Creativity

Over the last couple of years I've come to realize how much creativity appeals to me. Photography, music, paintings, books... the artistic just draws me in. Why? I wouldn't consider myself especially a creative type. I mean, my job is an accountant. Not exactly know as a creative bunch in general. Facts and figures are what should appeal to my logical side, but it doesn't. It is the story told. I am held captive by the story. A painting has a story it is telling. A book lays out the story and reveals the characters. Who they are and who they are becoming. A photo can capture a moment in the story. It can say such much more than just the facts. Nature shows creativity. I can sit on the beach and be amazed at the vastness and how huge it is. I am stunned by an incredible sunset. I can't stop that moment of being awed when I first see the mountains.

The beauty in the story is where it is at for me. What I am realizing is that is what draws me into friendships as well. I never thought of my relationships as part of my creative side, but it is. It is where I see the painting that my friends are creating with their lives. I get to see the story lived out in front of me. It isn't cold hard facts, but a story being told where we have a role. Not the main role, but a part to play. Our stories overlap and create color and texture in each others lives. My life is a subplot in their story. It moves the character forward. It helps to shape who they are becoming as well as who I am.

I know some prefer the academic - the facts and theories to be proved, the science, the logical side. I understand they are useful, but it is the story that draws me in. Movies are appealing because they draw you into the story. Your life is a story as well. Who are you drawing into your story? What is your story revealing? The great thing is that like a lot of art, your story is fluid. If you don't like what your story has to say so far, you can change it. Facts can't be changed, but the story is still being written. Facts are what has happened. The story is what can happen. What are you going to write, draw or paint in your story today? Who will it bring to tears as they see the beauty in what you are creating? Where does your story overlap with someone elses? Don't stop being creative.

My dislike of structure

How do you manage changes in your rhythm of life?

I don't consider myself an especially structured person. I like a general idea of the plan or an overview of what is going on, but pile on the details and I begin to lose focus. So when life becomes especially structured, I get a little stir crazy. All of that to say, that right now my life is feeling very structured. New responsibilities, changes in friendships, little free time... all of those create a new rhythm for me. So how do you manage a season that isn't part of your natural rhythm? Just suck it up and plow through it? Try to find some less structured time? (And how exactly would you do that?)

Not a bad place, just a different one for me. I do like (once I am fully awake) having some time in the morning to read. That structure is good and definitely helps me start off the day with a better perspective of what is important. I just miss some of the creative things of life and the freedom to invest in people. Still find some time for these things but it takes more planning... and structure (aarrgh!)

So what season are you in? A good one... enjoy it to it's fullest. A tough one... hold on and things will change. A structured one.. I have no clue.

(A side note. One of those creative things I miss is writing on here. So bear me with me through the sporadic postings, random rants, and lack of challenging thoughts. Hopefully the season is a short one.)

Just wondering

Two thoughts from today.

• I spent most of the day in training and felt lost for a great majority of the time. The training was pretty technical and I didn't understand most of the terms. The teacher spends most of her days normally dealing with this type of stuff and was flying through it without a second thought as to whether these terms meant anything to me. The thought that stuck me was that is what we do a lot of the time when we gather as a church family. We use terms like sanctification, baptism, tithing, etc. that most people who haven't dealt with it much, have no clue what we are talking about. We fly through it without a second thought as to whether it makes sense to anyone else. It makes sense to us, so doesn't everyone else understand these terms? Wonder if we need to include a glossary of terms we us? Something that says hear is what we are talking about when we say this. What good is it if you can't easily understand the words? Good to see things from a new perspective every so often.
• Grace is amazing. (I think someone should write a song about that.) Knowing that even when I sin, God has covered that. Selfishness, gossip, anger, sexual sins, lying... doesn't matter what type of sin, His grace covers it. Wonder why we are so quick to accept that total inclusion for "our" sins by this grace, but not so much when it is someone else's sin that we don't struggle with? Grace covers it all from the "little" sins to the "big" ones. (By the way, no such thing as little or big sins. They are all equal, even though we want to rank them according to some scale that is justified in our minds.) Don't forget it is amazing for all people... you and the person you think is beyond help.

Just some things that made me think today. Hope they make you think a little as well.

What describes you?

"He was totally exemplary and trustworthy." - Daniel 6:4 (The Message)

"Things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely." - Galatians 5:22-23 (The Message)

My thoughts as I read those verses this morning - that is the standard. Not the goal, but the standard. If I am living life the way God laid out, then those should describe my life. They couldn't find any skeletons in Daniel's closet because he was totally exemplary and trustworthy. Wonder how hard it would be to find something in my closet? (Not very hard.) The book of Galatians lays out two different scenarios - one chasing after a life like Jesus and one of selfishness. The one above is what life should look like when we are chasing after Jesus, but when we live a life of self-interest and live one way at times and another way according to how we feel on that day, then it looks more like this.

"Repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness... paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community." - Galatians 5:19-21 (The Message)

Sucks when the wrong description describes your life. Nice slap upside the head to start the morning. What about you? Which list would describe your life? I hope you are living in the freedom that God has given us. I hope your life is marked as exemplary and you are trustworthy. It is gift, but we have to choose it.

What do you do in the middle?

I believe there is a rhythm to life. Seasons of rest and seasons of activity. But right now I feel like I am skiing in an avalanche... with one ski... and a huge drop looming in front of me. Overwhelmed doesn't even begin to describe it. My question for the day is how do you find rest in the middle of the craziness? Do you just suck it up and deal with it? Doesn't seem very restful or like much of a plan. Do you pretend it doesn't exist? Again that doesn't seem to accomplish much. What advice do you have for someone in the middle of it all?

What would you choose?

If you could pick one characteristic to describe you, what would you want it to be? (Note that I said what would you want it to be, not is it the one that describes you.) I think I would choose humility. Not the false humility of "Aww, it wasn't anything" while on the inside thinking "yeah, I am pretty amazing". (Come on, you know people like that. And you can spot it a mile away.) Humility can't be faked. It is a way of life. A willingness to do whatever it takes to serve someone else. There isn't anything below your level. Need chairs set up. Awesome, I would love to help you do that. That kind of attitude about life. Knowing we haven't really done anything to deserve where we are at in life. A humbleness in your attitude. Some people think of humility as being weak. I guess I see it as choosing to serve because you love them more than yourself.

Do you know someone who shows the characteristic you picked? Take a minute today to thank them for their example. We need to recognize and celebrate people who show good character. It is easy to talk about things like humility, but it is a lot tougher to live it out daily. They don't need to be recognized, but I think we need to recognize them. (Does that make sense?) So what are you going to do today to develop the characteristic you chose from the original question above? It starts today, not some day down the road.