On Relationships: CREATIVE CONNECTIONS – What They Are and What They Are Not
By Janet L. Smith - Copyright 2008 – www.gardenministries.org

What is a Creative Connection?

A relationship that experiences a “creative connection” is when two or more people connect and experience a deep soul link that feels explosive. And I mean joyfully explosive. The relationship experiences such cohesion that sometimes you might even feel like “you’re in each other’s head.” Without words, you “just get” each other in ways that transcend what you’re used to. Furthermore, the emotional connection makes you feel “so alive” that the powerful feelings compel you to explore and discover the creative depths and heights beyond what you might normally feel compelled to discover with other relationships. Because of the emotional “high” some people feel when a creative connection occurs, to protect the integrity of this relationship and our other relationships, it is important to understand what a creative connection is and what it is not.

What is the Purpose of a Creative Connection?

The purpose of a creative connection is usually for a specific time and often results in a more profound creative product or spiritual success than if done alone, for example: actors often experience this when doing a movie together, artist’s often experience this when creating art together, and the same for musicians and writers. You may have even heard the term, “my work spouse.” In ministry circles, pastors, worship leaders, and intercessory prayer people often encounter or experience this. The feelings are deep because the people connecting run “deep.” If the relationship is kept non-romantic, non-physical, and non-sexual by maintaining a “wild” and “clean” balance, this relationship can be a highly productive with tremendous payoff for both, or all people involved.

How Do We Maintain a Wild and Clean Balance When It Feels So Compelling?

When a creative connection comes our way, it often reveals where there are “holes” in our hearts that God needs to fill. And because the emotions evoked by this relationship run so deep, we may be tempted to misinterpret the powerful experience as being the answer to the hole in our hearts and is a “love that leads to marriage or intimate permanency of some kind.” Because it feels so good (and we all like feeling good), we are tempted to “get ahead of God” and go too fast in an attempt to capture and over-define the relationship too soon.

How Do We “Get Ahead of God” and Miss the Mark?

When we “get ahead of God,” we become unable to hear what God is saying about the relationship. Because we are created to enjoy excitement and to be fascinated with God, we may transfer this need to the relationship and get emotionally addicted to the thrill of the connection. Because of this emotional addiction, we close ourselves off from anything that may stop it and we only want God to approve and say what we want to hear about the relationship so we can maintain the thrill. Whether we realize it or not, by getting ahead of God, we close ourselves off from hearing what God says about the relationship, especially if it His way contradicts what we have set our hearts on getting our way. “Our way” meaning that we don’t want to risk hearing a “no” so we do everything we can to avoid hearing what we don’t want to hear. Self and soul rise up and block out Spirit.

Addiction to the Emotional Highs Will Cost the Relationship

The truth is, when a relationship is intended for a creative connection but not for romance and marriage, by making it romantic and permanent, we end up killing the precious essence and the goodness the relationship was intended to give us because we indulged it for Self at the cost of Spirit. We coveted the “goods” of the relationship to fill the holes in our hearts and laid our own hand to filling them instead of waiting for God’s divine answer. In every relationship that I have seen this connection misinterpreted and indulged in beyond its intended and/or moral scope, the relationship either suffered great loss or, more often than not, was completely lost.

Hold On to Your Heart Until God Says to “Go There”

If you have experienced a “creative connection,” and until God releases a clear and undeniable “yes” to anything romantic and “unto marriage or engagement,” guard your heart and body from going there. Do not engage the relationship physically, sexually, or with sensual interactions and don’t neglect your other relationships. Due to the emotional pull of the connection, and in order to maintain solid boundaries, you will most likely need the support and input of people whom you trust and whom you know to be morally grounded in the love and truth of God’s Word. It is so important to stay connected in this way as you navigate the turbulent waters of your heart and learn where the holes in your heart are that increase your vulnerability to crossing relationship lines.

