I was made to be a Maker.
Created to create.
Shaped to shape the world with words,
Called for now and won’t be late.
107 Living With A Tankful of Thankful
Being present in the present is sometimes a challenge. The propensity to exist in the past, either glorying in what was or lamenting what could have been, or getting lost in the future, always pining for what might be, keeps so many of us locked out of the wonder of now.
TRANSCRIPT
Please note: this transcript is auto-generated so forgive any (or many) errors 😲 – click the timestamps to play that section directly in the audio.
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I guess today I want to bring a bit of a confession to you. It seems I’m often confessing things that I see and recognise in my own life. But I’m aware that although although it’s the man in the mirror that I look at, I know that there are a host of welcome participants in these same conflicts that we have as we walk this planet as pilgrims. And I want to talk today just a little about being present in the present. Yeah.
00:00:39.590]
And how that can sometimes be a challenge. There really is a propensity sometimes, I think, to spend much of our head space in the past either glorifying what maybe once was or lamenting what could have been. Or the other side of that is that we get lost in the future, always pining for something somewhere, somehow of what might be or what could become. But these two things, you know, living in the past, living in the future, both keep us locked out of the wonder of what we call now.
00:01:19.340]
And and so, you know, I guess I mean, there’s a whole movement, isn’t there? It’s it’s quite in vogue to talk about mindfulness, which I do believe speaks to this whole idea of being present in the moment. But, you know, it’s really being present in the moment is not the not a new idea. You know, it’s something that we are encouraged to do by Jesus himself when he talks about, you know, don’t worry about tomorrow.
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You know, tomorrow will take care of the things of its for itself. You know, consider what you do today. Consider how you think, how you speak, how you operate today, how you engaging with those around you, how you engaging with yourself, how you engaging with your tasks, how you engaging with God today, you know, because tomorrow really is not promised to us and quite honestly, because his mercies are new every day, you know, we can there’s nothing from our past that can prevent us stepping in to that place of kind of a sense of fullness and completeness right now in this moment.
00:02:32.840]
And so but how do we root ourself in the present and experience the moment? And I’m certain there are a multitude of techniques. As I say, mindfulness is like this big thing at the moment. It’s not something that I’ve read into a great deal. But I do love the minimalist movement is kind of the get rid of all the stuff, you know, the stuff that you own owns. You say, you know, live with only the things that you love and give your time, money and energy to the things that really do honestly add value both to yourself and to those that you love.
00:03:12.950]
Yeah. And those that you want to reach and bless and help and benefit. I’m all for that. I love all of that, you know, and I think that there’s a lot of talk of this in a whirlwind that so often we live in, particularly in the West. I can’t say about anywhere else. I only, you know, we’re so immersed in our culture. We’re like the fish in the bowl. And we we don’t know what water is because we live in it.
00:03:39.590]
Yeah. And it’s, you know, stepping out of that matrix is a somewhat kind of befuddling experience sometimes because we realise much of the premise that we live on a lot of the foundations that we are seeking to build our lives on. The British is pretty shifting and let’s face it. But I think that there is one, you know, whatever whatever kind of facet of this, you look at whatever where you come at it, there’s something very common in all of the different people who talk about this kind of living in the moment, enjoying who you are and what you have right now.
00:04:22.310]
And that is gratitude. Gratitude is such a powerful thing. Last week I wrote around some other subjects, but this phrase came out and I do love it. One of the reasons that I love to write, one of the reasons I love to create is as much as it might surprise other people, I think often the person who actually creates, he paints, who writes, who sings, whatever it may be. I think that they are often the most surprised of all when certain things kind of come to the surface and end up on the.
00:05:01.860]
And I wrote this phrase, A tank full of thankful, having a tank full of thankful is one of the greatest ways, I think, to bring your soul back home. Yeah. And remind yourself of who and whose you are. You belong to God. You are created him in his image. You are his workmanship created for works. And he is prepared for you to walk in. And despite the fact that we do choose so often to worry so much, he will take care of us.
