dec. 6: workshop or conference.

Today's question is: was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial?

There was. It was called the Supernatural Creativity Conference, and it was held at my church.

They actually did the conference twice this year. The first time was in January, and it was so successful that they did another one a couple of months ago.

We did not go to the first conference, because we were in Charlotte. I was so bummed about missing it. I was looking forward to the day sessions and the worship at night.

Oddly enough, something took hold of me that January. That same thing took hold of my son too. Although we were not at the conference, the spark that was being lit in so many that attended was being lit in us too. It was a spark that awakened new aspects of creativity in me. Those aspects had probably always been there, deep inside, but lay dormant and I really was not aware of them. Now, as a result of that spark being lit, I feel like I am firing on all cylinders. There is nothing that I won't try now.

By the time the next Supernatural Creativity Conference came around this year, I had ideas I'd never dreamed I'd have. Sewing. Painting. Collage. Knitting.

Not only that, but by the time the conference came around again, I had already learned to play several songs on the guitar, had taken more photos than I ever have in my life (buying that camera was like one of the best purchases EVER), and had learned to do post-processing on photos. Not to mention the fact that my iPhone has been used as much for taking and editing photos as for anything else.

And now that the year is winding down to its last moments I can look back and think of those things that I have done for the first time as a result of being so inspired from BOTH conferences. I've watercolored. I've made Christmas ornaments. I had the courage to sign on for the Daily Photo challenge, and turn it into a 365-day project. I had the guts to sign on for Art Every Day Month.

And I recovered things that had been lost in the shuffle of my life for a while. I wrote new songs. I invented new recipes. I started doodling and drawing again. I started blogging again.

And wow...thinking about what it has done to my son! After three years of guitar lessons, he managed to pick up in five weeks what he hadn't in almost three years: inspiration. The guitar was becoming a "thing" for him before the first conference that we missed (you know how everybody has their "thing"), but after January, he just moved at warp speed with it and by the summer he was in a band and learning the bass. He learned it well. In five weeks. He now plays bass at our church on a regular basis. And has one guitar student. Not to mention he has picked up drawing and painting again (he's always been an artist) and is growing passionate about that too. Watching the painting going on at the second conference really did it for him.

So, yeah. I'd say it was a good thing.