We Have a Creative God
When counseling teens, it can often help to approach sessions and homework assignments differently than with adults in order to keep them engaged, interested, and even willing to come back. There are benefits of offering creative outlets within the context of biblical counseling sessions. In Biblical counseling we often bring God's attributes to bear on our counselee's struggles. Within those attributes we find that our God is a creative God. God is most certainly an intelligent, creative artist. We are His masterpieces (Psalm 139:14). There are a variety of ways that God shows us His creative attributes. Beginning with the creation story in Genesis 1:1, we see that creativity is an integral part of the biblical narrative. Art in various forms has been used through the ages as a means of expression, to document history, to provide practical tools for daily living, and more. (Exodus 35) For many, creativity is an act of worship as God-given talents and skills are imparted by Him to bring Himself glory (Psalm 150:1-6). God has given us many creative abilities. He has given us art, music, writing, building and more. We can utilize creative activities in Biblical Counseling, especially with young counselees who do not respond well to a conversational style of counseling. I am not suggesting that we utilize creativity as a means of accurately interpreting a person's struggles. I am suggesting that creativity in counseling can be used as a means to open up discussion on pertinent topics as we seek to apply biblical solutions. Creativity is a Tool in Counseling Sessions In my counseling sessions with teen girls in particular, I have found that incorporating creativity has been beneficial. There is nothing inherently biblical in the actual creative means you utilize in counseling, but there is still value in it. For example, the completion of a creative assignment can be satisfying to the counselee. A sense of accomplishment is affirming. Or a teen may find that they can stick with a task to completion when the have been unsuccessful at that in school before. Problem solving skills can be developed through creative activities such as learning to do an art project or writing project. Often people find that the creative process relieves stress and has certain health benefits. However, none of these benefits are enough reason to include them in biblical counseling sessions. They are simply a tool that can bring insight in to the heart of a counselee in a unique way. Teens have felt less threatened about maintaining eye contact as they work with an art medium while we talk, whether or not that art pertains to a topic we are discussing. For young people with poor ability to concentrate on a discussion, doing something with their hands while talking can often help them to maintain that discussion. Creative outlets lend themselves to the discussion of the many ways God has gifted us. It can also be a way to discuss how creative God is. This is a good starting point for teaching about God’s character. This is a valuable topic for all teens, especially those who have not yet understood the gospel. The creative task can be geared towards the topic in counseling. For example, while talking about a biblical definition of “the heart”, the counselee can draw and decorate a poster of a heart with the Scripture references written on it. This is often my first creative activity in counseling girls and it is typically well received. They are instructed to display it on their wall to refer to for future homework assignments on heart-related topics. This kind of creative activity in the counseling session carries over in to the homework and engages the counselee differently than just talking. An ongoing creative project helps to motivate a young person to return to counseling and engage in the process more fully. Practical Suggestions To provide you with more specific and practical suggestions, here are a few creative activities to use in counseling youth: Poetry can be assigned as homework. This can be topical or freeform, and can provide you with something to springboard in to a discussion. You may find that you can discern some deeper heart issues in the poetry. Short stories can be utilized in the same way as poetry. You can ask for a story that pertains to a certain theme, or you can allow the counselee to write what they wish and then discuss it as it applies to their current life struggles, and then look at the biblical applications. Music is more interesting than art to some. Listening to and or composing lyrics or discussing songs and how they apply to life can be fruitful. Craftwork such as pottery or jewelry making, or artwork such as coloring sheets, collages or diagrams that reflect a teaching can reinforce a concept better than a worksheet might. Popular right now is what some call “Bible Art Journaling” where drawings are done right on the Scripture to reinforce content and engage with the Word in a creative way. Art can be done digitally with a photo-editing program, adding Scripture or text to pictures that reinforce counseling topics. Bookmarks to color can add to discussion of a Bible reading assignment. Utilize various forms of journaling homework, and decorate the journal as you talk. Many are more likely to use it if they have made it their own. Some teens have difficulty speaking with you, but will do very well drawing or writing creatively in their journal to express their thoughts to you. Regardless what creative activity you choose, use great tools. Gels, stickers, paint pens, glitter pens, small items to glue, these are all things that add to the enjoyment and benefit of creativity in the counseling session. Have some simple craft supplies handy to do while you talk such as stringing beads for jewelry, modeling clay, etc. The art itself is not the point, but it can remove the threat of a counseling conversation to have something tangible to work with. Equate this to any ‘doodling’ you might do while you talk on the phone or listen to a podcast. Don’t hesitate to enjoy the creative activity along with your counselee, it creates a connection between you that can be helpful! Join the Conversation What other means of creativity have you utilized in counseling young people? What benefits have you discovered? Note: a version of this post first appeared at the Biblical Counseling Coalition blog.
