I’ll Tell You

What happens when so much making comes tumbling out of you that you shy to share it?

What do you do when so many ideas beg and need to be birthed, small, tiny, insignificant ideas yet they must be born?

What if you feel so alive with all the making, the knitting, the poeming, the crafting, the drawing, the writing of stories that, surely you are living in miniature and illustration?

What then?

I’ll tell you.

You let it tumble out.

You do not share it. Not yet.

You birth the ideas as far as they will go no matter how small and insignificant they seem.

You knit, you poem, you draw and craft, you illustrate and write.

You live in your stories for your stories help you understand your story and thereby help you to live…

Tumbling…

Making…

Loving…

Alive.

-jpe

14 thoughts on “I’ll Tell You

  1. Cheryl Wright says:

    Thank you for that Jennifer. God knows I needed confirmation that I should let my head, heart and hands swim in the rushing tide of the ideas and projects tumbling and swirling and begging to be “done” without the pressure of thinking that maybe, I should share them at this time – in their early days of conceptualization and playing and practicing. Thank Jennifer. God bless you for your insight and wisdom and the ability to put theses life-altering thoughts and ideas into words and your willingness to share them.

    • Jennifer Edwards says:

      Hi Cheryl! Sometimes I feel I post too much on IG…oh I do love the sharing and seeing what others make too…but I need some space between making and sharing, large enough to really breathe into it, and enjoy without any fear of “is this good enough” thinking. I may be taking extended breaks from posting so much, but I also want to write more and share here on my blog. I’m so very glad if this is an encouragement to you! Let it tumble out dear Cheryl! Make and make, in and around your full life! All the best! -Jennifer

      • Cheryl Wright says:

        And here I am thinking that you don’t share much. I find myself looking for a post from you on Instagram – sketches, knitting and crochet – but you know what, I look forward to reading more of your thoughts and insights here. Obviously, it is through your writing that I am connecting to you, heart to heart. Your posts reveal how closely our thoughts and feelings intersect. So amazing. Keep writing. Keep sharing.

        • Jennifer Edwards says:

          Haha! I actually did take nearly a week off of IG and everything. So much was wanting to come out, to be written, to be created. It was really lovely to not be pulled into scrolling through so many images online. I am feeling a desire to return to writing here on this blog and others. I will likely stop the videos as they are so very difficult as far as technology goes. Our computers are old and cannot hold the huge files of video and they are sooooo very slow. I do find, more and more it seems, that to truly engage in the creativity I’m being called to, I need more time away from online endeavors. Balance is a hard one to achieve. Thank you so much for reading my words and for your support and friendship in general and on so many of my online outlets. You are a dear to bounce around between IG, blogs, videos, etc. I wish you all the best Cheryl in your own creative pursuits! -jennifer

  2. Ed Pilkington says:

    Dearest one, I am a puddle of tears reading this
    The Soule of thre Lord pouring forth the call to live
    Fully following your gift
    Let us hear and do…

    • Jennifer Edwards says:

      Thank you Dad…your ongoing support of my creative whims is so very precious to me! Just like when I was a little girl, making dolls and all the things in my doll house with Linda Dunnigan. :))

  3. Karen Traa says:

    Thank you for sharing this. As one who participates in the making of things with no immediate obvious or apparent purpose, it can feel lonely at times; especially when trying to explain it. In this busy world, the need to create something, and express life with the work of our HANDS, is sometimes very urgent and undeniable.

    My favourite is the little standing textile mouse. Adorable. 🙂

    • Jennifer Edwards says:

      Thank you Karen, for your kind comment! I’m finding more and more that time spent making with my hands, no matter whether it is “successful”, a “flop”, marketable, or give-able, or not…it is all life-giving and important to our health. If you are on Instagram, find Macy’s little house I’ve been working on. I’m jenpedwards there on IG. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment! -Jennifer

  4. Annette says:

    Dear Jennifer. So grateful to have found my way to your blog this evening. You are not only very talented, creative and open, but also a wonderful encourager.
    I have been struggling for many years now with my health, and the only way to feel free from this is by making! It gives me a feeling of freedom, it transports me often to a place where there is no illness or any kind of suffering…. When I couldn’t quilt anymore I started knitting, when that wasn’t possible any longer I found Ann Wood’s designs and started with them. So much joy to start with fabric again, small scale, the colours, the texture, the feel of the needle and thimble!,
    But I so often feel guilty. For I am not really “working” for the Lord, I do not “contribute” to society, I am just at home, making things that are not really useful.
    Your beautiful blogpost, as well as your last IG “movie” took my breath away. Because you celebrate the making, you breathe happily through it, creating….showing purpose… because it has to tumble out of you!! You ar not “locked in” (I hope you understand my English….)
    Thank you dear IG unknown friend, you are a bright blessing. I will re-read your post often…bookmark it…for it gives me courage.
    Have a wonderful weekend. Xxx

    • Jennifer Edwards says:

      Dear friend and fellow maker Annette – I am so very glad and humbled that my words and making are of encouragement to you! And I am hoping that you will continue to create, however small and insignificant it may feel to you, because it simply isn’t. Somehow we limit what it means to “contribute” or to be “working” or “useful”. The very first thing we read about in the Bible is God making things. Imagine that…the Lord of the Universe spending uber amounts of creativity and imagination on every itty bitty detail of creation, from animals and ocean creatures, to flora and fauna, to every human being, and the planets and stars and on and on. When I am thinking rightly, I know that what I do, from the smallest stitch to the biggest painting, from the humble spinning to the grand knitting designs, every bit is a delight to Him, for I am reflecting who He is in all I do. So are you! So take heart, dear IG friend…your work is NOT in vain. It brings delight and joy to me when I see your creations online. Keep making the worlds that hint at heaven…no suffering or sickness there. And thank you for taking the time to write this lovely comment!! -Jennifer

  5. Jill Ruskamp says:

    I really get this. I used to think everything needed a purpose or to be shared/blogged about, but there is sooooo much sometimes and it just needs to be done or thought about, created part way sometimes, just notes sometimes, but it’s all practice is the word I was given once. My practice. For my life.

  6. Fran Patterson says:

    Jennifer.. How very sweet is the note from your dad.. As parents and grandparents we
    need to remember how very important it is to encourage the young to express their
    God given talents….”I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you “.. ii Tim> 1:6

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