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People ask me all the time, “Matt, how do I know that I am on the right track? How do I know that I am following God’s best for my life?” It’s a great question and one that I’ve asked myself many times as I’ve journeyed through life. Over the years, I’ve learned two keys that have helped me find and stay on the path God has for my life and my art.
Start By Following the Favor One of the things that I have done over the years that has served me well is what I call “Follow the Favor.” It’s easy. Look around in your life and pay attention to see where God is moving. Pay special attention to:
All of these are clues that point to your divine design and purpose. And as you continue saying “Yes” to the opportunities and open doors, faithfully using the natural talents you’ve been given, your confidence will begin to grow. As you are faithful to use the opportunities, open doors, and skills He’s trusted you with; God will continue to show up in your life in huge ways. Find Your People Surrounding yourself with other Kingdom-minded artists is one of the best ways to confirm you’re on the right track. Why? Well, it’s simple. The enemy loves to isolate and separate God’s kids. He loves to get us on our own and fill our heads with lies and fill us full of fear and doubt. Lies like:
But when you surround yourself with others that are in your “tribe,” your people, all of a sudden, you begin to see yourself and your journey in a whole new light. You begin to realize, “Hey, I am not as weird as I thought I was,” especially when you start to connect with other artists who are called to serve the Kingdom of God with their gifts and talents. And in that place of connectedness, there is an incredible grace that gets released. When you stop trying to do life and art on your own and start walking with others on the same journey, faith, momentum, acceleration, and breakthrough become your new normal. This Might Be Just What You’re Looking For Now, I can’t think of a better way to surround yourself with other artists in the Kingdom than to be a part of my Artist Rise Up Masterclass + Art Challenge that is going on right now. We kicked things off on Monday, January 18th, but there is still plenty of time for you to grab a seat at this world-wide event if you haven’t already signed up. Click Here To Learn More about my FREE Artist Rise Up Masterclass With two more art challenges, two more lessons, and two more incredible prizes left to give away (an Apple® Ipad and a Mac® Book Air), I encourage you to click the link above and join us on this journey if you are not already a part of the masterclass. I hope this has been an encouragement, and I can’t wait to connect with you in Artist Rise Up.
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I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to hit the reset button after the year we just had. If you’re reaching for that button in your life, then I want to share with you four things that will absolutely help you get rebooted, reset, and ready for what God has in store for your life and art in 2021.
Vision You know, the Bible says that without a vision, the people perish. Unless you have a clear view of who God has called you to be, what He has called you to do, where He is leading you, and what He has for you this year, then you may end up very frustrated. If you find yourself adrift in a sea of doubt, fear, and uncertainty, then I encourage you to go get with Jesus. Take some time away, a few hours or maybe even a couple of days, to get alone with the Lord. Ask Him to show you what He has for you this year in your life, family, art, and business. The clarity you get will form the seed of a vision that you can cultivate in your life. And as you are faithful to nurture this vision, it begins to release clear direction for everything going on in your life. Vision speeds you down the road when things are good and keeps you on the road when things are bad. Why? Because vision informs everything in our life. Belief What you believe deep in your heart is as important as what you see for your future. When you cultivate God-centric Kingdom-focused beliefs in your heart, they inform and shape all of your thoughts and actions. Why? Because what you believe deep in your heart is the fruit of the thoughts and ideas you meditate and focus on day in and day out. Your beliefs are the faith-colored glasses through which you embrace and engage the vision God has established for your life. Vision gives you the path to follow while illuminating the Kingdom-focused truths and concepts you should be cultivating in your heart and mind. Vision, coupled with a well-cultivated belief, also serves as an early warning system against spiritual attacks. When the enemy comes and throws crazy pictures, thoughts, and lies in your mind, you have a strong foundation from which to say, “NO! This lie does not align with God’s vision for my life or look anything like what He is showing me. Renew Your Mind A couple of scriptures that I love are Romans 12:2 and Proverbs 23:7. Romans teaches us to be transformed by renewing our minds, while Proverbs tells us that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. If vision informs your path and beliefs help you engage with God’s plan, thoughts fuel your beliefs. Godly Kingdom-Focused thoughts are great fuel for your godly beliefs, while ungodly, fear-driven lies and half-truths fuel ungodly beliefs. The key to effectively renewing your mind can be summed up in three words:
