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The Importance of Rest = The Importance of YOU

Finding time to time out is more important than most creative souls realize.

Because our work and play are often intertwined – our art and life so connected – it can be difficult to switch off.

I’m often awake before the world stirs, enjoying few moments of silence. Well, as silent as it can be – I have mild tinnitus so even my silence is accompanied by a pitched ringing in my ears.

Ringing or not. I’m thankful for the quiet.

Moments like these should be treasured not pressured. How often do we try and crowd every waking breath with productive activity? Feel guilty because we are not doing something?

I speak of we because most of us are like the rest of us.

Creative entrepreneurs find it difficult to switch off.

Some heinous lie has convinced us that we should be on all the time. That inactivity is unproductive. That massive action, burning the candle, and hustle are compulsory rites of passage.

Rest and relaxation is not unproductive. It is the unseen root system that nourishes our productivity.

Rest is something our Father has woven into the fabric of human life right from the beginning. After the most humongous creative outburst in all of history, flinging planets into orbit and the like, God rested to enjoy all He had made.

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Genesis 1:31-2:3)

Rest = appreciation.

When was the last time you stopped to appreciate your accomplishments? To celebrate your victories, however small or large?

Every day, in the cool of the day when the heat was over, you would find Papa walking in the garden, taking time with his friends and family.

“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” Genesis 3:8

I can only begin to imagine the wonderful conversations that may have exchanged in those warm shaded hours.

Rest = relationships.

Have you enjoyed the refreshment of friends? Put work aside and engaged in childlike frivolity today? Has the rich exchange of hearts with your spouse brought sustenance to your soul?

Such things are not written on paychecks and page views. They are priceless.

One of my favourite places to pitch my tent in the Bible is Hebrews chapter 4.

It is a chapter about rest. Not enforced, but invited.

The chapter talks about a rest that remains for the people of God.

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Hebrews 4:9

Here’s a promise and invitation to cease from craving, proving, running, and reaching; our half-written novel, our budding blog, and musical manuscript. All of them can wait. Time to switch off the camera, close the laptop, stop scrolling social, and rest.

Step for a moment from our own incomplete arrangements into Papa’s finished symphony. To drink in the goodness unhindered by anxiety.

And rest.

Trust.

Delight in the moment, knowing completion. Knowing that sometimes the destination is the journey itself!

“God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today…the original invitation…” Hebrews 4:7 THE MESSAGE

Rest = knowing the significance of now.

Don’t allow tomorrow’s hopes to steal today’s joys.

“To day if ye will hear his voice…” Hebrews 4:7

Take time to switch off. Recharge. Refresh. Renew. To listen.

Take time to recognise that in all our giving out we sometimes need to give in, give up, give over and let grace go to work on our behalf…

“For from of old no one has heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who [earnestly] waits for Him.” Isaiah 64:4 AMPLIFIED

You are important. Don’t forget to join your Father in the cool moments of the day for His love to pour in.

If you do, I promise you will have more to pour out than you ever thought possible.

Seek First The Kingdom And All These Things Will Be Added

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 KJV

Seeking first God’s Kingdom.

His way of being. His way of doing.

Herein lays the secret that unlocks all of your creative dreams.

Sometimes our pursuit is highjacked and we run after a thousand opportunities, our eyes glistening with all the shiny promises emblazoned on the sales pages and paraded on our news feeds.

Like the harlot in the book of Proverbs she entices us with pictures of easy riches and senses satiated.

All the while wisdom waits in the marketplace.

“Wisdom cries aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the markets; She cries at the head of the noisy intersections [in the chief gathering places]; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:” Proverbs 1:20–21 AMPLIFIED

Wisdom’s arms are full of the riches you seek. She is crying so loudly because the marketplace is noisy. Voices from every corner vying for your attention.

But with Wisdom, you’ll find words that “empower you to reign in life” (Proverbs 1:1 PASSION).

God wants you to succeed. His plans are for your good, to prosper you and furnish your future with remarkable rewards.

Through wisdom, you’ll gain insight and revelation that give you “understanding of your design and destiny” (Proverbs 1:4 PASSION).

From this foundation, your house will be built on the rock, and your authority and influence will flow.

“Through skillful and godly Wisdom is a house (a life, a home, a family) built, and by understanding it is established [on a sound and good foundation], and by knowledge shall its chambers [of every area] be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” Proverbs 24:3–4 AMPLIFIED

Your artistry will impact multitudes.

Your honesty and humility will hone your voice to penetrate the cacophony and find your tribe.

Let prayer precede production. Let pursuit and passion for God underpin your prosperity.

Slaying Your Giants

The devil hates the voice of God’s people. The last thing he wants is for Jesus loving radicals to stand up and share their message of truth. The creative life is all about stepping out and making some noise, so it’s no surprise that satan sends his best to the field to shut them up.

But there are five smooth stones that the Holy Ghost provides that will slay any giant that stands in your way. When you have them in your pouch, you’ll always be able to face off Goliath and his brothers.

