Improvisation

'the ART of improvising'

Kim’s meaning…coming up with creative ideas, using the items at hand, to turn a situation around for the better 😊

When I was a child growing up most of my clothes were homemade, hand-me-downs or put together by ‘improvisation’ due to necessity!

Meaning that if my father’s business shirts were being thrown out, my sister and I would conjure up brilliant ways to alter it into a top for ourselves or if very fortunate, our mother would give us $5 to buy material to make something new ourselves.

I made and sewed my very first ever full dress with collar, facings and side seam pockets when I was 11yrs old.  It was done for my sewing class when I was in primary school and marked on it for my class grades.

I don’t think you would get primary aged school kids doing anything like that now – don’t think they would even know what a sewing machine was!

Many photos I find of myself when younger, I am wearing outfits that have a memory attached to them. This outfit (see B&W picture attached) was one of many garments but there was also another corduroy dress that had frills down the front, and I remember my mum breaking 7 machine needles just to complete it.

In my childhood home growing up we were always encouraged to be useful with our hands and that something homemade was always a ‘good thing’ – so all my life I have carried that through with me and I do love to create/make something for others and find ways to do that as often as possible. (https://www.kimcreations.com.au/creations-gallery )

‘…so…God may bless you in all the work of your hands.’ – Deut 14:29 AMP

‘…work with your hands, just as we directed you,’ – 1 Thess 4:11 AMP

Not only was my Mum very talented but so were her sisters, my Aunties!  One Aunty made porcelain dolls, spun her own wool to knit jumpers and lots more.  My older sister loved all her creativity so much she emulated a lot of the same crafts by getting herself some sheep to shear and spin her own wool and went into making porcelain dolls as a business for many years.

I have two daughters; one has a pottery business on the side of her normal working role and my other daughter has a cookie decorating business that she also does in her spare time.

Along with my Mum’s sewing ability, she also went to night classes when we were small to learn professional cake decorating and made many wedding cakes over the years for different people and for special occasions – including wedding cakes for mine and my sisters’ weddings.

Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favour – Prov 11:25 TPT

I believe that our Heavenly Father encourages us to be a blessing to others because He has a great plan and purpose for us to fulfil here on the earth and the word of God says that…

 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, - Ecclesiastes 9:10 NIV

By us putting our best out there, with what is in our hands, it is done with love in the act of serving so we can’t help but be a vessel for the Lord to use in bringing his life and empowerment to the community around us.

From reading the word of God I believe Jesus was very good with his hands as a carpenter but I recall the story of Jesus using His hands to wash the disciples’ feet, prior to Him going to the cross for us…

So he (Jesus) got up from the supper table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his loins,[a] 5 poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.

6 When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Master, you shouldn’t be washing our feet like this!”

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now why I am doing it; some day you will.”

8 “No,” Peter protested, “you shall never wash my feet!”

“But if I don’t, you can’t be my partner,” Jesus replied. – John 13:4-8 TLB

There will always be something that God puts in our hands, for us to bless others - to show Gods love for them so I pray you will be inspired to ask the Lord what you can do today to be the blessing you were born to be!