Waiting is Part of the Process

Here is a list of things to do while you wait for God to release His “yes” or “no” to anything more:

1. Focus on the creative purposes that the connection occurred for, i.e. the art, the idea generation, the warfare, the music, etc.
2. Engage trusted authority figures in your life and submit the parameters of the relationship to these sources. Sources such as the Word of God [Bible], The Holy Spirit, the body of Christ, and Mentor/Pastor-types. Their wisdom will protect you long-term and help stabilize you from hurtful decisions fueled by soaring emotions.
3. Until you have gained a solid witness to advancing your relationship to romantic permanency, stay non-physical and non-sexual/sensual indefinitely and focus on the product that your “creative connection” has been purposed for.
4. And by all means, with clear boundaries in place, enjoy the great friendship and creative camaraderie. It is a gift.

What if I’m Married or Engaged and I Experience a Creative Connection With Someone Else?

If you have experienced a creative connection-type friendship are married or engaged to someone else, the creatively-connecting friendship will thrive if the integrity of your marriage or engagement remains uncompromised. When creative connections are managed well, your marriage or engagement relationship will be enriched because most creative people are happiest when their center is active and fruitful. If your marriage or engagement becomes threatened by the creative connection, it is important to talk about this with your life partner and discover what has created the threat and to deal with that immediately through prayer and counsel. When our life partner witnesses the depth of the relationship with someone else, they may understandably need assurances that you hold your marriage as sacred and will not let it be violated by other relationships. If your marriage suffers beyond consoling words and actions, do the work to sort it all out with trusted and objective sources—like a counselor or Pastor/Mentor-type. And if the person you are creatively connecting with objects to you getting this kind of help, this is a warning flag to you. A true friend would want you to feel confident and secure in all your close relationships—especially those of a romantic and covenanted nature.

If the creative connection relationship is pulling you away from your covenant relationship and the person you are connecting with does not honor and support the integrity and vitality of your marriage or engagement, then you are on dangerous ground. Without outside help, you may be tempted to misinterpret a creative connection relationship and use it to break faith with your covenant relationship. This is the beginning of a delusion that could lead to adultery and has very painful consequences when trespassed upon. The consequences come after the whirl of the emotion subsides, a whirl which may last anywhere from 1 year to 7 years. When the consequences of breaking a covenant relationship finally do hit, they hit hard and often times create yet another hole in your heart that only God can heal. A hole of fear and mistrust. And the holes in our heart, created by fear and mistrust, are only filled by Jesus whose “perfect love drives out fear.” (I John 4:18)

So What Do I Do With The Holes in My Heart?

When holes in our heart get exposed, and we feel tempted to look to a person to fill them, we are to turn to Jesus instead. Take that need or desire directly to Jesus and in focused communion with Him, ask Him to heal your heart and fill the hole with His love. Ask Him to correct misperceptions you may have about His love for you. Keep asking Him until you get the answers too. Keep going to Him in intimate communion and spend time worshipping and adoring Him as you ask Him to heal you. The holes in our heart are meant for Him to fill in the ways He knows best. He may be calling a person to come alongside of you to bring this and He may use other means. The point is, we must wait on God and not get ahead of him with our own ideas and ways. You may be in the season of strengthening your walk with Jesus as the intimate Lord and King of your life and still need to grow deep roots in your individual and unique identity in Him.

Commune with Your Bridegroom—Jesus and Love the Lord your God with All Your Heart

Balance the time you spend in all of your relationships and don’t neglect your Jesus-face-time.
More than ever, spend quality time with the Answer to all of your heart longings—Jesus. Seek His beautiful face and soak in His words of love for you. Let Him talk to you as only He can. Let Him minister to the wounds and fill the holes in your heart. Direct your painful yearnings and longings to Him and lay the responsibility to fulfill them on His doorstep. Quality time worshipping and hanging out with Jesus is always helpful in processing matters of the heart. Only Jesus knows how to fill the holes in our heart. But we must go to Him and ask Him to tend to our wounds and show us His way through to wholeness. See Isaiah 61:1/Luke 4:18-21.

Be a Great Life Partner and a Great Friend to Creatively Connect With

By drinking everyday from the well of our spiritual romance with Jesus, knowing who we are to Him and who we are because of Him will make us great life partner’s and great friends to creatively connect with.

