In a social media age where everything is Google analyzed, Facebook liked and Twitter followed, how can we find rest in creativity?
I recently created a Facebook page as a virtual lounge for friends of the blog to hang out offline. It’s a great way to share photos, encouraging links and spontaneous updates, because each person has control over the time and place to view and enjoy them.
What I didn’t expect was a weekly report. I received an email containing numbers on the performance of my Facebook page: number of visits and updates posted.
Everywhere we digitally turn, technology offers us stats and graphs. Social media tools are used to effectively grow influence. This works well in business, where the goal is converting leads to customers. Not in expressions of faith.
When the goal of creating is to influence, we lose the experience of creative rest.
Creativity as God designed it transports us from a place of stress to a place of soul rest.
We enter that place of creative rest to deepen our walk with God.
Creativity is an act of faith, trusting that God is at work in us.
Blogging: A Creative Exploration
As a writer and blogger, I receive emails from friends who are interested in starting a blog. Blogging is one of the most exciting and collective-Edison inventions of our century. As of today, there are over 157 million public blogs in existence with 27,000 blogs created in the past 24 hours of me writing this post.
If you were to Google the word “blogging”, one of the top links offers tips to make money blogging. But blogging is not just for those who run a business. Blogging is a powerful creative outlet that can connect you with others who share a passion for the same things you value.
Because many creative interests are merging with blogging (photography, art, music, crafts and other hobbies), I wanted to share a primary difference between blogging for faith versus blogging for money or notoriety.
Blogging (Or Engaging In Any Creative Activity) For Faith
We all engage in creative activities — like blogging — in order to find our voice and to connect with each other. This is the thrill of finding something you love doing that God gives as a gift. For the writerly or book lover types, we love words. There’s something in us that finds release, recreation and rest when we blog. And we can’t get enough of it. It’s a blessing.
But this blogosphere is dressed to the nines with tips on generating traffic, comments, subscribers… the list goes on and on. The focus is on the numbers.
Whenever we start talking about numbers, my soul guard goes up.
Numbers can never inspire us. Numbers should not define or control us. Especially if we are blogging for faith.
If numbers cause you to feel discouraged, I’d like encourage you with some numbers that Jesus — the most important Author who has written the best seller on faith — worked with:
12 disciples,
1 woman in Samaria,
3 with him in Gethsamane,
2 thieves, and
2 women when he first resurrected.
You might ask, “What about the crowds? The thousands he fed?” I say look at the one boy’s small lunch He gave thanks for and blessed.
Jesus is focused on each of us, as individuals, one at a time.
When He sees our words (and your creative endeavors) drafted in our corners, He values them as priceless treasures.
Jesus never looked at numbers, but kept His gaze on one person and one goal: His Father’s pleasure.
Just like the crowds coming and going, traffic can dwindle and even disperse. This does not deter us.
We recreate, we blog for a higher purpose. That purpose is resting in God’s pleasure, because we are His children — the ones who walk, sleep, and breathe with our proverbial pens.
“For the one who has entered His rest
has himself also rested from his works,
as God did from His.”
~ Hebrews 4:10
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What creative activities bring you to a place of rest?
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*We’re in an ongoing series in March — Whitespace: Restoring Rest. Check out our topic for today and next week’s!
*** NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN — FAITH BARISTA JAM! ***
Faith Barista Jam Thursdays — I serve up a topic of faith, you write the post. Let’s encourage each other. Add your voice. Swap our stories.
Today’sTopic 3/10: Pick one: Share your craving and journey for rest in creativity, community or adventure.
Share your post by clicking on the blue button below “Add Your Link” or just comment directly.
Next Thursday’s Topic 3/17:
Share your your journey to find physical rest.
Approach it any way you feel inspired! Only required ingredient: keep it real. Thanks for serving your personal brews!
Build the Keep Fresh Fresh Community: Link back to Faith Barista or Grab the HTML Code For March’s Special Unwrapping Love Faith Jam Badge
It’s a jam session. As time allows, say hi & drop a comment when visiting the community faith blends!
