About the Author

Robin is the author of For All Who Wander, her relatable memoir about wrestling with doubt that reads much like a conversation with a friend. She's as Southern as sugar-shocked tea, married to her college sweetheart, and has three children. An empty nester with a full life, she's determined to...

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  1. Ok, so our Father has asked me to create a publication for my church’s annual event Betheleham Marketplace (this is what sonyamacdesigns does, or use to do … create publications) but yesterday as I began to process images it became too hard and I became greatly discourage.

    I also manage my church’s Face Book page and the VERSE OF THE DAY pinched my skinny.

    “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
    — Proverbs 3:27”

    Please pray for me as I continue to dive in to release for HE has provided & made this one step known to this one daughter … Praise Time N Tennessee!

    • Sonya,

      I smiled when I saw your name leading out the comments; thank you for the way you’re investing yourself in Bloom, giving your thoughts and NEEDS to others. I’m praying over you in this quiet moment…. xo

    • You have my admiration, my husband handles our web page and Facebook page for our church. I can understand some of the challenges. Prayers were listed up for you this morning. The web page and Facebook page are often commented on as being a blessing. I am sure your work is also. Take care.

  2. Showing up — listening whole heartedly — this came to mind as you mentioned showing up. I learned years ago that “listening” is an art . . . when I say listening I am talking about whole and complete focus on that person. So few people do this. Too often while one person is talking the other is thinking of what to say in response. One of the best compliments I ever received from those I worked with was that I listened, truly listened. Yes, show up, and sometimes just be there and listen. It means the world to the other person..

    My favorite quote in the book this week: I am the rest between two notes. (Rainer Maria Rilke) When I read this my thought was “but there is no music there” (I sing in our choir and fill in for our choir director when she is out of town). God’s response to me at moment was, “this is where you take a breath and this is where you help others take a breath.

    Thanks again to each of you ladies, this is a joy for me.

    • Becky,

      My “one word” for the year is “listen”; so everything that has to do with it captures my attention. Yes, that IS a lovely compliment to YOU! ESPECIALLY with smart phones these days, it’s often the case that whomever I’m talking to has to look at their phone during a conversation. I know I’ve done that, too, and pray that I’ll truly understand the most important person in any given moment is the one right in front of me!

      Good thoughts today :).

      • Great thoughts Becky! I have been thinking along similar lines. Listening is an art and it is one that used to make me come alive. But now I struggle with feeling like I am pulled in too many directions or can’t focus (had my 5th baby 5 months ago and the oldest just turned 8, working fulltime nights as an RN, homeschooling, living on just my income for now which was certainly not our plan/dream, etc; don’t we all how crazy life lists??). But then God has been reminding me that maybe I need to work on the art of listening to him (I mean really listening) so that I can then be filled up to give that same kind of art to my husband, my children, my patients, my friends, people God brings across my path. So I am going to relearn how to take a breath and just BE with God and listen to God. And then I am going to show up with this art I have to listen in the image of my Creator.

  3. I really related with some of that negative self-talk, especially, “Someone else can do it better” and “it’s too much work”. The first statement, as Emily says in the video, is true. I hate that I’m visually inspired because I look at others and love what they do, but can’t seem to get past the ‘they did it first, everything you do is derivative’, plus, I *do* want to be original.

    The second statement is maybe less true or not at all, because it just allows margin for perfectionism, which is a lie. Perfectionism states we are not …UNTIL…and then; but we ARE already, in Christ. Too much work to make things perfect, yes, because it will never get finished. In Christ, he has done all the work, and with Him, all things are possible. A lot of rewarding and hard things in life are too much work. We do it anyway, and we don’t ever do it perfectly, but we do Show Up.
    Just typing that out has helped me wrap my mind around the ideas a bit more.

    Sarah M

    • Sarah,

      Wise: sometimes writing it all out DOES help you process! I understand what you mean.

      Your honesty is refreshing; and it caused me to think how often we are dishonest with ourselves….

      • I loved Angie’s point on this as well. And I too, thought of people in my own life who have impacted me.

