creativity.

what does creativity mean? what does it demand? what do we define it as?
I wonder this sometimes because I think our lack of understanding flows into so many areas of our lives.

I guess we could start with websters..
creativity: (noun) the use of the imagination or original ideas.

well, this is good. a start. but honestly I believe that the idea and function of the word goes much deeper. And i absolutely believe that it goes beyond artistic work. To me, artistic work is an art form.. A way of expressing creativity, but to be creative does not necessarily mean that you produce sound waves through instruments or great canvases with paint. Being creative is a necessary function that life demands.

life demands creativity.

And the best part of it is.. that we are naturally creative.
every. single. human. being.

It really just makes sense. Even logically.. we were created.. by a Creator. The Great Creator, in fact :) The best artist I know and the most creative and enthusiastic person i know. Anyways, so God created us.. we are his creation. Therefore, this makes creativity a natural result of spirituality.. therein, as we commune with The Creator, we naturally begin to be creative. to create. It doesn't matter what youre creative in either! Really, all it requires is originality. Not just simply looking to someone or something else to tell us how to operate. how to live..
We can be creative in art forms. Or we can be creative in the way we work. the way we teach. We can be creative in the way we eat food. cook food. the way we dance. the way we read. the way we raise our children. the way we look at life. at nature. We can be creative in the way we love.. In fact, I believe that the ability to love requires creativity.
Worship of God requires creativity. Where do we think these words we read on the screen come from on Sunday mornings? They come from a love so deep, so overwhelming, bubbling up over that they must express the love creatively. They don't look to someone else's words to express their own love. The experience is something that they don't have words for... so they create them.

I think that's why I love Bethel Worship and Jesus Culture so much.. they leave room to sing out your own words! They understand that their position is to bring words to the body that they can spring off of into creating their own words.. enter into their own worship.
God deserves creativity. He deserves creative worship. He deserves more than the stale words that don't make our hearts beat violently inside of us.. He deserves more! More than we can give, but that doesn't mean that He doesn't deserve what we can give. And we can give more. We can give more than just reading words and reciting what we have memorized. We can give creative thought. creative song. creative dance. creative response.
He deserves a creative response to his majesty.

puritan prayer.

I found this prayer over a year ago.. I never made it mine own until now.

"My dear Lord,
I depend wholly upon thee - wean me from all other dependences.
Thou art my all, thou dost overrule all and delight in me.
Thou art the foundation of goodness... how can I distrust thee? how be anxious about what happens to me?
In the light of thy preciousness, the world and all its enjoyments are infinitely poor:
I value the favor of men no more than pebbles.
Amid the blessings I receive from thee, may I never lose the heart of a stranger.
May I love thee, my benefactor, in all my benefits, not forgetting that my greatest danger arises from my advantages.
Produce in me self-despair that will make Jesus precious to me, delightful in all his offices, pleasureable in all his ways, and may I love his commands as well as his promises.
Help me to discern between true and false love, the one consisting of supreme love to thee, the other not, the former uniting thy glory and human happiness that they may become one common interest, the latter disjointing and separating them both, seeking the latter with neglect of the former.
Teach me that genuine love is different in kind from that wrought by rational arguments or the motive of self-interest, that such love is a pleasing passion affording joy to the mind where it is.
Grant me grace to distinguish between the genuine and the false,
And to rest in thee who art all love."
- Puritan Prayer.

timing.

Timing is everything..

More recently I have been stripped of so many things that i have found comfort or security in, each in this same season of my life, and the precise timing of it all shows me that he is clearly speaking some type of new season into my life.
And it's not just the feeling of loss that makes this timing stand out to me. it's the simple fact and reminder of how he is the ultimate orchestrator. he orchestrates in such a beautiful and perfect way that it can not help but to grab my attention.

because in every season, we as humans, are weak.. and we continue to seek comfort. And the more comfortable we become in our lives and our daily routines, the easier it is to find some type of security in our relationships or jobs or surroundings.. and i sometimes feel like whenever i get to that place.. where everything begins to become a little comfortable.. well, He looks at me with this compassionate heart of his and reminds me that i wasn't created to be comfortable. That i was created to move and change and continue to see him in new and abounding ways in each season. That He is meant to be our only constant. our only security. And although change initially sets in some type of fear.. it's in the change where he can be found. it's in the change where he can provide. it's in the change where He is Abba.


And the more accustom i am to knowing and receiving all of this change.. i realize that it's not just change. it's progression. the progression of God in us. And while he is not changing, and his character is unchanging.. His spirit is one that is not controlled. His spirit is one that is alive and moving and completely progressive. pushing us to progress and progress and progress as individuals. to never stand still and be tamed by our surroundings and our society. to become more like Him.
that sweet spirit.. continues to push me and show me the freedom that is within my reach. the freedom and new awareness that awaits in the coming season. And by releasing me from the continuing obligations and the absolute trust i was starting to believe could be found in so many of my relationships.. he screams to me, Caroline. I Am. I Am your Abba. I Am your footing. your ground. your peace. your freedom. your world. and if "everything" else gets stripped away.. I Am still Abba Father to you.


i am grateful for the change. and the push that brings discomfort. because in this discomfort.. he is the only thing that makes sense.

currently listening: vito's ordination song by sufjan stevens
"..rest in my arms
sleep in my bed
there is a design
to what i did and said.."