I am an artist. I am a maker. I am a writer. (Whew, the hard parts over.)

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with my friend Katrina about consumerism versus creativity. She told me that our generation not only consumes more than any other generation in history, but we are also the first generation to consume more than we produce. It makes sense, doesn’t it?  Just think about how much time we spend listening to music, watching netflix, scrolling through facebook, or any of the other 10,076 other forms of media we have today. And we asked each other, In light of how much time we spend consuming, how much time is spent creating? I’m embarrassed by what my personal answer was.

The first thing the Lord ever chose to reveal about Himself was that He was a creator. He is THE Creator. One of the first things He charges mankind to do is to create. And as He continues to reveal Himself in the scriptures, we find more and more that our God is an artist. In Exodus, we find Him as the architect, who meticulously designs his temple. In the Psalms, we find Him as the Poet, who is zealous about His word and His glory.  And in the Gospels, we find Him as the author of short stories, who captivates us with tales of the future kingdom. And with all these things, we find him as the Supreme Creator, the Master Artist, the Maker of beauty. 

And we were made in His image. Lanier Investor explains that “we are created in the image of a Creator, and Art is one of the ways we enflesh our identity… If you think about it for a moment, it’s really staggering that we are made in this way-we are made to want to make. We are made to want to be just like our Father when we grow up, and to leave some imprint of ourselves on the world behind us.” We were made to be as our Father is, and we were made to want to be more and more like Him. We were made to create. We have been gifted with minds that think, imagine, and envision. We have been given hands that can lift and carry and write. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve been given the resources to use your hands and your mind to create. Therefore, We must create.

We must create not only because we (ALL) have been given the ability to, but because that is how we will reach the surrounding culture for the glory of God. I believe that a story, a song or a pretty picture can captivate our hearts better than anything else. I see it every day in my four year olds. I see it everyday in myself. I’m the girl who came to know Jesus through meeting the character of Aslan. I’m the woman who heard the gentle, loving voice of Jesus offering me forgiveness in an Andrew Peterson song when I refused to hear it anywhere else. We are a people whose hearts are opened wide to beauty. Let us learn to couple that beauty with Truth so that we may lead each other back to our Creator and the Restorer of our souls.

This is a challenge for myself, and hopefully a challenge for each of you, to create something daily. To daily work against our apathy, and to-do lists, and fear of failure, and brain-fog to bring truth and beauty back into our lives and the lives of those surrounding us. It can be anything- a song, a poem, a pinterest DIY project- it doesn’t matter. The point isn’t what we are creating, the point is that we create. We make something that wasn’t in existence before. We bring something into being. We do as Our Father has done.

Join me, as I try spending at least 15 minutes each day for the next 365 days creating something-anything. I do not seek to be perfect, but to please Him with my meager offerings. And by His grace, it is enough.

My songs will be off key.

My poems will not rhyme.

My drawings will be misshapen.

My stories will be non-sensical.

My crafts will not be pinterest-worthy.

But they will be worthy of a King who is pleased with my feeble attempts to be like Him, and do as He does.