Write from the Deep

Creating with God


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13 – Creating with God
How do you create in the deep places? When it feels as though your creativity is just…gone? In this engaging interview with Allen Arnold, one-time senior VP at Thomas Nelson and creativity expert, we explore that very question. And the answers just may surprise you!
Show Notes
How do you create with God without losing your mind?
It starts in the creative process, the step that most Christian writers skip. It is the whole interaction with God. When that step is skipped, it then becomes all about what we can do in our own strength, in our own creativity, by ourselves. That sets us up for being over whelmed, burned out, empty, and puts our validation in the wrong place. When we miss that foundational step, it really sets us up to lose our sanity and peace because we are trying to do something alone that we were never meant to do alone.
God doesn’t want us primarily to do things for Him, and He doesn’t primarily want us doing things about Him. What He most wants is us to do things with Him. And when we miss the with, we really start to lose the whole reason He gave us the gift to begin with.
Just like Moses said in the desert, “God, I don’t want to do this trip without you. If You are not going to be there, let’s call the whole thing off right now. I’m either with You or not at all.” As writers, that’s the posture our heart needs to have.
Scars:
The deep places are the places that God has taken you in your life that is unique to you, that is unique to your story.  If you know your story, and learn the scars of your own story, that is the DNA of really whats there for you, and you alone, to pursue as a creative force.
Wisdom from John Eldridge: “Our enemy, the devil, will often attack us in our area of the greatest strength because he knows what we could become and he fears it.”
Our lives tell stories just like stories that an author would create. That’s why I love to invite listeners to examine their life, know the themes, know the scars and then talk with God, and listen to Him. Ask how is this converging together for my unique voice and my unique ability to tell a story. Not only will it bring healing to their personal story, but they will have breakthroughs to the story they are writing.
An Orphan Spirit
Everyone starts with an orphan spirit. Meaning we all, in a fallen world, somehow, deep down, have this belief that it’s all up to us, and that comes out in different ways. With an orphan spirit, either failure or success can breed a deeper orphan spirit. The only way to break that spirit is through understanding our identity as a son or daughter of God. A lot of believers believe God is great and powerful and almighty, but they’ve yet to discover what it’s like to have God as a Father and then as a son or daughter. When you are an orphan, you will always write alone, and when you are a son or daughter of God, you will never write alone.
Last Bit of Counsel:
Consecrate their writing and their creativity everyday with God. By consecrate, I mean everyday afresh give to God their gift, their writing, their storytelling ability. Give it as an offering.
Allen’s new book about the creative process with God is now available!


The Story of With: A Better way to Live, Love, and Create by Allen Arnold
 
We’d love to hear from you!
Has the enemy targeted your greatest strength? How did you defend against it?
Do you have an orphan spirit, or do you see yourself as a son or daughter?
What do you think about the idea of creating with God?
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