The Master Creator

I'm re-posting this blog entry from 2008 because it's exactly the way I've been feeling for the past few days, as Art Prize 2012 is about to wrap up in Grand Rapids, and the sun has been shining down so majestically on the brilliantly-colored leaves. I love Michigan! Fall always causes me to more deeply consider the Master Artist.

It is good...

My absolute favorite time of the year is fall. No, not because my kids are finally back in school after a summer of noisiness (and bickering) and I'm relishing the quiet (although, that's wonderful, too!). The reason fall is my favorite season is because there is no other time of year when my breath is so totally taken away simply by beauty.

As I drove across town to my bible study this morning, the magnificence of God's glorious creation brought me to tears. The brilliance of the reds, yellows, oranges...so prominently displayed by the sun's radiance. In those few moments, I was reminded once again that our God is a God who loves beauty. Who IS beauty. It exudes from every ounce of His being. And he created it just for me. He delights when I delight in his splendor.

This morning, I felt closer to God than I probably would have if I had been reading the Bible in my living room just by experiencing the beauty of His creation.

As a writer, the desire to create has been planted in my heart. To take a blank sheet of paper (or computer screen) and turn it into something beautiful. Because I was created in the image of God, the desire for my work to be good has also been planted in me. There is nothing wrong with wanting to create something for others to enjoy. Delight in.

Whether it's a poem, a short story, an article, or a full length novel, I long for people to take pleasure in my words. To laugh, to cry, to pause and think.

Most of all, I want to point people to the Master Creator. The one all beauty and enjoyment comes from. My work may be well written. It may have a good plot and likable characters. It may even have a good message. But when it brings someone closer to Christ, that's when I can step back from my work and declare, "It is good."


"Your beauty and splendor have everyone talking; I compose songs on your wonders." - Psalm 145:5

The Creator's Heart

So our church is doing a year-long study called, The Story. The Story is basically reading the Bible as one seamless story from beginning to end. We're doing it on Wednesday nights and it involves the whole church family. The kids are learning the same thing as the adults are, only tailored to their age. It's very cool! And I'm loving it already. Here is the official website if you'd care to check it out (please do!). You are able to watch the church service, listen to the message, or even listen to that week's book chapter being read to you, complete with a background musical score. From what I understand, Max Lucado's church is already halfway into The Story and it's being received extremely well. If you haven't heard of it before this very moment, let me say I am honored to introduce it to you. You'll likely be hearing more about it from other sources in the months to come.

Anyway, this blog post is not exactly a plug for The Story. I just want to offer my thoughts on the main topic that the first week's message of The Story teaches: CREATION.

Isn't it cool that the first way the Bible introduces God to us is as The Creator? Creating is what He does. Creating is a natural part - a BIG part - of who God is. But while most things are created WITH something (clay, wood, ingredients, legos, whatever), God has the ability to create out of nothing.

He spoke...it was. Period.

So have you ever considered how privileged we are as writers to connect with God more intimately as a creator? I mean, God used a blank canvas. We use a blank sheet of paper (or computer screen). He spoke...we type. We don't need materials or ingredients or components. All we need is our minds, our imaginations, our hearts.

Not everyone has that creator's heart. Most people could care less about making something from nothing. They don't get excited over seeing something come alive on the page. There is no inner desire to create. And because they don't share that passion, that heart, those people may never connect with God as a creator.

But we do! Every time we sit down to write, we connect with God as a creator. While of course God's thoughts and ways are well above our puny little minds, we can grasp just a sliver of what He felt like when He saw His work come to life. The majestic colors streaking through the sky. The stars twinkling for the first time against the darkness. The trees springing from the ground. Flower petals opening. Deer pracing across the meadow. Fish gliding through the water. And then, finally, man and woman...intricately designed, perfectly formed. Wonderfully made.

God saw that it was VERY good.

That's how I feel when I create, don't you? When scenes come together and characters come to life, when dialogue flows smoothly and plotlines are formed. When the words pour onto the computer screen, one at a time, until eventually the create a story. Could there be anything more rewarding?

Okay, so we're not God. Unlike The Creator, we need to go back and revise. Edit. Improve. It takes us a little more work to craft something very good. But the desire...the love...the need to create...it's there, isn't it?

What an awesome thing - a privilege - to connect with God in this way. I am so thankful that He has given me a creator's heart. Aren't you?

It is Good...

My absolute favorite time of the year is fall. No, not because my kids are finally back in school after a summer of noisiness (and bickering) and I'm relishing the quiet (although, that's wonderful, too!). The reason fall is my favorite season is because there is no other time of year when my breath gets totally taken away simply by beauty.

As I drove across town to my bible study this morning, the magnificence of God's glorious creation brought me to tears. The brilliance of the reds, yellows, oranges...so prominently displayed by the sun's radiance. In those few moments, I was reminded once again that our God is a God who loves beauty. Who IS beauty. It exudes from every ounce of His being. And he created it just for me. He delights when I delight in his splendor.

This morning, I felt closer to God than I probably would have if I had been reading the Bible in my living room just by experiencing the beauty of His creation.

As a writer, the desire to create has been planted in my heart. To take a blank sheet of paper (or computer screen) and turn it into something beautiful. Because I was created in the image of God, the desire for my work to be good has also been planted in me. There is nothing wrong with wanting to create something for others to enjoy. Delight in.

Whether it's a poem, a short story, an article, or a full length novel, I long for people to take pleasure in my words. To laugh, to cry, to pause and think.

Most of all, I want to point people to the Master Creator. The one all beauty and enjoyment comes from. My work may be well written. It may have a good plot and likable characters. It may even have a good message. But when it brings someone closer to Christ, that's when I can step back from my work and declare, "It is good."


"Your beauty and splendor have everyone talking; I compose songs on your wonders." - Psalm 145:5