“For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me; inside I am like bottled up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst. I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply.” ~ Job 32:18-20

While I don’t always agree 100% with the nuances of certain books on creativity, Janice Elsheimer’s book, The Creative Call, probes, inspires, and makes me think. For instance:

“Our gifts are not from God to us, but from God through us to the world. When we fail to use these gifts, we suffer the same way a person accustomed to regular physical activity may feel pent up, out of sorts, and off-balance after going for several days without exercise.”

Elsheimer says if we neglect to develop and use the talents God gives us, we feel “incomplete, unfulfilled, unfinished, even depressed.”

I especially appreciated this:

“We will find the artist God intends us to be when we empty ourselves of self and become open to His plan and to the inspiration of His Holy Spirit.”

Elsheimer challenges us to do four things:

* learn to call on the Holy Spirit as our source of inspiration
* exercise our artistic gift regularly and think of ourselves as artists
* develop the habit of journaling as a way to recognize the things that have kept us blocked.
* have a richer, deeper prayer life and a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

Amen.