Sure, they will taunt you. Absolutely there will be times when you’d rather run – but armed and dangerous, comfortable in your own skin, you’ll run with slingshot swinging towards those loud-mouthed naysayers, not away from them.

You are a Christian! A Christ-filled, giant-slaying, angel commanding force of Heaven.

You’re a creative! A conduit for God spawned ideas and a shining, blazing light in the darkness.

It’s time, dear friends.

Who are these uncircumcised Philistines standing in your way?

Procrastination?

Perfectionism?

Fear of failure?

Ignorance?

Isolation?

Every ugly one of them will eat the dirt and you’ll hold their severed heads in your hands!

Are you ready to wage war against normal? Bust through the status quo and let your humungous light shine?

I hope so because your conscription papers have been drafted, the revolution has begun, and an army of creative Christian artists, authors, and entrepreneurs is gathering.

Today is the greatest day of opportunity that the Body of Christ has ever known. We’re throwing off Saul’s armor and remembering who, and whose, we are.

I’m calling you to artistic arms.

Urging you to uncompromisingly share your worth to the uttermost parts of the earth.

YOU, my dear brother or sister, are uniquely called by God to bring something awesome to the table.

Head to the river, ready to discover your awesome, and choose a few smooth stones that will sail through resistance and leave your excuses and fears dead in the dust.

FAITH – The first smooth stone. The foundation of every successful endeavor.

INSPIRATION – The in-breathing, empowering breath of Heaven filling your being.

EDUCATION – You’ll not just know what you need to do, but be clued up how to do it!

APPLICATION – You’re a doer of the word and work necessary to make your value viable and visible. You’ll be out there on the field while others cower in the crowd.

CELEBRATION – A community of Jesus people who share the journey and rejoice with your every step and victory.

That’s what I’m talking about!

Whatever the enemy throws at you to throw you off course, you’ll always have a comeback.

Your aim is set – to share your worth.

Your gait is great – moving forward every day toward your creative goals.

Your victory is certain – Jesus the King is a partner in your prosperity!

Inspiration vs Procrastination Smackdown – 3 Keys To Getting That Book Published

In the life of a creative there are two opposing forces. In one corner is procrastination and his tag team mate, perfectionism. In the other, inspiration and his/her coach called faith. Many a writer or artist has fallen prey to the raging battles that these inward foes wage with one another. When the final bell sounds the outcome of their skirmishes can determine whether your value goes unrealized or not.

Truth is, most of us do not want to find ourselves in the midst of an ongoing battle. Too many potential writers, product creators, and artists have backed off and stepped out of the ring. The questioning of self and the quest for perfection has left their dreams in shreds on the canvas floor.

But then there are the brave and the bold. At least that’s how it looks. One of my favourite definitions of courage is that it is not so much the absence of fear, rather it is acting despite your fears – standing in the face of your insecurities and stepping forward, even with trembling steps.

Here are 3 ways that I have helped the inward wrestling turn to my favor – how I have lifted the hand of inspiration in victory (at least until next time there’s a rematch).

3 Ways To Overcome Your Fears and Create Something Magnificently Imperfect

1. Recognise that the process is just as important as the product

I witness this all the time. People get so hung up on perfecting the product or publication that they never actually pluck up the courage to publish. Face the fact that perfection is an illusion. It is an unattainable goal that none have ever reached. Good enough really is good enough. We can strive for excellence, but at the end of the day 80% good enough and published is way better than 98% perfect and sitting on your hard drive scratching around for that final 2% tweak.

At the end of the day, there is much to be gained from the process that carries a project from conception to publication. The creative lessons we learn are not complete until the product is in the hands of someone other than ourselves.

These lessons are only learned when we step beyond our comfort zone and put ourselves out there in rejection’s pathway.

2. Boil your idea down to an MVP

Take the idea you have and boil it down to an MVP – a Minimum Viable Product or Publication. That way instead of pouring all of your short resources into one make-or-break novel, or gargantuan online course, you first get to test the market.

I have made mistakes in the past where I poured a great deal of time and energy into creating a product, or writing a book, only to realise to my dismay that there was no audience for them (or that I did not have the means to reach the audience sufficiently). Sigh! That’s a tough lesson and one I don’t want to repeat too often.

It is much less intimidating to come up with an idea and consider how you can, with the least resistance and minimal effort, create and publish something that will bring value to an audience and readership, yet not demand that you lay your life on the line to give it to them.

Instead of writing a 600 page novel, publish a series of short stories. Let those stories find their readers and determine from there whether the investment required to pen an epic is really worth your time and effort.

Instead of a comprehensive 16 module, 23 hours, in-depth video tutorial teaching all the bells and whistles, how about a one hour training that focuses with expert precision on just one important aspect of your chosen subject. Create several of these over time. If the audience clearly enjoys your tuition, bundle them into your ‘one course to rule them all’ at a later date.

3. Consider Your Days

The Bible encourages us to count our days.

“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12, New Living Translation

Take stock of the value of every moment you have on this planet. Each day is one more opportunity to make a dent in the universe. To affect a change. What legacy do you want to leave?

