Welcome to the third interview of my Up Close and Personal series where I dig deeper into who our Steemians are and what drives their lives.
Today I had the pleasure of chatting with @creatr. We chatted about his upbringing, life, faith, the origins of his username, and much more.
If you missed the previous interviews, you can read them here:
Up Close and Personal with @papa-pepper, Up Close and Personal with @anotherjoe
Thank you for taking the time to chat with me.
My pleasure entirely! Thank you for the honor of considering me for an interview!
Can you share with me how you first joined Steemit and how you have found the journey so far?
Although I don’t spend much time on Facebook, I have an account. I was following the Anarchapulco Facebook page, and learned about Steemit from one of Jeff Berwick’s posts.
Signing up and participating in the Steemit community has been a delight. My creative nature has been rekindled, inspired by the many other creatives here. I am blessed.
Tell me a bit about yourself. Who is @creatr? What are you passionate about and what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Who? First and foremost, I’m a child of God.
I am passionate about surfing - you can read many of my surf stories on my Steemit blog. Unfortunately, I have been so busy with my silver machine enterprise lately, I don’t get to surf nearly often enough.
I am passionate about natural approaches to health and healing.
I am passionate about truth. About liberty, for the sake of my own family and for others. I am passionate about revealing the evil of the state as we know it, and counteracting the falsehoods promulgated by society and the church that dupe people into sycophantic subservience.
I am passionate about whatever I am doing at the moment. I am interested in everything, and love sharing my interests with others.
I noticed you have an interesting spelling for your Steemit username. Can you share how you came up with your username?
My first choice would have been “creator,” but that Steemit name was already taken. Konstantin, the account holder, appears to be an entrepreneur/investor who holds a very nice Steemit nest egg, but hasn’t written anything for almost a year.
Please note that, while Steemit convention and protocol demands “all lower case” usernames, in my “case” the lowercase ‘c’ is deliberate.
In other words, I’m not in competition with “the big guy.” Rather, I greatly admire his handiwork and delight in trying to follow in his creative footsteps.
Tell me a bit about your upbringing. What was it like for you growing up? Were there any special occasions or pivotal moments in your childhood that stand out in your memory?
I’ve written some about that in my blog, but I’ll summarize.
My childhood was a mix of wonderfully idyllic moments and terrifying and disappointing sorrows.
I remember many Saturday mornings feeling as if the day and its wonderful possibilities stretched out endlessly before me. I loved science and learning. However, I came to despise school and all the struggles that came with it.
When we moved to St. Croix on my 12th birthday, I thought the world had ended. My access to libraries and support for my scientific and technical interests were severely curtailed.
On balance, living as a minority in a different culture gave me a valuable perspective and a better understanding of the difference between what is “Christian” and what is merely “USA culture.”
My parents fought loudly and all too frequently, and ultimately (after I was an adult) separated. Their counter-example has caused me to be far more protective of my own marriage.
You are quite outspoken about your Christian faith. Can you share a bit about how you came to believe in God and become a follower of Jesus?
I grew up in a nominally “Christian” home and was taken to church and Sunday School regularly. However, it was the influence of my grandparents, particularly on my Mother’s side, that truly cemented my faith. And so you might say that I have been a “Christian” most of my life.
Even so, it has been a gradual growth in faith. Though there have been some periods of relative peace, my life has largely been a series of struggles. The struggles have often driven me to read and study scripture, and that is the source of my faith.
I used to wonder how the Israelites of Moses’ day could possibly have seen such amazing miracles and yet have proceeded to complain bitterly and fall away. However, the longer I live, the more I realize how much like them I am - how stubborn and foolish and prone to failings. Thus, I have come to realize how utterly dependent I am on the kind grace of God.
If anyone asked you what does it mean to be a Christian and why did you decide to become a Christian, how would you answer?
I’ve come to understand that I really did not “decide” to become a Christian. All of us begin as spiritual corpses. Like Lazarus, we all must wait for that moment when Jesus says “Come forth!” and brings us to spiritual life.
Being a Christian is to me the most unimaginably amazing and wonderful privilege, totally undeserved. Jesus has taken the brunt of all the punishment I am justly due for my faults and failings. He has replaced it with all the benefits that accrue to him as the heir of all things.
Has your life changed in any way since becoming a follower of Jesus?
I find myself in the incredible position of being a joint heir of the universe, and not the damaged one that we now see - rather, a restored and flawless universe of unimaginable scope and beauty.
Thus, I look forward to one day living in this universe “rebooted,” and fulfilling all of my as yet untapped dreams. I am enthusiastic about inviting others to join me in that adventure. I write about it often.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about Christians among the general public?
That we are, or that we believe we are, any different fundamentally from everyone else.
While I’m sure there are some so-called “Christians” who may feel arrogant about their claim to Christianity, here’s my take:
The only difference I claim is that of being an undeserving recipient of God’s great kindness. That, and perhaps an ability to observe and appreciate that Jesus is the creator of all things.
I look at the universe not simply with amazement and wonder, but with a strong motivation to attribute credit to the one who created it. I can truly appreciate him and point to him. I can say to people, “Look! Jesus did all that! Isn’t it ultimately cool? Isn’t he the greatest?
You often hear people say, all religions are the same, and all roads lead to God. What is your opinion on this?
There is only one, true, living God. His name - (as we commonly know him - I won’t go into debates about pronunciation or spelling - just know that I’m talking the person commonly acknowledged in history) - his name is JESUS.