00:05:38.280]
He will provide he will make a way. He will show himself strong on our behalf. He will furnish us with all that we need and often many of the things that we want. You know, and with regard to this whole area of thankfulness, I’ve got to admit, I put my hand up as guilty, guilty as charged chief of sinners, my unthankful moments where I forget the mountainous proof of God’s goodness. Yeah. That is apparent in our lives can be so easily forgotten in the kind of winds that blow as we kind of go through this.
00:06:20.870]
There’s life trying to figure things out, trying to find a survival place, trying to find a happy place, trying to find our significance, whatever it may be. Very often we forget to stop, to appreciate the mountain of blessing that we actually enjoy. And that is true for I would imagine most of us say, okay, I’m not I’m not trying to compare, but like really in a sense of like relative, we are so incredibly blessed.
00:06:57.450]
It’s unbelievable that we would spend even a moment in complaint, you know, and, you know, those times of forgetting. Yeah. Those unthankful moments. Yeah. Are definitely more than I would more in number than I would like to accept. Confess if I’m honest. And at times these transgressions are really just sins of omission. We’ve all heard the kind of saying I sins of omission where we kind of just fail to do or say something and sins of commission where we intentionally do or don’t do something.
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You know, that really meant much of might unthankful transgressions are really just add in my attitude are sins of omission. I just fail to be thankful for the grace I enjoy. I take it for granted, you know, or perhaps the worst side of that is where we really ascribe the blessings that we enjoy in life to either accident, to happenchance or perhaps worst of all, just the fruits of our own strength and genius. Now, it’s not that we don’t partner with God.
00:08:11.400]
It’s not that we don’t recognise the part that we play in fulfilling his will. But ultimately, the increase comes from him. We so another May water, but it is always God that brings the increase. Every good gift, every perfect gift comes down from the father of lights with whom there is no shadow of turning. How thankful should we be for every good gift that comes from him? Our father? Yeah. And then other times they really are sins of commission, like overt complaints, overt worries, overt griping.
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You know, that swirling pool of self-pity that we can get sucked into so often. You know why me is like so much easier to ask when our eye is on what we don’t have them than what we have. You know, when was the last time you kind of sat down and looked at the incredible blessings that you enjoy and ask yourself the question, man, why me? Who am I to deserve such incredible grace? Who am I to be called to such a wonderful ministry?
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Who am I to enjoy the blessings of the relationships that I do? Who am I to, whatever it may be to carry these gifts? Who am I to enjoy this health that I have in my body? Who am I extra, etc, etc. I mean, honestly, when we begin to look at the things that we can be thankful for, the list is endless. You know, it’s embarrassing how. How absorbed or self-absorbed I can become in this tiny little kind of life that I call my own and forget that there is a screaming, breaking, yearning, broken world wrestling for breath right outside my door and say really rounding round on a very often basis and consider the million and more reasons to be thankful is a good thing.
00:10:35.850]
The breath that we breathe, the sky, the rain, water, sunlight, trees, food, friends, children have arms, legs, fingers, feet, fingernails, intelligence possibilities that are yet to be realised. Connections desire, surprises, passion, protection, a safe place to stay. Energy for another day. Sunrise at the break, sunset at the end and the hours in between. Birdsong to begin the day. Dishes to wash up, proving that there was food to be eaten close to wash because of bodies, well clothed tasks to be done because opportunities are abounding.
00:11:20.520]
Joy in the small things, some money in the bank, enough for our needs, hope and expectation for the future. A light that works and books to read electricity. Words to share faith in God. A voice however small it may be, but big enough to encourage another person today love to bring. Sometimes you know this is it wouldn’t it wouldn’t make it to The X Factor. But sometimes even a song to sing dancing in the kitchen, hold in my loved ones, forgiveness, forgiveness for all the times I forget all of the above and a million more grace given blessings right now.
00:12:02.520]
This second, in this moment with no future, I’m vainly reaching for or past that’s not wiped clean by God’s mercy. I thank Jesus for all that I am and all that I have. All that is to become will take care of itself. For now. The seeds of tomorrow are going to be sown today. The seeds of your tomorrow are going to be sown today. And that’s where for me, from my house, I’m going to choose to live with my tank full of thankful.
