Hancock Family Art

"Art Brooches"

2012-01-22T23:35:00.009-06:00

Shawn has started working on some handmade and painted brooches/pins to be sold on our etsy shop. These are made from polymer clay and painted with acrylic paint. They come with a handcrafted gift box. The dime is not included. He is thinking of calling them "Art Brooches".

Things I Know & the "I Am" Challenge

2009-06-10T14:51:00.005-05:00

- By Missy Hancock

Are you in as desperate a need for encouragement as I am? Sometimes, we need only to look inside ourselves. What are the deep truths we have come to know?

For me, I KNOW that GOD in all His wisdom, knows, wishes, & WANTS BETTER FOR ME than I could ever hope for, strive for, or finagle for myself. And so when I find myself back in that place of utter helplessness, I must remember that I am in the hands of a most able God and in my weakness, He is strong. And if He has brought me here to this place again, it is only because He is calling me back to Himself- to total dependence on Him.

I KNOW that I am CALLED TO LOVE instead of hate. This seems like a no-brainer until the stress and struggles of everyday life close in and some stupid person who can't drive, cuts me off or signals one direction and moves their vehicle in the other. Or when someone I love causes me unnecessary stress and struggle and I just want to explode all over them and make them feel as rotten as I think they have made me feel. The truth, however, is that no one can make me feel any way that I don't permit them to. And I can choose to show loving kindness in the face of adversity, but it is a choice that I unfortunately forget to make far too often. It is just so much easier to react, instead of make a conscious choice to LOVE.

I KNOW that I am CALLED TO ENCOURAGE instead of envy, but when I look around and it seems like the whole world is succeeding and everyone elses' lives are rosebuds and cherries and my life is full of thorns and pits, I forget. And then I remember a line from a poem my dad and mom used to read me as a child "all that you send into the lives of others comes back into your own." And I remember that those perfect lives I percieve others to lead are filled with their own obstacles and pain and they, quite likely, percieve my life to be rosebuds and cherries, as well. We all face the thorns and the pits and the best way to come through them unscathed and un-scarred is in the loving arms of friendship. We send a kind encouragement or pray with a friend and our hearts are encouraged as well. Envy does nothing for us, but leave us alone and bitter.

And I KNOW that I KNOW that I KNOW that I am called to BELIEVE and to DREAM instead of despair, and to MOVE FORWARD IN FAITH instead of stagnate and flounder in fear.

The other day, I felt like the GREAT "I AM" gave me a wonderful exercise to help keep me on track in the storms of everyday life. He told me to list my personal "I am's" and to place them before my eyes, using them as a compass, a check-list of sorts. Here was my list of "I am's."

I Am...
a Child of God....
A Wife.....
A Lover.....
A Mother....
An Encourager.....
A Writer.....
An Artist.....
A teacher....
A Friend......
A Healer.

*May each day of my life reflect these things and may I fulfill each of these roles to the best of my ability and through the loving kindness and help of my friend and my God.

I challenge you to take the "I am...challenge". You may be surprised and find an "I am" in there that you weren't expecting. I know when I first did this exercise, I had the impression that I should write, "a healer," but I thought that was ridiculous and ignored it at first. Upon closing my journal, I felt an overwhelming urge to re-open it and scrawl "a healer" onto the list, but I added a disclaimer of "(? I don't know where this comes from, but I felt it- so I decided I should write it?)". I was embarrassed to record it, even in my own private journal, without a disclaimer. But the Lord has plans for us quite often that are not our own and if we let Him- He will walk those plans out in our lives. Don't be afraid to record those things that don't seem true to you yet. Yield to the Spirit of God and write it down in faith, trusting Him to bring all of your "I am's" into fruition.

We are not alone on this planet of discovery. We have each other and most importantly, if we so choose, we have a Guide available to us who is patient, kind, and all-knowing.

Be Blessed!

The Failure Myth

2009-04-14T17:53:00.002-05:00

-Missy Hancock

It seems that creativity has been “schooled” out of us in so many different ways. The “pass/fail” method of modern education has undermined the natural instinct of curiosity, exploration, and discovery.

Naturally, we wonder about things. We ask questions, we seek answers, we experiment. And naturally, we find dead ends, things that don’t work- in other words- we fail. But what the natural process of “failure” breeds in us is more exploration, more experiments, more questions. By adding the “extrinsic” stamp of approval or disapproval by an outside source (ie. the school), we are robbed of the natural intrinsic motivation of failure.

Failure has been deemed unacceptable, something to be scolded for and so rather than experience chastisement, we simply begin a process of “towing the line.” We memorize only what they tell us to memorize. We learn what we’re told to learn and we answer questions in the way “they” would want us to. Never mind the fact that some of the most interesting discoveries have been made accidentally or with an entirely different goal in mind. The sense of adventure, creativity, and exploration is gone for fear of “failing”.

The tragedy is that this mindset does not end when we graduate. Upon university graduation, we do not suddenly take into our hands our diploma along with a renewed passion for discovery. No, instead we carry with us a fear of “what the neighbors will think”, what our boss will say, and where we “rank” in society as a whole. In other words, we continue to “tow the line.” It is this “line” that continues to lower the standard of excellence, encourages mediocrity, and limits human potential. And it is this line that we must cut in order to move forward as a creative society as well as individuals. This “line” has become a noose around our necks, suffocating creativity and ultimately breaking the spirit of discovery, not to mention “progress”.

Occasionally, I stumble across that great old quote by Thomas Edison, we’ve all heard it- “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” It is spouted off to us by the mouths of teachers and professors operating in the same system that perpetuates this grand theft of human potential- the same system that, by the way, deemed Edison “not teachable”. They were right, I suppose. He couldn’t be taught that their answers were the right answers and he could not be convinced to stop asking his own questions.

The truth is that the stamp of “failure” is a lie. Failure was never intended to be a label or a grade but simply a part of the process of learning, creating, exploring and discovering. Failure is more like “step 4” right before steps 5,6,7,and 8 where you find the answer, accomplish the goal, walk out your idea, and enrich the world! “Failure” is a natural part of life, not an identity.

Thankfully, world thinkers are beginning to question this pass/fail system that leaves the world at a loss for new ideas, progress and creativity. Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence. A visionary cultural leader, Sir Ken led the British government's 1998 advisory committee on creative and cultural education, a massive inquiry into the significance of creativity in the educational system and the economy, and was knighted in 2003 for his achievements. His latest book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything provides a deep look at human creativity and education. (You can listen to Sir Ken Robinson at www.TED.com. TED: IdeasWorth Spreading (Technology, Entertainment, Design) holds a conference where the world’s leading thinkers and doers gather to find inspiration.)

It is interesting that the people that think for themselves and make real progress in technology and art were often the “failures” in school. They are often declared “difficult”, “unreasonable”, or “hopeless” by the system. George Bernard Shaw said it best when he said "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. All progress, therefore, depends upon the unreasonable man."

There are many things set before us to accomplish in this life. Each of us are driven differently, each called to a unique purpose. I personally am plagued by a fear that the things I start will fail. Recently I saw things differently for just a glimpse. It seems that is how the truth works. We have brief moments where the clouds lift and the sun shines brightly on the truth, but mostly we walk in a fog trying desperately to catch those glimpses and savor them and memorize every detail in hopes that they will carry us to the next moment of truth. I saw life as a beautiful page of music being played by a master musician. Each note representing another pursuit, some of the notes were long and clear, others short and staccato, but altogether a beautiful melody. And I realized that it is only vanity that makes me want my endeavors to be whole notes, but it takes ALL the notes to make the music right and beautiful and just as it is meant to be.

Renowned writer, Jean Rhys said, "Listen to me. All of writing is a huge lake. There are great rivers that feed the lake, like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. And there are mere trickles, like Jean Rhys. All that matters is feeding the lake. I don't matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake." Be it to the world of music, dance, theatre, art, literature, or crafting; let us all contribute to the lake our “trickles” and let us not fear failure. For it seems that failure, as we fear it, is a myth. It is the monster that lives under our beds and the moment we dare to pull the covers off of our heads, hang upside down off the edge and shine our flashlights in the monsters face, all we will find is that creativity that we misplaced so very long ago.

The Adventure!

2009-04-01T21:54:00.002-05:00

We did not fall off the face of the planet....we simply started a grand adventure or two that have taken us away! But half a year later, the dust is settling and I find myself desperate to rejoin the blogging world. You may have noticed that our last blog was last September, well last September we put our home of nearly seventeen years on the market, it sold in the first week, we closed the last day of September and moved to a quiet little 5 acres that God Almighty set aside for us! (Truly, he did. The owner waited over a year and a half for us to be able to purchase this parcel of land just because he believed we were who the Lord wanted on the land....but that is a long story- a riveting tale of many miracles that I shall save for another day.) ANYWAY, we are now homesteaders. With a dream to homestead our own land, build an off-the-grid straw-bale house, and grow our own food- here we sit!

These last six months we have converted an awesome 1977 Blue Bird Bus, formerly the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Mobile Command Center, into a snazzy home on wheels while we set about plans to develop our land and build our new permanent home. Beavers have taken over, blocked our stream, turned what was some low lying marshy areas into a giant pond that stretches across the center of the property. We have started our first garden and things are growing! And we have had the joy of being an integral part of developing an arts publication in OKC called ArtBeat. I have been the managing editor and Shawn has been a contributing writer, working on graphics, as well as heading up distribution for the publication. Gabriel has written an album or so worth of songs and is getting to live more like the wild man he is at heart. Tessa continues to paint, paint, paint, oh yeah, and text and get online and paint some more. In spite of strange living conditions, her art continues. I think she has been the most successful, perhaps, of us all at keeping up her production of visual art. Kyrra starred in her first play, getting the opportunity to perform with an established performance company and some incredible actors, Rythmically Speaking. Lizzy has taken to the wild, is sword fighting with her brother every chance she gets and continues to study the body (in preparation for life as a surgeon) as well as study knights, and run around dressed as Frodo Baggins in her own woodland, playing Lord of the Rings. And just last night Jazlyn, Journey, Kyrra, Lizzy, Shawn and I finally befriended the pair of wild Canadian Geese that have decided to stay a while. We think they are setting on a nest and that is why they stay while the other 7 or so geese have moved on. It has been busy beyond belief and God has been good beyond measure.

