Tag Archives: Motherhood

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My Resume’

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I recently applied for a grant for “emerging artists”.

What is an emerging artist?
*an artist who pops (emerges) out of a cake?
*an artist who slips onto shore from primordial slime?
*an artist who suddenly appears after being hidden?
*an artist who is endeavoring to gain acclaim in her medium of choice?

I wasn’t sure about the designation – emerging artist. Maybe that is part of the reason I didn’t get selected for funding. Maybe I haven’t “emerged.”

I had to fill out a resume for my application.

Resume’?

Wife and homemaker – 38 years
Mother – 4 grown (are they ever fully grown?) children
Grandmother – 11 grandchildren

These are the things that define me and my life, yet they are NOT what reviewers are looking for on a resume’. They want to know what I have done “professionally”.

That means work I was paid for in legal tender.

I have been paid relatively little for my art work, but that has not stopped me from enjoying the process as well as the results.

The resume’ has made me think about being an artist and my motivation for creating art.

My life verse is Romans 12:2 (NLT)

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

This influences my art work just as it does every part of my life. I must not be concerned about recognition from the art establishment (scary thought?). I must create from the place where I am a new creation. This may mean I am never “in” – or it may mean recognition. Michelangelo, widely considered one of the greatest artists of all time, wrote that he was compelled to create art by God. His statue Pieta was conceived from Michelangelo’s devotion to Jesus and Mary. One can hardly look at that masterpiece without sensing a divine inspiration.

Francis Chan writes in his book about the Holy Spirit – The Forgotten God – that our resume should look like the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Resume’ – Gayle Woody – birth – 1951, re-birth – 1957

Love – 56 years of experiencing God’s love,
expresses God’s love when she forgets about self
Joy – 56 years of knowing the joy of relationship with her Heavenly Father
joy spills over to others when her heart is thankful
Peace – 56 years of experiencing God’s peace which passes understanding
peaceful when her eyes are fixed on Jesus

These are the life qualities that really matter. Our time spent with children and grandchildren have eternal value. Nothing can take away the love, joy, and peace that comes from the Holy Spirit.

My art work is temporary. I have told my friends and family that when they are tired of the art I have “blessed” them with, they are free to dispose of it.

I plan to continue to create art. I plan to honor God through my artistic expression.

I want my resume’ to be filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

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Stand Strong

Wood Girls - spring 2012

“The most dangerous attitude a person can have is ‘That will never happen to me.’ It is dangerous because your guard is down and you are vulnerable to attack.”
This sentiment was a warning in a book written in 1984 by J. Allen Petersen called The Myth of the Greener Grass.

The point of this book was to warn pastors of the dangers of sexual sin for those in pastoral ministry. If a pastor thinks he is immune to the temptations of affairs or sexual encounters, Dr. Petersen warns that pastor is setting himself up for disaster.

As a parent, if I think I would NEVER
* hit my child in anger
* slap my child if they talk back
* respond with hurtful words when I have been hurt
* ignore my child when they sincerely need my attention
then I need to read the following Scripture…

I Corinthinas 10:12-13
12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

As a mother, I need to heed this warning. I can remember thinking…I will NEVER do that!… after seeing a parent treat a child harshly. Emotions can be so volatile. It can be a weak moment when I am tired, I may not be feeling well, I may even be worried or afraid. These are the very times I need God’s strength to stand against the temptation to react to my children in unloving ways.

All our grandchildren who were old enough attended Bible School this summer, some in Washington State and some in North Carolina. They all had the same theme – Stand Strong. They learned that God’s love, family and friends, prayer, and God’s Word all help us stand strong in our faith.

I love hearing our grandchildren singing about standing strong as Christians. I need to apply those same principles to my life. The challange for me is to not grow complacent or think I am above “falling”.

What a joy it is to stand strong together in our families!

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Having it All…But Not All at Once…Part 2

Three Generations - Four Mothers

Three Generations – Four Mothers

I remember as a little girl my mother telling me that when I grew up I could be anything God wanted me to be. What a wonderful gift! There was no limit to what I could become because I knew God was all powerful. I was never told I couldn’t be something because I was a girl. The clear message I heard was that God had a plan for me – and it could be anything.

I had two brothers, one older and one younger and I never felt that they had more options in life than me. God had a plan for each of us based on His will. My options were not based on societal norms, pressures to be successful, or pressure from my parents to live their unfulfilled dreams through me. The only expectation I felt was that God had a plan for my life and it was GOOD.

I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I began teaching my stuffed animals and dolls at a young age. I also played church and would lead the singing, preach, and take up the offering. I did it all! One Sunday when I was in 1st grade, I went to Sunday School and told Mrs. Green my Sunday School teacher that I would teach the lesson that day. (she told me this many years later – I hope I asked her and didn’t just tell her – but like I said – I always wanted to teach!)

I taught for three years during which time I got married. I became pregnant after we were married a year and a half. The Lead Teacher at Almond School where I taught was a dedicated teacher I very much respected. She told me when she found out I was pregnant that if I could, I should stay home with my baby until he got older. She had gone right back to work after the birth of each of her two children and she said that if she had it to do over, she would have stayed home a few years.

Phil had decided to go to seminary, but we tightened our belts and I stayed home for the next 10 years. After that I worked part time for several years, going back to full time teaching in 2002.

Does that sound like a lot? I did NOT do it all at once!

I mention this because our culture scares women into thinking that they must stay in their job or they will lose every opportunity. There is also a strong message that women who do choose to stay home are missing out “on something”. I have been blessed to be able to teach public school, teach as a volunteer in a Christian school, work part time as a Health Education Specialist, and teach full time again. I also have been able to create art here and there along the way.

The point is NOT whether you are working outside your home or at home, or both – the issue is having peace that you are where God wants you to be at this time.
Let me share briefly about the next generation of women in my family. Our three daughters all graduated from college and each pursued various careers in: Legislative Staff for a US Congressman on Capitol Hill, teaching high school Political Science, nursing, coaching women’s soccer at every level from college to middle school, teaching Special Education at the elementary and middle school levels, and staying home with young children.

Does that sound like a lot? They did NOT do it all, nor all at once!

What I want to communicate clearly to the next generation, our grandchildren, is that God has a plan for their lives that will allow them to use their unique gifts and abilities while serving Him.

Ephesians 3:19-21(NLT)

19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

We are able to “have it all”, in fact verse 20 says ” infinitely more than we might ask or think”.
I LOVE that last part – “through ALL generations forever and ever! Amen!”
We will have it all … in God’s way and in His time.