Welcome to the Love Where You Are podcast! 

This week I sat down with Ashlee Gadd.

Ashlee Gadd is the author of Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood and she is the founder of Coffee + Crumbs - a beautiful online space where motherhood and storytelling intersect. Ashlee has spent her entire motherhood creating in the margins, that means using whatever free time she has to become creative and connect with God through that creativity. 

Do you love to write? Draw? Paint? Garden?

Each of these are creative expressions and are a result of the beautiful and unique way God has designed you and me. Creativity is great for our brains but also our spirits and can give us new energy and bring us closer to the God who gave us that creativity in the first place. But when we become moms, finding time and margin for those creative outlets can be difficult. Depending on our season of life those margins may be smaller than others, but as my guest on this week's episode, Ashlee Gadd says, start somewhere even if its small.

In this episode we discussed:

• How to steward the creative gifts God has given us
• Paying attention to the gifts others see in you
• And how creating every day can actually make you a better mom

Thank you for being here today.

Now, let's dive into the conversation! 

You can connect with Ashlee through Pinterest, Instagram, and her website. 

You can also order her new book! 

 

FAVORITE TAKE-AWAYS:

*Creating every day can make you a better mother. 

*We should be stewarding the creative gifts God has given us; it is an act of worship, honoring and glorifying Him!

*Experiment and find your niche! Maybe try painting, and if you realize it isn't for you, try something else! 

*Other people can see things in you that you might not see, like your talents--listen to those voices who see your gifts!  

REMEMBER:

*Kids pick up more what's caught than taught. If we don't want our kids to become phone zombies, then we also can't be phone zombies! 

*Assess what creativity does to your mind, spirit, and the physical energy it can provide. 

*Assess what is possible in your current season of life. Have reasonable expectations and find your margins. For Ashlee, it means getting up at 5am in the morning so she can spend a couple hours writing. And remember, we are never stuck in one season forever, it will change. 

*Start somewhere even if its small. 

 

Connect with Somer! 

Stay connected to Somer and the Love Where You Are podcast through her Facebook & Instagram!

Love Where You Are is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual advice to help you grow into the parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org