Since the original objective of this blog was to encourage and inspire creativity and faith, I am going to cheat. You see, Shawn and I have both been writing alot, just not on the blog. So I am going to post some of our ArtBeat articles as blogs. If you happen to be a reader of ArtBeat, then the next several blogs may be old hat to you, but hopefully they will be a blessing to others!
And of course, we will be writing fresh encouragements :) and also keep you posted on this crazy adventure God has us on! May God pour favor and blessings on you! -Missy Hancock:)

Voice

2008-09-06T00:33:00.003-05:00

by Gabriel Hancock

The people have lost the ability to use their voices in conversation,
To change the minds of many nations,
Where the black crustaceans slowly climb their fragile spines,
That lead to their corrupt minds that are steadily growing insane.
Constant reminders of their insignificance flash on their televisions.
Seeds of independence being plucked from their conscience by their teachers,
The confinements of the school walls slowly instilling a deep hatred for knowledge,
The word “change” is just a campaign slogan of the predicted future president,
And the broken world that they were born into will say,
“Be they president, queen, or king, bow down to them.”
MTV moved into the deepest crevice of your mind,
Slowly growing apathetic,
Losing all belief, all thought, and all life.
The biased news builds a staircase up to your eyes.
The foamy residue that they leave behind.
We live in an age of absence,
Where our songs are absent of meaning.
You pray to the American dream and forget to live in God.
Oh dead nation, let your bones grow muscle,
and let the muscle grow flesh,
and let you have tender thoughts,
and remember how you once created.
Remember the feeling of your fingers grasping the worn strings,
and let your voice sing.

He Is With Me

2008-08-19T01:14:00.010-05:00

-Tessa Hancock

My name is Tessa. I am a child of the Lord. He made me and I am beautiful.
As the rain pours down upon my shoulders, He is with me.
I hear His voice in the thumping of rain against the rooftop.
I ride my bike through the rain, feeling the chilly wind flowing through
my bright green hair and knowing it is Him.
Feeling Him in every step I take, I feel free. He makes me free.
I am free in Him.
Walking down the street, and not being afraid, but knowing
He is holding my hand the whole way.
Feeling His heart beat with mine, and feeling His protection over me.
Feeling Him in the cool breeze. Feeling Him in the rain and in the thunder.
And not being afraid, but knowing He is there with me.
Knowing He is right there with the one He made for me.
Knowing He is in the heart of my friends and my family.
Seeing Him on their faces everyday.
Knowing He's there with me when I'm crying with my head on my desk.
Seeing His love and kindness on the faces of the people on the pages of my notebook.
Hearing His words whispered into my ear by my beautiful mother and knowing
they're true.
Seeing His strength and love in the face of my father and knowing He's with us.
Seeing His gentleness and kindness in the sweet faces of my sisters.
Hearing his wisdom in every strum of my brothers guitar.
Feeling his warmth and encouragement when my friends embrace me.
This is my Lord. This is what I feel when I am with Him.
He has blessed me. He has blessed me. He has made me who I am,
and I love Him.

The Importance of Thinking

2008-08-16T15:21:00.005-05:00

-Shawn Hancock

Remember the saying from the three musketeers, “all for one and one for all”? This is a noble idea that actually supports the rights of an individual. The idea is that the whole care about the individual and the individual cares about more than himself, the whole.

We use to believe in something called independence but now independence is something associated with the past. The founding fathers of America understood the importance of the individuals independence, his freedom, his rights to own land and to protect that land. Today we no longer understand nor value such independence, therefore we are losing this independence. The reason for this is because the philosophy has changed. The thinking of the people has come to a place where they no longer believe in independence but believe in dependance. We no longer believe that the government is for the people, of the people and by the people but we believe in “us against them”. This is the philosophy that is being taught today. Whether we know it or not “us against them” has become a part of our everyday lives.
In our mind, the government is “them” made up of important people who somehow magically have the right to rule over us, who tell us where to go, what to do and what to pay. Therefore, believing we have no say in the matter, we just comply.

We also have this philosophy in regards to our creditors. How often does a guy in a hard hat hop over your fence believing he has the right to do so, because he works for a company that provides you a service. It never crosses his mind, or yours for that matter, that he should ask permission to come onto your property. Because of the “us against them” philosophy and a “they are big and I am small” philosophy our rights as owners are slowly being stripped away and we don’t even know it.

We no longer have the “all for one and one for all” philosophy, we have a “one for all and none for one” philosophy. Believing that we, as individuals, are to be concerned for the many but the many who are represented by a large single entity have no concern for the individual.

How did this happen? We forgot the importance of thinking. We stopped thinking for ourselves and mindlessly went along with the crowd. We have continued to do this until there were only two ways to think, “ours and theirs” or “us against them”. There are only two sides to every coin and someone has gone and removed all the dice. Now you can only choose one of two sides.

This philosophy of “us against them” is started early in life with the education system. A child is removed from their family and unknowingly, for the most part, the teacher draws the student closer to them and further away from the influence and teachings of the family. The teacher will replace the parent as the child's mentor and the child will learn values from the educational system instead of the family. The teacher is not the parent and does not love the child like the parent so everything the child seeks is found in the system itself.
Meanwhile on television, children are portrayed as being smarter than their parents. The parents are portrayed as dumb oafs that in the end submit to the whims and desires of the child. Once the authority of the parent has been undermined, then the process of the “us against them” philosophy begins. In athletics, the “good sportsmanship” vein of thought has taken a backseat to the “team player” philosophy. Athletics give “good sportsmanship” lip service for good appearances but doesn’t really embrace it. In the end, “us against them”, is what wins.
Once a child is out of grade school, they have been segregated with their own age group for so long that they know longer know how to relate to adults or children of other ages. So they group together as a team and have no respect for others, now including the teacher. The “us against them” philosophy has been so engrained that when they become adults and enter the workplace the elderly are irrelevant and dispensable and when they retire they have no faith in the young.

We wonder why our presidential candidates all sound the same. They say they will give us change, but they are ill equipped to give it. We say we want change, but we lack the imagination to know what it is. Now we can see that the two parties are becoming one, which means in the “us against them” way of thinking, we end up with the government being one side and the people being the other side. This undermines a “we the people” government and gives way to totalitarianism.

How can we stop this horrible cycle? 1) think for yourself and
2) value independence.
Stop asking “what does my party think?”, or “what does my pastor think?”, or “what do my friends think?”. Think about what you believe in and why you believe what you believe. We also need to teach Philosophy as early as we teach Math and Science. Philosophy gives value to thinking. We do not value a person who sits and thinks. For some reason this has no place in our society. We have forgotten that Math and Science come from Philosophy. We should encourage people to think differently, creatively and independently. We need to stop undermining family values, as in the values of an individual family. We need to value independent thought and the individual’s rights.

It’s not too late for change, but we need creativity to make it happen and we need to cultivate that creativity by thinking.

"Bird By Bird"

2008-08-11T21:25:00.011-05:00

-Missy Hancock

My wonderful husband prayed and asked God for help figuring out what to give me for my birthday. He needed it to be inexpensive but he really really wanted me to like it. Right after he prayed for help, the book Bird By Bird -Some Instructions On Writing And Life by Anne Lamott came to mind. Little did he know that I had been searching for it at the used bookstore to no avail. He didn't say a word about it. He just bought it and placed it on the bookshelf facing my side of the bed where I keep all my favorite reading material. Money has been so tight, I was certainly not expecting anything, so when he sweetly offered a birthday backrub, I flopped down on my side of the bed and joyously accepted. I love, love, LOVE a good backrub. I lay down and looked right at my new book. I squealed with delight at the discovery. And so it has been my own personal writers retreat and get-a-way as only a good book can be!

The back cover tells this story for which the book is named.
"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird."

Unintentionally, without making the connection, I began painting bird silhouettes since I started reading this book. And in painting these birds and reading Anne Lamotts words, a few things have become a little clearer. More pieces to this lovely puzzle of life have fallen into place, and new lessons have been learned.
One lesson that perhaps, may sound silly to some, has been quite eye opening. It's not cheating to practice your craft by copying. I had painted and sold a few pictures in the last couple of months, of silhouettes of trees with little birds sitting in the branches. But I had thus far been completely unhappy with my bird silhouettes. One, in particular looked like a mongoloid bird. I guess it is true that money is not the reward but the art itself is, because even though both of these paintings sold shortly after listing them on our internet shop, I was still dreadfully unhappy with my bird drawing skills. And so I decided to try what I've watched my husband do a thousand times, what I've listened to him instruct our children in. I traced. I traced birds. I traced doves, and pigeons, sparrows, and finches, robins and scissor-tail flycatchers. And I got a little more of a feel for the shape of birds. And when I painted these new bird paintings, I loved them! After all that practice, I could finally draw something that made me happy. I still had to look at pictures of birds- but at least I was happy with the end result.

It reminds me of the scripture, "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." Philippians 4:8

For our lives to be of any positive consequence; to be a blessing, we must keep our eyes on things worth reproducing. Before, I was just drawing on my own memories of what I thought a bird silhouette should look like. Drawing on myself, things come out misshapen, mongoloid. We cannot draw from ourselves all that is needed to exude love and hope and peace and goodness. We must look to the source- the painter of sunsets, the one who hung the stars, the one who took such care to create the birds, one by one, each a unique and glorious wonder.

