“Make something new” is a mindset and a way of living. It’s an artistic, entrepreneurial, and, dare I say, Christian response to the full range of joys, sufferings, and almost anything else we experience or encounter. I believe that spending our lives with a bent toward making new things is not only good but tremendously important. Through making new things, we bring healing to ourselves and others, we expand one another, and we participate with God as He is making all things new. Making something new can look like artistic work, a new business endeavor, starting a monthly game night with friends, or intentionally investing in the culture and dynamic of your home. When I live with the mindset of making new things, I live proactively. I’m searching for ways to contribute, to add, and to give whatever I have. Instead of racking my brain for solutions to my problems, a “make something new” mindset leads me to ask the Lord, “What new thing are you making in me? And give me wisdom about how you want me to participate with You in making new things from this.”

Striving to be a creative genius is exhausting, and trying to be cool just doesn’t work for me. It’s stressful, and I’m terrible at it. Thankfully, it seems that people don’t care all that much how impressive I am. What matters to others is how my work and my life serves them, expands them, and adds value to their lives. Serving, adding value, and “making gifts” are way more fun and rewarding anyway.

I try to work from significance rather than for it. I am significant, and my life matters because God made me, loves me, and has gifted me with my life, talents, passions, and experiences. Working from significance makes my work fun, and it actually makes me more ambitious, not less. In Christ, there is no longer pressure to earn my place in this world. I can freely offer what I have today and lean into growth.

My moodiness kills my productivity. I’m trying to remember that how I feel at any given moment isn’t all that trustworthy. In general, I try not to let my feelings take the lead. I don’t ignore them, but I’m not going to let them drive my decision-making. It helps me to have a contract with myself that I’m just gonna do the next right thing no matter how I’m feeling about life, myself, or the task at hand. Things like habits, routines, goals, and planning help when I feel low. They are investments that help me develop skills and character even on my worst days. To be honest, I have days when I feel like burning all my work. I’ve learned that I probably just need to keep going and get good sleep. I typically feel much more optimistic the next day.

As an artist, creating is only half the work. The other half is sharing the work. I know a lot of artists hate the idea of “selling” their work to others. But the reality is that fruitfulness in creative work requires promoting it. That being the case, I deeply value learning how to promote my work well. I don’t care to fight the system on this, and I don’t harbor illusions that my creative work is so spectacularly genius that I can be the exception to the rule. I want to do the work of an artist. I want it to be my job. So, I’m committed to being good at the whole job. If I hate and/or am terrible at parts of the job, I try to partner with people who can do those things.

When was the last time you were amazed by the fact that planting one tiny seed can yield a tree of fruitfulness? I try not to cultivate and “hustle” as if it’s all up to me. But God’s generous design does encourage me to plant and cultivate diligently. God has placed us in a sowing and reaping world. In His sovereignty, He has given us some sense of choice and agency. The world is full of potentialities because God is generous. He has called me to work, cultivate, and bear fruit.

I can do hard, scary, and uncomfortable things, and I try to lean into them. I’ve learned that there aren’t risky decisions and safe decisions. Every choice I make is a risk because I’m not God and don’t know what will happen. If a decision feels safe, I ask myself what staying comfortable is costing me because decisions with no felt cost are often the most costly. It is wise to evaluate potential dangers and threats, but it’s also wise to consider that moving forward might be worth the cost.