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Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful, but also a time that reminds me of loss in my life. Can one be thankful amidst loss? I believe we can, and should be thankful even in hard times.
Harder question - can one be thankful FOR loss? It was Thanksgiving season when I experienced the loss of my first child. It was Thanksgiving season when my family made a hard decision about moving to a new church due to some heartbreaking circumstances. It was Thanksgiving season when my mom's health started to decline quickly due to bone marrow cancer that took her life. Thanksgiving starts the holiday season, which is a yearly reminder of the broken relationships and brokenness in general in my family. I can be thankful THROUGH all of these circumstances and memories. But can I be thankful FOR them? Yes. In Romans 8:28 God says that He works all things together for good. It is a promise that has held true in my life, and in yours even when you don't see it. The loss of my first child ultimately led me to come to know Jesus. I was without hope when she died, and that began a search for answers that led me to salvation 7 years later. I am thankful. Moving churches brought new friendships, support, encouragement and opportunities to serve as we learned to call a new church "home". I am thankful. My mom's death was a difficult loss. Through that season, I learned much about God's sovereignty. He holds eternity in His hands, and He knows. I am thankful. Every loss I have suffered as a mom has been an opportunity to learn much more about God's grace. Were it not for the grace He has extended to this undeserving sinner, I would not be able to extend it to my family. I am thankful. We can be thankful for our losses, not because they make US stronger but because they reveal our weakness and need for Jesus. As we surrender our will and life to Him, we are transformed and made closer to His image. Our losses are intended for our good, and for God's glory. They lead us to hope! Are you thankful amidst and for your struggles this Thanksgiving? “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame.” Romans 5:3–5 This is the first post in a new series written by one of our counselors-in-training, Judy Johnston.
As a mother, I perfected the art of lectures (picture my adult children nodding knowingly). I developed good lectures, pithy lectures, truth-filled lectures and yes, even guilt-inducing lectures. Did these lectures produce the fruit of repentance in the hearts of my children? Occasionally, by God’s grace, they did. But more often they produced distaste and rebellion. I wish I had known then how helpful the art of questions could have been to my parenting (except for maybe that one question no child can answer: “Why did you do that?”) Engaging and revealing questions could have helped me disciple my children with truth in a way that may have revealed my children’s hearts and opened their ears more effectively. My need for wielding artful questions didn’t end with parenting. I’ve found it to be a hallmark trait for a good friend, a considerate spouse and a Bible study teacher. Now, because I am going through training to become a certified biblical counselor, I see it will also be a valuable tool in my counseling. Seasoned counselors role-modeled good questions for me in the training sessions. I encountered compassion-draped and discerning questions in books by Bob Kelleman. David Powlison’s heart-revealing X-ray questions convicted my own heart. So how do I learn to ask good questions? Nothing brings this rubber-to-the-road question home like sitting in a room with a new counselee. After my first session, I asked myself, “How do I get to the heart of the matter? What do compassionate questions sound like? How will I listen well if I don’t know how to open the door to my counselee’s life with good questions? How will I discern the wrong thinking of my counselee if I haven’t honed the precise yet sharp-edged tools to separate out subterfuge from real attitudes? More importantly, how will I disciple my counselees to ask good questions of themselves so they will learn how to counsel themselves from God’s Word? How do I help them grow into discerning believers able to tell when they are veering away from the truths God wants them to live for and by?” For answers, I look to the best question-asker of all time, Jesus. He is known for asking questions, one of the most revealing being: “Who do you say I am?” Can I use this question? I will need to if I am to discover what my counselee believes about Jesus. Their beliefs will guide their every decision, action and attitude. Will I ask every question Jesus ever asked? I better not. I need to understand the context of His questions to know how to rightly wield them. I certainly won’t need to ask, “Are there not 12 hours of daylight?” as Jesus did in John 11:9. But I may ask my counselee, “Do you understand what (Jesus) has done for you?” (John 13:12) What I can do is learn from Jesus how to love others through probing questions. I can learn to hear and discern. As I ask questions, I can help my counselee flesh out how their story fits into God’s redemptive story. With tender questions, I will have the opportunity to introduce them to the trustworthiness of our God as revealed in Christ through the gospel. I can also learn from other biblical counselors like Julie Ganschow who saw the need for this art and crafted a wonderful booklet called “Questions on the Heart Level” to help me engage my counselees. Above all, I will depend on the Holy Spirit to supply the wisdom and discernment to care for my counselee in a way that encourages their faith in Christ and brings glory to our God. Resources for Questions: Gospel Conversations by Bob Kelleman Seeing with New Eyes by David Powlison (Chapter 7: “X-ray Questions”) Questions on the Heart Level by Julie Ganschow Judy Johnston has recently joined the staff of Word of Hope Ministries as she completes her hours towards certification as a Biblical Counselor with the IABC. Word of Hope Ministries provides training to local and distance men and women who are interested in learning more about biblical counseling, and potentially becoming Certified Biblical Counselors. We can mentor you through the entire process. Please visit our website to learn more: www.wordofhopeministries.com Click the button to read Ellen's latest contribution on the BCC blog
What do you run to? What should you run from?
