The Art of Creating

This morning, I woke up, and I made some eggs. Then, at work, I created some ad designs for an upcoming event, and then later on in the evening, I made a fire. It was a day of making things and creativity, and it isn't until I go a while without one of these days that I realize how important the creative process is to me and my day to day life.

There's something to be said for creating something. It becomes your own- your masterpiece (even if it doesn't look like one, kinda like my eggs this morning). You can create anything from food to art; whatever it may be, it's still part of the creative realm, and that in itself is just cool. You don't have to be Bobby Flay or Vincent Van Gogh to be a creator or an artist. You can be anyone. 

Being creative is about making something that's yours that everyone else may or may not understand. No one else may like it, and no one else may find any point behind it, but with creation, that isn't always the point. The point of creating is about making something that was once an idea or a thought and making it a reality. It's bits and pieces of yourself and your mind coming out in various forms to create your simplest or your wildest dreams. It can be a process as short and sweet as mixing up random ingredients to create a new food dish, or something as complex as writing a symphony. 

Creativity has no bounds, and it has no simplicity; it's something as easy and unique that a 3-year-old can do it, and it's something so complex that the world's greatest scholars can do it (and sometimes, the 3-year-olds' creativity prevail). Therefore, create. Make a salad, write in a journal or go take a photo on your phone. The possibilities are endless, and you'll have something of your own to be proud of in the end. As we are God's creation, He gave us the ability to create. It just makes sense. 

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: We create because He created.  

When Bison Make You Feel Like a Baby

Have you ever been to the ocean just to stand in front of it and let it breathe on you? If you haven't, I highly suggest it sometime. Sure, if you're going to the ocean, definitely go swimming, play, tan and do more than just stand in front of it, but at least take a moment to stand in front of it, look out upon it's vastness and let its breeze breathe the fresh salt air on your face for a few minutes. It will make you feel smaller than the grains of sand you're standing on. 

There is something to be said for sitting in the presence of something greater than yourself. It's a small feeling, a humbling feeling and honestly, a feeling of reverent fear. This looks different for a lot of people. Some people feel small next to mountains, others oceans and for some, even trees do the trick; however, for me, lately it's been beasts. I'm not sure if you've ever thought about it before or not, but there are a lot of things out there that can kill or seriously maim a defenseless human being. There aren't just lions, tigers and bears out there, there's more- Like hippos, snakes and even insects can do some damage. However, today, I spent some time in the presence of something just as dangerous as any other animal roaming the earth that might make your knees shake: the American Bison.

This afternoon, I took a trip over to Osage County in the Northern part of Oklahoma to the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. It's there that over 2,000 American Bison call home. There were herds and herds of them around every curve of the gravel road throughout the state park, and it provided me with just the right dosage of 'feeling small' that I needed.

There's just something so cool to me about sitting and watching pieces of creation that could tear me limb from limb just do their thing. I literally did nothing but watch and photograph buffalo for three hours, and not once was I bored. I was in awe, entertained and humbled all afternoon. At one point, my truck was completely surrounded by at least 20 buffalo for about five minutes, leaving me unable to go anywhere; the last thing I wanted to do was honk my horn and make one mad. I don't think my car insurance covers buffalo damage, so I just had to sit and wait in the middle of what I felt like was a circle of beasts that could easily have their way with my F-150 and myself if they wanted to. It was awesome.

If you never have, I would encourage you to intentionally go sit in the presence of something greater than yourself. Go to the zoo and watch the lions eat, go to the mountains and stand at the base of them or go to the ocean and let it's breeze blow you away. Whatever it might be that would make you feel small, humble and defenseless, take a trip to see it; it will remind you Who your Creator is.

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Creation is a great reminder that you are not greater than the Creator. 

The Sixth Day

"And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds - livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.' And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'"

"So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them."

"And God blessed them, And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

This is the Biblical account of the sixth day of the world, and what a busy day it must've been. It's the day all gaps of the creation process were filled. It's the day that God finally populated with universe's first and best zoo. The sixth day of creation is why you and I are here and why you and I are surrounded by all we are surrounded by. 

The sixth day of the world was absolutely epic, and somehow, seems like it would've taken the most work. From creating every wild animal, every single bug and every piece of livestock to creating the human species, a lot went into day six; plus, day six would've been like God's Friday, and He work extra hard that day! I don't know about you, but for me, Fridays barely count as work days because the week is basically over. God didn't care though; He grinded it out all week, and then He finished just as strong, if not stronger than He started, with even more creativity and personal touch. 

