Create

*vain note:  I just realized I posted this without saying, I'VE NEVER PAINTED BEFORE.  These are from the last year.  Soooo yeah.  don't judge too much. ;)  k thanks.

I've always loved President Uchtdorf's Talk "Happiness, Your Heritage" and the Mormon Message they created to go with it.  (Shout out to Kate, "where can I get this soundtrack?!")

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before."

I feel like it's so easy to get discouraged about what we haven't done or what we wish we could be better at.  It's times like that when I love being able to sit down and create.  To hash it out on the piano, make a meal for somebody, or doodle with a paintbrush.  

Here are some of the things I've "created" lately.  I'm not one to come up with a picture to paint on my own, so usually I look up pictures online and then just do my best to copy them.  Here are some of the things I've done. I'm actually really proud of how well they turned out overall.   (Many of them get thrown away.)  

Aspen trees

"Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty."

Pretty colors, right?!  I was super proud of how the sidewalk turned out.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use* for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

*But for real.  

Love me some springtime.

"If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination."

When I lived with my grandma for a few weeks in the summer while I was engaged she did this cardboard cut out painting with me.  It was great.

 "If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next."

So humbling.  And exciting.

Once again, copied from the internet.  His little face kills me.

Lions and elephants are my favorite animals so they had to be what I tried painting first.  I also showed Derek this probably ten times in the process of doing it because I couldn't get over how cute they were.

"I believe that as you immerse yourselves in the work of our Father—as you create beauty and as you are compassionate to others—God will encircle you in the arms of His love."