Achievement and Creative Effort = Happiness

You have a big "project" that you are working on and have been putting a lot of effort in on it. You have been strained mentally to make sure all the details are in place. Then, after it is all done, the "project" came out a success. Whether that project was a research paper, a big event, an art project, or something else, you can now look back and see the fruit of your labor. It makes you happy to see it all come together like it did.

I hope you can relate to the above scenario. I know that I could. There have been many times I am planning something and enjoy looking at the outcome. It definitely makes me momentarily happy! That brings us to this week's quote...

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

I would categorize the above quote into a "proverb" because there are likely exceptions to it. However, I can definitely relate to what Roosevelt was saying. There is something that is exciting about achieving something when it is couched with putting in a strong amount of creative effort. I guess it speaks to my creative side.

I think there are several that are in the same boat with me. There is something that is thrilling about seeing a work or effort come together for something good. The downside of it, for me, is that I look for the next opportunity to have a similar feeling. Once one is completed then I look for the next.

I like to stretch my creative mind. I am in the middle of what direction to go with a painting that has no boundaries. So, deciding what to do is challenging, but yet will be rewarding in the end.

Now it's your turn...when have there been times which the above quote held true (or false) for you?

Being Creative

Creativity may not be a word you would normally associate with church settings, aside from children's ministry or Vacation Bible School. Creativity usually doing something that you are not accustomed to doing. It brings about new things. New things bring about uncomfortable feelings. Uncomfortable feelings bring about apprehension. Apprehension decreases speed of an idea or project. Decreased or halted speed brings about nothing getting done. So, we're back around to not being creative.

Creativity is also a difficulty when we aren't clear about what we are to be creative about. Brainstorming sessions around a certain topic are generally better than when it is totally open-ended. For example, "What shall we do next?" is too broad of a spectrum, where you will probably get some "I don't know" answers. Changing it to "Wouldn't it be fun to have a fall, outdoor, get-together? What kinds of activities could we do?"

I enjoy creativity. I enjoy being creative. I enjoy variety.

When I sent texts, with audio, to the teens for Bible Class, I would do a few things that may catch them off guard or give them a riddle-like hint as to what we would be studying that night. Just something to be creative.

I would like to see what types of creative ideas we can spur up concerning our assembly. This falls back on to the shoulders of the song leaders and me, mostly. What can we do to eliminate any "ho-hum" environments? How can we create a "if I missed today, I'd really be missing something" environments? However, though we may be incorporating it, don't leave the "getting the ideas" part up to us. If you have an idea, let it be known. Part of creativity is not relying just on your own ideas...but on the ideas of others.

Another area that is always up for the creative challenge is in the area of outreach. What unconventional things can we be doing to get people to know Jesus? Conventional methods are not out of the spectrum for ideas. Also, tweaking those conventional ideas could be something to consider. Sometimes it may be a "shock" factor that causes people to say "Wow, I never thought about doing that as a church". People are attracted at different times in their life and for different reasons. Creativity is necessary to "catch fish".

Creativity brings about new life in people. New life brings about energy. Energy produces movement. Movement produces results.

If you dig your heals into creativity then you are guaranteed not to make it to results. If you get on board with things, then you have a much greater possibility of seeing results.

Whether it is in the area of the assembly, outreach, education, or some other avenue, creativity that is couched around a clear direction is bound to have some neat results!

Let's be creative!!!

E-mail Encouragement: Walking Along the Shoreline

Over the past week, my niece has been visiting us. As a five-year-old with no one else to play with, she gets to entertain herself about half of the time. It is refreshing to just sit and watch a child play by themselves. Their creativity and wonder continues to amaze me. It sometimes makes me reminisce about my childhood. Just the other day, she was riding in our car with my wife and I and she took the booklet that came with our infant car seat and started thumbing through it. All the while, creating a story out of the pictures in the booklet. My wife and I just laughed to ourselves as she used the knowledge that she has to expand in creativity and wonder. This brings us to this week’s quote…

The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder. - Ralph W. Sockman

Once we attain knowledge or achieve a goal, we generally want to go further. I know that is the case for me. Once I’ve finished one thing, I look forward to the next (even if I take a break in between projects, etc.). I know that each week that I have finished a lesson, I look forward to working on the next – wondering what will be around the corner.

What have you experienced as you walked along the “shoreline of wonder”? Wondering what life will be like in the next week? Wondering what ministry God will call you to next? Wondering who God will put along your path to influence? Wondering what you could do in your life if there were no restrictions?

The life of a child is filled with creativity, imagination, and wonder. May we all be like a child once in a while!

Have a great rest of your week!

Serving Him ~

E-mail Encouragement: Are You Excited?!

Are you excited? Not for anything specific, but just excited. When you're excited about something you tend to show it. That said, here is this week's quote...

Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity.
~ Bo Bennett

You've probably heard that "enthusiasm is contagious, be a carrier". If you are working this week, normally people "wear down" toward the end. What can you do to keep the morale up? Maybe buy that "downer" a soda or snack that they really like and tell them it was "just because" or something like that. If you are at home, maybe do something nice for your family member, that is out of the blue. What about in the assembly? I challenge everyone to pray on Saturday and/or Sunday for God to give us good night's of rest, easy "get ready" time on Sunday, and that God would prepare our hearts and minds before hand to come together with the family to learn about and praise Them (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).

This week will be a smile week. See if you can smile before the other person smiles at you. If it's a tie or if either person never had an expression other than a smile, that's OK. See what happens! As a "warm-up" start practicing on those you come in contact with from now till Sunday!