Creators, Not Consumers

I've been listening to Colony House's CD "When I Was Younger" non-stop since it arrived in the mail on Tuesday.
I was fortunate enough to attend Catalyst (a Christian leadership conference) in Dallas this past week, thanks to a dear friend's connections. Colony House played live at the conference on Friday morning, and I was in awe. I love and appreciate music, but I don't think I've ever been so instantly drawn to a sound like I was when they played. They are a rock band, and somehow they still captivated a room of middle-aged, sleep-deprived pastors early in the morning. That alone speaks to their skill.
Their album is more than music ... it's Art.
I think that's why I'm addicted - because the instruments, the melodies, the lyrics subtly, yet forcefully, appeal to the Creator.

As it turns out, two of the band members are sons of Steven Curtis Chapman.
My brain won't rest thinking about that connection, about the implications of my decisions in the lives of my children.

Those two boys grew up watching their dad create. I'm sure it wasn't always pretty, either - they had a front row seat to the hardship, the self-discipline, the tirelessness involved in pursuing creativity with one's life. And I'm sure there were days that they resented their dad's creative pursuits, when music drew him away from their home. But SCC's creative legacy now extends beyond his own songs. His sons, from intimate contact with a creative soul, knew why and how to pursue creativity in their own lives. And, as witnesses to creative dreams fulfilled, they believed enough in their own creativity to pursue it as a livelihood.

This is one of my great dreams as a parent: that my children would see their dad and I functioning as co-creators with Christ, pursuing (in some capacity) the creative impulses of our souls for the glory of God.
Of course, this much easier said then done. Shopping, watching TV, constantly checking social media and general self-indulgence are all habits that (in excess) suggest a consumer-heart instead of a creative-heart. I'm learning that creativity is indeed an uphlill battle - coasting as a consumer requires a fraction of the effort involved in getting off the couch to contribute something beautiful to the atmosphere of the world.

But I want to fight for that. I'll fight for it because creativity is a gift meant to be returned to God. I'll fight for it because creativity feeds my soul that's desperately famished endless consuming. I'll fight for it because I want a legacy that extends beyond myself, that I may watch my children flourish in their own creative pursuits.

So whether its a meal, music, a piece of furniture, a poem, a beautiful space, a painting, a photograph, a letter, a song, an act of service, or something I can't even envision, fight with me to make a space (however small) for creativity in your life.