The Plow Creative

I want to be better

The past month I have felt a healthy amount of discontentment with my life. Not with the things I have, but how I live. Do the passions of my life live up to standards that have been set before me? Do I strive to become the best that I can be? And do I really care to put in the hard work? Here are 3 areas in my life that I feel God is not so gently pushing me to improve.

MY WALK
My walk with the Lord has a long history of high peaks and low valleys. I have heard the same tale from many people, and I had sort of just accepted that this is the way life is. But it’s not how it was meant to be. I know life isn’t all cherries and roses, but it is meant to be filled with the joy of the Lord. And I need to reclaim that joy. What I’m doing:

1. Starting off each morning with prayer. Not just prayer for my day, but prayer that the Spirit will lead me each day. Prayer that scripture will come alive to me every time I read. And prayer that I will have a renewed passion for my God.
2. Daily reading of scripture. This sounds lame to even write that this is something I need to work on, because it is so basic, but I need it. I am reading less, but listening more. Spending time in the word needs to be less about how much I get through, and more about knowing God. And lastly time with others. Finding other men around me and sharing what I am going through. There is no point in going through this alone, that is not how we were created to live.

MY FAMILY
My family has always been a very high priority for me. I love and cherish each of them, but looking back at my life I realize I have not loved them as I should. My wife needs a leader and my kids need an example. I have become very relaxed in my routine, and I need to reclaim this. What I’m doing:

1. I am starting out by doing the most simple thing; listening. I listen to the needs of my wife. I listen to the needs of my kids. I take what I hear and I try my best to act on it. Making time for my wife to be heard and loved. And showing my kids that their joys and struggles are real and important. And that they have a living God that is alive in all aspect of their lives.
2. Living as an example. Showing them that God is my first priority. Taking charge in the tough decisions. And doing all of that with grace and love.

MY WORK
For the past 3 year my work has been overwhelming. Finding time to catch my breath is few and far between. But God has given me a window of time right now to slow down, and make changes. I need to rethink what I do, and how I do it. Am I a person who just creates pretty images, or is my goal to visually tell a story? What I’m doing:

1. Well, I started by just taking a deep breath. I slowed down and looked at everything that I had. God has blessed me with a wonderful group to work with, each with their own strengths. And I have clients that give me the opportunity to create freely.
2. Taking time to study my craft. Blogs, books, videos and tutorials they are all tools given to me, and I would be a fool to ignore them. I can never become comfortable where I am at, I need to keep pressing forward.