Creativity Counts

The scared little kid in the picture is one of my two wonderful daughters. Cori recently won an award at our local Red Robin restaurant for creating their winning burger in a contest. She called her burger the "Super Fresh Salad Burger" and the poster behind her is on the door of the Red Robin praising her victory.

I remember the night my two creative chefs put their minds to creating the absolute best burger possible. It was exciting to watch their minds churn and listen to their questions as they settled in on their ingredients. Both did an excellent job, and Cori was fortunate to win a gift certificate and get some recognition. We are proud of both girls and happy for Cor's award.

I was thinking about rewards and awards the other day as I prepared a memorial message for a dear saint. I referenced in her message the parable of the talents. The story where two of three took their resources and on behalf of the owner managed to double his take. The two of them received those wonderful words of praise: "Well done good and faithful servant." One thing about doubling anything is that it takes creativity. We often reflect only upon those words in relationship to our faithful use of the gifts God has given us, and many times fail to reflect on the creativity needed to accomplish that task.

In a world where there seems to be so few lines of distinctions and a clear voice of reason and faith is so desperately needed, the creative are the hope of our future. I hope people of faith will filter into the more creative elements of our culture in the movies and media. I pray that we will continue to see a new generation of songwriters with a heart for the Lord. I hope and pray that God will help tap into what creative juices I have. How great it would be to have a double impact on the world around me.

Creativity is not always received without criticism, but nothing new ever comes without someone with a creative desire to blaze a new trail. So if you ever think that you are stuck in a box, get outside of it a do something creative. Create a new small group or a new friendship with a neighbor. Create a pictore slide show to go along with your favorite song of worship. Rewrite Psalm 23, to say "the Lord is my ___________" share it with your friends. Let the juices flow because creativity counts.