Tag: encouragement

The Rooted & Grounded: Faith For Creatives

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. 16 I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. ~EPHESIANS 3:14-21 CSB

Paul’s prayer for the Body of Christ to be rooted and grounded in the love our Savior has for us is so powerful. Many times we make light of, not only the Grace of God but His love. We tend to take the worldview of what love is, and what love truly means, and thusly, miss the glory and power that comes from love Himself.

Love is the very Person of God (I JOHN 4:7-8), not a fleeting feeling that comes and goes, for we know that Christ has assured us that He will never leave nor forsake us (HEBREWS 13:5) but will be with us for all eternity.

But even when we have accepted Christ into our hearts, there is still the process of His seeds of love not only taking root in us but growing to the point that we are filled with the very fullness of God.

Love, knowing that we are fully, completely, unapologetically, unrepentantly, unconditionally loved by Christ Jesus, is the root and cornerstone of our growth, power, and passion in Him.

It is through the knowledge of the depth of this love that we are able to live with confidence and courage, no matter our mistakes, stumbles, or fails. It is through this knowledge that we are able to do as our Lord commanded and love others.

When we know we are loved perfectly by Him, we rest in our identity of being His righteousness by faith, free from and forgiven of sin, past, present, and future. It is here that we grow into a posture where we are no longer sin-conscious, thusly we are able to shed the fear of punishment that pushes us into condemnation. (Romans 8:1, I JOHN 4:15-18)

Where there is no condemnation, there is freedom, freedom to grow, freedom to walk in liberty and freedom to liberate others with the Good News! (II Timothy 1:7)

Oh, what glory and depth of faith that comes from this place! It is here that we can pray with confidence expecting the “above and beyond what we could ask or imagine” from Him that Paul speaks of in Ephesians 3:20-21.

But to get to the truth of verses 20 and 21 we have got to be rooted in this incredible love that is spoken of in verses 14-19. It takes the knowledge of, and resting in, as well as trusting of His unwavering love for us to be able to believe that not only is His power working in us, that He is able to do exceeding and abundant great things, but that He will do these things for you because HE LOVES YOU!

Be rooted in His love. Trust that He has already given you His greatest gift which was Himself offered upon the cross, knowing that because He has given you His best, He most certainly will not withhold the rest (Romans 8:28-37).

That is love! Take rest and take root!

~Poiema, Poetry in Motion

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Keep it Simple: How to Achieve Your Dream Part 2

Published on by Candice Coates11 Comments

Everything in life should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.” ~Albert Einstein

When it comes to doing anything, especially taking a dream and birthing it into the tangible, keeping things simple is a very crucial admonition to keep in mind.

For most of us, our knee-jerk reaction to anything new is to overthink it. We begin to compare our ‘pearl’ with oyster farms of others who have similar dreams already up and running. We begin to add extra bells and whistles to our end products and we haven’t even actually ‘made’ them yet.

We take precious ideas, born in a moment of genius, and think it from the mustard seed it began as, and transform it into craggy, dark mountains that we feel ill-equipped to climb.

Yes, most dreams, especially those that will involve creative income, do come with seeming miles of information that needs to be learned. All of it is important, but none of it is necessary at the very beginning of the dream.

What is important is to take the first step.

With whatever we aim to do, whatever we have taken the step to believe to do, we must remember to keep it simple. It is so easy to overcomplicate things and make what should have been an enjoyable task or journey something loathsome.

But at the same time, as we are keeping things simple by not overcomplicating them, we need to remember NOT to make them simpler.

To me, this means to not dumb down our dreams to the point that they have transformed into cheap counterfeits of our original visions. Don’t cut necessary corners of the process in order to catch up with the so-called competition.

Simple means, again, to be uncomplicated. Choose to Believe without all the complication.

You don’t have to have all the answers yet. Let your seed be a seed, then a sapling, and then tend it until it grows into a tree. Step by step. Worry about ‘racking the leaves’ the moment your tree is big enough to produce some shade.

Keep it simple. Allow your dream to grow in stages. Each step counts. Things only get complicated when you try to leap over more than one step at a time.

Simply write your first draft, create your preliminary sketch, sing your song until the notes come naturally, build your business by creating a starter plan, live your life…simply.

