“Women Who Dare to Believe” is a musical by veteran actresses and singers Bonnie King and Nan Gurley. Utilizing a 20-foot piece of scarlet fabric, they tell the story of 21 women of the Bible—women who are all part of God’s story of salvation and hope—bringing them to life through story, song and drama. They also have a CD and a two-part Bible study that accompany the musical. Continue reading
drama
Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #151 — Spoken Word Wedding Vows
StandardSometime back in 2011, Janette…ikz, the official poet of the Passion 4 Christ Movement (P4CM.com), did this spoken word piece called Waiting at the Lyricist Lounge:
Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #104 — Embodied Prayer
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I consider Embodied Prayer: Towards Wholeness of Body, Mind and Soul by Celeste Snowber a must-read for any creative Christian who uses his or her body in their art form (dancers, actors, actresses, etc) and for those interested in praying through movement.
For many of us, we check our bodies at the doors of our churches like a coat-check at a restaurant. We engage our minds and our hearts in worship, but our bodies are in exile in the pew. We sit quietly and pray when our bodies long to reach out to Him who hears the words we can and cannot say. As a very kinetically-oriented person, this book awakened my mind to the Hebraic understanding of the body; my soul to the knowledge that I am a temple of the Holy Spirit; my heart to an awareness of God’s joy as I worship Him through movement; and my body to the possibilities in all of this!
Create-A-Day, your daily dose of creativity, edition#100 — Willow Creek Drama
StandardWe’ve made it to 100 creative resources!!
Referring you on over to Willow Creek Association today. They have a variety of creative resources to assist you in planning worship services. You can search for creative ideas by keyword. I have found some compelling dramas there. Both scripts and videos are available for the dramas, and most allow you to preview them.
Want to refer you to a specific drama today entitled “Let Go” with Ingrid DeSanctis. Paired with the song “Open Up,” It’s about letting go of the baggage in our lives. You can watch the drama by clicking the link above.
Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #53 — Creative Lenten Worship
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Creative Lenten Worship is a blog with creative worship ideas for the Lenten season, Holy Week, and Easter for pastors, worship leaders and creative arts teams. There are ideas for decorating your altar space for worship (with photos), as well as a reading for four voices for communion. There are also ideas for visual reminders such as Lenten nail pocket reminders and bags with thirty pieces of silver for family devotions. Instructions included for everything offered.
Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #45 — Drama of the Cross
StandardEaster Devotional and Creative Prompt (i.e., Challenge)
We are two weeks into Lent; Easter is only a month away. It’s important to journey through this season intentionally with your heart open to what the Holy Spirit has for you creatively. So take a deep breath, saying a prayer of openness, and move ahead letting Him move you as you read…
Easter Devotional
As you read the passage below, imagine the scene as part of a larger drama unfolding. Think of the setting (Ancient Israel; very early in the morning at sunrise; Springtime, chill still in the air), the plot (Mary finds tomb empty; brings Peter and John to investigate; they find it as she reported; the body of Jesus is missing), the characters (Mary Magdalene, angels, Jesus) and the dialogue (try to hear it as you read). Continue reading
Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #31 — Actress Apolonia Davalos
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Apolonia Davalos
Today I would like to direct you to an interview with Apolonia Davalos, executive producer of APOLONIAD Productions and actress in the movie The Good Book, the first evangelical silent feature to be released since sound was added to movies. Apolonia sat down with Miranda A. Uyeh who conducts interviews on her blog To Be a Person.
Create-A-Day 2015: your daily dose of creativity
StandardJust 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. So in 2015, I will be doing a daily* post to undergird your ministry, to lead you to resources to nurture the creative spirit within, and to draw you more deeply into your worship of Jesus Christ. Starting in January, watch for “Create-A-Day” blog posts. My goal is to provide you, the creative Christian, with over 250* resources to help you develop your ARTistry, CREATivity & capacity for BEaUty. What kind of resources? Books, worship arts ministries, video series, websites, conferences—all geared towards artists, creatives, worshipers and people serving in worship and creative arts ministries.
Whether you are a musician, singer, composer or worship leader; a painter, sculptor, sketcher, photographer or graphic artist; an actor, playwright or film producer; a weaver, potter, seamstres or silversmith; a writer of poetry, prose or non-fiction; a dancer, flagger or abandoned worshiper, I hope to post resources that will help you as you develop the creative gift God has placed within YOU!
So, visit my blog every day* to see what creative resource I’ve hunted down for you. You can stay connected daily 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.
Create-A-Day
http://www.jodythomae.com
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, serving as worship arts ministry pastor, worship leader, and creative arts director. She has coordinated 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 called 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.
Interview with the Author
StandardInterview with Miranda A Uyeh: Miranda is the author of To Die Once: An Inspirational Romance. She is also an entertainment and book blogger and editor of To Be A Person blog. She asked some thought-provoking questions. You can read our interview here. Her blog also has many other interviews worth reading!!
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Jody Thomae is the author of God’s Creative Gift–Unleashing the Artist in You: Bible Studies to Nurture the Creative Spirit Within. You can purchase a copy of her book at: Wipf & Stock Publishers; Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
The Easter Drama Unfolds: a Meditation on John 20
StandardAs you read, imagine the scene below as part of a larger drama unfolding. Think of the setting (Ancient Israel; very early in the morning at sunrise; Springtime, chill still in the air), the plot (Mary finds tomb empty; brings Peter and John to investigate; they find it as she reported; the body of Jesus is missing), the characters (Mary Magdalene, angels, Jesus) and the dialogue (try to hear it as you read).
Mary was standing outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had b
een lying.
“Dear woman, why are you crying?” they asked.
“Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have put him.”
She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.
“Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener she said, “Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
“Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” which means “Teacher”.
John 20:11-16, NLT
Now, let’s understand the implications of this drama:
Jesus appeared first to a woman. In a world, time and culture dominated by men—a woman. Not Peter, the Rock upon which the future church would be built. Not John, the disciple Jesus loved. But Mary Magdalene, a woman he had healed, rescuing her from a slew of demons that had held her hostage until Jesus touched her and set her free.
Nurturing the Creative Spirit Within 