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Steal Like an Artist x Austin Kleon

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I’m not completely sure how I came across this book, but I’ve had it for a while now. Though I’d skimmed it a time or two, I never took the time to read it, cover to cover… that was a mistake! It’s a short, easy read, but it’s full with great content! What I love most about “Steal Like an Artist” is its ability to use seemingly contradictory ideas to make meaningful points. Kleon urges readers to be creative in their lives, even if it doesn’t mean being an artist. I love that he uses the notion “There’s nothing new under the sun” as truth first, as it comes from the Bible (Ecclesiastes 1:9)… but in addition, it motivates us to build upon the world around us.

If you haven’t noticed, I’m all about the unconventional lifestyle! This books places unconventional thinking right at the center of practicality in a world full of conventional people. Give it a shot!

Happy Reading!

Giving Thanks!

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I was going to shy away from what my be perceived as cliché; I wasn’t going to write about thanksgiving. Then I changed my mind because there’s nothing cliché about giving thanks. I have countless things to be thankful for, but I want to dedicate this post to one special thing near and dear to my heart.

Now, I’m an only child… But my mother has 10 siblings, my father 2. I have countless family, and on this day, I want to express how thankful I am to have so many of them, and especially to have been able to share today with them. Everyone wasn’t there, but my heart smile at every single one who was and the ones who weren’t able to share. There was a time we were more highly close knit, but the familial ties have seemingly been severed. In recent years, it seemed we came together more for the tragedies that occurred. There’s nothing wrong with coming together in those times, but what about when things are good? The featured image doesn’t nearly represent my entire family, but it spreads a little of the joy we shared on this day.

My prayer is that my family, and all, will find time to celebrate life, together, all throughout the year. When we stand together, we are strengthened, we learn, we grow, and most importantly… We love!

Happy Thanksgiving! ❤

In The No: “Out”

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Besides the time everyone stood at the edge of “a bridge” and decided to jump while you opted to turn around and take the stairs down instead, how often are you in the no?

It’s so tempting to be in the know, aware of all that’s happening, not missing anything… Like when you were a kid and didn’t want to fall asleep while others were up around you. Being involved in the cyclic conversation about The Little Rascals that you’d had 132x before seemed necessary at the time; your friends wouldn’t joke about you being a “sleepyhead”; you didn’t get toothpaste on your face; but you had to beg your mom to stay home instead of waking for church the next morning… and since she wasn’t going for it, you struggled to keep your eyes open until snack time at children’s church.

How much different is it now, as an adult? I’ve struggled a million times with being on the scene or not, and what each symbolized and truly meant to me. I enjoy music, I love to dance, and i LOVE my friends… But I also want to “get right” because I love the Lord. I’ve been on the receiving end of lost friendships, and it hurts me to say that I have also, more recently, been the catalyst for some dwindling, based on decisions to be in the no.

I won’t paint a picture like I haven’t been to a bar|lounge recently and enjoyed myself. I have fun when I go, but that’s besides the point. Some have argued that it’s “not that serious”, that it’s “harmless fun”… I’ve been called boring, I even claim “grandma”, but sometimes I grow tired of defending myself.

You may ask why this matters. Well, I doubt I’m the only young Christian to struggle with decision making and going right when everyone else chooses left. For years I’ve compromised my faith by going to clubs, bars, and lounges getting flat out drunk, and waking up the next day sometimes unable to recall the tale, let alone tell it. I don’t say that to condemn anyone who chooses differently than I, but to affirm and reaffirm what I know.

It has grown increasingly easier to decline invitations to certain places; but the imagined look on my friends faces still tears my heart into pieces that only God knows how to replace.

I’ve got a great sense of humor. I can relate to many people. Don’t shun me for growing, please; I’m neither perfect nor pretending to live a wholly righteous life, I’m human. As Lolo Jones once said, “I’m not the nun in every room…”, I enjoy laughter!  With that, I realize I am equally content to have brunch with mimosas or a more harmless glass of wine at a nice dinner or home with friends, to attend a sporting event, to create, and a host of apparently “less fun” things, according to some.  But, I can’t take myself seriously as a growing Christian if I make the same mistakes over and over, if I wild out in an altered state of mind amidst a club full of sweaty, drunken people with blatant disregard for the sober promises they’ve made to their futures.

