Encountering the Trinity through the creative process

 Art tells the stories of our lives. In each season my creative process has been a key way I have been able to encounter the lord, in fact that's how I got to know him. I was 15, going through a dark season in life, I played those first few simple chords on a guitar, my voice sang for the first time, words spilled out of me, and there began my friendship with God and my journey to greater wholeness and light. Looking back on past works of art I have created I can clearly see how each work of art represented my heart in those seasons, creating never was about a product, it was always a way to process life's events, and feelings, a way to learn about God and myself, a way to grow, a way to feel known and named by God. He fortunately gave us all the gift of creating because he was a good God who knew it would be an easy way for him to encounter, speak, and come close to us.

     One day after playing an instrument I was particularly fond of, I heard the Lord say to me; 

"I love your creative process. When you begin creating and playing your heart softens and begins listening, your walls come down, and I can walk right in, sit down, and begin speaking to you."

     I was pleasantly surprised to hear this, it was something I had never thought of before, but as I reflected on this I realized how true this was. So often I go through my life busy in my mind and heart, conscious of all the things I need to do and places to be, and move from one thing to the next. But when I stop and begin to play an instrument, without realizing it, I let go. I let go of my mind and unconsciously and quite naturally my heart begins to tune into the Father's heart. My walls fall down, everything becomes still, and he walks in, and takes a seat. God speaks all day, but often times our walls are up and we cant come close, our minds are busy and we cant hear; but that's why we have the treasured gift of creating. When we create we are naturally in a position of listening; listening for inspiration, for melodies, for lyrics, for ideas; so its only fitting that he would come then and encounter and speak to our already tuned and listening hearts, and its only fitting that we are then able to hear. God created us, and it was an intimate, breath to soul, heart-to -heart moment where he was close and we felt his heart beat for us; he meant creating to feel this way, he meant for creativity to be an act of intimacy and friendship with us, he meant for it to be a way to tune deeper into his heart for us, he meant for it to grow us deeper into relationship with him, he meant for it to be joyful; full of sustenance and life! 

     He created us all with unique creative processes to which he can speak to us, soften and tune our hearts, and pull us close. So discover those ways! Discover the joy and excitement of what your creative process looks like and how the Father can encounter you through it. Ask him what your creative process means to him, and how he created you to encounter him through it. Ask yourself how the art that makes you come alive reflects the Father's heart. The possibilities are endless, and he is thrilled to show you how intimate your creative process is to him.

   

Cultivating Inspiration; a simple, practical way

   

Where would an artist be without inspiration? Inspiration is the forever blossoming guide aiding people daily as we live, breath, and create. To me he is like the pair of eyes and ears I don't always have but always need, leading me to see beyond the normal, beyond daily routine, and into sacred, treasured beauty. Inspiration speaks, and speaks specifically different to each person. For me I find inspiration in the way sun shines on the tops of leaves, I find it in shades of green, I find it in Lydian modes and the sound of wind chimes, I find it in the simplest things like a cup of coffee or gusts of wind, I could list hundreds of different things that, when encountered or seen or heard, bring up a surge of bubbling creativity, joy, and that indescribable feeling called inspiration. What inspires me may not inspire others, every person is different, the key is to find what specifically inspires you and to cultivate it!
     They say inspiration comes and goes as it pleases, but I believe it can always stay and is always speaking if you can learn to cultivate it. The definition of cultivate according to Webster's dictionary is to foster growth. One small way I started cultivating inspiration was by daily taking note of the way inspiration spoke to me. I would go through my day very attentive to his voice, and whenever I felt my heart swell and respond to something I saw or smelled or touched I would simply jot down what it was that inspired me and why it inspired me. Sometimes they would be so small I would almost miss them. But as I daily began writing down what he spoke to me in the pages of my journal, I soon wouldn't live a day without feeling inspiration seeping out of every pore of my life, even the most practical and seemingly mundane things would breath beauty into my being. The more I began focusing on inspirations voice in my life, the louder and more consistent it became, not because he wasn't speaking loud and consistently already but because my ears were becoming more and more attentive and I was actually taking the time to stop, hear, and dwell upon what he said by taking these little notes. I began to know the sound of his voice, become familiar with it, and the way he specifically spoke to me. Light cast upon leaves, shades of green, Lydian modes, and wind chimes weren't just ordinary things anymore, they became treasured and cherished ways that I could truly feel god coming close and feel inspiration filling my soul.
     Inspiration's voice is like a plant in my life that if I take the time to tend to it, it grows big and green and gives me fruit; which is a more joyful, alive, full, and beautiful life. So why wouldn't I cultivate this treasured voice that willingly brings the sweetest cup of life to my heart just because? Inspiration is a most faithful, playful friend who can turn any boring, normal life into the richest, deepest, sweetest life there ever was. That IS his job after all; let him do his job, and discover the ways that only he can speak to you. Get to know his voice in your life like you would get to know a friend; slow, steady, and patiently.
      With each new season that comes I like to ask myself what my creative disciplines could look like. Each season is different because each season ebbs and flows with busyness. Some seasons I can spend more time with my crafts and creative ventures then others, but for me, recording his voice in my journal has been a very simple and sustainable way for me to stay inspired and keep my well primed and full no matter what season of life. I don't always have the time to spend hours creating every day, but I do have a few minutes every day to quickly jot these inspirations down! So my encouragement to you is this; buy a new journal, one that obviously inspires you! And start to take little notes every day of the way you feel inspired, be aware of your heart and the way it responds to things around you, and see your life overflow with rich inspiration.