Category: Creativity


Jan
2012

The Greatest Visionary

categories: Christ, Compassion, Creativity, Focus, Glory to God, Greatest Visionary, Jesus, Relationships, Trust
In the Beginning
And God said, "Let there be light, and there was light."

The Vision

What is your vision? Where does it come from? The Greatest Visionary, our Father in Heaven, had an amazing, out of the box, enormously creative vision. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Later, after He added all we need to sustain life and saw that it was good, God created man from the dust, literally the dirt we walk on every day. He created man in His own image to be in relationship with HIm and to be a mirror, a reflection of who He is and what He is like. Man was not created as a copy, but for the purpose of being in relationship, to reflect and to fill the earth with children, more mirrors. If you hold a diamond up to the light, you will see many beautiful reflections from it’s many facets. This is how we are created, with the thumbprint of God inside us. In essence, God imprinted upon your heart a vision to reflect Him. His purpose for man’s life is to bring that reflection to fullness and completeness through a relationship with Him.

What is it you can do to reflect Him without distortion? Before the fall of man, everything was as God created it, in order and perfection. “God saw all that He had made and it was good.” After the fall, the reflection became broken mirrors, shattered images, distorted.  To become whole again, we seek the heart of God.

Where do you seek the heart of God? Are you looking to Jesus, the Son of God, and to the will of God for His life and the gift given to us through the sacrifice of His life? God had a big vision—bigger that we will ever know this side of heaven. His vision is for you to know Him and His heart of love for you, so that you may live out the days of your life on earth being conformed into a being that is reflective of His great love, kindness, compassion and generosity. God’s vision came to fruition in steps. What steps can you take today, the beginning of a New Year, to begin to follow the steps toward the vision God has set for your life?

 Sit with God and quietly reflect, ask Him to teach you, to reveal to you the next step of His vision for you. Then trust Him with all your heart, believing He will show you the way. Press on to meet the goal of what before you, leaving behind all the past that gets in the way. Soon, you will find that by taking these steps each day with God leading you, with your eyes fixed on Jesus and your mind and heart set on knowing the heart of Him who created you, you will be living out the vision God placed upon your heart in the beginning, before you were ever born.

Scriptures reflecting these truths

Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3:7; Luke 12:6; Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 139:12-14; Deuteronomy 6:4-6; Mark 12:29; John 1:18;

Personal application

God has personally and uniquely designed a vision for you. Maybe you are a gardener who provides flowers or food for the enjoyment or nutrition of others. Perhaps you are an artist, a writer, teacher or an architect using your talents through creating something beautiful from nothing, crafting a story or book from a compilation of words that encourage and inspire others, work with children modeling the love of Christ and teaching preparation for adulthood, or create designs and strategies to bring structure to another’s life. Perhaps you are a mother with small children, spending your time caring for your family and modeling the love of Christ in the training ground for your children.

What ever it is, big or small from your perspective—God’s perception of you and your purpose brings Him great joy, glory and honor. He is not concerned with what you do as much as who you are. What is closest to God’s heart is for us to seek to know His heart above all else.

How will I begin this New Year? In 2012 what changes can I make in myself to become a better reflection?

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May
2011

My Mom is Love

categories: Children, Creativity, heart, Leadership, Love, Mothers, truth

From my perspective my mother is the most wonderful mother God could have blessed me with. She is a light of love, patient and humble, very wise, industrious and creative. My mom is a woman who speaks the truth in a gentle, yet penetrating way, driving to the very core of my heart. My mom is simple at heart, yet there is a unique beauty in her, a magnificent beauty that reflects into others lives. She is a jewel that stands out in the crowd. Her eyes are blue, full of light and depth. Her smile invites acceptance and her heart steers one to live life to the fullest. My mom is love.

When I was a teenager, I did not think this much of my mom’s guidance. I thought I knew all the answers and that I knew far better for my life than she could know. Oddly, during all those years, when anyone said anything against my mom, I quickly came to her defense. The experiences in my life of my mom speaking truth to me were not easy and as a teenager caused me to sometimes resent her. Those resentments and pains turned into an understanding that although I was wrong in some things, my mom loved me enough to tell me the truth about myself, which spurred me into a deeper relationship with God and her.

Once I recognized that my mother had my best interest in her heart I saw things in a different way. I began to mature and recognize that my thinking had changed and I longed for more of the wisdom my mother offered. She is a woman who allowed me to live out my life and learn from whatever mistakes I would make. She came through life in the same way. If I had not had the mother God so carefully chose for me, I would never have received the love, encouragement and lessons only she could give.  I became the woman I am because of my mother’s gifts of love and truth.

I am thankful I woke up and put away childish thinking while realizing what an absolute blessing my mom is to all of my sisters, my daughters, my grandchildren and me. Without her guidance, acceptance and love we would not have sought the love that was sitting in the palm of our hands, even though we could not see it.

Thank you mom for guiding me, for believing in me and mostly for loving me! I am grateful you are the mother God chose for me! I love you!

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Mar
2011

The Paintbrush

categories: Creativity, Love

Have you ever considered that you are a paintbrush on a canvas that is larger than life itself? Have you ever wondered about how you can bring change into people’s lives? Have you ever wondered what your purpose is here? These are a few of the many questions that may run through our hearts and minds, as we go through each day. But, what if you saw a place where God brought change?  What if you viewed life from a totally different perspective, believing you could be a catalyst for change? What if instead of sitting in your room (job, marriage or friendships), and  feeling sorry for yourself  you funneled that energy into expressions of love, through doing something creative? Did you know that many people feel like they have no purpose in their lives? In all my years, I can truthfully say I have never met anyone that did not feel that way at one time or another in their journey. When you feel this way, you are not alone! If we can begin to recognize those kinds of thoughts are creeping into our mind and understand they intended to hold us back from our purpose, we have won more than half the battle!  When I have felt this way, I turned my heart to the greatest artist, our Creator, and asked for His guidance. Incredibly, He always answers and as I trust Him, He leads.

The painting you see above is a creation by my amazing and talented sister. She has always been creative, but never realized how special and valuable her creations were. I am thankful that she has realized her true worth and value and as a result, is allowing her personal paintbrush to create, and bring glory to God!  She is an amazing woman of great strength, character, beauty and love. She is incredibly creative, using talents from deep inside of her heart.  To hear her tell it, she was just messing around and having fun. I think that is what living is all about, messing around, being creative and having fun while we do it!

I hope that the beauty of her art brings joy and blessing in your life-like it has to mine. Oh by the way, me sharing this message with you is just me messing around!  I get great joy from sharing how creativity and freedom arrives through discovering your true identity and when others realize they are a paintbrush in the hand of the Almighty Creator!

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