We speak things into existence. It’s true. Speak good, get good. Speak bad, get bad. Speak indifference, and you will likely have a fairly so-so experience in life— nothing sinister but nothing especially good either. This is something we have known since elementary school… “Treat others the way you want to be treated”, “what goes around, comes around.”. It’s the Golden Rule. We attract what we put into the world. I want to attract blessing, so, I’ve realized I should be generating it too. And I don’t just want blessing for myself. I genuinely wish it for others— for the whole world for that matter! I also want to attract more inspiration, and so I generate that as well, by sending it out from my art and my spoken and written words. I want to attract joy, loyalty, honesty, consideration, love and so on… so these are the things I send forth to the best of my ability.
I have learned a lot lately about our ability to bless others, and what blew me away was that I, just your basic believer, have the power to truly bless another. You also have this power in your life as a believer. Blessing is one of the most powerful ways we speak good into existence. Because Blessing is not just done with the spoken word— it goes deeper. Blessing is spoken with the heart, soul, mind, and the power of the indwelling Spirit. It’s a complete package of belief, and that is what makes it so powerful.
This has inspired me to change the way I paint. When I create a new work of art, I am inspired to use my entire being— heart, soul, mind and the Spirit within me— to do more than make art. From this point on, I intend to bless each every new creation.
When I create, I am acting as the image-bearer I was created to be. We were created to create in reflection of our Creator. We are creations. (Repetition like this exists for a reason: its emphasis.) After our Creator created his beautiful creation and the living creations within it, do you recall what he did next? He blessed it! So, likewise, I have blessed this newly created painting, and I titled it “Face Shine”. I blessed this painting out loud, in my studio, as I painted it. I know I must seem like a crazy lady talking to my paintings, but what the Golden Rule says about the way we use our words tells me that it’s worth feeling a little cray if it means I can speak good things into this broken world. I can and should speak into the things I make, and so can/should you. What if someone had spoken blessings into everything I brought into my home? I’d like that, and I believe it would change the way I experience my home. How powerful is that? And the truth is, I want my art to be more than “stuff” on the walls. I always have. But now I have a word for it: blessing. I want to create blessings with my creativity. And that just feels right.
I hope to inspire you to bless the things that you create. Your meals, your blueprints, spreadsheets, home repairs, even the clean laundry. Anything you create with your hands, your heart, your mind, emotions and the indwelling Spirit within you, bless it. This is how our careers and our activities morph into more than just work and task. This is how our creations becomes more than just stuff. This is how we lead lives with purpose. It feels right for a reason. My job title does not establish my identity. My identity is found in the way my life honors God and impacts others. That is, after all, the legacy we leave behind— the memory that remains. We were created to create with the creative Spirit. We were created to love. And we were created bless.
(Thank you Pam Hanes for your beautiful lessons on “Blessings”)
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons,
‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
-Numbers 6:22-26