Thriv’era | We Are Creative | “Inside the Marble”
Thriv’era…
challenges us to move with thoughtful purpose toward a deepened sense of identity—that we are spirited, creative, and connected people, called to be present, grateful, generous, and missional with our lives.
Together, we are exploring what it means to live into these rhythms in ways that help us bring some good to each moment, something better to each day, and our best to each other as we encounter the world together.
We are… Creative
As image-bearers of the Divine, we are creative people—designed by grace to participate in God’s ongoing making. We thrive as creative people by discovering our identity and purpose, honoring the sacred impulse to make, and cultivating wonder, imagination, and innovation for the sake of love.
| WELCOME | SETTING THE INTENTION |
Pause for a quiet moment to settle in. Notice your breathing. Let yourself arrive.
Spend a few moments looking at this image.
- What do you notice first?
- What stands out most to you?
- What feeling does this image create in you?
- What details make you curious?
- What story might this image be telling?
- If this image had a sound or a mood, what would it be like?
Centering | Creative Thriving
Read this slowly:
“All that matters is that you are making something you love… here and now.” ~ Rick Rubin
Let the words settle, then reflect:
- What word or phrase stands out to you?
- What feels inviting in this quote?
- What feels challenging?
- In what way does Rubin’s quote invite you to see creativity not only as art, but as participation— noticing what stirs, making room for wonder, and bringing something faithful into being for the sake of love?
Scripture Connection | God Breathed Creativity | Exodus 35:30-35
“See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel… he has filled him with divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge, and with every kind of skill…”
Reflect on these questions:
- What do you notice in this passage?
- What does it suggest about creativity and God?
- What does the passage suggest about skill, beauty, and purpose?
Story | Insight the Marble
Years ago, Nancy Lee and I traveled through Italy and spent time in Florence—a city that feels steeped in creativity. Walking those streets, I remembered a story Henri Nouwen tells about a little boy who passed an artist’s studio on his way to school.
Inside the studio, the boy saw a young Michelangelo circling a massive block of marble. Day after day, the artist studied it—touching the surface, tracing the ridges, imagining what might be hidden inside. Weeks later, the boy returned and saw that the marble had been transformed. There, emerging from the stone, was a lion—alive, powerful, and full of presence, as if it had been waiting there all along.
Filled with wonder, the boy asked, “How did you know the lion was inside the marble?”
Whether Michelangelo ever actually said it or not, the insight remains: creativity is not always about making something out of nothing. Often, it is about seeing what is already there—and having the courage to reveal it.
That is part of the Creative rhythm.
We are not asked to perform or impress. We are invited to notice, to trust what stirs, and to participate in God’s ongoing making. The Creative rhythm helps us discover identity and purpose, honor the sacred impulse to make, and cultivate wonder, imagination, and innovation for the sake of love.
Reflection
- What part of this story stands out to you?
- Have you ever had a moment when you could suddenly “see” something that had been hidden?
- When have you made, shaped, repaired, or named something that mattered?
- What helps you trust that creativity is not only for “artists,” but for ordinary life?
Creative Conversation
- What is something you loved to make, build, draw, imagine, fix, or invent as a child?
- When in your life have you felt most creative? What were you doing? What made that season come alive?
- What is something creative that comes naturally to you? What is something you have had to grow into over time?
- Have you ever believed the lie, “I’m not creative”? Where do you think that came from?
- What helps you make room for wonder in daily life?
- What is something hidden in you—or in your life right now—that may be waiting to be revealed, shaped, or offered?
- What is one small, faithful act of creativity you could practice this week for the sake of love?
A Creative Manifesto
As children of God, we are creative people.
We refuse the lie that creativity belongs to “the talented few.”
We choose participation over performance.
We pay attention to what stirs.
We honor small beginnings.
We chip away at what distracts and diminishes.
We make room for wonder.
We give imagination a place to land.
We bring form to what is hidden.
We create for the sake of love.
And when we are tempted to say, “I’m not creative,” we will ask instead:
What in me is waiting to be revealed—and offered?
Brief Reflection
- Which line of the manifesto feels most true for you right now?
- Which line feels most challenging?
Refrain
As a child of God, I am a creative person—willing to participate in God’s ongoing making.
As a group, say the Refrain aloud together once or twice, slowly. Then reflect on these questions:
- What word or phrase in this Refrain stands out to you?
- What might it look like to participate in God’s ongoing making this week?
Prayer Intention
Gracious God, you are the Source of all imagination. Awaken in us the courage to notice what stirs, the freedom to make room for wonder, and the wisdom to bring faithful form to what love asks of us. Free us from fear and performance. Teach us to participate in your ongoing making with humility, joy, and purpose. In the name of Christ, Amen.
Blessing
May you thrive as a creative child of God. May you discover who you are and why you are here, and may your growing clarity of identity and purpose help you honor the sacred impulse to create. May wonder wake you, imagination steady you, and innovation give form to love—so that what is hidden within you becomes a gift for the world.