1 Corinthians 10:15 "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." It’s humbling to admit this (and actually it’s tempting to consider it embarrassing and even humiliating.) For many years my go-to idol has been ~ food. Sin is always humbling, isn’t it? And it can be embarrassing and even humiliating, except that The Gospel takes care of that kind of self-focus and self-condemnation. I’ll take the humbling, because that is what keeps me from turning back to idolatry. I’ll keep purposing to reject the embarrassment and humiliation, because I know that my sins are forgiven. To try to pretend that I am not the worst of sinners is just silly because it’s written all over me. And you. Let’s remember this: we have a Savior. Idolatry today comes wrapped in a lot of different packages. Food, alcohol, drugs, prescription meds, sex, materialism, shopping, anger, status, playing the victim, seeking approval and attention, relationships, celebrities, pride of all kinds, and so many more. There is no end, really, to what we allow to become idols in our hearts. Whatever we put before God, wherever our treasure is, whatever we worship, those are our idols. There is a reason these idols are called “false gods.” They are counterfeits - they ultimately fail us. We actually “become like them” and that is, to put it bluntly, disgusting. Psalm 135:15-18 "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them!" This disgust gripped me a few months ago when I got a serious medical diagnosis that is worsened by my idolatry. I realized I had “eyes, but did not see, ears, but did not hear, and there was no breath in my mouth.” I won’t say my idol is entirely gone now, but I am seeing consistent victories along the way. Praise God, it is His work in me, not my own. I am too weak apart from His strength. I have a long ways to go, but I am daily choosing to go towards Christ rather than my towards my false god. Where are you going? One of the beautiful things about Jesus’s Gospel is that we do not need to strive for victory. Yes, there is a part we must engage by obedience, but when (not if) we fail at times, we can praise God because He does not see what we see. Even if my hand gets caught in the cookie jar, I am forgiven. That does not excuse my behavior nor does it give me the green light to worship my idols. It does offer me grace to get back up again and press on in obedience because of the indwelling Spirit in me. I need to know that God's love for me does not change (nor does my eternal security) when I fail at times, and I do fail. But by God’s grace we can experience more victories and fewer setbacks as long as we are not relying on our own strength. How does God deal with our idolatry? How are we to be rid of it? We see in Scripture that His dealings with His people were consistent and blatant. We see the same kind of dealings with our current culture (just view the news or your Facebook feed and you will see it.) The commands are clear: we are to have no other gods before Him. God is a jealous God. Exodus 20:3-6 "“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." In our personal lives, if we have a personal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus, God deals with us and our sin of idolatry very individually and specifically. (For example, my conviction came as a result of that scary medical diagnosis that requires a change of habits if I want to be healthy and live to know my grandkids, Lord willing.) We fashion our idols and enjoy them for awhile, until God reveals to us the thoughts, beliefs and desires that lie at the core of our hearts. Those are the things that mold and transform in to our idols. Out of that core of our hearts flow the things we worship, and we must remember that those things are not going to satisfy ultimately because: Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" God’s Word is clear - when God reveals our idols to us, we are then responsible to flee them. Ephesians 4 instructs us to put off the old man, and put on the new. Through the conviction, empowering and enabling of the Holy Spirit, we can do this. We can say no. Titus 2:12 reminds us that grace actually teaches us to say no. Grace. The Gospel. Spirit indwelling. SAY NO. Flee! While you are there, please consider supporting this important Coalition, thanks!