        Can I throw out a suggestion or thought? I think you are “original”. We all are. We are uniquely created by God to do something specific for him. It may sound and look the similar as someone else, but God uses it for his unique purpose.

        I suffer from that “I can’t do it until it’s perfect” syndrome too. It’s a work in progress….

  4. What resonates with me most is how Angie said many of the defining moments in her childhood were ones the other person does not even realize or know about. I can be that when I show up, with my soul, fully alive, human, authentic, willing hands, open heart… I may not be the first to say, write, create, believe-but it may be the first time someone hears. Beautiful.

  5. This is my first post. I’ve been diligent about keeping up with the Book Study but I haven’t been able to bring myself to posting yet. Yesterday and this morning I’ve been struggling through some things (that at the time I thought were unrelated to the current reading). I’m 24 years old and I recently took a break from school. I was majoring in Special Education and Elementary Education. I’ve wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember.

    About 8 months ago, my life circumstances got too much for me to handle. I’ve been working full-time and going to school since I graduated high school. I also have a pretty rough childhood and a lot of brokenness and mess that just hadn’t been dealt with yet. As God sovereignly started the healing process in a new and dramatic way, things got super messy. I couldn’t handle waking up each morning, let alone working 50+ hours, school, and taking care of so many people in my life. Eventually things are getting to the point where I can manage life and Jesus has done so much! I truly and learning to be thankful for what he has done and is still doing.

    But that leads me to my current struggle. I’ve never really known who I am. I know that sounds super cliche, but it’s true. God is allowing me to discover who he made me to be. I’m learning how to distinguish what my desires are and courage to explore what I may have never even wondered what I could do. But that makes things hard when I’m at the time in my life where it seems like I need to know what career path I am on. In my current program I have 7 more semesters left at school. But I’ve felt like over and over again God is asking me to hold my major with an open hand. Thoughts of changing it are both exhilarating and terrifying. I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life. I honestly am just beginning to learn what I like. I feel more like a 5 year old in Kindergarten exploring finger paints and playdoh, than a 24 year old college student following a career path.

    So while I’m doing the best I can to trust Jesus and follow him, I find myself struggling with doubt. Those eight statements sound awful familiar… I have nothing to offer is probably the strongest. Yes, I’ve seen God work time and time again in and through me, but what about now? Now that I’m learning to take my own desires into account it puts me in a much more vulnerable place. What if I get it wrong? What if the brokenness and sin creeps up again and almost overtakes me as before?

    But then I look to Jesus and do my best to trust. I look around at all of these amazing women around me and take heart. God is doing amazing things. My life is a poem. I am an image-bearer. I soak in the truths and try to pick out the lies. And I keep on this journey of my life and on an even smaller scale, the journey of this book club.

    • Emily, prayers said for you this morning. For me personally, you sound like you have so much to offer. Your testimony will be (when you get where God is leading you) such an incredible witness and inspiration to those who hear it. Take care.

    • May God bless you in this wait, or this change, Emily. You are an image-bearer.

      (As we all heave a sigh and repeat, continually, to ourselves and others.)

      Sarah M

    • Emily, I understand your struggle. It’s one I faced for many years. However, one thing I notice in your post is your desire to listen to God’s leading. God will honor that. He will lead. I pray for you a prayer Paul prayed in the book of Colossians (1:9-12, NLT), “We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.”
      Blessings on your journey 🙂

    • Emily,

      I join these ladies who’ve spoken life and affirmation into you, and the countless many who are praying for you quietly.

      I’m proud of you for sharing your heart; that takes courage in a public forum. Your desire to please God and follow him is clear. He’s seeping into the corners of you to lend his strength and peace and surety.

      I’m sure I wrote out a comment the other day to you, but I don’t see it now :(. But it makes me so happy to see others speaking LIFE to you! You bless us with vulnerability; we bless you with the hope of glory!

