Last July when I turned 50, I made a promise to myself. That I would try new things. Things that I thought were out of my reach. I love crafty, artsy people, yet I was not one of them. I was always sad about that.

I will be honest, I am terribly practical. I would often push off ideas, if I didn’t feel that they would serve a practical purpose.

This year was an impractical year for me. A year of flowers, of gardening, of poems, of macramé, and recently painting.

Here is what I found when I was engrossed in these things⁠—a peace, a contentment, a quietness and most importantly I felt the Lord near. Creating brought joy for this busy mind.

Maybe you are like me, terribly practical, longing for something more, hoping to be a maker of something. I pray you will allow yourself this little treat, and as you make and create, you will feel the Lord near.

I have always loved to study with women of scripture. Especially the women who met Jesus face to face. Who encountered Him in a ways I have not.

This is how I imagine the woman at the well after her encounter with Jesus. Full of life, filled with hope, overflowing with the color of Living Water.