Creative Challenge Update!

A couple of blog entries ago, I mentioned how I had been inspired and wanted to feed my creative self. I set out to do a "30 Day Creative Challenge", where I committed to doing something creative everyday, or at least create something. I was off to a good start, and my aim was to not miss a single day, but alas, I ended up skipping yesterday. The cool thing is that I was really bummed by the end of the night because I had not done something creative. I am glad that I'm doing this, because I've really missed this part of me.

Here is my progress so far:

Day One, Friday 2/10

I helped my friend, Chris, create an art display for a show at church

*Create stencil

*Spray paint onto wood

Day Two, Saturday 2/11

I made my own Photo Strip - (I originally got the idea from this blog)

*Print your choice of photos (I like going to Kinkos because they have a photo option where you can put together a collage of different pictures, and the size is perfect!)

*Cut the pictures out carefully

*Glue the individual photos onto a long piece of cardstock paper

*Trim the sides so that you can't see the cardstock & you're done! 

Day Three, Sunday 2/12

I made music with my friends Sean & Andrew in a park

Day Three, Monday 2/13

I performed a show with my band Pilgrims at Commonwealth Lounge in Fullerton, CA

Day Four, Wednesday 2/15 (I skipped V-Day)

I put together a mini film on iMovie of videos I took at my friend, Rebecca & Ben's wedding

*8mm iPhone app

*iMovie 

You can watch the video here: 

& That is about all I have so far! I am not sure what other creative adventures I will find myself doing, but I am looking forward to seeing what I come up with! I'd like to cook or bake something this week, and also write a song. If you have any ideas for me, please let me know!

--

Have you thought about doing your own creative challenge? If you do, I'd love to see your progress and what creative things you are doing, so let me know!

XO

Bren

[To follow my #creativechallenge progress: instagram/twitter: @brendaabel]

A Non-Traditional Valentine's Day

I had a great day today.

It started off with meeting one of my favorites, Nicole, for lunch and a sweet stroll down 2nd street in Belmont Shores. I always love my time spent with this girl, she always knows how to make me laugh, that is for sure. We also had two little ones (twins, to be exact) join us for lunch, because Nicole was watching them. They're precious, right? I actually get to watch them for a bit tomorrow, which I'm looking forward to!

Then, I came home to get ready for my Valentine's date! Okay, so it wasn't a date with a boy, but it was with my great friend, Shannon! We are both single, and we wanted to be able to enjoy the festivities of this holiday as well! We went to Disneyland and rode a few rides, watched the end of the parade, got yummy Cinnamon Tea Lattes and sat on a bench on Main Street and just chatted. Oh! And, we took a picture with Minnie :) It was a wonderful night, and I am so glad I got to spend it with her.

So, all in all, my Valentine's Day was spent with two lovely ladies in my life, so I really can't complain.

But, then I came home, and ya know, things aren't easy. Things are not bad, by any means, but reality does hit once you get home, ain't that the truth?
The hardest thing about Valentine's Day, is not being able to share it with the person you love the most.

So, I'll leave you with this, because I am just in one of those moods.

David Ramirez, "Shoeboxes"

"Why did I hang onto your pictures?
Why did I hang onto that dress?
Because it kills me to see you, but it kills me not to
It kills me to remember & it kills me to forget
So I suppose you'll be in every song I sing
If not written in my words, you'll be hidden in these strings
Because how could I ever forget my first love?"

But hey, all you lovers out there, keep on loving. Don't take the person you love for granted. Remember, love never promised to be easy, and love never promised to always be full of great times, but loving that one person in the midst of those difficult times is what makes love so wonderful.

The worst thing you can do to the person you love the most, is to take them for granted. Make everyday "Valentine's Day", they are worth it.

XO
Bren

Creative Challenge

So, I've been inspired.

About a year ago, I was introduced to an amazing author, Shauna Niequist. I've written about her, and have referred to and quoted her several times on this blog. She has written two books, and I happened to start with her second book, Bittersweet, and I loved that one so much, I knew I needed to read her first book, Cold Tangerines. Unfortunately, I took an extremely long time to finish reading that book, but I finally finished it tonight! And, it couldn't have come at a better time for me. One thing I love about Shauna, is that she writes relatively short chapters, which is good for me, because I can't read for too long at a time. Tonight, I realized I only had about 3 chapters left until the end of the book, so I planted myself down, and pushed through.

