Monthly Archives: July 2011

Do we hold back what was never ours to keep?

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6

When was the last time someone just gave you something, because they had it to give and they wanted you to have it? It could’ve been your kid’s cookie, soggy but still sweet. It could’ve been tickets to a concert. Or a work of art.

When was the last time you gave something to someone out of the goodness of your heart and the overflow of your life?

I’m not a giver. Well, not in the traditional sense. I give time, although I am rather greedy with mine. I budget it carefully. And it goes out, in various stages, to various people and places. But I want to give more. I want to give out of other areas of my life as well.

So I’m asking myself what I have to give. And I’m trying to be really really honest.

One thing that has recently resurfaced is “my story”–in a few surprising forms. But people are poking around in my life in search of answers in their own lives. I may not have all the answers, but I do have my own experience. So I am giving that.

But what else? What else have I been given in surplus so I can give it to someone else? That is the question I have devoted to today. But not just for me. For you too.

What do you have to give? Be honest. Be real. Toss “humility” out the window, because that’s not what this is about. This is about locating the things of value in your life that are there for the sake of someone else. What’s there? What do you have to give?

Is there anything left without family?

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16

Family.

It’s gotta be up there in the level of importance for an adopted child. Right?

So we have to do whatever we can to make sure family is clearly defined in our own lives so it can be clear and strong and holding in the lives of our kids, right?

Family.

It is more than a twisted-branched tree.

It is a reaching across generations. And across DNA. And across personalities.

It is a holding on “no matter what.” And an “I love you” through tears.

It is memories and plans.

It is belonging.

I’m sure, eventually, some DFCS class or Adoption book will help me familiarize myself with the road of “bonding” for adoptive families; but, until I get to those pages, I am writing my own. I’m finding my own words to define family.

And I’m finding my own ways to honor it.

How do you honor family? How do you maintain its importance in your life? Or do you?

What to do with your self-portraitings??

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2

Hello everybody!

It’s time! Next week I’ll be featuring some of the self-portraits that we’ve churned up. I’ve already gotten a taste of what we’ve done, and I’m very excited.

So. Here’s how we’ll do this. You can post it on your own blog (photo, song, poem, prose, whatever). AND/OR send it to me (mandy[at]mandythompson[dot]com) and I’ll put a few up next week.

If you’re interested, but have no idea what we’re talking about, click the link above and check it out. It’s all about being real and honest and vulnerable about how we see ourselves. And there’s still time to send yours in. You can knock it out over the weekend! yay!!

How’s that sound?

Send ‘em. I’m excited!!

Re.Make.

Posted on
11

I’m getting itchy. Restless. Wandering. Listening. Questioning. Wondering. Waiting.

This kind of inner stillness is rare, and it always catches my attention–with its certainty.

and rush.

and standing.

I wonder how long it’ll last–but it won’t be long enough. There is little time. The moment will soon fade into the past.

In this moment I want to remake. I want to get out there and find the person I want to be. And I want to internalize all that she is, until I am she.

And I want the sound of my voice to sound like my own best friend, not my worst enemy.

I want to hear truth. I want to hear the things I want to want to say come out of my very own mouth.

I want the mirror to match my memory.

I want to be her.

Again.

Instead, I am poor.

Know thyself some more.

Posted on
19

I just finished a meeting that ended with an area minister asking what it took for somebody to be a “me.” It’s one of the strangest questions I’ve ever been asked. He wants me to dig through my story, look back on experiences and opportunities and circumstances–as well as characteristics and personality and skills–to help him see how to build other “me’s.”

Huh?

So, my homework is to ask myself how in the world I got to this place of creative development of worship services. I’ve got a lot of digging to do.

But that’s what this month is about, right? It’s about self-discovery as an artist–as a creative person who’s been created by a Creator. And about becoming the self we were each individually made to be. Part of knowing who we are is in knowing how we got here.

Right?

So I have some more questions to help us dig deeper in to see the creative energies at work that have molded and shaped us into the “now” version of ourselves:

  1. How is the life you’re living today different from the life you imagined at fifteen?
  2. What is the most life-altering experience/circumstance you’ve been forced to walk through?
  3. What are the three most important decisions you’ve made in life?
Easy, right? :)