Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #189 — Windows of the Soul

Continuing our book focus for the rest of September and October . . .

In Windows of the Soul, author Ken Gire proposes that art, poetry, scripture, movies, writing, nature, tears and depression are all windows given to us by God to see into our own souls. Imploring his readers to look with more than their eyes and to listen with more than their ears, he says:

“We must be aware, in all times and in all places, because windows are everywhere, and at any time we may find one. Or one may find us. Though we hardly know it . . . unless we are searching for him who for so long has been searching for us.”

Published in 1996, it has helped readers find themselves through the many creative avenues that we hold so dear. My pastor mentored through this book during my time as worship pastor at our church. It’s a great tool for individual or group study, as well as for spiritual mentoring and direction.

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #188 — The Impressionist

Continuing our September/October focus on books for creatives, The Impressionist is a novella by Tim Clinton and Max Davis all about becoming the masterpiece you were created to be.

The jacket cover reads:

Middle aged, disappointed and self-loathing, Adam Camp is anything but the picture of a successful man. With his wife threatening to leave him and their son addicted to drugs, Adam teeters on the verge of absolute despair—questioning his own existence and purpose for living.

After an explosive argument with his wife, Adam searches for an escape as he sets out on a journey that will dramatically recolor his world. While walking through the city park, Adam is approached by an old painter. The mysterious artist convinces Adam to let him paint his portrait and what happens next is nothing short of a masterpiece.

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #187 — The Creative Call

For National Book Month, let us continuing our book focus for the rest of September and October . . .

Many would consider The Creative Call by Janice Elsheimer a must-read for artists and creatives. According to one Amazon reviewer, “As a painter who had hit a dry spell . . . The Creative Call has helped me to rethink the whole process of ‘art making.’ I now see each painting as a gift, a ‘love note’ from God. I also see both the process and the finished work as an act of service, a means of worship.” Wow! That’s quite a testimony!

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #186 — Books of Rory Noland

Continuing our focus on books for creatives, artists and worshipers in light of National Book Month next month. . .

We began Create-A-Day postings with Rory Noland, author of Heart of the Artist, way back in January with our very first edition!

In addition to Heart of the Artist, Noland has several more books for artists and worshipers:

His newest book is Worship on Earth as it is in Heaven: Exploring Worship as a Spiritual Discipline. It explores both private and corporate worship. Want to go deeper in your worship? Then this is a great choice! Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #185 — Books from Jews for Jesus Writers

October is National Book Month, so I’ll be posting links to books for creatives, artists and worshipers the rest of September and throughout October!

Today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for our Jewish and Messianic Jewish friends. So in honor of this holy day, I wanted to share several books that reveal Jesus Christ in the symbolism of several Jewish holidays.

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #184 — An Altar in the World

October is National Book Month, so I’ll be posting links to books for creatives, artists and worshipers the rest of September and throughout October!

New York Times Best Seller An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor takes spirituality out of the box. I love the way she suggests very non-traditional, creative ways to encounter God. As an artist or creative, her book will leave you with new ways to develop your own spiritual practices to commune and worship God.

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #183 — The Artisan Soul

Next month is National Book Month, so I’ll be posting links to books for creatives, artists and worshipers the rest of September and throughout October!

Erwin McManus is the Founder of MOSAIC in Los Angeles. He is the author of The Artisan Soul. This is what his website says about McManus’ vision for this book:

“In The Artisan Soul, Erwin Raphael McManus, author, thought leader, and founder of MOSAIC in Los Angeles, pens a manifesto for human creativity and the beginning of a new renaissance. McManus not only calls us to reclaim our creative essence, but reveals how we can craft our lives into a work of art.”

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #182 — Experiential Worship

For National Book Month in October, the rest of September and all of October we will focus on books for creatives, artists and worshipers!

Experiential Worship: Encountering God with Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength by Bob Rognlien is a must-read for pastors, worship leaders and creative arts ministry leaders and its companion book, The Experiential Worshiper: Giving Yourself More Completely to God, a must-read for all others! As a worship leader myself, this book has been foundational to the way I do ministry!

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #181 — Walking on Water

October is National Book Month so for the rest of September and throughout October we’ll be focusing on books for creatives and artists.

Many of you have read Madeleine L’Engle’s popular 1980 book entitled Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith & Art many years ago. But of course, I do want to recommend it, just in case you are new to this “creative” or “artistic” journey. I would be remiss if I didn’t point it out.

There is so much to be gleaned from this treasure from an incredibly prolific and creative writer.

“But unless we are creators we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint of clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #180 — Books of Julia Cameron

October is National Book Month so our focus for the rest of September and all of October is books for creatives, artists & worshipers.

So let’s kick off this focus with another post about Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way and founder of The Artist’s Way movement. According to her bio on her website:

Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than thirty years. She is the author of thirty-seven books, fiction and nonfiction, including her bestselling works on the creative process: The Artist’s Way; Walking in This World; and Finding Water. Her work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages and has sold more than four million copies worldwide.

