What is the Affect it has on Your life?

Day Fifteen

Have you ever seen the movie Mom’s Night Out ? The lead female character has a desire to create through blogging. In fact she may even tell you she feels “called”. And the chaos of her family is calling her to do everything but create.

It is a cute, hectic story where the woman finally sits down and is mentored by the most unlikely person. He tells her to breathe and be herself.  I will let you take in the story to see what affect this interaction had on her life.

Enjoy the gifts He has given to you!

“Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, Your High God, above politics, and everything.”

Psaalms 46:10 MSG

During the chaos when I question whether I have anything of worth to share or even if I am DOING the right thing, I am gently surrounded by the gentle words of my Loving Papa.  

 – Yes, share what I have given to you. No more and No less.

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¹¹ You did it: You turned my deepest pains into joyful dancing;
    You stripped off my dark clothing
    and covered me with joyful light.
¹² You have restored my honor. My heart is ready to explode, erupt in new songs!
    It’s impossible to keep quiet!
    Eternal One, my God, my Life-Giver, I will thank You forever

Psalm 30:11-12 Voice

After reading the triumphant victory in this verse, what holds any of us back from going full speed ahead in BEING the MASTERPIECE God created? Well, as I look back at the movie, a couple things jump out at me where daily routine sadly speaks louder than scripture.

Do you identify with any of these?

Perceived chaos in the home can make huge demands on one’s mind where that is what you see more than God’s delight in you. (You even find yourself looking for dark covering so no one could find you. Will this bring you peace? )

 Does a full time job with its cares make you weary? Life has dulled down to coming home, “PLOPing” in the chair, zoning out after supper with the TV til you head for bed? There is no energy or Joyful light to even consider creating.    

 Is there a creative idea churning inside, but you are hesitant to express it because of past labels you have received? i.e—

☹

 You aren’t as good as…  You can’t make money at that… Just stay doing what you are doing, it is safe… This isn’t a real job, spend your time on something that will do some good,  Or there is the fear that if you open your heart to this, people will get the idea you are only trying to draw attention to yourself. ☹

Go to God for His words of encouragement.

Whose response do you rely on to be your creative light?

The Eternal is full of grace and naturally just;
    our God is compassionate and merciful.
⁶ And the Eternal watches over the naive.
    Whenever I was knocked down, He reached down and saved me.
⁷ O my soul! Return and relax. Come to your true rest,
    for the Eternal has showered you with His favor.

Psalm 116 Voice

Listen to the deep, words God has shared with you in the quiet alone times. When God created you in your mother’s womb, He put together the sweet artistic sense of connecting you with Him in a unique way as He did no other. Not even if you were a twin would you connect with your Heavenly Father as your identical sibling would.

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Each flower has it’s own beautiful story. Delight in the beauty each flows gently in the gift God has given it to share.

Jesus shared His Story with unqualified people as far as the world was concerned. Un-educated, laborers, the outcasts, even WOMEN.  Jesus asked them to BE and share the LOVE they received. Their worldly tool kits were small. They said “YES”.

Take in the “story” to see what affect their trust in God and saying yes had on their lives.

You and I are each unqualified vessels. God has given you and me a unique voice. Are you willing to slow down, breathe, relax and receive?  What is the story God  is daily sharing WITH YOU? Are you willing to trust Him and say “YES” with your small tool kit?

I will let you take this in to your story.  What affect does it have on your life?

  

Reflections of My Heart!

Reflections of My Heart!

Please be patient with me today as I digress from the devotions.

I hope you have discovered challenges for your spiritual walk in my writings. My desire is to create space for you and meditations that will affect both your life and your art/ creativity. Personally, I don’t think one can be separated from the other. (Being a Type Four in the Enneagram explains that.¹ ) Do you look at your creative adventure with God as a sacrifice of praise? Can you see your writings through the eyes of worship? This calls for intentionally spending time with God to see what is on His heart for you. In other word using a form of spiritual discipline to seek God’s face for your art, for your life.  

The devotions are also meant to bring up a few questions in your creative approach you might not have considered before. For example: is art involved with justice, how does God express His heart today through creativity, is God seen in secular art? Response of your thoughts and discussion are encouraged.

Now to today’s post. I am stepping into the vulnerable waters of my personal space. Come and join me.