Our dreams are developed by means of a process. There are steps to climb but we do best taking one step at a time. Simple.

* For Part 1 of this series, see Believe You Can: How to Achieve your Dream Part 1

*Originally published May 15, 2017.

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Believe You Can: How to Achieve Your Dream Part 1

Published on by Candice Coates13 Comments

Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” ~Theodre Roosevelt

One of the most glorious things about life is that even though it can be considered a canvas, it certainly is not a ‘paint by numbers.’ Life is not a one-size-fits-all even if certain ideas and concepts may mirror that of another’s. There still, and always, remains the glory of uniqueness in each person’s life and creation.

I believe that Christ Jesus has a plan for each of us, a perfect design that He wants us to be co-workers with Him upon. He gives us dreams for a reason.

Some dreams we take hold of and bring to manifestation, while sadly, others, we leave to float away like feathers in the wind.

Many times, the dreams that get away from us are the dreams that we can’t seem to muster the faith for or we allow our faith to be choked out of us in the struggle.

But how do we cease to do this?

We have to make a connection with faith and hold on to it. The Lord tells us that all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed and nothing will be impossible for us (Matthews 17:20) The glory of such a small seed is that it becomes very large when placed in the right soil and environment.

The blessing for us is that anything that we put in the hand of the Master has the potential to be greatly multiplied beyond what we can even hope or imagine! (Matthew 14:13-21,  Ephesians 3:14-21)

We have to see more opportunities than obstacles.  We must no longer minimize the potential of the seed of the dreams we have and stop polluting the soil of opportunity with weeds of fear and doubt.

In order to do this, we need to remind ourselves of the great love that Jesus has for us. He is the one who has given us the dream and He loves us.

Fear, however, is the opponent of love (I John 4:18), and not only are you greatly loved but you have not been given the spirit of fear, but love, power, and a sound mind! (2 Timothy 1:7)

We also have to use our creative imagination with faith-filled courage and not fear-filled conjecture. We must focus on the potential truth of imaginative vision instead of the frailty of tangible sight.

The book of Proverbs tells us that as a man thinks in his heart so he is (Proverbs 23:7). These thoughts which soon become reality begin as a seed of imagination. They can either be based out of fear as well as incomplete information or fuelled by faith.

To be ruled by conjecture is similar to looking into a pool and concluding that the waters are not deep because they ‘look’ to be shallow, only to find out you were wrong once your head is under water.

Operating in the truth of imaginative vision is to step out in faith and we are encouraged in the Word that Faith is the substance of things not seen and the evidence of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). Evidence is not conjecture. Evidence is truth!

Faith it out!

The beauty in this is that the greatest push for us to accomplish those dreams that make our hearts flutter is to first believe. Believing, making the commitment to take the step, is the greatest part of the journey.

It is the first step toward your dream, and believing enough to step out means you are already halfway there!

*Original article posted May 8th, 2017

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Letting Go: How I Learned to Step Into My Dreams

Published on by Candice Coates5 Comments

Perfection has a price, but I cannot afford to live that life. It always ends the same; a fight I never win. Oh control. It’s time, time to let you go.” -JJ Heller

A few years back, on my birthday, I woke up after having an incredible dream. The dream was prophetic for my personal future. It hit straight to the core of some inner struggles I had been having. It gave me a greater hope for the future that I am now living.

For several years I had felt like I had fallen into a dark well or a completely lifeless creative downward spiral. Sure, I had been making art, commissions, and though I was pleased with the outcome of each, I have to say they were indeed lifeless … to me.

I was so detached from these paintings that I didn’t even really bother archiving them for my own portfolio. That says something. It says a lot.  My writing was like swimming through mud.

I had gone on a rampage to control everything in my life that I could. My art was controlled. There could be no mistakes in it, which meant I hardly ever created anything. My writing had to be flawless. And because it wasn’t, because I couldn’t really control it, I began to grow duller.

Spiritually, I felt like I had been traversing a craggy wasteland, always walking forward in the direction of the sun (Son), waiting for this storm of torrential rains and floods to come, but I was always waiting, always walking, and there was never a drop of rain in sight nor a cloud in the sky.

