’s move our focus from the material world to the experiential and spiritual world and see what happens.
A blessing by John O’Donahue says:
“May the light of your soul bless the work you do with the secret love and warmth of your heart; May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul; May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those … who see and receive your work; May your work never weary you; May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement; May you be present in what you do.”
I am feeling that soulful, beautiful, sacred, exciting blessing with this bridal shawl!
My mother taught me to sew from my toddlerhood! She was a sew-at-home seamstress, helping support the family by taking in dressmaking, drapery-making, and slipcover fabrication. She’d work hours a day with me standing on the back of her chair with my little hands on her shoulders watching her at the Singer. When I was a little older, she taught me hand sewing so I could make doll clothes, and then taught me to sew simple tops from patterns by 7. So it was like old times when we pulled out the white Swiss batiste, the bone-colored Radiance with cotton on the inside and silk on the outside, the silk bridal satin ribbon, and the white pearl cotton last week to measure, cut, and start sewing the shawl.
The wedding shawl was Kacie’s idea. She wants to wear something that the three other women in our immediate family put themselves into—her maternal grandmother, her mother, and her sister. It’s not decided whether she’ll wear it with her not-as-yet-selected wedding dress or will make it a part of her rehearsal dinner outfit. With bone and white, she has flexibility, and oversized shawls are her style. (This one will be 86” x 34.”) She’s a romantic artist with a love of textiles. Her fiancé Ted is sentimental and artistic, too (he’s finishing up a master’s in landscape architecture). And they’re getting married just weeks before my parents’ 70th wedding anniversary. So, coming up with creative ways to make their ceremony touching is a high priority, warming the hearts of multiple generations, reinforcing these . . .
7 reasons to let your light shine by giving creative gifts from the heart.
1. Some of our best gifts are only released when we slow down!
My mom played golf until she turned 90 and still plays bridge, does Bible study, enjoys an active social life, and entertains often. Thank God she’s in good health except that severe scoliosis has diminished her balance. This slowed her down after some falls produced fractures that forced her to sit more. Now when I visit, I too slow down. I need and benefit from it! My best gifts flow from my morning quiet time with the Lord. My priorities for the day are set during that time, and the Holy Spirit often guides my writing, prepares me for my speaking or teaching events, and inspires me in my quilting, decorating, or other creative undertakings. During my time with my parents—and my sister who lives near them—slowing down allowed for some deep conversations and shared intercessory prayer, as well as discussions about how to make the shawl. My mom voiced her concern that her hand sewing would not be as steady and her stitches not as small and perfect as they once were.
2. Gifts from the heart will likely be received with heart, so process and message outshine perfectionism and product focus.
Kacie’s sister Brenna had wisely passed on to me a conversation she’d had with Kacie about the shawl. Accordingly, I was able to reassure my mother and myself that Kacie didn’t care about the perfection of our stitches! Once we got that cleared up and cut the shawl body and borders out, I decided to use some of the leftover fabrics for a smaller practice piece. Having a chance to practice was reassuring. Kacie had asked to have us fill the borders with sashiko-style stitches to mimic waves, a motif chosen because of our family’s coastal living. My mom’s wavy lines and mine were quite different, but once we pressed the border, we saw the lovely effect and felt free to stitch our imperfect wavy lines onto the real border! Being freed of perfectionism encouraged us to focus on the WHY and the LOVE and the HEIRLOOM nature of what we’re making, to relax and enjoy the process.
3. Collaboration allows us to connect where our kindred spirits align, which is an affirmation, a blessing, and a joy.
As mentioned above, my mom and I have a shared our love of creative handwork, and so do Kacie and Brenna. I felt true joy while sitting on a loveseat in the warmth of my parents’ Florida lanai, with Mom stitching on the border of one end of the shawl and me stitching on the other! I was thrilled that we were doing something so meaningful together, something that unites us! I felt gratitude on so many levels: for my mother’s life, health, and happy marriage, for the sewing talent she’s shared with me, and for the understanding of how much this gift means to Kacie.
