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Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood
Motherhood and creativity can coexist.
You have creative dreams swirling in your heart, but pursuing them while changing diapers and managing the carpool schedule feels impossible. You have no time. No space. You can mother, or you can create. You certainly can't do both (right?!).
But what if you could pursue your God-given creative gifts alongside motherhood, for the enrichment of both experiences? What if you stopped viewing creativity as a selfish act, and started to see it as essential to your own flourishing as a mother?
This book is a much-needed permission slip to do just that--through the pictures you take, the stories you write, the meals you make, the music you play, the gardens you grow.
In this unforgettable book filled with rich storytelling and stunning photographs, writer and mother Ashlee Gadd helps you set aside the guilt and discover the sacred connection between creating and mothering. One-part commissioning, one-part pep talk, Create Anyway will propel you forward with a renewed sense of energy, purpose, and enthusiasm for stewarding the creative dreams God has planted in your heart--right alongside the diapers and carpool.
Here's to creating in the margins of motherhood.
Here's to creating anyway.
You have creative dreams swirling in your heart, but pursuing them while changing diapers and managing the carpool schedule feels impossible. You have no time. No space. You can mother, or you can create. You certainly can't do both (right?!).
But what if you could pursue your God-given creative gifts alongside motherhood, for the enrichment of both experiences? What if you stopped viewing creativity as a selfish act, and started to see it as essential to your own flourishing as a mother?
This book is a much-needed permission slip to do just that--through the pictures you take, the stories you write, the meals you make, the music you play, the gardens you grow.
In this unforgettable book filled with rich storytelling and stunning photographs, writer and mother Ashlee Gadd helps you set aside the guilt and discover the sacred connection between creating and mothering. One-part commissioning, one-part pep talk, Create Anyway will propel you forward with a renewed sense of energy, purpose, and enthusiasm for stewarding the creative dreams God has planted in your heart--right alongside the diapers and carpool.
Here's to creating in the margins of motherhood.
Here's to creating anyway.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published March 28, 2023
205 people are currently reading
3635 people want to read
About the author
Ashlee Gadd
7 books445 followersAshlee Gadd is a wife, mother of three, believer, and the founder of Coffee + Crumbs. When she's not working or vacuuming Cheerios out of the carpet, she loves making friends on the Internet, eating cereal for dinner, and rearranging bookshelves. Running Coffee + Crumbs is her dream job.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 267 reviews
December 9, 2022
“Both motherhood and creativity have taught me to be brave, to relentlessly seek beauty and joy among the mundane, to notice the remarkable grace flooding my unremarkable life.” Ashlee Gadd, Create Anyway
I write this cloaked in night. My little boy is finally asleep. Here’s hoping this rattling keyboard and the slanted shadows of my tiny desktop light don’t interrupt his rest. Here I am, writing in the margins.
I learned of Ashlee Gadd’s “Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood” through social media, naturally, months before a due date of March, 2023. I can’t even tell you what made me click over, click through, read enough to invite teardrops, but I knew this book was written for me and that my heart needed it YESTERDAY.
The margins of my motherhood look like this: nearing mid-forties. A toddler who doesn’t nap. Evenings that extend well-past socially acceptable hours. Mornings that start at four am sometimes because I’m compelled, driven, called by something other than myself, to create anyway. To write. To make. To fashion with my hands, my mind, my fingertips; to weave a meaningful work of art from threadbareness, from thread-barren-ness.
The truth is, I haven’t been creating much. I want to, but I’ve forgotten how. I’ve forgotten how to be an artist. Before even a global pandemic permanently shifted the landscape of the world, I started to choke over my words, to wither up in my creativity. Perhaps years of feeling like an unwilling copywriter, as words and phrases were routinely lifted from my essays and newsletters and inserted into the websites and Instagram captions of others, or perhaps the old nemesis of futility (why bother? What’s the point?) and the horrid bully of perfectionism, along with a host of other things all served to paralyze me. Silence me. Intimidate me.
As a mama, I have struggled hard with an unhelpful, greatly undesirable idea that taking time to be creative makes me a bad mother. Writing, making, and designing all take time, energy, and attention that could be directed towards my son (or my home, or the Lord, or or or…) and therefore, as some finger-wagging biddy in my mind tells me, I am a selfish, self-indulgent woman.
I think back to my birthday, the day I turned forty-three. As one who loves to bake all things delicious and decadent, I knew what I wanted to create: something new, something I’d never tried before. A sculpture developed in my mind: my sister's spice cake, layered with caramel brought just to the cusp of bitterness, gently enfolded with layers of Italian Meringue buttercream, served with pears softened with an infusion of brandy, dark sugar, star of anise, cinnamon, black pepper, rosemary from outside my kitchen window, and clove.
Four distinct elements, each requiring serious, adult-like concentration and expertise.
I stood over my stove, guiltily tempering cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in browned butter as my son sat in the other room watching Handyman Hal on YouTube. And later, I hovered over a steamy thermometer clinging to a pot of boiling water and sugar, waiting for it to reach 238 degrees so I could slowly pour it into a mound of fluffy egg whites and beat them with vigor.
