I canβ certainly sounds better than βI canβtβ.
As individuals, we hardly have any control over the world. At best, what we can do is try controlling ourselves.
To recognise ourselves in each other Is to build the bridge towards compassion and love
God isn't looking for perfection. He is seeking men and women with faith greater than fear.
Without a deep conviction,how can there be a change?
Prayer is the power of life.
Art is powerful. It has both the ability to create chaos and to unify. We respond to art on an emotional level and it moves us to rethink how we go about our living in the world and living with each other.
On the back of a quarter it says trust in God; Have you?
God. Justice. The rule of law. And do you never find those to be in conflict?
Nothing is more powerful Than faith in ourself
When you believe, beautiful things will happen if you have the faith of a bird seed, or believe in parrots who talk!
The oldest story is one of making. God created. God made. God formed.
We must never forget that creatives are possibility makers.
Our creating is a part of the unfolding, generative process of Godβs goodness filling the earth. Our desire to create is an imprint of the divine, designed into the fabric of our existence. Artists and creatives feel this acutely.
Good art subverts empire. It runs counter to the narratives of greed, dehumanization, stockpile, consumerism and the power that enforces them.
As creativity becomes intertwined with our identity and livelihood, we forget its intrinsic value. We think everything must have a practical purpose β but isnβt life more than a series of accomplishments? Weβve forgotten that pleasure isnβt sinful, and so we scramble for ways to justify that which brings us joy.
Many of our stories began in the secrecy of our bedrooms, strumming an instrument or writing in the pages of our journal. For others, it was the meditative practice of exploring the world through a clear glass lens or painting with our fingers. These quiet moments gave us a glimpse of the divine, a gut feeling that God was sharing our space. Or maybe creativity felt like a wrestling match with God β more an argument than a conversation β or even a tense confrontation with ourselves. Either way, as we engaged with Him, we were changed.
The call of the creative is the call to imagine an- other reality. Whether itβs by shedding light on the ways in which our current living falls short of Godβs vision for humanity, or by articulating the possibilities of a shalom here on earth β the creative ultimately helps us locate ourselves within the larger story of Godβs unfolding work in all of creation.
When we open the book of Psalms, we are opening the heart of what it means to be human.