I began to grow used to the desert, both the spiritual and the creative. Oddly enough, my inner spirit man never really felt like it was in a drought, just thirsty, content, but never satisfied. No matter how much I fought to be satisfied.

As years passed in my reality, circumstances not changing, my hope for a better future, for the flood rains in my creative life and spiritual life to come, became like an old plane ticket in my hand. It had no expiration date, but neither did it have a date of departure, and so I ceased looking for one.

I was a desert-wanderer. This was my reality. But on my 31st birthday, waking up from that hope-reviving dream, remembering other dreams that partnered with it, I began to smell the scent of rain in the air again. A change was coming and it was right on the horizon. Christ Jesus even led me to a verse in the Scriptures to solidify this newly revived hope and expectation.

Isaiah 43:19 “See, I am doing what is new, let it now spring forth. Do you not know it? I am even making a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Now, for several years I had been having a connected series of dreams about living in a trash bag tent in the desert amongst many others who were fearful of a coming flood.  So when I read this verse, and the images of those old dreams of my desert lands being flooded out with enough water to fill the oceans,  I knew it was a Word of life for me from Him.

This, however, is where faith gets tricky. People of faith LOVE a word about CHANGE and BREAKTHROUGH, but they never take into consideration what CHANGE and BREAKTHROUGH really mean.

Simple analogy, think of how a child who has come to the end of his or her stay within the womb feels when they are are BREAKING THROUGH to their new place. It is not a comfortable transition.  The very fluid they had been thriving on for nine months is squeezed out of them as they pass through from one existence to the other.

Isaiah 43:19 is awesome, but there is a verse that comes before it. This verse was the training breakthrough verse from me.

Isaiah 43:18 Do not remember the former, nor consider that of old.”

STEP 1: Confront your past disappointments.

In order for me to move forward out of my desert, I had to forget the things that were behind. I had a lot of disappointments and false starts,  a lot of heartaches, a lot of wounds, and all of those things not only blocked my creativity but stifled me spiritually and emotionally.

Art doesn’t thrive in a box. Creativity is organic and grows how it grows.

I was in agreement with ‘forgetting’ all of those things. I had buried them for a reason, but I had not healed from them. I was still carrying them with me, and the load was rotting lot gangrene and affecting every creative part of me.

I began to think I was a failure because I could not make myself forget these things that Christ Jesus had let out of the bag. I cried. I didn’t understand until He gently and lovingly told me a simple truth.

In order to forget what is behind, you have to confront it, heal from it, so that it never has power over you again.

You know what it is like when a clogged pipe has been treated and all that grime comes out before the clear water flows? That is what had been taking place with me ever since. I began to allow my pains to be redeemed, and I am talking about those old pains, the-school-bully-that-scared-you-when-you-were-nine kind of pains.

STEP 2: Embrace your unique path and timing.

Then there were the pains of not feeling good enough and trying to achieve those superficial plateaus that society has put in place, but failing every time. And why was I failing? Because these things are not part of His design or rather they were not part of His design for my life back then. Striving for those things (marriage, children, nest, 9 to 5 job … not really on the 9 to 5) at the WRONG time was creative suicide.

Because of my wounds, the ones that were sneaking up on me even though I had pressed them down, I had gone on a rampage to control everything in my life that I could. My art was controlled. There could be no mistakes in it, which meant I hardly ever created anything. My writing had to be flawless. And because it wasn’t, because I couldn’t really control it, I began to grow duller.

STEP 3: Divorce yourself from perfectionism.

Art doesn’t thrive in a box. Creativity is organic and grows how it grows. I was trying to control all of these things because I could not control the pain that I refused to confront. But now I know better. I was blessed with the chance to journey far away from home, away from the familiar noise and get a glimpse of the creative woman I once was and am in the process of becoming.

I leave you to take another listen to the song that makes my heart dance. It’s one of my anthems. It comes from the “When I’m with You.” Album by JJ Heller. The song is called “Control.” I have let go of the control now. I have ceased to clip my own wings out of fear and the need to control something, anything, just to feel secure.

I gave Jesus permission to heal my hidden hurts and to draw out the creativity that had been backed up.