  6. “Who do you think you are? You are made in the image of Creator God and carry the presence of the Holy Spirit with you wherever you go.” Wow. I got through the first 7 statements ok – nothing there that deeply plagued me (I’ve always been perhaps a little *too* confident, focused, and driven) – but the 8th. Who do I think I am? That one stops me in my tracks — but Emily’s reply is beautiful! And I also loved her call to pay attention to what you’re doing when the question comes up – that we have “an enemy who wouldn’t bother to threaten [us] if [we] weren’t dangerous.” Encouragement in the face of doubt and adversity!

    • Sarah Jo,

      🙂 The thing about many of these statements (for me) is the response offered; a different way of thinking, answering those nagging questions. Your honesty here is refreshing; I love how this got to you! 🙂

  7. I was blessed when I ‘just showed up’ to serve in the children’s ministry during our Bible Study time. I have to admit I almost skipped it and was a bit apprehensive. By ‘just showing up’… I was blessed to hear God’s Word poured into little pure hearts of 2 and 3 years olds! I “showed up ready or not” and so did The Lord!

      • Dawn,

        Thank you for serving God this week the way you did. I am a children’s pastor and I can tell you a week doesn’t go by when I watch a volunteer come in to serve. Their shoulders heavy with concerns of the week or running in late after a trying morning of getting their families to church on time. I watch these beautiful servants of God “wake” up to seeing their Lord and Savior in that act of service. I’ve been there, where I feel I can’t offer another ounce of anything only for God to take my “burnt” offering and make it beautiful. Thank you for serving!

  8. This book is amazing. It has helped me see (finally) a lot of the ways I have lived “not really present” in the moment, things I’ve avoided, and things I’ve been fearful of. I still have much to work on in relationships.
    Over the years there are areas that I have stepped out in and God has changed me so much. I once was so shy I wouldn’t talk to anyone, now I’ve spent the last twelve years teaching classes in a homeschool co-op, taught VBS crafts to 300 kids everyday for a week, taught various crafts to women at my church…All things I never would have imagined myself doing. The list of things we say to ourselves are things I have personally worked through many times to get myself to do the above things. Now, I seem to constantly face other women who say these things to me about themselves as a reason to not help or participate in various activities, like ” I can’t help with VBS crafts because I couldn’t possibly do it as good as you” or “I’m not talented like you” …generally using my “doing well” as a reason they shouldn’t try. Understand that I’m asking people to cut out paper circles or lengths of yarn–not find a craft and prep for 50 kids. Any suggestions on how to respond to these women? I’ve tried to explain how my doing well has been with lot’s of experience over 12 years, fine-tuning details every year and learning from my mistakes, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference. I keep asking God to show me if there is something in my attitude/manner that expects perfection from others and I just don’t feel that that is the case.
    Very frustrated.

    • Tracy,

      There are no doubt countless reasons why women respond that way; I worked at my church almost ten years and I heard a million excuses. It IS frustrating, so I hear you. There was a point for me, however, where I realized how judgey I had become toward them :/. I believed if they had children in kids’ ministry, it was their obligation to serve. But the truth is, I didn’t know their heart, their circumstances and whether or not they were serving in other places. I only knew that it impacted ME and made my life more difficult (not to be able to find others to help serve). Years down the road, I realized the callousness of my heart and prayed to love even these women (and men). It was a decision, not an emotion. I practiced 1 Corinthians 13 where I could (patient, kind, etc.).

      To answer YOUR question, though; one suggestion might be to start small. Invite 3-4 ladies to your home or to meet at church; have doughnuts and coffee or cookies and tea (girlfriends like some food). Make it fun, intimate, a getting to know you thing. Identify a few women who you’ve observed potential in! Let them know you’re inviting them to hear your heart and join you in a Kingdom vision–THAT YOU’VE REALIZED YOU NEED HELP. Affirm what you see in them–time to serve. Have simply crafts ready to model. People thrill to being noticed…and needed. They do NOT want a group or general ask to a congregation. When I was bold enough to approach someone directly–not an announcement in the bulletin or letters sent home, people much more often said yes :).

      Praying over this for you this morning. Thank you for your years of willing service :).