And so I practice these old truths that have become new to me once again.
I move forward, eyes set on the source, fixed on what is lovely, and I get to work!
"Bird by bird, buddy. Bird by bird."

(These original framed bird paintings and more are available for purchase at www.hancockfamilyart.etsy.com)

"I Can Do That"

2008-07-29T15:10:00.007-05:00

-Missy Hancock

These are four of the most valuable words in the English language. When placed side by side in the minds eye, anything is possible. As I was helping my daughter, Kyrra, finish a giant six layer birthday cake complete with buttercream, fondant, and fun; I realized that most eleven year olds don't attempt such things. And then I realized that most adults don't attempt such things. And THEN I realized what a gift our parents had given my dear husband and I when they taught us through example those four precious words, "I can do that!" I was raised by a dad who could build, fix, or make anything and a mom who could draw, paint, or decorate anything. While Shawn has a father who could compete with MacGyver in a pinch and a toy making, costume sewing, seamstress of a mother. So when it comes to using creativity and having a DIY attitude, Shawn and I both have it down. If only we can learn to approach making money with the same confidence, the world will be ours.

I cannot tell you how often I hear, "Oh, I could never do that!" And quite frankly, it frustrates me. I am OK with, "I am not the least bit interested in trying that," or "I don't want to do that," or even "I'm not willing to put out the effort to do that," but don't tell me wistfully that you "could never do that!"; because I will tell you- "Shut-up and TRY!" Well, I might not really tell
you that, but I will WANT to!

Life is more about intentional living and deliberate choices than we let ourselves believe because if we really let ourselves believe that we can accomplish anything we set our mind to, then we have to explain to ourselves what the heck we've been doing all this time! We prefer to believe, "I could NEVER do that!" than to believe that we just didn't care enough to try.

Sometimes Shawn and I get carried away and I do believe it is important to realize that just because one CAN do something, doesn't mean one should. Just because I am able, doesn't make it the best use of my time. This is where knowing yourself, knowing your calling, and listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit comes into play. God has given each of us a unique make-up. For me, to completely redesign, paint walls and furniture and redecorate my children's' bedroom is an exhilarating offering of myself and my talents in an effort to bless my child. For someone else, it may be a terrible burden and a frustration for all involved.

It's all about making choices and being willing to "fess-up" to the choices we make. Stop saying you "could never do" those things that you don't want to do and start admitting that they are not the best use of your time and skills. And then FIND that dear thing that is a good use of your time and skills and do it with gusto and joy!

As for those of you who are constantly saying, "I want to do that, but I just don't think I ever actually would." (I hear this one all the time in regards to homeschooling.) For you, it is time to pray, make choices and commit. It is time to recognize that you can and will do anything that you DECIDE to do. You may need encouragement with a creative endeavor while I need confidence in business endeavors, but it is time for us both to remember those four magic words, "I CAN DO THAT!"

Make Your Life A Landmark

2008-07-28T09:55:00.012-05:00

-Missy Hancock

Once a week, we try to go on a Hancock Family Adventure (otherwise known as a field trip:)). I call them adventures because it makes me so happy to see our four year old's quake with excitement in the backseat of the van as we head off, little fists clenched and eyes big, as they say "Oooo, I LOVE ADVENTURES!"
A couple of weeks ago, we loaded up and headed for a local man-made landmark. Now I simply love the idea of a man-made landmark because it's so intentional. "I am going to create the largest ball of string so that people everywhere will come and look at it." I am going to make something spectacular so that everyone will want to come and see. The idea itself is just heartwarming.
And so off we trekked to route 66 and Arcadia, Oklahoma where we got two landmarks for the price of one. We were intending to go to "Pop's", a little gas station and restaurant that just happens to hold the world's largest soda pop selection. Out front there is also a 66 foot tall sculpture of a soda pop bottle that weighs over four tons. But because we arrived at the same time as a luxury tour bus full of young people, we headed on up the road another mile to show the kids Arcadia's round barn. Built in 1898, it originally served of course, as a home for livestock and also as a place where dances were held for the local townspeople.As the only truly "round" barn (most are actually hexagonal or octagonal), the Barn is 60' in diameter, 45' in height and is two stories high. The upstairs loft has a wooden floor and an architecturally impressive ceiling. The structure was designed with the notion that being round would help it withstand Oklahoma's tornadic conditions. Who knows if it is scientifically accurate, but the barn is still standing after more than 107 years!! (italicized taken from www.arcadiaroundbarn.org)
After taking in the wonders of the round barn, we headed back to Pop's to pick out a bottle of soda from their enormous selection. We stood in awe at the glass doors taking in a whole wall of different bottles of pop we had never heard of before. We each picked a different "adventure in a bottle" and headed back on the road. As we walked across the parking lot, Kyrra took a big swig of her "Mango Nectracide", made a terrible gasp and said, "ugh- it tastes like fireworks." So I swapped her my "Joy Juice" which resembled flat Sprite and we headed on our way. I thought Gabriel picked the most interesting bottle. It was called "Lenin-ade" and had the soviet sickle and star. I thought, "You know, the creators of Pop's could have just made a gas station, or a convenient store, or a restaurant, but they decided to make a "landmark". And the more this thought bounced around in my mind, the more it made me think of the choices we each make in our daily lives. I can choose to make my life a convenient store, or I can choose to make my life a landmark. They both serve a purpose, but one is a heck of a lot more interesting!

To All You Mommies...

2008-07-15T12:26:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to let you know we've just had the distinct honor of being a "guest blogger" on a great new blog for moms, www.momspark.blogspot.com !
Check out, "Life Through the Eyes of a Three Year Old", and stick around for funny encouraging stories, recipes, and more! While your at it, post your picture in the "What Real Women Look Like" gallery of mom's first thing in the morning.

Blessings!
Missy

It's Winter in Robot World

2008-07-13T23:16:00.004-05:00

- Missy Hancock

"It's winter in Robot World."
This is a direct quote from my wonderfully imaginative seven year old daughter, Lizzy, as she dresses the robots she has just made out of paint cans, bouncy balls, and baby-wipe boxes. She introduces them to me as Mr. Hat and Mr. Robot.
"They're mad at me because I don't have to wear winter clothes. You wanna see Mr. Hat's hair?" she asks as she pulls the hat off of the happy face ball that is Mr. Hat's head.
On top of the ball is a carefully arranged blue washcloth greatly resembling a blue pompadour hairdo.
"Mr Robot doesn't have any hair," she says as she adjusts Mr. Hat's washcloth toupee.
"He used to have dreads, but he shaved them."

You just can't make this stuff up. How I long to fall back into the mind of my childhood. I say that and yet I am reminded of the words of Madeleine L'Engle, one of my artist heroes. She said something like, "That is the beautiful thing about being a writer, you are and remain all the ages you have already been."

I am 10 year-old Missy, co-creating and play-acting entire epic movie lines with my cousin David. We would get a good storyline going and relish in our creativity, becoming lawmen of the old west as we played on our grandparent's ranch. We would lie flat on our stomachs with our rifles on the top of an old gas truck watching the horizon and waiting for the wild Indians or the notorious gang of villainous gunmen to ride over the ridge.
"Hey, you say...."
"Yeah, and you say this...."
We would feed each other lines when the story would really get good.
And at the end of a really great "play", we would always marvel that if only someone had been recording the whole thing, it would surely have been a blockbuster!
I am that 10 year-old girl, cussing like a sailor, intricately and craftily stringing words and phrases I had over-heard in my fathers anger. My cousin who was almost two years older than I would roll with laughter. He truly appreciated my linguistic prowess with profanity and this only served to motivate me. How horrified I would have been if I had been caught saying such things!

I am that 17 year-old girl desperately longing for one of my best friends (now my husband) to see me as the beautiful human being I saw him to be. Wishing so desperately that he would just kiss me, for somehow, in my heart, I believed that if he would just kiss me then he would be mine forever- that it would seal this undying love that was meant to be. Surprisingly, this was truer than I realized. He told me later that he didn't kiss me until he knew he wanted to marry me. I am that girl being kissed under the tree in my front yard, standing under the moonlight, knees turning to liquid underneath me and all intentions of running off to college to find a man melting away as we clung to one another in the sweet night air.

I am that 26 year-old woman, lying alone in a hospital room, crying and mourning the loss of my dead baby, my fifth child, that I had just delivered alone because my husband was out of town. I see its small little body fitting in one of my hands. It's perfect little wisps of fingers, so perfectly formed and so impossibly small. It's no wonder it couldn't make it. It was just too soon. If only...and I remember understanding deep in my spirit the unending love God had for me and for my baby. He so wanted to restore my joy that had been slipping away the past few difficult years of being a young mother with three children under five. I am that weeping woman wrapped in the arms of her loving savior.

I am me, a 30 year-old, tired of trying to live up to everyone elses expectations of who I am supposed to be. I am breaking free from societal bonds and beginning to believe that my creator has more for me than a rat race of one-upsing the Jones'. I am beginning to break free of the unspoken and spoken expectations put on myself and my family. I am breaking free from "Robot World" and cheerfully taking off the layers of pretense that have covered me as I tried to live up to everyone else's expectations. I'm learning not to care that the robot's are angry that I don't have to wear their winter clothes anymore.

And I am me, free, 37 year-old, Missy Hancock, wife, still feeling a bit unsure that I am really a woman- that I am really a grown up. I am me, mother of six of the most amazing human beings I could ever imagine. I am me, daughter of a king and bondservant to the maker of heaven and earth. I am me, struggling artist, fledgling writer, struggling like the little bird my daughter, Kyrra, watched today learn to fly. I flap and I flap and just as I start to rise off of the ground, I get afraid, confused, and distracted. "What am I doing? Who do I think I am? What on earth do I have to say that anyone would want to hear?"

