by Jade Sweeney of Arkanddeer

One of my personal convictions about worship is to live a life ‘fully awake to all that God has purposed.’

It originated after I first heard the quote by Saint Irenaeus:

The glory of God is man fully alive.

This quote made me realise that when have the courage to stand up and be all that God has created us to be; using all of the gift and talent that He has entrusted us with; we in fact truly reflect His glory. We become alive when we are using everything He has given us. We enjoy our life and more importantly I believe that when we use our gifts the way that He has designed us to, it draws us closer to Him.

When we truly begin to operate in who we are in Jesus we will come to a place of deep dependance on Him where we desire and require His voice, His thoughts, His intentions around what we are doing. It becomes a beautiful partnership between heaven and earth where we seek to reveal an aspect of His heavenly character here on earth.

Sadly there is a tension that arrises when people begin to ‘shine’ in some circles. It can be considered prideful or self seeking. Now this can of worms is best left to open another time but I will say that we can receive all the accolade of heaven and earth can remain unmoved and vice versa; the fickle crowd can be shouting the house down, telling us that we are brilliant and yet we have left Jesus out of the equation. This path of negotiation and honesty is up to the individual.

Around these thoughts one of my favourite quotes is that of Marianne Williamson (from her book ‘A Return to Love’), famously quoted by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 Inaugural Address.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson

So on that note, the next few posts are devoted to approaching life more creatively.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

What are your favourite quotes or inspirational verses around creativity?

Who or what inspires you creatively?

Carly x

 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 NKJV