Cultivating Creative Emergence

It was a wonderful message at church a few Sunday's ago. A different message, but a wonderful one all the same. It was the message I needed to hear delivered at the moment I needed to hear it, delivered by Don Perini who used to be the High School Pastor and who is now a professor at Cornerstone College. His lesson was on Creative Emergence.

I'm not sure what brought on the message from Don, but I'm glad he spoke. I'm glad I was there to hear it. Most of what he shared has been on my mind for years, but it's been speaking deeply to my heart, too, for the last year. It's the need to write, to photograph, not in a haphazard way, but in a way that says who I am and what my purpose is.

Internally I've struggled with the whole creativity thing. A part of me feeling that I can be creative without doing it for a living and another part of me that wants to do nothing all day long but my craft. Realistically, I need my job. Thankfully, I like my job, sometimes even love it. There is something to be said for doing what you love, just for the plain and simple joy of it. In other words, just because art, music, dance, or whatever creative outlet you have isn't your day job, that doesn't mean it still doesn't play an important part of your life.

I've long believed that our creative nature comes from God. We are made in his image. Not that we look like him, but he made us with his characteristics. Since God is the first and greatest creator and all our gifts come from him, then it stands to reason that creativity resides in all of us. Something Don said made total and perfect sense, we create not to earn a living, but to glorify God. David is a wonderful example of this. He was a King, a soldier, a ruler and still, he practiced creative emergence with his Psalms and his heart.

That's what I want. I may never write the best selling novel or sell my photos to the masses, but I don't really need to. I just need to do it for my own joy and for his glory. The point is, I just need to do it. The point is, if you're reading this and it speaks to your heart, too, then you just need to do it, too.

Don't let the in consequential things stop you. If you think you don't have time, consider that you do. What is that speaks to your heart? Now, why aren't you spending a little time each day or each week doing it? What is it that you are spending time on? Is everything else really a priority? If you are like me, you may be watching too much TV, or spending too much time online, whatever it may be, you likely have at least 30-minutes a day to do that thing that speaks to your heart.

What are you waiting for? It's time to get to it.