00:12:39.300]
And I’m going to say no to that future right now with a heart of gratitude. Well, thanks for listening, hopefully. It’s been an encouragement to you today, if you want to connect any further, you can do so through my website at Davidleemartin.com. Have a great day.
Inviting the Holy Spirit into Your Creative Projects
The magnificent Creator Himself lives inside you waiting to be called upon, and invited to partner in your creative projects.
TRANSCRIPT
Please note: this transcript is auto-generated so forgive any (or many) errors 😲 – click the timestamps to play that section directly in the audio.
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Welcome to another week, here we are, venturing into another seven days of surprises, and I want to talk today about inviting the Holy Spirit into your creative projects, because the truth is, God is interested in what you are doing. God wants to be involved through his Holy Spirit and really make a difference. You know, he wants to take that blank sheet and produce a masterpiece. He’s working on you as a person. The Bible speaks in the book of Ephesians Chapter two about how we are God’s workmanship.
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One version I believe it’s the New Living Testament actually translates that as you are his masterpiece. And here we have this like really beyond any comprehension or some spirit who was able to take the swirling darkness and transform it into this magnificent universe that we now inhabit. You know, it’s the gentle petal from the rose. Yeah. And at the same time, plough the earth and created the mountains, the hills. He populated the oceans. And this same creative spirit lives inside of you and is waiting for you to call upon him and to invite him as a partner into your projects.
00:01:38.200]
And, you know, wherever you are, whatever you’re up to as a Christian, as a child of God, you need the Holy Ghost. I mean, even Jesus said without him I can do nothing. Without him, I’m really powerless to act beyond the very limited strength I have in my human nature. I need the Holy Ghost. That’s how Jesus spoke when he walked the planet. How much more for you and I? Do we need him to step in when we step up.
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And, you know, all too often, I think and I’m not pointing any fingers here because seven would point back at me, it’s so easy to just ignore the Holy Spirit or to bypass our need for him and lean very much on our own strength and our own understanding. You know what? It’s for too many. And the Holy Spirit is consigned to kind of this enclave of religious activity and like it. And then we get on with the rest of our life outside of that.
00:02:46.720]
But, you know, God is not a sun saviour. Yeah, he is the he is not religious in that sense. He fills and inhabits eternity and time is utterly taken up in eternity. You know, the beginning and the end is one and the same thing to him. He is present. Yeah. In his presence at every single moment, ready for us to call upon him. You know, when Moses asked him, what’s your name, he simply said, I am at any given second.
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He is. I am. Yeah he’s there ready even. And then that that kind of concept, that idea that truth is picked up again in the book of Hebrews. And it says that those who believe in God, those who follow God, those who would walk the life of faith, must first believe that God is. And I believe that that is not just referring to the fact of his existence, but also the reality of his presence. God is right now not was 2000 years ago, not will be, but is in this very moment ready for you to call upon him.
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He has something to bring to the table for all of your creative projects, whatever they may be. And sometimes I think the challenge is for us to stop long enough from our own activity to tune our ear and lean our heart in to hear him. Now, there are a few ways that I tend to do this myself, and I’m sure that you yourself have ways in which you connect with God and his thoughts and his counsel. And I would love to hear those, you know, over on the blog.
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DavidLeeMartin.com, you’ll be able to find this this particular article inviting the Holy Spirit into your creative projects. I would love to hear how you personally connect with. I mean, one of the ways that Larna and I have engaged with God and drawn his wisdom up from inside of us over the years has been you can look at it and and find it in Proverbs 20:5, it says, Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out elsewhere in the New Testament.
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John Chapter seven Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is like rivers of living water that flow up from our heart. So again, this picture of deep water and drawing it out is very much connected to the Holy Spirit. Mark Chapter four. I believe it is, although I may have that wrong. Somewhere in my memory speaks of how we have everlasting life springing up like a fountain within us. Again, this idea of the Holy Spirit, the end dwelling place of God, the wisdom of God within us being like water that we draw out.
