A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking and juggling at “Junior Jam” at Cedarville University. There were about 1,000 elementary-aged kids and all of their adult chaperones. It was a lot of fun. But one of my favorite parts was teaching a workshop to the adults about creativity. We started with Scripture: how God created everything and how we are made in His image (Genesis 1). That means that we are creative too! Our creativity is built into our very nature and is meant to be a way to reflect God’s glory back to Him.
So we broke up into groups and everybody worked on something creative (it could be anything: a poem, a sculpture, a drawing, a song, a skit, etc.). We then held an adult “show and tell” time where we shared our creations with one another. It was very encouraging and we were reminded that creativity is right there inside all of us – a gift from God.
Here is a poem from one of the participants (with her permission, of course):
Creativity
by Leanne Kniffen
The day dawned early – 5 A.M.
We loaded the cars for Junior Jam
“It’s for the kids to become wise”
But lo and behold to our surprise –
We learned
Through ‘Jesse the Juggler’s’ creative tricks
And Heartsong blessing us with their lips
The message of Christ came to us all
In different forms, down different halls
It’s not just for the kids we began to see
God’s creativity lives in me.
