I am writing this blog from Soldotna, Alaska. I am working on my fishing boat at Funny River Fishing Lodge for a week.  My goal is to put a Honda 90-hp motor on it and do some work on it so it is a better and more comfortable boat to go halibut fishing out of in Cook Inlet. I have built five boats of various sizes and enjoy doing that work. They are wood boats encapsulated with fiberglass. It is easy to be creative with wood and make it strong with fiberglass. The scenery was gorgeous as we flew to Anchorage from Portland in a jet and to Kenai from Anchorage in a small eight-passenger Cessna.

I kept thinking about how creative God was in all of His Creation as I looked out the window. We have been created in God’s image, and we enjoy making things as well. Artists paint pictures, some people build houses, some sow clothing, some build boats, and some write songs. My most enjoyable creative activity is writing sermons. Trying to teach the Bible accurately in a way that is easy to understand, holds people’s attention, and changes their lives for eternity. Whatever we do, there is a better way, a faster way, a more productive way, or a more enjoyable way. People are constantly inventing new things and improving old stuff because we are creative by design. I was thinking the other day that I am 76 years old and tired most of the time, so why don’t I just put it in cruise, take it easy, and stop trying to catch more fish, build a bigger church, kill a monster buck, or build another boat. I am pretty sure that would be a dull life with little joy or excitement. We were created by God always to be dreaming, pushing, climbing, inventing, learning, and creating. It may be as simple as a paint-by-number picture, but we can all make something. If you are bored with life, take up photography, write a novel, paint a picture, learn how to weld, plant a garden, or write an encouraging letter to someone you see that needs encouragement.