[lead dropcap="yes"] As the clock wound down to the kick off of our first Creative Collective of the year, you could sense the curious anticipation to see a preview of SZN 2’s aesthetic. The theme for this Collective was Letters. Many of us already know that God’s letter to us is the Bible. But, did you know that your very life is a letter to the world on who God is? [/lead]This thought should encourage us to be intentional about the way we live, recognizing that every breath we breathe is mapped to a purpose God has destined for us. A story to tell, a song to sing, a business to build. These all entail great creative efforts, but while pursuing them we must always keep in mind our creativity goes deeper than the surface. Every effort is inspired by an almighty God who is the creator of all.We all have a creative process, but we must recognize that the true creative process is what the Spirit of God is creating in our hearts. What’s written on the letter of your heart? There are three parts to this letter, and each of these parts make up the story your life is telling.

CONTEXT

A story isn’t really a story if it doesn’t have a context. It’s more of an isolated fact. You see, the context sets the stage. It creates the setting, and gives the information needed to fully comprehend the story being told.​As a Christ follower, the context of our story is being saved by the blood of Jesus. Being brought from death to life. This is the Christ Context. We don’t live our lives chasing meaningless things or loading up our schedules with busywork. We live our lives knowing that what we’re a part of transcends ourselves. We live a life with a willingness to be uncomfortable and sacrifice knowing what’s on the line.

CONTENT

The second part of our story is the content. What does the content of your life say about you? Is it congruent with the Christ Context?We are part of the information age, which means we are inundated with content from every outlet imaginable. Yet, we need to be mindful of the content we consume, because the content of our life story will ultimately be a byproduct of it.As creatives it’s also easy to try copy someone else’s content. God uniquely designed each of us with the skills and talents to write the contents of our own story, not to plagiarize someone else’s. We need to be free of jealousy and embrace the story that God is telling through our lives instead of wishing we were living another person’s life. Be secure in who God created you to be. If you want the greatest content for your story, you need to be content.

CREDIT

In every story, whether it be the written word or film, there is always an author or producer credit. This credit publicly acknowledges who was the mastermind behind the work.We need not fall into the trap of thinking that our talents push us forward in writing our life story. We must think bigger. We need to stay focused on the mission. When we fight for credit, we isolate ourselves. But when we join with others in their stories and acknowledge God as the ultimate author, we are part of something bigger than ourselves.May our lives reflect his signature. May the handwriting on our lives speak of the creator of the world.

We recently talked with some of our team members and asked them what message God was writing through their lives this SZN. Here is what they had to say.

"Being intentional in everything I do will allow me to have focus and find balance. I have to balance being a wife, mom of 3, servant leader at church, Girl Scout troop leader, friend, sister, daughter and most importantly balance time to develop my spiritual self in order for me to be the best version of myself daily. I want to live in such a way that every move I make has purpose. I have to be intentional to be a great wife to my husband. I have to intentionally set daily time with each one with my children. We need to live a life with intent in order for growth to flourish. I have to be intentional with my relationships in order for them to flourish. I have to be intentional with my quiet time with God. In 2016, I would find myself unfocused at times (who didn’t!) between projects, bible study groups, book clubs, gatherings and home. But realized that nothing will fully develop if I don’t focus and get things done." - Jessica Reyna

"I want to be relentless in my love for Jesus. I want to have relentless courage in pursuit of my God-given calling. To be relentless in my love and attention for my beautiful wife and son. To be relentless in my effort and relationships at my job because I might be the only picture of Jesus my clients and coworkers may ever see. I want to love my team at church relentlessly so they may get the same passion to encourage that person who may be lost or struggling. I want our team to be so captivated by the scandalous, relentless love of Jesus that our only response is to serve with everything we've got." - Jason Rosado

"There is freedom in having confidence in my identity in Christ and who he has called me to be. There is an even greater freedom and comfort in knowing that he is always with us, and that his ways are far higher and greater than ours. God cares about every aspect of our lives, and our purpose is to glorify him. I can move forward into 2017 walking in complete freedom.Experiencing freedom in Christ changes your character and your heart posture. Although I'm human and bound to make mistakes, I will be able to love and serve the team I lead and the church as a whole with grace." - Mariah Bullock

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