Conferences and Creativity: Wednesday in the Word

Conferences and creativity? They don’t sound like a perfect match. But when you’re attending a writer’s conference, creativity is there in abundance.

The Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference is one of my favorites. It’s also one of the biggest conferences I attend. It amazes me that six hundred writers can get together and each has their own unique message, their own writing journey that’s theirs alone, their own style of telling the story.

God is so good.

He’s also the father of creativity. I can’t deny His love of beauty as I drive into the Blue Ridge Mountains or watch the sun set bright orange on my way home. (I’m not a morning person, but I assume the sunrises are beautiful too.) God did creative first. Read Genesis 1. Take a look at the world around you. Consider how God crafted DNA to make us each unique. No person, throughout history, is exactly you. How creative is that?

And what did God say after He created each piece of His masterpiece? It is good.

We, the creation, are invited to know God more through expressing creativity. Whether you write, draw, create music, arrange flowers, decorate cakes, decorate homes, or plant beautifully planned flower gardens, there is some way you can express creativity.

I encourage you to find your creative niche. As you express yourself creatively and take joy in the finished product, consider what joy it must have been for God to create and then be able to proclaim, “It is good.”

Take the time to enjoy the creativity and creation of God. Draw inspiration from what He’s done. Put that into your own creative outlets. God wants us to enjoy His creation. How might He want us to use our creative endeavors to bring joy to others?

Conferences and creativity may not seem like a perfect pairing. But joining with others who enjoy the same type of creativity you do can be encouraging and just plain fun. Find your people. Meet with them on occasion. Swap stories, praise and pray together, and share crafting tips and tricks when you get creative together. Let creating together be the catalyst to draw you closer to God and other believers.