Remember, as a Christian Creative you are a life giver! The vitality of your creative output depends on one key thing.
You must take care of yourself!
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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Well, good morning, everyone, or good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are in the world, I want to talk today about three, three and no fail ways to fill your creative tank, three ways in which you can ensure that your tank remains a full enough to continue pouring out to others and bringing valuable content and help to other people. Because it’s so important that we as creative ministers, creative Christians, men and women out there in the marketplace looking to bring value to others.
00:00:42.520]
It’s so important that we ask self do what we can to stifle, you know, really, we don’t want to be in a position where we are serving up just the scraps of our emotional energy on a plate. We want to be in a place where we are a life giving fountain. Yeah, that there is a flow from the inner man that pours out toward others. And the development and the vitality of our creative output really does very much rest on one key thing, and that is that we must take care of ourselves as creatives.
00:01:27.820]
It’s something that sometimes is we don’t readily do, Jim, and we’re wired to output, were wired to create, were wired to give out. But we can end up in some kind of martyr ish kind of cycle where we just keep pouring out until our emotional book bucket runs dry. And then even then, we still kind of squeeze in the mop to try and get out the last few drops. But I am certain my my artistic, entrepreneurial friends that that’s not God’s best for you.
00:02:05.920]
He wants your stewardship of his creative gifts to come from an overflow of his life feeling and coursing through your being and through your being. His plan is for you to become a rich fountain that never runs dry. You know, writers, artists, dancers, singers, filmmakers, actors, painters, poets, preachers, teachers, whoever you are. And however you’re turning up in the world, you are valued. Your contribution to the world really does need to be nurtured and protected, you know, and we need to diligently not just look how we can serve others, but also consider how we assess how we can take care of ourselves.
00:02:58.300]
Jesus said when he was asked about kind of the foundations upon which we build our Christian life, he said, Love the Lord, your God with all of your strength and love your neighbour, but then says, Love your neighbour as you love yourself and say, you know, we sometimes it’s easy for us to love God, love others, or at least kind of expend ourselves in an effort to do that, but failed to really love ourselves.
00:03:34.720]
You know, and I’m not talking in a kind of survival type mode. You know, we all kind of cave in on ourselves sometimes where we become our own universe like a black hole sucking everything in. I’m talking kind of in those more kind of more ordinary moments if you if you know what I mean, where we are aware of those around us, aware of the world around us, and we’re seeking to turn up in the best way we possibly can.
00:04:08.500]
And, you know, even as artists, we are really in one way, in some ways continually giving in and say there needs to be an opportunity for you to refill your tank so you can keep moving and keep giving and keep contributing. And these are three ways in which I personally recharge my creative batteries. And I would be so interested to hear what you do to a man. How do you recharge? How do you kind of replenish your creative energies?
00:04:49.450]
Now, first of all, no one is just to pray and meditate, just heart to heart time with God, heart to heart, time with Father, Son and Holy Ghost. You know, it really. It’s no surprise that if we want to be creative, we need to stay plugged in to the creator, that he is the source, he is the vine, we are the branches. And if we want the juice to flow, we’ve got to remain connected in a in a vital way.
00:05:18.830]
I love the Bible in basic English is not one that I read often, but I do love Ephesians three 10 in the Bible Bible in basic English translation it says Make clear through the church and that’s you. And I say not not some organisation or some meeting somewhere. You know that through the church, God’s people make clear through the church the wide shining wisdom of God. God’s wisdom is wide shining, you know. And just like a flower needs sunlight to flourish, your spirit needs his light, his wide shining wisdom to nourish, to nourish your inner man so you can turn up outwardly in ways that are helpful to other people.
00:06:15.020]
The second way in which I look to kind of fill my tank is to let nature do its perfect work here. Right at the beginning, you know, we find Adam and Eve in the garden and they were placed and not in a city. They were placed not in a in amongst a heap of busy madness. Yeah, they were placed not in an officer’s sports hall or a movie theatre. They were planted in a garden, you know, and and, you know, the Bible also speaks of trees lining the banks of the river in the new creation whose leaves and fruits feed and heal the nations.
00:06:54.350]
And, you know, so but we don’t need to wait for that healing, feeling abundance to touch our soul. We can get a taste of it here. Certainly not the fullness, but we can we can begin to imbibe of the world to come because we’ve tasted the powers of that world. We can taste them right here. And one of the ways I believe that God communicates love to us is through nature. You know, it’s a I’m always amazed how loudly in a tree can speak to your spirit.
00:07:28.340]
And and believe me, I’m not I’m no tree hugger. Do you, man? I’m not bad. But, you know, I know that when I get out in nature, when I get in the woods, in the forests, on the hills or whatever, it doesn’t take long before the tumult of my soul subsides and I begin to drink in something of the father’s grace, goodness, generosity and love. And then finally, I number three, the third way that I try to fill my and look to fill my creative tank and just keep things moving.
00:08:09.620]
So I’m not just kind of expending all the time is to allow the overflow of other people’s creativity to pour into you. You know, if you’re a writer, read if you’re a painter or an artist, go to the gallery and view someone else’s work. If you’re a musician, you know, like go to a concert, you know, work on the noise, cancelling headphones and spend an hour. Just been transported by the sounds and songs of someone who is in your world of music making songwriting.
00:08:49.520]
You know, and the key here really is not to not to read or look or listen, to learn, OK, or to criticise, but just to be an open unjudged mental receiver. You know, we’re not here to assess, measure or compare. We’re just doing it for sheer pleasure and just doing things for enjoyment. Doing things simply because we enjoy doing them does tend to our soul. It fills us in it ministers to us on the inside.
00:09:29.330]
So today I just want to encourage you to love yourself a little, you know, and you’ll certainly thank yourself if you choose to do so. 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.