My cake took over eight hours.
My husband was a portrait of graciousness; my son loved his time gazing at screens, yet still I felt guilty. Why? Why did I need to take eight hours away from my family? Of all things, to make a cake?
I think back to my own mother, an artist, and how I longed to see her create, how I wished she would have set out her brushes and pencils and watercolors when I was a tender young little girl, and shown me, just through being, an artist-mama’s life. Perhaps she felt as I do now. Perhaps creative mothers like us wrap up our vulnerability in sacrifice that may also, just a tiny bit, be cloaks of whitewashed shame.
However, counters Gadd, “creativity is one way I draw closer to my Maker, the same One who gave me these children and these talents. The same One who calls us to be good stewards of everything He places in our hands.” A few pages later she goes on to say, “If God is the first artist—and we are a walking, breathing reflection of Him—this means our desire to create is hereditary, a fundamental imprint of His Spirit in us.”
I'd have to write a memoir to share all the ways Create Anyway stirred up truth in me, sent tears streaming down my cheeks, awakened gently my heart's dormant hope. I have never felt so seen and understood by someone I've never met, who, through utmost tenderness, stretched her arms between paragraphs and gathered me close. Every quiet ache as a mother and artist felt witnessed and healed by someone who clearly gets it—all of it, and more. My only wish is that this book was ready now. God bless you, Ashlee. Your book is not only good and life-giving. It's a healing gift of grace and kindness from the One who made us and calls us to be like Him, the One who chose a mama for His first earthly home.
I write this cloaked in night. My little boy is finally asleep. Here’s hoping this rattling keyboard and the slanted shadows of my tiny desktop light don’t interrupt his rest. Here I am, writing in the margins.
I learned of Ashlee Gadd’s “Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood” through social media, naturally, months before a due date of March, 2023. I can’t even tell you what made me click over, click through, read enough to invite teardrops, but I knew this book was written for me and that my heart needed it YESTERDAY.
The margins of my motherhood look like this: nearing mid-forties. A toddler who doesn’t nap. Evenings that extend well-past socially acceptable hours. Mornings that start at four am sometimes because I’m compelled, driven, called by something other than myself, to create anyway. To write. To make. To fashion with my hands, my mind, my fingertips; to weave a meaningful work of art from threadbareness, from thread-barren-ness.
The truth is, I haven’t been creating much. I want to, but I’ve forgotten how. I’ve forgotten how to be an artist. Before even a global pandemic permanently shifted the landscape of the world, I started to choke over my words, to wither up in my creativity. Perhaps years of feeling like an unwilling copywriter, as words and phrases were routinely lifted from my essays and newsletters and inserted into the websites and Instagram captions of others, or perhaps the old nemesis of futility (why bother? What’s the point?) and the horrid bully of perfectionism, along with a host of other things all served to paralyze me. Silence me. Intimidate me.
As a mama, I have struggled hard with an unhelpful, greatly undesirable idea that taking time to be creative makes me a bad mother. Writing, making, and designing all take time, energy, and attention that could be directed towards my son (or my home, or the Lord, or or or…) and therefore, as some finger-wagging biddy in my mind tells me, I am a selfish, self-indulgent woman.
I think back to my birthday, the day I turned forty-three. As one who loves to bake all things delicious and decadent, I knew what I wanted to create: something new, something I’d never tried before. A sculpture developed in my mind: my sister's spice cake, layered with caramel brought just to the cusp of bitterness, gently enfolded with layers of Italian Meringue buttercream, served with pears softened with an infusion of brandy, dark sugar, star of anise, cinnamon, black pepper, rosemary from outside my kitchen window, and clove.
Four distinct elements, each requiring serious, adult-like concentration and expertise.
I stood over my stove, guiltily tempering cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in browned butter as my son sat in the other room watching Handyman Hal on YouTube. And later, I hovered over a steamy thermometer clinging to a pot of boiling water and sugar, waiting for it to reach 238 degrees so I could slowly pour it into a mound of fluffy egg whites and beat them with vigor.
My cake took over eight hours.
My husband was a portrait of graciousness; my son loved his time gazing at screens, yet still I felt guilty. Why? Why did I need to take eight hours away from my family? Of all things, to make a cake?
I think back to my own mother, an artist, and how I longed to see her create, how I wished she would have set out her brushes and pencils and watercolors when I was a tender young little girl, and shown me, just through being, an artist-mama’s life. Perhaps she felt as I do now. Perhaps creative mothers like us wrap up our vulnerability in sacrifice that may also, just a tiny bit, be cloaks of whitewashed shame.
However, counters Gadd, “creativity is one way I draw closer to my Maker, the same One who gave me these children and these talents. The same One who calls us to be good stewards of everything He places in our hands.” A few pages later she goes on to say, “If God is the first artist—and we are a walking, breathing reflection of Him—this means our desire to create is hereditary, a fundamental imprint of His Spirit in us.”
