Chapter One
Who Said You
Weren't Creative?
In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth.Genesis 1:1
Think back to the last time you heard a teacher say, "I want you to be creative
on this assignment."
Did you, like Lily, have more ideas than you could ever do and, in
your head, they kept raising their hands and repeating, Pick me! Pick me!
Or, like Reni, did you think to yourself, Well, I play an instrument,
and I can draw okay. I guess I could do one of those.
Were you more like Kresha, thinking, I can't make anything but
cookies-and faces at my little brother. Are those creative?
Maybe Suzy's reaction was more like yours: What if I create something
and my teacher doesn't like it? What if I fail?
Or did you fall into Zooey's camp: I'm not creative! I can't do anything
like that! It's a waste of time to try! I'm a loser!
If asked to be creative, would you respond like any of our Girlz
did? If so, this book is for you. Even if you have some other reason for
doubting that you have a creative side, keep reading. Everybody-that's
each and every person ever born-is creative in some way. It comes
with the "you" package.
Every person-including you-has the ability to make art in some
way. That just means that you take an idea from your mind and make
it into something that can be enjoyed, even if it's just by you and you
alone. There are tons of ways it can be done:
Baking a cake
Planning a party
Planting a garden
Writing a letter
Making a sandwich
Cheering up a friend
Decorating cookies
Playing with a soccer ball
Decorating a room
Making babies laugh
Making up a game
Making a birthday card
Writing new words to a song
Reading a book out loud
Keeping a scrapbook
Displaying a collection
Styling hair
Painting faces
Creating a costume
Wrapping a present
Making up a dance
Writing in a diary
Painting your toenails
Singing in the shower
Making art isn't the painting, the toothpick structure, or the short
story you end up with. It's the process of getting from an idea to a
finished product-and it's a process that makes living much more fun.
Just doing it can make you feel rich inside. The best news is-anyone
can do it. We know it, of course, because-well-God says so!
HOW IS THIS A GOD THING?
Probably the very first Bible story you ever learned was the story of
creation (you know, the one where God
created the heavens and the earth). Can
you imagine what a blast that must
have been for God? He got to decide
what colors roses were going to be
and come up with about a bajillion
varieties of seashells (for
your collecting pleasure!). Not to
mention his sense of humor. When was the last
time you took a good look at a rhinoceros?
Then, of course, there's you and all the other people he created-each
one unique. You don't get more creative than that! Now think
about the one thing that sets us humans apart from the rest of God's
creation. "So God created man (humans) in his own image." And just to
make sure we get it, he goes on to add, "in the image of God he created
him" (Genesis 1:27).
What that means is that God made us to be like him-in a human
form, of course. And just like him, we were born to create.
What that doesn't mean is that we can all:
Draw cartoons like Charles Schultz.
Write music like the Barlow Girls.
Make up stories like those cool people who write movies and
Christian books.
Not everybody was born to be a professional artist, musician, or
writer, but we can all:
Experiment with our little creative sparks and feel God when we
do it.
Let God create through us in even small ways.
Use our own special creativity as a way to thank God for all the
creative things he does for us.
So when, like Lily, you get excited about creating some project,
that's probably God saying, "You go, girl!"
When, like Reni, you aren't quite sure if playing the flute or doodling
with paper and markers is creative, God's probably saying, "You're on
the right track. Don't stop!"
When, like Kresha, you don't think putting your little brother in
stitches with your hilarious faces is creative, God's probably saying,
"Oh, Honey, yes! You've got me rolling on the floor of heaven!"
When, like Suzy, you're afraid you might fail, God's probably
saying, "This is no time for fear, my love. Just have fun with this and see
what happens."
And when, like Zooey, you feel about as creative as a dial tone, God
is definitely saying, "You're wrong, my precious. I didn't create any dial
tones."
We were all born to enjoy the process of making, creating,
imagining, and concocting. God wants it that way. We just have to remember a
couple of things. Let's call them the creative cautions:
Once you get going on some creative project and everybody's
saying, "Wow! That's cool!" it's tempting to start thinking, I'm
great! I'm terrific! I'm amazing! Creating is way fun, but it's a
gift from God. When somebody says, "Wow! That's cool!" the
thing to think is, Yeah-isn't God the best?
