The Work of Our Hands: The Universal Gift of Creativity

Charlene Rack describes this new book by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur as "a lovely challenge to get your creative juices flowing."

I was drawn to this book just by the title, because I know it is an area of my life where I drop the ball. When I was leading an American Heritage Girls scouting unit, I used my creativity like crazy, and the same when we switched to homeschooling. Now that I’m “retired,” I lack encouragement to get back into a good, creative groove. The Work of Our Hands by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur fulfills that need!

Work of Our Hands Paperback Front Cover

I did not grow up in a creative environment. Think of “The Scream,” by expressionist artist Edvard Munch, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of the chaos in my young life! No one had the time or energy for encouraging creativity (unless you count my Spirograph). My parents both worked all day, and my elderly grandmother cared for me. By the age of 12, I was caring for her. Fortunately for me, my parents somehow, miraculously chose to have me baptized as an infant, so I received the Holy Spirit, and with it came the inspirations of that same Spirit.

Our very word, ‘inspiration’ comes from the word ‘spirit.’ (The Work of Our Hands: The Universal Gift of Creativity, 61)

As a youngster, my creativity manifested itself in the form of a well-developed sense of humor, and later on I learned that I had a great gift of storytelling in written word. However, I was lazy and undisciplined, so my skill lay unused (for the most part) until I had children (and acquired self-discipline, which is a hard-won achievement for a grown-up!). What a great blessing this book would have been to me in my teens and twenties.

By way of 31 reflections, Patrice encourages our creativity in all creative and life-giving pursuits, be it parenting, crafting, drawing, painting, gardening, care-giving, baking, etc. It works perfectly as an at-home, “mini retreat.” There are inspirational quotes for every day, beautiful illustrations, and inspired encouragement from the author.

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Patrice encourages our creativity in all creative and life-giving pursuits. #catholicmom

If you’re like me (and especially now, after almost a year of increased exposure to the interior of our homes …), and you’re in need of a lovely challenge to get your creative juices flowing, this is it!

The Work of Our Hands would make the perfect gift for newlyweds, graduates, moms, empty-nesters, a friend in need of encouragement, and any coffee-table-book enthusiasts (which ought to cover just about everyone on your gift list!).

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