Christmas Creations

Posted on December 30, 2020 by Jill English Johnston

This Christmas has been a difficult one for so many. We can’t celebrate with the many parties, events, and festivities we usually participate in. Our gatherings are smaller, if at all.   And we look ahead to the new year with a wary eye, not trusting what it holds.

My Christmas season held many blessings but it has been filled with much wrestling. A beautiful, artsy friend has taught me the practice of creating while listening. (If you’d like to learn more about her and her art ministry, please visit Created) While my creating isn’t quite on the level of hers (I’m more of a crafter than an artist), the practice provides the same result: letting one’s heart and mind explore outside the confines of boxes and explanations.

My daughter had purchased some simple round wood ornaments that we were supposed to decorate with my granddaughters. Time eluded us and we didn’t have a chance, but I snagged a pile of them.

Confession: I’ve always been reluctant to throw away all the beautiful Christmas cards I receive (yes, there are people who still send them and I am one of them). I have a stack from over the years, including the ones my dad received the Christmas before he passed away.

So, combining the wood ornaments, the Christmas cards, and a bottle of modge podge and I created:

They can be used as ornaments or as gift tags. And along with that thought, I still had plenty of Christmas cards that didn’t quite fit on the size of the ornaments. Going with the theme of gift tags, I created:

And I still have a pile to finish and a handful more cards to use, not including the new ones I received this year:

When my mom was alive and in and out of the hospital, I crafted a binder to keep all the get well cards she received, which I still have. I also have many of the sympathy cards dad received after she passed away as well as the ones my sister and I received after he passed away. (While you might think I have a card hoarding problem, I like to think of them as art waiting to happen).  My thought is that they might make some beautiful book marks to include with the encouragement cards I’ve been sending to those who have been isolated because of the pandemic. A little something to brighten someone’s day.

Did creating help me in the wrestling and the listening? Many of the questions and frustrations are still there and clear answers have not appeared, but I have found my head and my heart to be better spaces to deal with them. So, in that sense, yes.

Still have that stack of Christmas cards? Don’t throw them away. Get creative and clear out your head and heart space. And be sure to drop me a note or a picture on what you created.

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Conversations with a Writing Coach by Susan May Warren

Posted on March 21, 2020 by Jill English Johnston

I heard about Susan May Warren at the 2019 American Fiction Christian Writers (ACFW) conference in San Antonio, Texas. The ACFW Colorado Springs chapter was planning a two-day workshop with Warren as the speaker. And it was to be held at Glen Eyrie, which I’ve been wanting to visit forever. As soon as registration opened, I signed up. Then I downloaded two of her writing books, Conversations with a Writing Coach and The Story Equation.

As the country responded to COVID-19 and slow-rolled into shutting, closing and canceling just about everything, I received the disappointing email that the workshop was also canceled, with hopes to reschedule it in the future.

While I hope to attend the workshop when it gets rescheduled, I decided to use my “social distancing” time (as an introvert, I suddenly have the freedom to do what I always prefer to do – work in the quiet) by doubling down on Conversations and my work in progress.

The book is packed with practical writing information packaged as a conversation between Warren and her mentee. Each one wraps up with “dares,” practical steps to apply in writing. Interspersed are “quick skills” sections that break down Warren’s information into acronyms and steps.

I just finished her conversation on NaNoWriMo, which is perfect timing, because April is another NaNoWriMo. So if April turns out to be canceled like March has been, grab a copy of Conversations (available on Amazon), sign up for NaNoWriMo and start working on that novel you’ve always thought about.

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If You Create the Space, God will Fill It

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Jill English Johnston

If my last post, Accept Whatever Shows up, felt incomplete, it’s because I planned to finish the thought this week. Which I will. But with some additional thoughts. Because the world can change drastically in two weeks. And it did.

The book launch party for Explore turned out different than what I expected. Which is sort of what I expected. Despite my limited advertising (Facebook event and invites, announced on the Created website, and a handful of fliers hanging in businesses and libraries around the area), only a few people showed up.

But it was good.

Because Jon had time to talk to a long time friend about the books we published and his photographs. Because I had time to get to know a new writer friend and chat with a friend’s daughter who also loves writing and photography. Because we had sweet, uninterrupted time to encourage our friend and owner of Created.

Different than what I expected. But so good.

