We are the music makers. We are the dreamers of dreams.
Ronald Dahl (Willy Wonka)
We learned in the last lesson that we are (literally) born to create. Some of us come out of the womb ready to dive in. Others take a little longer to convince. Regardless, we are called to be Courageous Creatives, to use our gifts to reach others.
What does it mean to be a courageous creative? Why is it important for writers, (and all dreamers)?
To get our answer, we’re going to have to go back in time, to our childhood(s). Let’s start with a familiar Bible verse (Psalm 68:6)
God places lonely people in families. He leads prisoners out of prison into productive lives, but rebellious people must live in an unproductive land.
Nature. . .or Nurture?
- SOME of our creative gifts come by NATURE (we inherit them)
- SOME of our creative gifts come by NURTURE (we’re encouraged in them)
IN MY CASE:
- MY DAD WAS A SONG-WRITER AND SCRIPT WRITER
- MY MOM WAS A BAKER AND QUILTER
- MY GRANDMA WAS A SEWER AND A CANDY-MAKER WHO LOVED AFRICAN VIOLETS
- MY GRANDPA WAS A GARDENER AND A WOOD-WORKER WHO HAD HIS OWN SHOP
- MY OTHER GRANDMOTHER WAS A BREAD-MAKER
I see a lot of creativity there! No doubt it spilled over. Check out what I was like as a kid:
MY BACKSTORY:
- When I was five, I donned my frilliest slip, which looked like a ballerina costume, and made up dances in my bedroom.
- That same year I joined a library reading challenge and read as many books as I could over the summer.
- In 1st grade I stood in front of my whole school wearing a red cowgirl dress and recited the poem, “Twas the night before Christmas in Texas, you know…”
- When I was in elementary school I designed clothes for my barbies.
- When I was in 5th grade, I started dance class and acrobatics.
- That same year, my mom insisted I learn to play the piano.
- When I was in 6th grade, I wrote my first book.
- In Jr. High, my favorite book was “Make and Do” a crafting book, loaded with ideas of things to make and build. I couldn’t get enough.
- When I was in 9th grade, I joined the theater department at school and played a role in every single production the school ever did. I acted, sang, danced. . .and built sets. I even helped design posters for the plays.
- Also in 9th grade, I joined the choir.
- All through high school, I would ease my stresses by dancing and doing acrobatics in my living room, choreographing numbers and asking my mom to come and watch. My dance partner was a little statue, about three feet high, a Spanish conquistador. I named him Charlie.
- Around that same time, I found solace in playing the piano. I would often play for hours, just to rest my mind from the stresses of school.
- When I was in 11th grade, I decided to learn sketching.
- By 12th grade, I was helping write the productions we were doing.
- By my freshman year in college I joined the theater and music departments and fell in love with literature.
- By my sophomore year, I was already outlining an idea for a movie script.
- From there, I started directing musicals at church and in community theater, and finally wrote that first book for publication.
- My entire life, I was a dreamer of dreams, a music-maker—though not always literal music.
Now it’s Your Turn!
1. How old were you when you first saw yourself as CREATIVE or IMAGINATIVE?
2. How did your creativity come out when you were young? Did you:
_____Sing?
_____Act?
_____Sketch?
_____Dance?
_____Paint?
_____Write silly songs?
_____Write plays or skits?
_____Play an instrument?
_____Act out your favorite TV show scene?
_____Write in your diary?
_____Write a haiku poem?
_____Write a rap song?
_____Decorate your room?
_____Build a fort?
_____Design costumes for your pets or dolls?
_____Plan a vacation?
_____Color?
_____Doodle?
_____Build things?
_____Start a scrapbook?
_____Knit something?
_____Sew something?
_____Bake something?
_____Take pictures?
_____(Something else?) Fill in the blank: ______________________________
3. When you were young, who (or what) did you dream you would be when you grew up?
4. Did that dream come true?
5. Now that you’re older, what’s one very S.P.E.C.I.F.I.C artistic or creative GOAL you would like to accomplish? (EXAMPLES: I want to write a book by the end of the year. I want to learn to play an instrument. I want to design a room in my home. I want to get a role in a play. I want to start drawing more. I want to take pictures of nature.)
6. What creative activities do you gravitate toward now? Are you a gardener, a cake decorator, or a graphic designer? Do you like to write, to color, to dance, to play? What hobbies do you enjoy the most?
7. Were your parents or grandparents creative? What did they create? What did you glean from them?
THINK ABOUT THIS:
In Genesis God created the heavens and the earth. But it didn’t stop there! Throughout the Old Testament, God was always at work, making something out of nothing! That’s what we creatives do! We’re made in his image, so it’s not surprising that we have a desire to create, too!
LET’S GIVE EXAMPLES:
We create from NOTHING: _________________________________________________
We create from SOMETHING: ______________________________________________
Creativity is a gift from God, and He gives good gifts!
In Exodus 35:31 we read: God has filled him with his power and given him skill, ability, and understanding for every kind of artistic work.
When you feel like giving up, like the gifts inside of you aren’t going to come to pass, remember this verse from 1 Timothy 4:14: Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.
