Creative Corner #3: No Music Mondays

"Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God."

- Julia Cameron (from her book, The Artist's Way)

Ever since I was a little girl, people all around me have told me that I'm creative. 

I'll admit...I love it. 

I love to be able to dream up unique ideas or stories, or even use my creativity in my wardrobe design. Heck, by the age of 10, I think I had started about five different "businesses" i.e., trying to sell my crap that I had created to my poor unsuspecting parents & grandparents...I mean, who really wants 10 little multi-colored dolls made out of yarn anyways? But often as we transition from a childhood dream world to a working reality, we tend to loosen the grip of our creative side.

I have to say I'm incredibly blessed to work in a place that encourages creativity constantly.  But i've found recently that when I'm not "exercising" my creative muscle regularly, it's increasingly more difficult to be "creative on cue" when I need to come up with an idea for a specific project.  After thinking it through and evaluating my regular routine, i've come to the conclusion that I don't carve out enough time to just intentionally think, be creative or simply dream.

Thus the purpose for "No Music Mondays!"

I love music. Or, maybe I should say I LOOOOVE music. I have it on all the time, and if I don't, I can often be found dancing or singing along to whatever song is in my head (even though no one else can hear it). 

It's a disease, I know.

It's also a known fact that at any given time, if you pull up next to me at a red light, the odds of you catching a glimpse of my latest song & dance performance are quite good...and probably rather amusing.

But as much as I love to rock it out in my car, I've realized that the hour+ that I spend in the car each way to work is a great time for me to squeeze in some intentional creative thinking space. So from here on out, every Monday will be considered No Music Monday. I will purposely not listen to my radio AT ALL any time I'm in the car, every single Monday. I can't even turn on the radio to hear the traffic report. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

And you know what's crazy? I've already seen God use that time effectively.

My 2nd week in to this routine, I found myself almost running off the road trying to furiously jot down the ideas in my head that were coming faster than I could write! All related to a vision for something that I feel God has been slowly but surely stirring in my heart for some time now.  Wouldn't you know it, I carve out a little time to be silent and BAM...it was like the vision was just exploding in my brain!  (that's all I'm going to say about it for now, but stay tuned...something big is around the corner!)

So what do you do to keep your creative thinking juices flowing?

Might I recommend a little bit of regular intentional silence? It just might be music to your ears...

Jamie

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: A Review

There’s a reason that we’re all drawn to a good book or movie…we’re captivated by the story.

We get swept away amidst the twists and turns of the plot; wondering if the main character will come out victorious, all along knowing that it will likely resolve happily after 2 hours or 250 pages. We walk away envisioning our own life following a similar suit…full of adventure, excitement, maybe even romance. But then somewhere along the road between disappointment and heartache, we often find ourselves trapped in a life of mediocrity.

And that’s precisely where Donald Miller found himself at the beginning of this book…

But through the process of “editing” his own life while adapting his bestselling memoir into a screenplay, Miller’s eyes are opened to the idea that we have the capability to create a better story for ourselves simply by choosing to engage in a life that's both meaningful and memorable.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years paints the picture of a bland story gone bold. The way Miller walks you through the editing process of his life and his quest to make his ‘story’ one worth reading had me doing just that: wanting to keep reading to see what happens next. This book is full of clever humor and insight that could inspire anyone to want to go out and create a better story for themselves…one that’s a real page turner.

Click here to buy the book and see for yourself!

And one to grow on...

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty."  ~Henry Ford

So, today I turn another year....umm....wiser (yeah, we'll go with that, I hate the word 'old'), and I have to say that I am so grateful that I am nowhere near where I had actually planned for my life at this age. God's plans have been so much cooler than I ever could have imagined. I won't say they've been easier by any means, but an amazing journey and learning process none the less. 

If there's one thing i've learned over the years, it's that we should never stop learning (no pun intended). We must constantly keep our eyes and ears open to what God is teaching us - through our friends, our surroundings, and our circumstances.

