#226: Creativity in the Kingdom

Welcome to Kingdom Writers, where we help equip and empower Christian writers of all genres to share your unique gifts with the world. We're your hosts, C.J. and Shelley Hitz.

This podcast is filled with spiritual encouragement as well as prayers to help you overcome the resistance you face as a writer. Your story matters.

Hey, friends. This is Shelly Hitz, and in this episode, I am so excited to share a message that my husband CJ and I shared in my mom's church when we were there over the holidays. It's titled Creativity in the Kingdom. And I really think it's just going to encourage you in whatever God has called you to do this year. So. So listen in, take notes, and we are cheering you on. It was in June of 2016, and I was in my sister's church in Pace, Florida, and I was on vacation, minding my own business, right? When the Lord comes and speaks to me in my spirit, wasn't an audible voice. I was just worshiping. And he was like, very clearly in my spirit, he said, finish the book. And I was like, immediately I knew which book, because it was about a year ago I started writing the book, and I had gotten stuck and hadn't finished it. Didn't want to finish it because it was really difficult. It was a lot of the stories of my life, the trauma I had been through, the brokenness or addiction to Internet pornography as a married Christian woman, but it was the story of that trauma and brokenness to healing and freedom in Christ. Amen. But how many of you know that sometimes shame can keep us from wanting to tell our testimonies? And shame was like, shh, you need to be quiet. Don't tell this story. Don't tell these stories. And so I just. And it was. It was just hard. But he was like, finish the book. And so I began writing the book again, and I finished it. It's Broken Crayons Still Col. And people have told me that even just the title has brought healing to them. Just hearing that title, Broken Crayons Still Color. And even with all that I've been through, all that God has brought me through and all the brokenness and trauma, he's using me in incredible ways for his glory. Right? And so it was through this book, I was like, you know, with a title like this, Broken Crayons Still Color, it only makes sense that you include some coloring pages, adult coloring pages, because that was the trend, especially back then. And I was looking for someone to hire. And again, in my spirit, I sense God clearly say, you do it. I'm like, me, I'm not creative. I went to medical school, I was a physical therapist. I, you know, I'm left brained, right? And I just, I thought you had to be born with creativity, that, you know, you had to have that in you. And so I was like, I can't do that. I can't do that. But finally one day I just was like, I'm going to obey. And because I've learned when God tells you to do something, you know to do it. So I sat down and I created the first coloring page and the rest is history. So, you know, it was one of those things, you know, here's just one that I just came onto. But it birthed in me a creativity that I didn't even know was there. You know, the last time I remember really being creative was in eighth grade art class. And then after eight grade art classes, I kind of set that aside and I did some music. I was in show choir, I was in band, and I did some music. But you know, the other stuff I just didn't do. And you know, English was my worst subject in school. But God. Right, but God. We now have written and published over 50 books. These are just a few of them. And you know, God is using us to also help other writers and other creatives to, to share their stories, to share their testimonies, their art with the world. And so it's really an interesting thing. Cause research has shown and people have demonstrated over and over again that art can skip over the intellect and go straight to the heart. So you can try to argue with someone, you can try to share scriptures with them, which is amazing. Yes, do. But as the spirit leads, sometimes creativity, whether it's through writing a story, whether it's through art, it can go right to someone's heart. There's also something called art therapy, right, or music therapy. And it is very therapeutic. And over the last few years, after I wrote this book and created those coloring pages, I just had a love for lettering and calligraphy for, for watercolor. And what I found was that through my art, God began to heal my heart in a deeper way, a way I didn't even know I was still holding onto. This addiction to workaholism. And art really began to set me free and began to heal my heart. And he brought back my laugh and childlike joy through art.

All right, well, how many of you here think you have a book to share with the world?

All right, several of you. How many of you maybe at a young age.