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On Relationships: CREATIVE CONNECTIONS – What They Are and What They Are Not
By Janet L. Smith - Copyright 2008 – www.gardenministries.org

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Our Father is calling His people to a Sonic BOOM Faith! When a jet reaches a speed faster than sound, a BOOM is heard because the sound barrier has been broken. Imagine a faith with this kind of speed and power. Walking in intimate union with the Father will naturally produce an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit who indwells us and who imparts Faith to us. Sonic BOOM Faith is a new level of faith and union with our Father that reaches a power and speed from the Holy Spirit that literally breaks barriers.

Since our intimate union with the Father is formed in the secret place of prayer, it will help to gain fresh insight on what this prayer relationship is so we can stop relating to God in boring and mundane, religious or traditional ways, and start relating to Him as our living and active Almighty Father who loves to give us powerful encounters of His active and loving presence in our lives. And our prayer relationship with God is the key. It is how we nurture our relationship of intimate union with our heavenly Father.

So what does a “prayer relationship” even mean? In 1st Timothy 4:4-5, it says, “food is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” The Greek word for prayer here is “enteuxis.” This term is only used twice in the New Testament, once for intercession and again in this passage.

Thayer’s Lexicon reveals its expanded meaning to be: “a falling in with, meeting with, an interview, a coming together, to visit, converse or for any other cause. That for which an interview is held, a conference or conversation, a petition, supplication.”

Food is not sanctified by the act of any required religious or traditional prayer, it is sanctified as a result of the abiding presence of the resurrected Christ with whom we are in constant coming together with, conversing with, i.e. we are in enteuxis-prayer with. Spending quality face-time with Jesus literally means that we are falling into Papa’s arms (even while we eat), and as a result of our intimate fellowship with Jesus, His divine presence not only is experienced in our hearts, it also extends beyond ourselves and sanctifies our surroundings (i.e., makes holy, separated unto Him), like our food, our marriage, our homes, our relationships.

Take for example, the story in 1 Samuel chapter 21. Picture David. He has just left all he has known because of his King Saul’s demonized and unjustified attacks on his life and he comes to the tabernacle in Nob where David speaks to Ahimelech the priest. David is hungry so he asks for bread but all that is available is the showbread, which is consecrated (or sanctified) to God; only priests could eat it.

Because of David’s relationship with the One and only God, he walked in a faith that broke barriers. He wasn’t boisterous or arrogant, he was living in fellowship with the Father and that enabled him to be wherever God led him. David even took Goliath’s sword, which was also consecrated to God. If someone else not in the same level of communion with God were to do the same thing he/she would have been struck dead right then and there.

All that to say is this: in the same way, “Sonic BOOM Breaker Faith” enables us to live life like David did—and even more so—because in and through faith in Jesus Christ, we have become a living temple where God Himself dwells by His Spirit. When we walk in true intimacy with our Father God, we are separated unto Him so no matter what the circumstances, He feeds us from His holy provision and equips us for battle with weapons from the storehouse of Heaven!

Meditate on this truth: Papa God delights in you (Song of Solomon 7:10). He downright enjoys spending face-time with you and the flag He flies over your heart is entitled, “My Beloved.” It is a banner that all heaven and earth encounters when you walk into a room. Now go and burn in the secret place with Papa God, as a lovesick warrior in pursuit of your lover God (Song of Solomon 2:5, 5:8).

From this place of intimate union, you will release to yourself and to those around you, the mercy that washes you clean and the grace that enables you to enter His presence through the mighty Name of Jesus. Awake and burn in the flame of the Lord (Song of Solomon 8:6) and watch the overflow of your faith bring you places in God that you thought was only for “those other guys.” We are priests and kings to our God and Father forever—Amen.

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God’s Promised Help in Troubled Times
As natural and human-induced disasters and wars increase, so will the profound and tangible presence of Jesus be experienced in the earth. In Joel chapter 2 of the Bible, even though global upheaval is occurring, God promises an abundance of spiritual and physical provision, protection, restoration, and supernatural revelation.

Jesus said (Luke 21:9,10), “When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.”

The Move of God on Women - Youth - the Poor
Four major population segments are about to experience a profound move of God upon them. This move of God will not be defeated because those affected by it will experience first-hand, the supernaturally profound love of God as they never imagined possible before. It is His love that they have longed for and finally found. It is His love that changes them forever and for good.