  9. Ok really vulnerable here…I know I am supposed to be writing my story. The live that has come from telling parts of my story in different settings has confirmed the need for others to hear of God’s work in a real life messed up redeemed and grace covered woman. But I avoid sitting down to actually put fingers to keyboard. I’d rather just talk about it than do the work.
    Please pray for me to obey and let God’s story come out through my story.

    • Hi Lisa! I said a quick prayer before I wrote this…I asked the Holy Spirit to help you NOT to avoid typing your story.

      All the best!

    • Lisa,

      We follow the path of least resistance; and speaking your story has been good practice for WRITING your story. It helps you trim it down to the essentials.

      Now getchur behind offline and write the first page. Not the entire story–THE FIRST PAGE. Don’t look at it as a whole, look at is at a part. As you see progress with one page, you’ll be eager to get to the next and the next and the next.

      (Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott is a great book on writing….it might be helpful to you.)

  10. Thank you for the wonderful book study. I have been a bit shy about participating because I am at a crossroads right now and unsure of my art. Of course as a wife and mother, I share myself daily with my family, but I don’t know where God is leading me right now. He seems to be asking me to leave behind (for the most part) the art I have lived for the last 18 years and do something new. I have a small inkling as to what that might be, but I am almost afraid to acknowledge it because of many of the 8 reasons Emily listed. These thoughts swirl around in my head, making me so fear dizzy, it’s ridiculous. My biggest fear is ‘what if I think God is calling me to something, and I do a poor job.’ Does that mean it isn’t my art? Do we have to do a good job in someone’s eyes for our work to be art? What if we sing, but no one wants to listen, or we cook and no one eats it, or we write and no one reads it. Is it still worthy to do? Maybe the question should be who am I doing it for instead of will anyone care. Lots to ponder.

    • If He’s calling you to it, you cannot do a poor job.

      Just take it slow and stay in prayer.

      Trust in Him – again, Trust in Him. Not your own abilities.

      Alone you will fail, period. But, with Him nothing, NOTHING will be impossible (Luke 1:37).

      Keep pondering but don’t dwell there too long or you will talk yourself right out of the very thing He wants most for you.

      Praying you will find it sweet sister:)

      • Lisa,
        I’ve had those same thoughts. My thought was, “What if my work isn’t excellent and I shame him?”

        For me, that question has been dismissed in a couple of ways: First, If I’m aiming to obediently bring Him glory, He is not ashamed of me.

        Second, I asked myself, “What if I do my best and only one person is drawn to Jesus? Is it worth doing then? (Yes.) What if that one person is me? Is it worth doing then? (Yes.)”

        Third, and I apologize for the length… I was given a piece called “Reflections on Camelot” by author Ken Gire. In it he shared the beautiful last scene from Camelot where King Arthur, at the end of his reign and facing the possibility of a dying legacy, discovers a zealous young stowaway hiding behind his throne. The boy declares he “knows everything” about the Knights of the Round Table and intends to fight for them. After a touching dialogue, King Arthur knights the boy, but then commissions him not to fight but to run behind the lines, to return to his home, to live, to grow old and to tell the stories of the Knights of the Round Table for the rest of his life. And so the boy obeys the King, runs, lives, and sends the stories of Camelot to future generations.

        In my situation, I was no longer required in a “front lines” position, and to be quite honest, I was relieved. But to run behind the lines and simply write the stories felt menial and cowardly. In his piece Ken Gire pointed out:

        “Whether running behind the lines is an act of cowardice or heroism depends, I think, on several things.

        Whose command sent us running.
        What stories we write once we stop.
        And why we write them.”
        His wise and beautiful words led me to consider that the King of Kings can commission whomever and whatever He pleases. If it pleased Him, He could even commission me to run behind the lines and tell His stories.

    • Lisa I have often struggled with the same fear.. of failing God! I remember awhile ago hearing through a Beth Moore talk, when God was calling her to step into a new area of ministry that she had always said no to, she struggled so much with fear of failing Him. And I’m not sure what the scripture was that God led her to, but He spoke to her through His word, and said, “I will not fail YOU.” I’ve never forgotten it. We entrust our “success” in it to Him because HE will not fail to accomplish that which He ordains! Even through our frail frame..