I'd have to write a memoir to share all the ways Create Anyway stirred up truth in me, sent tears streaming down my cheeks, awakened gently my heart's dormant hope. I have never felt so seen and understood by someone I've never met, who, through utmost tenderness, stretched her arms between paragraphs and gathered me close. Every quiet ache as a mother and artist felt witnessed and healed by someone who clearly gets it—all of it, and more. My only wish is that this book was ready now. God bless you, Ashlee. Your book is not only good and life-giving. It's a healing gift of grace and kindness from the One who made us and calls us to be like Him, the One who chose a mama for His first earthly home.
March 13, 2023
Reading “Create Anyway,” felt like getting a personal pep talk reminding me that I was made in the image of a Creator who made me to create. More than that, it felt like being handed a permission slip: one reminding me that even as a mother of little kids, I can—should—make the time to pursue creativity. Ashlee’s words reminded me that even when creativity looks like scribbling down a few words in the carpool line, it’s worth doing.
This beautifully written book (accompanied by gorgeous photographs, with inspiring creative exercises and thoughtful journal prompts at the end of each chapter) is one I will be returning to over and over. Each page spoke directly to the challenges of navigating the constant pull between creating and mothering. Every chapter, every story left me feeling seen, encouraged, and inspired. This book is a true gift to any mother who has felt the pull to create in the margins of motherhood.
This beautifully written book (accompanied by gorgeous photographs, with inspiring creative exercises and thoughtful journal prompts at the end of each chapter) is one I will be returning to over and over. Each page spoke directly to the challenges of navigating the constant pull between creating and mothering. Every chapter, every story left me feeling seen, encouraged, and inspired. This book is a true gift to any mother who has felt the pull to create in the margins of motherhood.
April 16, 2025
Really enjoyed this. Probably one of those books I’ll buy for moms at baby showers now, even though it has almost nothing to do with taking care of babies. I couldn’t help but resonate so deeply with much of what the author discusses, especially about how the act of creating grafts us to OUR creator in unique ways—ways in which we can know Him better. I loved Chapter 10 especially, “Go Where The Light Is”. Although is it fair to say mostly because I felt validated? What Gadd says of the negative (and some positive) impacts of social media on our creativity are why Good Reads (call me a nerd) is now my only form of regular social media (except for *that* Facebook marketplace find, you know?). I would love to read this again, with other women. 5 stars. Now, back to setting my nose to the sewing machine, the garden, the poem, the cheescake, the watercolors, etc, etc, etc…
August 22, 2024
Every chapter brought either a smile, laughter, tears or all of the above. This book was/is a gift. Many thoughts and questions I will return to and ponder.
I appreciated the emphasis on creating in the image of God throughout the book.
I appreciated the emphasis on creating in the image of God throughout the book.
March 7, 2023
When my daughter was 15 months old, I signed us up for a Mommy and Me music class. I had zero musical ability, but I was looking for a way to meet moms & have an activity after spending the entirety of my daughter’s life in a pandemic.
On the first day of class, the teacher talked to the parents about the importance of modeling creating to our children. She encouraged our full participation not only in class each week, but at home too. She went on to explain that our children basically come out of the womb with a desire to create and make, sing and dance. But as they grow up, the world starts to stifle this and convince them to simply be consumers. I started thinking about my own life- I read, scrolled, watched, listened, and consumed ALL DAY LONG. I realized the example I gave my daughter was one of consumption vs creation.
Ashlee’s book dives into the heart of this very issue— we were created to create by the ultimate Creator. She explores what prevents us from creating (perceived lack of time, comparison, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and more) all while shining a light on the truth— motherhood inspires creativity. Motherhood and creativity coexist. Each chapter includes an exercise or starting point to pursue creativity in your own way.
Ashlee writes with such intention and beauty that her words linger for long after the book has been shut. She shares wisdom & encouragement, her own pep talk to mothers everywhere. She opens her heart to her readers, leaving them both teary-eyed and full of passion. Her writing is a gift to all mothers, whether they are expecting their first or corralling a house full, whether they consider themselves a creative type or insist they don’t have a creative bone in their bodies.
This book is proof that words have the power to speak life, to heal, and to uplift.
“I don't know who He's calling you to serve, but I do know this: God does not give us gifts so we can hoard them. So write. Draw. Bake. Dance. Hand your baby to the one who is hurting. Steward everything you've been given with care. Be generous, open your hands in faith, and let God do the rest.”
On the first day of class, the teacher talked to the parents about the importance of modeling creating to our children. She encouraged our full participation not only in class each week, but at home too. She went on to explain that our children basically come out of the womb with a desire to create and make, sing and dance. But as they grow up, the world starts to stifle this and convince them to simply be consumers. I started thinking about my own life- I read, scrolled, watched, listened, and consumed ALL DAY LONG. I realized the example I gave my daughter was one of consumption vs creation.
Ashlee’s book dives into the heart of this very issue— we were created to create by the ultimate Creator. She explores what prevents us from creating (perceived lack of time, comparison, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and more) all while shining a light on the truth— motherhood inspires creativity. Motherhood and creativity coexist. Each chapter includes an exercise or starting point to pursue creativity in your own way.
