AnotherJohn.Com

I loved someone’s comment that I read today: “We’ve lost our whimsy.” And I just want to say, "Get it back, y’all!" Climb the tree. Paint the picture. Dance in the kitchen. Tell the dumb joke (you know I will). Dream again. Wonder again. Laugh again. And let me say that you don’t “become” creative. You already are creative. You were made by a Creator, after all. Now, maybe life and everything that comes with it buried that part of you. Maybe someone convinced you there isn't time for beauty, curiosity, or play. But there is, and we need it. Creativity isn’t just for artists, musicians, or writers. Creativity is how we love, solve problems, tell stories, cook meals, encourage people, build community, preach sermons, raise kids, and imagine a better world. Somewhere along the way, too many of us traded wonder for cynicism and whimsy for productivity. Get your whimsy back. Go frolic somewhere. Stay blessed...john

  Genesis 9:8-17 Listen to today’s devotional Recently, someone shared a video series with me about two sisters who defected from North Korea. The video I watched chronicles their visit to a small town in Texas, a town where I used to live. As they drove around, they noticed a lot that any of us would. At one point, though, one of the sisters said something I would not have thought much about. They could not help but notice how different all the houses looked. Back home, they were used to uniformity. Narrating their new experience, one of the sisters quietly explained the difference by saying, "Difference was just scenery." The rainbow in Genesis 9 is more than a beautiful image in the sky. The Genesis story says it serves as a reminder of God's covenant. I'll take that, and I'll also take it as a sign that God delights in a world full of color, variety, and life. After the flood, God did not build creation as a gray and identical place. God makes the covenant wit...

  Psalm 74:12-17 Listen to today's devotional Many of us grow up hearing the creation story as a simple fact. God made the world. End of discussion. As a result, Genesis 1 becomes something we accept rather than something we wrestle with. Reading the Bible, then, becomes like reading the fine print of a rulebook. But Scripture invites us into something deeper than memorization. It invites us into wonder, struggle, and hope. Biblical scholar Jon Levenson reminds us that creation is not only about God speaking the world into existence, but about God continually bringing order out of chaos. In Genesis, God doesn’t create in a peaceful vacuum. God speaks into darkness, confusion, and formlessness. When God does, life begins to take shape. In that sense, creation is not just a moment in the past; it is God’s ongoing work in a broken world. When you memorize Bible verses, do so as a way to give your soul language to recognize the chaos we still face. In our world, there is suffering...