Dese’Rae L. Stage is an artist on a mission—a mission to save lives through her innovative project called Live Through This. Often times as artists we forget that our work has power to heal and bring hope and life where there is darkness and death. This photographer is not only bringing healing, hope and life but also awareness to a problem that affects far more people than we could ever realize.

http://www.livethroughthis.org
Dese’Rae L. Stage

Live Through This is a collection of portraits and stories of suicide attempt survivors. Through the lens of her camera, Dese’Rae captures a depth that is difficult to describe. Visit her site at www.livethroughthis.org and browse the photos. Like me, certain faces will catch your attention. Take the time to read their stories. They are powerful.

Yesterday I stated that the rest of the month’s posts would relate to Easter, and you might be wondering how this relates. In Easter we move from death on Good Friday to resurrection life on Easter Sunday, and at the heart of it is the gospel message of hope, love and mercy we receive from Jesus. By listening and capturing these faces on film, Live Through This moves people from a place of death to a place of life and the heart of the message is hope, acceptance and love. And this folks, is redemption at its finest.

Before you head over to see these remarkable photos, take a few minutes to hear more about the project and the artist’s vision behind it:

Blessings of ARTistry, CREATivity & BEaUty, Jody

P.S. Missed previous posts? Click here.

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What is Create-A-Day?  Just as One-A-Day® Vitamins help restore the nutrients we deplete in our bodies, so too do we need to refill, replenish and renew our creative souls. In 2015, watch for daily* posts to undergird your ministry; lead you to resources to nurture the creative spirit within; and draw you more deeply in worship of Jesus Christ. My goal is to provide you, the creative Christian, with over 250* resources to help you develop your ARTistry, CREATivity & capacity for BEaUty. Books, worship arts ministries, video series, websites, conferences—all geared towards artists, creatives, worshipers and people serving in worship and creative arts ministries. So, visit my blog every day* to see what creative resource I’ve hunted down for you. You can stay connected by following me on Twitter or Facebook. Or better yet, sign up to receive email updates by clicking the button to the left. We’ll watch the resources pile up as the year unfolds!

* I am a proponent of family time and Sabbath rest so don’t look for posts on weekends or Holidays.

Jody Thomae is the author of God’s Creative Gift—Unleashing the Artist in You, a devotional book with Bible studies to nurture the creative spirit within and to serve as a resource for creative Christians, artists, musicians and worshippers. She has been involved in worship arts ministry since 1997, coordinating artistic involvement in church services and regional worship events through dance, drama, poetry and fine arts and has had the opportunity to perform, teach, choreograph, preach, coordinate and lead workshops in the area of creativity, spirituality and embodied prayer. She has also recently released a devotional CD, Song of the Beloved.

Her passion is for the revelation of God to be made more real through the prophetic use of the arts in church and formational ministry. It is her desire to portray the message of Christ’s desperate and unfailing love for His people to help sustain the hearts of the broken and weary. Life scriptures include Psalm 27; Isaiah 50:4-7; and Zephaniah 3:14-17.