I believe I was right to think that you just can't make this stuff up. But Madeleine is right too. I don't have to make it up, because I am so many memories, walking, breathing, and waiting to be brought to life on the page.

I am me, courageous, afraid, in love, in fear, in faith and always covered in His grace.

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

2008-07-11T13:10:00.004-05:00

- Shawn Hancock

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear...
(1 John 4:18)

Although this verse has to do with our relationship with God, I believe He is showing me that “Perfect love casts out fear” applies to a general purpose. This statement often comes to mind and I have given much thought to it’s meaning. What do love and fear have to do with one another and how does love cast out fear? I can understand how love can cast out hate but how does it cast out fear? I believe He is showing me that the answer is in the perfect part. When Jesus teaches us to love our enemies he takes love up a couple of notches. He had already taken it up a notch by telling us to love our neighbors as ourselves. The loving ourselves is hard enough, but to love those irritating neighbors is something else. Now Jesus ups the anti even more by calling us to a place of experiencing love for our enemies, a more “perfect” love. When you can love your enemy you no longer fear him and you can live in a place of peace even in the midst of war.

During World War II the American government released a series of propaganda posters depicting the Japanese as fanged monsters coming to destroy us and our families. By creating our enemy as inhuman monsters, the people didn’t have a problem with rallying behind the war cause. In the end there was little to no objections in using nuclear weapons on two Japanese cities only to find out later that these people were humans after all. I’m not trying to judge that generation. I believe they did the best they could and it was a war that had to be won. It is this dehumanizing the enemy that concerns me. It is the fear of what the enemy may do to us that propels our hatred for them. It is not hatred, but fear that propels violence.

Today’s circumstances have changed with modern technology. The government can not simply tell us that our enemies are monsters. We know more about our world and we know that our enemies are humans with families and lives that consist of more than chanting and throwing rocks. We have to accept that we are responsible for our actions. If we were to actually reach out to our enemies in love we would understand them more, we would know why they believe what they believe and do what they do. We wouldn’t assume that they all have one mind for evil. We would no longer assume the worst and fear that they are coming to destroy our way of life. If we could love them, we may actually live in peace with them.

Why do we so flippantly ignore the teachings of the one we call Lord? Why in hard times do we look toward human leaders to lead us to peace when we don’t even have confidence in their ability to represent us with dignity? Why don’t we hear the words of the one we call Creator and apply the teachings of the one who gave his own life to save ours? While we were sinners, Jesus died for us. While we were his enemy, he gave his life for us. This is perfect love. It is a place of perfect peace and it is a place He has called us to. Isn’t it worth trying?

"You have heard that it was said, 'You Shall Love Your Neighbor and hate your enemy.' "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? "If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
- Jesus (Matthew 5:43-48)

I'm Right, you know...

2008-07-09T00:44:00.009-05:00

-Missy Hancock

Why is it so damn important to be right? Pardon my french, but really, our overwhelming desire to be right, to be on the winning side or to look good quite often cripples us more than we know. For example, I recently read a few essays from Anne Lamott's book, "Plan B, Further Thoughts on Faith". I giggled out loud as I read, which is something I rarely do, but when it happens, it is golden! The sad thing is, I knew I liked her writing style because I had read snippets of Traveling Mercies several years ago when it first came out. But I did not let myself go ahead and read her books in their entirity
1) because she says and does things like referring to God as "either he or she" and sometimes will use "she" instead of "he" when speaking of God. I mean, really, how dare she? We all know that God has a penis...don't we? and
2) she spoke too much "anti-Bush" sense while I was still desperately trying to be a good conservative Republican girl.

Now, let me explain, that I still pretty much hold the view that "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do," the words of my savior on the cross, are enough for me to accept God as father, and father as male. So I still feel its a bit unneccesarry to refer to God as anything but He. And as I pray and submit myself to God on political matters, I find myself neither a Conservative Republican or a Liberal Democrat or any other combination of political categories. I believe in freedom to be and do what the creator of the universe calls me to be and do. And from what I can tell, neither side supports that.

What saddens me is that I have missed out on a really good writer, because she didn't think the exact same way as me and so either she was right and I was wrong or I was right and she was wrong and either way we were on opposing sides so I couldn't read her books, right? It all sounds so ridiculous and you are probably thinking what a narrow-minded idiot I must be, but the truth is we all have a tendency to narrow-mindedness. We all want to be right. So if we want to believe that Bush is a God-fearing, truth-loving, red-blooded American, then we can't read the opinion of anyone who would dare say otherwise. And if we want to believe he is the devil incarnate, we can't read someone who supports him, either. And if we're a Christian, we can't read an Atheist and if we're an Atheist, we can't read a Christian. And if we're a Christian or and Atheist, we can't read a Buddist or a Muslim. Because everybody knows that it is best to keep to your own kind and that a society cannot succeed that embraces differences- PHOOEY! (I had to add the "Phooey" as I just envisioned this line being pulled out and quoted! Wouldn't that be a kicker? To finally get quoted by someone and have it be some racist, tongue in cheek, mockery gone awry!)

The truth is we're all probably a little bit right and a whole lot wrong and the only way to grow is to listen, to think, and to pray. Afterall, He's the only one who really knows anything, anyway!

Hide and Seek

2008-06-25T00:06:00.008-05:00

-Missy Hancock

image borrowed from pimpedfiction.wordpress.com

Is a part of you hiding? You know, that creative part of yourself that loves nothing more than to pour your soul into a poem, or paint a picture uninhibitedly. Are you a closet artist? So many of us are hiding. Some of us have hidden our artistic selves so well, that we've almost forgotten them....almost; until we come across a songwriter or poet and we let out a short gasp and a long sigh and say, "I used to write." We may meet someone who is out there doing one-man-shows or auditioning for the community theatre and we pipe in, "I was in drama club in high school. I even had a drama scholarship!"....another sigh.

Those of us who are in hiding are the greatest fans of the arts. We're the biggest supporters of other artists and we never fail to encourage the very acts we won't allow ourselves the chance to do. We long to paint, so we buy other peoples paintings. (Not a bad thing, by the way.) But just once, when you are feeling that creative bug, I challenge you- TO CREATE! Come out of hiding and make the art you love.

For years, I was one of these people, complimenting artists and sighing wistfully. You see, I did what alot of us "shadow artists" (as Julia Cameron calls us) do. I married an artist, a really talented one, by the way, and I promptly proceeded to pack "my artist" away. After all, "We can't BOTH be artists, we'll starve!" I believe were the exact words I wrote in my journal. He was "the good artist" or "the real artist" with far more potential than me anyway, right? It was the right thing to do. Right? WRONG! If God made you an artist- He made you an artist. And all you are accomplishing by not writing, painting, making music, acting, etc. is losing valuable time!

It is important for you to understand something; to take time to create the things God has given you to create, can and should be an act of worship! It is not selfish, it is obedient to the Spirit of God, which time and time again, draws you back to the page, or the canvas, or the piano. It is that spirit that longs to lead you in your art into worshipful service of the God of the universe.

Oh, OK! Now I sound crazy. You were with me, until I started acting like your' writing a poem was this "world-altering" act of worship. I bet the person who sat down one day and wrote "Footprints in the Sand" didn't think they were doing something of epic proportion and yet how many people have been ministered to by the revelation that Jesus is carrying them when they feel so helpless. How many hearts have melted and self-wills been abandoned to Christ while singing "Amazing Grace"?

There are so many things God has for us to say. There are so many things God has for us to paint. God is orchestrating music in some of your hearts. The God of the Universe, the CREATOR of the universe is whispering ideas and He is just waiting for you, for ME, to CREATE THEM!

Artists, stop hiding and seek the one true God, only then will you truly be found.

No Fear and Faith

2008-06-24T23:03:00.012-05:00

-Shawn Hancock

I was once working on an art project for a children’s ministry. I noticed that one of the ladies in charge was always testing things. She would buy several types of paint to sample on different surfaces and she would ask an endless number of questions concerning the specifics of the project. I thought the process was very odd and honestly very frustrating. I just wanted to get started without all this prep work. When we finally got started, she asked me,
“How do you do it?”
“How do I do what?” I asked.
“How do you just jump into a project with a no fear attitude?”
I hadn’t given it much thought until she said something but I do have a no fear attitude when it comes to artistic things. I just thought she was being anal with the whole testing process, but the fact of the matter is she was afraid to get started.

I guess you could say that I have always had this no fear attitude. I have never been afraid of an art project. Some are more intimidating than others but I have always jumped into it. I guess it is because I am comfortable with the process and comfortable with my ability as an artist. I wish it were that way for me with business, people skills and other aspects of life.

I was thinking back on that event and realized that it is the same with faith. It really isn’t about our ability or even our standing with God. It is more about how comfortable we are and about jumping in. The comfort level comes with knowing that God is loving and cares about the things we care about. In knowing that there is really nothing to be afraid of, and being comfortable in the process of asking and receiving. I admire Missy when she prays at the drop of a hat. Someone will often ask her to keep them in her prayers and she will reply “let’s pray right now!” We have seen God do great things for us and I believe it is because Missy is quick and comfortable enough to ask.

Sometimes we get this idea that we bug God. We tend to think that if we are going to ask God for something it shouldn’t be something insignificant. It should be a good prayer about something important. The problem with that is, if you don’t have the faith for the small thing, how are you going to have the faith for the big thing? Don’t wait for someone you love to be on their death bed before you start asking. I’m not saying He won’t answer your prayer at that time. I’m saying, if you start building your faith on the small things you won’t have a problem asking for a big thing. This is because you have already seen the fruit of your prayers.

