Creative adj. promoting construction or creation; having the ability or power to create.

Monday

Not everyone would consider themselves creative. I know for me there is a wave of panic when I hear the words scrapbooking, card making, sewing or drawing. I was a teacher for 14 years and I perfected the ‘stick figure’ - when I was feeling particularly creative, they even got clothes! So being creative was very specific in my mind, and I did not fit the mold. The result of this was a low standard of achievement in any creative area. I began to see myself as uncreative and therefore I became exactly that.
Write a list of things you would consider as creative attributes?
How many of these attributes do you have?
Now write a list of things you are good at in the areas of communication, caring, encouragement and observance of others.
Today, think about the two lists you have. Are there any on the first list that could be encompassed by attributes in the second?
Remember, think outside the box and be creative!

Tuesday

Live creatively, friends.. .
Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience. Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, she will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All she’ll have to show for her life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in her, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. Galatians 6:1,4-10 (MSG)

This passage, in the letter to the Galatians, was written by Paul encouraging the church there to promote community and love with each other. I was really impacted by the way this begins in verse 1 (MSG) with ‘Live creatively. . .’ By now you should have the idea that you are special and unique to God because He made you and you’re a ‘one of a kind’. So, it should follow that the plans for you and how you’re going to achieve them are as unique and special as you are. You were created by the Almighty Creator and He doesn’t want to repeat anything twice because He has so many cool ideas that everyone is an original masterpiece! (Eph. 2:10 NLT) This can be a comfort to you or a huge pressure. Let’s see why: if you are confident in your relationship with God and the way He made you, then uniqueness is a freedom that can cause you to extend yourself far beyond natural bounds. However, if you are still in a place of disappointment with yourself and all the insecurities you have are viewed as flaws to be rid of, then uniqueness is a scary place where having boundless opportunities can be like jumping into a bottomless pit. So where are you Darling? Are you confident or insecure with your uniqueness? This passage talks about looking at your life and doing your creative best. This is you chance to take stock of who you are - through you Father’s eyes. Think of it as an opportunity to reinvent yourself. Not in a fake way, but more in a singularly rare way. A way that keeps you true to yourself and who God intended for you to be. Embracing this does not make a fool of God, but instead it give God everything He creatively planted in you to work with. I love how the passage talks about plants and harvest - something that evokes in me a growth and flourishing of indistinguishable proportions. YAY! You can’t possibly predict what kind of produce God is going to bring out of you until you become intimate with your Maker and the creation He made. . . You! Finally, the last aspect of this passage that needs to be spoken about is the timing of it all. The scripture here warns about flapping around doing everything and anything - don’t make this mistake! It says “At the right time we will harvest a good crop. . .” I know little to nothing about crops, but I imagine it takes the time it takes. A harvester can’t rush the process of growth, and neither can you. Let the Harvester of your life grow you perfectly to exude the exact creativity planted deep within you at the right time and in the right place. Then you will see something spectacular in your life and the lives of others you influence. 

Wednesday

About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months.  But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.
Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.
 Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.
 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother.
 “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him.
 Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.” Exodus 2:1-10 NLT

The thing that strikes me in this passage is the creativity of both mother and daughter. Firstly, Jochebed, Moses mother, crafts a basket to withstand the Nile River - a river that flooded every year, where large birds flew close to the surface searching for food, where crocodiles resided and where the dynamics of the river were affected by it’s location on the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. This basket needed to be sea worthy and hold a three month old baby that wiggles and cries! Now that’s creativity! Do you think Jochebed was looking for an answer outside of herself? I don’t! I think she had made many vessels used to carry water and be water tight. So what better solution than to use a creative skill already tried and true! Then we see Miriam, Moses sister, given the task of watching over him. I wonder what her instructions were? Whatever Jochebed told her, I guarantee Miriam outdid herself here. I love verse  4, because Miriam is a wise girl who has decided that it’s best to watch and wait. Remember the passage yesterday told you to wait for the right time to harvest. Well, Miriam did just that, waited for the right time. If she had jumped the gun when Moses started crying, she may have caused another outcome, but she waits, and in waiting, the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter is softened by Moses cry. Only after she sees the princess respond to Moses does Miriam go into full gear and get really creative. Where did she come up with the idea for her mother to care for Moses? Could we possibly stretch Miriam’s creativity to believe that she put the idea of paying Jochebed into the princess’ mind through the way she suggested the whole ‘nursing job’ to her. After all, Jochebed was going to be nurturing the future Pharaoh - a task worth it’s merits according to custom. Yay Miriam! A creative, spontaneous, loving, brave girl - and all she did was look, wait and harvest according to what she observed from the situation and the people. Creativity of two very different people who both seemed to have an awareness of their potential given the opportunity to shine. So what opportunities are floating your way this week?

Thursday

God is creative, and you are made in His image. My children are very individual but for some people who meet them, and know me, it is obvious to them, who these children belong to. Why? Because my children have the essence of me in them. Between Mark and I, our children have imparted aspects of us in them. Not only that, but we live with them 24/7. This is a great way to influence someone, and that is a wonderful gift to have as a parent. It’s kind of like that with God, only better. God is perfect. So when He made you in His image, you really scored a perfect base to be an awesome person. Don’t discard that statement Sweetie, You are wonderful! So, if you have God’s DNA within you then you are off to a good start, but there’s more! You also have the privilege of being influenced by Him 24/7 through relationship with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This is the reason I began to see that I was scorning the truth of my unique creativity. I was made to be unique, after all, my Dad is very creative and He made me in His image, and He influences me. So with this revelation I began to search what kind of scrapbooking I would bless the world with! “Uh uh. Not scrapbooking.” “What about card making?” “No.” “Well, Lord? What?” I was confused because I knew I was created to be creative, so where was it? It was not long after that I fell head over heels in love with the scriptures and through that I began to write and write and write. I discovered my creative gene from my Father! I was to be creative outside the box I had termed ‘creative’ and this was to become the freedom I needed to swing for the fence! I have spent many hours/days/weeks and so on in extravagant ‘pity parties’ where I have been the guest of honour because I didn’t fit into what I thought God termed ‘creative’. It wasn’t until my Father began challenging my heart to encourage others in their diverse creativity that I realized my encouragement might just apply to me too! Isn’t God just the best teacher - He put me in charge of something I also needed to learn. So I took a chance on embracing the diverse in me and let my Father bring some unique creativity out. Don’t’ allow yourself to be boxed into something restrictive when it comes to expressing the creativity of God in your life. After all, He seems to have a pretty large pool of potential and you’re in His image! WOW! Perhaps, Sweetie, the sky really is the limit! So try reaching for it.

Friday

Just this week we have looked at two women in scripture who showed creativity in two very different ways. Neither one better than the other, but both together, proving very effective in the face of trial. Have a look around your spiritual family and begin to observe the creativity of others.
Write some thoughts down about the women or men you see the Father’s creative gene in. It’s not hard once you start looking!
Now get your pretty paper out (or if you’re like me, write and email) and encourage those creative elements in others. As you begin to identify, observe and harvest creative people pray that God shows new things hidden in you just waiting to grow and harvest themselves! Try saying this: “I am creative! My Dad is, and He says I’m like Him.”