Ashlee writes with such intention and beauty that her words linger for long after the book has been shut. She shares wisdom & encouragement, her own pep talk to mothers everywhere. She opens her heart to her readers, leaving them both teary-eyed and full of passion. Her writing is a gift to all mothers, whether they are expecting their first or corralling a house full, whether they consider themselves a creative type or insist they don’t have a creative bone in their bodies.
This book is proof that words have the power to speak life, to heal, and to uplift.
“I don't know who He's calling you to serve, but I do know this: God does not give us gifts so we can hoard them. So write. Draw. Bake. Dance. Hand your baby to the one who is hurting. Steward everything you've been given with care. Be generous, open your hands in faith, and let God do the rest.”
June 18, 2024
I’ve followed Ashlee for nearly as long as I’ve been a mom, and this book is one I’ve been looking forward to for a while. With a baby and a toddler to take care of, it feels like all my creative passions have been pushed to the back burner time and time again. This book is an encouragement to create, an inspiration to create, and a reminder of why I love to create.
Lately I’ve been feeling a tug to start creating things again, and the words in this book could not have come at a better time for me. Create Anyway has been just the message I needed to hear to inspire me to write down the words on my own heart, to pick up my crochet hook again, to put seeds in the ground and see what blooms. If you’re a mama and a maker of anything, be it songs or cakes or paintings, this book is for you. Let this book bless you and encourage you to bless the world with the creative gifts God has given you!
“This means where God calls, we go. When God calls us to write, we write. When God asks us to sing, we sing. As artists made in the image of the ultimate Artist, we paint and draw and sew and sculpt, not bitterly or lazily, but with enthusiasm, devotion, and a sense of joyful eagerness to participate. Because when we link arms with our Creator to do what He uniquely designed us to do, we usher a bit of the Kingdom into this world—and God gets the glory for it.”
Lately I’ve been feeling a tug to start creating things again, and the words in this book could not have come at a better time for me. Create Anyway has been just the message I needed to hear to inspire me to write down the words on my own heart, to pick up my crochet hook again, to put seeds in the ground and see what blooms. If you’re a mama and a maker of anything, be it songs or cakes or paintings, this book is for you. Let this book bless you and encourage you to bless the world with the creative gifts God has given you!
“This means where God calls, we go. When God calls us to write, we write. When God asks us to sing, we sing. As artists made in the image of the ultimate Artist, we paint and draw and sew and sculpt, not bitterly or lazily, but with enthusiasm, devotion, and a sense of joyful eagerness to participate. Because when we link arms with our Creator to do what He uniquely designed us to do, we usher a bit of the Kingdom into this world—and God gets the glory for it.”
July 3, 2023
This was a BALM to my soul. Aloe to a sunburned heart, dried out from the heat of lies believed.
I cannot express how much of this book resonated with me. I felt so seen and understood and overwhelmingly grateful as I drank in her words with conviction, repentance, and grace. So helpful.
Would make a great gift for a mom celebrating their baby’s first birthday 🤍✨
I cannot express how much of this book resonated with me. I felt so seen and understood and overwhelmingly grateful as I drank in her words with conviction, repentance, and grace. So helpful.
Would make a great gift for a mom celebrating their baby’s first birthday 🤍✨
May 9, 2024
This book was a wonderful breath of encouragement
April 28, 2025
I loved this book way more than I thought I would. It’s such a good read for any creative!
March 16, 2023
This book is perfectly titled. I’m feeling refreshed and encouraged in my efforts to pursue creativity in the margins of motherhood.
Ashlee is a talented writer whose humility and humor jump from the page. I love her writing voice and the way she weaves a story together. The creative exercises at the end of each chapter were also fantastic. Some were really thought provoking and others were lots of fun! I can’t recommend this book enough.
Ashlee is a talented writer whose humility and humor jump from the page. I love her writing voice and the way she weaves a story together. The creative exercises at the end of each chapter were also fantastic. Some were really thought provoking and others were lots of fun! I can’t recommend this book enough.
March 15, 2023
Create Anyway is the book I’ve been desperately needing as a mom of young kids. I know my role as a mother is some of the most important work I will ever do, which is why I have struggled to prioritize my creativity. Create Anyway has completely shifted this for me. It has opened my eyes to see that as mothers, we are creative every day in ways that we don’t even realize. The entire book felt like sitting down with Ashlee and having a heart to heart conversation with a dear friend. I felt seen, comforted, encouraged, and inspired to pursue my photography and writing in the midst of motherhood—and embrace that these things can co-exist with one another. This is one of those books that I know that I will absolutely come back to in the years to come. Ashlee’s words are truly a gift and I hope this book gets into the hands of mothers everywhere!
August 25, 2025
I LOVED her points about how we image God when we create and that, like a parent gives tools to their child and says "go make something," God has done the same for us with all the beautiful things in the world we can create with. I also loved the idea of setting that example FOR your children.
I did not love, in the earlier chapters primarily, the kind of negative attitude she portrayed towards kids being an inconvenience to your "art" of choice. For example, she jokes noise canceling headphones must have been invented by a mom. I didn't care for this - I love the idea of doing something creative alongside my kids. I don't love the idea of tuning them out to do so, they are my first and primary and best job. So small things like that kind of bugged me and lost this book its fifth star.