When I was a kid I made many mistakes in my art projects but as an adult I have more confidence in these projects. I’m sure everyone has the same confidence in something they do. We need to keep in mind that faith is the same way. An experienced plumber doesn’t hesitate when he installs a sink. It is second nature to him and so should our faith be second nature to us. After all there is nothing to fear.

[Him=Jesus]

2008-06-15T23:59:00.005-05:00

-Missy Hancock

Sometimes I think life would be easier if I were just able to decide that it didn’t have any real purpose or meaning. That nothing really mattered, and nothing was really eternal. Sometimes I think that. But just because we think something doesn’t make it true. This has been my internal struggle for a while now. I have been trying to sort out the meaning of life. And so, in my frustration, I want it to mean nothing and then I can’t fail at something that means nothing, right? What I forget is that a life submitted to Christ can never fail. Not to say, that it can’t look like a failure to others. But to live for Christ is all the success one can hope for. My problem is my heart knows this truth,but my head wants the success of this world. Or maybe my problem is that my head knows this truth, but my heart wants the success of this world. That is probably more likely the case. I tend to follow my heart. If my heart had really settled on “To live is Christ, to die is gain” like Paul says, then I think I would not continue to long for worldly success. It is always a heart issue. But then I think, “What if?” What if God has things I am supposed to do and say, and so I will not be content until I do and say them? What if this discontentment is not lust for worldly fame or fortune, but what if it is a motivator from God. Something He has put in me to keep me moving forward searching for the thing that fills this void. The void is confusing to me as well, because are Christians supposed to feel a void at all? Isn’t there a “God-shaped hole in all of us” and when we fill it with Jesus we are never supposed to feel an emptiness again. And I am left thinking I missed something. Since I seem to be into Christian song euphemisms, I should mention that yesterday as I internally struggled with the whole meaning of life issue, I could not get out of my head the lyrics from a popular Christian praise song, “All of life comes down to just one thing and that’s to know you, Lord Jesus, and to make you known.” All of life comes down to just one thing and that’s to know you, Lord Jesus, and to make you known. All of life comes down to just one thing and that’s to know you, Lord Jesus, and to make you known. You see, even now I can’t seem to shake it. Why can’t I shake it? Is it because I don’t believe it and know I should? Or is it because I so deeply believe it in my heart and am trying to line up my mind with my heart? So many questions! So many questions, but only one answer....Him.

The answer is....Him. The answer is Him. The answer is always Him. I may be wondering how I can possibly make it. The answer is Him. I may want to know "Why?" The answer is Him. I may cry out in the night, afraid and feeling abandoned. The answer is Him! "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) The answer is Him, Him, glorious Him.

Jesus died to save us. To SAVE us! He is our "savior". We have heard it too many times and it has become meaningless to us. The only reason to save someone is if they are in peril. It is the one who is overcome who is in need of saving. I was overcome by despair, but my savior rescued me from the grip of despair, from the talons of hopelessness. I was a captive of want, like a pit of quicksand I was sinking. When out of nowhere the God of the Universe swept down and pulled me from the clutches of need and want. "What I have in God is greater that what I don't have in life." -Max Lucado, Traveling Light

To be saved is to be rescued from whatever place of imprisonment one finds themself in. We all build different prisons for ourselves- be it relationships, sin, abuse, real or imagined- the bars are all the same. They seem formidable and unbreakable till our heart cries out for a savior - until we call upon the Lord. And then we watch as the bars turn to vapor and the Prince of Peace turns our turmoil in to peace.

I am angry. The answer is Him. I am afraid. The answer is Him. I am alone. The answer is Him. I am lost. The answer is Him.

And so, I fall to my face and call on............Him.

I Married DaVinci

2008-06-08T16:47:00.005-05:00

-Missy Hancock

It has happened many times. I hear an interesting story about Leonardo, and it rings with uncanny similarity to life with my husband. I heard a story once about how frustrated the monks would get with Leonardo when he was painting "The Last Supper". They would report that Leonardo would show up to paint and instead would just sit and stare at his painting for hours and then leave. My husband used to do sets for plays and stage productions. We would inevitably be there late at night working and while all I would want to do was go home and crawl into bed, it was then that he would start the "sitting and staring phase" of his work. A phase he has explained to me numerous times is just as valuable as the hands on part. He would sit and stare at the stage for what seemed like hours. The monks had nothing on me!

My sister and her husband toured the Leonardo DaVinci museum in, I believe, Vinci, Italy. She called me to tell me that throughout the whole tour she kept thinking of Shawn. Finally towards the end of the tour her husband looked at her and said "Shawn is just like Leonardo DaVinci". I don't know if it was the plethora of drawings and plans for ways to fly, submarines, and crazy inventions that could change his world, or the tales of a man always knee deep in a million projects that was most reminiscent of my love. It doesn't matter because each describe him equally as well.

My dear husband is always trying to come up with a better way. His most notorious invention however, involved transforming my ample bosom in a worn out brassiere into a set of perky, sky-saluting boobies, which he did in a pretty impressive way. We were getting ready for a Christmas party when I complained that none of my bras were doing the job that I needed them to do. I asked him to tighten my straps for me and the next thing I knew he was nipping and tucking and safety pinning my brassiere to the back of my pant's waistband. Now, under normal circumstances, I think the two of us might have thought this through a little more thoroughly, but as we were running late and both taken back by the stunning transformation he had managed to make of my tired bustline; we just marveled and moved on, loading three little ones up in order to drop them off at the nursery that would be provided during the party.

It was a lovely evening! We laughed. We indulged in adult conversation and holiday food and drink. When I looked at the clock, it was like Cinderella at the strike of midnight. I had not paid attention to the time and had but five minutes to pick up our children! I needed to use the restroom but this would have to wait. I rushed out into the cold night air, leaving my husband at the party, as the hosts had suggested that all the parents should return with their children, so that the festivities could continue.

The pressure in my bladder mounted but I was already two minutes late by the time I arrived at the nursery, so, I decided, I would have to pick up my kiddos before making my increasingly necessary pit stop. I gathered my children, then ages five, three, and one, made my apologies and in absolute desperation headed toward the facilities, willing my bladder not to explode. I was all but holding my crotch to keep it in. With great relief I threw open the stall, slammed it shut behind me and went to pull down my pants, when much to my surprise, they wouldn't budge. I yanked and yanked in desperation and with a helpless squeal felt the rush of warmth run down my legs, completely saturating myself. It was a horrible moment of great relief. All was lost. I then had to figure out how to make it to our vehicle without anyone realizing I was soaked in urine.

My children were aghast; absolutely shocked! I mean hadn't I given my three year old more than one lecture on this matter? My coat hid my butt, but the legs of my dress pants were obviously soaked, so I had my three year old daughter "Walk right behind me, so noone can see that mommy has peed her pants!" We rushed to the car, where I dug through the trash on the floorboards to find a plastic grocery sack to protect the seat with.

Needless to say, we did not return to the party. I sent my six year old son into the house to get his father. Our friends who were hosting the party came out to the car to try and talk me into staying at which point I had to confess the disastrous effects of my darling hubbie's "uplifting" new invention. To which they laughed uncontrollably and bid us farewell! I'm sure things didn't always work out quite right for old Leonardo either. And after all, it may have cut our evening short, but for a few hours there, I had some pretty hot boobies; something I suspect both Leonardo and my husband could appreciate.

Our Idea of Perfection

2008-06-07T14:35:00.008-05:00

- Shawn Hancock

I once watched an interesting show about art and ancient civilizations. Apparently at one point in history the ancient Egyptians and Greeks got together and traded sculpting information. The Egyptians knew how to build extra large statues where as the Greeks were only sculpting figurines. The Greek sculptures, on the other hand, were more anatomically accurate opposed to the Egyptians block like figures. After combining technology the race was on to create the perfect large size sculpture with anatomical accuracy. The goal was achieved in a sculpture called Kritios Boy. The statue is self supporting, depicting a boy with his weight relaxed on one leg. Although being accurate, it is believed that it was not as well received as other sculptures of that time. The people were much more interested in statues that over exaggerated the human body. If you examine some other sculptures from ancient Greece you would see that the bodies, though looking grand and perfect, are actually inaccurate. They are in fact misshapen with missing tale bones to accentuate the buttocks, added muscles in the abdomen and lengthier legs. The people didn’t really want an accurate depiction of the human body, they wanted gods.

This desire remains in us today and this technique can be seen in various ways. We know about how graphic designers use Photoshop to create the perfect person for magazine covers and advertisements. The same technique of over exaggerating is used by comic book artists when illustrating super heroes. We have not limited this desire for the exaggerated to art and publication, we also include it in other aspects of our lives. We have lost the desire for that which is real and normal and traded it for a desire for the unreal or super real. The ordinary has become detestable and the extraordinary has become the thing we believe we are entitled to. Not only are we trying to sculpt our own bodies into perfection we are trying to sculpt our relationships into perfection; our love relationships, family relationships, friend relationships, business relationships, and even our relationship with God.

There is a belief in many churches today that has to do with a spirit of excellence. The philosophy is that we give our best to God and should do our best to achieve excellence. Therefore, every project that is undertaken has a priority of achieving it with excellence. However, by taking on this philosophy we excel in one area and neglect another. This is because our idea of what is excellent or perfect has been blown to extraordinary proportions. We may participate in a ministry that has a priority of excellence and at the same time neglect our relationship with our family or our relationship with God.

The philosophy of perfection causes our perspective of God to be skewed. We put such high and unreal expectations on ourselves that we forget about God’s grace, mercy, patience, kindness and love. We then perceive God to be a taskmaster pushing us to achieve that which is unattainable instead of perceiving Him as a loving Father. God has a larger view of what is perfect. A view that is more about our wholeness and not about how extraordinary we are. By seeing perfection the way God sees it, we would stop putting unreasonable expectations on ourselves and see that this level of excellence is highly overrated. To aspire to our own ideas of perfection is to cause ourselves to become misshapen; therefore, we should always depend on God’s leading to show us the way.