Sometimes when you're really cooking on something creative,
you might find yourself thinking, I'm better at this than she is.
Come to think of it, I'm better at this than most people
I know. Matter of fact - I'm the best! That's about the
time God shakes his head and says, "No, darlin' - this
isn't about competition. Don't go there."
At times when you've finished doing something creative and
you're happy with it, you may think, That's the best I can do. I've
reached my limit. Nope. There is no limit to how much God wants
to give us and how much he wants to help us with our creative side.
There may even be times when you're dreaming about doing
great creative things and then you think, Is this really what God
wants me to do? Or am I just coming up with my own ideas
because I want to be, like, famous or something? There's always
that possibility-but how will you know unless you turn those
creative sparks into lights and see where they lead? Creativity
isn't automatically anti-God. Not at all! But we think, I should
be doing something useful. I should be doing something to help
people. I should be reading the Bible. Creativity is about God,
and it's one of the many things he has for us to do-right along
with being useful, helpful, and biblical. Doing something creative
is no more a guilty pleasure than eating a pizza covered with
pepperoni.
Check Yourself Out
Now that you know that everybody-including you-is creative,
let's find out what kind of creator you are. Not how creative you are-more
than your sister, less than your best friend, that kind of thing-butwhere you shine. It's quiz time!
Before you sit down with your pencil (or maybe a purple gel pen or
a big crayon in your favorite color?), find yourself a quiet, comfortable
spot (on your bed surrounded by stuffed animals, up in a tree in your
backyard, behind the couch in the family room with a glass of chocolate
milk). Then go for it.
In each list below, put a check or a star (or whatever other creative
mark you want to use) next to each activity you think would be fun to
try. Pretend money, time, and permission from your parents and all those
other limits in your life don't count. (They do, of course, but not while
you're taking this quiz!) You don't have to already know how to do any
of the things you check off-they just have to sound like fun to you.
____ Planning a theme party (outer space,
Hollywood, beach, St. Patrick's Day, that kind of
thing)
____ Putting together a hike for a bunch of
your friends, complete with picnic lunch,
special hiking hats, and songs to sing along
the way
____ Devising a hilarious scavenger hunt
____ Having a theme movie night (maybe everybody watches The
Prince of Egypt dressed like Egyptians or Hebrew slaves; you play
"Does the Movie Match the Bible"; you all eat Passover food)
____ Going all out for a sports event-like having a tailgate party
before your brother's Little League game, wearing the team
colors, making up a cheer to do from the stands
____ Wearing a different style of outfit every day
for a week (cowgirl one day, feminine and roman-
tic the next, '70s flower child the next, etc.) with
hairdo to match
____ Putting together a scrapbook of all your
friends and the stuff you've done together
____ Redecorating your bedroom
____ Making a different journal (with decorated cover, of course) for
each different part of your life (one for your God experiences,
one about friends, one about things you like in nature, one to
complain in, etc.)
____ Experimenting in the kitchen until you come up with perfect
nachos
____ Making a tribute to each member of your
family-maybe by painting each person's portrait
or writing a poem about each one or making
up a song with a verse for each person
____ Being part of a theatrical production-either
as the playwright, the set designer, the
lighting designer, the costumer, the musical director, the dance
choreographer, an actor, or the director
____ Going to an arts camp where you can learn about and play with
music, visual arts (like painting, sculpture, drawing), acting,
dance, writing-or any combination of those
____ Helping to put together a creative worship service, using any or
all of your musical, visual arts, acting, dancing, and writing talent
____ Going on a trip to a foreign country where you would learn
about that culture's music, visual arts, acting, dance, literature-
some combination of those or even all of them
Let's find out where you shine. Count how many items you chose in
each list and write the numbers below:
List 1 _____
List 2 _____
List 3 _____
If your highest number is in List 1, you shine most brightly in creative activities. You love-or would love-to plan unique parties and
outings, and dream up cool ways to bring people together to do things
besides sitting around playing video games and watching TV. You may
never have thought about doing things like those on the list but noticed
yourself getting jazzed when you read them. That means you're a "creative
activities" person. If you pay attention to that part of yourself-which
was put there by God-you're going to live a rich life, full of
adventure and love and meaningful stuff done for God's glory. Pretty
exciting, huh?
