Sunday Devotional With Mr. E: Distractions

Lets face it...we all have distractions in our life. Artists are no different.  Though often portrayed as carefree/free spirited, this does not always translate to real life.  Artists have deadlines, material issues, artist block, bills, families, other jobs, illnesses, lazy days, phone calls, houses to clean...etc.  Sometimes it is near impossible to focus on our art with so much "life" happening in & around us.  Artist communities, bio-domes, monasteries, and the moon all seem like perfect locations where one might actually be able to get some work done.   However, that is not real life.  We must try to work around the distractions, through the distractions, and despite the distractions! I think we would be hard pressed to ever find the "ideal" time to create.  If our heart, mind, and creative spirit truly have something that needs to be said....then we will be able to see it to fruition. 

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 

Colossians 3: 1-2

 We often feel pulled in a million directions.  Sometimes those things pulling us are all "good" things.  Sometimes there are difficult things sprinkled throughout which cause challenges.  Sometimes it seems like life is crashing in on us, and we don't know how we're going to keep going.  Distractions can come in many forms..from the dramatic to the mundane.   Distractions shift our priorities.  So how do we keep our head above water & our priorities in check.  It may seem cliche to say "Keep your eyes on the prize!"  However, it is simply that which will keep us from succumbing to all of life's distractions. What is the prize?  Salvation?  Heaven?  Those are benefits of "the prize" in my mind.  The real prize, to me, is knowing God & making him known.  If we keep our heart, mind, and life about those things...it will allow us to be our best, do our best, and handle things to the best of our ability.  Not because we have it all together, but because we know for whom and why we live this life. .