Could maybe say that there was a point where you might have received, like a creative, what we call a creative injury, where maybe at a certain point somebody told you something and it just stifled what you were doing, whether it's writing, music, art, maybe the kids at a young age were pegged as the artists and you weren't in that crowd, and so you just forgot about it. How many could relate to that? Several of you? Well, here's what I want to say this morning. I believe every single one of us are artists. Every single one of us. I believe every single one of us has a story to share. It's just that sometimes there are certain buttons that need to be pushed to pull that out of us. And I hope that maybe we can inspire a little bit of that here in the time that we have with you. But if you have your Bibles, turn to Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 2:10, and I'm going to actually read the new living translation. Every one of you have probably different translations.

But this is certainly a verse that many of you are familiar with.

But it says, for we are God's masterpiece. Somebody say masterpiece.

And some of your translations might say workmanship or handiwork. And so he has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things, say good things that he planned for us long ago.

Now, I looked up that word masterpiece and that word masterpiece. Really? How many of you would agree that when you hear the word masterpiece, that is the artist's best work? It's their masterpiece. It's their Mona Lisa, it's their Sistine Chapel, it's their, you know, fill in the blank. Picasso had his masterpiece.

You know, you might think of a certain author and the pinnacle of their writing, their book. And so each one of us is labeled here as a masterpiece. How many know that God don't make no junk?

He don't make no junk, as I've heard it said. Now, that word for good things or works in the Greek, we were created for good things, to do good things or create works of art. That word is Ergon, E, R, G, O, N. That's a Greek word. And I love some of the meanings that you find. Business, employment, that which anyone is occupied. So that's one definition.

Another one is that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking. And then I especially love these particular definitions that you find in the Greek. Any product whatever, anything accomplished by hand, art, industry.

Or mind. What I want to say to that is that each one of us has the ability, the. The innate ability that God's given each of us to produce something that's a work of art that actually will even sell, that people want, that people need. So every one of you have inside of you something locked inside, whether it's a book, a piece of artwork, a piece of music that could eventually sell. Now, I'm not saying that you're going to become a millionaire, but what I am saying is that you have something to offer the world in the industry that is going to bless a certain amount of individuals around this world. They need to hear your story. They need to see your reflection in art. And so I love that. So that kind of just gets us started. Regarding all of us are artists in one way, shape or form?

Yeah. And I love how that scripture says the good things he planned for us long ago. So those things, those good things he has planned for us, like, he knew I was gonna write books. I didn't even wanna be a writer. I didn't know I was an artist. He knew he had planted those things in me. And how many of you know that? Your story matters. Your story matters. You're going to impact people in your sphere of influence that CJ and I could never impact. And Revelations 12:11, which is what this book was really based upon, is it says, they triumphed over him, which is the enemy, Satan, by the blood of the lamb and by.

