Reading, Writing & Pondering

  I have often heard people say that they don't have a creative bone in their body. I heartily disagree with that statement. I believe we all use creativity in more ways than we realize. Mary Potter Kenyon's new book, Called to Be Creative inspires all sorts of creativity and reminds the reader that they are indeed creative in many ways. For me, reading Called to Be Creative was like sitting down with the author at the coffee shop and chatting about writing, artwork and all the things that we mutually enjoy that take a bit of creativity. I enjoyed her conversational tone. I also liked that each of the twelve chapters concludes with an inspiring real-life story from another creative person and an assignment to do something creative--for example, writing in a journal or making a vision board. For the purposes of this review, I read straight through the book and made some mental notes regarding the assignments. However, I plan to go back through and do the assignments and I am r...

Writing a story, a poem or a song is hard work. Yes, we may feel called to do one or more of those things but it is still work to answer that call. Andrew Peterson in Adorning the Dark presses in to the creative process and shares some of his insights and his personal life. Adorning the Dark is part memoir and part encouragement and invitation to the creative process for all of us. He tells about how he has struggled to write songs and music and poetry and even to creative beautiful gardens on his property. He pulls from musicians and writers in the past and present and shares advice and stories that leave you nodding, Um Hmm, yes, that is how it feels, at times. I would encourage anyone who is a writer or creator in some area to read Adorning the Dark . It is insightful and full of hope and beauty for those who wish to create. At the same time, he also tells it like it is and that it is work to create. As Peterson shares in this book, there are struggles and there are times yo...