Finding Your Creative Place

What do dirt caked hands, rocky roads, a cozy leather chair, and a clean home have in common?

At first glance, not a whole lot. But, for me, they are all closely linked. Though very different in nature, they all work together seamlessly. Not one without the other could hold the same power that all four possess together...

Now you're thinking this is all just crazy talk! Stephanie is officially off her rocker, right? (Okay, well maybe, but that's a completely different discussion!) 

So, here it is - that common thread - All of these activities/places claim rights to nurturing my creativity. I do my best thinking and planning while gardening. Some of my most creative ideas spark while I'm four-wheeling over mountains and through beautiful back country. And, they all flow from my head, through my fingers, and ultimately onto my laptop while I lounge in my cozy leather chair. But, the biggest key to my creativity is a clean home! .... And, by clean I mean organized, quiet, and distraction free!

I think we all need a creative place... or at very least a productive place. For some that place may not be a physical location, but a mental state. For others - like me - it is both. Whatever the case may be, finding a creative place doesn't have to be hard. In fact, it's pretty easy and highly rewarding!

If you don't have one already, I encourage you to find a creative place, a productive place, or at minimum, an escape-from-the-world place. Cuddle up with a book, scratch around on a pad of paper, plant a garden, build a beautiful cake, take a photograph, break out your watercolors, or paint a picture with words. 

Everyone has some inner creativity waiting to be nurtured. Whatever your "thing" is, do it! Make it a priority! Visit your creative place often! 

I highly cherish the places of my creativity and look forward to any fraction of time I get to escape there. So on that note I bid adieu for the day... There's a cozy leather chair in a clean, quiet house with my name on it. 

Summer 2012 Recap

Summer's not quite over, but after an over 6 week hiatus from my blog I though it was high time I filled you in on what I've been up to. And rather than tell you, I think it's better just to show you: 

I witnessed a beautiful wedding...

Rachel & Kevin 6/29/12

Danced with a hot cowboy!!

Went to the Family History Museum, FBI Headquarters in SLC, and boating 

with our awesome ward for Youth Conference.              

Awed at my beautiful niece's enthusiastic testimony as we sent her off with 

hugs and smiles to serve an 18 month mission for the LDS church.  

Witnessed the inaugural execution of the Worlton Family Polar Plunge at Fish Lake, UT.  

8 teenagers + 50 degree water = one hilarious afternoon!  

Went to my first ever Scout camp where I met Elder Robert K. Dellenbach, LDS General Authority....

BSA GSL D29 Board w/ Elder Dellenbach, 7/23/12

Nearly blew away as I watched a Blackhawk Helicopter land in front of 1000 eager Boy Scouts...

Got face-to-face with a live eagle named Liberty....

Met the very delightful Thurl Bailey 

& was honored to have him invite me to have my picture taken with him.  

Thurl Bailey & Stephanie Worlton, D29 Scout Camp,  7/29/12

Felt my tummy tickle while I watched my excited 10 year old fly high in the sky-diving simulator. 

7/30/12

Witnessed another beautiful wedding!!!

Sarah & Chaun 7/28/12

Went to my "ump-teenth" Girls Camp, where we giggled, lost sleep, and had many great experiences including A HUG from Sister Elizabeth Ann Takasaki...  

Listened to the amazing vocals of Jenny Phillips (also at Girls Camp). 

And - while spending 26 of the last 52 nights away from home - 

I took the time to watch a sunset or two and give thanks for the blessed life I've been given! 

Mama Bear Goes Camping

It's funny what happens when you throw a bunch of women into a tent and charge them with the care of handfuls of young women. Giggles abound, makeup disappears, hairdos morph into works of art, and almost as natural as if you'd given birth to them yourself, those girls become "your girls" and those women become your "sisters." 

Girls Camp (aka: LDS Young Women Camp) has been one of the highlights of my summer for so many years that I've lost track. (In fact, the years without camp are easier to count than the years with it.) And, honestly, I can't think of a better way to spend a week of my time than in the company of our fabulous young women! 

Last week was our stake girls camp and for the first time in years I had a zero-responsibility assignment. I simply had to show up and take pictures. In a perfect world one might assume that this meant I could shed the responsibility of my young women and simply be a photographer. Fortunately, however, my girls were about as interested in ditching me as I was in ditching them. Before the week was over I'd developed a following. My little pose' of giggly girls became my shadow... okay, who am I kidding? They were the highlight and I was the shadow. They took over my camera and filled it with great (and some not-so-great) photos. They giggled, they teased, and - thanks to my dear friend Amber Packer - they learned how to properly eat corn on the cob!  

In a camp with nearly 300 girls you'd have to hide under a rock to have not made a new friend or two, and I'm grateful for each new mark etched on my heart. Inspirational adults uplifted me and amazing young women humbled me with their beauty and strength. But I've got to admit that I hold a special place for my own girls. And, when I say "my girls" I mean all 21 of them! I can't tell you the excitement I felt every time I ran across one of "my girls." Like a Mama Bear with her cubs, my heart did  a summersault when I saw their smiles and broke when I saw their tears. I wanted to love them, protect them, and play with them. It didn't matter that their hair was dirty or that they didn't have on a lick of makeup. They were glowing. Beautiful. And I couldn't wait for their smiles and hugs! 

 

So, from one Mama Bear to another, I hope you encourage your daughters to attend Girls Camp. The confidence they gain, the testimonies they strengthen, and the friendships they make are priceless. And, if you are blessed to serve with the Young Women, I hope that you make it a priority to go to camp with your girls. Camping may not be your cup of tea, but if you look beyond a sleepless week in tents, you'll find a irreplaceable opportunity to build a relationship that might just change a life.