I have a big truck. My best memories in it are from years ago, when my son Chase was young.  

Rather than giving us a formula for success, God instead gives us himself. Formulas don’t require God’s presence. Worse, they offer the illusion of control in place of intimacy and dependence on a wild, unpredictable, playful, non-formulaic Creator.

Imagine creating something with God that is beyond your wildest dreams. You can’t wait to show others. To launch it. To watch it accelerate as the world discovers it. And then God whispers to you, “That was just for the two of us. It’s not something to share. Go ahead and put it in the drawer rather than post it online.”

This may be one of the hardest truths for an artist to hear, but I’m going to say it anyway.

The ultimate measure of your creativity isn’t success.

There are at least four significant forces that can diminish your God-given identity. It’s good to know them so you can then guard against these toxic lies:  

Your identity is who you are at your core. And how can you be true to God, others, or even yourself before you’ve settled this? That is why Mia’s third vial is labeled Identity.

The next time you think about your creativity, consider the fishermen before they met Jesus in Galilee. They excelled at their craft. Fishing likely brought these men some level of joy, but then Jesus invited them into something truer. In an instant, expert fishermen became “fishers of men.” They traded the foreshadowing of their prior calling for a full measure of what they were born to be. Their truer calling.

When you think back on your Story, what have you always been drawn to? I’m not asking what others say you’re good at. We can be good at doing things that we have little interest in. I’m talking about activities that cause you to lose track of time when you enter into them. What would it look like to experience that joy again, in a fresh new way?

Perhaps you’ve let go of what used to bring you such joy. Or you find yourself going through each day in a job that pays the bills, but doesn’t stimulate your heart. Some say it’s impossible or extremely rare to find a job that can do both. Perhaps. But why not be one of the rare ones?

The second vial Mia must fill is labeled Awaken. This vial is essential because only when your heart is awakened will you know what to pursue. Before that, you will be searching endlessly for ways to fill your broken heart rather than offer from a heart that is fully alive.

In the last reading, I shared how keeping a journal with you at all times reveals a heart of expectancy. But I know it can be daunting to stare at a blank journal page, wondering where to begin. So here are six starter questions to help you grow in expectancy. I encourage you to write each question down in your journal. Then spend time listening to what God wants you to know.

In The Story of With, Mia’s dad gave her a leather journal. It stirred a sense of expectancy for what was to come and all they would experience together.

For most of us, our early morning rituals leave us feeling empty. That’s because we start the day without God and then wonder where he went.

In The Story of With, the first vial Mia must fill is the one labeled Expectant. It’s where we must begin as well. Because before we can experience a life of expectancy, we have to release our expectations.

The Story of With has proven a rescue for the hearts of countless creatives. The allegory is part Alice in Wonderland, part The Matrix, and all invitation to experience a better way to live, love, and create with God.

The Story of With has proven a rescue for the hearts of countless creatives. The allegory is part Alice in Wonderland, part The Matrix, and all invitation to experience a better way to live, love, and create with God.

We can limit our creative potential by limiting how we see ourselves.

Creatives often find themselves stuck, not from a lack of ideas but because they keep getting distracted by the next bright, shiny possibility. They aren’t sure where to focus. So they dream big but do little. They dabble in many things yet never slow down to go deep and fully master one thing.

In these daily readings, the focus is on God, story, and creativity.

From the beginning, the enemy has tried to use chaos against the Creator and creation. Today, he also opposes us and our creativity. I’m convinced chaos is fueled by the enemy’s intense hatred for all who are trying to bring life and light into the world.