5 ways we can learn from God as an artist/creative
Phyian Karinge
| WomenTech Global Award Winner | Product Manager | Founder YoungTechiez |
We need only to look at the infinitely varied forms of life around us, to realize and be utterly impressed by God's work as an artist.
SexEd with a 9 year old
Yes, we'll start here.
I like to lubricate my readers before I dive into the meat. (pun very much intended)
It was time for 'thee talk' with my 9 year baby sister. The SexEd talk.
It was my intention for her to learn about the basics of SexEd slowly, freely and without shame.
I decided to take her for a walk around the neighbourhood, to look at some beautiful houses (a big hobby of hers)
That way, I ensured that she felt safe and remained open.
I took it from the top; recapping on our body parts, as I watched her cringe at the words; 'boobs' and 'butts'.
I laughed and explained to her that God made boobs and butts and he thought that they were good.
She added;
‘The bible says that He was pleased.’
I nodded and affirmed, ‘Exactly!’
Our talk went really well, but those words stuck with me.
'He was pleased.'
It was in that that moment that my epiphany of God as ‘artist' and 'creative' came crashing onto me.
He seemed so much like me, or better yet, I felt so much like Him.
To the meat shall we?
5 ways to learn from God as an artist
1. He did his 10,000 hours
God could've easily snapped his fingers and had everything magically appear, but instead, he did the time.
Haha, I know, I know, I too wish our time was six days...I mean 10,000 hours??
C'mon G, it was just an apple.
We digress.
My point is; there is no shortcut to creating or building. We must do the time and God led by a pretty good example.
2. He planned his work and just did it.
Yes, yes he didn't wait for for the perfect tools or perfect time to execute.
He simply planned his work and executed.
The romantisization around 'letting it come to you' in the creative scene is one of the biggest drivers of perfectionism and procrastination.
The reality is, creative inspiration often comes to you in the doing, not the thinking or feeling.
The creative space is known to propagate this narrative, when the reality is, the most successful creators found gold in the digging.
So make a plan, with your subpar tools and get to digging.
I mean, look around you, God struck gold in His digging don't you think?
3. He was pleased
One of my favorites...
Doubt is a friend we hang out with very often as creators, artists and entrepreneurs (essentially anyone who creates anything - be it a cake, a company, a website, an article or a painting)
Yes you are a creator! You are an artist! It is not a word reserved for the picassos.
Now, where was I?
Ah yes, doubt; our good old friend.
We put our entire beings into our work, then finish and think to ourselves;
'Is it good enough?' 'It looks shitty' 'It doesn't look like hers or his'
These thoughts, whilst are very normal, often stop us from appreciating our good work.
When we look to God as an example, we can see that He was pleased with His creation, even though from a critical lens, His creation is relatively imperfect.
Look at the ocean? Shapeless...
My thighs? Huge birthmark on the left one...
My eyes?...they get lazy sometimes...
Yet he looked at us and was pleased, He thought to himself; 'This is good.'
I aspire to be like that in my work.
To do a damn good job and to be pleased with it all.
Because, after all, every beautiful piece of music must have has some dissonant notes to make the resolution all the sweeter.
4. He let it be.
He created and let his creation be...
It's hard...I know.
Especially in a world driven by metrics and engagement.
I'm not telling you not to check the performance of your work, all I'm saying is let it be.
God allowed His creation to have a life on its own; He let it all be.
Therefore, when you purpose to put out your work, release it completely.
Let it have its own life; to trigger, to inspire, and even sometimes to be criticized.
5. He rested
Imagine that, a whole God rested.
And you want to kill yourself over small small agency company na (in Nigerian accent)
Shame!
Contrary to what I thought about work and rest, an article by Amy K. Hall helped me view it differently.
'According to the gospel, we are gifted with rest; and then out of gratitude, we actually want to work.
Now, we don’t have to try to earn God’s favor—he is already favorable toward us in his Son.
Because of Jesus’ work, we start each week with rest—mirroring that eternal Sabbath rest that is already our inheritance in the new creation (Heb. 4:9–10).
Giving thanks to God, we return to our workweek refreshed and thankful for what God has done for us in Christ.'
She does an excellent job of diving into God's work as an artist here
I certainly hope that I mustn't go into detail about the importance of rest, but if you need a little more hammering, see my in my DM's.
Well, that's it for today folks!
I hope something resonated, if not, I hope you enjoyed, if not, I hope you have a good day!
Happy Tuesday!
Here are the 6 things we can learn from his way of creation..
