Let's Get Creative.

We serve an extremely creative God, who created us to be extremely creative. He is so unique and infinite that no one can come close to "figuring Him out". We will never run out of attributes or characteristics of God to sing or write or talk about. But that is what's so beautiful about following Jesus, your whole life can be spent zealously seeking Him and you will never stop growing or run out of new things to learn.

     He has designed and given each one of us our own unique talents and gifts, custom made and one of a kind. It's such a wonderful thing to ponder, the fact that God put so much thought and time into creating us. I mean, He LOVES us, really truly loves us. 

That being said.. Why do so many of us bury our talents? Or when we use them, its only to a small percentage of their potential? Are we scared? Scared of what people will think and say? Or maybe we are so content using only a fraction of the gifts we have because everybody else is doing it that way too..  

     Men and Women, we do not need to force our creativity into a box so that we can be culturally relevant. God gave us our different gifts for a reason, and He doesn't need you to change your talent in order for Him to move and do a work among people. Copying someone breeds comparison, which breeds discontentment, which breeds bitterness. It isn't worth it and it isn't beneficial or necessary, and it so easily distracts and trips us up! it gets our minds thinking about ourselves. God transcends all trends, fads, genres, and cultural relevance. Even different nations and languages aren't obstacles for Him. 

   I'm pretty worn out on "cool" ministry and music. It's so not about that. It's about using our gifts, talents and passions to make much of Jesus' name. When we use what we have been given for God's glory, it's a sacrifice. It is worship. Whether it's music or not. It's worship. 

   I want to offer the best sacrifice I can! I want to give God my best and hardest work! He deserves it, and we are doing this for Him! It is terrifying to step out of your comfort zone and do what you feel Him calling you to do and what you have a passion for. You probably have already convinced yourself that no one will like it or it won't work.. That's how I felt. Then I read Hebrews 11:4 "By faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain." So I thought, 'oh I need to practice more and write better songs..'. Then I kept reading, "It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. Thats what God noticed and approved as righteous.  After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice." 

   So in the end, it's not about what specific song we sing, it's about WHY we do what we do, and WHO we do it for. Let's all (myself very much included) step out in faith and do something different and crazy and unique and do it by FAITH that God is gonna use it to bring Himself glory!! that is why we are on this earth right..? :)

Let's do awesome, unique, creative, and exciting things, not for the sake of being cool or impressive, but for God because we love Him and He loves us. 

Finding Joy in Making Art

Being an artist is difficult. Whether it's songwriting, making music, writing a book, drawing or painting… It is hard. Not gonna lie. It's emotional, frustrating, freeing, exciting, and sometimes very stressful. It is all about inspiration, yet all about diligent consistency.  And as soon as your art becomes stressful and frustrating, creativity gets cut off. 

I went through a season of being absolutely obsessed with writing songs and loving every step of the process of creating something new. But the moment I started looking around at what everyone else was doing it stopped being fun and It became frustrating because of comparison and stressful because of the deadlines that kept creeping closer and closer. I started feeling so insecure about the work I was doing and found that all creativity and freedom and joy were lost. 

I'm sure I am not the only artist to ever feel insecure or discouraged or to second guess why I do what I do. So I want to share what God showed me when he grabbed me firmly by the hand and radically changed my perspective on doing what you are gifted at and doing what God has called you to do.  

Guard your heart and your mind. Renew your mind, don't waste it! It can become satan's playground and he can so easily pull us down and use comparison to tie our hands and distract us. But God can lift us up from that pit! So treasure the time that you get in the Word so your heart and mind can be cultivated and your thought life will line up with scripture. That will guide your tongue, hands, and service. And what you put in, is gonna come out. Whatever you put in your brain, is gonna fill your art. 

"Comparison is the thief of joy." -Theodore Roosevelt 

Everyone has a unique God-designed race that has been marked out for them. We are not racing against others, you're the only one on your God-given life track. We get to dream and create and influence and respond. It is a glorious luxury and our greatest responsibility. We were all given specific spiritual and natural gifts that God purposefully gave us and we are called to lay out what we have and hand it over, letting him use one of his creative plans to make himself known through us in unique and beautiful ways.   