BONUS: LET GO OF THE NEED TO CONTROL!

I gave up control and I am getting to know me again and you don’t need control for that. It’s actually best to let it go.

COMMUNITY QUESTIONS:

  • What steps have you taken to walk into your creative dreams?
  • What were some things that were holding you back?
  • What advice would you share with others who have struggled to take hold of or regain their footing in conquering their dreams and goals?

Please share your wisdom and advice in the comments below.

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

The Audacity of STANDING: Faith for Creatives

Published on by Candice Coates2 Comments

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ~EPHESIANS 6:13 

When we set out on our journey to take steps in faith, to accomplish something that is outside of our comfort zone, we are essentially waging war, not only with our own flesh and fears but with the enemy of our souls.

When we make the decision that, no matter what, no matter how long it takes, no matter the cost, no matter the odds, we will obtain the promise and manifest vision birthed inside of us, it is then that we are operating in audacious and tenacious faith.

Sometimes this faith requires quick forward moving, but often times, it requires committed standing, continuing to ’till the soil’ of our creative venture with faith that we will soon see a harvest.

It is no wonder that in our standing and waiting, we become targets of attack. This is why we are instructed to put on the full armor of God and stand firm.

What I love most about the armor of God is that even when we may not be so secure with our breastplate of righteousness, or we may be missing one of our shoes of gospel and truth, or any other necessary implement of our armor, as long as we have our shield of faith, we are able to quench every dart of attack sent by the enemy. (EPHESIANS 6:11-18 emphasis vs 16) Why? Because a shield covers our entire person. But more than this,  a shield is like His wing, covering us and protecting us.

He will cover you with His feathers; you will take refuge under His wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.” ~PSALM 91:4 CSB

We are blessed to be able to stand because of the love and faithfulness that our God and Savior, has for us. We are indeed secure in His love. And because He loves us, we are able to stand secure, knowing that He is working all things out for our good even as we stand.

~Poiema, Poetry in Motion

The Art of Tireless Pursuit: The Expression of Faith in Creativity pt 3

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

Faith is not only defined by giant leaps but is often reflected in the tiny steps.” ~Candice Coates

A few years back, I was sitting in front of my television, watching some show on HGTV, eating a plate full of room temperature leftovers (good leftovers nonetheless,) when a thought popped in my head:

You will never know where you are going if you never take a step.” ~Candice Coates

The thought seemed simple enough, for, as I was watching HGTV, eating room temperature leftovers, I was also thinking about this creative platform, my writing career,  my art, and all the other things I had planned to do in that year which seemed to have been getting derailed from every angle. Truth be told, I am still thinking about all of these things.

But when I first had these thoughts, I was thinking about my serial-blog-novel, ASCENSION GRAVEYARD. I will be honest, AG (for those of you who are just now tuning in, AG is my blog novel that I started writing in June of 2014…it is still a work in process and progress,) had given me some reason for creative pause.

I felt like it might have turned out to be a far longer novel than I planned for it to be, and coming to terms with that had been difficult. I have said this before. But even with my previous mention, I felt like the thought alone had caused me to stop my creative motions.

Even now, I am planning to charge at this unfinished body of work with full faith and force this summer. This will be my fourth attempt at writing this novel. If that is not fighting tirelessly, I don’t know what is. But still, there are some questions that remain unanswered, that need answering, as I continue on with my creative pursuit.

What do I want for this novel? What do I want for this creative platform, for my art, for myself? Where am I going?

I want a lot and sometimes I feel like the chasm between here and there is just so wide. But that only leads to the next question.

How do I know it is wide unless I take a step? 

It’s like looking into the rippling waters of a pool and trusting my first impression that the waters aren’t that deep when in reality they might actually go twelve feet down.

The realization that I have come to, is that none of it really matters, the true depth or my perception if I never take a step forward at all. And how will I have the faith to step? I have to want it enough and be willing to fight for it until I get it. I have to be willing to count the cost and press until I have a breakthrough. (Luke 14:28)

We all must step forward. We all must have the faith and tenacity to pursue our dreams even at the risk of error. Sure, we will reach moments where we look at how far we have come, scan over our maps and wonder if we have gone the wrong direction. That is part of the faith process.