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55 Comments
I actually JUST blogged about this same issue, because I was struggling with it too. The creative activities that bring me rest are writing, reading, and music. I’m trying to get back to having more of that in my daily life.
That’s a powerful trio of creative rest, Maureen! Great to “see” you!
Creative activities that bring me rest are sewing/quilting; writing, photography, cooking and cleaning. Yes I said cleaning. Its not creative really but its something I do when I am stressed beyond the point of no return! Making quilt tops and then eventually getting them quilted is the top choice. I can be at complete rest when I am sitting at my sewing machine with all the colors of fabric surrounding me. When I feel like I am not creative or need help to be creative I pull out fabric and then ideas start flowing!
Have a good day!
Lisa, what a great combination of restful creativity that benefits your home – cleanliness and fabrics of quilt adds such color and art.
I really appreciate this post. The timing is so perfect for me. A lot of people ask me why I blog, and now I have the perfect response, “Creative rest!” Because it is not about the numbers. Thank you!
Alright, Courtney! 🙂
Journaling brings rest. Journaling is just between me and God.
That’s when the words flow…
It is so easy to try to live life by the numbers. I do it and find that it stresses me out. There’s not much rest there and I forget to live in and enjoy the moment when I’m too wrapped up in numbers.
Thanks for sharing, Rose.
I agree completely! So many blogging communities and “advice columns” focus on improving your blog stats and earning big money. I fell heavily into that for a while. Over the past several months, though, I have been convicted about what the purpose of my blog should be. I’m still refining exactly what that looks like, but I believe I’m on the right path.
Thanks, Bonnie, for sharing your thoughts and for hosting the Jam.
May your path bring you to a creative and restful discovery that fuels your blog Frugal Creativity, Melissa!
This is so good. Blogging is my outlet and I pray it helps someone else but it helps me more than anyone. And to be honest if it helps one person if it’s me then, it’s accomplished something. Numbers aren’t important.
That’s beautiful soul writing, Jennifer!
[…] more on rest: See Bonnie Gray’s Thursday Faith Jam post: “Creative Rest: It’s Not About the Numbers.” Share and […]
This is a wonderful reminder for all who blog Bonnie. The number game can be so stressful, especially when we measure our worth or success based on the number of page views or retweets or whatever else.
I’m regularly surprised which posts end up resonating the most with my readers. The faith aspect of writing is so important to grasp–trusting to hear God as we write and then wait on him for the results. Your example of Jesus is right on, and it mirrors the story of the Old Testament prophets who were the laughing stock of their times and rejected by the religious establishment. Their story is one that reminds me that we’ll never be satisfied until we are content with the praise that comes from God alone.
“We’ll never be satisfied until we are content with the praise that comes from God alone.” This is where faith leads us in our journey to write. Love this, Ed.
Bonnie, this post is such a treasure. How you point out creativity, and the thing about the soul guard going up when we talk about numbers, and this:
“Jesus is focused on each of us, as individuals, one at a time.”
May I be like Jesus!
Bonnie, you are a blessing to me (as an individual, one at a time).
THANK YOU, Monica! What a blessing…
Thanks so much for this post (and all the ones on rest). God has been teaching me quite a bit about surrender and rest, these days, too! =) Words, running, and writing (in a journal or on a blog) are definitely the things that bring me to a place of rest. Writing and blogging for faith are definitely great blessings, encouraging and upholding my faith… I don’t receive comments on my blog or read the stats, but at times friends whom I would least expect to read it bring it up in conversation tell me how it encouraged them. There’s movement happening even when we can’t see it or know the signs =) And journaling… It’s like a life breath; a way God and I talk 🙂
“There’s movement happening even when we can’t see it or know the sign. Journaling….It’s like a life breath; a way God and I talk” Love this, Heather. Beautiful!