At the end of each post I draw you into a time of contemplation. I ask you to:

RECEIVE, REFLECT, RESPOND,

to the devotions I shared and the time you spend with God in the genre of your choice. I think it is only fair for me to share with you how my creative journey is going. ☺

First and foremost I know- God is Good, all the time. This includes the times my words do not flow. This is true when the photo app does not work as my mind’s eye envisions the art. This is true when I can’t understand certain requirements to upgrade my presentation. This is true when my mind feels as though everyone else is better at things then I am.

Slow down to enjoy God in the very small things in life. Through the tears, the anger, the pain. At times it REALLY needs to be intentional.

It has been on tough on me lately. I have been trying to see life through the Lens of God’s grace and acceptance.  I know My Creator loves me, but sadly, through my tears, my anger, my pain, loving myself was/is very hard.

I analyzed. I prayed. I wrote. Finally I reached something tangible because even though I don’t completely feel out of the forest, I found two constants running through the debts of my emotions.

Type Fours get ready (small drum roll)——–

Envy and Comparison.   

For me, these two sins are a deadly duo. Type Fours are not the only ones who experience such an emotional attack on our walk in life, but it does seem that we do have a tendency to be a bit more susceptible to this upset.² (Creatives of all types, how do these two enemies of our art and life show up in your walk?)

In my case the attacks come:

• from looking at other peoples’ accomplishments in creativity (and my lack),

• how quickly something is understood by people in my field but I am really slow to catch on.

• I see myself surrounded by “shoulds”. This comparison comes as I draw out expectations to meet certain standards and everyone else is whizzing by with their accomplishments. Where do I see myself? Still on first place or wondering why I need to do the activity in the first place?

If you identify with any of these, you are not crazy. You do not need to handle the internal battle on your own. These natural battles and more will arise on your journey in creative expressing/ living. This is the time where the deeper/ closer walk with God comes in.

The words of the Sunday School song—

Yes Jesus Loves, Me-The Bible tells me so.

These words are an absolute truth. Do you walk around as if in a fog at times? Yes, Jesus does loves you and walks with you in your creativity!

 are filled with absolute truth.   I don’t want a theological debate here, but I need something in the words and beyond words to run its course in my soul when Envy and Comparison are battling for my peace of mind.

What is my course of action?

I need to stop and allow TRUTH to sink into my heart. I have to ask the Holy Spirit to move in my heart. I can’t just say “get out”, and brush my hands with a finished flare. I have to ask the Holy Spirit to clean out my heart and remove the rubbish so Truth is what I Breathe. This may take time. This is what needs to happen to move my words. I cannot try just having the words move my words.

This post is a time to stop. I do not mean stop creating. I am asking you to stop and breathe. If there is a nudge from the Holy Spirit, take time with a friend, go out for coffee and confess. Confess where everything or anything out there is having a bigger affect on your life than God.

 If the creative “calling” is chaotic and it’s yelling is louder than the simple truth of “Jesus Loves Me”, consider a time out with Jesus as a possible next choice.

Does the stopping and asking mean the change will happen quickly? Sadly, there are no guarantees to an immediate difference. I will say, if you do not stop and talk to God it may never happen.

Is it important to you for people to stop and take the time to listen to what you are sharing? How do you respond when God asks you to stop and listen to the Words of Life He shares with you?

Through the chaos, God’s Love is always here. He is working a good plan.

God Takes My Hand. He completes what He starts. That brings JOY.

BE

FREE

TO

WORSHIP

AS

YOU

WERE

CREATED!

^{1 If you are interested in finding out more about the Enneagrams Type Four of Nine Types, you can read THE ROAD BACK TO YOU by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016)}

2 Referring to Type Fours being susceptible to ENVY and COMPARISON :Ibid.

DON’T PANIC. I AM WITH YOU.

Relax and breath. I am with you.

Take a deep breath wherever you are. God is with you. God is love. He takes you into His arms and says Peace, Be still!

DAY THREE

 Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady; keep a firm grip on you.  IS 41: 10 MSG.

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The day begins.   Sunshine and blue-sky? NO! — Rain. ☺

Baby Jenna has a fever. Bradley spilled milk on Tara’s art origami project for the Spring REGIONAL CREATIVE competition.¹

Your computer is calling out to you, taunting you, daring you. “How did you ever think you were a writer?”  Shame and anger shoot through your whole body. The lid of your computer is slammed shut!  “FORGET THIS PAIN!”