These two excerpts from her last two chapters have been underlined, highlighted and marked with "!" next to them (so that I can remember these were "life changing" for me) :



Needle and Thread

"I know that life is busy and hard, and that there's crushing pressure to just settle down and get a real job and khaki pants and a haircut. But don't. Please don't. Please keep believing that life can be better, brighter, broader, because of the art that you make. Please keep demonstrating the courage that it takes to swim upstream in a world that prefers putting away for retirement to putting pen to paper, that chooses practicality over poetry, that values you more for going to the gym than going to the deepest places in your soul. Please keep making art for people like me, people who need the magic and imagination and honesty of great art to make the day-to-day world a little more bearable.
And if, for whatever reason, you've stopped-- stopped believing in your voice, stopped fighting to find the time-- start today.
...Do something creative everyday."

 -- 

Cold Tangerines

"Today is a gift. And if we have tomorrow, tomorrow will be a gift.
It's rebellious, in a way, to choose joy, to choose to dance, to choose to love your life. It's much easier and much more common to be miserable. But I choose to do what I can do to create hope, to celebrate life, and the act of celebrating connects me back to that life I love. We could just live our normal, day-to-day lives, saving all the good living up for someday, but I think today, just plain today, is worth it. I think it's our job, each of us, to live each day like it's a special occasion, because we've been given a gift. We get to live in this beautiful world. When I live purposefully and well, when I dance instead of sitting it out, when I let myself laugh hard, when I wear my favorite shoes on a regular Tuesday, that regular Tuesday is better." 

I was meeting with my mentor, Sarah, yesterday and she like Shauna sparked inspiration within me. She was asking me to really take this transitional time to discover what makes me move, what makes my heart stir. To take this time to find out the ways God has wired me, and seek the calling that He has for my life. Hearing that got me so pumped!

With both of these recent happenings, I feel like I have new purpose, and new drive for this season I am in. I will continue to wait for the thing I am waiting for, however it's going to look a little different. My heart still waits, that is absolutely certain, but it's time for me to regain what I've lost in this season, and that is art. I need to make more of it. I have repressed my creative self for far too long, and I think that is a huge reason why I've been so frustrated and upset lately. It's not just the fact that I am waiting, or that I am sleeping on my couch, or that I don't have a job - although these factors made it easy for me to justify my emptiness, they aren't the reason. It's because I've lost myself, or at least a piece of myself.

So, since I've been inspired, I need a structure to see this come to fruition. Something Shauna said that really stood out to me was "Do something creative everyday." That is where I will begin. I don't want to set myself up for failure and say, I am going to write 10 new songs, paint 5 new paintings and write a novel; so instead, I will keep it simple and start small.

For the next month, I will aim to create something new everyday. I am not sure what that will look like, and I am sure somedays will look more "creative" than others. But, my goal is to get back into the creative swing of things. This life is a complete gift from God, and I want to start giving back to Him, by adding things to this world.

--

I would love to hear any ideas you might have! Send me recipes, art projects, creative ideas, etc. I am open minded and would love the help! I will post about the creative things I am producing everyday, and hey, if you're feeling you need to re-spark that creative soul of yours, I encourage you to join me!

I will also be posting my creativity on instagram, for you iPhoners, you can find me @brendaabel 
(That goes for my twitter account as well!).
If you decide to join me, I will be using #creativechallenge

Thanks for letting me rant, friends. I am excited to see where this leads. And at the very least, this will motivate me to face each day not just as battle, since that is the reality of what this season is for me, but that it is a beautiful day; a gift.

XO
Brenda

 

Between Notes

"The best stories end where they should, 

even if that's not exactly how you wanted them to."

I have Charter On Demand, and there's been this preview that keeps popping up for a movie called "Between Notes". It seemed like a cute, typical love story with a musical twist to it. I watched the trailer for it the other day, and then today I decided to actually watch it. After watching it, I will say that yes, it was cute, and it did have a musical twist, but it was far from a typical love story. It was unique, and not completely predictable, which I loved.