Pretty clear to me that God is a triple threat; artist. producer and director. The sets are nice. The casting could be better in some cases, but the audience? Glued to their seats.
Yesterday we had a SexEd talk with my baby sister.
We went out for a walk to check out cool houses in the neighborhood and under the slanting warm sunset, we opened up and I shared
I had to take it from the top, a recap on our bodies, and I remember her cringing, as any 10 year old would at the word boobs and butt.
And because I’m intentional about being shame-free, I try to share the same value with my younger siblings.
I explained to her that God made boobs and butts and that he thought they were good.
She reiterated my statement by saying;
‘He was pleased’
‘Exactly!’
Her words stuck with me….’He was pleased’
They stuck with me because boobs are rarely the same size, butts are sometimes swarmed with stretch marks, yet still, God was pleased.
At that moment, I saw God as a true ‘creator’ and ‘artist'.
Much like me, or better yet, I felt so much like Him.
The SexEd talk went well, save for the natural awkwardness, and we went on to laugh at videos of me and my friends from a birthday party from the previous day.
Since then, I intend to think of my work in the same way God did his.
His work including the environment, the people, and even the intricacies of our lives, all as an art form made by Him.
I gathered a few principles from his work;
#1 - He did THE time.
Creating is not a one-time thing, done only when the inspiration comes to you.
It is a habit, to start, get in flow and make something.
God put in the time to create, 6 days he worked and set the seventh for rest.
Input and a consistent input.
God, could have snapped a finger and have it all appear, and instead, he chose to put in the work and do the time.
#2 - He planned his work
As mentioned above, He had the power to do it all at once.
Yet he planned to take on bits of creation each day.
I'm a big advocate for the theory around atomic habits and the compounding effect. It's something I'm currently experimenting with, I'll give you all an update, majaliwa.
To create a sustainable habit of working on your art; plan realistically and execute every day.
"You don't have to write all 10 songs today. To create a sustainable habit of working on your art; plan realistically and execute every day.
#3 - He Rested
Contrary to what I thought about work and rest, an article by Amy K. Hall helped me view it differently.
'According to the gospel, we are gifted with rest; and then out of gratitude, we actually want to work. Now, we don’t have to try to earn God’s favor—he is already favorable toward us in his Son. Because of Jesus’ work, we start each week with rest—mirroring that eternal Sabbath rest that is already our inheritance in the new creation (Heb. 4:9–10). Giving thanks to God, we return to our workweek refreshed and thankful for what God has done for us in Christ.'
She does an excellent job of diving into God's work as an artist here
I certainly hope that I mustn't go into detail about the importance of rest, but if you need a little more hammering, look out for our piece on rest.
#4 - He was pleased.
The sun is not round, the ocean is shapeless, my eyes are not the same, and my left inner thigh is stained with a large birthmark, and by God, He was pleased. He felt that it was all beautiful.
Some of the colors must be dull to make the bright ones pop, and every beautiful piece of music must have has some dissonant notes to make the resolution all the sweeter.
Having peace and seeing beauty in the imperfection of creation is perhaps the beginning of creativity.
After a good job, of putting your full self and presence into your work, remember to be pleased, because how beautiful and spiritual is it that you made something from nothing!
#5 - He let it be
After HE finished creating, he let it be.
He gave us free will and let us, his creation Be.
Every time I put something out, I purpose to release it completely. To have its own life; to trigger, to inspire, and even sometimes to be criticized.
I remember once, someone mentioned that they struggled with criticism on their music.
And I told them that it was because they were still holding on to it as part of their identity.
If he let it go, he would see it as something separate from who he was as a person.
It's always easier to receive criticism that is not targeted to your identity.
So the music can be horrible, but you are you and you can improve on your music because you are not your music.
Let your work live.
#6 - He treats it as a work in progress
Trees are still forming,
The ocean is still changing,
The sun still rising and
Our lives are a continuous form of art by him.
The painting is still in progress, and the song is half-sung.
Our work is forever in progress and in a growth state.
Even in our own lives, the picture may look funny at first, but I'd like to believe that the dots will connect.
Eventually.
I'll leave you with something interesting I saw by;
It's pretty clear to me that God is a triple threat; artist. producer and director as well.
The sets are nice. The casting could be better in some cases, but the audience? Glued to their seats.
Thank you for reading.
See you soon, majaliwa!
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6 ways we can learn from God as an artist.
We need only to look at the infinitely varied forms of life around us, to realize and be utterly impressed by God's work as an artist.
