7 Ways to Make Your Day More Creative

1. Begin with prayer.

Before you roll out of bed and put your feet on the floor, begin your day with prayer. Take five minutes to tell your Creator good morning and ask him to walk with you throughout your day. He already knows your heart, but he wants to hear directly from you! Ask him for fresh and creative ways to praise him and look for those God winks. It might surprise you how God catches your attention.

2. Make time to get outside.

Get outside for a few minutes, even if it’s just to sit on your porch or patio. Walk the dog. Or cat. Or bird. Or yourself. How many of us are working from home these days? Just like you might in an office, take a breather from your desk and inhale in some fresh air.  A cluttered mind puts a major damper on creativity, so consider stepping outdoors for a few minutes each day. If you like to exercise outside, all the better! 

3. Observe nature and look for God’s fingerprints.

God’s fingerprints are literally everywhere, but we forget to look for them in the rhythm of the rush pace we set for ourselves. There’s much NOT to like about this global pandemic, but a silver lining is the gift of time it has given us. Take a few of your extra minutes and look around you. How may God be speaking to you? Look for things in nature that inspire you. Rocks, leaves, wildlife, clouds, flowers…the list is endless. When you are taking in these sights and sounds, take a minute to praise the Lord for his creativity. I have a friend who looks for God sightings in the shape of a heart, and this is how God often speaks to her. She’s even seen this is in form of bird droppings. Does God have a sense of humor or what?

4. Take a few minutes to color or doodle.

Like Barbara Mandrell sang, “I was country when country wasn’t cool,” I was coloring long before coloring was cool. While my friends at college received care packages full of trendy magazines and candy, my mom sent Precious Moments and Strawberry Shortcake coloring books. #thestrugglewasreal Coloring is proven to reduce stress, and it gets those creative juices flowing. It’s a win-win! Thankfully, coloring books have been all the rage for the last several years, so there’s plenty of choices for just about every interest you can dream of. If coloring books aren’t your thing, try doodling in a journal or in the margins of your Bible. You aren’t striving for perfection. You’re striving for consistency. If colors fall too far beyond your comfort zone, try Papermate Flair pens (hot link to Amazon) as you delve into your Bible study. Even writing in a different color expresses creativity. 

5. Play.

Yep, play. As we become adults, responsibilities weigh heavy on our shoulders. We put so much pressure on ourselves and our children to be successful by cultural standards. We ask our middle schoolers to think long and hard about what they might like to be when they are older, as it matters to which courses they study in high school, which matters how well prepared they’ll be for college. That’s a crazy amount of pressure! If your kiddo has always known exactly what they want to do and who they want to be, awesome. My oldest is tracking to do just that. However, I had no idea on my first day of college what I really wanted to study, and I changed my major three times. Not everyone has it figured out—even by adulthood—and that is OKAY. Playing is essential for children and adults. Play a game or dress up. Be creative! My girls and I recently tried fork painting. It’s really a thing. Check Pinterest. We learned we are not talented fork painters, but we laughed until our bellies hurt.

6. Be a friend.

Have you heard the old adage that two brains are better one? Well, when it comes to community, it’s true. The Bible is rich with wisdom and truth about how we are designed to encourage and love one another (John 15: 12-13; Proverbs 27:17; Matthew 18:20; Romans 1:12; Hebrews 10:24-25). Think about how you might love and encourage someone every day. Perhaps it’s meeting for coffee or over Zoom. Drop a card to drop in the mail to someone who God has placed on your heart. We express creativity in a multitude of ways. Be creative in how you love your people. 

7. End with prayer.

At the end of your day—whether it was an enjoyable day or a rough day—make prayer time with God be your last conversation before you close your eyes to sleep. We have only to look around us at the vast and varied creation of earth to see God’s creativity deeply reflected everywhere. As God’s image bearers, we carry traits of creativity, too. No, we won’t exhibit them in the same way, but that makes God’s creation even more beautiful. You are part of that creation, and he has crafted every hair on your body with love and care. If you think you are lacking in creativity, remind yourself that you are the image bearer of a God who literally spoke our world into being. Think about creativity by his standards and ask him to show you fresh ways to share yours.

Check out the Art of Amen!