So today, instead of gifts for me, I come bearing gifts for you! In a fond farewell to my 28th year (Dear 28, you've been a heck of a challenge, but oh so good to me), I give you 28 things I've learned or words of wisdom i've picked up throughout the year:

1. All of my life, in every season, you are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship. 

2. Moving home at 28 can be more of a challenge than living on my own.

3. It IS possible to sleep on a 16 hour flight...all you need is a tray table, a neck pillow & dramamine!

4. We all need people in our lives to point out our "blind spots"

5. It's a small world after all

6. I want to pursue Gods heart with all of my heart.

7. God loves you as you are and not as you should be, because you'll never be as you should be. 

8. It is still socially acceptable to make music videos with your girlfriends in your late 20s. Ok maybe not, but my friends don't judge me for it.

9. God can restore friendships, no matter the distance or how much time has passed. 

10. True self awareness: the good, the bad & the ugly is necessary for authentic growth. It can be a painful, yet beautiful process at the same time.

11. There's no bad mood a motown playlist can't fix.

12. It's never too late to relive your childhood...even if it means shelling out some dough to see NKOTB

13. A red bull a day keeps the drowsiness away.

14. God's movement in my life is proof that I dream way too small for myself. 

15.  It's never too late to improve yourself.

16. Getting braces at 28 was one of the best decisions I ever made.

17. God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him.

18. Faith is a verb. What are you doing right now that requires faith?

19. Trust God to the point that you believe what he says over how you feel.

20. The condition of my heart is critical to the effectiveness of my ministry. Internal health drives external impact.

21. People who cut me off in traffic, then look at me like its my fault bring out some nasty anger in me. I need to work on this. Jesus loves bad drivers too...

22. On my best day I'm just as needy of God as my worst day.

23. No one can know God who does not first know himself.

24. Love God, love others.

25. Love is to reveal the beauty of another person to themselves.

26. Everyone needs someone in their life who can ask you the hard questions about ourselves... and we need to answer them.

27. I've come a long way baby.

28. I've still got a long way to go...

and one to grow on...

29. It IS possible to write an entire blog post while sitting at red lights on the way to work. (Exhibit A)

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” -Don Williams Jr.

Grateful for another year to be alive,

Jamie

Talkin' bout my generation...

In a time where philanthropy is the new black, are we still just a generation looking for another great resume builder?

As we worshipped in church this morning, we sang a song that I know by heart...one we sing all the time. But today, God totally used the words of this song to break my heart for my generation in a way He never has before, and He gave me a whole new awareness of the magnitude of how culture can affect our faith. As I began to sing these lyrics:

I see a generation, rising up to take their place

with selfless faith,

with selfless faith...

I couldn't help but think, that's so not true. As a whole, we are completely a selfish generation.

If you think about it, us "Generation X'ers" have been raised in the most self-gratifying culture ever.  Everything you could ever want, you can have it personalized, customized and instantly at your fingertips...

You can have a car made in the factory with your exact specifications.

You can custom build a home to fit your family's personal style & needs.

Anything you could think of can be monogrammed or branded with your name on it.

Heck, even Burger King does it "your way, right away"

With just about every company and/or product you can think of vying for our attention with their ability to personally tailor to our every wish, it's no surprise that this line of thinking would carry over into our faith. Often times I think we put expectations on God to fulfill our every desire, just because He can...and just because that's the way we want it. And i've seen it happen over and over where people try to pick and choose only those parts of the bible they want to believe that don't interfere with their current actions or lifestyle...as if God were our own personal vending machine.

I'll be the first to admit...if I look back on my journey with God, I would have to say so far, most of the times in my life when i've sought after God the hardest or put the most trust in Him were not in situations when I was focusing on someone else...it was mainly when I was struggling with something, or when I needed something from Him.  This reminded me of a quote that I always keep nearby:

"Do I chase the blessings of God more than the presence? I don't want God to simply be a new vehicle for the things I want. I want God to be what I want."

I know that I don't want to be the kind of person who only goes to God for what I want...nor do I want to be the kind of person that only focuses on me, me, me...how can I grow, what can I achieve. And I don't want to be part of a generation that is known for that either. So what do we do? How do we break the cycle? 

I'm not going to lie...the weight of this overwhelms me. But Ghandi says that we should "be the change we want to see in the world." So for today, i'll start with me. 

