Creativity, helping the Light within shine!
Press on! While in prison Paul encourages us to press on in the path that we have been made to walk on. Only we know what is set inside us, what is our own purpose to fulfill. We should not compare our walk with anyone else’s because like the seashells on the beach, each one of us has been created in our own unique design.
During Covid my creative mind was reborn! I had no idea the passions I had put to sleep. I had no idea the joy I could find by ‘playing’ again. I had no idea the wounds that needed healing so my child like self could breathe again. My false self had taken over and boy was I tired of her. She was exhausting with her worry, her fears, her what-ifs or if onlys and the guilt.
Today I hear more from my kind self, my true self. The one I laid aside to cope with life. It’s fun discovering the beauty God put inside me before the worldly thinking settled in and I believed that voice more than God’s.
Press on!
Alone time is fun now because the record in my head isn’t as cruel as it used to be. By seeking Christ, my mental pathways have clung on to his truth above the world’s lies and life is way more rewarding when my own head isn’t working to destroy what sits inside me!
Being alone brings calmness.
Contemplation brings wisdom.
Walking in the woods bringing creativity.
Reading God word destroys what the enemy worked to put in place to keep me in bondage.
Last week while in Jasper, my hometown, a new descriptive adjective came into my thoughts.
In a conversation with a longtime friend, he mentioned the new Whitey Schroeder driving range. Some of Whitey’s close friends dedicated this tribute to Whitey who thoroughly loved time spent golfing with his friends. The man in conversation said something like this, wouldn’t it be great to be able to provide a legacy like that? He was speaking in respect of the donors and Whitey, his classmate, who is missed by those who knew him.
That conversation along with a visit to the beautiful square in Jasper that has been under reconstruction for several years now, caused me to look once again at this incredible community of which I was raised.
Jasper is known for its German hospitality, the people who work hard and play hard. Fabulous food can be found at the Schnitzelbank, with its German flavors, and new establishments with delicious options like Oink and Parlor donuts. Some wonderful retail sits on the square such as Just Whimsy, Finishing Touches, Merle Norman and of course long standing Sieberts (where we used to take home clothes on approval). The community’s beautiful presentation of golf courses, walking trails and a cultural awareness reveal a place where people truly care and work hard to keep things looking nice. An example, before the Strassenfest the residents are encouraged to the clean up their lawns and sidewalks because the visitors are coming!
Last week my eyes were opened to a new word to throw in to describe Jasper… creative!
Jasper sets the stage and is embracing and encouraging the creative mind, which personally, I deeply believe is necessary to help with our mental health epidemic. We all need to look at the creative mind within us and bring it back to life! Every person has passion and purpose inside. Some have placed it in a basket, where it is hidden. It’s time to remove the basket and begin the next season. Time to press on.
The very first Strassenfest was in 1979. I was entering my sophomore year in high school and worked at the fundraiser booth for the JHS cheerleaders that made Strassenfest tshirts. Even the burns from the press machine did not get in the way of what I learned about selling products during the event. The event alone brings out so many creative competitions from the stein holding contest, Labor Day box parade decorating competition, to chili making, a craft show, I could go on and on as I personally loved the coed softball tournament, the tennis tournament, the Autolauf, the Wettlauf 5k, the hot air balloon race which has personally provided some great memories and more!
Just think of the creativity that that event brings forth. And what are the results?
I can’t even scratch the surface.
The community embraces and encourages its people with art exhibits, theater events that allow poets and musicians and more opportunities to show their talent.
Could encouraging opportunities of fun have begun at the Kiddie Carnival? Sorry about that ADD thought…but my father and his neighborhood crew started the Kiddie Carnival in their backyards. When I was a youngster, I remember going to watch the pet parade down by the public swimming pool where the Kiddie Carnival moved when the backyards became too crowded.
Many have taken their talents and moved into much bigger spaces such as Mark Brosmer (uber-talented artist), Scott Rolen ( Baseball Hall of Famer) and Norbert Krapf (Indiana Poet Laureate) just to name a few. Many talents lie under that radar and are just as valuable, all parts of the body are needed.
So whether one enjoys a beautiful walk in the Parklands, a ceramic exhibit at the Thyen-Clark cultural center, a book reading at the Jasper arts or a concert at the Astra, a bike ride on the Riverwalk, shopping on the square, a visit to Headquarters bar, where consistency is key for reminiscing, grabbing a feast for your palette at Cafe Pina, ax throwing or visiting the escape room, there is so much to do.
Jasper really is a great place to open your soul to what is sleeping inside. Keep dreaming! Keep pressing on! If you are in a season of struggle this time may be needed for rest. Rest if you must but do not quit!
Open your heart, open your mind, open your eyes… maybe you can build a coy pond, plant a lily garden, or dig out an old recipe, or maybe you can reconnect with an old, treasured friend, or maybe you can walk in the woods, watch some birds, or gaze at the night sky. Just do something! If you are breathing, you have something you need to do! You also have something we need you to do!
Listening to our incredible, loving, all forgiving, merciful, kind, God, is way better that any thoughts from us flawed humans (and we all are).
He loves you! He created you for a purpose! Do not be afraid! He can’t wait to see what you can do once you remove the basket! He already knows what you carry inside… you just haven’t seen it yet!
Oh! I almost forgot!
Smack in the middle of the town is a beautiful St Joseph church! Built in the late 1800’s it is truly amazing to think about how it was constructed. Several years ago the parish decided it was time to renovate. They closed the building for an entire year! The stained-glass windows were removed and restored, the statues were cleaned and repaired, even the floor was completely replaced, all the way down to the dirt! So much talent and treasure from the parishioners were made that it’s near impossible to name them all. If you drive by today, you can see a new temporary monument of the man who oversaw the reconstruction, standing alongside the founders of the church.
Faith is the heart of this community. Evidence of that conclusion is that even though the town holds many Catholics, other denominations call Jasper home, and they are thriving as well.
God is definitely up to something!
Can you see it?
Stay Blessed!