The word of their testimony. They triumphed over the enemy by the word of the lamb or by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. Why do you think Satan tries to keep us silent? You know, when we have had victory, when God has given us freedom that is so powerful? And people have told me over and over again, just hearing my story of having an addiction to Internet pornography and God freeing me and healing me has been such a freeing thing for them because they're like, oh, oh, like other people have issues and struggle. And, you know, it's like, there's been things that I've been hiding in the dark, and I'm now gonna have the courage to bring these to God to get the healing that I need. And what I found out by just sharing that Testimony is about 90% of women who struggle with the sexual addiction probably have been sexually abused at some point in their life. And so it does. It's just such a healing process when you share your testimony. But God wants to use your story to make an impact in the kingdom. When you share your story in a book, you literally write words that will outlive you. Amen. This book could be passed around and around and around. I have no idea. I have no idea. I know this book has sold really well, and it's because of the grace of God that's on this book. And he told me to do it right. But you literally have words that will outlive you. And God can continue to use your book to impact generations to come. They say CS Lewis has sold more books after he died than when he lived. Amen. And so, you know, I never dreamed of writing a book. But in 2008, we were introduced to the whole concept of self publishing by one of our friends, Philip Telfer. He runs a ministry called Media Talk 101. He showed us his book, and I was like, wow, this is really nice quality. And they have new technology. At least at that time it was new. It still is unknown to some of us, but it's called Print on Demand. And basically we upload our files to a company called Kindle Direct Publishing, owned by Amazon. And when somebody buys a print book on Amazon, they print one copy and ship it out. I no longer have to buy thousands of copies of my book. Right? Do you remember those days? People would buy thousands of copies of books. I can share my testimony. And one story I want to tell you is I have a couple real little books. They're just like 21 prayers. This one's faith. I have 21 prayers of gratitude. And I gave a couple of my books to our housekeeper. Had no idea if she's a Christian, no idea where she stood. But I just said, hey, you know, I've written books, and I'd love to gift you a couple of my books. She was so excited. You're an author. Oh, my goodness. Wow. And you know what? People that know you are most likely going to read your book because they're interested in you. They're interested in what you're doing. And she read my books. And she would come back every two weeks to clean our house. And we. We would start having spiritual conversations. Because books can be door openers. Books can open the door for things. And so we begin to have spiritual conversations. And I just felt the Holy Spirit again, just in my spirit, say to me, you need to tell her. Ask her about Jesus. Ask her about Jesus. And I'm like, you know, okay, okay. And I just, like, was praying for the right opportunity. And a few months ago, she came and we got in a conversation, and we were able to start talking about, like, what do you believe happens after you die? Because my husband just happened to be hiking a 14er, and I couldn't get ahold of him. And the last time he hiked a 14er by himself, he hit a deer on the way home and could have died, but he didn't. But, you know, that was in my mind. And so I was talking to her about this. Well, one thing led to another, and she was like, oh, I just believe I've done enough good things. And we started talking, and I was like, well, do you know about Jesus? Well, not really. I was like, do you want to know about Jesus? She's like, yeah, please tell me. Like, she was just ready. She was put in my house for such a time as this. And these books were door openers in my living room that day. I said, do you want to pray to receive Christ into your life? And she said, yes, I do. And we prayed, and we both had tears in our eyes. And she was like, I told my old man, that's what she calls him. She's like, I told my old man, I'm cleaning for this lady for a reason. She said, I knew I was in your home for a reason. Books can be door openers, and God wants to use your story in powerful ways. It may not be an international bestseller, but guess what? What if one person comes to know Christ because you took the courageous step of sharing your story in a book. And so we encourage you to start writing down your story. I started by journaling, and a lot of my journals ended up in books, you know, and so just start writing down your story and, you know, it's a powerful, powerful thing.

Yeah, I remember hearing. How many of you ever heard of John Maxwell? John Maxwell leads a leadership company that trains leaders. And I remember him saying at one time that he. He hated the process of writing. Like, he hated it. And the guy has. I don't know how many books he has, but he sold over 10 million, something like that. 10 million books. But he once said, I don't like writing. He says, I love speaking. The reason I like speaking is because I get the instant feedback with a book, you don't see that. But yet your books could be impacting far more people. And so what happened was he had a mentor that gave him some. Some words to remember. And then he put those words on a. He printed them on in big words on a sheet of paper. And then he printed off a picture of an audience that he was speaking to. And whenever he'd sit down and write, he'd read the words that his mentor gave him, which basically went something like this. That the reason I write books is to write words and reach people that I can't reach when I speak. And that's really what happens. How many of us could say we've been impacted greatly by an author that no longer lives?

We could just hold up our Bibles. Right?

Except that author does live, thankfully. But, and so, like Shelley said, we do encourage you to start writing down your story. It could be for just 15 minutes a day. Do you know, that could start a habit in you that turns into a book. It's incredible. There's a man named Anthony Trollope who is a very well known novelist in the vicinity Victorian era over in England. They say he wrote 47 novels in 35 years.