Here are the 6 things we can learn from his way of creation.
Pretty clear to me that God is a triple threat; artist. producer and director. The sets are nice. The casting could be better in some cases, but the audience? Glued to their seats.
Yesterday we had a SexEd talk with my baby sister.
We went out for a walk to check out cool houses in the neighborhood and under the slanting warm sunset, we opened up and I shared.
I had to take it from the top, a recap on our bodies, and I remember her cringing, as any 10 year old would at the word boobs and butt.
And because I’m intentional about being shame-free, I try to share the same value with my younger siblings.
I explained to her that God made boobs and butts and that he thought they were good.
She reiterated my statement by saying;
‘He was pleased’
‘Exactly!’
Her words stuck with me….’He was pleased’
They stuck with me because boobs are rarely the same size, butts are sometimes swarmed with stretch marks, yet still, God was pleased.
At that moment, I saw God as a true ‘creator’ and ‘artist'.
Much like me, or better yet, I felt so much like Him.
The SexEd talk went well, save for the natural awkwardness, and we went on to laugh at videos of me and my friends from a birthday party from the previous day.
Since then, I intend to think of my work in the same way God did his.
His work including the environment, the people, and even the intricacies of our lives, all as an art form made by Him.
I gathered a few principles from his work;
#1 - He did THE time.
Creating is not a one-time thing, done only when the inspiration comes to you.
It is a habit, to start, get in flow and make something.
God put in the time to create, 6 days he worked and set the seventh for rest.
Input and a consistent input.
God, could have snapped a finger and have it all appear, and instead, he chose to put in the work and do the time.
#2 - He planned his work
As mentioned above, He had the power to do it all at once.
Yet he planned to take on bits of creation each day.
I'm a big advocate for the theory around atomic habits and the compounding effect. It's something I'm currently experimenting with, I'll give you all an update, majaliwa.
To create a sustainable habit of working on your art; plan realistically and execute every day.
"You don't have to write all 10 songs today. To create a sustainable habit of working on your art; plan realistically and execute every day.
#3 - He Rested
Contrary to what I thought about work and rest, an article by Amy K. Hall helped me view it differently.
'According to the gospel, we are gifted with rest; and then out of gratitude, we actually want to work. Now, we don’t have to try to earn God’s favor—he is already favorable toward us in his Son. Because of Jesus’ work, we start each week with rest—mirroring that eternal Sabbath rest that is already our inheritance in the new creation (Heb. 4:9–10). Giving thanks to God, we return to our workweek refreshed and thankful for what God has done for us in Christ.'
She does an excellent job of diving into God's work as an artist here
I certainly hope that I mustn't go into detail about the importance of rest, but if you need a little more hammering, look out for our piece on rest.
#4 - He was pleased.
The sun is not round, the ocean is shapeless, my eyes are not the same, and my left inner thigh is stained with a large birthmark, and by God, He was pleased. He felt that it was all beautiful.
Some of the colors must be dull to make the bright ones pop, and every beautiful piece of music must have has some dissonant notes to make the resolution all the sweeter.
Having peace and seeing beauty in the imperfection of creation is perhaps the beginning of creativity.
After a good job, of putting your full self and presence into your work, remember to be pleased, because how beautiful and spiritual is it that you made something from nothing!
#5 - He let it be
After HE finished creating, he let it be.
He gave us free will and let us, his creation Be.
Every time I put something out, I purpose to release it completely. To have its own life; to trigger, to inspire, and even sometimes to be criticized.
I remember once, someone mentioned that they struggled with criticism on their music.
And I told them that it was because they were still holding on to it as part of their identity.
If he let it go, he would see it as something separate from who he was as a person.
It's always easier to receive criticism that is not targeted to your identity.
So the music can be horrible, but you are you and you can improve on your music because you are not your music.
Let your work live.
#6 - He treats it as a work in progress
Trees are still forming,
The ocean is still changing,
The sun still rising and
Our lives are a continuous form of art by him.
The painting is still in progress, and the song is half-sung.
Our work is forever in progress and in a growth state.
Even in our own lives, the picture may look funny at first, but I'd like to believe that the dots will connect.
Eventually.
I'll leave you with something interesting I saw by;
It's pretty clear to me that God is a triple threat; artist. producer and director as well.
The sets are nice. The casting could be better in some cases, but the audience? Glued to their seats.
Thank you for reading.
See you soon, majaliwa!
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Skip to Main Content
6 ways we can learn from God as an artist.
We need only to look at the infinitely varied forms of life around us, to realize and be utterly impressed by God's work as an artist.