If it is true that Jesus is the one true creator God, then it stands to reason that only the roads that lead to Jesus can possibly take you to God. Jesus was pretty adamant about his claims to be “the one.”
It’s like this; we all start out as lost sheep. Jesus spoke of himself as “The Good Shepherd.” If you are one of his lost sheep, he will stop at nothing to ultimately find you.
Are there any words from the Bible that have made a significant difference to your life?
Not any, but many. I’m thankful that in my misspent youth I did end up memorizing quite a lot of bible verses. They often come to mind just when I need to be reminded of some vital truth.
Having said that, I often point my fellow Steemians to the book that John wrote. If you read nothing else in the bible, the book of John will clearly present who Jesus is and what he claimed to be.
For example, in John’s book, Jesus says:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” - John Chapter 5, verse 24
Thank you for your time.
No, thank you for this excellent opportunity to share “who I am” with my fellow Steemians. I appreciate you!
Follow me @nextgen622 for weekly Ask Steemit contests, more interviews and lol moments with my family.
Thank you, @nextgen622, for this opportunity to "open up" a little bit more to the Steemit community. Blessings!
😄😇😄
Wow, I never heard that before...
Thanks!
By the way, Ryan, I appreciate the music you've been sharing lately, although I am somewhat slow on the uptake. I opened this Billy Preston view in YouTube, and in the "side list," one of my favorite songs by an artist I enjoy was somehow in the list...
And so, in the spirit of reciprocation, here's a song that blesses me:
I love the steel guitar with the slide.. beautiful.. Keith Green is probably my favorite "Christian Artist" of all time.. Man did he have some powerful tunes..
Check out openmic and vote for mine ;)
thanks for paying attention to my tunes - I guess some people see god in paintings, nature or writing.. I see Him in Music.Yes, I love Keith Green as well. He had powerful lyrics that really push me.
He also had some fun...
Thanks for reminding me of Keith!
Inspiration for a future post no doubt.. thanks :)
If you can vote for my openmic i'd appreciate it https://steemit.com/openmic/@luzcypher/open-mic-week-36-record-your-performance-on-your-phone-enter-and-win-steem-sponsored-by-pfunk-and-luzcypher
Following your posts!
Ryan, I went and listened and loved it... and will be happy to vote, but I noticed these issues with your entry - you may want to fix them?
I may have missed something; but to avoid disappointment, I'd encourage you to go back and re-read the "rules" so as to be sure you've dotted your 'i's and crossed your 't's... ;)
And thank you for taking the time to share your story. :)
What an excellent interview, so wonderful to see such an active Christian community! God bless you both.
Thanks @christiandefence
I got pleasure with read this article
Thank you @nextgen622 for this great interview. I wasn't sure what sort of questions you were going to ask @creatr, so was reading along with some trepidation. Were you a reporter in your "other life"?
And a humble thank you @creatr for sharing with candor your responses.
SDG
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this interview! I too am so thankful for the grace I didn't deserve. I love Jesus so much it hurts sometimes. Truly beautiful words of a faith that transforms.
the "I" in the "Who I am" got all the glory. I expected nothing less, my friend :)
A little late here but tnx much for this interview and this series, great way to get to know other believers here both thru the interview and the comments.. following all the brethren who've posted here.
Great Q and A! @creatr . More interviews to come! I enjoy reading it. Different point of views.
I wonderful testimony and a great post. i appreciate the thought and humanness that went into this. Thanks!!!!!
@nextgen622, thank you for the interviews. I like your blog. @creatr, thank you for sharing! It was interesting to read about your life and faith. I followed you.
Thanks Nextgen.
Brother, I'm not here to argue with you but I have to say I disagree with that statement. I understand though because I myself, when I first came to Christ and was sealed by the Holy Spirit, was in fact for a while trying to figure out why I experienced what I did, but others don't or didn't. I don't mean to be presumptuous but what you seem to have fallen for is a systematic theology known as Calvinism; something that I almost fell for too. Have you heard of Leighton Flowers? I love what he's doing. He used to be a Calvinist for 10 years but is now teaching against it, providing reasons why it's both illogical and unbiblical. If you're interested, I can link you to some of his podcasts!
Thanks for sharing @msg768. I loved reading parts of your blog. Maybe I could interview you some time too? Would love for you to share your story here too.
Sure brother! I would love to! What do you use to read the blog? I'm really lazy too when it comes to reading sometimes so I use TEXT 2 Speech. I linked the website I use for you. I love George's voice! :P
Thanks for that bro. I use a few different screen readers. I mostly browse Steemit on my iPhone. So I use the built-in VoiceOver screen reader which is great. On my windows laptop, I use NVDA.
Cool. I will contact you when I'm ready for the next installment of this series. Look forward to it. :)
No problem! I look forward to it too :)
I have thought long and semi-hard about it, nextgen....and I'll do it. I'll do an interview in the nude, as requested.
Lookin is for for free...but touchin..now that'll cost ya.
Pick me next!
Thank you for your interest @sportfan. I have a few other interviews lined up at the moment, but maybe in the future. Cheers.
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What a great post, it is nice to get an insight into @creatr 's faith. Thankyou for your inspiring interview!
Very detailed and insightful interview. Thanks for conducting this interview @nextgen622 and thanks for sharing @creatr!
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nice post. thank you