And this man committed 15 minutes of every hour to writing at least 250 words whenever he was working. Here's the thing. He had a full time job as a post office inspector and yet he still managed to put out 47 novels in 35 years. And they said those that knew him is that he shut off all distractions. The only thing he could hear was the ticking of his watch. And he'd set that 15 minutes every hour and he, he'd set to writing. And this is why he was so prolific and made use of his time. Now that might be a little unrealistic for many of us, but it's simply an example to say that every one of us, if we have a disciplined routine, even daily to just 15 minutes a day, we'll probably write two, three, 400 words. And here's what Shelley and I tell people. Don't worry about the mistakes, don't worry about it being polished. Don't be a perfectionist, just get it down. How many know the best ideas will leave us if we don't write it? Write it down. I bet pastor could say, man, he'll get an idea. And if he doesn't put that into his phone, or if he doesn't write that down, it's gone. It's not going to be used for next week's message. Good ideas have to be captured. And every one of you have great ideas that God's putting, putting in your mind.

We have an academy for Christian writers and one of our academy members is a pastor. And he's written like, I think nine books, novels and nonfiction. And he just writes over his lunch hour. He writes and then one week a year he sets aside a retreat. It's both for planning out his sermons, but also books for the year and writing. Another one of our academy members works full time, but he actually read my book Broken Crayons Still Color had amazing breakthrough and healing. And now he's in our academy and he's writing his own story of attempted suicide and all this stuff that he's been through. Well, he's just written 15 minutes on his lunch break and he finished his first draft. And so it's doable for any of us. And the thing is, when you're writing and in that creative flow, it's your right brain. When you're editing, it's your left brain. So when you're writing and you try to edit at the same time, guess what happens?

They get in conflict with each other and it shuts the down your writing. So if you've had trouble staying in the flow, it might be because you're trying to edit and write at the same time.

So there's another passage that we want to look at in Exodus. We're going to go all the way back to Exodus, and it's chapter 311 5. And this is. We're going to read about a specific guy named Bezalel. Say Bezalel.

And I have no idea if I pronounced that correctly, but let's start then. The Lord said to Moses, look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel, son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft. That was a talented man right there. God specifically chose Bezalel for the purpose of helping to build the tabernacle.

God had a specific calling on his life. And God has a specific calling on your life. Your life. If you were inserted in here, it would mention all of the giftings that God has endued you with. And so there was a very specific assignment for Bezalel, and there's a very specific assignment for you and I.

And how many of you know there are seasons in life that sometimes there are different assignments that God has for us in different seasons? And this book was an assignment God had given to me in 2016, but I have a different assignment right now, and it's to recreate and reteach all of the content that I created for writers. So I'm in. I'm in that right now, in the thick of it. But in verse three of what CJ had read, it says, I have filled him with the spirit of God.

So we can, you know, God wants to fill us with the spirit of God to create the things that he's going to do through our lives and whether it's writing or its art, and to impact lives. So a couple years ago, I created what I called a freedom set. It was four different watercolor paintings of different keys. So the theme was a key, and it was based on different freedom scriptures from the Bible. And I received this email after someone had purchased it. I also sent them a little necklace with a key on it, one of those older looking keys. And this woman said, I bought this item for my daughter who has been in a coma for two years. Can you imagine your daughter being in a coma for two years? She says, it's just beautiful. I have them right above her bed and I read them to her every day. They say that when people are in a coma, many times they can still hear and understand. And she says, thank you so much. I tell her that God is the key to her complete healing. And thank you for allowing God to use your awesome talent to touch others lives like my daughter and myself. God bless you. I had no idea when I created those watercolor pieces that I thought were kind of. Were they even good enough to sell? Right. Was it even good enough that God would use it in the bedroom in sacred moments? And I imagine it ministered to the mother as she was reading them. God was reminding her, was renewing her mind with that truth. But creativity can, like I said, you know, open doors in areas that other things cannot. You know, there's certain countries that we cannot go into the. Go into with the gospel. But guess what? Art can go into those countries. And pictures and art can bring a message in the spirit of God with it. And I've had friends that have been artists for years, and they'll say, you know, they create certain pieces and someone just comes up to it and just starts crying.

