We want to be heard but have forgotten how to listen. 

We grow restless with silence so we seek distractions. We stare at our phones and miss each other's hearts. We lose interest in conversations that aren't about us. Our world grows small and we wonder why we're so lonely. 

Being creative involves a certain level of restless discontent.

That's an appropriate feeling—because something needs to be born and you're the only who sees it before it has form. Until then, others won’t understand the very thing you can’t quit thinking about it.  

Everything isn’t equal.

We know that, yet we keep falling for the allure of a balanced life.

Like an over-confidant plate spinner, we keep trying to balance more plates simultaneously. Doing so is exhausting—both for us and those around us. But as long as none fall and shatter, we keep adding on plates.

Imagine being at a rooftop party where you’re participating in an amazing celebration of freedom and creativity. But you aren’t just an observer or random attendee.

Your presence enhances the event.

We need relationship with God. And we need relationship with others.

Settling for one of the two is less than what we were created for.

That’s why Scripture tells us loving God and loving others are the highest priorities of our lives (Mark 12:29).

It’s possible to be homesick for a home we never knew existed.

At the deepest level, our desire for a home isn’t actually for a physical dwelling place. But rather, a place where we are completely known. Not where we were born but where we can finally and fully be who we were created to be.

Years ago, my wife and I faced one of the biggest decisions of our lives. A ministry in Colorado invited me to join their team. It would involve a cross-country relocation and saying bye to a twenty-year publishing career, a fantastic church, best friends, a stellar school, and the home we raised our children in. The salary was good but quite a bit less than my corporate paycheck. On paper, the decision to pass was a no-brainer. But we didn’t want to rely on human wisdom. We hungered for revelation. “God, we need a clear ‘yes’ before we commit. Or a solid ‘no’ and we’ll forget about it.”

Years ago, I was introduced to the ancient Japanese art form known as Kintsugi. It is a skill that repairs shattered pottery by infusing golden lacquer in the broken places. Shimmering liquid gold fills the cracks and holds the broken pieces together.

The process creates a one-of-a-kind piece of art by highlighting, rather than hiding, the brokenness. The repaired item is now seen as even more valuable, because there is no other vessel in the world like it.

Every choice we ever make is rooted in either love or fear.

Fear-based reactions come out in the form of control, offense, rage and scarcity.

Love-based reactions include grace, hope, expectancy and abundance.

Here’s an interesting question. What does chaos create?

Answer: nothing. Chaos can’t.

It can’t fill you. It is vast emptiness looking to consume you. It can’t produce love. It is saturated with fear. It can’t exhibit grace or kindness. Its essence is violent and abrasive. It can’t lead to abundance. Destruction leads to greater scarcity. It can’t birth new things. It seeks to end things.

Do you tend to view the Holy Spirit as creative?

In Genesis 1:2, God’s Spirit is described as brooding, or spreading its wings like a bird, over the murky nothingness. This is meant to be a life-giving image, not a delicate one. It describes a bold act, the transforming of chaos and emptiness into life and order.

In the storms of life, it can feel like we’re going under. As the water rises, so does our certainty that we’re going to drown.

And yet God’s never met a storm he can’t overcome. As his sons and daughters, he teaches us how to do the same. And he does so in ways that are never quite the same as the time before.

As you look at the churning waters around you, consider God's endless ways to deal with these liquid challenges.

We all have scars. Some are visible…but most are unseen. A betrayal from those we trusted. Silence when we needed support. Conditional love based on what we do rather than who we are. Though these wounds are often invisible, they cut deep.

What causes you to hesitate in the pursuit of your dream?

Perhaps you don’t feel there’s enough time. Or money to invest. Those are real struggles we face.

But often there’s something deeper going on within us. We don’t feel qualified. We doubt God could possibly be inviting us to pursue the very thing we love…with him.

A friend of mine starts every movie by watching the last scene first. This used to really bother me. I mean, come on. She was doing it all wrong. It ruins a story to peek at the last page or scene first. It’s like opening a Christmas present and then wrapping and placing it under the tree.

How do you tend to make big decisions?

My natural inclination is start forming a “pros and cons” list, adding up the columns to determine which outcome makes the most sense.

God regularly invites us to follow him into the great unknown. We tend to hesitate until we have an upfront, air-tight guarantee as to how it will go for us.

Instead, God offers road trips with him that come with no detailed itinerary. Often, that’s not enough for us. So we remain camped in the status quo.

I imagine our conversation with God might go something like this.

How do we get from where we are…to where we want to be?

Because no matter where we find ourselves, it seems we're not quite where we want to be. Or fully who we are meant to be.

A map would be helpful. Especially from God. In our more honest moments, we wonder why he doesn’t make our lives simpler by just telling us all we need to know, preferably before we’re facing that hard decision or challenge.

On the seventh day of Creation, we’re told that God rested. But what does that mean?

God wasn’t exhausted. He didn’t work up a sweat. He could have created every day for millions of years and never repeated himself. Every day another new creation.

We could all use a fresh start. Some days, I need more than one!

That’s why I totally resonate with this powerful request the psalmist asks God:

God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. (Psalm 51:10 MSG)