I should be asleep. I was quite tired but I decided to try on my gorilla outfit before going to bed. that got me thinking and now I am wide awake! I haven't written for a while - my writng seems to be having a dry spell! It is probably more to do with not giving myself enough time to just sit and let the creativity happen. Tonight, standing in front of the mirror in my gorilla suit (pictures soon) I started to feel a bit of that old creativity. It was hard to breathe, I won't be able to be a gorilla for very long, but it will be fun. What is it really all about?
It is about listening to my heart/soul/the bit that's created in the image of God. Last week I was asked to speak at a Conference later in the year. At first I thought I would do something about writing. Then into my head came the idea of exploring the way God's creativity can unfold in the classroom. Dressing up as a gorilla for my class is part of that. I want them to have fun but I also want to challenge them to think differently. I think I have lost a little of that creative approach to teaching over the last little while because it takes effort and vulnerability and time!
This year is about taking up the challenge to live dangerously - live the life God intended for me instead of the cautious one I so often adopt. I do know there's an extroverted Vicki who longs to do crazy things from time to time, but she is often put in her place by the organised, logical, duty bound Vicki. Well it's time to let go, be free! Let a bit of craziness supplement the rest.
I think God intended for us to be playful and sin has bound us up in so many ways. I know that, yet I still let myself be bound at times instead of living the life I can live because of the incomparably great power God gives us to live as He intended.
Well, it really is time to go to sleep, perhaps I'll dream of gorillas - the gentle playful ones like the one in the book I've been doing with Year 7/8. I'll go to sleep wondering what other creative ideas might be lurking around - there are usually plenty if I just take time to listen!