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And one of the ways in which certainly we have done this and continue to do so is through exercising the power of praying in tongues. Now that the scriptures are really clear about the promise of this spirit, that these signs will follow those that believe they will pray in other tongues, amongst other things. And so this wonderful gift of prayer, language and an ability to communicate beyond the limits of your own knowledge and your own insight and your own means of expression is for each one of us to all who believe, yeah.
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And when we pray in tongues, it kind of helps us to move beyond our natural thinking and begin to tap their thinking and the thoughts of the mind of Christ in a greater way. And of course, you know, he might speak to us in words. He may speak to us just in an unction, a sense or a feeling. He may speak to us in pictures. But tongues is a way to engage our spirit with his spirit and become aware of that invisible realm, the realm of ideas, the realm of inspiration, the realm of the spirit, and then draw ideas down from that place or up from within us.
00:07:32.310]
And, you know, asking him questions and then maybe speaking in tongues to draw up the answers is a really powerful way to do it. One Corinthians to verse 16 talks about how we have the mind of Christ. And another way to do this is just to simply worship. Worship is another way that we connect with something greater and beyond ourselves. And what I found is sometimes, particularly if the kind of prayer or worship muscle has not been exercised well, is it’s very easy to just pray for a few minutes and then kind of tail off.
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But really, you need to give yourself a minimum of 15 or 20 minutes to very fervently press in and gauge that man on the inside, that woman on the inside, and intentionally draw up counsel from your inner man. I found it’s it’s like kind of if you have one of those old fashioned pumps where you have to pull the pump in order to draw the water up, initially, it can feel very difficult that there’s some resistance. The resistance really is in our flesh.
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And outwardly, Jetman of the devil certainly hates us when we speak in tongues. He does not like that one one bit. You know, he’ll do everything to try and close us down. But as you as the water comes up and you keep pumping, you know, it begins to flow and the vacuum is filled and it just flows quite freely, you know. So don’t stop too soon. Once the flow begins, even if it’s just a trickle, just stay focussed with your prayer or your worship and allow that flow to come up.
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And with that flow, I found it. It comes up and bubbles up with ideas, with images, with pictures, with a sense of, yes, do this or do that. You know that just a sense of guidance, whether it’s kind of implied or whether it’s overt, but just that confidence to step forward. Sometimes it literally is. As the Book of Philippians talks about how the Holy Spirit becomes an umpire. Yeah. And it’s like we are that we bring things to his umpire ship.
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We. Hearing our thoughts, our ideas, our projects to him, and he puts his stamp of peace upon them and gives us confidence, great confidence to move forward. And of course, the most obvious thing that we need to do in these situations where we want to invite God into our creative projects is literally to ask him, you know, there are so many instances through the New Testament and old, but Jesus himself, you know, if we if we’re going to trust someone, there’s someone to trust again and again and again.
00:10:35.450]
He makes it clear that we have freedom to come boldly and ask, you know, in Matthew 21, verse 22. This is definitely one worth committing to memory. All things whatsoever. You ask in prayer believing you shall receive how powerful and how full and how broad is that magnificent promise. Ask him. You know, I remember like a number of years ago asking my asking the Lord about our virtual assistant. I was to hire and I had a few options.
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And I asked, you know, which which of these people should I choose? In fact, one of them looked very suitable for the role. Another may be was more potentially could have required more training, had maybe less experience in what I was seeking for them to do. And the Holy Spirit spoke so clearly about that second candidate and explained that, you know, if I were to invest time to work with and train her, that she would become such a tremendous asset to our business.
00:11:51.680]
And that has been so true. Well, you know, we’ve been working together now for a good number of years. And my my assistant in the Philippines, Christina, is an absolute blessing. She is just such a golden addition to my team. And I’m thankful to her, but also thankful to God for really clearly pointing out and speaking to me about her suitability for the role. And thirdly and lastly, I think it’s important that you remain open to spontaneity.
00:12:29.240]
God, as I said earlier, is not religious and can use so many different ways to communicate his will. I mean, one of the most profound messages that ever dropped into my spirit was come to when I came when I was watching a completely silly movie like decades ago called Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure with Keanu Reeves playing this geeky teen. Yeah. And and it really would be the last place you would expect to hear the voice of God speak.
