Site updated March 8, 2010

Are you Actively using your God-given Talents?  

    Our success driven culture dictates a good deal of our behaviors and this stretches most of us to our physical and emotional limits, leaving little or no time for creative pursuits.  Consequently, time, or should I say, the lack thereof, is one of the biggest hindrances people have in becoming creative.  This can change!

   Find Purpose and Fulfillment through Creative Outlets  

     It's human nature to seek for purpose and fulfillment beyond the mundane.  In her book Created to be Creative, Arleen Jennings leads us through the process of finding and using our God-given talents.  She  encourages us to discover the personal benefits of employing creative outlets and the advantage of utilizing them to help us through tough times.  She will also inspire us to use our abilities as tools to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Creative actions exist in an array of forms  and carry a diverse range of intentions.  Some of it simply represents personal preference, while others use the arts to deliberately convey a philosophy.  Arleen teaches us how to edify with our creative outlets by reinforcing that which is good.  There are enough negative voices in the world today; it’s time we use our talents, no matter what form or style we choose, to speak life and promote integrity through our creative actions.

Our Creator has given us the ability to observe with our five senses, the capacity to think and take action, and the wherewithal to be innovative and expressive.  The creative experience is available to each one of us, but forced upon none.  The choice is ours whether or not to begin this journey.  Created to be Creative is the kind of book that will move us to action and help us realize a lifetime of creative fulfillment.  Please feel free to check out some book excerpts.

Book Excerpts: Introduction                    

     Section 1   Conquer Insecurities, Discover Talents 

     Section 2   Be a Doer and Not a Hearer Only

     Section 3   Principles in Action

     Section 4   Hindrances To Creativity

Ron and I recently celebrated our 30th Anniversary!

                               Contact  Arleen                                
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To Purchase Created to be Creative:   Click Here

Also available: Audio Book CD's and Digital Downloads

Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises

                          www.tatepublishing.com
 

a Milestones or Steppingstones?

  With each generation, it seems more people gauge the meaningfulness of their lives by their accomplishments, rather than by their experiences that obtained them.  Significant events automatically mark life, such as our first words, our first day of school, graduation, marriage, and so forth throughout our lives.  We call these events milestones, each important in its own right.  However, we must not ignore the steppingstones, the day-to-day occurrences that get us from one point to the next.  Milestones do not fill a lifetime.  The majority of life lays in-between major events.  For example, high school graduation marks a wonderful and commendable achievement, but for most of us, it took thirteen years or four thousand seven hundred and forty-five days to accomplish.  Our education, family, teachers, friends, coaches, interesting experiences, challenges, good times and bad, all filled those days, weeks, months, and years that made us the adults we’ve become.  The diploma was a milestone; the process taught us how to live.

               
                     Creative fulfillment builds on translating simple actions into everyday results.  These actions may not be notable by themselves, but the result can never be noteworthy without them.  Do we expect a newborn baby to walk?  Do we assume a six-month-old should be able to talk in complete sentences?  Of course not.  These things are a part of the natural growth process; and remember, it’s not an event.  As children grow, we expect them to progress toward maturity.  Accordingly, how can we expect our newborn creative desire to perform at levels beyond what’s realistic?  Why do we think we should be able to skip childhood and be all grown up on our first creative attempt?  Why do we trick ourselves into believing we should be as good as someone that has years more experience?  These kinds of attitudes hinder creative growth and fulfillment.
 

a Something to think about.           

         Consider for a moment the original state of Adam and Eve; they were the only beings created in the precious image of God and made to live forever.  They dwelt in a magnificent garden where all their needs were met, and above all, they communed with their Maker on a daily basis.  Who could want more?  Eve.   She was tricked into believing that the Almighty was withholding from her… “To be as gods…”  Eve had it all, and yet she discovered that personal comfort and the abundance of things did not keep her from temptation, nor did they protect her from making a rash decision.  I wonder if she even considered the consequences as she reached out to take the forbidden fruit.  Did she hesitate, or in one reckless move of passion did she eat, hoping for something miraculous above and beyond all she had ever known?  Were her eyes opened immediately to the grave reality of her fallen condition or did she enjoy a moment of pleasure before recognizing her irreversible fate?  

Though death has passed onto all flesh, the desire for personal gain, power, and prestige have plagued the human race. The epic struggle between “good and evil” has caused men to justify their “good works” making them to believe they can become invincible apart from God.

What then do we make of JESUS?  Eve risked everything to be as gods; on the contrary, Jesus left everything to become a man!  Phil 2:5-8 admonishes,

 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

What an amazing contrast between the desires of the flesh and the desires of the living God.  The first wants only what will benefit self, not caring how ones actions will affect others, inevitably ending in death. The second willingly died to benefit all humanity, ultimately resulting in eternal life for all those who repent of their sins and accept Jesus’ sacrifice. In Christ, we should no longer desire to be as gods, but to become the Children of God, walking in humility and servitude. Jesus calls us to follow His example; may we represent Him well to a lost and dying world that needs a Savior, not another god. 
                                                                                Arleen Jennings