Overall a helpful and inspiring (and quick and easy) read.
I did not love, in the earlier chapters primarily, the kind of negative attitude she portrayed towards kids being an inconvenience to your "art" of choice. For example, she jokes noise canceling headphones must have been invented by a mom. I didn't care for this - I love the idea of doing something creative alongside my kids. I don't love the idea of tuning them out to do so, they are my first and primary and best job. So small things like that kind of bugged me and lost this book its fifth star.
Overall a helpful and inspiring (and quick and easy) read.
Read
April 25, 2025I appreciated that this book did inspire me to “create anyway”. It’s brought to the front of my mind that I need to put more intentionality into blending my creative self and my mother self into a whole person, the two don’t have to be separate. I want my kids to see me being who God created me to be so they can seek and find who they are created to be. This will be a book I will probably re-read slowly and intentionally do the writing prompts and creative challenges.
December 11, 2023
Excellent reminder that we are made in the image of God to create, just as He created us.
April 13, 2023
This book was so good for me. Good in the sense that it reminded me that creating is a necessary part of my life, and also good in that it so gently convicted me in the ways I’ve let fear and numerous distractions take me away from even attempting to create.
Ashlee’s honesty throughout the book was a gift - to feel less alone in my own walls that are up against creating and the ways I could easily relate to the messy middle of motherhood where getting anything done can feel daunting.
I left this book inspired to not only put effort into creative outlets that I know, but also to try new things and to let the “trying” be enough. I know I’ll return to this one often.
Also, it is more like a small coffee table book with plenty of beautiful pictures and I LOVED that.
Ashlee’s honesty throughout the book was a gift - to feel less alone in my own walls that are up against creating and the ways I could easily relate to the messy middle of motherhood where getting anything done can feel daunting.
I left this book inspired to not only put effort into creative outlets that I know, but also to try new things and to let the “trying” be enough. I know I’ll return to this one often.
Also, it is more like a small coffee table book with plenty of beautiful pictures and I LOVED that.
March 25, 2023
I often struggle to read non-fiction books on writing and creativity. They all sound great on paper, but it’s hard to put their words to work in real-life. I loved Ashlee’s book on creativity because not only were her words an encouragement, but the journal prompts and writing exercises met me right where I am—in the thick of motherhood and pursuing a creative life. Each chapter had me nodding along, feeling like she had written it just for me. In the past, I often saw my writing life as black & white, something that had to be separate (in time & space) from my kids and mothering. But Ashlee’s stories, examples, and words reminded me that pursuing both—alongside each other—makes each one better. I’ll come back to this book again and again.
April 14, 2025
This book blew me away. It lit a fire in my heart and desires to create beauty. But this book also made me brave. It’s helped to grow my anticipation to share ideas, and seek out a community of friends who can encourage me that “This is worth doing”, and to also be that friend to others. It paints a picture, through the loves and stories of others, of how valuable our creative gifts can be intertwined with others. We all need ‘believing mirrors’ in our lives, and villages do not create themselves. This book brings life to those who read and allow themselves to enjoy it.
July 6, 2023
I ADORED this book. I felt so seen and encouraged as a mom and a writer. But also I felt inspired to be creative in a million other ways too—in the way I read books to my boys, in letting go of perfection when painting, and in inviting my children into my creative endeavors (gardening, baking, watercolor, etc.).
Read it.
Be inspired.
Read it.
Be inspired.
May 29, 2023
I needed this book. Equal parts encouraging, convicting, and inspiring, this book is the only I have found thus far that has been able to hold the beauty of motherhood and necessity of creativity at the same time. Highly recommend for any mom out there who is burdened to work creatively while also knee deep in parenting duties. The two callings are not opposed to one another. Ashlee has the lived experienced and raw honesty to share what it looks like to pursue both with hope and faithfulness.
February 14, 2024
This book is a boost to my soul. Lifts me up out of a creating slump and reminds me that to create is an example left by our Creator when he created us and everyday as he creates beautiful skies. Nature is His canvas. We are created with those impulses to create as well. Ashlee guides us through understanding just how possible it is to fit creating in the busy life of a mother.
Read for the Brighter Winter reading challenge ‘a book published in 2023’
Read for the Brighter Winter reading challenge ‘a book published in 2023’
February 19, 2024
I really enjoyed this book, it has encouraged me to take small bits of time during my day to create.
January 13, 2025
sun-soaked photographs wedged between beautifully worded thoughts about how we create because we were created in God’s image. inspiring & would make a great gift for a mama ❤️
March 22, 2023
I smiled my way through this whole book. It’s delightful, encouraging, inspiring, and practical. I loved that at the end of each chapter there was a creative exercise and journal prompt to put into practice what I read and reflect on the content.
My main takeaway is that mothers can also be creatives and that these two roles can work in tandem and make each other better.
I’m already looking forward to rereading this book!
My main takeaway is that mothers can also be creatives and that these two roles can work in tandem and make each other better.
I’m already looking forward to rereading this book!
