The Monday Memo from John Stanko

Monday Memo 336: Uninspired or Lazy?

I have recovered from my bout with the flu last week, which I used to start the manuscript on my next book. Next Sunday I depart for England where I will be part of the Christian Booksellers Convention. You can see my itinerary below.

I have been writing on creativity and will do so for a few more weeks. Before we go on, however, let’s review the major points we have made so far:

1. You are a creative person. Whether you think you are or not, you were created by a creative God the Creator to be creative. Creativity is built into the essence of your being.
2. Your creativity has enemies. We saw how fear, perfectionism and comparison are the main hindrances to your creative expressions.
3. There are many expressions of creativity. We began to build a list of creative expressions, which included raising children, how you dress, repairs, gardening, time management and problem solving. A list of other possible expressions can be found on my website.
4. Jesus was a creative person. Jesus was a carpenter, so He knew how to work with His hands. Then He used parables to creatively express the truths He came to proclaim. Since Jesus was and is creative, He can help you express yours.

CREATIVITY IS WORK

And now let’s add one more point to the list: creativity is hard work. Thomas Edison, the famous inventor and creator, once said, “Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.” This is an important point because many people are sitting around, waiting for a lightning bolt of inspiration to hit them before they begin to express their creativity. Since that lightning bolt seldom comes, they don’t create, or at least don’t think that what they want to do qualifies as creativity.

I was reading the creation story in Genesis and came across this verse: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work” (Genesis 2:2). Why did God have to rest? He had to rest following His six-day work of creation. People ask me all the time, “How do you write your books?” My answer is always the same: “One page at a time, one day at a time.”

I begin almost every day by sitting down at my computer to write my daily Bible study devotional that I send out every week ( have now completed commentaries on 18 books of the New Testament by writing about four verses a day every day for the last six years.) Three or four times every week I write for my blog and have written the Monday Memo for seven years next month.I do all this whether or not I feel creative or have any ideas. I begin to write and somehow my creativity flows. But it doesn’t just fall down from heaven; I must work at it—work at being creative.

UNINSPIRED OR LAZY?

Could it be that we aren’t more creative because we’re lazy? All right, I'll be more specific. Are you not as creative as you could be because you are lazy? Is your lack of creativity due to a lack of discipline that doesn’t allow you to sit down and write, or go to your workshop or pick up your paintbrush? Are you waiting for inspiration when you should be producing perspiration?

I was also thinking about the word recreation this week. Look at that word: re-creation. When you work at creativity, you need rest and re-creation. Why? So you can resume your creative expressions. If God rested from His creative work, then you and I will need to do the same. But we recreate not just to have fun, but also to replenish what is lost in the creation process so we can start all over again. Recreation isn’t a right; it's something you earn as you create. Recreation that is separated from the work of creation is selfish idleness and can be a waste of time.

So what are you prepared to do this week with your creativity? I hope you have decided to work at it. Stop putting off until tomorrow the work that must be done today. As you do, plan for some rest and recreation. I trust that this week you will earn the right and create the need for some re-creation as you work to express your God-given creativity. Have a great week!

Feel free to add you comments to this entry on the site where it is posted.

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INTERNET RADIO SPONSOR: I am soon launching a radio program with an internet radio network and have raised about one third of the sponsors needed. People will have access to this show all over the world, so if your service, product, ministry or message needs an international audience, write me and let's talk. Maybe you would simply like to be part of this program that will broadcast the purpose message all over the world. This has been on my mind for quite a while and now is the time to do it. I identified one sponsor this past week but need a few more before I can proceed. If you would be interested in being a sponsor for this show, write and let me know.

UK SCHEDULE: Here is what I have so far for my time in the UK. I will be staying in Walsall, so if you would like to schedule some time to have a purpose session, write and let me know

Tuesday 4th March and Wednesday 5th March -- Christian Booksellers Convention booth book signing; times to be confirmed.