4. Infusing a gift with prayer makes it truly from the heart and soul.
My mother and I spontaneously began to pray together out loud for Kacie and Ted and their marriage as we sewed. We prayed for their wedding planning to go smoothly, for the joy of it and for the stress of that task to be dissipated, especially as the couple is currently in their final thesis semester of 3-year grad school programs. We prayed for their careers and good jobs. We prayed for their relationship and a long, happy marriage, and for them to be blessed with healthy children. And on and on. All these prayers are now stitched into that shawl, and Kacie will be wrapped in them when she wears it!
5. Flexibility in the process, especially when coordinating with multiple generations or skill levels and diverse locations, enhances a creative and cooperative approach.
I was only in Florida 4 full days this last trip, so we got a great start but there’s lots more to do on this shawl. Working on it together was far better than trying to mail the shawl cross-country with instructions about what to do! But flexibility is a must. What aspects of the project Brenna will do, what Mom did, and what I will do has changed and is not yet fully known. When I get together with Brenna to work on it, we’ll see what parts she’s most drawn to. Coordinating among family members who live in three locations demands flexibility, adding creativity and cooperation to the means of accomplishing the goal.
6. The heirloom nature of what’s being created is empowering and enlivening.
The impact of this gift will reverberate—now in the making, this fall in the use of the shawl during wedding festivities, and likely on to at least one future generation. I have a baby blanket that was used when my father was an infant, a flower girl dress I wore at age 2 or 3, made by my mom. As much as I like a decluttered home, those textile heirlooms and this shawl are likely to keep sparking joy and not be decluttered soon! With that expectation, the handwork enlivens us and feels like a privilege. Imagine coming generations getting to see this photo of their great- or great-great-grandmother stitching this heirloom.
Not only this shawl will leave a legacy. My father’s 40+ year career was in magazine publishing. He is a great writer and public speaker, an awesome lector proclaiming the Word at his church. He and my mom will talk about what to include in the talk he’s been requested to give at the wedding, and he will draft it, polish it, and deliver it with heart (and maybe even a tear or two)! His creativity is being honored, as well as the legacy of Kacie’s grandparents’ long and happy marriage, since their 70th anniversary is just weeks after her wedding!
7. Your best gifts, the ones that are most uniquely YOU, proceed from your gifts, talents, and life experiences.
All our contributions were requested based on who we are and the special gifts God bestowed on each of us, and that is very empowering! If you’re looking to create a heart-touching gift with impact, start brainstorming with a look at your own giftedness (Link to a freebie for email), what makes your heart sing, your own sacred calling.
Gifts that draw on your creativity entail giving of yourself, from your heart, intended and likely to touch the recipient’s heart. This doesn’t mean every gift you give needs to be a months’ long masterpiece, like some quilts are. Maybe you love to cook and can prepare a special meal or give someone your special granola. Maybe you like to forage and can pick, dry, tuck in some recipes, and wrap up some dried porcini. Maybe you compose or sing and could record some of your music for loved ones to enjoy. (Each of our daughters has given us a CD of herself singing and I love listening to these time after time—a gift that surely keeps on giving!) A video of yourself dancing? Poetry? Ceramics? Painting?
If you don’t yet know why you’re here and where your creative genius lies, you’re not alone! The good news is that when people figure out what God intended and equipped them to do, it brings new meaning to their lives and helps them make good decisions about how they spend their time, talent, and energy, and what they have to share. If this sounds intriguing, I suggest you listen to my 20-minute recording, Discover Your Sacred Calling. If you’d like outside assistance, consider Spiritual Direction that could include ARTbundance™ or Creativity Coaching. Then use what you discover or know about your gifts and talents and let your light shine through them to bless and delight those you love! I know you can do this!