March 15, 2023
I’ve followed Ashlee for years and am an avid reader of both her personal blog and her collaborative motherhood website, Coffee + Crumbs. I love her writing and how she so eloquently speaks to my heart about motherhood and creativity. I’m so inspired to make being creative a bigger priority in my life!
November 13, 2024
Read this for book club:
Let me start off by saying I am not a believer. The book was good and it will be great for someone out there.
It felt more like a promotion to her brand/blog than genuine help to those that struggle.
This book was essentially a bunch of generic advice and best practices sprinkled in with personal anecdotes about why that advice helped her with a bible verse twisted to suit her narrative.
I noticed the author tended towards giving too many examples in one sentence to prove a point, Like dirty hair, cheerios stuck on my pants, spit up on my shirt, dark circles around my eyes- we get it! motherhood is exhausting- and so were her gajillion examples lol
Let me start off by saying I am not a believer. The book was good and it will be great for someone out there.
It felt more like a promotion to her brand/blog than genuine help to those that struggle.
This book was essentially a bunch of generic advice and best practices sprinkled in with personal anecdotes about why that advice helped her with a bible verse twisted to suit her narrative.
I noticed the author tended towards giving too many examples in one sentence to prove a point, Like dirty hair, cheerios stuck on my pants, spit up on my shirt, dark circles around my eyes- we get it! motherhood is exhausting- and so were her gajillion examples lol
October 26, 2023
I absolutely loved this book. For me personally, the message was very meaningful- that both motherhood and creativity are God-given gifts and we can be both mothers and creators at the same time. In fact, these roles can beautify and enhance each other. I feel inspired to pull out my sketch book and make some regular time to draw.
So many great ideas and quotes I want to remember:
One of the first things we learn about God in scripture is that He created. Our desire to create is hereditary. He invites us to co-create with him. God filled the world with good things and calls us to do the same.
When we label creativity as selfish, it’s understandable that we’d feel immediate tension with the selflessness we typically attribute to motherhood.
When we create lovely things that point back to the goodness of our Maker, we are giving “an account of the hope that is in us” (1 Peter 3:15).
Our culture is obsessed with final products people can sell and rate. But creativity is so much more than that. Creativity is joy and healing and worship, the lavish combination of consciousness, gratitude and inspiration.
When we make art, we bring oxygen into the room. We give people something true and beautiful to breathe in. It can breathe life into our families.
When we pay attention to the world, to the flowers growing in the cracks of sidewalks, we model an appreciation for beauty, for creation. When we walk confidently in the talents God has given us, we model faithfulness, obedience, stewardship.
Make space for creativity. When we believe creativity is worthy of taking up space, we will find a way.
Every day I have to remind myself that God doles out the portions and He knows the exact measure I am meant to have. My only responsibility is to take what God gives me and be a good steward of that gift.
Breadcrumbs- signs we’re on track with God’s plan
When we consistently show up to our creative work, the end result far surpasses any single masterpiece we finish. All of those hours co-creating with God culminate in a life filled to the brim with wonder, curiosity and awe. Our end result is sharpened faith, a deeper reverence, a heightened ability to “detect God’s fingerprint” (Bob Doyle).
You’ve got to put in the work. Showing up is half the battle, but showing up is where we get better. This is where we grow in our craft. This is where we learn commitment and stamina and how to hold ourselves accountable. This is where we get to practice courage and tenacity. This is where we learn grit, perseverance, how to fall down and how to get back up. This is where we establish rhythms and routines, where all of our tiny steps become habits over time. We live in a culture obsessed with final products, but the middle matters greatly. It’s where the magic happens.
The quality of output is determined by the quality of input. If we want to create inspiring art, we have to consume inspiring art. We have to go where the light is, toward what is lovely, toward what makes us feel alive.
As mothers we pour out daily, food, affection, discipline, grace, connection. We feed our children, clothe them, hug them, disciple them, and then we get up the next day and do it all over again. If we want to show up to this work filled to the brim with love and patience, we have to make sure we are replenishing ourselves with the right kind of input.
I’m not suggesting this holy work isn’t easy, or that we shouldn’t speak honestly about the ways motherhood brings us to the end of ourselves. But we are not going to love motherhood more if we surround ourselves with people and media and influences that constantly complain about it. Even in motherhood, we can go where the light is.
Nothing is wasted. The minutes matter. With Him, not one ounce of these daily acts of love, of faith, of sacrifice, of mothering is wasted. Our God is not a God of waste. In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.
Pour out what you hope to get back someday: generosity, and encouragement, lasagna, etc. It’s better to not do this- mothering, creating- by yourself. God has given us one of the best gifts in each other.
Play unlocks us, loosens us up, grants us permission to try something new for the sake of delight, not mastery. Play brings us back to the little artists we were as kids.
Lint picking is focusing on the small imperfection rather than seeing the greater glory of the whole. (Julia Cameron) Instead of being a lint picker, be a glitter thrower. We will never regret being generous. Feed my own capacity to celebrate others well. I hope to have a hoarse voice from cheering people on around me. I want to leave a trail of glitter in my wake. Everyday we get to choose how we show up in this world. Will we celebrate or mock others dreams, dole out praise or withhold, build or break down, root for or against fellow moms, fellow artists. Use an obnoxious number of emojis. Spur the women around us toward love and good deeds.
