Craig T. Owens

Create by Stephen Altrogge is a quick motivating read to help you: (1) realize that God created you to be creative, (2) remove the excuses for not exercising your creativity, and (3) encourage you to get something started! You can read my full book review by clicking here. Below are some quotes I highlighted in Create.

“Everyone was created to create. It’s hardwired into us by our Maker. … We are created in the image of God we all have an irresistible impulse to create and to establish order. When a painter brings forth beauty from the chaos of his paint palette, he is reflecting the image of God. When an accountant massages an unruly mass of data into an intelligent sales report, she is reflecting the image of God. When a writer assembles letters into words and words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into pages and pages into a book, he is reflecting the image of God. When a wife tastefully decorates her house with paint colors and throw pillows, she is reflecting the image of God. When a chef mixes flower and sugar and eggs to create a cake, she is reflecting the image of God.”

“If we’re constantly dependent on the approval of other people we’ll always be afraid of failure. If we’re constantly needing the affirmation and praise of those around us then we’ll never take any creative risks. … Our identity is not rooted in what we create it’s rooted in Christ. Our identity is wrapped up in the One who created us, not the things that we create. Our acceptance doesn’t come from our friends or coworkers or fellow artists, it comes from Christ.”

“Be at peace with being lousy for a while. Chesterton once said that anything worth doing was worth doing badly. He was right. Only an insufferable egoist expects to be brilliant first time out.” —Douglas Wilson

“Trying to be perfect all the time takes the fun out of creativity.”

“When you start a creative project don’t look at the end, look at the next step in front of you.”

“A journey of a thousand miles is begun with a step.  Beware of despising small beginnings.  Some men never arrive at usefulness because they are not satisfied to begin in a small way, and proceed by a step at a time.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Most creative works are the result of faithful effort, not massive creative outbursts.”

“I believe in plodding. Productivity is more a matter of diligent, long-distance hiking than it is one-hundred-yard dashing. Doing a little bit now is far better than hoping to do a lot on the morrow. So redeem the fifteen minute spaces.” —Douglas Wilson

“Being a successful creator requires making a habit out of creativity. The most consistently creative people are the ones who have made creativity a habit. They sit down at their desk every single day and do the work. They may not work for long periods of time, but they do work consistently. They don’t wait for the creative muse to descend upon them. They sit down, grab the muse by the ear, and start putting words on paper or numbers in a spreadsheet or paint on a canvas. The muse does not descend upon those who wait. The creative muse descends upon those who grab hold of it, put it in a headlock, and force it into submission.” 

“If our creative work truly is for the honor of God, we should be willing to see it through to the end. … If we give up easily on a project that we believe will honor the Lord, we’re not being faithful. We’re being lazy, and we’re actually being selfish. We’re not allowing others to benefit from the creative gifts that God has given us.”

“If we’re truly seeking to glorify God through creativity, then we should be open to all manner of advice, suggestions, and even criticisms. God created us to be dependent on other people, and this is true in the creative field as well. … If we don’t pursue feedback there’s a pretty good chance that our creative work isn’t going to be very good.” 

“Psalm 24:1 says, ‘The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein….’ God created the world. Everything in the world belongs to Him and everything in the world is infused with His creativity. The world is literally busting at the seams with the creativity of God. There are ideas lurking around every corner! Creativity is everywhere. We just need to be on the lookout for it.”