But even if we have gone the wrong direction, that is not a cause for us to cease proceeding forward, to set up shop in the place of the unknown just for fear of having lost our way. It is all about recalibrating, getting your bearings and then stepping forward in the right direction, again.

So what you may not know where you want to end up exactly. Maybe the answers will only come once you start walking.

So many biblical pictures come to mind; Abraham being told to leave his home by God and go to a place  He (God) would show him (Genesis 12:1). God didn’t tell Abraham where exactly he was to go, he just said go, take a step of faith. Believe.

Then there is Psalm 119:105, which says, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” That to me indicates that more times than not the steps ahead of our current footfalls are shrouded in the dark, but we have got to take another step to discover that which lays hidden from view.

For me, I have just got to keep pressing forward, keep stepping through the darkness and trusting the Light to make my way plain. If I want ICFTS to flourish and to nurture the creative growth of myself and others, then I’ve got to keep seeking the Lord for answers to creative questions and sharing what I find.

If I want my art to stretch itself out and grow, then I have got to give it a platform to do so. If I want my writing career to take off, then I have got to keep writing. I have to take steps and keep stepping after that. And I have to have the confidence in the Lord that HE is guiding me and has made room for me for the times that I stumble.

 “Do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” ~HEBREWS 10:35-36

No matter how big or small the step you take toward accomplishing your dream, celebrate the courage that you displayed in the step that you took and the ones that are sure to follow.

Each stone you put forth is one more to add to the foundation of your future. Be grateful for your progress and keep moving forward no matter how long it takes! Keep stepping, tenaciously in your creative journey and see how the Lord honors that faith.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow wearyand lose heart. ~HEBREWS 12:1-3

So getting back to the original thought I had, it is true that we will never know where we are going if we never take the first step…but that is only if you plan on going nowhere.

Press forward. Keep dreaming. And keep seeking.

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

 

A Heart Filled: Faith for Creatives

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

You have filled my heart with great joy…” ~PSALM 4:7

To put our trusting faith in the Lord, not only for salvation but as an act of creative worship, is not only one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves but it is a great gift that we can give to our Heavenly Father.

Creative worship is the greatest way to say, “Father, I trust you with who I am in you, and the plan you have authored for me.”

Faith is the root of our covenant with Him. Faith is what creates in us clean hearts and blesses us to be His righteousness (2 CORINTHIANS 5:21).

Faith is what makes us a blessing to our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is faith that so pleases His heart.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. ~HEBREWS 11:6

Psalm 4 beautifully highlights the dance between our trusting in the Lord, and how it brings the greatest delight to our own hearts and His.

Verses three and seven capture the essence of it like this, “But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him…You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.“

When we are confident in the Lord, when we rest in our faith, we are blessed with such an exceeding joy that it shines through the thickest darkness and outweighs any material gain or fulfilled need we could have.

Being a creative is faith in action. Resting in confidence that He is with you and hears you, delights Him and fills you. I can’t say it enough! And when your heart is full, you are able to overflow with joyful creativity.

Are you resting in faith that He is with you as you go along life and your creative journey? If not, there is no greater day than today to begin.

(READ PSALM 4)

~Poiema, Poetry in Motion

The Art of Being Happy: The Expression of Faith in Creativity pt 1

Published on by Candice Coates2 Comments

A child can teach an adult three things: To be happy for no reason, to always be curious, and to fight tirelessly for something.” ~Paulo Coelho

THE HAPPY WISDOM OF CHILDREN…

Author, Paulo Coelho, hit the nail on the head with this simple yet powerful description of the wisdom of children. It puts me in the mind of what our Savior, King Jesus said to His disciples, in regard to children and faith, in Matthew 18:3, “…and [Jesus] said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” 

Here, the Lord is telling adults what it would take to walk in the fullness of His redemption, to not just be redeemed, but to take hold of the authority and power redemption brings, and that would require the faith of a child.

Children have the ability to place unmerited trust in their parents. They believe when dad says he is taking them to Disney World. They believe that when mom says there are no monsters under the bed, that there are no monsters under the bed. They leap from great heights, heights that would give most adults vertigo, trusting without a doubt that the arms of their loved one will catch them without fail.