What’s your struggle between being in the know, and in the no? Talk to me! 🙂

Romans 12:2 (NIV) Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

❤

11.23.14

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Dear Lord,

Thank you, again, for another day, awakened and alive in you. Thank you for opportunity, for love, for friendship, for all the gifts you bless us with each day, those noticed and overlooked. This week, Americans express thanks and spend increased time with family and loved ones; it’s beautiful. I want to pray, tonight, that we carry this spirit of thanksgiving throughout the year. Please allow us to be aware of all that is working in our lives. Allow us to acknowledge these things and use them to encourage those around us.

Our stories are unique to us, but can also help others facing similar challenges. Please allow us to push beyond our fear of sharing the most vulnerable parts of ourselves; may we pay it forward! Most of us have had someone to share their story; whether we’ve taken heed immediately, or required extended time to understand the lessons taught, it helps. We don’t wish to be selfish beings. For what good is it to experience you in all of your goodness while keeping your truth from others?

May your glory reign forever. May we be used as vessels through which your Word flows freely into the lives of others. Thank you for all that you do, your selflessness, and unconditional love.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen ❤

Ready or not, here I come!

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You remember being a kid, rushing through the count to 10 just to say these words… You didn’t want to be at a disadvantage; you never gave the “hiders” a chance to get ready before shouting “HERE I COME!” That’s how you got out of the “seekers” chair, by throwing someone else off their game, by beating them to the punch, by taking away their chance to prepare!

Life has a funny way of working; it throws you challenges and cheat codes, God gives favor, life seems unfair, there is sometimes mercy in the most merciless(seeming) situations. In life, we dangle somewhere between failure or success, so society says. Besides God, there are no constants. Life may count to ten sometimes, it may even count to 100, but it may also stop at 1. Either way you look at it, for anyone reading this, no matter what it seemed, life has continued working, ready or not.

I am always planning ahead for something – birthdays, vacations, graduation(s), occupation(s), events, a hopeful wedding… most of us are. As we post a dream house on pinterest, save for celebrations with friends, and plan our moves from parents’ home to apartment to condo to townhouse to single family… There’s always something to plan for! It get’s stressful. There are too many unanswered questions on how to make it perfect, and there never seems like enough time, ever. Earth dwellers have lived in a 24 hour time zone for…well…ever… but we’re praying for more time in a day, to be “great.” The best part though, life isn’t stopping, whether we are ready or not! My birthday will be on September 19th every year, whether I’ve planned a celebration or not. It’s easy to accept that one, but we can’t accept it when it’s the things we want, you know, the ones that aren’t etched between Genesis & Revelation or written in 4th grade U.S. History books.

“What screws us up most in life is the picture in our head of how it’s supposed to be.” – Socrates

It’s very rare, if ever, that we are incapable of accomplishing something. It’s usually not who we are that holds us back, but who we think we are not. People in every state aren’t reading this post, but it’s here, and they could. Believing that I wasn’t a “real” writer, stopped me from doing this every day. I wasn’t smart enough to take a licensure exam so I planned for it procrastinated for 6 months, putting very little additional effort to be any “smarter.” I wasn’t ready to get a new job, but the District of Columbia decided my old one could no longer exist.

The point is: Life will continue, ready or not. Dare I say it’s E A S Y to talk about the superficial things we prepare for ( or don’t ) … but what about the substance, the things that matter? You know, the “I wasn’t ready to forgive you, so I pretended to, but I still wish you never existed” or the “I wasn’t ready to have sex, and now I’m confused and ashamed” or the “I wasn’t ready to marry you, and now I’m either angry or depressed every day”…to name a few. There are millions of pieces that don’t fit this subject in one puzzle…

What’s ready anyway? Can you even be ready for everything that confronts you as you travel day by day? What if you think you’re ready? What if you thought you were ready? What if you don’t want to get ready? What if ready never finds its way?

I wasn’t ready to stop being a silent Christian, but here I stand. Well, write.

I NEED YOUR HELP… This is a broad topic, and I’d like to talk about it; I need to! So, PLEASE help me to choose four topics of readiness to cover the next four Thursdays!…even on Thanksgiving. 🙂 I’m thinking temptation, marriage/relationships, career, leaving the parent(s)’ nest… salvation. I am fully open to suggestions, I want you to be as much a part of this as me.  I’d even like to endorse some guest writers! But most of all, I’d LOVE for us to dialogue; to speak, listen, learn, love, and grow… TOGETHER!

