What are the odds?

I saw this infographic a couple years ago, and then it came back around again more recently and I've had it bookmarked ever since.  I just love it!  It reminds me of Psalms 139:16, how God knew all of our days before even one of them came to be. We are purposefully made, instead of just a random accident!

In life it can often feel like you are insignificant, not here on purpose, or that you are just a mistake. Especially as a creative, like me, you can look at what you are doing and see a billion other people online doing similar things and feel like you have nothing unique to offer.  What I love about this infographic, is that it tells you the exact opposite.

If there was a "do-over" the chances of you coming out exactly the same way are basically zero. God created each individual on purpose and they are absolutely unique. God had a specific plan when he created you, and he has you exactly where he wants you! That is awesome! I love how this infographic puts it in numbers, it so fascinating and mind boggling!

I know this is kind of hard to read if you want to see the whole thing go here!

Be encouraged and keep pressing on! Do what brings you joy and keep putting yourself out there!
-Monica

Is Pinterest Stealing Your Creativity?

Don't get me wrong by the title of this post, I love Pinterest, it's a genius idea, I use it all the time! One thing I noticed though, as I was spending time cataloging all these awesome ideas onto my personal boards was, somewhere along the way I had stopped creating for myself. I'd gotten so wrapped up in what other people were doing and the cool ideas they were putting out there, that it squandered my need to create and come up with my own fresh ideas.

Pinterest has this ability to make trends, super trends. Not sure if you've seen all of stay "stay calm and carry on" posters, or the plethora of brides using the cute kid carrying a sign saying "here comes the bride" in their weddings, or just the overall trend in using mason jars for everything. None of these things are wrong by any means, and please don't feel bad at all if you've done these things, my point is when we stop each creating for ourselves and start copying each other I think we've done ourselves a great injustice.

One of the things that has taken me years and years to see for myself was that fact that I do in fact have a unique point of view and unique talents. In college I was creating pieces of artwork at a prolific rate and even then I told myself, you aren't anything special, lots of other people can do what you are doing. In some aspects that is true, lots of other people can draw really well and are great artists. But what it comes down to is none of them are me. Sure lots of other people can slap around paint, but no one has the exact same ideas and the exact same influences and chances are they wouldn't produce the exact same things I do. You can see evidence of this when you provide an art class with a simple assignment and they all come back with drastically different results.

 What I'm trying to say here is yes, use Pinterest, use social media, but also make sure to take time away from them to cultivate your own voice, your own style, and your own image. Be who you are and not just a mere copy of someone else.


So let me ask you this question again, is Pinterest stealing your creativity? This holiday season, while there are a million ideas you could pull off of Pinterest or other websites, I challenge you to take time and come up with your own craft, make your own ideas, and let me know about it! I would love to hear what you did!