This is the faith that the Lord asks of us and encourages us to embrace once again.

For many of us, deciding to allow our creative passion to no longer lay dormant or to cease to be a hobby, but to transform into our main source of income, requires a great deal of faith.

Most of the time the decision made is often the easiest hurdle to leap over. Maintaining the glow of a job-well-done, or a-good-choice-made is something else entirely.

You see, when we decided to become ‘serious’ about our creative passion, we are, by faith, opening doors to another level of reality. We are embracing the monotony of taxes if we are creating products or services. We are choosing to place ourselves on the stage for social criticism. We are choosing to accept boundaries in order to better guide and maintain successful ventures.

We are, in a word, choosing to ‘adult’ while fully embracing our creative passion.

The question that remains, while we are having to now juggle the new demands our creative growth requires, is are we choosing to be happy in the process?

CHOOSING TO BE HAPPY…FOR NO REASON

Applying childlike faith to our creative growth requires the courage to be happy in all seasons. What does this mean? It means that you are not allowing circumstances to rob you of what matters most. You are not allowing a seemingly unsolvable problem to take your joy from you.

It’s saying ‘this’ may be happening, but I choose to be happy because…or I choose to be happy anyway.

Maybe you start your blog and you don’t gain the following that you initially dreamed of even though you’ve applied the rules that you learned from blogging-gurus. You have the choice to either bemoan your low following or to be grateful for the audience that you have.

Or maybe you attract a few nagging comment-trolls. You can either wallow in the negativity of the ‘haters,’ or choose to celebrate the faithful who are blessed by what you are sincerely offering.

Maybe you didn’t anticipate how lacking in excitement filing quarterly taxes can be. You have the choice to groan about the process or be happy that you even have sales to file taxes on.

I could go on and on with many examples but the point is we need to choose to be happy…always.

Happiness effects the quality of our creativity, the quality of our presentation, the quality of our lives. Choosing happiness is to commit to being satisfied with where you are and what you have. It’s choosing to celebrate the ‘likes’ and kind words of readers over those of critics.

It’s choosing to see the good in your process and current place in your progress even as you strive to move forward to your desired destination.

I am sure that if you grew up anywhere near a church you’ve heard that that shortest verse in the bible is ‘Jesus wept.” Well, there is another verse that matches it in length (at least in English…I haven’t checked the Greek.)

REJOICE ALWAYS,” ~I THESSALONIANS 5:16

No matter where you are in your in your creative journey, take the advice of children and choose to be happy…for no reason…always. There is certainly so much more ahead of you if you keep pushing forward, but there is so much worth celebrating even in the now.

Choose happy.

*In what ways have you had to grapple with happiness or the lack thereof as you’ve journeyed in your creativity? Talk about it in the comments below.

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Faithfully Creative: Faith Filled Encouragement for Creatives

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. ~HEBREWS 11:1-2

Faith. It is the key component to being creative and walking in the gift of creativity.

When a singer opens her mouth to sing, she operates in faith that she will hit those soaring notes. When a painter applies paint to a canvas and manipulates the brush to form curves and strokes that will show the face of a man, it is done by faith. When a writer sets his fingers to the keyboard with the intention of weaving a story with words, it is done by faith.

Like a car needs fuel to drive, like a lamp needs electricity to provide light, so to do we need faith to achieve the fullness of our creativity.

The beauty of faith is that it is a gift, authored by our God, Father, and Creator, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that He is the author and finisher of our faith.

Anything the Lord does, He does perfectly and fully, exceedingly and abundantly, above all that we can think or ask (Ephesians 3:20-21.)

What this means is that we can have faith in the very faith that He has endowed us to create what He has placed upon our hearts to create. He has penned faith, perfect for you and your season and mission.

If you have a business in mind to start, if you want to begin a ministry, if you want to start a family, create in faith!

You have more than what you need to do so.

~Poiema, Poetry in Motion

The Requirement of Time: Faith Filled Encouragment for Creatives

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

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 he used to draw closer to the God of creation and grow deeper in his faith. To anyone on the outside looking in, David was the least of likely candidates to defeat the Philistine champion, but he was the only one who was capable.

Why?