I love you,

Sammie ❤

The Art of Non-Conformity x Chris Guillebeau

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Book of the week is one I came across thanks to my creative sister-friend, Diamond. After reading it, I immediately understood why it was so hard to try and separate her from it (I never succeeded, by the way). Cover to cover, it’s all about living unconventionally…  Chris Guillebeau found a way to put all of my racing thoughts into a logical, well respected text that has reached masses. The book challenges us to be self-starters, if we are discontent with the traditional life we are expected to live.

The great thing about books is that they leave so much to be inferred. I|you could take this at face value alone, and gain a wealth of insight. There’d be no shame in that. I challenge you, however, to see how “The Art of Non-Conformity” matters to you! You may not want to start a business, but this book still has tons to offer you.

Happy Reading!

Blackbird.

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So, I went to see “Beyond the Lights” with my sister this weekend (Hey Bri!). LOVED IT! I’m a sap, clearly… but the movie tells a story far beyond love; don’t worry, I won’t tell the movie, though I do suggest you go see it!

“I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question.” – Harun Yahya

Why would I let my dreams stay fantasies? If I can do anything in the world, why would I ever stop learning, growing?… Routine. Complacency. Fear of failure.  When we are young, we are taught that it’s “best” to get good grades in school so that we can get accepted into a good college, where we’ll get good grades, and find a job that will pay us fairly well… We’ll try to move up the ladder, and people will call it “loyalty”, while we boast good job security. When, however, do we question what else the world has to offer, and what we have to offer it? I don’t just mean feeding the homeless during holidays and taking an annual vacation. How is it so easy to forget the big dreams we had as kids, before someone taught us tunnel vision? We begin our lives taught to think big, to imagine whatever we will, to create the perfect world… and that we can live in it… I mean… I wanted to be a lawyer, a writer, a teacher, and a dancer, all while embodying ‘travel noire’, and being a wife and mommy just like mine. Where was I taught that I could only do one, maybe two if I could get it approved by someone higher up? Why would a world full of opportunity close the minds of its inhabitants so that we stop dreaming big? We settle into routines that allow us to live comfortably, even if not happily… and I’ll say it a million times, happiness is a choice! God didn’t give us dreams and passions to lay by the wayside. He gave us purpose so that we might live abundant lives, filling the world with our gifts and joy. It is written, nowhere that matters, that we must find a single niche, and marry it until death do us part. So I ask you:

“Why you wanna fly, blackbird?”

If everything around you is telling you that you aren’t good enough, your dreams aren’t big enough… or worse, they’re too big… Why you wanna fly? I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that I am so afraid to fall, that I fail by default. No risk automatically eliminates the possibility of any reward. Instead, I take on the weight of someone else’s goals for me. I go through the motions to make someone else smile, smiling along the way, but dying inside, losing myself. If I’ve got my own set of wings, I dare not watch you ascend into the clouds anticipating your reappearance to hear your experience. (I’m happy for you, but…) I dare not harness myself to you as we take off in your direction. I had better open my eyes, spread my wings, and soar like only I can. There is no one (but God) who can save us, just as we cannot save others. We require support, a network of people who have our backs, but realizing our dreams and living in purpose is no one’s responsibility but our own. Close your eyes, jump, and admire the world around you! Love it, love others, but don’t forget to love yourself.

On “Beyond The Lights”: More than anything, I took away a message of being true to myself, of loving myself and striving only to achieve those things I desire (and that would please the Lord, of course-that’s my own addition). It challenges authority, looks beyond the glamour that sometimes blinds us, and reminds us of the innocence all children are born with. Furthermore, it teaches us to see ourselves, to believe in ourselves, and not to be afraid to please ourselves.      P.S. There is nothing cliche about love!

I always say that work feels a lot less like work when you’re doing something you love. Everyone doesn’t want to live the free-spirited lifestyle. We even claim, at times, that we don’t know what we want – if that’s the case, I suggest you pray and give it some thought; DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE! If you don’t know what you want, the place to start is NOT where someone else wants you.