These major population segments are:
• Women
• Youth
• Minorities and their Civil Rights
• The Poor and the Oppressed

The Inversion of Church Leadership Structure
In preparation for the harvest of souls for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, God is leveling His church by inverting the pyramidal, corporate-like structure of the church. Those in church leadership, who receive God’s input, will experience a paradigm shift in their understanding of what “effective leadership” really is. They will come to understand that church leaders can best and most effectively lead purely by serving, empowering, and supporting others rather than the other way around.

Because the number of people turning to Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be too great for the current pyramidal structure of church leadership to handle without great loss, God is inverting and creating His church leaders to walk “shoulder-to-shoulder and arm-in-arm” with each other, much like a loving family would relate to each other within their varying roles. This side-by-side servant attitude within church leadership will create a sturdy net—strong enough to hold the abundant end-time harvest.

When the inversion is complete, all leadership, whether they are male or female, young or old, whatever their ethnicity, and no matter whether they are rich or poor—will see their role strictly in the context of serving and supporting those they lead. Money or fame are not motivating factors. God’s end-time leaders will honor the dignity and excellence of Jesus in every person no matter what their circumstances or position in life may be.

God Fathers a Loving Family—Not a Corporation
God wants His church to be an intimately loving FAMILY–not a Corporation. Women will be given an expanded and vital leadership role of serving within this Family structure. NOTE: This inversion of leadership is NOT a power swing from a Patriarchal to a Matriarchal-based church system. This inversion will achieve balance and unity because the balance of power will rest solely on the manifested authority of the Holy Spirit within the male or female leader of various ages and not by their own personal authority or position-by-title.

The Emerging Wave of Church Leadership and the Move of God on Women and Youth
God is raising up an army of women who will walk arm-in-arm-with and side-by-side-of each other in their passionate pursuit of Jesus and His Kingdom. They will be known by their love for Jesus and how they focus on what’s right about the other instead of what’s wrong about them. Their loving and supportive attitudes will be effective because they will actively prefer the other women in their lives to themselves—actively pursuing their good. When another women is given an opportunity to shine, these women will ask themselves how they can help and support her. Conversely, they will be unpresumptuous of and thankful for the support they are given when it is their time to shine.

Never will the world have witnessed women so free of competitive attitudes and free from inhibiting insecurities. They will love, respect, and honor each other like never before. Wherever they had fear and suspicions in their heart, they have aggressively faced these fears by engaging the Biblical principle, “lose to win.” (Matthew 10:38-40) These women are now willing to lose it all for the sake of Jesus. They implicitly trust that in His deep love for them, Jesus Himself will guard their hearts (Psalm 91:4) and heal them when they are broken (Isaiah 61:1). These women will boldly carry their crosses forward in belief that the King of kings is with them.

The Wave of New Leadership
A wave of new leadership is rising; building in power and momentum and is about to crest and break. Past and current leadership stands ahead of this wave but at the bottom of the rising new wave. The old leadership is to step back a few steps toward this wave. Those who humble themselves and step back into the wave will gain a position that allows them to enter and be caught up into the rising power and momentum of the new wave and thus become a part of the cresting new wave.

Those who refuse to step back into the wave stay positioned at the bottom. When the wave crests and begins to break, it crashes on top of those refusing to step back and the wave crushes them. The pressure is too great to withstand and those under it are lost to the wave.

Here’s how that scenario plays out in the inversion process: The up-and-coming new wave of leadership will carry an abundance of the new wine of the Holy Spirit, thus establishing their relevance within the inversion process. These emerging leaders will in turn honor those who have gone before them and, with a spirit of respect and appreciation, accept and treasure their predecessors and their important place in God’s Family.

To enter into and rise up with this emerging new way, past and current church leadership must step back into the emerging leadership. They will “step back” simply by recognizing, listening to, honoring, serving, supporting, and releasing the emerging leaders—many of whom are Women and the Youth.

Thus “heard, honored, and released,” these Women and Youth from all races and life circumstances will in turn honor, respect, and support the leaders that have gone before them. Those who have humbled themselves and “stepped back” to serve and support the new wave of leadership will also gain the emerging leadership’s deep respect and admiration, along with their servant-hearted support, thus accomplishing the “shoulder-to-shoulder” leadership God is weaving into a strong, end-time harvest net.

