March 4
10 am to noon
Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff, in the Barn
(red building on the right as you enter the property)
Our Focus Point this week is:
The Practical Side of Passion
Passion compels us as writers. This Saturday we'll talk about
stoking our passion and writing from full hearts.
Get the encouragement you need, whether you're an accomplished writer,
beginner or somewhere in between.
Looking forward to seeing you,
Barbara
February's Focus Point
The Diversity of God
I remember standing in front of the birds on display at the American Museum of Natural History and being overwhelmed by the vastness of God’s
creativity. I thought, “If I was given the specifics of an animal that had wings
for flying and a beak for eating, and told to create a bird, how many
variations could I possibly contrive?” Six? Sixty? The museum exhibits 300 of
the 400 species New York City attracts alone. There are almost 10,000 species
of birds in the world—tropical
birds and arctic birds, fish-eating birds and seed-eating birds, large birds
and small birds, drab birds and outrageously colorful birds. The diversity of
appearance, habits and habitat is astounding—not even considering mammals, amphibians
and fish. All of this from a wildly imaginative, abundantly creative, generous Creator God, who also made us.
Having been made in God's image, we not only mirror His creative nature, but are gifted by Him to use our innovative skills for Him.
Read what Moses said to the Israelites in Exodus 35:30-33, "See, the Lord has
chosen Bezalel … and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill,
ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts—to make artistic designs for work
in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to
engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship."
Creativity in craftsmanship also includes crafting words. Chuck
Colson wrote this about creativity in language:
The nature of Scripture itself
affirms the importance of creativity in language. God did not reveal Himself
through a list of essential doctrines or a schematic outline of theology.
Instead, He chose to reveal Himself through the writings of a variety
of authors over many hundreds of years in just about every type of
literature then known to humanity. There are historical narratives, laws, poems
and songs, proverbs, prophetic oracles, parables, letters, apocalyptic
literature, even genealogies. In producing our own literature, we are following
the example of God who gave us a rich literary heritage in His word. (The Image
of God and Creativity, colsoncenter.org)
In our writing group, we have often looked at
Ephesians 2:10, which calls us God's workmanship who have been created … to do the
good works God has prepared for us to do.
My challenge for us today is to step out of the
little boxes of time and space where we live. Let's ask the Creator, our
Creator, to lead us where we’ve not yet gone and use our skills in new arenas.
Take away thought: Let’s expand our minds to be as
broad, diverse and inclusive as our Creator’s.