God's Plan For Artists

2008-06-02T13:38:00.008-05:00

- Shawn Hancock

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I once heard a woman on television use this scripture to support the idea that God wants you to be rich. I have problems with this philosophy, not because I don’t think God wants people to be rich but because this idea often replaces God. People hear that God wants them to be rich, so they make it their goal to be rich believing they have the support of God. Unfortunately their goal is to be rich and not to know God. Which completely contradicts where this verse comes from.
I wanted to know more about this verse so I did a little more research as to it’s context.
Other versions use the word “welfare” instead of “prosper”.
The New King James Version uses the word “peace”.
In modern christian thinking the word “prosper” means wealth but we can see that God has more in mind here.

You might be surprised, as I was, as to whom God was actually talking to.

Jeremiah 29:1-2 (New International Version)
This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
(This was after King Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.)

Jeremiah 24:1 (New International Version)
After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon...

Jeremiah 52:15 (New American Standard Bible)
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans.

Three times we see here that among the people this promise is for are artists.
If you read the book of Jeremiah you can see that God is upset with the people of Israel. The main reason mentioned over and over is that the people don’t listen to God’s voice, they don’t listen to Him, they don’t “incline their ear” to Him, they completely disregard Him and proceed to do whatever they want.
Out of disobedient nations God chooses to bless those who will listen to his voice.

Jeremiah 24:4-7 (NIV)
4 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
5 "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.
6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.
7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

I’m not exactly sure why God chose these people to bless, except that they were people who would be inclined to listen to his voice; and why are some of these people artists? In God’s for-mentioned plan does He have something specific for the artists? When one political system or government overthrows another, we know that among the first people to go to prison are the artists, specifically poets and writers. These are the people who bring about change. These are the people who rally others to carry on and fight the good fight or to rise up against tyranny. Was it God’s intention that the artists, having a heart to know Him, would encourage future generations to have a heart to know Him. I like to think so. I believe this is still going on today and we artists today can be part of the promises God had for the exiled artists in Jeremiah's day. If we will listen to His voice, have a heart to know Him, He will give us peace, hope and a future.

Ripples

2008-05-28T11:45:00.009-05:00

-Missy Hancock

People like to collect things, children especially; and collections can be ridiculously expensive or absolutely free. I heard of one clever family whose children collected banana stickers. You know, those little stickers on your bananas that tell you where they were grown. These kids would post their stickers on a map of the country the bananas had originated from and since bananas were a staple in their diet, their collection grew and grew. Of course, when my frugal self tried to rouse interest in the whole banana sticker thing with my children, they were not interested in the stickers any further than sticking them on their shirt or nose. They definitely did not see them as "collectible".

As a child, I collected words. Not in the vocabulary sense although I always loved that "Word Power" section in the Readers Digest. No, the words I collected were ones of the inspiring nature. I loved poems and quotes. I was the only child I knew who would sit for hours and listen to cassette tapes of Zig Ziglar (a popular motivational speaker in the seventies). I read books like The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino and Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. One of my favorite little inspirations was on a pad of stationary I had. "Drop a stone into the water, in a moment it is gone, but there are a thousand ripples, circling on and on. Say an unkind word this moment, in a moment it is gone, but there are a thousand ripples, circling on and on."

My husband, Shawn, recently had an eye-opening revelation. He realized that he abused himself with his internal dialogue. He realized that he would say things to himself that he would never say to anyone else. He would ruthlessly belittle himself when he made a mistake. he would call himself names and finally, after all these years of abuse, he stood up to himself. And he forgave himself.

Some of you have a vicious inner critic. You carry on an internal dialogue of unfair criticism and abuse. There are a thousand ripples circling on and on from that self abuse. One ripple might be that you are unable to move forward in your art. Why would you want to when you have an internal critic waiting to rip to shreds any attempt at your craft. Another ripple may be a lack of the success that would be yours if you allowed yourself the freedom to press forward in the things God has for you. Another ripple may be broken or unrealized relationships.

You were created for more than this! I have one very important truth for you to internalize- it's NOT too late for you! Julia Cameron has the most beautiful example of this in The Artist's Way. To the person who wants to start playing the piano but instead says "Do you know how old I will be by the time I am able to play well?", she replies "Yes, the same age you will be if you don't learn to play the piano." This made my heart soar. We are going to age anyway, why not age running toward our dreams instead of sitting in a pool of regrets.

IT IS NOT TOO LATE FOR YOU! You haven't "missed your boat" because your ticket is a general pass and boats run every half hour. Stop living in fear and shame. Give yourself the same chance you would give your dearest loved one. Climb on board, tell your inner critic to settle down, you're in control and everything's going to be OK, and start enjoying the ride! If you have lost sight of your dreams, if you have forgotten what it is that makes your heart happy, then pray, ask the God of the universe to show you what He has for you. Because the lives He has for us are always better than the lives we would give ourselves.

An Artist's Tale

2008-05-28T11:40:00.004-05:00

-Missy Hancock

This necklace is a "Shakespeare Stone" created by Missy Hancock. This one and many other varieties are available for sale at www.hancockfamilyart.etsy.com

Everyone is fine with the creative soul
Who is rolling in the dough.
The one whose songs are selling
And whose face is on the cover of The Rolling Stone.
We're not only fine with him,
But we fawn after him.
Admiringly listening of his late night antics
Concerned for him as he goes in and out of rehab
"That's too bad!" we say.
We bob our heads to his sounds
as we drive to our offices,
And if we think about him at all
It is "Boy- He's got the LIFE!"

But...for the 30 year old,
working at Long John Silvers.
Off and on- in between gigs
There is only disdain.

His behavior is tolerable
only if he has NOT married & procreated.
We just wonder when & IF he will EVER GROW UP?!

As for the man who marries
and dares to have a child,
If he throws all caution to the wind
and has two or three or four or more...
If he trusts Jesus just a little too much,
for everyone else's comfort.
And he takes Jesus at His word
When He says, "Don't worry
about tomorrow or about
what you will eat or drink.
And God always provides for him.

But not in a way that makes
Grandma happy
or Grandpa proud.

And if his wife loves him
and his lights get turned off
And they light candles and
try to be thankful
for all the things they DO have.
And they read CS Lewis by candle-light.
And the curly-haired little heads
of their children are filled with wonder,
As they learn of magic rings
That will transport you to another world
Where animals can talk and
Children can fight for peace.

And they run a cord across the street
Because they have a nice neighbor
and they just bought groceries.
And she helps them keep the refrigerator on.

And they look at the world around them
and they hear tell that they are crazy
and that they are failures because

MONEY MATTERS
and only a fool would invest in
Jesus or art instead of an IRA.

And they have a fight
and feel like fools
And wonder how on earth
they thought they could
make it this way.

They walked a path less traveled,
They made their own path some days
and they look at their kids
And say, "I'm sorry- I don't know why
God didn't see fit to make us rich."

And their daughter looks up
with eyes filled with the love of Christ
And says
"Because I wouldn't be the
person I am- if we were rich.
And I wouldn't like
the person I would be.
And besides, how could we
minister to the people we do
If we hadn't walked in their shoes, too?
God loves us too much for that!"

And the shame fades.
And truth shines bright in their eyes.
And they remember that
God is on their side.
And the man kisses his wife.
And she apologizes for the fight.
And they paint another painting.
And write another song.
And pray another prayer
to keep the electricity on.

God Makes the Way

2008-05-22T12:53:00.012-05:00

-Missy Hancock

Our son is on the other side of the world right now and I miss him so much. He has been to London and Oxford in the UK. He has been to Stonehenge and to the homes of both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R.Tolkein. He has sat where Lewis sat in church and walked where Tolkien walked, two of his heroes. Another of Gabriel's heroes is Martin Luther, and so Gabriel went to Wittenburg, Germany. He stood before the church where Martin Luther posted his 95 Thesis of Contention against the Catholic Church. He was in Luther's home and touched the table that Luther would sit at, maybe even to write and transcribe the Bible into German. You see, Luther believed a man should read and understand the bible for himself; and, in part, because of the reformation Luther started, I am able to look into the eyes of my sixteen year old son, whose faith is firmly planted in Jesus Christ. Gabriel thinks through what he believes and truly owns his faith. He has gone to Berlin, walked casually by banks that used to be Nazi headquarters. He visited the home of a family of heroes, the TenBoom home in Harlem, Netherlands. The TenBoom's were a Christian family who risked everything to hide Jews from the Nazi's when Harlem was occupied by the Germans in WW II. In this little home, an underground headquarters was run to help hundreds of Jews in a horribly black time of human history. (If you haven't already done it, you MUST read The Hiding Place by the Sherrill's, it will change your life!) It makes my heart so happy that my son's heroes are heroes of the Christian faith. His next destination- Paris, where he will spend much of next week exploring the city of love with his aunt and uncle who called it home for five years. They will take him to all their favorite haunts, and he will experience for the first time a country in which everyone will not simply switch to English when speaking to him. And finally, they shall go to the Loire Valley, in the French countryside, where castles stand every half mile. He will visit the most beautiful castles in France. And also visit a castle which was home to Leonardo Da Vinci, for a few years of his later life.

At this point, you may very well be saying, "Well, goody for him!" but there is a point to all this beyond a proud mother's ramblings. God is faithful. He grants us the desires of our heart. I remember when our older children were young, praying that they could travel and see the world. I wanted so badly for the world to be bigger to them than Oklahoma, USA. I wanted them to realize their future could be anywhere God takes them. I will be perfectly content if they settle in Oklahoma, but I don't want them to settle for Oklahoma, thinking they have no other alternatives.