This move of God will witness Worshiping, Warring Women and Youth who dance and sing for Jesus in an abandoned state of praise and adoration. They don’t care what anyone thinks about how they look when they are caught-up-in-love with Jesus as He leads them in His dance and sings over them with His love. (Read Zephaniah 3:9-20 and Jeremiah 31:4,10-17)

Personal Experience
For years this dance has personally happened to me (Janet) from time to time and always surprised me when it caused so much “trouble” in the church. Maybe it’s because it is a warrior’s dance and perhaps the concept of Women Warriors was hard to grasp? I’m not sure of all of the “whys.”

I recently saw an example of a woman of God dancing a Worshiping Warrior dance. I am posting the link so you can see one of the ways we will see God release women. The Dancing Worshiper in this video is Heather Clark whose powerful worship ministry is impacting people all over the world. Heather experienced this spontaneous dance during a recent ministry event in Florida. You can see the dance on YouTube by clicking this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52ACWzbuMBU

Freebies
You can also download a few of her wonderful worship songs freely available at: http://www.heatherclarkband.com/FREEB/

Download instructions: PC users: right-click on the link and “save target as.” Mac users: click on the links and when they open in your browser window, once the mp3 file fully loads, go to the right of the mp3 file to the “black down arrow” and click “Save As Source.” This allows you to save the file to your desktop and import it from there to iTunes or Music media software you use.

Another song entitled “There is a River” by Julie Meyer (IHOP.org) is also available for a free download: http://www.ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?ID=1000005505

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If you are receiving revelation from Jesus Christ regarding this upcoming season and want to tell us about it, send us an email at info @ gardenministries.org.

What to expect in the upcoming season:

• Civil war in the church from which the Bride of Jesus will emerge
• Cities of refuge will also emerge; safe havens in which God Himself dwells
• An increase in natural and terror-related disasters
• An increase in 24-7 prayer and worship centers
• An increase of God’s supernatural power will be released as revelations of his fierce and loving Kingship increase

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George and Janet Smith speak at a prophectic conference in May of 2004 on the importance of “Building Character.” Listen by clicking the links below. If you would like a copy of these messages on CD, please contact us at info@gardenministries.org

George Smith - Building Character - Part 1 (1st half)
George Smith - Building Character - Part 1 (2nd half)
George Smith - Building Character - Part 2 (1st half)
George Smith - Building Character - Part 2 (2nd half)
George Smith - Building Character - Part 3 (1st half)
George Smith - Building Character - Part 3 (2nd half)
Janet and George Smith - Building Character - Part 4

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Click here for the podcast message entitled:
“What difference does it make if you don’t know or have love?”

Are you super-talented? Amazingly gifted? Wanting the dazzle of God’s presence? Good for you. But just an FYI: it won’t count in the eternal scope of things if you do not actively pursure what it means to know and act out of love–God’s love.

Using an “Align-Abide-Agree” strategy, Janet Smith talks about the vital link between knowing and acting in love as I Corinthians 13 describes.

• Align with God–who is Love–through reverent submission to and passion for Jesus, his beloved Son
• Abide with Jesus who loves you intimately
• Agree with God who requires us to know his love more than any other eternal attribute. Even above faith and hope, the greatest is LOVE

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Psalm 121 - From the version of The Message (MSG)
A pilgrim song
1  I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?
2  No, my strength comes from GOD, who made heaven, and earth,
    and mountains.
3  He won’t let you stumble, your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
4  Not on your life! Israel’s Guardian will never doze or sleep.
5  GOD’s your Guardian, right at your side to protect you–
6  Shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from moonstroke.
7  GOD guards you from every evil, he guards your very life.
8  He guards you when you leave and when you return, he guards
    you now, he guards you always.

"I pray that this will be a living Word for ALL
  in this new season." - George 

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“COME AS YOU ARE” Women’s Retreat
Prophetic-Prayer and Worship
What does God want to do for His Son Jesus in the Twin Cities?

Download the brochure with
**updated directions and “what to bring” info**
[deactivated link]

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