Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Is my glass half empty?

This is what I was pondering before drifting off to sleep last night...

Our house filled with five children goes through milk rather quickly. Each of the boys has two bowls of cereal for breakfast, baby has a bottle at night and one mid morning, not to mention the macaroni and cheese! When that gallon jug is empty, we're out of milk. It's time to go to the store for more or it's a whiny baby and pb&j for breakfast for the boys. And only water to wash those sandwiches down! Yuck! We don't have a cow and we don't have a milkman. We just run out.

Smiles are a little different. Seems the more you smile the more you feel like smiling. It doesn't matter how many smiles you give away during a day, you always have more to give. That goes with hugs and kisses, too.

They have Wii games for grownups designed to exercise your brain. Experts tell us that the more you use that organ, the stronger, smarter, that organ becomes. But ask your trainer at the gym and they will tell you to rest your pecs for a day before you work them out again. Muscles grow better after a brief resting period.

Well, what about creativity? Can you run out of it like milk? Or is it more like a smile, the more you use, the more you seem to have? Here is my fear. If I spend all my creative juices on cleaning the house and beautifying our bedroom, will I have any left for scrapbooking or writing? Will someone please tell me that I am better off not to spend all my creative energy on rearranging furniture or placing pictures on my walls? Shouldn't I save it for something much more, um, fun? Does creativity, like my brain, improve with continual exercise? Or should I rest by taking naps between creating scrapbook pages and writing blog posts?

Any help in this matter is greatly appreciated! I will delete all comments that suggest that I do housework. Just kidding.

5 comments:

Sheila said...

Hey Shoe Momma! I just read your make-me-smile comments on my blog! i praise God He's "pricking" you. He pricks me when I write what I write. Half the time He reminds me to go back and read my own words when I get into my day. I struggle just like you and everyone else. It's our flesh. We don't naturally want to do God's ways. But surrender is sweet when your eyes are fixed on Jesus. Just meditate on Him. How He loves you. How He proved it at the cross. I know the more I meditate on Him, the more I desire to do His will in my life... and He actually moves me to do it!

Prayin' for ya with a big hug!!
Sheila

krista said...

isn't it amazing how quickly the milk is finished?!?!

i try to find a balance between housework and scrapbooking....which means my house isn't perfect and my scraproom is messy! : ) lol

enjoy your day,
krista

UtahJenny said...

I'm all for napping between creative endeavors ... too bad that doesn't happen with a house full of kids!!! :)

But I think creativity is a gift from God, so if we use the creativity well (and for good purposes) more will come, and keep coming! There's no limit to God's gifts - so enjoy them and let others enjoy them, too! :)

More Than Words said...

Hi there! I'm so glad you stopped by my blog! Sounds like we have a few things in common! Awesome!!!

I know what you mean about the milk! All my kids love cereal (including my husband) so we go through 4 gallons easily!!! LOL

Oh..and as far as cleaning vs. creativity..I used to always want everything picked up, cleaned up immediately, but I learned to relax a little and have time w/ my kids. The housework will always be there! :)

I'm going to follow your blog now! :)

LisaShaw said...

A healthy balance in all areas sounds good (smile). Thanks for visiting one of my blogs. I had to pop over and meet you. I was so moved when I read your profile. You and your husband are obviously very loving people and are doing something tremendous to bless children. Loving them until they have homes to love them for good is awesome!!!

I look forward to getting to know you better. Bless you.