What creative gift are you making or giving to someone special?
by Chris Boersma Smith | Dec 6, 2016 | Creative Expression, Encouragement and Inspiration, Sacred Calling
150 years after its controversial debut, Handel’s Messiah was said to have “probably done more to convince thousands of mankind that there is a God . . . than all the theological works ever written.” Let’s peek at the creation of that masterpiece to discover how you and I might use our creative gifts to serve others, sometimes by miraculous or inspired breakthroughs.
Amy Kuebelback, a liturgical musician whose writing appeared in today’s entry of Give Us This Day, reports that Handel composed this sacred work in three weeks, not leaving his house and barely eating. In other words, this wasn’t like any ordinary day’s work; composing Messiah was a breakthrough of monumental proportions! Inspired by scripture, the consoling first words of the oratorio come directly from the King James version of the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 40. As Amy puts it, “The notes of the aria paint the meaning of the words, leaping up for mountains, making jagged intervals for crooked and sustained tones for straight and plain. . . . Legend has it that after finishing the Hallelujah chorus, [Handel] sobbed at his desk and told his servant: ‘I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God himself.'” Structured like an opera but without drama or speech, the prophecies of Isaiah precede the annunciation to the shepherds, based on the Gospels. Part II focuses on Christ’s Passion, ending with the “Hallelujah” chorus, and Part III covers the resurrection of the dead and Jesus’ glorification. Despite the scriptural basis of Messiah, its 1743 debut was called blasphemous because it opened in a secular theater with secular performers. However, Messiah went on to become one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music. It has no doubt stirred many a heart and soul.
The heart is the key. Ephesians 2:10 that says we are the Lord’s handiwork, created to do good works that God planned in advance for us to do. I wonder whether George Frideric Handel was aware of his mission as a composer: to evangelize with his music for centuries! I wonder if he pondered Psalm 28 before, during, or after composing wMessiah.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
~Ps. 28:7 (NIV)
This Psalm assures us with bold promises: divine protection, strength, assistance and God’s super-power added to our natural gifts, resulting in exhilarating joy—as long we put our hearts into our creativity with trust in God and God’s promises. To do that, let us ask for the inspiration we need, believing it will be done for us, and giving thanks before we’ve even seen the full manifestation. Let’s create in alignment with the holy will that endowed us with our creative gifts and inclinations. This is best done by doing some prayer, meditation, or centering before we undertake our creative endeavors. 20 minutes of spiritual preparation can save many hours of trial and error!
After reading about Handel in this morning’s Quiet Time, I asked my husband to try to get us tickets to attend a San Francisco performance of Messiah this season either at the San Francisco Symphony or at Grace Cathedral. If we succeed, Hallelujah! Even if we can’t attend live, we’ll download it on iTunes. Either way, I’ll listen with my heart as open as my ears!
If you’d like to discover more about How Faith and Creativity Connect in the Heart, you’d probably love my 90-minute seminar and workbook offered here.
by Chris Boersma Smith | Oct 29, 2015 | Creative Expression, Encouragement and Inspiration, Overcoming Obstacles, Sacred Calling
My husband in the experimental garden at Stone Barns, site of the Foods for Tomorrow conference we just attended.
The past ten days have been full of heart-to-heart happenings that reinforce my decision to celebrate creativity and to help other women transition to more creative living. Yesterday I loved connecting in person with creative women who came to my Sea Ranch home for a mini-retreat where we experientially addressed creativity, matters of faith, and fear as a disruptor of the creative process. On the East Coast last week I considered my call to creative living vis-à-vis five events, any one of which could spark energy for change.
What East Coast Experiences Persuaded Me?
- Being with friends I’ve known for decades, hearing their stories, and explaining what I do . . . for the first time since my “transition” to authentic, Holy Spirit-directed, creative living;
- Attending a conference with committed individuals who share a passion to work for better food policies affecting present and future generations;
- Celebrating my mother’s birthday and reflecting on how it’s never too late to live out one’s special calling;
- Stumbling upon an impressive obituary capsulizing the 96-year life of a female pioneer and philanthropist in the art and publishing world, whose life reflects her curiosity and the consistent desires of her heart; and
- Attending my husband’s Harvard 40th Reunion, where a symposium of successful Radcliffe women, while reflecting on their careers, families, and what it all meant, and also revealed their struggles and hopes for the future in light of what matters most.
