This Small Place We Call Home

Written by DD Phil


Things have really happened in times past. Consider Adam and Eve, our first parents. After God created them, he saw that they were good and perfect in his sight. And God made a garden for them live on. And leftrepparttar tree of knowledge of good and evil inrepparttar 136622 midst ofrepparttar 136623 garden which he forbade them to eat. Who will question his authority? But I ponder these questions in my heart: Didn’t God know that Satan would come insiderepparttar 136624 garden someday to deceiverepparttar 136625 couple? Or didn’t God know that man would fall some day?

But Satanrepparttar 136626 “serpent” deceived them to eatrepparttar 136627 forbidden fruit. And because they both ate, God drove them out ofrepparttar 136628 Garden of Eden—the place they called home.

Man began to multiply, as God wanted it. But it grieved God that he created man, when he saw that man’s wickedness was great onrepparttar 136629 earth and his thought was evil allrepparttar 136630 time. And God decided to destroyrepparttar 136631 earth with water. Only Noah found favor from God, because he was righteous. And after that, God blessed man to be fruitful and multiply. Was it for another destruction? Or so that man would not live to enjoy his days?

I will not make mention of Sodom and Gomorrah—cities that God destroyed with fire. Because not even ten righteous men were found there. This small place we call home would still be destroyed. Whatrepparttar 136632 earth has never experienced in time past would suddenly befall it. How terrible it will be on that day! And I don’t pray to experience it. That will be God’s final judgment on this world—a place we call home. A place where bothrepparttar 136633 young andrepparttar 136634 old will go to have their shelter afterrepparttar 136635 day’s work. And our final resting place. Should we then call God,repparttar 136636 creator, a destroyer and a killer of man’s joy? He creates and destroys. What should we now call him? Name it!

Reclaim Your Creative Spirit

Written by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur


Reclaim Your Creative Spirit by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur

When we first encounter God inrepparttar Bible, He is immersed inrepparttar 136437 act of creation. It is an act that provides pleasure and self-satisfaction. "God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good." (Gen 1:31) We who are made in God's image are also meant to create, to co-create with God. We are His instruments here on Earth. God's ideas take shape in our ideas and becomerepparttar 136438 work of our hands.

It sometimes seems as thoughrepparttar 136439 world is divided into two camps - those who are "creative" and those who are not. Nothing could be further fromrepparttar 136440 truth. We are all born with innate creative ability. Young children automatically create. They do not need to be shown how to express themselves creatively. They build with blocks, scribble with crayons, explore with clay and paint, sing and dance with glee, and they do so with both abandon and determination. It is an act of joy. While having a definite purpose in mind, they create purely to create. The results have a freshness and spontaneity to them that many adults attempt to capture in their own creative endeavors.

At some point, however, we begin to attempt a more realistic approach to our creative projects. We begin to feel that there is a "right" way for our pictures to look, our songs to sound, our dance steps to be. Perhaps some well-meaning adult told us to color inrepparttar 136441 lines, or we simply began to observe other adult's creativity at work. Regardless, we begin to judge our work, and decide it doesn't measure up to our own or other's expectations. We forgetrepparttar 136442 joy of creating and instead focus onrepparttar 136443 outcome.

It is possible, however, to reclaim that lost joy and nurturerepparttar 136444 creativity within us. Julia Cameron in "The Artist's Way" (G.P. Putnam's Sons) tells us that "when we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves torepparttar 136445 creator's creativity within us and our lives." She goes on to say that we must give ourselves permission to be bad at our creative endeavors, becauserepparttar 136446 fear of being bad is oftenrepparttar 136447 only thing keeping us from being good. We need to send our inner judge away forrepparttar 136448 duration and allow ourselves to be beginners, to create forrepparttar 136449 pure joy of creating. Cameron emphasizesrepparttar 136450 fact that we alone do not dorepparttar 136451 creating. God works through us. As she states inrepparttar 136452 artist's prayer: "Great Creator, I will take care ofrepparttar 136453 quantity. You take care ofrepparttar 136454 quality." We must open ourselves up torepparttar 136455 flow that is within us.

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