Creation and creativity

The beauty of God's creation amazes me again and again. I love to watch nature: mountains, trees, the sun on some flowers, clouds, turning leaves... It is all so detailed, so wonderful. Last weekend we were at our annual church retreat and talked about recapturing the awe of God in different ways, one was through looking at creation. It is just so true: when I gaze at the wonders of God's creation, my soul is amazed by the creator.
We are created in God's image. So he gave us a desire for creativity too. He is the ultimate creator, but he shared his desire for creating with us. The things I create are far from the beauty and perfection of God's creation, but still they are an expression of myself and precious to me. I really love to be creative. This side of my personality lay quiet for quite some time, but over the last year it has resurfaced. I developed a new interest in scrapbooking - I love being creative that way. And I love photography, I always have. I also started having an interest in altered books (havent done it yet though) and card making (haven't tried it either). And I have always loved to cook :). That is a creative outlet for me too. It is so wonderful that God made us creative too.