I won't spoil it, for those of you who want to watch it. But, I really do recommend that you see it. The soundtrack is completely phenomenal and refreshing. The main actor is singer/songwriter, David Ramirez, and the majority of the soundtrack is his original music.

Here is a trailer for the film, and also here is my favorite song from the movie. It definitely hits home for me. Enjoy <3

"The Things I Lost", David Ramirez

"so if you come back to me,

back to me

could you bring back the things I lost?

cause darlin' I'm fading away

like a soul caught in between

& my hands need something to hang on"

--

I hope you are all enjoying this day and are looking forward to the weekend!

Fight or Flight?

[Warning: I might get a little bold here.]



Alright, you've decided to read on, I've warned you...

If you have been keeping up with my blogs for the last 2+ months, then you will know that I've been going through a particular "season" in life. I haven't really given any specifics as to what that season is, and I will choose to remain vague for the sake of protecting my heart, and not letting this blog become my online diary. Mondays usually have a rough start, but end on an extremely high note. For some reason, when I wake up on Mondays, I am reminded that while most of the rest of the world is starting their work week off, I am at home, jobless and have to face the fact that I am kind of in limbo right now. Thank the Good Lord for Monday nights, though. Every Monday night, I meet with three other wonderful, darling women, and we talk about life, Jesus and how the two go hand in hand. I always walk away feeling extremely encouraged, and enlightened. It's surely a blessing.

Today when I was getting ready to dive into my daily routine, (reading a chapter of the Bible - currently I am in the middle of 1 Corinthians, & I am going through the Epistles - the daily devotion from My Utmost For His Highest, and journaling) I was praying and asking God for some revelation as to what I am going through. It was a really neat moment, where I felt the Spirit speak directly to me. Lately I've been asking God the honest question of "why am I still going through this?". God reminded me of something today. This is usually the point of a tough season where I run, quit, flee, etc. Around the 2 month mark, when things get really difficult, I don't sit easy in it, and I take off. I've done it on numerous occasions. Up until this point, this season has proven to be extremely painful, but it has been manageable. Recently, it has felt like that, but on steroids. I've literally felt like I've had to fight to keep my head and heart above the surface, every single day. And, I hate it.

I hate feeling like I have no control.
I hate feeling like I am facing the flames just to get burned.
I want that guarantee of happiness in the end, I want to know that I am facing the flames for a purpose beyond just gaining strength and character.
That is the honest truth.

Then God reminded me, I am. There is so much purpose in this season that I am in. Right now, it's hard. Right now, I've more than likely just found myself in the midst of the worst of it. But this is the moment where I need to fight. So, what does that look like? That means facing everyday like it is going to be a battle, perhaps even a war. I need to be guarded, and strong. It doesn't mean that I can't feel, or that I can't experience sadness. It just means that I completely have to surrender everything to the Lord, daily, and mean it.

I've never really made it to this point. By now, I would have already given up. And, although I think about giving up just about everyday, I refuse to. I still don't completely understand the purpose of all that I am experiencing, but I have learned to trust in God, not just with what I want to trust Him with, but with everything.

God is doing some crazy, incredible things in my life, and it's because of this season. So, for what it's worth, it's been worth it.

"Tell God you are ready to be offered; 

then let the consequences be what they may,

 there is no strand of complaint now, no matter what God chooses." 

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

--
I am not sure what you're experiencing, or what season you are walking through. But, I do know this. No matter what battle you are fighting, when you get to a point where you say to yourself, "I want to quit, this is not what I thought it would be, this is just not worth it." Sit in that, present that to God. Remember that you do not see where the road is leading, but be thankful that there is a God who indeed does. And more than that, all He wants is what is best for you. So, when you want to flee, instead trust & be still. And, when there are moments or days where you feel you don't have the strength to keep fighting, that is okay. Take heart:

"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."

 Exodus 14:14

Keep Fighting the Good Fight,
Brenda

Fight or Flight?

[Warning: I might get a little bold here.]

Alright, you've decided to read on, I've warned you...