Faithfulness If vision sets our path, belief helps us to engage with God’s plan, and thoughts fuel our journey of faith, then faithfulness is the oil that keeps things running smoothly. Faithfulness, simply put, is the practice of clearly executing every day the things you need to do as you grow into your calling as a thriving artist. Faithfulness for a creative could look like:
All this and more while learning to lean into His grace and not our strength, following God’s lead while avoiding the personal pitfall of striving. Faithfulness walked out over time leads to the “suddenlies” we all long to experience. Suddenly, as you’ve been faithful in the little things the Father has put into your hands, you “suddenly'' find yourself thriving in life, art, relationships, and maybe even business. 2021 is a year of great promise and great potential for creatives. This year we are all called to get serious about embracing vision, renewing our minds, cultivating godly beliefs, and faithfully walking out the plans God has for us. And as we do this in the context of a community of others doing the same, I promise you will have a reset and a reboot like no other. Now, I can’t think of a better way to start 2021 than for you to be a part of a world-wide artistic reboot we’ll be kicking off on January 18, 2021. My Artist Rise Up Masterclass and Art Challenge will be a fantastic time of teaching, fellowship, and breakthrough. I’ll be sharing on:
The Masterclass and Art Challenge are FREE, but registration is required. I encourage you to take a moment to learn how Artists Rise Up just might be the reset you’ve been looking for. Learn more by visiting www.ArtistRiseUp.com I hope this has been an encouragement to you. I can’t wait to connect with you during Artist Rise Up.
It is a brand-new year, and I genuinely believe that God has got some incredible things in store for us all in 2021. But guess what? There is something massive out there right now that is holding so many artists back. It’s NOT…
All of these molehills pale compared to this mountain so many creatives face: a lack of vision. No matter where you are, what kind of an artist you are, no matter how long you have been walking with the Lord, THIS is the number one thing that holds people back. Vision Is Defined by What You Focus Upon One of the critical truths I’ve learned about developing a vision for my life, art, and business is this: Vision is either based on what has been or on what is possible. You can’t have it both ways. Far too many people allow their ability to see into the future be defined by what has happened in their past. In other words, they run every idea for the future through the lens of what has happened to them in the past. This is a recipe for self-sabotage. Set Your Vision Higher As you are stepping into 2021 with all the promise, opportunities, and thousands of hours yet to be filled with creativity, it is time to dream. It is time to set your vision higher and NOT on what has defined you in the past. Now is not the time to focus on how good or bad 2020 was. It’s not time to worry about the lost opportunities and things you didn’t think you could get through. It is time to set your eyes on things above and to refocus as you establish a vision for your life and art in this new year. Don’t Let the Year Define You –YOU Define the Year It’s easy to blame your current situation on the year that we all just experienced. But for many artists I know, 2020 was their best year ever. They started last year focused on things above instead of their past failings and limitations. They were ready to pivot and take advantage of the opportunities a socially distanced, partially shut down society had to offer. In short, they had an incredible year – but do you know why? Vision. They believed it was possible. They saw it in their imagination, they cooperated with the Holy Spirit on a daily, moment-by-moment basis, and with His help and guidance, they acted upon those ideas. They didn’t allow fear from the past, the drama of the present, or what other people were saying to define what they thought was possible in 2020. They simply dreamed with God and agreed in their heart that the thing God was showing them, the thing that was burning inside of them, was their truth, their vision, for the year. And as they agreed in their heart with the vision God was birthing in their spirits, praying and believing that they have received it, just like Mark 11:24 teaches us, things began to happen. The dream started to manifest in their life. And as a result, their lives, their art, and their businesses all thrived. That is how the Kingdom of God works. Will This Be Your Year? I want to encourage you this year can absolutely be your best year ever. Whether last year was your best year ever or your worst year ever, this year offers a brand-new start. And to help you start on the right foot, we’ll be kicking off our Artist Rise Up Masterclass + Art Challenge beginning on January 18, 2021. I invite you to join thousands of artists from all over the world as I share about:
This is going to be an amazing time of teaching, fellowship, and breakthrough. I encourage you to take a moment to learn how Artist Rise Up can help you define what your 2021 will be. Learn more and register for this free event by visiting www.ArtistRiseUp.com. I hope this has been an encouragement to you. Don’t let a lack of vision, any of the things that happened last year, or any past baggage define what is possible for you in 2021. I look forward to connecting with you during Artist Rise Up. |
AuthorMatt Tommey is an artist, author and mentor who is passionate about empowering artists to thrive spiritually, artistically and in business. Archives
January 2021
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