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And so God can speak from so many different places. Let’s remain open to him. You know, don’t be discouraged if the answers don’t come straight away. You know, sometimes we just need to the Holy Ghost may need to work a few adjustments in our heart, our perspective, our perception in order to really hear what he has to say. But honestly, if we will walk with him and we will lean not on our own understanding, but trust him with all our heart, the Holy Spirit wants to and will be and is the key partner in all of your creative projects.
00:13:42.440]
If there are partners, he would be the senior partner because every good thing and every perfect gift comes down from the father of lights. All of your gifts, all of your skills, all of your experience, all of the wisdom that resides within you was first planted by him. And so, you know, let’s not box God up. Let’s be ready for him to communicate whenever, wherever, and however he wants to. And as I say, feel free to jump over to the blog,
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DavidLeemartin.com look at that. Look for the title of the post, you know, inviting the Holy Spirit, inviting the Holy Spirit into your creative projects and let me know how you connect with him. It would be great to just hear that. Well, thanks for listening. Hopefully it’s been an encouragement to you today. If you want to connect any further, you can do so through my website at DavidLeemartin.com.
00:14:37.130]
Have a great day.
Inviting the Holy Spirit into Your Creative Projects
God is interested in your creative projects.
The Spirit makes all the difference between a blank sheet and a finished masterpiece. He was able to take the swirling darkness and transform it into the vast universe we now inhabit. He teased the gentle petal of the rose into existence and plowed the earth into mighty mountains, rolling hills, and swarming oceans.
And this same magnificent Creator lives inside you waiting to be called upon, and invited as partner in your creative projects.
Whatever you are up to in the world as a Christian, you need the Holy Ghost. Even Jesus made it clear that without the Spirit He was powerless to act.
All too often the Holy Spirit is denied or ignored in much that we do. Consigned to the religious activities that happen in a predetermined slot of time sometime on Sunday, He languishes in the heart of a believer waiting to be invited into their every day.
Remember this. God is not religious. He is not a Sunday Savior. He fills and inhabits eternity, and time is enveloped in His present and His presence. Every moment past, every second future, is all the same to Him. The way He described Himself is packed with this timeless revelation.
“What’s your name?” Moses asked.
“I AM”, God relied.
The writer of the Hebrews defines faith as living and active in those who believe “God IS” (Hebrews 11:6).
He has something to bring to the table in all of your creative projects, whatever they may be. The challenge is stopping long enough from our frantic activity long enough to hear Him.
Here are three ways in which I have intentionally brought the Holy Spirit into my own creative projects. Hopefully, they might inspire you to do the same.
1. Tapping the Flow
In the book of Proverbs 20 verse 5 states:
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
The word counsel there means “plan, advice or advise, counsel or purpose.”
For every project you are involved in there is a plan. The Holy Spirit wants to advise and direct you to success and fulfillment. Stopping to draw His counsel from the depths of the heart to the conscious mind is wisdom, and can save you years of heartache and discouragement.
You can of course just ask Him outright, “What do I do next?” I will speak about this simple transaction in the next point. Problem is, we sometimes have so many other things running around our brain, so many variables or unanswered questions, that we can not easily tune our ear to discern His direction amongst the noise.
That’s when drawing counsel becomes essential.
In these instances I lean on the gift of praying in tongues. Equally, you could use worship as a way to shift from the natural to the spiritual. The aim is to move from the limitations of our fleshly thinking and begin to grasp the mind of Christ.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16
Set aside a minimum of 20 minutes and begin to pray in tongues or sing and worship the Lord. Before you do so, let the Holy Spirit know you are specifically seeking creative direction for the particular project you have in mind. This intentionality is important for yourself especially, so your mind does not jump around here, there, and everywhere. Letting your mind know you have a clear focus is like turning the tuner on the radio to the right station. Much of the difficulty people experience with a wandering mind or boredom in prayer comes down to this simple mistake – not letting your mind know what to look out for.