Here are the 6 things we can learn from his way of creation.
Pretty clear to me that God is a triple threat; artist. producer and director. The sets are nice. The casting could be better in some cases, but the audience? Glued to their seats.
Yesterday we had a SexEd talk with my baby sister.
We went out for a walk to check out cool houses in the neighborhood and under the slanting warm sunset, we opened up and I shared.
I had to take it from the top, a recap on our bodies, and I remember her cringing, as any 10 year old would at the word boobs and butt.
And because I’m intentional about being shame-free, I try to share the same value with my younger siblings.
I explained to her that God made boobs and butts and that he thought they were good.
She reiterated my statement by saying;
‘He was pleased’
‘Exactly!’
Her words stuck with me….’He was pleased’
They stuck with me because boobs are rarely the same size, butts are sometimes swarmed with stretch marks, yet still, God was pleased.
At that moment, I saw God as a true ‘creator’ and ‘artist'.
Much like me, or better yet, I felt so much like Him.
The SexEd talk went well, save for the natural awkwardness, and we went on to laugh at videos of me and my friends from a birthday party from the previous day.
Since then, I intend to think of my work in the same way God did his.
His work including the environment, the people, and even the intricacies of our lives, all as an art form made by Him.
I gathered a few principles from his work;
#1 - He did THE time.
Creating is not a one-time thing, done only when the inspiration comes to you.
It is a habit, to start, get in flow and make something.
God put in the time to create, 6 days he worked and set the seventh for rest.
Input and a consistent input.
God, could have snapped a finger and have it all appear, and instead, he chose to put in the work and do the time.
#2 - He planned his work
As mentioned above, He had the power to do it all at once.
Yet he planned to take on bits of creation each day.
I'm a big advocate for the theory around atomic habits and the compounding effect. It's something I'm currently experimenting with, I'll give you all an update, majaliwa.
To create a sustainable habit of working on your art; plan realistically and execute every day.
"You don't have to write all 10 songs today. To create a sustainable habit of working on your art; plan realistically and execute every day.
#3 - He Rested
Contrary to what I thought about work and rest, an article by Amy K. Hall helped me view it differently.
'According to the gospel, we are gifted with rest; and then out of gratitude, we actually want to work. Now, we don’t have to try to earn God’s favor—he is already favorable toward us in his Son. Because of Jesus’ work, we start each week with rest—mirroring that eternal Sabbath rest that is already our inheritance in the new creation (Heb. 4:9–10). Giving thanks to God, we return to our workweek refreshed and thankful for what God has done for us in Christ.'
She does an excellent job of diving into God's work as an artist here
I certainly hope that I mustn't go into detail about the importance of rest, but if you need a little more hammering, look out for our piece on rest.
#4 - He was pleased.
The sun is not round, the ocean is shapeless, my eyes are not the same, and my left inner thigh is stained with a large birthmark, and by God, He was pleased. He felt that it was all beautiful.
Some of the colors must be dull to make the bright ones pop, and every beautiful piece of music must have has some dissonant notes to make the resolution all the sweeter.
Having peace and seeing beauty in the imperfection of creation is perhaps the beginning of creativity.
After a good job, of putting your full self and presence into your work, remember to be pleased, because how beautiful and spiritual is it that you made something from nothing!
#5 - He let it be
After HE finished creating, he let it be.
He gave us free will and let us, his creation Be.
Every time I put something out, I purpose to release it completely. To have its own life; to trigger, to inspire, and even sometimes to be criticized.
I remember once, someone mentioned that they struggled with criticism on their music.
And I told them that it was because they were still holding on to it as part of their identity.
If he let it go, he would see it as something separate from who he was as a person.
It's always easier to receive criticism that is not targeted to your identity.
So the music can be horrible, but you are you and you can improve on your music because you are not your music.
Let your work live.
#6 - He treats it as a work in progress
Trees are still forming,
The ocean is still changing,
The sun still rising and
Our lives are a continuous form of art by him.
The painting is still in progress, and the song is half-sung.
Our work is forever in progress and in a growth state.
Even in our own lives, the picture may look funny at first, but I'd like to believe that the dots will connect.
Eventually.
I'll leave you with something interesting I saw by;
It's pretty clear to me that God is a triple threat; artist. producer and director as well.
The sets are nice. The casting could be better in some cases, but the audience? Glued to their seats.
Thank you for reading.
See you soon, majaliwa!
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Skip to Main Content
6 ways we can learn from God as an artist.