Break my heart for what breaks yours

Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause

Jamie

I bless the rains down in Africa...

I thought the song title was fitting, because it has rained almost non-stop since our arrival…but that has not dampened our spirits at all!! We are SO grateful to be here! I have no idea how to describe all that has happened already over the 3 short days that we have been here, and adequately paint a picture for the amazing experience we have had so far! 

It has been so neat to see how well our group has really gelled as a team, and how easily we have bonded with the people of Southpoint Church.  The excitement and the passion that the people here have for Jesus and for loving others is contagious…and we are so humbled to be so welcomed by their hospitality. We feel like we’ve been treated like royalty here, when we are the ones who came to serve them. Truly some of the most amazing servant’s hearts I’ve ever encountered. And I am so proud of all of our students for the way they have been stepping up and doing whatever is necessary to help – whether it be setting up for the Sunday services, helping clean out the old building which will become the new Inside Out environment, or just engaging with the other leaders and students of Cape Town that we are here to serve. God’s hand has been so evident in bringing our team together with each of our unique skills & gifts to accomplish all we have to do here…it’s so cool to see Him at work!

A couple of fun facts so far…

After Sunday services yesterday, the church threw a traditional South African Braai (which I’ve been informed is like an American BBQ, but better…I think I might have to agree on this one!). We had SO much fun playing games, hanging out and eating South African BBQ with everyone…such a great night of connecting.

Today, we spent all day preparing for the camp that we’ll be helping with tomorrow and Wednesday for all of the Southpoint students.  We’ll be checking out of our hotel and going to camp a couple hours away to hang out with and pour into the lives of about 50 South African students…we can’t wait! After a long day of preparations, we took a break and went to this really cool restaurant in town called Moyo…where we had “all you can eat” African cuisine…basically every kind of meat or ‘game’ you could think of.  They came around and gave us all tribal paintings on our faces, and some of us were even brave enough to get up on stage and do some traditional African dancing (what….me? Dancing on stage in Africa…? Shocker, I know.) ;) We had SO much fun experiencing the African culture!

I’m including a few pics that I have so far…we won’t have internet access while we’re at camp, so we’ll catch back up with you all on Wednesday night!

Oh, and be sure to check out another update from one of our students on our team blog:

http://capetownhighschooltrip.blogspot.com/

Beautiful view on our drive to dinner tonight:

Our crazy students up in a tree...

Me and 2 of my Inside Out students, Molly & Evan...love these girls!

Yes, I found Red Bull...yes, I stocked up. :)

Setting up for Sunday service at Southpoint Church...

Some of the traditional African music at dinner....

Me getting my face painted all "African Tribal Style" :)

Some of the team with their faces painted...

Cheers!

Jamie

We made it to South Africa!

Hey everyone! We made it!

I've posted a blog on our team's blog...so be sure to check out our progress here:
http://capetownhighschooltrip.blogspot.com/

More updates soon!
Jamie

Where you send us, God we will go...

"Where You send us
God, we will go
You're the answer
We want the world to know

We will trust You
When You call our name
Where You lead us
We'll follow all the way..."
-Chris Tomlin

It's so crazy to think that this time last year, I was returning from my first planning trip to Australia for Passion Sydney. I would have never guessed that a year later I would be preparing for a journey to South Africa...but I am so thankful for the Lord's hand on my path - He has a far better plan than I could have ever dreamed for myself! I am so excited to be able to take a group of our high school students with us to invest in and learn from the South Africa students of our partner church in Cape Town!

As i'm trying to prepare my heart for the task we have at hand, i'm reminded just how many distractions there are here that are competing for my time and attention: work, friends, family, social life, etc. It's so hard to "un-plug" from life when life stops for no one. But trips like these are great reminders that sometimes we just need to pause, detach ourselves from all of the media outlets that keep our minds on mental schizophrenia, and remember that we don't need a thriving relationship with Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/Google/iPhone...we need a relationship with our heavenly father and with His people..whether they be next door, or 10,000 miles away.