As you pray and worship focus your mind on receiving. Expect to hear or receive impressions from His indwelling. It could be a picture, word, or just a sense of what to do. Sometimes the impressions are subtle, but as you continually practice tapping the flow you will become increasingly sensitive to such things.
Like the flow of water from a pump, your decision to seek counsel and engage your spirit in the process, primes the pump and begins to draw water – thoughts, ideas, plans and purpose. It may take some effort and time, but keep driving the water from the depths until it spills into your consciousness.
Don’t stop too soon. Once the flow begins, even if just a trickle, stay focussed and pray in tongues or worship freely and spontaneously, making sure you record any communications you receive.
This works for any project you are involved in. Whether ministry, business, art, family – the Holy Spirit is right there with creative solutions.
2. Ask
It may seem obvious, but how often is prayer our final resignation rather than our first port of call? We create something or embark upon a project, and then when our masterpiece of human endeavour is complete we ask for Papa’s blessing on it.
How much better to bring Him in at the outset.
Jesus said clearly (several times in fact, just to make the point that we need to be reminded often!) we can simply come and ask the Father anything, and He will be waiting to release His power to aid us in our activities.
I won’t list the instances here, but to be sure, you cannot get more direct than this…
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22
Ask Him.
I remember in my business, I wanted to hire a virtual assistant. It is something I had never done before and I was nervous about the whole idea. I had gone through the process of sourcing some potential candidates and was left with two. One actually looked perfect. The other I was not so sure about, but had a sense on the inside that I needed to hear Heaven’s thoughts before I made a decision.
I simply asked.
When I do this I tend to write the question down, then turn my ear to the Spirit and just write His answer. I don’t second guess or self edit what I hear. I just write from from my heart without judgment.
He spoke very clearly and told me about the second candidate. He explained that she would take some time to train but would remain faithful and be an asset to my business for years to come. He encouraged patience and left me with the promise of a thorough and diligent helper whom I could trust.
Needless to say, I hired within hours and have never regretted the decision. Because I heard His counsel on the subject it helped me know all was well, even if things were moving slower than expected.
You can also imagine my assistant’s surprise when one day I told her the story of how Papa had sung her praises, and encouraged me to hire her. It is certainly affirming to know that God is speaking to your boss before he even hires you!
I think she was encouraged.
3. Be Open To Spontaneity
God is speaking all the time, if only we tune in to hear Him. He speaks through the most unlikely channels. One of the most profound life messages He ever dropped in my spirit come whilst watching an absurd movie called, ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’, back in the day when Keanu Reeves was a geeky teen and not some cool Matrix dude. I won’t tell you what Daddy showed me. Watch the film, He may have a message hidden there for you too?
As you go about your daily business, have your eyes and ears open for ideas. Don’t limit the Holy Spirit to just your prayer times or church services. He is everywhere, all the time, and knows all things. Don’t you think He might have some gems to drop into your mind as you conduct your everyday? Of course, He does.
It is also important to understand that some requests (remember we sought counsel, and asked?) take time to cook in the oven before they are ready for consumption.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get your answers or direction straight away. The Holy Ghost may just need to work a few adjustments in your heart, perspective, and perceptions before you are ready to really hear what He has to say.
And then, almost out of the blue, the solution to the problem you have been seeking help for can just bubble up, seemingly out of nowhere.
Be ready to capture it when it does.
Even if your life is fast on the outside, have a corresponding slow lane on the inside where your ear is tuned and leaning in to hear 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
God will not be boxed. Be ready for Him to communicate whenever, wherever, and however He wants to.
Leave a comment below how you hear Him speak, or how He has influenced and spoken into your creativity. I for one would love to hear and learn from your experiences, and I am certain other readers would too…
105 Art Equals Action
ART = ACT ON
What’s missing here?
I must put myself at the very centre, where I’m vulnerable and exposed if my ART is ever to find its fire.
TRANSCRIPT
Please note: this transcript is auto-generated so forgive any (or many) errors 😲 – click the timestamps to play that section directly in the audio.
