Just an Ordinary Day

Monday, May 20, 2013

Well, today was just an ordinary day.  Filled with errands and "to do" lists. No art today.  It always feels so good to get those items checked off our lists, but have you noticed that there is some law of the universe whereby once an item has been deleted from "the" list....two or three jump right on it! My list is no exception - I am sure prioritizing is key!

Although there was no time for art today, I always take time to peruse magazines, and/or my favorite blogs and artists online just to drink in some inspiration and charge my imagination.  So many wonderful teachers and talent out there.  Jeanne Oliver has a couple of new classes coming up.  Found a cool site with video tutorials on just about any subject you can name!  www.lynda.com
I also enjoy watching YouTube videos of artists at work like Jenniebellie, Mystele, Suzi Blu, Wyanne, etc.  I would love to know where you find your inspiration...

I wanted to share something I heard yesterday that intrigued me and  got me to really thinking about submission/obedience.  I know, not a word or topic we really like to hear or think about much.  But, we had a young guest pastor speak at a special ordination service yesterday and he brought up the word submit.  He had an interesting take on "submitting or obeying" ....  I think we agree that children should obey their parents, right?  Well, more often that not, once a child is told to do something or told not to do something, the child will ask "why?" Parents will inevitably explain why; why we said no, why we told them what we did. (There is that exception when drained and exasperated parents just say, "because I said so").  What is really happening when the parent explains his dictate is that the child  obeys if he agrees with the explanation - not truly obedience or submission is it - it is agreement. Hmmm. And, often, if there is not agreement, there is a tantrum of some sort that will require some type of negotiation.  Now, I do believe in clear and open communication; we want our children to learn to think for themselves and see that their parents are doing things for their best interest and are truly smarter than they think, but I thought this was an interesting spin on this topic.  There are times when children should submit out of love, honor, respect and a genuine faith in their parents character without the questions, without the tantrums. When?  What is the best way to teach our children this?  Do we provide a good example to our children so that they need not question our authority?
God, our Heavenly Father, has shown his Holy and perfect character to us over and over, day after day, year after year - how often to we ask "why" instead of just saying, yes Father. Definitely something for me think about more often.

You might see a few changes here and there on my blog - always trying to spiffy things up and learn to improve.  As always, I pray that God will guide you and shower you with His blessings,