I prayed this prayer, and then we went into a ministry that has been rich in love but not yet in finances. What I am trying to say is that there is no way financially we could give this to our son. But God hears our prayers, even the ones we forget about. And when it lines up with His will, He makes a way.

This last Christmas, when my sister and her husband were in town visiting from the Netherlands where they live. They sat our family down and turned to Gabriel and said, "Gabriel, you are turning 16 this year, the age of adulthood in Europe, and for your birthday we want to give you the world!" And they continued to explain the adventure they had in store for him. Then they turned to the rest of our six children and said, "There is no way we could do this for just one of you, so I guess now each of you know what you'll get from us for your sixteenth birthday!" The thought just moves me to tears. This is no small gift and their generosity and sensitivity to the Spirit of God will not be forgotten.

Pray the dreams that seem impossible, and trust Him to unfold all that is best for you.

Trust

2008-05-21T12:45:00.008-05:00

-Missy Hancock

Trust...it is such a precarious thing. I have always hated, hated, hated the trust fall exercise that youth groups and improv classes have forced upon me. If you have not had the privilege of experiencing it yourself, here's the scoop. You are standing with someone to whom you are a casual acquaintance and the voice at the front of the room tells you to pick a partner, so you smile cordially and say, "Partners?". There are smiles and nods and then you hear the fateful words explaining, "Now you are going to turn your back to your partner and fall backwards into their arms- where, of course, they will catch you and a bond of trust will be formed." I think this is a cruel tactic- one should know what they need a partner for- knowing you are going to be required to fall into their arms and all... And I find it terribly ironic that every single time I have participated in this, someone has been dropped or not been caught at all. I ask you, "Does this exercise really build trust or simply strike fear in the hearts of men?"

Early in our marriage, it became apparent that I had trust issues. Not that I didn't feel trust for Shawn. In my brain, I completely trusted him. In my actions, I needed to be in control because truly I only trusted myself. It turned out that the issue was much deeper than just not trusting my husband. I didn't trust my God. I didn't trust that God had my best interests in mind. I didn't trust that He would really take care of me. I only trusted me; but, if the truth be told, I wasn't too sure of myself either. I had always loved the scripture, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths," but I had never applied it to my life. It was only pretty words and nice sentiment to me. Because I valued my marriage and didn't want to see it crumble, I began to learn to stop controlling and start trusting. I began to trust that Shawn had our best interests at heart. And more importantly, I began to believe and understand that God truly loves me and wants His best for me. If God is for us, who can be against us?

The thing is , I'm not special. God loves you every bit as much as he loves me. God looks into every dark crevice of your heart and longs to bring restoration and hope. He longs for you to trust Him and abandon yourself to His will for you.

I think quite often we tend to think of our dreams as selfish, without considering that they just may be hand placed into our hearts by our maker. I know this is one way Satan attack artists. He convinces them that to make their art; to write, or paint, or make music is a selfish act and should be put to the side. When the truth is God gave the artist the gifts and abilities and desire to create and, in a sense, it is selfish to ignore God's plans and not create. Another tactic of the enemy is to first, convince the artist that making his art is selfish, and then to convince him to rebel and do it anyway. Then the artist is not even remotely submitted to the Lord and it is much easier for Satan to manipulate the creativity of the artist.

Please understand, you don't have to rebel against God to pursue the very gifts he gave you. Submit to Him. Listen and be free. Trust that God is on your side! Trust Him.

Facing Our Problems with Creativity

2008-05-16T09:28:00.010-05:00

-Missy Hancock

One simply cannot beat the creative ingenuity of a child, because, to a child, ALL THINGS REALLY ARE POSSIBLE! Kids not only think to look for creative solutions- they FIND them!

A month or so ago, our eleven year old daughter Kyrra was wanting to start knitting again. She had learned a few years earlier but had forgotten and the recent offer of a friend to teach her sent her to me begging for knitting needles. My answer was positive, but very noncommittal, "I will get you some, sometime soon. But I don't know when I'll get the chance." Most people told to wait and given a noncommittal "someday" would pout and wonder why they could never do what they wanted when they wanted, and give up on the idea. I am happy to say this was not Kyrra's approach. She took my answer and went about her business. We were reading aloud together in school and she whispered, "Mom-mom can I get something real quick in the back yard?" I told her, "Yes," and off she ran. While we finished the chapter together, Kyrra listened and stripped the bark off of two sticks. After we finished, she asked if she could go "play" and ran out back. I went about my business and was joyously surprised later that afternoon when Kyrra burst into the room beaming, "Mom, never mind about the knitting needles. I made my own!" she said with a smile, and in her hands she held two wooden needles. My daughter had gone into the back yard found two straight sticks, stripped the bark off of them, found sandpaper and sanded them, and sharpened the ends to a point on the back porch cement. I was flabbergasted! She had looked at her problem and found a creative solution.

How many obstacles do we face each day that could be solved with creativity? Instead, we throw money unnecessarily at the obstacle. Sometimes we give up without ever really trying to find a solution. Too often, if we can't solve it with money- we give up.

I am fairly convinced that there is not a problem in the world that cannot be solved with one of three things (or most likely a combination of all three!) - creativity, tenacity, and prayer! May God grant us each an abundance of all three!

-Missy (P.S. She made another pair of knitting needles that are for sale at www.hancockfamilyart.etsy.com)

Hancock Family Moment

2008-05-09T14:29:00.007-05:00

-Missy Hancock

I was flipping through my journal looking for something when this entry jumped out at me and I realized how much I wanted to share this memory on our blog. So periodically, I will share snippets from our life when God leads. Most likely the snippets will all be the good things and not the bad because who really wants to read "Moments That Sucked" or "Bad Times at the Hancock's"? I hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy living them! :) This is my journal entry from October 13, 2007.

There is a disco party in my garage. The room is dark, the music is booming. Colored lights swirl on the ceiling and the walls, and my five daughters varying from ages 4 to 13 take turns swirling the flashlight as they all boogie to the rhythm of the night.

It all started with a roll of free black shag carpet, which to some, probably sounds ghastly but is actually very cool and "retro". It was given to us by an interior decorator friend who called and said "I have some carpet that is like new and would look great in your house." The next day my husband was punching the code into the little magic box that opened the gated communities gate and gave us the grooviest garage in the city.

And so, tonight, I rolled it out and called our children to see! It generated much excitement. We walked around on it barefoot marveling at how soft it felt as the fibers squished between our toes. Even without padding, it made the concrete floor soft and lush. Thinking little more of it, and with a wicked case of indigestion I retired to my bedroom to read a book and moan periodically, thereby notifying my husband, deep at work on the computer, that I might possibly be dying, or maybe I just needed to burp.

Regardless, it was out of this state that the faint thumping sounds beckoned me from my bed and led me back to the garage. As I threw open the door, my eyes fell on my daughters, dancing in the dark with a disco ball and a flashlight.

They had all changed clothes and were looking particularly psychedelic. Lizzy, our six year old, rushed into position at the stairs.
"Name." she said coolly.
Tessa, 13, said, "Give her a fake name mom, she has to see if your on "the list" and can get into the club. " To which I quickly responded,
"Oh, uh...un...Penelope Schooster-Schnooster-sssss..." I stammered.
Lizzy beamed, "OK- you're good," and welcomed me.

Well, stomachache or not, with the music booming in my ears and the smiles flashing from the beautiful faces of my daughters, I had to bust a few moves. And then I felt sick, and came back to the bedroom to capture this all to the page. Because, honestly, does it get any better than this???

Stolen Creativity

2008-05-08T11:36:00.012-05:00

- Shawn Hancock

Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain an artist once they grow up.
-Pablo Picasso

Everyone is born with the ability to be an artist and creativity does not need to be taught. Unfortunately, we don’t realize that we have to protect ourselves from these things being stolen from us.

Society does its best to rob us of God’s gifts that would reveal themselves in the forms of creativity and art. These gifts would include free thinking, individuality and self expression. From the time children enter daycare or preschool there is an agenda to steal their creativity. By the time of high school graduation very few have retained any creative skills at all. Somewhere along the way, creativity is completely stolen from them. It starts the moment they step foot into the school. The first thing to go is this coloring outside the lines business. “We shall have none of that, we want it to be perfect”, also known as “the standard”. The introduction of the standard is to erase any individuality by causing everyone to be the same and to comply with some higher entities narrow view of excellence. The most effective way of robbing creativity is simply by not encouraging it. In this so called “educational system,” children are instructed to participate in craft projects but are not encouraged to create from their own imagination. On the occasion that a child is told to be original and make something up, they are likely to say, “I don’t know what to do”. The teacher is all too eager to give direction and instruction instead of inspiration and encouragement. Students are given an opportunity to write about what they did over summer vacation but not about their ideas or feelings. They are not given a platform to express individual thought. Without a proper creative outlet, students have no choice but to express themselves in ways that can be very destructive. Broken families are the result of broken schools which greatly contribute to a broken society. This is a cycle of discouragement that continues to feed itself.

One day my son, who was ten at the time, drew an impressive picture of a man who was standing in the shadows with a trench coat and hat smoking a cigarette. I decided to hang it up by my desk at work. One by one people in the office would ask “oh, is that you?” assuming that the only picture a child can draw is a picture of their parents. Obviously the picture looked nothing like me. The man didn’t even have facial hair or glasses. The only reason they assumed it was me was because they have been conditioned to believe that children only draw what’s familiar to them. Far be it for a child to use their God-given imagination to be creative enough to develop a character. I became irritated by this and ranted on and on about how conforming everyone was and how the school system has killed creativity. Some time afterward a colleague of mine was picking her son up from school. As she was walking down the hallway she noticed pictures the students made hanging along the wall. They were all typical pictures of houses with the sun and trees, with glued on cotton for clouds. Every picture looked the same with very little difference from one to another. She told me she thought about my ranting.

