October is National Book Month so we continue our focus on books for the creative soul.

Today’s recommendation is a book about embodiment called Let the Bones Dance by Rev. Marcia Mount Shoop, PhD. Don’t be mistaken in thinking this is simply a book for dancers, as it is for all who have left their feelings and bodies at the doors of their churches for a refined, safe religion.

“Why are feeling and body often demeaned in theology and church while cognition and mind esteemed? Beautifully written, deeply felt, Let the Bones Dance defies the disembodied ethos of Reform Protestantism that turns churches into dry, brittle places where we hide rather than reveal our bodily vulnerabilities. In its place, it offers a vivid theology relocated in the flesh and blood of life’s utter physicality. Finally a book to recommend when people ask about resources on bodies and theology!” — Bonnie Miller-McLemore, Professor of Pastoral Theology at Vanderbilty Divinity School

This is not a light read but a book of deep theological thought about embodiment and the ways in which our churches fail us by failing to take our physical bodies into consideration in our worship of God. A must-read on any study of embodying what we preach!

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. She performs, teaches, choreographs, preaches, coordinates and leads 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.