Thursday 6th March - Service Albion Street Pentecostal Church in Stourbridge, 7.30pm

Thursday 6th March through Saturday 8th March - Charis Bible School in Walsall

Sunday 9th March - Kingdom Life Church Northampton, 10.30 AM

Sunday 9th March - AOG Church Worcester, 6.30 PM

ZIMBABWE LEADERSHIP CENTER: I have been talking on my blog about my desire to start a leadership center at the University of Zimbabwe Medical School. If you know anyone, group or individual, who can fund such a project that will impact Africa's medical sphere for generations to come, please write and let me know. I can send you a one-page summary of the plans if you would like to have one.

Monday Memo 335: You Are a Creative Machine!

Several weeks ago, we began talking about creativity. (If you haven't read my previous Memos on creativity, you may want to go to my site and review them now.) I often hear this comment from people whom I serve as a purpose coach: “I’m not that creative.”  That just isn’t true!  Most people assume that unless they have a thought or think of a design or invention that no one in the world has previously conceived, then they don't fall in the creative category.  You need to expand your idea of creativity in order to see that you have abundant creativity.

YOU ARE A CREATIVE MACHINE!

A creative God created you to be creative.  Creativity is programmed into the very fabric of your being.  Consider these expressions of creativity that are part of who you are:

1. I don’t want to be offensive in any way, but you were made to create other human beings.  When you reach maturity and marry, in most cases you must take precautions to limit your creativity, your offspring.
2. Scientists tell us that every seven years you have a totally new set of cells in your body.  Your cells are constantly dividing and creating new cells.
3. One of the first things I did when I returned home recently was to get a haircut.  In most cases, your body is creating new hair, nails and whiskers on a daily basis.
4. Your body is constantly creating what it needs to carry on life.  Your stomach creates gastric juices, sweat glands produce sweat and your ears create wax!
5. What happens when you go to sleep?  You create dreams; you are a “dream machine.”  For every eight hours you sleep, you dream almost two hours.  Your mind is constantly creating symbolic sleep scenarios that help you maintain your psychological equilibrium.
6. Every day you create thoughts and ideas; you also daydream, creating potential scenarios with you in them.
7. You talk every day, stringing words and ideas together creatively.

WHAT'S HOLDING YOU BACK?

Without even trying, you are naturally a creative being.  So why aren’t you expressing more of your creativity?  The big problem may be your mind.  You have been conditioned to believe that you aren’t creative, so it is possible to go through life thinking that you aren’t.   The Pacific Institute has taught me this truth: "We act like the person we know or believe ourselves to be."

When you think you aren’t creative, you won’t produce or won’t recognize your creativity for what it is.  For many years, I saw myself as “only” an administrator who got things done.  Now I see myself as an administrator who creatively gets things done.  That slight change of thinking and speaking changed my life - and released my creativity.

So if you don’t do anything else this week, reassess your attitude toward your creativity.  You may not be as creative as someone else, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t creative.  Take out a sheet of paper and begin to list all the areas in which you creatively express yourself.  The list may be longer than you thought it would be.  (If you need some help, download the "creative expression list found at the end of this Memo.) From that, begin to gradually change your mind and see that you are creative.  When you do that, it is just a matter of time before your creativity blossoms and becomes all that God intended for it to be.  Have a great week!

Download creativity list: Creative Expressions.doc

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INTERNET RADIO SPONSOR: I am soon launching a radio program with an internet radio network. People will have access to this show all over the world, so if your service, product, ministry or message needs an international audience, write me and let's talk. Maybe you would simply like to be part of this program that will broadcast the purpose message all over the world. This has been on my mind for quite a while and now is the time to do it. I identified one sponsor this past week but need a few more before I can proceed. If you would be interested in being a sponsor for this show, let me know.

THE PACIFIC INSTITUTE IN DALLAS: Many of you are familiar with the impact the training from The Pacific Institute (TPI) has had in my life the last few years. I am happy to announce that two of my friends are now offering TPI in the Dallas area in March and April. You don't have to go to Seattle to obtain this world-class training thanks to their efforts. If you would like information or to register, you can find the information on their website.

If you have any questions about the training or what it did for me, don't hesitate to write me. If you register, write to let me know! I give this training the highest recommendation possible and urge you to consider investing in yourself by attending. This program taught me to take the limits of myself, others and God.  It remade how I set goals.  It taught how to renew my mind in the power of His might.  If that isn't enough, write and I will tell you more!

This program is great for youth and TPI has launched their new youth curriculum called PX2.  Check out the video on their site for more information and a preview of the format.

