“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 (ESV)
I believe that we were created by God.
I believe that God is a creator. He is brilliant and attentive to every tiny microscopic detail. Every piece of artwork or thing of beauty simply whispers of things He has already created.
I believe that we were created in the image of a creative God.
Being made in the image of a creator, I believe we were made to create.
And we do. Some of us in more obvious ways…paintings, sculptures, music, and poetry. Some in more subtle ways, in the kitchen, with how we engage children to learn, with how we tweak a presentation to appeal and capture an audience, in making a house a home, building businesses, in growing things from dirt…. We are creators, glorifying our creator every time we create.
Except when we don’t.
Sometimes we stop creating because we’re not sure what it is we create. Sometimes we stop creating because we’ve exhausted our creativity and need to get inspired.
This is often where I find myself. In fact a year ago, I went a pretty long time with out creating much of anything. I was in such rush all the time, I didn’t give myself time to breathe…time to enjoy my creator, His creation, and to get inspired. I made no time to create and didn’t prioritize it and honor God in that way.
Somewhere in the dropping and reassessing everything in my life, I realized that when I’m creating I’m a happier person. And when I’m creating, I feel more in touch with God. I love twirling in my kitchen and singing His praises for the way He made our tastebuds and different flavors to intermingle.
So creating is a priority. For me to go on creating, I need to be inspired. Sometimes I can go long chunks of time in between needing inspiration, and other times I need to be inspired daily to keep up with the output I at times need to produce.
This happens several ways for me. A run outside, listening to a podcast, people watching, and reading are some of the biggest sources of inspiration for me when it comes to writing. I know some people have a vice with Pinterest but for me, it’s a huge source of inspiration…especially when it comes to making clothes and accessories. My favorite sources of inspiration for food are the farmers market, cookbooks (the really good ones), and other chefs.
The chefs I get inspired by tend to be places that aren’t easy on the pocketbook, so my inspiration in that area is by no means a steady flow. It comes in spurts, and I rather like it that way, as one meal can have me creating and brainstorming for weeks to come.
I had one of these bursts about a week ago. A friend and I got some girl time at a nice restaurant. Good wine, good food, good company. Happy place. I normally tend to go for more obscure meats when I eat out…something that is a bit harder to obtain in day to day life, like pheasant or duck. However due to in town guests we had eaten out a lot that weekend and I was just craving a salad and something light. So I had a salad, and chicken paillard.
That’s really just a fancy way to say cutlet…a chicken breast cut in half, sometimes pounded thin. It was served with shallot confit, roasted squash and some watercress. It was good, simple and light.
And I was inspired, and thought I could improve on it a bit.
I played tonight. Marinated chicken, roasted squash and shallots, and made some risotto to go with it. (For those of you looking for inspiration I marinated the chicken in white wine, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, thyme, S&P and olive oil…for at least 4 hours and grilled. Roasted butternut squash and halved shallots (tossed in EVOO and S&P) in the oven, and made risotto. This is a great go-to recipe but I didn’t use hardly any lemon. I put risotto down, then chicken, topped with the squash and shallots then threw some arugula on top)
It was a perfect fall dish. Light and yet satisfying. Satiating and not pretentious. I created exactly what I had set out to create. And it was GOOD!
I love that us creating inspires others to create. The chef created something, that inspired me to try something, that (I don’t think coincidentally) led to some family time in front of the piano with my kids creating music. Every time something is produced from our efforts we whisper praises to our Creator, and inspire others to do the same.
We should all be creating. It keep us in touch with our maker, and glorifies Him in the process.
Figure out your medium, where you create best, and give yourself some space and time.
Buy some fun ingredients and put on music in your kitchen.
Go to Hobby Lobby and grab some fabric, or paints and spread it out.
Grab a pen or keyboard and put down the words.
Brainstorm the different angles for that deal.
Sit down with an instrument.
Go play in the dirt and admire the fruit of your labors and the ground.
Grab your camera and get outside.
Like the Nester says “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful”.
We love our kids artwork because we see their efforts, we see progress, and we see the beauty they see in it.
It’s not always easy to create and get inspired. It takes time and intention. It involves slowing down and stepping away from distractions, which at times feels impossible in our fast paced world.
Do the Hard Thing and take time and make space to get inspired again. Praise the one who gave you the ability to create.
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This post is part of the #write31days challenge hosted by The Nester.
Click here to read all the posts in the 31 days of Doing the Hard Thing series.