The Effect of Sharing with Friends
We had dinner with a couple my husband’s known since their teens. The wife is a powerful doctor with major administrative responsibilities for multiple hospitals. Though she and her husband recently bought their dream house in the country and have an apartment they love in Manhattan, she hardly gets to either home. She’s grappling with whether to go for a promotion and work exceedingly hard for another 3 or 4 years, to stay where she is (with no time for a life outside work or even time to take vacation days she’ll lose by not taking them in 2015), or to possibly retire now at 62, which is an affordable but apparently unlikely option for them. She’s sure she’d have plenty to do without her job: postponed reading, sewing, and a creative pursuit in woodworking, which she’s longed to undertake for decades. She’s given all she has for patients and employees her whole career, frequently neglecting self-care in the process. I admire her dedication and contributions to medicine and society, and I feel sad at all she and her husband have given up for it. They’re expecting a first grandchild soon and do plan to figure out how to take care of him one day a week!
We met with a college friend of mine who started a new job in finance at age 61, at the same time his wife went into real estate, a field that had long intrigued her. These later-in-life jobs have opened up new adventures for them. After several trips to supervise service providers who report to him from Bangalore, Joe’s discovered a love of India. He appeared energized, vigorous, and full of his longstanding good humor and faith. Another couple is retired and busy with travel including a recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, helping out and spending time with their large family including seven grandchildren under six, and they’re actively involved in multiple ministries. I helped them load their Suburban full of food so Wendy could go feed dinner at a homeless shelter they support after dropping me at the airport.
With all these friends, I felt good sharing what I’m up to, glad to have moved on from my over-achieving career days to a gentler creativity and ministry-focused life. I felt free to talk about my relationship with God in connection with how I spend my days — something I’d formerly have kept to myself. I felt natural, relaxed, and authentic — a nice change from my former self! I really related to each of these friends and how much we look for meaning and gratitude and ponder all this at our current ages.
The New York Times Food for Tomorrow Conference
I’ve been fascinated with nutrition since I had my first child 30 years ago, and this conference was a tasty treat and a mind-stretcher! Mark Bittman, Michael Moss, Dean Ornish, Paul Krugman, Steve Case, farmers, chefs, doctors, policymakers, scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs, professors, philanthropists, politicians, animal welfare activists, sustainability experts . . . these were just a few of the speakers! We learned that 30% of all food grown in this country goes to waste, while people are undernourished and good food is often unaffordable. To drive this point home, award-winning chef and author Dan Barger served us delicious and definitely innovative breakfasts, lunches, and dinner made from food waste such as bruised fruits, oddly shaped vegetables, apple and carrot peels, the foamy water from cooking chickpeas, polenta made from the corn usually fed to cattle, and a bit of goat meat. Although the focus was food, environment, health, access, and education, what grabbed me throughout were the coming together of people dedicated with passion and creativity to working for the betterment of individuals and society, now and into the future. I’m inspired to make some important changes.
Celebrating the Triumphs of Other Women Aging Gracefully
Three women’s stories have given me inspiration and hope recently. Kathie Brady had dabbled in many an art form over the years and this year found a new one that seems to truly celebrate who she is as a loving, relationship-oriented artist and woman of strong faith! You can read a short excerpt of her story in my blog post, Can You Imagine Your Compost Pile as Creative?
Last week my Mom celebrated a birthday, less than a month after my husband and I got to host her and my dad for a nice visit in San Francisco. You can read a short tribute to her stewardship of gifts of hospitality, creativity, generosity, and evangelization in my blog post, Never Too Late for You to Live Out Your Calling.