I know of three people who have already said that they are going to register. Why not join them and spend a few days that will change your life?


Monday Memo 334: Creator God, Creative Man

I am in Big Spring, Texas in west Texas. I've had a great time with the folks at Life Church with Pastors Clint and Cami Collins. I'll be blogging this coming week about my time here.

We’ve been discussing creativity these past few weeks and in that context I’ve been thinking about Jesus. Jesus was a creative man. If we attribute Jesus' creativity to His divinity, we can't gain much help or understanding that will assist us in our own creative search. If we see, however, that Jesus was a creative man then there may be things in His life to help us be more creative. You probably know what I think about this issue, but to make sure you do, you had better read on.

A TEACHING CARPENTER

We know that He was a carpenter, so He made things from wood with His hands. One second-century bishop reported that wooden yokes that Jesus made in the first century were still being used 100 years later! That tells us that Jesus wasn’t only creative, He was committed to excellence—He did good work.

There’s also a good chance that Jesus, as the oldest son, ran a carpentry business that supported more than just Himself. His brothers could have been in business with Him and that meant He also expressed His creativity by running a business, making payroll and managing inventory, accounts and customer service. He also would have supported His widowed mother from the business as well.

But Jesus’ creativity didn’t stop there. At the age of 30, He changed careers, starting an itinerate ministry through which He continued to express tremendous creativity. He was creative in building and equipping an effective team of men and women who traveled with Him.

When Jesus performed miracles, He did so with flair and distinction. One time He spit on the ground, made mud and smeared it on a blind man’s eyes. Another time, Jesus put His fingers into a deaf man’s ears and touched the end of the man’s tongue with His spit. Jesus answered His critics with creative retorts that delighted the crowds. His insight into Scripture held people’s attention for days on end and He impressed the crowd with His fresh approach to God and the Word.

Perhaps Jesus’ greatest creative expression, however, was in His teaching. When He taught, He used parables—stories from everyday life that imparted truth. Where did He get those stories? He made up those stories. They came from His creativity, perhaps the same creativity that He learned and perfected as a carpenter. Jesus used parables with lessons drawn from agriculture, business, current events, family life, and gardening. He was such a creative teacher that the people would walk for days to listen to Him for days. Mark reported: “The large crowd listened to him with delight” (Mark 12:37).

THE IMPLICATIONS FOR US

Why is this important? First of all, I don’t think that Jesus’ creativity came from His divinity only. He was and is the Creator God and creative Man. On earth He expressed His creativity as a Jewish man who observed life and saw God in all of it. Secondly, if Jesus the man was creative, then He can help you be creative. And finally, you will fulfill your purpose as you carry on the creative tradition that was expressed by the Son of God and continued in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not here to maintain; we are here to creatively advance the kingdom of God. One might argue that our creativity is how we will fulfill the mandate given to Adam to subdue the earth and rule over it.

This week, I have an assignment for you. Take some time to read Proverbs 8. Do you see wisdom speaking there? That “wisdom” certainly sounds a lot like Jesus to me. Pray through this Proverb and then ask the Lord for creative wisdom. Ask Him to help you use the ordinary lessons of daily life, just like Jesus did, to create something extraordinary. Don’t see your creativity as an exception or something that you use from time to time. See it as a powerful source of daily inspiration that will help you fulfill your purpose and do great things. As you do, I know your life will be changed as mine has been these last few years. Have a great week!

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INTERNET RADIO SPONSOR: I am soon launching a radio program with an internet radio network. People will have access to this show all over the world, so if your service, product, ministry or message needs an international audience, write me and let's talk. Maybe you would simply like to be part of this program that will broadcast the purpose message all over the world. This has been on my mind for quite a while and now is the time to do it. I identified one sponsor this past week but need a few more before I can proceed. If you would be interested in being a sponsor for this show, let me know.

A BETTER ZIMBABWE: I try to write once a week on the new site that is devoted to only reporting the good news of what Zimbabwe has been, is and will be again. If you would like to write a comment or post an entry, go to the site or drop me an email.

