My church just finished up a series called The New Artists and it was pretty amazing.  We were encouraged to look at the parts of our lives as canvases that God is wanting us to create on.  I loved every week of it, and partway through, I realized that one way I could get some of my creativity flowing in every area of my life is by trying something new every day.  I will warn you: you will more than likely think most of these things are ridiculous because they are so insignificant, but I live a fairly routine, small-circle, creature-of-habit kind of life (as God has created me and allowed me and I love it).  But I’m just sayin’…my idea of a new thing might totally not be your idea of a new thing, and that’s more than okay.

May 1: Started reading I Timothy with my son (his idea).
May 2: Power-shopped through Plato’s Closet, buying nine dresses for $32 in ten minutes. (You gotta know, I have never been in Plato’s Closet for just ten minutes.)
May 3: Made blueberry crisp, from scratch.  Put together a grill with Jack.
May 4: Met a new person for lunch to talk divorce and single mothering and ministry and church.
May 5: Bought a stove.  Watered my lawn with my newly purchased hose.  (I’ve never owned a hose. I’ve never watered my lawn.) Grilled pork chops.
May 6: Insisted that I pay someone more than what she was charging me because she did such an amazing job.
May 7: Made Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Toffee, from scratch. Bam.
May 8: Started my day with a thirty-minute bike ride to the stream by Waubonsee.
May 9: Began on a new (and long-put-off) writing project.
May 10: Talked to my pastor on the phone for the first time. (And I hate talking on the phone.)
May 11: Went to a Domestic Violence ministry meeting at a Catholic church.  Shared at my church as part of a panel on creativity & pain.
May 12: Sent ex-husband a thank-you-for-my-kids text, feeling extra-grateful on Mother’s Day.
May 13: Made a raspberry/blackberry crisp, from scratch.
May 14: Broke the law: picked wildflowers from the nature trail. (Shhh…)
May 15: Told three friends they can call me at any time and I will answer the phone, and that I will start trying to call them more. (Refer to May 10 for why this is a big deal and for why I’m considering this a new thing.)
May 16: Made a decision by myself about my not-quite-working-right air conditioner.
May 17: Met with three new people, two for lunch to discuss domestic abuse issues and one for tea to talk about divorce and writing.
May 18: Tried gelato for the first time. Love it, by the way. Thank you, All Chocolate Kitchen.
May 19: Went for brunch with my son, initiated and paid for by him.
May 20: Didn’t do anything new. Then realized I was okay with that. So my new thing for the day was showing myself grace, something I have not always been good at.
May 21: Used my new stove despite my fear that I would somehow blow up the house because I was just sure it was hooked up wrong.
May 22: Wore shorts in public for the first time in over ten years. Long story. Okay, short story actually: I’ve never liked my legs. Then I hit my 40s and I just don’t seem to care.
May 23: Offered to clean/organize/do laundry for a friend in a crisis, and then went and did it.
May 24: Served as a court advocate for a woman in divorce court who didn’t have anyone to support her.
May 25: Slept in til 9:43am. That part wasn’t hugely new. That I didn’t feel guilty about it was the new thing.
May 26: Watched a movie I wouldn’t normally watch.
May 27: Drank my weight in water. Kinda gross actually.
May 28: Bought tickets for an as-spontaneous-and-out-of-the-box-as-I-get kinda trip for me and my daughter.
May 29: Hormonally dying for chocolate…didn’t go buy myself any.
May 30: Told someone no. And though I felt badly for about five minutes, I let it go realizing that I can’t control this person’s response. Very un-codependent of me, thankyouverymuch.
May 31: Met two new people for tea, one about writing, one about church & volunteering.

So that was my somewhat corny list.  And I shared it with you – even though some of those were a tad embarrassing to reveal – in the hopes that you’ll be inspired to try some new things too.  Because when you do, you have no idea what might happen, what might come to the surface, and what new thing might be ready to be birthed in you.

What’s one new thing you can try today?

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