We need only to look at the infinitely varied forms of life around us, to realize and be utterly impressed by God's work as an artist.
Here are the 6 things we can learn from his way of creation.
Pretty clear to me that God is a triple threat; artist. producer and director. The sets are nice. The casting could be better in some cases, but the audience? Glued to their seats.
Yesterday we had a SexEd talk with my baby sister.
We went out for a walk to check out cool houses in the neighborhood and under the slanting warm sunset, we opened up and I shared.
I had to take it from the top, a recap on our bodies, and I remember her cringing, as any 10 year old would at the word boobs and butt.
And because I’m intentional about being shame-free, I try to share the same value with my younger siblings.
I explained to her that God made boobs and butts and that he thought they were good.
She reiterated my statement by saying;
‘He was pleased’
‘Exactly!’
Her words stuck with me….’He was pleased’
They stuck with me because boobs are rarely the same size, butts are sometimes swarmed with stretch marks, yet still, God was pleased.
At that moment, I saw God as a true ‘creator’ and ‘artist'.
Much like me, or better yet, I felt so much like Him.
The SexEd talk went well, save for the natural awkwardness, and we went on to laugh at videos of me and my friends from a birthday party from the previous day.
Since then, I intend to think of my work in the same way God did his.
His work including the environment, the people, and even the intricacies of our lives, all as an art form made by Him.
I gathered a few principles from his work;
#1 - He did THE time.
Creating is not a one-time thing, done only when the inspiration comes to you.
It is a habit, to start, get in flow and make something.
God put in the time to create, 6 days he worked and set the seventh for rest.
Input and a consistent input.
God, could have snapped a finger and have it all appear, and instead, he chose to put in the work and do the time.
#2 - He planned his work
As mentioned above, He had the power to do it all at once.
Yet he planned to take on bits of creation each day.
I'm a big advocate for the theory around atomic habits and the compounding effect. It's something I'm currently experimenting with, I'll give you all an update, majaliwa.
To create a sustainable habit of working on your art; plan realistically and execute every day.
"You don't have to write all 10 songs today. To create a sustainable habit of working on your art; plan realistically and execute every day.
#3 - He Rested
Contrary to what I thought about work and rest, an article by Amy K. Hall helped me view it differently.
'According to the gospel, we are gifted with rest; and then out of gratitude, we actually want to work. Now, we don’t have to try to earn God’s favor—he is already favorable toward us in his Son. Because of Jesus’ work, we start each week with rest—mirroring that eternal Sabbath rest that is already our inheritance in the new creation (Heb. 4:9–10). Giving thanks to God, we return to our workweek refreshed and thankful for what God has done for us in Christ.'
She does an excellent job of diving into God's work as an artist here
I certainly hope that I mustn't go into detail about the importance of rest, but if you need a little more hammering, look out for our piece on rest.
#4 - He was pleased.
The sun is not round, the ocean is shapeless, my eyes are not the same, and my left inner thigh is stained with a large birthmark, and by God, He was pleased. He felt that it was all beautiful.
Some of the colors must be dull to make the bright ones pop, and every beautiful piece of music must have has some dissonant notes to make the resolution all the sweeter.
Having peace and seeing beauty in the imperfection of creation is perhaps the beginning of creativity.
After a good job, of putting your full self and presence into your work, remember to be pleased, because how beautiful and spiritual is it that you made something from nothing!
#5 - He let it be
After HE finished creating, he let it be.
He gave us free will and let us, his creation Be.
Every time I put something out, I purpose to release it completely. To have its own life; to trigger, to inspire, and even sometimes to be criticized.
I remember once, someone mentioned that they struggled with criticism on their music.
And I told them that it was because they were still holding on to it as part of their identity.
If he let it go, he would see it as something separate from who he was as a person.
It's always easier to receive criticism that is not targeted to your identity.
So the music can be horrible, but you are you and you can improve on your music because you are not your music.
Let your work live.
#6 - He treats it as a work in progress
Trees are still forming,
The ocean is still changing,
The sun still rising and
Our lives are a continuous form of art by him.
The painting is still in progress, and the song is half-sung.
Our work is forever in progress and in a growth state.
Even in our own lives, the picture may look funny at first, but I'd like to believe that the dots will connect.
Eventually.
I'll leave you with something interesting I saw by;
It's pretty clear to me that God is a triple threat; artist. producer and director as well.
The sets are nice. The casting could be better in some cases, but the audience? Glued to their seats.
Thank you for reading.
See you soon, majaliwa!
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