The opening verses of Scripture remind us that God is a creative God. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Part of God’s nature is to be creative. Each of us, created in God’s image, has the capacity to be creative. Summertime provides a good opportunity to get in touch with your creative side.
If you need inspiration to jump-start creative initiatives, consider some of these activities:
- Get out into nature. No matter how many times I take a walk in the mountains, I am overwhelmed by God’s goodness and creativity. From tiny flowers to majestic mountains, God’s work gives us an abundance of elements to create with or reflect on.
- Change your routine. The great thing about summer is that we have more flexibility to change our habits. Find a different way to get to work, eat supper at a different time or go to a different grocery store. We get stuck doing the same old things. It’s time to change it up.
- Study a topic. Most of us learned how to do research in school. Some people have become experts by researching a particular field. Why not pick a topic you know little about and start studying it? Don’t just do a Google search: plan to spend time really finding out as much as you can. Get those brain cells working!
- Travel. Here’s something that was made for summer: travelling to new places. There’s nothing like finding yourself in a new city or new culture and having to navigate through your day. While it might feel a little stressful, we can use all that stimulation to see things in a new light.
I’m not sure how you like to express yourself. Perhaps you like to paint, or sing, or build sandcastles. Whatever it might be, make time to be creative this summer. Do it for the joy of creating and expressing all that God has deposited within you. You just never know what you might discover.