Heather I love how you said this…
Thank you, Bonnie… for saying what all of else are probably thinking and feeling. When I set up my page of facebook, I had the same reaction to the stats email that was sent without my request and I admit that it immediately threw me into a headspace that I had no intention of entering.
Knowing that you are being “evaluated” on something that you began simply for enjoyment, seems to… well, take a little of the JOY out of it and make it work.
I’m so comforted to know that others feel the way I do… and that gives me even more encouragement to just relax :0)
May God bless you in your creative endeavors, Tracye!
Sometimes we just need to stop and sit down and play a little.
Simply said, David! 😉
Great post! A while back I would have said that blogging was my form of creative rest. . .my new form of journaling. But as you so thoroughly expressed, the numbers have gotten in the way and it no longer seems like rest but rather a job I must do to keep up. Thank you for being willing to address this topic that so many of us struggle with. Lately, I am focusing more on spiritual disciplines such as true and private journaling and prayer as my creative rest.
True and private journaling… this holds eternal value God see. Thanks, Jessica!
Refreshing perspective — I came back to read it a second time today.
Hi Cassandra!
[…] at Faith Barista’s Thursday Jam, a group of fellow writers and I have chosen to explore the topic of Rest for the month of […]
Thanks you for your wonderful words of wisdom today! Blogging is truly a wonderful creative outlet and also a very special way for me to share my faith! Through blogging I have read so many wonderful stories of faith that have blessed my heart so much and I consider it an honor and a privilege to be able to share my life and faith in this way!
May you continue to bless others with this joy you shared here with us, Brecken!
I love this…it is oh, so true. 🙂
I have found just straight up time in prayer, mediation, journaling and chatting with God that I find rest. Having that close, inmate, personal relationship with Him prompts rest into my soul and spirit.
The seeds of contemplation provide a faith harvest of words. Keep pouring, Marni!
Painting and scrapbooking help bring me to place of rest. Writing does also if I don’t focus on writing for others, but for just me and God.
Amy, so you’re an artist with paints and memories, too! 🙂
“Jesus is focused on each of us, as individuals, one at a time.”
Yes. This is where I am dwelling…this gives me rest. Thank you for your wise words, Bonnie.
I have a hard time keeping up with weekly postings -for any topic- because I feel pressured to write something, even when I can’t think of anything to write. Which is why I don’t always join in here – and why I didn’t this week! Not because I didn’t have anything valuable to say; because I needed rest from the pressure of performing. (No pressure from you, just the high standard of excellence I put on myself. Half hearted is not good enough for me!)
I did think about rest this week. A lot. I jotted down some thoughts, but one thought really grabbed hold: If we are always doing something, always creating – whether it’s writing, sewing, painting, whatever, then there is no time left to gather new ideas for new projects. It’s in the in between times – the rest times – that the new ideas come.
I’ve found in writing about faith that when I pour my soul out through the keyboard, it takes me a couple of weeks to recover. That time is just what I need, though, to do it all over again.
This post really resonated with me today Bonnie! Thanks for sharing your struggle and your heart.
Analytics can be a bit of a bugaboo. My brother controls my access to my blog’s analytics. It’s both a blessing and a bane. The numbers are interesting, but because I can only see them 4-7 days after a post, I don’t obsess over them. Maps have always fascinated me, so getting that map and seeing all the different places in the world where people have been reading the words I put out there is a lot of fun. I miss the access to the interactive map, though. I like being able to guess who read in different cities—that’s the bane.
Not having direct access to the numbers helps keep them from being my goal. I write because the words need a place to go. Having people read them and respond to them is an extra blessing.
Bonnie, I’m so glad you addressed the FB numbers. I just delete the email updates for those. It really isn’t about the numbers. It’s about the lounging and sharing. Thank you for your new cafe at FB. I love lounging there and being refreshed. I’m so blessed.
I’m late, but I’m here. 🙂 This month I have some big pressing deadlines, so rest is hard to come by. Next month I’ll be buried in a new project that I hope goes faster than I expect. But I’m trying to snatch moments of rest here and there so I don’t deplete myself. My post is about one little moment I grabbed last week.
