Do you realize that you have God-implanted creativity sensors? Fundamental to creative thought is an awareness of the 5 senses: smell, sight, touch, hearing and taste!  Stimulation of the 5 senses is a powerful tool in developing creative thought!

Did you know that the sense of smell is located in the part of the brain that effects emotions, memory and creativity? Aromas such as vanilla and cinnamon are known to stimulate creativity. A trip to the market could open up a world of creative thought for you today!

Do you recognize that color can promote feelings of creativity, enhance the power of focus or stimulate a sense of urgency? Color has significant meaning in religious and meditative thought.

What about sound? Are you aware that ambient music can improve creativity? According to the Journal of Consumer Research, ambient sound levels ranging from 50 to 70 decibels can increase creative productivity. These moderate sound levels stimulate the mind to activity. This is not an exercise in turn-up-the-music-as-loud-as-possible, but rather an exercise in creating a mood that will cause your thoughts to flow.

Have you tapped into the spiritual aspect of your creativity? I am not simply talking about an awareness that God gave you 5 senses, I am referring to divine empowerment by God!  http://bit.ly/18TgVN2

Thinking is central to creativity! Our mentor, Dr. TL Osborn, famous missionary statesmen, instilled in my husband and I the importance of deliberate thought. Most people drift through life allowing others to think for them. Some people wake up in the morning and resolve to think for the day, yet others awake and decide to think for the week. But the real winners in life resolve to think for a whole month and even dare to target innovative and inventive ideas.

If we do not anticipate change or the potential limitation found in daily routine, the normalcy of life can limit our creative thought! You might be faced with unanticipated problems or crisis scenarios. Creative thinking allows us to anticipate future problems, resolve existing crises, and develop new solutions for life!

In my “10 Ideas for Creativity” workbook, which I encourage you to download today, we explore concepts to stimulate creative thought. http://bit.ly/1EiSCqN

One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window and saw a small girl being swept along in a rain-flooded drainage ditch. Blankenship knew that farther downstream the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road, and then emptied into the main channel.

Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the floundering child.

He hurled himself into the deep, churning water, and when he surfaced, was able to grasp her arm. They tumbled over and over until within about three feet of the deep drain, Ray’s free hand felt something—possibly a rock—protruding from the bank. He clung desperately as the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away. “If I can just hang on until help comes…” he thought.  He did better than that.  By the time the fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock.

On April 12, 1989, Ray was awarded the Lifesaving Silver Medal by the US Coast Guard. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater risk to himself than most people knew…Ray can’t swim!

Lao Tzu said, “From caring comes courage.” And I challenge you today, be courageous—put on the hero’s courage! What is the hero’s courage? It is knowing that you have the power to help someone else, and that you have the power, or the courage, to care. It is the fuel that makes a hero! http://bit.ly/1GM2cPj

What does offering help to someone else provide? Does it provide a sense of personal fulfillment? Or perhaps a reminder that your situation may not be all that bad?

I often tell people that when you help someone else you sense the presence of God helping people, and this in turn is a reminder that God will help you.  I recently received a letter from someone who took this to heart.  She said:

“Thank you for your message about helping somebody else when you’re going through personal problems. My younger brother is dying of brain cancer. For much of his life he has been homeless and battling alcoholism. My other sister was too drunk to properly care for him or even to talk to the hospital about his needs.  But, today I went on visitations for my sidewalk Sunday school and I was able to pray with a mom that has been fighting depression. Seeing the kids excited about Sunday school tomorrow brought me true joy. It’s so true when you’re going through something, reach out to somebody else and that’s where you find God’s strength.”

What giants are you facing in life today? Remember that as you get busy helping others, you will find the strength to defeat seemingly insurmountable problems.  Maya Angelou said, “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”

Remember, helpers need wisdom, strength and resource.  God promises an abundant supply for those who are willing to go the extra mile. The scripture says, Give and it shall be given back to you, good measure pressed down and shaken together! With the same measure you give it shall be given back to you!

Let’s get busy helping someone today. When you add great value to someone else’s life, you will recognize just how valuable you really are!

Scripture: Luke 6:38 (paraphrased)

Four things happen when I solve problems for others:

• First, I recognize that I have the ability to provide solutions.
• Second, this instills a confidence which inspires me to resolve my own difficulties.
• Third, I recognize that I can believe in myself because there is someone greater that also believes in me.
• Lastly, my victories often open doors of victory for others.