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One of the most amazing things about humanity is just how incredibly broad the creative nature that God has placed within us is. But a lot of people, I think, think of art and creativity as existing primarily in the realm of ideas. You know, it’s in the hothouse of the heart that these ideas percolate to the surface and stream into our consciousness. But the thing is, until until if you like, that coffee is poured and consumed, it doesn’t really fulfill what its purpose was.
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You know, it’s only when we act on our ideas. Yeah. That it moves out of the hazy world of possibility and just steam, if you like, and actually moves into it and becomes something of substance. Yeah. And really, art, I think to become or to fulfill and to move into its fullness must become action. Art must become action. Ideas must be translated into something of substance that people can consume. You know, if you think of action as like you break that word up and you see it as Act II on and really taking on this mindset, I think is a key way to move ourselves out of that trap of procrastination, that trap of perfectionism that keeps us kind of stalled in moving forward on our creative projects, you know, because essentially a book really only becomes a book when it is read, not necessarily when it’s written.
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And I know that many people have like Labotte enslaved over writing. They’re great. They’re wonderful novel. You may want to disagree with that. But seriously, you know, if a book is just sat on a shelf somewhere, it is an ornament. But as soon as someone takes that opens up the leaves and begins to read, then it becomes a book, if you like. It’s in the use of that. It takes on its true nature.
00:02:33.300]
A picture becomes a picture when it’s viewed not just when it’s painted, you know, it’s written with and and it’s written or painted or created with an end in mind. A song is designed to be sung, but beyond that, it’s designed to be heard. And it’s in in one way, it’s the consumption of what’s created that brings it into the fullness of its purpose. And of course, there is a place for art for art’s sake. There’s a lot of things that I’ve created, written, drawn or whatever that will remain like just between the pages.
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They they’ll never see the light of day. But when we when we are intentional in creativity, we are looking toward that end where we would allow others to benefit and be blessed by what we create. You know, but of course, acting on our ideas, you know, although we know that acting on our ideas is the only way really to open up the potential and the possibilities that those ideas might come pregnant with. But it also comes it’s also scary, Jim, and it triggers a can trigger our insecurities.
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What will others think of us? Will people kind of criticise us? You know, these babies that we’ve brought into the world, will people like them, will they want to embrace them or will they like want to throw them on a scrap heap somewhere? You know, once those precious children of our mind are out in the wild, it really does become free game. And sometimes, like in the in the jungle, it can get pretty vicious.
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So, you know, we’ve got to be you’ve got to be pretty thick skinned to be in this creative game. But nevertheless, you know, you’ve got to let them run. You’ve got to allow that those ideas to grow up, take form and then, like, give them a tap on the back side and let them go out and learn to walk. Yeah. And it’s in the learning to walk that we find out what works and what doesn’t.
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And we can begin to then shape those ideas into something that will be stronger, more fulfilling, more satisfying, and that they they grow up into somebody who knows what they will grow up into. You know, everything begins with the nine. This computer or this device that you’re listening to me speak on right now at one time was nothing but an idea in the aether somewhere out there in the realm of the invisible. Yeah, someone reached up, pulled that idea down and said, I’m going to actually put some skin in the game and I’m going to realise this idea.
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I’m going to take what is invisible and make it visible. Ideas acted on crystallised into actions that produce a value. Yeah. And then that value can become a means of exchange. So I guess today’s podcast is really just to encourage you, you know, as long as your ideas remain on your hard drive or in your sketchbook or like the rattling around in your brain, if that’s their final resting place. Yeah. Really, they will never become the life givers that they’re destined to be.
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Yeah. And you know how many unsung songs now are at rest in the grave with the people who God intended to sing them? You know how untold numbers of pictures and poems buried for eternity. And you know, so we want to make sure that, you know, like art. Yeah. Act on your ideas. And right there in the middle of those words, act on. There’s one essential thing that needs to be put in place. And that is the letter I.
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Yeah, you must put yourself at the very centre of your creative work, you know, where you are vulnerable and exposed. You know, it is exposing to put your artwork out there. It is exposing to put your creativity out and to to really take the test. Yeah. Put it to the test. But, you know, don’t acting on your ideas is a vulnerable place. But the alternative is far more terrifying that, you know, you don’t act on them.