Spread your wings. & F L Y.

11.16.14

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Dear Heavenly Father,

As I come to you this evening, I want to remember in every prayer to thank you. I have lived another day! Even as the day had turbulence, there was productivity and love found in it. Thank you, for raising the sun on the same day that you poured rain on us. Thank you for your grace, that has allowed me to journey another week and begin a new venture doing something I love. You have given me an abundance of opportunities to use the gifts you’ve given me, but I haven’t always answered your call. I want to hear your voice when you speak, and know that it’s you. I want your relationship to be the only one I cannot live without. Thank you for second and third and fourth chances. Thank you for allowing me to love even those people who don’t love me back. Thank you for creativity, for laughter, for friendships… and thank you for you. I know that I am not perfect and recognize, also, that I never will be; but I thank you for loving me anyway.

As a new week begins, I want to pray not just for myself, but also my family, friends, and every breathing being in this world. I pray that you would give each of us courage to be true to ourselves. I also pray that you would reveal to us purpose, and passion, so that we might live to please you and bring honor to your name. Please give everyone peace so that they might rest well. Give us spirits of joy, that we may rejoice in you, even when things aren’t perfect. I pray for good health for all, and for resources to allow everyone to live safely as winter has come upon us. For those who are able, please also fill us with kind hearts, so that we may utilize a portion of what you’ve given us to help others in need.

Lastly, I want to pray my common prayer, for Love. Please give us all hearts overflowing with the love you have shown us. Allow us not to judge others negatively, but to share truth so that we might all live more abundantly. Please give us discernment so that we speak only as you would have us to. Give us courage to love our neighbors – those who don’t know us, those who don’t love us, those who despise us. Thank you for the opportunity to make requests known, and the promise to answer every prayer.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen. ❤

Perfection•ism

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With the potential to drive greatness, or withhold it, perfectionism is often viewed as a neutral trait. I’m a perfectionist in many ways, I came to know it long ago, but never recognized how its manifestation limited me, until recently… And only at that point, did I take the plunge to conquer it.

On Saturday, November 8, 2014, my friend (hi Ashley!) told me, “You’re sitting on your gifts 😟.” I opted to be a spectator at an event hosted by her church, where participants share their gifts in praise|worship (great event, by the way!). She’d asked me to dance in advance, but I had time constraints that wouldn’t allow me to choreograph and practice as much as I would have liked, so I politely offered a tentative yes, which I knew would likely be a “not this time.” At the event I mentioned having written a piece I could share, but I had every excuse for why I shouldn’twouldn’t: “I haven’t finalized it yet” or “I haven’t practiced reciting it” or “I’ve never delivered a piece in spoken word”… The truth is, I was afraid. Will either of these things be good enough?

The same applies to this blog, countless ideas I’ve had in the past, and an almanacs worth scrolling in my head even now. Will it be good enough? Will they like it? The resounding answer whispering as I step through the doors of each new year has been “NO!”; so I’ve offered little of myself to the world. I asked myself as this week began, “who are you trying to please?”

We are creatures of connectivity; we flourish as we receive affirmation, affection and love in our lives. All that to say: YES, I want you to like this! But, whether you do or don’t won’t stop me from writing and sharing, in love. I’ve jumped in the ocean without vision of the nearest shore, and I trust God to work through me. And when doubt creeps into my shadow, I’ll ask: What’s good enough, and who are they, anyway?

What’s your take on perfectionism? Is it affecting you? Have you conquered it?

What Say Ye? Let’s Talk!

JOURNEY WITH ME

Art Jamzzzz DC!

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This isn’t current, it was almost a month ago, but it was fun nonetheless! And I was definitely living in the moment!

Art Jamz DC offers a host of options for beginner to advanced artists in a fun, lively environment. I enjoyed every minute of it, from the wine (yum!) and artistry to the hilariously ratchet, but undeniably encouraging group of friends that created just behind me.

Some would categorize me a creative; I love the arts, but as mentioned previously(on Instagram)

“I don’t claim to be an amazing artist, but I am enamored with every stroke of a brush. It really is therapeutic… Great company is an incredible benefit, too. So today, I share this little bit of joy… It amazes me how being joyful truly encourages me to play a role in bringing the same [or an even greater] feeling to others.”