Do This Before Midnight

Here at the close of 2025, it’s good to consider how you feel about your creative efforts this past year.

For many, the answer is less than you’d hoped. There just wasn’t enough time. Or perhaps a lack of interest in your project from others. Maybe you felt stuck—too worn out at the end of a long day to make any headway. 

It’s tempting to think if you could just escape all current commitments, then things could come together. The creative dream could finally become a reality. After all, if God is calling us to do it then surely he’ll clear every obstacle so we can focus on it 100 percent. Right?

That’s not been my experience with what God’s called me to do. Nor, does it seem, that of the apostle Paul. The writer of more than half the New Testament books was on a clear mission from God. You’d think he could focus on that calling with no distractions. But here’s the reality…

During the same time…Paul made tents. Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. (Acts 18:3 NLT)

Dream making and tent making aren’t mutually exclusive categories. They often go hand-in-hand. There's no guarantee of income from our God-given creativity. Painters may need to build decks to pay the bills. Deck builders may need to paint for income. We all have to make a living as we pursue our dreams. 

So before the new year begins, take a moment to sit with this truth. At the deepest level, we don't create for validation. Nor do we create just because we're paid to do so. Ultimately, we create because we're born to do so. Always with God. And often while still making tents.

This reading was crafted to encourage your pursuit of story and creativity with God. Your donation makes this crowd-funded initiative possible. You can support it via PAYPAL (or by check to Allen Arnold at PO Box 62841, Colorado Springs, CO 80962).

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