Remember when facing personal difficulties that you have a teammate! Don’t be self-absorbed when seeing the problems that others face.  Gordon Hinckley said, “…the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves…if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”

When Jesus comes into a life He brings the world with Him. Suddenly, a person with limited motivation, expectation and imagination starts to dream of doing the impossible.  Dare to think limitless in some area of your life. Understand that there is more to you than meets the eye. Jesus sees the real person you are to become. He puts a vision in your heart that is bigger than what you can do without Him.

Scripture gives us an expectation of this new life that will ignite our passion for the adventures God is calling us to. Years ago, as we got out of a boat into the water off Bahol Island in the Philippines, the moonlight hit the water at just the right angle to reveal thousands of snakes in the water beneath us!

We survived, and you will too, as you get out of the boat and take the risk of walking on water.  God will never give up on you. Never forget that. And that’s not all: as we throw open our doors to God, we discover at the same moment that He has already thrown open His door to us!

Today we continue our review with the final 3 steps to help you make your dream a reality: 

Step 5 – Refine your vision statement, and recognize that dream casting can only be done by people who live and breathe their dream.  Is your vision statement clear? Clarity in your vision statement and your plans will allow you to move forward when others are still questioning the value of your dream. If you can see it, you can seize it!

Step 6 – Establishing your “Dream Team.” When God gives you a dream, He gives you a partnership to go along with that dream! You can’t go it alone, any dream worth accomplishing requires people in order to accomplish it. Remember: No load is too heavy when you carry it with a friend!

Step 7 – Put your dream into action!  Allow time to be your friend and not your enemy; most dreams are not lost to economic circumstance or unbelief, but to discouragement because of time without evidence of fulfillment. Routines are important to help you create lasting personal results.

And remember, fulfillment of the dream that is in your heart will need a healthy balance of work, worship, rest, and play in order to sustain you on the road to your destination.

It’s time to Live Your Dream, and implement the steps we’ve discovered to make your dream a reality. Remember, with these seven steps you can eliminate that chatter that tells you your dreams are not valid.  

For the next two days we will review our key underlying principles:

Step 1 – Establish your LITMUS test, which is necessary to create a foundation on which to begin. Ask yourself three important questions for defining your dream:  Is my dream good for God? Is my dream good for People? Is my dream good for Me?

Step 2 – Remember: Ideas are meant to be supersized! When capturing your dream, take off the limits! Turn on the creativity meter! Your mind of imagination is a field of possibilities!

Step 3 – Put your dream to the test.  My coaches over the years challenged me to never give up, to stretch the extra mile, and to always discover the cost of my dream. The payments required for reaching a dream never stop. The greater price you pay, the greater joy you feel when you finally reach your destination!

Step 4 – The importance of instilling vision in others. We asked the questions: Is your vision MAGNETIC and attracting interest from others? Is it MAGNANIMOUS? Are you generous of spirit? Is it MAJESTIC? What great results do you anticipate?

Did you know that India has a population of 1.2 billion people? Drs. Chandra and Leela Bose started the Bethel Bible College in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh in 2002, because of the burden they felt to reach their country with the Good News. Their desire is to take this Good News to the utmost regions of their country, with no community left out.

The bible tells us that the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few.  India needs literally millions of laborers to take the gospel to 1.2 billion people!  Hundreds of thousands of bible colleges are necessary so that the indigenous leadership can be equipped with the scriptural, theological education necessary to go and preach the gospel to the people of their own languages, in their own states and communities.

Drs. Chandra and Leela Bose are pastors and educators, religious leaders, and founders of churches and schools, colleges and many social programs, including the extraordinary after school tutoring and feeding program, “5 Loaves 2 Fish.” This remarkable outreach provides a warm meal and tutoring that helps establish a holistic foundation in a child’s formative years. Impacting more than just these hungry children, whole families are being strengthened and encouraged through the program!

I encourage you to go to our website and watch our previous interviews where you’ll learn much about their work in the nation of India. http://bit.ly/1LfFLFF.  To watch the 5 Loaves 2 Fish afterschool program in action, click here: http://bit.ly/1JeS94S