      “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work…of the Lord is finished.” (1 Chron.28:20)

      • these truths you ladies are speaking…I need to get them from my head down to my heart

    • Lisa,

      So many good responses here, already…but I have a really odd thing that came to mind:

      What if your best (and you know it’s your best b/c you’re giving it 100% to the glory of God!!) STILL fails in some capacity?

      I can only believe if you’d sought to follow and honor the Lord, that if your best somehow “fails”…it is for YOUR good, still for his glory, and for the good for the gospel. Failure changes us in ways success never could. I’m not saying I think your attempt will land in a puddle on the floor, but sometimes it is the very thing that will ultimately bring the most honor.

      Or maybe I’m crazy talkin’ :).

      xo

      • This is not crazy, I think it’s right on.

        We may never know how we have been changed, but success is not up to us, and not always the best outcome for anyone involved. Sometimes God has a better story in mind. I was unemployed for 2 1/2 years, and felt like an incredible failure as a human being and as an artist. But it was at the end of those years that God spoke to me about how He is proud of me just for existing, and that no failure of mine will ever make him ashamed of me or make me less in His eyes.

        I haven’t been the same since: a better artist, a better woman, more willing to seek God in the mysteries of life.

        Thank you!

  11. Q4:
    The statements have all rung true at one time or another. What I like is that Emily has given us some solid defense against them. I will be using them in the future. I especially like #2 : someone else can do it better… well, of coarse they can but someone else is doing it worse and no one else can do it like me if I am called by Him to do it. He has it planned for me. Time to step-up!

    Q5:
    Favorite quote: Page 140
    “We all have our unique shape of fear.
    There are no greener grasses, only different lawns.”

    and page 144

    “The lack of movement isn’t because of fear or sin or lack of belief.
    Sometimes it’s simply God asking us to wait.”

    I feel like I’ve been waiting a long time to release this art. Part of it is fear, but I think part of it is just “the wait.”

    Awesome to share with you girls!
    Enjoy this wonderful day our Lord has made!

  12. My favorite line: “Befriend the narrow limits. Let them be a reminder to you that your work and your art are impossible without divine resources.”

    and p. 141: Are you learning what it means to depend on God in ways you’ve never had to depend on him before?

    Limits and insufficiency keep me on my knees.

  13. I really feel like a broken record.. this book is so amazing & hitting the spot for me. Thank you thank you thank you, Emily, for writing it! I didn’t know I needed it so much!

    The 8 statements really hit hard.. all familiar words to me. I think I can come up with a million excuses often to hold back from doing what I desire to do or sense God urging me to do. It makes me think of James 4:17: “To him who knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin.” When I hold back when He has said ‘Go’.. God calls that sin! And something of me is lost/compromised on in the process, too. I have sort of perfected the art of living a risk-free existence. And it’s not how I want to live anymore!

    It randomly makes me remember a day when I had taken my kids out for a late afternoon walk in the forest and as we were driving home there was this truck that had been broken down there all day, a worker guy’s truck, with the tire completely off the truck and tools & parts scattered all around. This precious little Mexican man was just sitting in the truck and it was getting dark and we live kind of out in the middle of nowhere. It just came to me that I wanted to bring him dinner. He had been there all day and looked like he was just hunkering down in the truck for the night. As soon as the thought came to me (I believe from God) I was exhilarated and excited and then immediately began questioning it and making excuses. It was late, I have two hungry kids, what do I have to give him, would it be weird, is it safe, etc. etc. But, it was one of those times that courage won over my fears and I raced home, grabbed some leftover butternut squash stew that I had made, and raced it back down to him. It was so precious! I know a little spanish so I told him it was for him and was he ok, did he need help. Help was on the way so I gave him his dinner and left. It was so fun, so happy! It just made MY night. Yes, because it felt good to do good. Because it felt good to bless someone. But more importantly because it felt good to OBEY God’s design in me, to obey who He made me to be and His Spirit’s prompting. To take that risk and push beyond the things that normally cause me to shut down.