Recently, due to circumstances changing with my former office located at my church (generously donated by them for the past several years), The Lord moved the ministry out in to the community in to a rented office.
Admittedly this happened sooner than expected and I was not entirely convinced it was time for this financially, but I reminded myself that this was our vision all along, to become a "counseling center" that is not connected to only one church, but as a parachurch that exists to serve all local churches everywhere. Our heart is, and will remain, for the local church where counseling truly 'belongs'. Because we believe that, we offer counseling, coaching, consulting and training for and in our local churches as well as online. This new office will be an effective place to fulfill our mission of expanding the ministry of Biblical Counseling in our community and beyond. The new office is in a rented space in a unique part of my town called "Old Orcutt". Word of Hope Ministries has a new home here and the future looks bright and exciting! Please pray for the ministry - for the Gospel to go forth, for hurting people to find hope here, and for funding and provision for rent so that the work can continue. Below are my personal reflections about the first week in the new office, it was good for me to type them out in order to keep an attitude of gratitude. I really did this just for myself, but decided to also share it here. Change is HARD, that's just real. But we can respond to it biblically or selfishly - that is the challenge. I've learned hard and good lessons in this journey (with more ahead, of course.) Maybe this will speak to your situation somehow, too. My first week in a new place: *My new office is really nice. You should come visit and enjoy some coffee or tea with me. *I miss being in a church for various reasons, but mostly I miss knowing the church staff were right nearby, even if we didn't talk every day. I could always count on a good morning or wave from my good buddy Matt. It’s weird to work alone. That’s not a complaint, I am really excited about the potential in this new office moving forward. I just need to grieve a bit and I miss sharing the day-to-day of ministry with my church leaders and friends. My church cheered me up today by sending me a really pretty "office-warming” plant. So nice! *I was afraid I’d be really lonely here. I do feel that sometimes, but I also like a certain amount of alone time to work and I have been very productive this week, getting tasks done that I had been avoiding too long! It is a mental exercise to look for silver linings, but there are many here. (And I anticipate the ministry adding volunteers and staff in coming months/years, so being alone here is just a season. It helps to remember that!) *Music is good company while I work. Like moving to a new house, moving to a new office is full of weird noises that I'd like to mask rather than be startled by them. *I have a great view of nature out both windows. I am the only office on this side of the building, and the peaceful environment is unique since the building is actually on a fairly busy street that I don't even notice while working. *Lawyers make a lot of noise when they work in the office right above you. I’m not sure what all the tromping around and opening and closing doors and the big THUMPs I hear a few times a day are, but I’m sure I will get used to it. She probably hears my music, so that’s fair enough. *So far, those who have come to the office have found it comfortable, safe, warm and very private. Exactly what I had hoped to achieve - environment is very important in this ministry. I’m so grateful for this kind of feedback. *We have some really great thrift and repurposing stores right here in Orcutt. I furnished this place for next to nothing (compared to buying retail, that is.) And I got everything I was hoping for right nearby. *The very first house we lived in here in Orcutt 13 years ago is visible from my office window. *I have generous friends. Thanks to some donated items and decorating advice, things are coming together nicely. Not to mention visits with coffee or lunch in hand, knowing I’d be a tad lonely until I get used to this. It’s been a blessing. *My first counseling appt. here was with a teen girl. She settled in to the “new” furniture quickly, and we had a great session. I love to serve the young generation, youth are fun, amazing, insightful, deep, complicated, messy, and God loves them and so do I - many more to come to this new place in coming months/years. *Some have told me that they would feel more comfortable coming to this kind of more private office instead of the church building when they need counseling. We will see how true that is as time goes by. I’m not stating my opinion here, but it is an interesting observation. There are pros and cons to all situations, for sure. I plan to focus on the ‘pros’ as I move forward. Sometimes that is easier said than done but we are all works in progress. *If you know anyone who needs to know there is HOPE, send them to Word of Hope Ministries, it’d be a privilege to serve them! |
Ellen Castillo
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