"Creativity and ego cannot go together; but if you free yourself from the comparing and the jealous mind, creativity opens up endlessly."

-Jeong Kwan

I was scanning through some articles in a photography blog that I follow and caught an article by Rajib Mukherjee (https://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/creative-jealousy-and-how-to-deal-with-it-as-a-photographer/) featuring thoughts a photographer named Sean Tucker. He shared about how he struggles with creative envy. I certainly resonate with this as I go through seasons from time time to time, when because of spiraling down into jealous thoughts of others’ successes, I fail to be who I am best at being. I love the first thought shared by Chef Jeong Kwan as featured in Chef’s Table.

I commit to focussing on being the most excellent version of me.

"Remember that the mark of a [great] professional is that they run their own race; they're not constantly comparing themselves to others. They're not threatened by the work that other produce. They’re too busy doing what they do. They don’t allow jealousy to take up emotional and mental space."

-Sean Tucker

A number of years back, I was asked to design a stand to support the new system for parents to use to check their kids in. Design requirements:

My process began as I considered the pros and cons of a repurposed video conferencing stand that someone had wanted to use because it was all that was imagined up until I was asked. I quickly sketched a couple possible concepts that allowed us the freedom to take some time and research what we wanted to develop. We iterated through a number of options before sending the design to the manufacturer.

They remain in active use over 6 years later!

Lot’s of you ask about what volunteering as part of the Troy Production & Arts team is like. This video let’s some of our volunteers tell you in their own words!

So grateful to get to play with these guys every week! I’ll be proud to wear my hoodie and think about these friends and the path to victory we experienced.

I snapped this passage from a magazine to share with my team. Beyond just being for a video director, these are good thoughts to contemplate regardless of our position - serving the artistic vision and the thrill of live production when supporting and enhancing art and communication

Scarcity can lead to clarity

Love supersedes laws

Let grace win

If they’re ever in battle, let Love win!

The mystery of Jesus is beautiful to me!!

My "ministry" should be about other people’s dreams.

Prophecy - seeing what God sees and sharing what He would share

"Artists" are willing to take risks

Be willing to change "uniforms" and wear the one that fits your identity best

Be you. Be free!

Life sometimes still holds the necessary mundane. But it is a mobis that is also flying on Aslan’s back...

The best words cannot capture the greatest experience. Jesus’ revelation!

Forgot the past; He is writing a new book.

Here is the exercise I did in trying to outline talking points to tell my story in 10 minutes. (It took closer to 20 than 10, but…) the exercise in having it written was really good for me!

Additional thoughts:

In PR - With my family and/or me in the tree

Building blocks in PR

The Scouts - Philmont?

Breakaway

Baseball pic with me the Allstar SS next to my huge Catcher

Houseboat waterskiing

Ceramics - realizing that there’s something to art - beauty in asymmetry

My dad dying

Realizing

Juarez

Crossroads -

Wedding

Part of the team going into the building (video, learning from some great men)

Launching Genesis

Traveling?

Learning what the Work of God is

End of Genesis

Strengths and becoming even more truly me when no longer responsible for doing everything on my own

The boys!! - Our adoption story

Coaching and revealing beauty to enhance story

I have been thinking a lot about team. I suspect that many of our attenders would love to feel less overworked and stressed that they never get to breathe as they move from event to event to event with no end to tunnel of expectation. I suggest it’s actually a simple fix if there is a paradigm shift in what the job is. A true FILO ought to always be thinking about how our real job as Production Directors (or discipline leads for that matter) and is not to "do" a task, but rather to lead volunteers into a place they can serve as part of the Body of Christ. Let’s encourage our attenders to focus their energy on praying (Matt. 9:38) through who they invite with them to partner on the project. Let’s challenge our FILOs to see success as "working themselves out of a job" by training a volunteer to find their greatness in task rather than stooping to the lowest common denominator of finding identity as doing the task themselves.

Related, it’s important to remember that what we do with our "clock punching" and serving may be a virtuous thing, but it is vital to maintain the perspective that it is not the Work of God (John 6:29) - the Work of God is to believe in in Jesus, "ministry is simply a context for us to lift up Jesus as we help fill our position in the Body of Christ.

Initial ideation:

What about ideas of seeing the difference between a "one man band" and a conductor of an orchestra?