Which brings me to the title of this blog. Jon and I have been listening to an amazing podcast called Bema Discipleship which is going through the entire Bible. He started in the Old Testament; I started in the New Testament. But when he heard episode 26, Creating a Space, he had me listen to it. I highly recommend it. In it, Marty Solomon makes the statement, “If you create the space, God will fill it.”

That’s what I feel like happened at the book launch party. I created a space. And God filled it.

Which brings us to today. The news, social media and everyone’s conversations are filled with the COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus. Everything that could be said, has probably been said. Some, like government officials, medical personnel, first responders, grocery stores and their suppliers, and others in critical positions/agencies are busy beyond belief as they react to the ever-changing situation. However, many suddenly find themselves with too much time on their hands as schools, entertainment institutions, and numerous businesses temporarily close.

Suddenly we’re forced off the hamster wheel. Told to stay home. Travel is suspended. Meetings and events are canceled. Calendars are suddenly clear. No rushing here and there.

So what do we do with this time?

Social media is filled with all kinds of suggestions. I won’t go into them here. But I will suggest the idea of creating space and allowing God to fill it. Create it physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.

I know what it looks like for me. But it will be different for everyone. What will it look like for you? Please join this conversation and tell me how you’re using this time to create space in a way that God can fill it.

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The INFJ Writer: Cracking the Creative Genius of the World’s Rarest Type by Lauren Sapala

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Jill English Johnston

Lauren Sapala dives into what it means to be an INFJ writer in a world driven by goals and rewards. She shares her own personal journey that eventually led her to a vocation as a life coach. Her own self-discovery and discussions with clients revealed the patterns, obstructions, and capacity of INFJs and inspired her to share what she’s learned with the rest of us INFJs in the world.

I took the Myers-Briggs personality test years ago when I attended a leadership class in the military. If I remember correctly, I tested as an INFJ and have done so consistently over the years. But it’s only been the past decade that my understanding of who I am has led me to the freedom in being who I am.

As I transitioned from military life to civilian life, a friend introduced me to a program on dressing in a way that fits one’s predominant personality. The program delivered me from trying to “get out of my box,” as so many well-meaning friends and family members encouraged me to do, and gave me permission to dress in a way that reflected me.

When I dove into learning the craft of writing, I discovered personality-driven guides to help develop my characters and this further increased my interest in personality types. However, my studies also led me to conferences and workshops that, while giving me some gems and takeaways, unfortunately also left me with feelings of frustration. Why couldn’t I write two books a year? Why couldn’t I have a book in outline, a book in draft and a book in edit? Why was I so slow in my writing?

Then I saw the INFJ Writer and I scooped it up. With examples drawn from experience and end of chapter exercises, Sapala walks INFJ writers through who we are, where and why we struggle, how to overcome obstacles, and (best of all), what we have to bring to the world.

The INFJ Writer is a must for us and one of the books I’ll go back to again and again.

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Accept Whatever Shows Up

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Jill English Johnston

Apprehension and a little anxiety accosted me as I prepared for the (somewhat delayed) book launch party for our third book in the Be Still Series, Explore, Enjoying the Creation of God.

The idea popped into my head as I went through the editing process with some amazing moms (my husband and I designed Explore to be used as a family devotion and engage kids with the amazing world outside) but busyness, holidays, and travel distracted me.

I didn’t think about it again until after the new year when I received an email from a friend, encourager, and owner of a cute little art studio called Created. She wanted to meet and discuss ideas, goals, visions for the year ahead. As we talked, I confessed my book launch party, birthed the plan and set a date.

As the day rapidly approached, I swatted apprehension and anxiety away, trying not to give life to the question, “what were you thinking?” While mulling, praying, and reading one of the many books on my 2020 reading list, I came across the phrase, “accept whatever shows up.”

Exactly what I needed to hear.

The phrase came from the book, The INFJ Writer by Lauren Sapala (I’ll talk about the book in my upcoming Saturday book review) in her chapter Artistic Vision is Not the Same as Artistic Reality. She goes on to say, “Once we learn how to go with the flow and accept how life is unfolding in this moment, right now, we open ourselves up to experiencing a lot more joy just in being, without the need to prove anything through the act of doing.

That’s tough for the temperament of an INFJ. That’s tough for me. I’ve expended a lot of energy in my life lamenting unfulfilled expectations, disappointments, and frustrated plans. I desperately needed a new mindset. I grabbed it. I clung to it. I walked it out.

And that has made all the difference.

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