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #179 — 31 days of Living Art

http://www.chattingatthesky.com

31 Days of Living Art is a blog series from Emily P. Freeman, which includes 31 posts (originally planned for the month of October but could be done anytime). These wonderful posts are designed to help you realize the artist within you, the artist God created you to be!

It was also designed to go along with Emily’s book, A Million Little Ways. And speaking of books… October is National Book Month so I’ve been saving all the book resources to feature in October. Trouble is, there’s more books than days! That’s a great trouble to have though because that means there are many great resources for your creative library. So the book feature starts tomorrow. By the end of October we’ll have over 35 books for creatives, artists and worshipers!! So dust off your shelves and get ready to load them up with books all written with YOU, God’s creative gift to the world, in mind! Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #174 — Bring Your Praise Dance

It’s another Facebook Friday!!

Today’s group is Bring Your Praise Dance, administered by Prissy Cosme.

Here’s the group description:

We have created this group so we can all come together and share our best praise dances. Feel free to post any praise dance video groups. Please share any tips that will benefit for groups that are starting out. Those tips will be saved on this page for future reference.

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #171 — Art Lessons from God

Today I want to direct you to Tony Snipes who lives to “help creative people discover their purpose.” Sounds like a man after my own heart!! He offers many resources and ideas for artists and creatives.

First let’s start with Tony’s Facebook Page: Art Lessons from God. Here you can find quick links to the latest offerings from Tony. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #164 — Writing Groups on Facebook

It’s another Facebook Friday!! And we have two groups featured today!

Our first group is Christian Authors & Writers and has almost 16,000 members!! It is administered by Mark & Claudette Elliott. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #145 — Theology, Imagination & the Arts

Transpositions is the official blog of the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. With the feel of an e-magazine, it includes articles about, well… let’s see….. theology, imagination and the arts. 😉 Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #144 — Worship & Creative Arts on Facebook

It’s another Facebook Friday here on Create-A-Day! Today’s group is called “Worship & Creative Arts.” I started the group several months ago as a way to connect with those who’ve I’ve met along this Create-A-Day journey of exploration! Do you know there’s some amazingly creative people of God out there?!?! Connect with them here and be sure to share what God has been doing in and through you on our page! Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #141 — Wilderness to Water

Wilderness to Water by Tom Graffagnino is a book that travels through grief to grace by way of the author’s artwork, photographs, poetry, and writings.

According to reviewer Kevin Moss, the book is divided in two:

“The book is split essentially into two halves: ‘Wilderness’ is a monochrome exploration of life’s tough times, explored through sketches, poems and a very thoughtful connecting narrative. Tom’s own wilderness experiences clearly prompt and influence the text, but they are never pushed at the reader. The second half, ‘Water’, is based around colour photography but maintains the poetry and narrative structure, to focus on the ways in which God breaks into our lives, even at the lowest points, to refresh, strengthen and ultimately bring us new life. The two metaphors of wilderness and water are very apt as a description of human experience.”

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #135 — Create Supernaturally

Create Supernaturally is the ministry of Theresa Dedmon, who has been on staff at Bethel Church in Redding, California since 2003 where she currently oversees the Creative Arts department at Bethel’s Supernatural School of Ministry and in church life. This is her prophetic word, prayer and impartation for artists and creatives in 2015. Watch & be inspired!

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #125 — Healing Through Art

“As long as you find yourself drawn closer to the Lord through the art you produce, you are doing what you are called to do.”
~ Trisha Stern
(c) Trisha Stern

The topic of my next book is the artist on the healing journey and the artist as healer, so I was intrigued when I found a Christian Artist Feature on Trisha Stern on The Artistic Christian blog. After experiencing severe wounding trauma in her life, art became the way out of the depths of her grief and pain.

In the words of Trisha, “Art changed my life.” She has much more to say about the power of art!! I encourage you to read the whole feature here. It will inspire you!

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #122 — Learning Creativity

Bringing you an article on learning creativity from CreativePro.com today. CreativePro is a website for anyone involved in the conception, direction, design, or production of communication materials, including print designers, photographers, illustrators, and web designers. The article is geared towards their audience, but all ideas can be transferred over to other areas of the arts and creativity. Check it out here:

Nurturing the Creative Spirit Within

Inspiration, Resources & Bible studies from Jody Thomae

Books, Blogs & Pages

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #189 — Windows of the Soul

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #188 — The Impressionist

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #187 — The Creative Call

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #186 — Books of Rory Noland

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #185 — Books from Jews for Jesus Writers

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #184 — An Altar in the World

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #183 — The Artisan Soul

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #182 — Experiential Worship

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #181 — Walking on Water

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #180 — Books of Julia Cameron

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #179 — 31 days of Living Art

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #174 — Bring Your Praise Dance

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #171 — Art Lessons from God

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #164 — Writing Groups on Facebook

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #145 — Theology, Imagination & the Arts

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #144 — Worship & Creative Arts on Facebook

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #141 — Wilderness to Water

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #135 — Create Supernaturally

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #125 — Healing Through Art

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #122 — Learning Creativity

Can You Learn to Be Creative?

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