If you have been keeping up with my blogs for the last 2+ months, then you will know that I've been going through a particular "season" in life. I haven't really given any specifics as to what that season is, and I will choose to remain vague for the sake of protecting my heart, and not letting this blog become my online diary. Mondays usually have a rough start, but end on an extremely high note. For some reason, when I wake up on Mondays, I am reminded that while most of the rest of the world is starting their work week off, I am at home, jobless and have to face the fact that I am kind of in limbo right now. Thank the Good Lord for Monday nights, though. Every Monday night, I meet with three other wonderful, darling women, and we talk about life, Jesus and how the two go hand in hand. I always walk away feeling extremely encouraged, and enlightened. It's surely a blessing.

Today when I was getting ready to dive into my daily routine, (reading a chapter of the Bible - currently I am in the middle of 1 Corinthians, & I am going through the Epistles - the daily devotion from My Utmost For His Highest, and journaling) I was praying and asking God for some revelation as to what I am going through. It was a really neat moment, where I felt the Spirit speak directly to me. Lately I've been asking God the honest question of "why am I still going through this?". God reminded me of something today. This is usually the point of a tough season where I run, quit, flee, etc. Around the 2 month mark, when things get really difficult, I don't sit easy in it, and I take off. I've done it on numerous occasions. Up until this point, this season has proven to be extremely painful, but it has been manageable. Recently, it has felt like that, but on steroids. I've literally felt like I've had to fight to keep my head and heart above the surface, every single day. And, I hate it. 

I hate feeling like I have no control. 

I hate feeling like I am facing the flames just to get burned. 

I want that guarantee of happiness in the end, I want to know that I am facing the flames for a purpose beyond just gaining strength and character. 

That is the honest truth.

Then God reminded me, I am. There is so much purpose in this season that I am in. Right now, it's hard. Right now, I've more than likely just found myself in the midst of the worst of it. But this is the moment where I need to fight. So, what does that look like? That means facing everyday like it is going to be a battle, perhaps even a war. I need to be guarded, and strong. It doesn't mean that I can't feel, or that I can't experience sadness. It just means that I completely have to surrender everything to the Lord, daily, and mean it. 

I've never really made it to this point. By now, I would have already given up. And, although I think about giving up just about everyday, I refuse to. I still don't completely understand the purpose of all that I am experiencing, but I have learned to trust in God, not just with what I want to trust Him with, but with everything. 

God is doing some crazy, incredible things in my life, and it's because of this season. So, for what it's worth, it's been worth it. 

"Tell God you are ready to be offered; 

then let the consequences be what they may,

 there is no strand of complaint now, no matter what God chooses." 

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

--

I am not sure what you're experiencing, or what season you are walking through. But, I do know this. No matter what battle you are fighting, when you get to a point where you say to yourself, "I want to quit, this is not what I thought it would be, this is just not worth it." Sit in that, present that to God. Remember that you do not see where the road is leading, but be thankful that there is a God who indeed does. And more than that, all He wants is what is best for you. So, when you want to flee, instead trust & be still. And, when there are moments or days where you feel you don't have the strength to keep fighting, that is okay. Take heart:

"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."

 Exodus 14:14

Keep Fighting the Good Fight,

Brenda

Unemployed

Being unemployed has its perks. You get to go to bed and wake up whenever you want. Be the person who is completely available at all times, so hanging out with friends is pretty easy. Explore, read, write and do just about whatever your little heart desires.

But then, it also has its setbacks as well.

I think I have found myself in that second season of unemployment; the season where it's just downright frustrating.

I have been applying everyday for jobs, and so far the only place to get back to me was a scam. Sigh.

I am trying to stay positive, and continue to trust that God will provide an opportunity for me soon. I guess the 'right one' has not come along yet. I am beyond blessed and grateful to be receiving unemployment though. It's not a lot of money, by any means, but it is helping.

In the meantime, however, I am making it a point to be as productive as I can be. I refuse to allow this season to be one of laziness. I wake up every morning, have myself a cup of coffee, get into the Word (right now I am studying through the Epistles. It's grand!), read my daily devotional from My Utmost For His Highest, journal and then job hunt. I feel like hunting for a job is almost like a job; it usually takes up most of my morning and afternoon. I am glad I am in this routine though, because if it were any other way, I would feel like a bum. No offense, but that just ain't me.

I am still aiming for Financial Health for 2012! I am just going to have a late start on that one...