All posts tagged: #CreativeMotivation

The Heart of Hospitality: Faith for Creatives

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“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”              ~ROMANS 12:10-13 (See vs 9-21) Hospitality, whenever many of us hear the word the first image that comes to mind is that of homecooked meals, friends and loved ones gathered around a table, smiling and sharing in one another’s company. I know that I have often considered hospitality meant that I had to open my home, serve a meal and all that comes with it. And although that is indeed true to the definition, there is so much more to it and yet so much more glorious simplicity than what we typically assign to the word. Hospitality isn’t about a location per se but more about meeting others in their need wherever they are. It’s about being present and available in the moment, with undivided attention, no matter the location, but with sincerity …

Praying with Accuracy, not Accusation: Turbulence in Transition

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Change can be such a beautiful thing. Moving from one season of life into another, leaving one position at the workplace in order to lay claim to a more rewarding position, stepping out of the realm of singlehood to embrace that of a family, is glorious change. And the list goes on. Unfortunately, many times when we are offered the chance to embrace life redefining change brought on by accepting transition through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we inevitably run into the turbulence that shakes our current relationships to their very core. The truth is with the turbulence of transition and change comes the bitterness of pain in some of our existing relationships, be they familial, friendship, or romantic. Sometimes these are growing pains that draw us closer to our loved ones. Other times they are pains that push us away with the sharp barbs of rejection and disapproval. What do we do when we face such shaking when the wounds caused by a loved one’s rejection cut us deeper than our marrow? What …

When the Oil flows: Faith for Creatives

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Revised from January 24, 2014 “Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no healer there? Why has the healing of the daughter of my people not come?” ~JEREMIAH 8:22  The answer to Jeremiah is, Yes there is a Balm and a Healer, and He has indeed come! Sometimes, the ups and downs of life have the ability to cause our hearts to grow hard as stone, even for those of us who belong to Messiah Yeshua, Christ Jesus. The encouraging thing is that even stones can’t help but soak up oil. When Yeshua Jesus, our Christ, pours His oil upon us, the oil will be soaked up and our wee little hearts will be healed and hard no more! There is relief in Him! I am learning that the soaking is not always instantaneous. Maybe I already knew that but I did not really give this truth much heed. But I believe we all need to. Consider the work of a massage therapist. You have trigger points in your muscles that are preventing you …

When the Going Gets Tough, You Have a Helper

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“Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.” ~PSALM 54:4 The Lord Who called you with purpose, dream, and vision, will help and sustain you especially when the going and growing gets tough (PSALM 23). Remember when He told the disciples He required or had a need to go to the other side of the sea of Galilea (MARK 4:35-41)? He let it be known to them that He had business there, instructed them to row in that direction, and then with Him, on the boat with them fast asleep…an ugly storm came. STORMS DON’T CANCEL HIS WORD The storm that hit in the midst of transition did not cancel the word, desire, or direction that Christ had spoken and put in motion. The best part about it was that not only was His plan and purpose not hindered by the storm but He was also in the midst of the storm during the transition with those He had commissioned to go forward. And as He was with the disciples during their storm, so too …

Turbulence in Transition: Relationship Wisdom for Faith Moves

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Turbulence. It is what happens most often when a plan takes flight and encounters unruly pockets of wind while in motion. The plane shakes, rattles, and by the grace of God, refuses to roll even if your belly does, as a result of the sudden ‘speed bumps’ that drive as a force against the craft, nearly knocking it off course. The sudden jarring punches of the wind from outside cause many passengers to grip their armrests with white-knuckled fear as if that will keep the plane in the air. Others simply buckle up, having decided not to be bothered by the jostling forces from outside, and continue to look forward to the journey ahead, fully confident that this moment will pass and the plane and the passengers will reach their destination intact. Have you been there before, not just as an experience of an actual flight, but within a relationship with someone close to you as you took off on your journey of transition from dream to manifestation? The Lord God, Jesus Christ, places a …