Sometimes faithfulness looks like saying no, choosing less over more, simple over grand, humble rhythms over impressive stats. Faithfulness looks like listening, planting your feet in quiet obedience where God has called you.
Rest helps us remember that God is God and we’re not God. Rest forces us to accept our own limitations and put our faith in the one who intentionally designed us to need Him. Stop viewing rest as a sign of weakness or laziness, and start viewing rest as a sign of faith, trust, and glorious surrender. Our culture loves to paint rest as a self-care issue, but rest is and has always been a faith issue.
We will never know the full extent of what God does with our creative efforts. God does not give us gifts so we can hoard them. So write, draw, bake, dance. Steward everything you’ve been given with care. Be generous. Open your hands and faith and let God do the rest.
So many great ideas and quotes I want to remember:
One of the first things we learn about God in scripture is that He created. Our desire to create is hereditary. He invites us to co-create with him. God filled the world with good things and calls us to do the same.
When we label creativity as selfish, it’s understandable that we’d feel immediate tension with the selflessness we typically attribute to motherhood.
When we create lovely things that point back to the goodness of our Maker, we are giving “an account of the hope that is in us” (1 Peter 3:15).
Our culture is obsessed with final products people can sell and rate. But creativity is so much more than that. Creativity is joy and healing and worship, the lavish combination of consciousness, gratitude and inspiration.
When we make art, we bring oxygen into the room. We give people something true and beautiful to breathe in. It can breathe life into our families.
When we pay attention to the world, to the flowers growing in the cracks of sidewalks, we model an appreciation for beauty, for creation. When we walk confidently in the talents God has given us, we model faithfulness, obedience, stewardship.
Make space for creativity. When we believe creativity is worthy of taking up space, we will find a way.
Every day I have to remind myself that God doles out the portions and He knows the exact measure I am meant to have. My only responsibility is to take what God gives me and be a good steward of that gift.
Breadcrumbs- signs we’re on track with God’s plan
When we consistently show up to our creative work, the end result far surpasses any single masterpiece we finish. All of those hours co-creating with God culminate in a life filled to the brim with wonder, curiosity and awe. Our end result is sharpened faith, a deeper reverence, a heightened ability to “detect God’s fingerprint” (Bob Doyle).
You’ve got to put in the work. Showing up is half the battle, but showing up is where we get better. This is where we grow in our craft. This is where we learn commitment and stamina and how to hold ourselves accountable. This is where we get to practice courage and tenacity. This is where we learn grit, perseverance, how to fall down and how to get back up. This is where we establish rhythms and routines, where all of our tiny steps become habits over time. We live in a culture obsessed with final products, but the middle matters greatly. It’s where the magic happens.
The quality of output is determined by the quality of input. If we want to create inspiring art, we have to consume inspiring art. We have to go where the light is, toward what is lovely, toward what makes us feel alive.
As mothers we pour out daily, food, affection, discipline, grace, connection. We feed our children, clothe them, hug them, disciple them, and then we get up the next day and do it all over again. If we want to show up to this work filled to the brim with love and patience, we have to make sure we are replenishing ourselves with the right kind of input.
I’m not suggesting this holy work isn’t easy, or that we shouldn’t speak honestly about the ways motherhood brings us to the end of ourselves. But we are not going to love motherhood more if we surround ourselves with people and media and influences that constantly complain about it. Even in motherhood, we can go where the light is.
Nothing is wasted. The minutes matter. With Him, not one ounce of these daily acts of love, of faith, of sacrifice, of mothering is wasted. Our God is not a God of waste. In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.
Pour out what you hope to get back someday: generosity, and encouragement, lasagna, etc. It’s better to not do this- mothering, creating- by yourself. God has given us one of the best gifts in each other.
Play unlocks us, loosens us up, grants us permission to try something new for the sake of delight, not mastery. Play brings us back to the little artists we were as kids.
Lint picking is focusing on the small imperfection rather than seeing the greater glory of the whole. (Julia Cameron) Instead of being a lint picker, be a glitter thrower. We will never regret being generous. Feed my own capacity to celebrate others well. I hope to have a hoarse voice from cheering people on around me. I want to leave a trail of glitter in my wake. Everyday we get to choose how we show up in this world. Will we celebrate or mock others dreams, dole out praise or withhold, build or break down, root for or against fellow moms, fellow artists. Use an obnoxious number of emojis. Spur the women around us toward love and good deeds.
Sometimes faithfulness looks like saying no, choosing less over more, simple over grand, humble rhythms over impressive stats. Faithfulness looks like listening, planting your feet in quiet obedience where God has called you.
Rest helps us remember that God is God and we’re not God. Rest forces us to accept our own limitations and put our faith in the one who intentionally designed us to need Him. Stop viewing rest as a sign of weakness or laziness, and start viewing rest as a sign of faith, trust, and glorious surrender. Our culture loves to paint rest as a self-care issue, but rest is and has always been a faith issue.