Why? Because the spirit of God is touching their hearts and, you know, and speaking to them through that artwork. But it's interesting because God is connecting me through my art. I have an Instagram account, and social media has both good and bad, right? But God has told me I wanted to quit social media, but God's like, Shelly, it's a battle, but it's a battle worth fighting because I want you to be in the world, but not of the world. So I'm in Instagram and I'm sharing and I'm connecting with these artists from around the world. Just last week, I had a conversation with a girl from India, and she was like, I was talking about gratitude on my Instagram stories. And she's like, your stories just really impacted me and what you're talking about and this and that. And she's very spiritually oriented. So I said, well, what do you believe about Jesus? And we started having this conversation. And I was able to share the gospel with her, that Jesus is the only way, because she believes that there are multiple gods, multiple ways to God. Now she's not ready to accept Christ as the only way, but she was open to the conversation. We had a conversation. And why was I even talking to her from India? Because of my art. Because I was posting my art. And she responded in a direct message. There's another artist that I've taken a class from. There's a platform called sky skillshare, and I actually teach classes on that. But I was taking a class from an artist, and I connected with her on Instagram. She's from the United Arab Emirates. Is that how you say it? Do you know where that country is?

It's like, you know, in what, the Middle East, Right. Close to Iraq and all of these other countries. I. I would never, like, just show up in that country. But I basically was able to have, like, a coaching session with her. And she said she was like. She was just tired, and she wasn't creating anymore. And I was able to pour into her, and she was like, shelly, this conversation just filled me with so much joy and with so much. And it was a seed. Did I share the gospel with her? Not yet.

But you know what? It's a door opener, and it's connecting me. And I mean, those are just two examples. It's connecting me with artists. And I just realized that the other day, I'm like, a lot of these artists that I'm getting connected with now on Instagram are from other countries.

But in that scripture that CJ read again, it said that, you know, it was giving him great wisdom, Bezalel ability and expertise in all kinds of crafts. And then in verse five, it says he is skipped, skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft. So one of my art mentors, he likes to say, you know, when you're creating, when you're writing, let's be filled and skilled, right? Let's be filled with the spirit and skilled in our craft. So it's important to continue improving and important to continue to learn as God shows you what. What your assignment is in the kingdom of God.

And we like to say that being an artist of any kind is a privilege. It's not a pressure. You know, you can, you can just picture Bezalel. You know, there might have been some pressure like, oh my goodness, I'm being entrusted to help build the tabernacle. But yet I think if you were to look at Bezalel's life, he was just simply enjoying the privilege of carrying out the creativity and the, and the skills that God had blessed him with. He, he was called for a specific time. There was another gal in scripture named Esther that was called for a specific time. And it says in scripture that she says, I'm here in the palace for just such a time as this. She was placed in that position, in that place for her assignment at that moment in time. And so we as well realize it's a privilege to be used by God no matter what our assignment is. And yet we know because of a creative God and that we are his masterpiece, that we are little co creators. We are people that are birthing things. God's birthing it through us all over. We're adding color to this world. We're really adding color to what's become a dim gray world because of sin. But as Christian artists, writers, musicians, many of you have all of these skills. Some of you have maybe one of those. But the bottom line is you and I are called to add color to the canvas this world. And so we just want to kind of begin closing by asking, you know, what's God calling you to right now? What's God calling you? Where's your assignment? And what is it that he continues to call you in? That maybe at one time you've just said, well, you know, I, you were given some messages that told you maybe you didn't add up or you just didn't have what it took and you just sort of believe that message over time. What is it that God is flickering inside of you and he wants to become a full grown fire to offer to the world? What is it in your own life?

Because we believe that every person has been given unique gifts and a specific role to play in the kingdom of God. How many of you agree? Every single one of you. God didn't say, oh, forgot you.

Every single one of you has been given gifts and an assignment, a specific assignment that will make an impact for eternity. We don't know. I don't know what these seeds that I'm planting, you know, it's like the sower and the seeds, we're just planting seeds. I have no idea what those seeds will come to fruition or how they'll come to fruition. But he's calling each one of you. It was a few years ago in our church. Someone came up to me and he said, you know, I just believe God gave me a picture for you. And.

