My husband has a new hobby. He is collecting and using fountain pens. His face lights up when he tells me about new ink and how the pen scratches the paper gently. He’s never been much of a writer, but he journals daily now and it’s been very life-giving for him.

When I was a girl, I read Anne of Windy Poplars, by L. M. Montgomery, and in it, she writes to her fiancé about using just the right pen:

“So I’m going to keep this hour sacred to writing to you. Though this won’t be a love-letter. I have a scratchy pen and I can’t write love-letters with a scratchy pen… or a sharp pen… or a stub pen. So you’ll only get that kind of letter from me when I have exactly the right kind of pen.”

I remember thinking, “Wait, I’m not the only one?” Owning a pen I love has often made the difference between picking up my journal or writing a letter or not. If you haven’t considered it before, give it a try. I personally love Pilot pens that use liquid ink, available anywhere pens are sold. They write cleanly and make expressing my thoughts a much smoother process. You may find you like a very different kind of pen.

When August rolls around and school supplies flood the stores, part of me geeks out a bit. I’ve always been tight-fisted with money but lately have been learning that God wants us to enjoy life generously. So this year, I splurged and got myself some thin-pointed markers, the grown-up version of a box of 64 Crayola crayons that I used to die for. I’ve found some calligraphy pens that are easy to use, and some fun watercolor pencils.

So many people tell me that they aren’t creative. But God made us in his image, and he is the ultimate creator. So each of us has a creator inside of us somewhere. Not everyone draws or paints or writes, but I’m asking you, have you ever tried? Has there been a secret wish deep inside you to be able to create pictures and colors? Go buy yourself some acrylic paints or a box of Crayola Super Tips markers just for fun and get a little messy. Tip? It doesn’t have to be perfect, and nobody ever has to see it. But if you don’t have anything to create with, you won’t ever create.

Not having the proper tools, like pens or color mediums, can keep us from jumping in and letting our hearts out on paper. We can’t truly grow if we keep ourselves bottled up inside and a new pen might be the first step we need to take toward living a fruitful life.