We will never know the full extent of what God does with our creative efforts. God does not give us gifts so we can hoard them. So write, draw, bake, dance. Steward everything you’ve been given with care. Be generous. Open your hands and faith and let God do the rest.
January 17, 2024
I don’t consider myself a creative per se, but there have been seasons where I wrote or did crafts of some kind more consistently. This book was encouraging in how creativity is good and necessary still in motherhood and did a great job point to the original creator, God. Midway through reading this book I booked a beginners pottery class. I don’t know if that’s a sign that it was super moving, that I’m an impulse buyer, or both??
February 5, 2024
4.5 stars. So good! A must read for any who long to create (and to create anything! Art, music, writing, baking, gardening, order… :) ). Her target audience are moms, as there are a lot of motherhood anecdotes/analogies, but the truths would be encouraging for anyone who finds it tough to create with the craziness of life.
July 29, 2025
This has four stars simply because it applies to a very specific group of people. However, if you are a mother trying to explore what creativity looks like within your time limits, this book is fantastic. This was actually my second read through it, and I have been tremendously helped both times.
January 24, 2024
This book felt like having an encouraging conversation with a friend. Some of my favorite insights to counter the lies we tell ourselves about creating:
You have everything you need. - Our desire for easy external fixes feeds our delusion that we just need more resources or the magic product to be creative. When, in the words of the TikTok feng shui guy, "Stop whining. Fix it." 🤣
Abundance over scarcity. - The thought that "there are no new ideas," "I can't capture anything new in a poem that hasn't been captured better by someone before me," that we see an abundance of creativity but only see value in creating amidst scarcity... those thoughts are not of God. Reading this chapter particularly intrigued me because these thoughts cripple my own creativity. But, ultimately, I can only be creative if I create for me and for the joy of the act, rather than hyper-focusing on the end result that will only be valuable if it is perceived as utterly unique. I appreciate Gadd's tactic of reaching out to other creators and embracing the abundance rather than lamenting the lack of scarcity or developing resentment - encouraging other creators and building community rather than imposing on yourself the feeling that there is no space for you here.
Nothing is wasted. - Wow. What a powerful meditation. Gadd briefly recalls that Christ himself had to tell the disciples to gather up the leftovers after the feeding of the 5,000. In that miraculous moment, Jesus wanted to ensure that nothing was wasted, that no word fell to the ground empty. Often, as a creator, it feels that our words constantly fall empty to the ground as we struggle through nonsensical writing sessions, photography sessions that turn out to be unusable, or entire creative spells where the dredging of our consciousness yields little fruit. But, nothing in that process is wasted. You HAVE to get through those times where it seems like you aren't getting anywhere, because every creative effort has countless hours, drafts, and crumbs left behind - none of that is wasted. Again, particularly encouraging to me as I struggle with the reserve of not wanting to waste time, energy, or other resources in a process that I perceive to be fruitless.
Overall, helpful reminders that encouraged me to apply myself more thoughtfully and intentionally to my creative work.
Hopefully I'll come back and edit this to add ideas when I'm not typing with just one hand while juggling a sleeping baby. The margins of motherhood indeed 🤣
Edit: Yes, I did come back to finish this review! ^_^
You have everything you need. - Our desire for easy external fixes feeds our delusion that we just need more resources or the magic product to be creative. When, in the words of the TikTok feng shui guy, "Stop whining. Fix it." 🤣
Abundance over scarcity. - The thought that "there are no new ideas," "I can't capture anything new in a poem that hasn't been captured better by someone before me," that we see an abundance of creativity but only see value in creating amidst scarcity... those thoughts are not of God. Reading this chapter particularly intrigued me because these thoughts cripple my own creativity. But, ultimately, I can only be creative if I create for me and for the joy of the act, rather than hyper-focusing on the end result that will only be valuable if it is perceived as utterly unique. I appreciate Gadd's tactic of reaching out to other creators and embracing the abundance rather than lamenting the lack of scarcity or developing resentment - encouraging other creators and building community rather than imposing on yourself the feeling that there is no space for you here.
Nothing is wasted. - Wow. What a powerful meditation. Gadd briefly recalls that Christ himself had to tell the disciples to gather up the leftovers after the feeding of the 5,000. In that miraculous moment, Jesus wanted to ensure that nothing was wasted, that no word fell to the ground empty. Often, as a creator, it feels that our words constantly fall empty to the ground as we struggle through nonsensical writing sessions, photography sessions that turn out to be unusable, or entire creative spells where the dredging of our consciousness yields little fruit. But, nothing in that process is wasted. You HAVE to get through those times where it seems like you aren't getting anywhere, because every creative effort has countless hours, drafts, and crumbs left behind - none of that is wasted. Again, particularly encouraging to me as I struggle with the reserve of not wanting to waste time, energy, or other resources in a process that I perceive to be fruitless.
Overall, helpful reminders that encouraged me to apply myself more thoughtfully and intentionally to my creative work.
Hopefully I'll come back and edit this to add ideas when I'm not typing with just one hand while juggling a sleeping baby. The margins of motherhood indeed 🤣
Edit: Yes, I did come back to finish this review! ^_^
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