The fact is, your legacy begins today. What you produce now to help and entertain others will become the body of work that you leave to the world at your passing. How many people check out with all of their rich experience and value still locked inside? All that has been placed in you to share with others needs to find expression before it is too late.

If you don’t do it for yourself, do it for others. Not putting yourself out there is not only selfish, it is robbing from future generations the unique inheritance of wisdom and experience only you can leave behind.

I ponder often the simple reality that what I put off until tomorrow may never see the light if day. If I don’t make the decision to disciple myself to write at this moment, to produce and publish today, the body of work I could develop over the coming years will remain lean and starved.

182,500 Words Later

Throw your fears to the wind and do it anyways. Just 500 words a day, and 365 days from now 182,500 words will have been left for generations to come.

Make that movie. Create that course. Post to that blog. Create that website. Publish that book. Sing that song.

Don’t hesitate. Seize the day. Quit vacillating. Stop with your excuses.

Create something marvelously imperfect. Today.

Know Your Why

The seed sowing story is the cypher that unlocks all of the parables.

Jesus said, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables?” (Mark 4:13 NLT)

One facet that I’d like to shine a light on today is the man who sowed on shallow soil, namely a shallow experience of God and a cursory knowledge of His Word. With no root in himself the scorching challenges of life sweep in, and his commitment is washed away.

This creative life requires a rooted “why?”

I find myself way too often asking the “how?” question. It’s relevant, and not wrong to ask, but is only a few layers deep. Why do I say that? Because just knowing “how” never guarantees that we’ll do it, even when we do have the instructions.

I see it often, in my own life and the lives of those around me. Most of the time we have a goal. We may even state it and make it public. We then excuse our inactivity toward that goal by pretending we don’t know-how.

But most of the time I have found that I DO know the next step I need to take. The problem is, for whatever bizarre reason, I am stubbornly refusing to take it. The reasons run deeper than just lack of knowledge.

How many people know they need to exercise and don’t. Is it because their HOW is weak? Nope. It’s their WHY that needs work!

Or the would-be book writer? The budding business entrepreneur?

Our craving for security and defined and definite outcomes dons binoculars and looks way off in the distance. Let’s take fitness as our example, but the same is true for your creative projects.

Instead of looking for the next step, a few press-ups, and a gentle jog around the block, our binocular vision sees the bronzed adonis we think we want to become, and the “how?” of that vision is simply impossible. We throw in the towel before we do our first rep.

We look into the distance and see the bestselling author life we long to lead, not the first paragraph of chapter 1 we should sit down and write today.

I’m not wanting to minimize the power of dreaming or visionary framing of the future. Just pointing out that sometimes such inflated expectations leave us floundering emotionally.

Breakthrough comes when we feed our WHY with reality. Why the adonis dream? Because the television, magazines, and media, have painted an unrealistic picture of what constitutes manliness or womanhood? Why the big dream of stage fame or musical glory? Because the measure of the world always parades numbers (often preceded by a dollar sign) as the only rule of worth.

Your WHY must root deeper than that.

You have a designed and significant purpose on this planet, given by God Himself. Unfortunately, the world thrusts its inch-deep reasons upon us through social media, movies, magazines, cereal packets, and posters, until our resolve is so drowned in their noise that we can hardly hear our own heart speak.

Why do I write?

Is it for the dollars and the fame? Ask my 15 followers (exaggeration deliberate for emphasis) and they will tell you. Ask my bank how money flows out to care for my kids and daily needs as quickly as it pours in and they will let you know.

Art and passion are not counted in pennies alone.

I’m blessed to be able to say I pay my way with my words. Thank God, because I’m a head and heart man, not a handy one. Ask me to build a website or write a book, I’m your man. Ask me to hang a shelf, and you’d better get ready to make a call to someone else to rectify the disaster I leave in my wake.

But once you get beyond the basics and the bill are paid, you better be sure you have an enduring sense of purpose that goes beyond meeting your immediate needs. That way when your securities are challenged, or criticism comes, you’ll have a deeply rooted WHY undergirding your business and the way you show up in the world.

I’m saying all of this because storms will blow. Challenges will come. The artistic, entrepreneurial life is not a millpond, it’s an ocean. There will be times when you lay back and contemplate the stars with wonder filling your heart, and others when you’ll be hunkered down shielding yourself from the driving rain, wondering why in the world you set out from shore.

In those moments, it will be your WHY that keeps you afloat.

Why do I write? Because words are my world. God has called me and anointed me to penetrate hearts with truth and beauty, bringing His Kingdom to bear on the reader’s soul.

I’m called to equip saints for ministry and lead the unbeliever to repentance and recognition.

My words are His works emblazoned on the page.

He is my muse, and I am His ready writer. God’s quill.

My joy is His glory, to lift His name, and accept and express who He has made me to be.

For you, it may a song, paint on canvas, or Youtube videos. It could be cakes on plates or hats on heads. God is not limited in His expressions. The only limitation He faces is our willingness and obedience, or lack of it.

Will you be true to your heavenly call?

I can think of no deeper WHY than God and His purpose at work in our hearts.

“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12–13 KJV)

Work out what He is working in and all will be well.