Behind the scenes: Our creative process & where the magic happens!

Plus a case study | Reuben Morgan & his incredible songs

Photo by Semyon Borisov on Unsplash

When we were first married, we didn't have a lot of furniture. There was the old green sofa that Cass's family kindly donated to us. And someone gave us the old black-and-white T.V. that mysteriously turned color one day. That was a good day!

We only had a few things that we bought ourselves. We were just young, we didn't have much money, and we were okay with that. And as with many other young, married couples, we purchased a few things from IKEA.

The infamous flatpack.

Some people love them, and other people hate them. And the instructions that come with them are self-explanatory to some people and may as well be in a foreign language for others. I've heard countless stories of husbands and wives having trouble assembling IKEA furniture together. It's a cliche of modern preaching. Does anyone agree?

But personally, I like the process of putting IKEA furniture together. I like following the instructions. I like finding all the pieces and seeing them all come together step by step. But I realize other people don't enjoy it. They refrain from using the instructions, don't follow the steps, and find the whole thing frustrating.

We're all different and uniquely created, which is a good thing.

To be honest with you all, I've been second-guessing myself since last week when we sent out our post on the creative process - worried that the thought of "systematizing" creativity would turn off our readers. 

Cass's side note: Not only was he wondering, but he also changed the title! Did you notice? 🙄

The self-doubt probably started because I’m the type of person who likes to follow the instructions in IKEA furniture, and I know full well that others don't (even some people I share my desk with 😜). In fact, I'm painfully aware that for some people, the idea of creating a formula or a process for creating things is "anti-art" or even "anti-Holy Spirit." They, or perhaps you, prefer to go with the flow and see what happens.

We all see the world through our own eyes and
think the way we see it is the right way to see it. 

The reality is you can't help the way you go about things, and neither can I. And in a fortunate turn of events, that's what I was trying to say last week. We're all unique and have "a way" of going about the things we do.

But there's a challenge to all this.

I meet a lot of Christian creatives, and they all have big dreams to do big things for God with their lives. They hold onto verses like Jeremiah 29:11, which we all know says;

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

And yet, they haven't seen the "future" they are hoping for. Instead, they're wondering why things have gone wrong. They constantly ask themselves, "Why does it all work for some people and not others?"

I don't have all the answers, but I invite you to consider the following;