    I love Emily’s advice in the video.. just answer the questions and they lose their power, in a sense.

    Living artfully.. living wholly present. Showing up as He has made me to be, in worship to Him. It’s so simple and beautiful.

    • Martha,

      Everything about your comment blessed me this morning–thank you. Especially for writing out that sweet story. A lovely example for us to act on those holy promptings. 🙂

  14. Hi everyone! I haven’t read the book yet,
    I will after reading the emails sent and the video. “Who are you to think you can get a job, buy a home again, your retired right?
    Yes. Its been a journey?? A few days ago
    I said ib been fed a lie ! I don’t have be putting on a happy face, overlook my Art
    to please or have evrrything shiny all perfect. Jesus made me just as I am. After an interview the other day, I left feeing who do I think I am.. Someone else has always done the job better or was whatever better. We hear things like that
    Growing up. Also, I have been showing up&
    Listening to the Lord. He made me for his purpose. Over this past year well as of now, this past two months brought courage & resolve. My whole life is changing as I write this, I lost my home 2 years ago, lost my car the economy got to me and I just recent realized the importance of not letting others take away
    Gifts of the Art Hid beneath the things we tell ourselves. It was a hard lesson to learn. To value who I am & speak up.
    I stayed the course. I have a beautiful apartment home. A new car, a changed attitude. I focused on Jesus. I’ll pray for that job, I’ll buy s home next year if He if he decides that’s best. I have had one blessing after one / it’s amazing Grace,

  15. Favorite Quotes: p.125, “Can’t we possibly live from our wholeness rather than our dysfunction? Can we stop now waiting for qualification, permission, and approval? Can we begin to trust that the God who lives within us weaves his Spirit around our so intensely, so completely, and with such intimacy that our desires are actually beginning to look like his?”
    p. 131, ” This is what it looks like to take small steps toward the mystery. You aren’t moving to figure things out or to catch up with an expectation, but you are moving because you are alive.”

    I am looking forward to the next chapter on waiting.

  16. This book has been amazing, I’m highlighting so much I won’t be able to share my book with anyone :-). I’ve written so many notes, putting so much in first person in my own writing to help it sink into my head and heart. I wonder how many times down the road I’ll read this book and refer to my journal with it? or will I need a new journal each time?

    Q1: Yes, I totally need to “stop waiting on qualification, permission and approval” – I need to show up and start the work. This is a kick in the pants – I like things planned out and crossed off lists in orderly and sequential order.
    Q2: I agree limits can be gifts and help us to be resourceful, and not get too caught up in making everything “just so”… I need this help. I get tired of fighting the limitations though, fighting for what I’m supposed to do. I’m in a phase now where I’m just weary – but I don’t want to give up the waiting on day two.
    Q3: Every one of the eight statements I have said to myself. Interestingly enough, I also have recognized the need to just agree with them – I’m not enough, I can’t do it, someone else can do/has done it better, etc. – it’s Christ in me filling the gap where I end. If I’d just remember this sooner :-), and not let them be distractions I follow.
    Q4: I can’t begin to pick a favorite quote. There are just too many. But on page 103, “See the world as one of abundance rather than scarcity.” and “the world does need you to come alive right where you are and not where you wish you were.” These are huge for me. I want to be able to unreservedly embrace these truths.

    • April,

      This book is dynamite in a small package; I keep insisting Emily wrote it just to me, but the comments in Bloom are trying to tell me otherwise ;).