If your highest number is in List 2, you shine most brightly inpersonal creativity. You love-or would love-to design, make, dream
up things that are fun for a person to do alone. Maybe you love clothes,
cooking, decorating, and memorabilia (things like scrapbooks and photo
albums and journals and autograph books). Perhaps you love to fix your
friends' hair, explore your mother's jewelry box and get ideas for jewelry
you'd like to make, or just snip pictures of things you like out of
magazines. If you pay attention to that part of yourself-which was put there
by God-not only are you going to be quietly happy with your lifestyle,
but you're going to be a model for other people who may not
be enjoying their lives so much. It's all about finding
creative ways to express the "you" that God made you to
be. Imagine how much fun that would be.
If your highest number is in List 3, you shine most
brightly as an artist. You're interested in the things we
usually think of when we say the word "art." These are areas
like music, the visual arts (painting, drawing, sculpting, crafts,
those kinds of things), dance, writing, and acting. You don't have to
have tons of talent or be famous to enjoy those things. You just have to
want to experience the fun of it-and you obviously do. Living an artist's
life, even as an amateur dabbler who paints murals on the bathroom
walls or makes up bedtime stories for her kids, can be a satisfying way
to connect you with God and help you feel his pleasure in each small,
artistic thing you do. What a great life that would be!
If you had almost the same highest number in two of the lists or
high numbers in all of them, you've discovered more than one
shining light in yourself. That doesn't mean you're more creative than other
people-it just means you've already figured out that there are oodles
of ways to express the "you" God made. It's possible for anybody to
do that-or for people to simply shine WAY brightly in just one area.
What matters is that you do the creative things you love to do. That
pleases God.
If you had very few or no items marked, that does not mean you
weren't created to be creative. Maybe your special thing just wasn't
mentioned in the quiz. Or perhaps you should get somebody who knows
you well to go through the quiz with you. That person may see things in
you that you didn't even realize were there. In any case, keep reading!
As you read, it's an almost certain guess that a light will go on in your
head and you'll say, "Oh, yeah! I am creative after all!" That's why this
book was written-to give you fun ways to get to know yourself better
and discover that shining light of creativity God has placed in you. Get
ready to be amazed!
GIRLZ want to know
You're sure to have some questions before we start. The Girlz
definitely did. The answers to their questions could help to clear the way for
you to explore your own creative self.
* LILY: My mom says I'm a perfectionist about creative stuff, and it's
true that I do like to get things right and fix things that turned out lame
before I go any further on a project. I think I just have high standards.
She says I'm missing out on the fun that way. Is she right?
She is. (Don't you hate it when that happens?) You think you just want
to make things perfect, but what's really happening is that you're not
letting yourself keep going with a creative project. You get stuck fixing
all the little details and pretty soon it isn't a creative project anymore.
It's just doing something right. You can do math problems right, but that
isn't creative (have you noticed?).
When you try to make everything perfect as you go, whatever you're
doing loses what we call "spontaneity." It ends up being stiff and not
very natural-definitely not an expression of you. It's kind of like erasing
an answer on a test so many times that you rub a hole in the paper.
Being a perfectionist doesn't make things perfect. It just makes you
think it can never be good enough, that there's always something more
you could do to make it perfect, and that takes all the fun out of it.
Try just finishing a project all the way through before you stop to fix
things, and see what happens. Ask yourself, "If I didn't have to do them
perfectly, what kind of things would I try?" Then just go for it!
* SUZY: I'd like to make up my own gymnastics routine, but what if
it isn't any good? I mean, what if it's dumb and everybody laughs at it?
Should I just let the choreographer do it, since she's, like, this professional?
The first thing you should do is decide to make up your routine just for
yourself, for your own pleasure. Don't think of it as something you have
to perform for other people. You might decide to do that later, but for
right now, just play around with it by yourself.
Remember as you go that what you come up with might actually be
"dumb"-at first. Every work of art needs time to grow, change, and
develop. You should try lots of things. Some of it won't work and
you'll end up tossing it and trying something else. But eventually,
it will all come together and you'll have something you really love
(you-not anybody else yet). It may sound weird, but to create something
really good you have to be willing to create something that's
really bad in the beginning.
(Continues.)