On the plane to New York, I happened upon the not particularly prominent October 17, 2015, obituary of someone I’d never heard of but was duly impressed with: Irma Giustino Weiss, who died at 96. The New York Times column noted that Ms. Weiss was a witty, caring “yea-sayer to life” who cared deeply about human rights as well as art, architecture, and cultural enrichment. As I read the obit, I could so easily see the common artistic, vibrant, generous thread through all she did—from where and what she studied as a young woman (Art at The Cooper Union), the jobs she held and awards she won (first female in the Art Department of Triangle Publications, two Art Director Awards for work at Ziff Davis Publishing, and Creative Director at Conde Nast Publications), the type of marriage she enjoyed (“a magical marriage, whose romance never ended”), the students (of art and architecture), causes (helping the less fortunate experience the artistic, theatrical, and cultural treasures of New York City), the institutions she supported (Cooper Union and the Whitney Museum), plus the attitudes and style she is described as bringing to it all.
Kathie, Mom, and Irma, thanks for the inspiration!
Radcliffe Women Debating Whether Women Who Graduated in the 70s Really Could “Have It All”
A panel of 1975 grads re-asked the burning Gloria Steinem-inspired question of their college years—Can Women Have It All? Interestingly, “have it all” seemed to imply “have all that successful men have traditionally had.” I have so much to say about what I heard and how my heart responded that I’m going to save this for my next blog post. Stay tuned! Or, if you want to jump into the conversation this topic suggests, feel free to comment or email me right away. I’d love to hear whatever you’d like to share on the topic!
In the meantime . . .
by Chris Boersma Smith | Oct 21, 2015 | Encouragement and Inspiration, Sacred Calling
Today is my Mom’s birthday. From this picture of her, my dad, and me (taken last month), you can try to guess her secret age, but you’ll probably be wrong because she’s so healthy for her years. Her longevity’s a tremendous blessing and reminds me of all that you and I can do in our senior years.
For example, not only did my mom teach me to sew from my earliest years, more recently she’s loved sewing teddy bears for all the babies she knows and for charitable causes. She starts every day with prayer and daily devotions, and she’s a regular churchgoer who initiated and leads a neighborhood Bible study. She reads voraciously and loves discussing books. After years of helping out a soup kitchen weekly, she’s coordinated countless meals for people recovering from unfortunate circumstances. She has a gift of hospitality and uses it more than anyone I know to entertain with abounding grace. Besides all that, she’s a sharp bridge player! An extrovert with lots of energy, she takes great interest in her friends, relatives, husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild.
My motto, which Mom exemplifies, is: It’s never too late to express your CREATIVE GENIUS or to fulfill your SACRED CALLING.
Her birthday is a reminder to ask yourself:
- what you’re not doing that you’d like to plan or start to do;
- how your creativity plays into your business or family life or retirement;
- how you might improve your self-care so you’re more likely to stay active longer . . . and of course
- what your creative genius is (because you can define it however you’d like) and
- what your sacred calling is (because that’s your divine purpose).
If you’d like to hear it, I have a recording available on
How to Discover Your Sacred Calling.
A great gift to me and my mom would be if you’d say a little prayer right now for her and all of our extended family. Thank you!
![Mastering Your Personal Art of the Journal]()
by Chris Boersma Smith | Sep 22, 2015 | Holy Spirit, Sacred Calling
How’d you like to implement or improve a single habit that could empower you, bring you more peace and joy, help you master your time, improve your creativity, and help you know and fulfill the purpose of your life?
Like a domino, journaling can be the one piece in the game of life that makes the difference in whether the rest of the pieces fall in order! One size doesn’t fit all; there are many ways to make this habit personal. But for me to start the day without journaling would be far worse than a coffee drinker starting the morning without a cup of brew. Everything would be harder, take longer, and have a fuzzy focus.