THE PACIFIC INSTITUTE IN DALLAS: Many of you are familiar with the impact the training from The Pacific Institute (TPI) has had in my life the last few years. I am happy to announce that two of my friends are now offering TPI in the Dallas area in March and April. You don't have to go to Seattle to obtain this world-class training thanks to their efforts. If you would like information or to register, you can find the information on their website. If you have any questions about the training or what it did for me, don't hesitate to write me. If you register, write to let me know! I give this training the highest recommendation possible and urge you to consider investing in yourself by attending. I have three people who have already said that they are going to register. Why not join them and spend a few days that will change your life. 


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Monday Memo 333: Adam's Zoo

Do you consider yourself a creative person? What creative outlets do you have, or rather how many do you give yourself permission to have? For most of my adult life, I did not give myself permission to pursue creativity and I wasn't open to the fact that I may be creative. My self-image was that of an administrator and creativity and administration were at odds with one another -- or so I thought.

Are you creative? If your answer is no, then perhaps you need to expand the way you view creativity and, consequently, view yourself. If you are open to that possibility, then urge you to read on.

ADAM'S ZOO

Adam was made by God to be creative and we are Adam’s children. After God created Adam, He invited Adam to enter into the creative process by naming the animals: “Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field” (Genesis 2:19-20). Adam decided what the animals were to be called; it was an expression of his creative dominion in the Garden.

Too often, we have identified only musicians, songwriters, poets and writers as creative—and they are indeed creative. Those expressions, however, are only a few of the creative expressions that are available to Adam’s children. Let’s take a look at some of the creative expressions that are available to you:

1. Child raising—Raising a child requires tremendous creativity as you teach, train, entertain and discipline each child according to his or her personality and needs.
2. Handwriting—Do you have beautiful handwriting? Then stop using the computer. Use your creative, artistic flair to communicate with others in your own writing.
3. Dress—You may have an eye for color or fashion. Be creative and adorn your body, God’s creation, in a manner that is distinctive and uniquely you.
4. Repairs—It takes creativity not just to invent or design something, but to keep it in working order. Your ability to read a manual and then fix something is an expression of your creativity.
5. Gardening—Do you like flowers? Enjoy raising vegetables? Then plant to the glory of God and do it with your style and grace. If you don’t plant the seeds, they won’t grow! So join in the creative process and do what Adam and Eve did in the Garden. (Don’t forget to pull the weeds, too!)
6. Time management—Can you organize your time and activities? That requires creativity. Can you help others organize? That requires even more creativity.
7. Problem solving—Do you face new problems and apply timeless wisdom and solutions? Then you are not just organized or efficient. You are creative!

YOU ARE OH SO CREATIVE!

I hope you get the picture. Like Adam, you are creative and God wants and needs you to express your creativity in every day life. Stop saying you aren’t creative—you are! I have assembled a list of creative expressions from past studies on creativity and that list is posted on my website. Take a look at that list and see how many expressions are present in your life and then, settle once and for all your perspective on your own creativity.

Perhaps then you will see yourself as creative, which is just how the Lord wants you to see yourself. Once you see yourself as creative, you will then give yourself permission to pursue and release creativity in ways not possible up to this point in your life. As you do, I know you will have a great week!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! Best wishes for a happy new year to all my Chinese readers and friends. New Year's Day is February 7 and this year is the year of the rat.

INTERNET RADIO SPONSOR: I am thinking about launching an internet radio program with an internet family channel. If you would be interested in being a sponsor for this show, let me know. People will have access to this show all over the world, so if your service, product, ministry or message needs an international audience, write me and let's talk. This has been on my mind for quite a while and now is the time to do it.

COMING TO DALLAS: I will be in Dallas next week. If you would like a purpose session, please write and let me know.

THE PACIFIC INSTITUTE IN DALLAS: Many of you are familiar with the impact the training from The Pacific Institute (TPI) has had in my life the last few years. I am happy to announce that two of my friends are now offering TPI in the Dallas area in March and April. You don't have to go to Seattle to obtain this world-class training thanks to their efforts. If you would like information or to register, you can find the information on their website. If you have any questions about the training or what it did for me, don't hesitate to write me. If you register, write to let me know! I give this training the highest recommendation possible and urge you to consider investing in yourself by attending.

Technorati Tags: The Pacific Institute