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You allow the you allow your ideas to be sacrificed on the altar of safety. You allow your ideas to be buried in the in the grave of fear rather than stepping up and saying, look, I’m not going to worry about whether this is going to work. I’m not going to worry about whether they’re, you know, how people will respond. I’m not going to worry about all of the questions that come along with the idea of acting and actually producing.
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I’m just going to move anyways. I’m going to step out anyways. And, you know, because it’s only when we actually put our content out into the world that we can find out whether it will stick or not. You know, and many of the stories that you will hear, many of the success stories of people in the realms of entrepreneurship and creative action really begin almost. You know, it’s not it’s never an accident if we’ve intentionally acted on something.
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So an accident may not be the right word. But often when you read the stories, you find out the kind of the back story of the hero and realise that, like, wow, they did not expect this to go where it has taken them. They did not expect this like idea to become the vehicle that carried them to their place of notoriety today. And their remarkable voice in the marketplace actually begun like back in the day with an idea when they had no audience and it just had the idea kind of just took form.
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The idea began to gather traction. And through that, it’s developed into like millions of different businesses, connexions friendships, etc., etc. And so those kind of hero’s journey back stories often begin in that way and so can yours. But it never will. If you kind of remain hidden behind that wall of kind of procrastination, you have to step out some to. Well, verse five in The Passion translation is rendered in a in quite a lovely way, it says The lovers of God are filled with good ideas, you know, and it’s it’s so it’s not for want of inspiration.
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It’s not like we’re waiting for an idea to drop. There are so many ideas. You know, we we have the creator living in us. I think what is in short supply often is the willingness to act on those ideas and lean heavy into application. In our application, an ounce of application is worth a ton of inspiration because ultimately inspiration, as magnificent as it is, as amazing as it is, if it’s not actually translated into application, it kind of comes and goes and doesn’t actually even have the potential to make the impact that we would like to see it make.
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You know, our partnership with God demands that the ideas of his mind and his heart that he places within us use our hands to realise them. It is a partnership. We are working together with God to bring his kingdom ideas, his kingdom businesses, his kingdom, creativity to the world in such a multitude of ways. And he is looking for partners. He’s looking for someone willing to kind of put feet to their faith and begin to step out in these ways.
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You know, too many artists, I think too many creatives just remain perpetually pregnant. You know, idea after idea. All of those seed ideas just remain inside and their belly just gets bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger as the years go on. Really, it’s time to I like if I can act as a midwife today, if I can if I can come in and encourage this birth, then I am ready to do it and willing to do it.
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And if we act on enough of our ideas, if we will allow enough of our ideas to come forth, even if it’s just kind of mangy looking little, kind of like I mean, let’s face it, babies are cute when they’re first born. Most babies are really cute only to the parents. And then they get washed up a bit and they become a bit more presentable. But hey, even if it’s just that scrawny little thing comes out kicking and screaming, that’s better than nothing.
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It’s better than had been hidden. Yeah. And so, you know, and if we act on enough ideas, something will finally land. You know, you’ll begin to find the other souls who think and feel the same as you, who crave to to say and to sing the things that you are saying and singing. They’ll hear the song and they’ll sing along with you. You’ll begin to find your tribe, you know, and you’ve got really you’ve got no power necessarily to say who’ll come.
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But you can send the invitation. And in order to send the invitation, you have to have something to invite them to. And that’s why beginning to build this creative legacy, beginning to build up your your portfolio of content, whether that’s books, whether that’s songs, whether that’s pictures, whether, you know, there’s all sorts of different things that we do. OK, I can’t go through them all. I’m in the world I’m in the world of words.
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But, you know, you might be in the world of, you know, creative clothes making or jewelry making or, you know, you might send out, I don’t know, let’s leave it there. There are so many different ways in which this creative edge in this creative nature can be expressed. But ideas acted on the only ones that others can see until they’re baked into something that others can consume. You know, really, the earth remains a poorer place.
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Do something with your ideas today. Begin to take whatever first steps are necessary to translate those ideas into action. Translate those ideas into action.