David, even as the anointed king of Israel, took his time in the pastures, tending his father’s sheep, protecting them at all cost, and praising God for every victory. I’m sure there must have been moments when David thought, “The Prophet Samuel anointed me King, and here I am still in the pasture…” Where he was, did not look at all like what he was anointed and called to. But once the right amount of time had passed, things quickly changed.

Because of the time he spent in the pasture, he had developed a skill of defense, but better than that, he’d honed a skill of offense. The enemy just didn’t see him coming!

David knew how to use his sling to kill lions and bears and he knew to give God the glory for it. He walked into ever trial trusting the Lord to deliver him because he had spent a great deal of time learning how to do so.

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,  I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.  Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” ~I SAMUEL 17:33-37 NKJV

He’d thusly developed a discernment to know when to take action. Like with the other predators who sought to make his sheep their prey, he knew that it was time to attack Goliath. Forty days of the enemy’s taunting was long enough!

Still, David encountered resistance even though he was ready and willing to act. His eldest brother rebuked him (vs 28-30) and King Saul tried to discourage him (vs 33). Still, David heeded the tug that was in his heart by the Spirit of God!

He saw, through the eyes of faith and time spent honing skills that seemed ill-suited for the anointed king of Israel, the opportunity he had been preparing for (vs 34-37)!

Here is my encouragement to you. When others don’t see the opportunity, when others discourage you, press forward even still, especially when the Lord God Jesus Christ has prompted and prepared you.

Like David, you must:

RECOGNIZE YOUR MOMENT: David had gone to the battlefield to deliver bread and grain to his brothers, cheese to their captain, in order to deliver a report to their father (vs 17-18). But hearing and seeing Goliath, he recognized an opportunity to be used of God.

REALIZE SOME MOMENTS HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE: I believe that, just like with Queen Esther who was elevated to the Palace of Persia to deliver the Jewish people for such a time as that, that so too, was David. However, like Mordicah warned Esther, if she didn’t seize the moment, God would raise up another who would (ESTHER 4:13-16).

REMEMBER WHAT THE LORD SAYS AND HAS DONE FOR YOU AND IGNORE THE VOICES OF NEGATIVITY: The Scriptures say, “Let God be true and every man a liar.” (ROMANS 3:4) The Scriptures also ask, “Who shall believe our report. And to who has the Arm of the Lord (Reference to Yeshua Jesus) been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1)

Basically, whose opinion are you going to heed and are you going to forget how many times the Lord has come through for you, how He has proven that He is the Great I Am? Like David, you have to remind yourself of the other times the Lord has brought you to victory and keep pressing forward.

Don’t even let the negative voices be a motivating factor, but let the love of Christ, His glory, His promise, and His passion, be what drives you!

BE PATIENT AS YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR MOMENT: Even though David was, in God’s eyes, the official King of Israel from the moment he was anointed, David still was sent back to the pastures to tend the sheep and tighten up his sling-shot-game, and for good reason. Goliath was no pushover. He also remained humble enough to obey his father and deliver cheese and grain to his brothers, brothers who didn’t even recognize his calling, destiny, or anointing, even though they bore witness to it. (I SAMUEL 16 (vs13))

Sometimes the most hurtful thing is when we pursue the promises and purpose of God in our lives only to find that we have to do so without the support of those closes to us, namely our families. Sadly, this happens.

But be encouraged! You are in good company. David didn’t have family support. Joseph, the son of Jacob, was on his own, and our Savior even was mocked by his younger siblings about His anointing (JOHN 7:1-9)! All of their families eventually came around in the end though, it just took time.

Again I say, anything good will often require a good amount of time.  Be patient and be persistent. It’s going to require your courage through ups and downs and your trust in your Heavenly Father, but we know that because what is before us is good, we are assured that it is worth it. So keep pressing, keep preparing, and until that moment comes, keep waiting!

For my married brothers and sisters who may not have the support of your spouse. Take courage, trust the Lord, and walk in wisdom. If the vision that you have is from God, allow Him to work on your loved one’s heart. But you be of humble heart, like David. Continue to pray. Continue to hope. Continue to believe. And continue to pursue…in time.

~Poiema, Poetry in Motion