Life Abundantly by Regina Hernandez

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“The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come so that they may have life and life more abundantly.” ~JOHN 10:10 After an unexpected surgery in December, I found myself in this really weird place. I was lacking motivation. Simple tasks felt impossible. I wasn’t feeling social at all, which is a bit uncharacteristic for me…and the worst was, despite life being in a pretty good place, I was carrying this overwhelming sense of sadness with me. Come to find out, post-op depression is a thing, and I was struggling. Once I identified what was going on, I decided to find a way to press into the Lord. I wanted to seek Him out in the midst of the struggle instead of embracing the depression and just trying to trudge through until it was over. As I spent time with Him, I started just writing out some of what was on my mind and what I wanted help to overcome. I wrote about how I felt like I was lacking motivation and …

The Power in Songs of Praise

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I just wanted to take this moment to encourage you all with not just a song of worship, but with the powerful weapon that we have in worship through song, coming from our very lips and hearts, no matter if they are out of tune or not appreciated by those sitting next to us. Often times we allow men (to the delight of the enemy) to deter us from opening our mouths in song unto or Heavenly Father. What is the big deal with singing to our Heavenly Father? Well, there is power in it that shifts the atmosphere. It is through song that our hearts are encouraged, that we remember what our God has done for us in the past, is presently doing, and will do. It is through song that we find strength, and that the enemy is evicted from our atmosphere, for our God inhabits our praise. (PSALM 22:3) Ephesians 5:18-21 says, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and …

The Purpose in the Process: Part 3 of Power in the Process

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“Anything good will often require a good amount of time.” ~Candice Coates Scripture: I Samuel 17:24-40 (I encourage you to read I Samuel 17 in entirety.) In I Samuel 17, we find the Children of Israel in the Valley of Elah, stationed there for forty days in fear. Why? Because the champion of the Philistine army, Goliath, has come to defy them. “Send me your best warrior!” He says. “If he kills me, we will be your servants, but if I kill him, you will be our servants.” Standing nine feet tall and likely weighing near a complete ton, it is understandable why the Israelites would see this giant and camp out in fear. Who could match his strength? Who could possibly bring him down? No one has the courage to do so…except one–David, the son of Jesse. Ironically, David was likely no more than seventeen years old and was a trained…shepherd, not a warrior. But he was a master of faith in the God if Israel and the world. David was also a poet and inventor of new musical instruments, instruments …

Out to Abundance: Faith for Creatives

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Revised from May 4, 2018 “…we went through fire and water, but you brought us out to abundance.” ~PSALM 66:12 Another translation of this portion of scripture says, “We went through the fire and through the water, but You brought us out to rich fulfillment.” Here is what we as Creatives and People of Faith have to take note of: THERE IS ‘PROCESS’ BEFORE ‘POSSESSION’. Before we are able to take hold of and step into the new level that God has for us, we must be prepared for it. Who we are before the process is not who we will be on the other side of it when we take possession of what the Lord has promised and called us to. Fire. Consider the occurrences of forest fires, not the ones that are caused by human negligence, but those that take place as a part of the circle of creation. These fires are natural. They may cause great devastation, but, they bring greater enrichment to the ecosystem. Water. Water, rain, are necessary for the nutrients to be able …

Do All Out of Love: Faith for Creatives

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“Let all that you do be done with love.” ~I CORINTHIANS 16:14 Do everything with, in, and out of love. This is not just about doing to or for others out of the love of your heart, which is a good righteous. This is doing, going forth in action, fully consumed and clothed in Christ’s love for you as you do so. The word tells us that He is love (I JOHN 4:7-9). That We are in Him (I JOHN 4:13). When we know how loved we are, perfectly loved, we are able to reign above all fear, the very fear that seeks to paralyze us and keep us silent. When we are clothed in and in partnership with Christ’s love for us we move in confidence and expectation of His goodness in all things and circumstances. Let us, with love, in love, in partnership with Love Himself, begin all things, all prayer, all action, from the confident and secure place of how loved we are. There is no more secure foundation or armor than this! ~Poiema. Poetry in …