kylegilbert

Over the past couple of years, I’ve faced some painful failures.  I poured my heart into a ministry, and I watched it crumble before my eyes.  Despite my best efforts, things did not go as hoped.  People (including myself) walked away disappointed.  And in the end, I really began to question a lot of things.

God, am I just in the way of your ministry?  Do you really have a plan for me?

Through the brokenness, I began to discover that there is a God who delights in our weakness.  He is quite comfortable with us coming to the end of ourselves and facing our fears.

But this time, when I looked at my failure, I realized there was something on the other side.  Failure is a doorway to greater things.

Seth Godin, in his book Tribes, puts it this way, “[They] have actively talked themselves out of the fear.  I mean, the fear is still there, but it’s drowned out by a different story….  The only thing holding you back is your own fear.”

God is teaching me this lesson in a dozen ways at the same time, but especially  through the great leaders around me at Faith Promise.  From what I can tell, I’m beginning to make some solid progress.  I’m turning over a new leaf.  I’m ready to fail, because I realize that failure is a part of making progress.

I love futuristic technology, and this Microsoft video is pretty amazing. I find it interesting that you can market a brand not just by demonstrating the products and services you offer, but by opening people’s minds to new concepts (even if they never really happen).

As a freelancer, blogger, and the person responsible for Faith Promise’s websites and outreach, a good portion of my time each week in and out of the office is spent coming up with creative ideas or implementing creative thoughts.  I’m also surrounded by other people (like our graphic artist, my Pastor, and others who teach) who are faced with creative deadlines on a weekly and daily basis.  Because of this, the whole concept of creative routines is very interesting to me.

While I do not endorse the content of his writing, I found this quote by Stephen King to be very fascinating:

There are certain things I do if I sit down to write,” he said. “I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. There’s a certain time I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning,” he explained. “I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places. The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.  (entire quote)

It’s an interesting way of putting things, and it makes me consider what things around me each day contribute to or hinder my creative thought process.  Surely my messy desk, full inbox, and constant drone of Twitter aren’t helping things.  It makes me want to fight for more order and stillness in my life.