I also think the sixth day of creation is amazing because of the way God seemed to have the whole world prepared just for what was coming into it: animals and people. He had already provided every piece of food, every piece of shelter and every piece of clothing that we and the rest of creation might need. He didn't create humans before He created provision for us, and He didn't create plants before He created sunlight. He knew what He was doing.

The sixth day of creation had to have been the longest day of creation; I feel like God definitely put in some over-time hours knowing He was going to be creating something in His image and knowing what all that was going to do. I'm glad He did it though. I'm so glad He made us and let us be a part of His story and that now, because He created us all those years ago, we get to live forever with Him in His New Creation. What could be better?

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: God made a great place for us to live in; He would be a great zookeeper. 

The Fourth Day

"And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in he expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.' And it was so. And God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day."

This is the Biblical account of the fourth day of the world. This is the day that God made the sun, the moon and the stars and the day that He hung them in the heavens. Like most days in the creation story, this day too has its questions and mysteries, but personally, this day has more questions and mysteries than others. 

It was on day one that God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. It was on day one that He gave the world something to break through the darkness; however, what was the light He gave on day one if didn't put the sun, moon or stars into place until day four? 

This was something that I noticed for the first time today as I was rereading the creation account. I didn't catch it at first, but then when I thought about it, I had to wonder why God would make more lights if the world already had light. Why would He need to create "two great light" if the world already had light enough for plants, vegetation and life to grow? 

I don't know the answer to this, and I'm not a theological expert, but I have a guess: What if the light from day one was simply God Himself? What if He was the one giving light to the world? I may be reading the creation account wrong, but I really do wonder why there's light on day one, enough light to have plants on day three and then two other 'great' lights are created on day four. It's just so cool to me in my head to think about God actually being all the light that's needed for the entire earth. It's like that picture we get in Revelation of the new Heaven when the world doesn't need the sun or the moon anymore because God will be the only light we'll need. I feel like Genesis was just a foreshadowing of what's to come in Eternity.

God made the sun, the moon and the stars because He knew we'd need them, but one day we won't. I'm pumped for that day.  

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: God is and has always been the true Light of the world, even before the sun, moon and stars.

The Third Day

"And God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so.  God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good."

"And God said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.' And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day."

This is the Biblical account of the third day of the world. Land was formed, as mountains and hills jutted out of the ground, while valleys and prairies fell at their feet. Water rushed around the world filling river beds, lakes, seas and oceans, separating the salt water from the fresh water. The Creator who needs no land or water to walk on created land and water for us to walk on so we could walk with Him. 

The third day was the first day of life. Plants and vegetation sprouted out of the ground for the first time in preparation for what was to come next. Fruits, vegetables, seeds and plants took over the earth in preparation for the provision it would soon have to provide for all living creatures, and flowers and trees clothed it in matchless beauty. 

 An invisible Creator created the visible, and the Provider of all provided provision. 

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: The third day was the first day of life, just as the third day was our first day of salvation. 

The Second Day

"And God said, '"Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."' And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day."

This is the Biblical account of the second day of the world's creation. This was the day that God made sky. He made the heavens. This is the day that there became a separation between sky and earth, the day that birds had a place to fly and the day that space and open skies became a reality.

The day that God made the Heavens must've been beautiful. It would've been the day that hosted the first sunrise and the first sunset, the day that made cloud watching possible and the day that gave way to the great expanse of sky that wraps around the entire world. He separated clouds from lakes and storms from oceans, all with the command of His voice. 

That was the second day.

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: The first sunrise and sunset must've been special; it was the beginning of the sky's worship toward the Heavens. 

The First Day

In the the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

This is the Biblical account of the first day. It was the beginning. It was on this day that the world was formed and creation begin, and its account is both mysterious and beautiful. It's an account that not only tells the story of creation itself, but it also tells the story of the creation that must happen in our lives if we want rebirth.

In the beginning, God created us, but we were without true form, void and full of darkness; however, the Spirit of God was still with us.

Then, one day, God performs a miracle in our lives and says, "Let there be Light," and He introduces us to His Son, Jesus. He calls His Son, the Light, good, and while there is still darkness, He separates that from us and gives us Day, and it's from that Day that we have our first day, our first day of Real Life and Real Creation in Him.

You're a creation, and you were formed by Him. He can and will speak Light into you. Live your first day.

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Once there was chaos and darkness, but then He spoke order and Light.