So many chords pulling for you. The creativity is GONE!!!
OR IS IT?

         BREATHE.

Sometimes the path before you is really hard to navigate.

 Does your path look messy, sharp, jagged, uneven? Fear limits that confident forward movement.  Jumbled thoughts of the unknown trip you up causing the creative spirit to cramp inside. You know you are called to create, but a real world with real children and real situations yell your name with a louder voice. Which one do you listen to?

      MOMMY!!!!!

Emily P. Freeman( in a million little ways) states we are image bearers². Does that mean we only reflect Jesus when the lake is still and path is easy to walk?

As the waves of life rage high and the waters tormenting our attempts to create are frigid , that’s where we need to engage in the above verse from Isaiah. It is when the child is crying out for the third time, “Mommy, I’m thirsty”, and you want to finish your word count for the day, you recall these words :”I have given you the gift of being MY ‘image bearer’.” You know this can’t be accomplished on your own. It was never meant to.

RECEIVE these words. In the frustration and jagged path, God is holding out His hand. He will not bring shame. He is walking with you. He understands.

REFLECT upon what it means to reflect Jesus. Are there ways you are trying to do life on your own? How does that affect your creativity? Does looking through His lens change your perspective on life?

Set a timer for at least 10 minutes. Be still. Sit. Contemplate on these questions.

RESPOND to what you receive concerning reflecting the light of Jesus’ love no matter what path you walk. Write a poem. Draw a picture. Paint an abstract piece of art. Maybe take a photo. ☺

    SHARE

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BE

FREE

TO

WORSHIP

AS

YOU

WERE

CREATED!

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¹This is not a real story. The names are fictitious. The situation can happen anywhere.

²Thanks to Emily P. Freeman’s book for the great information on image bearers. Emily P. Freeman, a million little ways, (Grand Rapids: Revell, 2013)

 

FREEDOM TO CREATE

FREEDOM TO CREATE!

In recent posts I have  challenged your creativity?

• Dare to Create
• Creating is a Challenge
• Comes at a Cost

These were three posts posing the question: WHY CREATE?

in the first place?

As you read the blogs, I hope more than one issue came to mind. Two  definitions of “ to create” as per the dictionary are as follows:

1. to cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes.

            2. to evolve from one’s own thought or imagination, as a work of art or an invention.

Create

Now comes another step in your creative process.

Soul-searching!

I put these next queries to  free your inner being so you can create from a deeper level. They are not to be taken lightly or answered quickly. They may sound similar to a previous post, if you have read earlier posts. If you are brand new to this page, then it will be a first approach. Either way, please allow yourself to  dwell upon each question and actually write your answers downs as they come.

• Who are you creating for? (Maybe the proper grammar should be: for whom are you creating?)
• What are you creating for?
• Did God put a cause in your heart at one time but you did not know how creativity and art could connect? (Righteousness, trafficking, church planting, abuse, art and faith?)
• Is justice for a certain group of people crying out to be heard, but can you  express what you hear through art? Your intent is not to anger, but to challenge.
• You know God calls us to serve, but creating is your passion. How can You express Your heart through the passion God has given you and serve at the same time?
• Time?!?!?! Do you search out time to spend with God? Do you seek His heart for the the inspiration to create? Do you listen to express as He calls you to create? Is there obedience to His voice in life and art?

As artists, we draw out truth, we live truth. That is where we have the freedom to create. As artists with a relationship with Jesus,  we are able to not only have an honest, intimate connection with Jesus; we can express that relationship through our art in truth. We are also called to serve. We are able to take this reality to a world defined by another signature. The world needs to know a deeper truth. Art that touches the soul, and is lived out by the artist speaks volumes.  

This will not come automatically.

• Knowing who you are IN HIM will bring you a freedom to create.
• Developing the creativity He has called you into will bring you a freedom to create.
• Living in a community that loves supports and pursues the Heart of God can bring you freedom to create.
• Don’t be afraid of rejection or what is happening in the world. This may open a door to your freedom to create.

We are given the FREEDOM TO CREATE.

You are welcome to share your challenges or your thoughts on how creativity/art can positively affect bringing the reality of Jesus to a world in turmoil.  This is a page to encourage the artists in their spiritual walk (contemplation and meditation).

BE

FREE

TO

WORSHIP

AS

YOU

WERE

CREATED!