Where You’re Faking It
-An exclusive excerpt from Allen’s new book-
The art of creating well begins with the art of living well.
Trueness in your talent doesn’t just magically appear on the canvas. It flows from a trueness in you first. And that trueness flows from you staying attached to God.
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 NLT)
Yet compromised living results in compromised creativity. Not sometimes, but every time. It disconnects us from the people and things that matter most.
Your creativity reveals more than you might realize. What you give birth to includes both your strengths and blind spots. Your creations can’t surpass your thoughts, your imagination, or your life with God and others.
Where you’re faking it, your work will be less true. Where you haven’t gone, your creations can’t follow.
If our connection to God or others is weak, we will experience less power in our lives and creativity. My daughter experienced a similar situation with her laptop. It’s an older model and was no longer able to stay charged without the power cord plugged in at all times. We thought the battery needed replacement. Or maybe it was a motherboard issue. The diagnosis turned out to be much simpler.
The pink power cord she’d recently bought for the color wasn’t high quality. It was pretty but incredibly low quality. The connection wasn’t allowing the laptop to charge well. We bought a new power cord, and suddenly her computer was back to normal.
Where is our connection with God and others compromised? It’s worth asking. Because to create well, we first need to live well.
That’s why the creative process doesn’t end with creation…but includes connection.
(From The Creativity Glitch: How to Stop Being Stuck, Find Your Groove, & Create with God. Copyright © 2026 Allen Arnold.)
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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