I hope that you'll track with us as we go on this adventure of a lifetime. I'll try to blog from here as much as possible, but we'll mostly be blogging from our team page: http://capetownhighschooltrip.blogspot.com/.

We would love your prayers for a safe, successful and life changing experience!

Our team:


"Look at the nations and watch- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." Habakkuk 1:5

How awesome is the Lord most high!!

Jamie

Crooked little smile...

"Crooked little smile on her face,
tells a tale of grace
that's all her own..."
- Norah Jones

So, i've made some more changes in my life, can you tell...


What? You don't see anything different?

Good.

That's the point!

I'll give you a hint...



Yep. For the first time in my life, I just got braces.

I bet you're thinking - Wait...what? But I don't see them! That's because you're not supposed to! The kind I got are these amazing things called "Lingual Braces"...they go behind your teeth...so that grown women like me don't wind up looking like they have a train wreck on their face when they're trying to speak in front of a crowd, or even (gasp) go on a date.

Here's a view of what they look like from the inside:


Now, I know what you're thinking...what kind of 28 year old single genius waits until the END of her 1 year dating fast to move home (temporarily) and get braces? Yeah, pardon me while I wait for the boys to line up at the door...my parents door. (enter crickets chirping, stage left) Ahem.

If you know me well enough, you know that I am laughing at myself and my impeccable timing. If you don't know me well enough, well...you just might be getting ready to send me your counselor's number on speed dial. But don't worry...I have enough self-confidence to be able to look at the situation and laugh at the irony. It's not the first time in my life that i've done something completely backwards....and it's likely it won't be the last.

But here's the real irony - the way in which this external transformation is really parallel to the transformation my heart has already experienced internally over the past few years...

I mean sure, i'm making some physical improvements a little late in the game...but better late than never right? And yeah, they're not exactly attractive - but neither is digging through the muck of our brokenness. Sure, both journeys are painful (let me tell ya, you haven't felt pain until you feel what it's like to try and move teeth that have been in the same place for the last 28 years...goodbye crunchy foods, hello mashed potatoes!), but the end result of both is a newer, improved, more beautiful version of yourself...one on the inside, one out.

Kinda cool, huh?


Jamie

Creative Corner #2: Cheesy Music Video Time!

Ok, so this episode of Creative Corner is a little different...but I had to give a shout out to all my Inside Out students!

We were given the challenge to come up with our own music video by picking from a list of about 15 songs. So we got a little creative and decided to do a different version of a classic song from 2006...

(embedded video)

Jamie & Maya's Group - Bad Day from Jamie Waddy on Vimeo.

Yes, that dancing skunk at the end is my co-leader. Yes, I have the most awesome junior girls ever. Yes, you wish you could be in our next video. We've been known to have guest appearances from time to time, so if you play your cards right, you might just score an audition. ;)

Jamie

I'm Movin' On...

Tonight is my last night living in Dunwoody...at least for a while. Tomorrow I pack up the last few belongings left in the apartment and take up residence in Acworth again - at a place that I haven't lived in over 9 years...

Home.

Yes, when I say home I mean home...as in, with the parental units. Yes, I know that I am 28 and moving home. Yes, I know this goes against any and/or all socially acceptable endeavors. Yes, I know my commute will go from a 10 minute blip to a 1 hour excursion...and I don't care. If swallowing my pride and putting a few extra miles on my car means that I can reach my goal of entering my 30's in a year and a half debt free, then I will gladly suck it up for the next 6-8 months...it's something I probably should have done a long time ago.

When I first entertained the idea of possibly moving home for a few months to save money, every ounce of my being protested. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents, but it was like something in me was saying that I would have to give up some of my "freedom" by living under their roof again. But the irony is in the fact that if i'm still a slave to the debtor, am I really free to begin with?

I'm sad to leave this fabulous area that i've come to love over the past 3 years, and the wonderful friends and community that have surrounded me, but I think the weirdest thing is that I feel a little bit like i'm going to be a stranger in my own home. Maybe it's because I am not the same girl who left there 9 years ago. So much has changed and I feel like I have learned and grown more in these past 9 years than I did in the 20 before that.

It's funny how life works that way sometimes...it's all part of the journey.

Jamie