      Love how you’re rewriting it for YOU!! 🙂

  17. I am just getting to this…it has been a busy week! “It is a waste of time” is what resonates with me. Life is busy and I feel that I have so many important things to do to keep life running smoothly for my family, but when I forsake my own art for too long I feel it. I get this longing to express, create, write, whatever. God has given me desires that when expressed make me feel alive, yet I put so much ahead of those for the sake of surviving the busy. Emily’s book has given me permission to be me and not feel guilty to express myself because, after all, I might really have something to offer any how! I am finding rest in the busy, rest in being given permission to be me and permission to figure out what makes me feel alive. I will admit I have felt pain this week. My writing has opened doors for me to enter into other’s pain and it is hard. But through my art they realize they are alive and I can enter into their pain and celebrate the pain in life with another. God is good even in the reality of pain!

    Robin, I sent you an email with the pictures you asked for. I hope you got them. Have a blessed weekend!

  18. Rachael!! I just searched and cannot find your email??? Do you mind resending? Did I give you my pensieve.me at gmail address? Make sure you spell PENSIEVE correctly; autocorrect doesn’t like it :).

    (thank you!!)

  19. I was going to answer the questions, but I read every entry in this post and it raised a question for me. So I’m asking it just for you all to think about. If we look at our art as a gift from God, a way that God uniquely created us for and feel called by God to do that art aren’t we doing it for Him? And if the One person in the world wants us to show up and do that art for Him, why the hesitation, why the fear?

    My favorite quotes: “You are a poem written inside the person of Christ and exist to carry out his inner desire.” “Courage leans heavy on Jesus and moves in the middle of fear.”

    Sisters, I’m scared to fail and can use each one of the “8” to not do my art, but I don’t want to live me life in fear anymore. I want to trust the One who created me to serve Him. If it’s a mess, I’m going to trust that God will either teach me one more thing about him in the failure or take my mess and make it beautiful for him.

    Just my two cents…Robin, thank you for moderating these post. They are beautiful conversations.

  20. I have finally caught up on the videos and questions, and read through a couple of posts worth of comments. What an absolute blessing to be a part of this community of women being brave in exploring what it means to be living art – as image bearers and as co-creators of Christ.

    I’ve answered the questions and been hit so. many. times between the eyes by Emily’s words, and I think everything I’ve thought, read, ruminated on and breathed deep has been summed up in one thought that came to me a couple of weeks ago with blinding clarity –

    I’m scared of living out my purpose in Christ.

    What came after that when I was able to sit with this and flesh it out was all my fears articulated with painful accuracy. And that’s what it was all rooted in – fear. Which led me to worry that I wasn’t 8really* living in Christ, because I know that there is no fear in love, and perfect love drives out fear. If I love God, and I know He loves me, and I live in love, how can I fear?

    Because I’ve chosen to believe the lies of the enemy, and let the lies push out the truth. That I am as Emily has written – ‘You are made in the image of Creator God and carry the presence of his Holy Spirit with you wherever you go. You are a poem written inside the person of Christ and exist to carry out his inner desire. you are an image bearer and you have a job to do’.

    Now I’m choosing to believe this truth, even though fear continues to try and tempt me with its’ familiarity and don’t-try-don’t-fail life, and the Resistance brings up the rear with it’s ever-hovering presence. I don’t ‘feel’ like an image bearer or a poem, but I know that I am, because I AM spoke me into being even before the world began as part of His creation.

    All I need to do is show up, and He will do everything else.

  21. So many good things out of this book!

    Q1. What is holding me back? Uncertainty. Not feeling sure about what my calling actually is.

    Q2. I love the idea of looking at limits as something to be excited about and not discouraged by. I’m going to have to think on that some more.

    Q3. So much is speaking to me. First, choosing to be present was a big one for me. Being intentional. I loved the idea of releasing the art inside of us is worshiping God. Another question that really stuck with me was “are you living like a programmer instead of a poet?” (on page 135)

    Eight statements keeping you from showing up.
    I’m not cut out for this and actually I hate my calling really stood out to me. The question that I found myself asking is how do I know which “good endeavor” to pursue? (page 137) And then what am I most excited to talk about and share? What gets me fired up? (page 140).

    Q4. “I feel compelled to approach these next few moments like they are lines in a poem rather than items on an agenda.” I love the image of living lines of a poem and not an agenda. That feels like being alive to me.

    Thank you so much ladies for this study!