Creating Art with the Holy Spirit

My daughter Grace (almost 9yo) and I recently completed the mother daughter guidebook called Bloom. It was so wonderful to go through each of the 12 chapters with her and do the mom/daughter activities at the end of each chapter.

The last chapter, chapter 12, taught us that it is a very feminine thing to create something beautiful for the world to enjoy, pointing that enjoyment towards God and his goodness. Like a monstrance points it's own beauty toward it's center: Jesus, all things that are truly beautiful, lead others toward God and His goodness. In fact, art can be seen as a response to God's goodness. Oftentimes, beautiful art is inspired and led by the Holy Spirit. See the cover of Bloom below, a beautiful example of art created by a local Catholic mama, Mary Shell, that directs the viewer towards Jesus.

The cover of Bloom is a monstrance to illustrate the same point: we women are called to be living monstrances, directing the praise we receive toward Jesus.

Anyways, the 12th chapter's activity suggests listening to the song, I Don't Have Much by Mission House together while sitting with hands resting palms up on our thighs, a prayerful pose, communicating with our body and soul our openness to the Holy Spirit.

After listening and praying this song, do something creative! You could paint a picture, sculpt something, draw or even compose a song or write a poem!

When it came time to do something creative, Grace wanted to write a poem. I was so surprised that of all those options, writing a poem is what she chose! I wanted to share her poem with you all. It could be the proud mama talking, but I found it beautiful and quite profound for an 8 year old.

Its called God's Creation

Gods Creation

The earth is a big garden or bed.

And we are all His little flowers.

He takes very good care of us.

Just like a gardener would for his garden.

The sky and the breeze help us live and give us air.

And the green grass is the ground to help us walk on to adventure.

And the rain is a water tank pouring down upon us

Animals upon the earth need water to drink and live.

Just like a little duckling, swims in the waters of Jesus.

And the homes are the shade to help us keep cool when it’s hot.

So if it's a rainy day, don't be upset

You can think of this poem to remind you that the rain is a gift from Jesus.

Notice how Grace's writing is toward "the other", creating art in hopes that others benefit and are pulled closer to Jesus because of it.

THAT is the point of Bloom, to identify, accept and nourish all aspects of our feminine nature, but particularly, making room for and loving others. It's important for us moms to encourage and guide those instinctive feminine gestures of caring for "the other" towards Jesus, while maintaining healthy boundaries.

I pray if you have a daughter, you will consider reading through this book with her. I look forward to hearing if it blessed you both! If you are reading it together, I encourage you to share the art you both created here in the comments or even on our Facebook Page for Bloom Book Owners. The link to that group is found in our Bloom Book Owner Page, filled with free resources, including the 12 watercolor designs Mary Shell created for this book.