Great topic. Thanks for hosting Jamwithme Thursdays.
Well, I am a little late this week as I was last week, but this exploration into rest has fit so naturally with what God has been speaking to me already. I think this is what I would have been writing about this month even without the prompt. I am grateful however to be able to read so many others’ thoughts on the matter though as it is so very relevant. Gotta love the JAM!
[…] Just Can’t… by Lindsey 5. What Cheap Grace May Be Costing Your Organization by Michael Hyatt 6. Creative Rest: It’s Not About The Numbers by Bonnie Gray 7. NO QUIT MONDAYS…OR WEDNESDAYS by Mike Foster 8. Ask the Lord of the Harvest to […]
Reading a good novel or short story or blog by someone whose writing skills send goose bumps through my soul soothes and refreshes me. The turn and color of these words thrill me and fill me with awe. They give a glimpse of something I may not have thought about or seen and bring into focus one more tantalizing thing in life and in faith. Words have almost magical powers for me because if they are communicating from a deep place within another person, I learn just one more precious truth. Through this kind of experience, I come away enriched and deeper…changed and recreated.
Oh, I SO crave rest in creativity!! But there’s this day job that pays the bills (and the college tuitions). It’s tough.
So I grab moments of creativity, and it helps renew my spirit.
I’ve been reading a lot about “SEO optimization” and “creating high-traffic content” to prepare for launching a faith blog. And honestly it’s left a bad taste in my mouth.
But you’re so right. Blogging for faith is an entirely different ballgame. It’s so easy to get caught up in building numbers and stats, but faith by its nature demands authenticity. Thank you for this breath of fresh air!
I love blogging! It has been such a joy getting to meet so many wonderful people through this venue. I’ve even had the pleasure of meeting some in person. I’ve never been disappointed as I’ve gotten to know their hearts through their writings. I enjoy the give and take of writing and commenting on other blogs. Sometimes I nod in agreement and other times I am so challenged.
But it can be all too easy to look at how many ‘followers’ I have. You remind us that Jesus had 12 disciples and one of the 12 betrayed Him.
I hope I would continue to blog even if only one person read my post. After all, that may be the person that needed it the most.
Blessings and love to you Bonnie. I’m on spring break this week so I hope to participate this Thursday.
Debbie
Thanks so much for this! I am reading it a bit late, as we were gone for a week to visit our daughter & family in Dallas. I loved your words on blogging … thinking of it as creative expression, and “resting in God’s pleasure”, using our gifts and passions for Him. There is such a pull to focus on the numbers … thanks for your refreshing words. My “rest” in creativity often comes from … blogging, scrapbooking, card-making, reading, journaling, and seeking to be creative in cooking and other areas of homemaking. Thanks again … I am refreshed by your words and by the other comments left here …
I know I’m late – I’m like that you know. Don’t have to wrestle the traffic that way
Hope it’s ok for the link above button thingamajigy I added an older post that I was reminded of when reading this. Thanks for this time of rest. I enjoyed the visit.
Bonnie, I love this {like you’ve ever written anything I haven’t loved}!! Truly, you explain better than most why and how God sees our individual hearts, not our stats. Just like when I do the dishes or laundry or a hundred other things at home, I want to write for His pleasure…as if He’s the only one watching. Although I certainly enjoy writing more than laundry.
Just sayin’. 🙂
Love you, girl!
I blog – when I have time – to be creative. And yes, we must blog because we are fulfilling the purpose God created us for. http://wordsfromgodfortoday.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-for.html
I love this Bonnie. I love blogging and sharing what God is teaching me through His word and experiences with others yet at times I wonder if it is really worth it and I think of that one comment I receive and it makes it worthwhile. My creative outlets are journaling, reading, journaling and baking Paleo friendly goodies.
Thank you for reminding us the importance of not focusing on numbers.