It is just short of a miracle for a child to grow up participating in the educational system while retaining any of their creativity. It is easy for us to overlook this and continue with the status quo. Our world needs it's artists and it needs creative solutions to it's problems. We must keep a watchful eye and encourage creativity at every opportunity.

Confused Man

2008-05-05T13:44:00.001-05:00

-Tessa Hancock

Oh you confused man,
who knew the truth of this wicked world, but never knew the light.
You confused man,
who carries the weight of the world under your eyes.
You've never known true happiness.
You've never known my God.
The burden you carry is too heavy for your human spine.
You think you'll do fine.
But what do you know?
Your eyes are too weak.
Your heart is too heavy.
I just wish you knew how easy this could be.
He'll always love you despite your faults.
That's more than any mother, child, wife-
more than any other life- could do.
I just wish you knew.
He loves you for you.
That's why he made you.

-Tessa Hancock, age 13

Truth vs. Reality

2008-05-05T13:10:00.001-05:00

-Missy Hancock

In our last blog, we said, "In some ways, play can be a truer experience than much of reality." Here are some further thoughts on this....

I was first introduced to the idea that truth and reality are not necessarily the same thing by Madeleine L' Engle, in Walking on Water -Reflections on God and Art. She was sharing about how fiction is often much "truer" than non- fiction. A character in a fiction book who is going through the loss of a loved one may respond in a much truer way, it may be very real and comforting to a reader in the same place when a non-fiction work on "The 5 Steps to Overcoming Grief" may seem forced and intangible and not at all true or helpful to the reader. In this way, much of pretend and play can be deeply true, even if it isn't "real". While much of "real life" or reality can be very false. A good example of this is a child trapped in a school environment where they are bullied and teased. In real life, they are being told continually that they are stupid, worthless, etc. when this in NOT TRUE AT ALL! When the child goes home and is free from the abusive environment; when they make up other worlds in which they are cherished and encouraged- we call this pretend, or UNREAL. Sometimes it takes the make-believe for us to ever believe and see the truth at all.

Truth and reality are not always the same. The truth is you are a child of a living God, made for a purpose, to be loved and to love others. You have gifts and abilities that you were designed to use to make a difference in this world. You were created for a reason and these desires to change your world are not foolishness but are part of the heartbeat your maker gave you. Stop listening to what the world says about you. Stop leaning on reality. It is time to seek truth and make your own reality.

-Missy Hancock

the importance of PLAY!!!!

2008-05-01T10:31:00.001-05:00

-Missy Hancock

When you find yourself in a creative rut, the natural adult tendency is to buckle-down and work harder when quite often this will only further block you creatively. When you need a boost of creativity- when your stuck on a chapter or you can't seem to paint anything but crap, what you really need is play!

In some ways "play" is a truer experience than reality. When we're playing, anything is possible. I can be and do whatever I want to be and do in the "land of make-believe". Phillippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." This is reality, and yet so few of us live in that reality.

Most of us who have passed our mid-twenties have a chronic case of "adulthood". It is a serious killer of creativity and should be fought rigorously with a round of shots of "pretend" and if that doesn't work, a therapy regimen of "play" will have to be prescribed and much of it!

For creativity to flourish, a home must be filled with play. One of our favorite games to play is "Would You Rather?" (which apparently has actually been packaged and marketed- but all you really need is two people and their imaginations). It's easy, you're sitting at the restaurant with your family, waiting for the pizza to be brought out, and someone chimes in, "Would you rather eat a popcorn bowl full of boogers or drink a gallon jug of snot?" And suddenly the game is on!
All must be analyzed. "Are the boogers crunchy?" "Whose snot is it?" Questions are thrown about and discussed until everyone takes a turn giving their answers and explanations. Suddenly the mind is alive with possibilities! (And hopefully you still have a stomach to eat by the time the pizza comes out:))

Another fun game you can play when you're out and about running errands with your family (or even by yourself, for that matter) is to talk with British accents or southern drawls. If you really want to have fun- keep the accent when you're at the bank. You will be your children's hero and you will feel very, very silly and very alive!

G.K. Chesterton said, "The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground." G.K. was a very influential English writer of the early 20th century. He was incredibly prolific and diverse in his work which included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy, and detective fiction. It seems that in the artists life, play can make all the difference!

-Missy Hancock

One Good Thing

2008-04-29T09:03:00.001-05:00

-Missy Hancock

Life is about choices. I know it sounds cliche', but a destiny unfolds one choice at a time. One day about five years ago, I was visiting with this gorgeous older woman in her mid to late sixties. A group of us were talking about healthy living and we were all picking this woman's brain for she didn't look a day over forty-five. She was slender with nice muscle tone. Her skin was beautiful. She really just glowed and as we were all tired, somewhat bedraggled, young mothers, we desperately wanted to know her secret. Her advice was clear and simple and I'll never forget it. "Stop worrying about what you're doing wrong. Don't focus on eliminating things, like sugar or caffeine, just focus on ADDING in something good. Make a choice to eat one more piece of fruit a day. As you keep adding in the good stuff, the bad stuff will be squeezed out and you won't even realize it!"

"BRILLIANT!" I thought. This approach is golden. I can focus all day long on cutting back on soda but at the end of the day I've spent so much mental energy on not having one that all I want is a Coke! But if I tell myself, "Have a Coke, just have a refreshing glass of water first, then I feel refreshed before I ever pour myself a soda and I'll probably consume half of what I would have before.

It is a beautiful principle and it works pretty much in every circumstance. Many of us are bogged down by the stress and cares of this world, but to simply add in a prayer in the morning- "God, please guide my life today. Give me wisdom and peace. Give me courage and strength. Use me. Make me a light this day. I give you my day, do with me as you please," -this is what makes the difference. I guarantee that when we add in prayer, much of the bad stuff falls away. And the crap that remains is a whole lot easier to face with God by your side.

It is so easy to get trapped in negative thinking. Winston Churchill said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." I believe I am an optimist by nature, but when I stop doing two of my "good things", I am riddled with negativity. The first "good thing" that is most certainly out of whack when I find myself in these places is prayer. When I stop talking to my savior, my best friend, the one who loves me and keeps me, I am overwhelmed with negative thoughts.

The second "good thing" that is typically missing from my life during these dark times is my "morning pages". Julia Cameron, author of The Artists Way writes about the importance of dumping everything "on the page". She suggests that each morning, as soon as you wake up, you should pour out every thought, every prayer, every worry, every aggravation into your journal or a notebook. She suggests that you write until you've "dumped" three whole pages worth! The point of these ramblings is not to write your greatest work, although good things will sometimes be written. It is not to write something for all posterity, because a lot of what you write you would never want anyone to read. It's purpose truly is to "dump". If we stop taking literal "dumps"(aka. bowel movements), our bodies become toxic and we die. The purpose is to get rid of those toxic thoughts that our killing our joy and our creativity. We are to dump them on the page and leave them there. Then we are able to move forward in the things we are called to do, unfettered by the cares of this world. These two "good things", prayer and morning pages (which for me are quite often one and the same) transform my days.

So be encouraged! Stop focusing on all that you feel like your doing wrong and start choosing to add one good thing a day into your life until your life is so filled with the good things that
there's not room for anything else!

-Missy Hancock

DON'T...."Be Reasonable!"

2008-04-16T11:00:00.001-05:00

-Missy Hancock

George Bernard Shaw said , “Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.” Some would say that one of the most frustrating characteristics of the creative person is that often, quite often for some, they just don't seem reasonable! To follow rules is reasonable. To do what you are told is reasonable. To keep up appearances is reasonable. But to take time to make your art is not always reasonable.

There is never really a good time to pursue your art. There is always work to do. Dishes need loaded, laundry awaits, the grass keeps on growing and you can work forever and always find one more thing that needs to be taken care of before you can take time to create.
Your inner critic is constantly there to remind you of these tasks. And, believe me, the moment you ignore him and paint anyway or sit down to write- your critic will sigh loudly and tell you that one thing you have heard all your life, "You are not being reasonable!"

I beg you, I implore you, for the good and progress of mankind- not to mention your own mental health; STOP BEING SO REASONABLE! Don't do it! Just say NO! Don't be reasonable! Run barefoot in the field of life. Stop worrying about those stickers. Stickers happen and we heal, but to not run barefoot and carefree is to not have lived. To be reasonable and responsible and take care of every meaningless detail without allowing yourself the pleasure of creating your art is to not have lived. Do you really want to look back at your life and say, "I may not have written those books I wanted to, but I always had clean and neatly folded socks!" Or, "I wish I would have written songs, but I can tell you one thing for sure, my lawn was always nicely manicured." Or better yet, "I wanted to paint, but my graphic art customers always had nice ads."

I do not want to face death not having lived. For the creative spirit, creativity is the breath of life. To squelch that creative spirit by the mundane tasks of life is not only to suffocate your very soul but it squanders the gifts your maker gave you! God did not give you these special talents, abilities, interests, and nagging desires just for you to ignore them and completely invest yourself in common endeavors.

I feel that resistance rising up, even in myself. "Yes, but to do the 'common' things is to create an environment that is a blessing to my family. If I don't wash dishes, a very 'common' task, mealtime or simply walking through the kitchen will not be very pleasant!" This is all true and fine and certainly in all things there is a balance. Of course, we must take care of certain common responsibilities to have a life worth living but these common tasks can and will monopolize all of our time if we let them, and in the end we may have missed the real meaning to it all.

Erma Bombeck said it best, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me!'" God gave you these gifts to use- so DO IT! And I will too! :)

-Missy Hancock