He said he saw a sunrise, and the sunrise was just beginning to come up. You know how you can just barely see the sun? It's just barely coming up. We went on a run this morning, and we could watch the sun rise, and it was just coming up. And he said, I believe God is saying to you that this is just the beginning, that there's more that, you know as the sun comes up and as it. As it comes and rises to full, you know, place, there is more. And I believe that he is saying that to each one of you today as well, that there is more for you in the kingdom of God, that there's more, more for you. And we just encourage you to press into him to ask him, what is it that you have for me in this season and in the Kingdom of God? So we just want to close and pray for each one of you.

All right, well, let's just pray together. And, Father, I just thank you so much for each and every one of these little creators that you have birthed into this world. I thank you for the gifts and the abilities that you've given each and every man, woman, and child in this room, in this church, even those that couldn't make it this morning.

Father, we just ask that you would pull out the utmost potential out of each and every person, that they'd be able to get a glimpse of the ways that you want to add color through them to this world. And I ask that they would.

Be able to find that which they're skilled in, maybe even tap into it in a more clear way, whether that is.

Art or music or writing, whatever that might be. I just pray that in one way, shape or another, that you would allow each person to share their story with the world. Their story that may include some brokenness, but.

You have brought the pieces back together.

And made it a masterpiece. And I just pray that each person here would be able to find that. And may your Holy Spirit use any of the words that we said this this morning to spark something in those that were here in this service. And I just thank you for the opportunity. And we pray for the next service. We ask, Lord, that you would empower Pastor Ricks as he brings the word, empower those who are going to lead the music, empower everyone that has a role as a volunteer. I just pray that your Holy Spirit would Be poured out upon what you want to do this morning. May you be glorified and we give, we give you all of the glory in Jesus wonderful name. Amen.

Yes. And God, I just want to pray a blessing over each person here today. If you want to receive that blessing, just raise your hand. Lord, I just pray that you would just pour out your spirit right now. That each person here would not only be skilled, but would be filled with your holy Spirit. We ask right now that you would just fill each person with the Spirit and direct and guide and lead them in every step of the way. We ask that fear be gone in Jesus name. We ask that any stinking thinking or things that have, you know, been said in the past would be erased over their life. In Jesus name and God, we just pray that your flow, your creative flow would work through them. And I just saw a picture of all these seeds, all these seeds that have been planted. And some of you don't even know that the seed was planted, but there's seeds that have been planted. And right now it's raining and God is watering those seeds and those seeds are getting ready to come up out through the earth to show themselves. And God is doing the work. He is the one that waters. He is the one that makes it grow. So allow him to do his work in you. And we just pray this blessing on you in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you so much for joining us in this special episode. I really pray that you are inspired to do the things God has gifted you uniquely to do. And if you're listening to this live, then we currently have the doors open to enrollment inside Christian Book Academy. This only happens a few times a year. So this is your chance to join us. This is your chance to finally write your book and publish it. This is your chance to share your voice with the world. Your voice matters. Your story matters. And we are so excited to equip you not only with the step by step instructions on how to write your book and publish your book and market your book, but also equip you spiritually and emotionally because this is not an easy process. You know, as a writer, it's very often that we're doing this alone and isolated, but we have built a community of Christian writers that will cheer you on and we will pour into you spiritually and emotionally. So join us at ChristianBookAcademy.com where we help you conquer your fear in true community, write words that outlive you, and publish books that fulfill your calling. Now, we will not leave the doors open long. So if you want to join us, make sure to go now@christianbookacademy.com if you have any questions at all just click the contact us button and I'd be happy to have a conversation with you and to talk with you and to make sure this is the right fit for you and it's the right time. Make 2020 the year that you write and publish your book.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Kingdom Writers. We believe that you as a Christian writer have a specific role to play in the Kingdom of Heaven to impact lives for eternity.

And because of this we choose to pour out our lives into encouraging writers like you to to not only tell your stories but to take the courageous step of self publishing your stories in books that will outlive you and leave behind a powerful legacy. This podcast is sponsored by Christian Book Academy where we help you give birth to your books. We invite you to join our community of Kingdom Writers.