Every creation is designed with intention. 

You really can’t create something that offers more imagination, love, or beauty than what flows from your heart.

When we try to force our creativity into a predictable routine, the result is often predictable creativity. 

That’s because when we, as the artist go on auto-pilot, the trip is far more likely to be predictable and forgettable to us…and to everyone who ultimately experiences it. 

God rarely invites us into what we can do in our own strength.  

Being overly available at all times results in being overly exhausted at all times.  

God has designed your soul to need regular times of restoration.

Multi-tasking means you're not fully present to anyone or anything.  

A truer description is mostly absent. 

Being creative requires you to become good friends with curiosity, patience, and fortitude.  

That’s because the best ideas rarely come on demand. Nor do they tend to reveal themselves to the impatient or distracted.  

If you want to get ahead, it matters who you know. So here’s a little test. 

Have you noticed your most powerful art reflect themes you're currently wrestling with, discovering, or can’t quit thinking about?  

We live in chaotic times. In the midst of the storms, it’s easy to put your creative dreams on hold and just hunker down. Wait for a more ideal time to pursue what makes you come alive. 

You are responsible to create with the Creator and then serve it to the hungry.

To do so, it helps first if you know how to cook. And know who you’re making the meal for.

At a high school basket all tournament, I noticed a coach wearing a t-shirt that said:  Always Lead. Never Follow. 

Those four words tap into a popular mantra of the current culture. Everyone wants to be the captain of their ship. The sole determiner of their destiny. The center of the universe. 

oy is the missing ingredient in much of our creativity. We feel pressure to create, so we get busy.  

We count words. We measure sales. We chase “likes.” We hit deadlines. 

We do a lot. But often not with a lot of joy.  

In my creativity coaching, I’m frequently asked to help people discover their true calling. Most don’t realize how their current job and interests might connect to a larger creative calling. 

How do you typically start your day?

Do fears and worries of the day immediately rush at you? Or does your to-do list immediately demand your attention? Perhaps you tend to wake a mad-dash panic because you hit snooze three times and now you’re running late? Or maybe your first instinct is to reach for your distraction device (hello iPhone).

The life you have with God—while you create—has an immense impact on the final creation.  

When you find yourself struggling with an issue you thought you'd overcome, it’s helpful to view the process like steps on a spiral staircase.  

If your art were posted in your front yard, would it reveal more about what you love…or what you’re against? 

You can do a lot. But you can’t do it all.

The world dangles endless choices before us. We’re encouraged to do more, say more, try more, and achieve more. Good grief, the posters at my gym proclaim: “You Can Do It All.” It plays to the illusion that we really can do it all and have it all if we just somehow learn to balance everything in our lives perfectly (or maybe join the right health club).

The life you have with God while creating determines the life your art or service will have.