"God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be."                               -1 Corinthians 12:18

I think it is very easy to hide the gift God has given you because you're worried about appearing conceited or you don't think you're "good enough". We have a responsibility to quit being afraid of our motives and just start using the gifts and passions God has put in us! If you realize that you are doing a good thing with wrong motives, don't quit. Dedicate it to God right now and ask him to commandeer it for his glory.                                                                            

I'm currently doing a bible study by Jennie Allen called 'Restless' which God has used to greatly inspire me lately. I highly recommend it if you want to dive deeper into this subject or if you are uncertain about what your gifts are. 

"Instead of fearing or craving greatness, crave God and run your guts out." -Jennie Allen 

"I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do." - John 17:4

Joy unlocks creativity. Start working on your art a little bit everyday, and I think you'll be surprised at how fast you start falling in love with what you do. God has given you that gift and when you use it you can feel his pleasure! You will find genuine, pure, sweet, real joy when you run with your eyes fixed on Jesus and start living so that the standing ovation is directed upward. 

3 Promises from Psalm 3

When the enemy is circling around you, when your world is falling apart, when everything is opposing you and road blocks multiply every time you blink... 

  But you are a shield around me, O Lord; My glory and the lifter of my head. [3] ps.3                            

I cry to the Lord with all my might, and HE ANSWERS me from His holy hill. [4] ps.3

Promise 1// He answers.                                                                                                                            

Not only does He hear every prayer, but He answers them.  He is faithful and loving and good and He hears every single cry whether it's feeble or a shout, and He. Will. Answer. 

   I will lie down and sleep; I wake again because THE LORD SUSTAINS ME. [5] ps.3

Promise 2// He sustains.                                                                                                                     

Our strength and our health is so unimpressive... It fails. All the time. We are so weak on our own, and that is completely ok because He sustains us! Don't pray for the struggles to just poof away, pray that God would use it to change your heart. He promises to sustain us through every trial and wince of pain. He will carry us through it. 

sustain

1. to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.

2. to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.

3. to keep up or keep going, as an action or process

   So I will not fear anything that comes into view...                                                                  

Because from the Lord comes DELIVERANCE. Your blessing clothes your people! [6/8] ps.3

Promise 3// He delivers.                                                                                                                        

He is faithful to sustain you through the trial to the end and He will deliver you. Salvation belongs to God and real help only comes from Him. The battle belongs to the Lord, He has already won! He defeated death and has paid for every sin and taken away our guilt and shame! He is so completely trustworthy so I will live with arms lifted high and hands open through every "detour" and "delay" that was not apart of MY plan. Because it is not my plan anyways. 

   Call out to Him, He will answer. Let Him carry you and trust Him to sustain you. And He will deliver you.

He is faithful.

NEW SEASON // NEW MUSIC

 So excited to announce that I'm making a new record and we started recording in January! 

        I really struggled with writing for this record because it's been a challenging year and I had major writers block for a while. I prayed for a long time that God would enable me and empower me to write, and that He would entrust me with songs that were HIS words and HIS melodies. I prayed that every song would make much of HIM and not me. I feel as though God gave me this chunk of Psalm 51  when I felt Him calling me to go and make another record. 

“Bring me back from grey exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home. Unbutton my lips, dear God; I’ll let loose with your praise!
Going through the motions doesn’t please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God worship when my pride was shattered.”

— Psalm 51: 12-17

God answered every prayer. He is so good and loving and faithful. He will enable and equip you to do what He has called you to do.   

Now all that being said... This is the verse I'm clinging to during this very exciting, stressful, emotional, challenging, inspiring, beautiful, and painful process of making this record. 

“Let us strip off every sin that so cleverly entangles us and let us run with patient, steady, active, persistent endurance the appointed course that has been set before us. Looking away from all that distracts from Jesus.”

— Hebrews 12: 1-2

I'm meditating on that and applying it to how I approach this next season of making new music. Stop being so easily held down with the unnecessary weight of sin! Envy, jealousy, bitterness, and gossip! whatever it is, i'm laying it at His feet so I can run the course set before me, looking away from everything that keeps my eyes on me, or others, and takes them off of Jesus.

I greatly appreciate your encouragement, support, and prayers and I'll keep you updated on this new adventure!