The Ironing Board

I have a question for you. Do you ever iron?

I must admit there are not too many things I iron today.

With the advent of permanent press and wash ‘n wear who needs to iron?

I have noticed that most every hotel room includes an iron and ironing board. Just what you want to do while on vacation….iron. Well our little hotel room does indeed have the iron and the accompanying board.

As I have said before when you are living simple it tends to make you look at all things from a different perspective. As a writer I spend a great deal of time typing on the computer. I was scanning the room; where could I most comfortably set up the computer?

Suddenly it occurred to me that the ironing board would make the almost perfect desk. It was portable. It already had a dedicated space in the room. It was adjustable to various heights. Who could ask for more?

I could carefully maneuver it on either side of the bed so that I could sit on the edge of the bed and type. I could place it near the window. Now we have a lovely young tree outside our window.    I could even raise it up so that I could stand up and type. Wow! Such versatility from something as  mundane as an ironing board.

Typically I would have never paid any attention to the ironing board neatly tucked in the closet. But when you have few things creativity can be a breath of fresh air. I think there is some saying about invention coming out of necessity. I am sure you are familiar with the saying.

Oh, there was also a plug nearby so I could get power to the computer. A source of power is a useful thing to have nearby.

It reminds me that God wants us to use what we have. It would be easier to look at what you do not have to make excuses. We have a creative God and he has passed on to us the ability to tap into this fountain of creativity.

It is quiet in our little room and there are few distractions. Distractions can hamper our desire to really look at our environment. Distractions keep us preoccupied. Distractions divert our attention to our immediate surroundings. Distractions lure us to look everywhere except the immediate area.

In our prayer life distractions keep us from praying as best we can. How easy it is to put our prayer life even below these distractions.

I invite you to look around and find something in your immediate environment that you have previously taken for granted. As you look at this object ask yourself how you can bring it into your prayer life.

Maybe it is something as insignificant as the television control. How could you use that creatively in prayer? Perhaps it could remind you that changing you have the ability to change your attitude. Perhaps it could remind you about how God is present through the many different genres of your life from news and drama to comedy and cooking.

 

The ironing board served as my desk….something useful and mundane. The ironing board reminded me too that my prayer life needs to be kept fresh through various changes. It is so comfortable to get into mindless routines even when it comes to prayer. We go through the motions on auto pilot. I cannot function on auto pilot at this time in my life. There is nothing about my current situation that would fit into my previous thoughtless ‘auto pilot’ life.

 

God is Light: Wordle

God is Light

 This is the time of year when ceativity reaches a peak. Decorating your house for Christmas allows all sorts of creative juices to flow…after all it’s Christmas and anything goes.

Wrapping paper in all colors and patterns…matching bows curled or looped…candles in every size, color, and fragrance imaginable…gifts that fit in the palm of your hand or on a finger to ones that defy being wrapped…visits with family (now I admit sometimes that really requires some creativity) what will we talk about???? Let’s see… “No” not that subject…”how about ____? “No that will never work.” So we end up resorting to polite frivolous small talk.

“Lke, what dessert are you having first?”

Oh my, Creativity is so much fun during the Christmas holidays!

So I want to offer you an opportunity to explore your creative side with Wordle. I used Wordle to create the picture at the top of this post.

Here are the directions:

First you type some text you would like to use. I used scirpture passages from the readings for this week.

Next you go to www.wordle.net

Click on the “CREATE  your own” button. Once there copy your selected text into the box or you can just type your text right in their box. 

Then click on GO button.

In seconds you will have created your very own Wordle “word cloud”. Now you may be excited with the results, but I encourage you to “play” with the many different options offered. At the top of your newly created wordle are some buttons; the color, font, and layout are the ones you should explore.

Find one you like and celebrate that you can be creative in many ways.

I believe creativity is inspired by God, who has certainly given us numerous examples of his wild creativity…just look at nature or the animal kingdom.

Show your children or grandchildren  Wordle and let them have some fun together.

Now I am going to create one with the names of everyone in my family. That will surely give us something to talk about…!!! I must make sure that I do not forget anyone’s name!

~Christmas Blessings~

May your life be overflowing with JOY…and generously sprinkled with FUN.

If you have any questions about Wordle just send me a message.