Space and light and order--those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep.~Le Corbusier

It can be merciful to have the right tool at just the right moment. I have a miniature hammer. At the bottom of the handle, I can turn a knob and three sizes of Phillips-Head screw drivers fit inside one another. I have used the hammer for decades and it has proven reliable on numerous occasions. Like the hammer, a few life practices act as tools to encourage light and space and order for living. As I look back over 2022, here are a few tools I've found useful. As always, take what you want from these posts and leave the rest.

Movement: How many times do we hear that exercise is needful for health, especially brain health? Sometimes the plethora of messages induce feelings of guilt, because we aren't moving as much as we could. And there are so many options for exercise to choose from. What works for a friend, may not work for you. Perhaps it could be helpful to think about merely decreasing sedentary habits and increasing movement. I found on YouTube a type of movement that is a good tool to help me stay consistent with exercise. I like the Australian instructors. I like their accents and that they have low, medium and high levels for the workouts. They use real people in their videos that are not picture perfect, like me. Enclosed is a link to Team Body Project, and representative of their many workout sessions. Participating with them most days, helps bring order to my life, and clears my mind, helps keep me energized. Team Body Project

Music: Thankfully, there are as many music genres as there are people. I love to listen to music while writing. I find music to be one of the most helpful tools for bringing light and hope to my creative process.  The music of Yiruma has been my soundtrack for years, providing joy and comfort. My brain is able to relax when I listen to him. Along with a scented candle and a cup of tea, Yiruma's melodies feel as needful for writing as does my miniature hammer with its trifecta of screwdrivers for home projects. Here is a taste for you to try: Yiruma

Reading: I love to read. I inhale books. They seem as necessary to me as breathing. Reading helps me to create space, light and order in my life. And again, I'm grateful for so many genres. One book I go back to over and over again to help me practice creative tools is Julia Cameron's, The Artist's Way. I completed my fifth turn on the artist's pathway in 2022. Ms. Cameron has a way of meeting me with just the right balance of nurture and limits. She teaches a set of creative tools that validate and simultaneously encourage taking appropriate creative risks. The Artist's Way 

Reading The Passion Translation of the Bible continues to be a light-filled location for me, the tool in my hand that acts as a sword for cutting through chaos and darkness, as well as a place to connect with the Prince of Peace.  If I had only one tool I could keep, the Bible would be my hammer, embedded with that trio of Phillips-Head screwdrivers. Psalm 23, The Passion Translation

Here's to all the tools in the tool kit. And here's to each other as we practice using our individual tools.  But mostly, here's to Christ who is faithful to help us discover His perfect tools for creating space, light and order.