Whether primarily handwritten, dictated, handwritten, typed, or drawn, doodled, or collaged, journaling promises benefits of transformation as you:
- dump and process,
- explore and create,
- purge and receive,
- record and retrieve, and
- tune up and dial in.
When I read The Artist’s Way in 1992 and began writing “Morning Pages,” I aimed for quantity (3 pages) rather than quality. Often the first two pages were inconsequential but by the third page, I’d find new insights, deep feelings, or really useful ideas emerging. Over the years, I kept Gratitude and Prayer Journals, Art Journals, Travel Journals, and Dream Journals. Sometimes I’d include notes from workshops or days of reflection in my regular journal; other times I’d maintain a separate journal for them.
God, of course, has always blessed and used my journaling practice! I often write a question in my journal and then sit in silence until I receive the answer, which seems to just come from the still small voice within that I start to write out before I even know how the end of the sentence will finish. Yes, sometimes my own thoughts or wishes or feelings get mixed in with what I’m receiving from God, but when I stick with it and keep writing, the source usually gets clarified (if not in that sitting, then in one of the next few).
When I read Scripture or inspirational spiritual books, I have my journal open to write down the salient verses or lesson or insights of the day. When I’m reading through the Bible (a chapter or so a day), what I’ve just read generally sheds needed light on a particular current issue in my life. My practice is to highlight in yellow everything I feel came from God rather than from me, and I re-read these entries more than anything else.
I also ask for spiritual guidance to help schedule my days and my life. My tendency is to plan too much for a given day, week, or month. So I often bring my Planner Pad (calendar and lists) to my journaling time and ask God to let me know which events or tasks are top priority and reasonable to try to accomplish. With my To Do’s thus having God’s blessing, and my prayers asking for divine assistance, things go more smoothly!
Yes, other dominoes also affect the flow of my life—like getting enough sleep, silent meditation or centering prayer, not saying “yes” when I want to say “no,” and using effective productivity systems—but the domino of journaling is sacred. It encourages me to catch my dreams (God’s night school) the moment I’m aware I’ve remembered one, whether a snippet or a long, involved dream. (I record dreams in half-page columns so I have room later for dream analysis and so they stand out from the rest of my journaling.)
The content of journaling can vary greatly. I work out feelings, identify emotional triggers, and go through a multi-step forgiveness process in my writings. I journal solutions or ideas I awake with (often in answer to a question I asked the night before, since I prefer to journal first thing in the morning). I take notes during particularly good talks. I sketch quilts and other art or decorating ideas and write or doodle creative solutions. I even let the Holy Spirit help me compose blog posts in my journal!
The benefits can be tremendous, besides hearing God speak to your heart in holy whispers! Having dumped thoughts or feelings onto the pages, or even recorded tasks or reminders, your brain is free to move on. (I indicate the need to take action by drawing a little empty cirle in the margin, and later I put a line through the cirlce to signal that I’ve completed or calendared the item.) Memories are stored should you later want to review what was going on during an earlier time or what God told you on a particular topic. And journals are great if you’re looking back for transformation, repetition, or earlier insights. As a writer, I find rich material in my old journals. In my work and ministry, I see how God led me to know my sacred calling, to overcome certain resistance or blocks, and to grow in knowledge, wisdom, holy boldness, or creativity.
God didn’t design the human brain to figure out the future, and journaling is a way of being in the present, with the capacity to experience and enjoy engaging in two-way communications with God, whose Spirit fills us with life and peace. We get to ask, believe, and wait expectantly for our prayers to be answered and our steps to be guided, knowing God is our strength (empowerment) and our song (joy). I often praise God in my journal, too, and I certainly express thanks. The alternative to worry is to give all our concerns to the Almighty, and journaling’s great for that.
I’ve been journaling for the better part of 23 years, so I have much more I’d love to share on this topic. If you’d be interested in learning more or discussing it with me and others in a teleclass or in private coaching, please leave me a comment or send me an email.
Happy Journaling!
